Chapter 207: Cunning as a Ghost
This time, Tần Mục was truly terrified to the bone.
That day when the Diên Khang Quốc Sư fought the great battle outside Đại Tương thành, he had stood on the mountaintop gazing at the battlefield from afar, yet he couldn't clearly see the techniques of those powerhouses. Đô Thiên Ma Vương had borrowed his eyes to observe the battle, allowing him to see the moves of Diên Khang Quốc Sư, cùng phu tử and others with perfect clarity, and even to comprehend the mysteries behind the techniques of such terrifying existences!
However, at that time, Tần Mục believed he had concealed himself well and hadn't alerted this demon king.
But now it seemed that his little schemes were utterly useless. Đô Thiên Ma Vương had long since detected the fluctuations in his heart, and had even guessed his innermost thoughts!
"Foolish summoner, your seemingly clever tricks before the greatest ruler of Đô Thiên are completely useless."
The voice of Đô Thiên Ma Vương continued to echo in his mind, rattling his eardrums: "A feeble lifeform like you should not try to play mind games before me. My power is beyond your imagination! Submit to me, worship me—that is your only path."
Tần Mục steadied himself, then suddenly laughed: "Great Lord of Đô Thiên, in this world, the one who still understands the art of the Điều Quỷ Khiển Thần Phù Tự Lệnh is only me, and only I can still cast this art."
Đô Thiên Ma Vương fell silent.
After a moment, his voice sounded again: "Interesting little brat, daring to bargain with me. Very well, very well..."
Tần Mục's heart was uneasy, unsure whether his bargaining would succeed.
If it failed, and this demon turned hostile, he would likely be in serious trouble.
If the bargaining succeeded and he preserved his life, then upon returning to the village, he could ask the village chief and the others to slowly finish off Đô Thiên Ma Vương.
Judging from Đô Thiên Ma Vương's behavior, it was indeed possible to kill this demon king.
Because when Tần Mục had traveled alongside Diên Khang Quốc Sư, Đô Thiên Ma Vương had shown no unusual activity, hiding quietly within Tần Mục's body.
And it was only when Diên Khang Quốc Sư was locked in fierce combat with cùng phu tử and other sect-master-level existences that Đô Thiên Ma Vương dared to borrow Tần Mục's eyes to observe the battle—both to gauge Diên Khang Quốc Sư's true strength and to search for his weaknesses.
But at that time, Tần Mục was surrounded by experts of the Thiên Ma giáo, so he hadn't spoken up.
Later, as Tần Mục continuously treated Diên Khang Quốc Sư's injuries, Đô Thiên Ma Vương remained silent throughout.
When Tần Mục parted ways with Diên Khang Quốc Sư and arrived at the Thái Học viện, encountering Què Tử and Mã gia again, Đô Thiên Ma Vương still didn't emerge.
Now that Mã gia and Què Tử were absent, leaving only Tần Mục alone, he finally appeared.
If the Quốc Sư, Mã gia, and Què Tử posed no threat to him, he wouldn't have been so cautious.
In other words, he had shown his fear.
That meant he could be destroyed—unlike Lệ Thiên Hành within Tư bà bà's đạo tâm, who was nearly impossible to erase. As long as the methods were sufficiently clever, he could still be eliminated.
"My Đô Thiên is finished, destroyed, leaving only boundless darkness. So I need to find a new world for my people, a place where my subjects can thrive and multiply."
Đô Thiên Ma Vương's voice came through: "I went to great lengths to transmit the Điều Quỷ Khiển Thần Phù Tự Lệnh to this world, to the people of this world. Now you are the only one who understands this art. You should know that I won't easily let you go."
Tần Mục completely relaxed, letting out a breath, and said: "So you want me to summon demons again, to summon you over?"
Đô Thiên Ma Vương coaxed patiently: "I had that idea before, but now that I've seen that this world's natives also have some powerful existences, I merely wish to use your hand to send some of my people to this world. I have no intention of provoking a great war between the powerhouses of two worlds—that would be bad for you and bad for us. My Đô Thiên is already finished; I only want my race to avoid extinction. I have no thoughts of conquering this world."
"Believe that? Bullshit!" Tần Mục thought to himself.
But he couldn't say that out loud—if he did, Đô Thiên Ma Vương probably wouldn't find it too troublesome to kill him.
Right now, his consciousness was parasitizing Tần Mục's own body, along with a strand of magical power. The strength of a god-demon was far beyond Tần Mục's reach. If Đô Thiên Ma Vương turned hostile, that consciousness and power could kill him without too much trouble.
He currently had use for Tần Mục, so he wouldn't strike—but if he discovered that Tần Mục had never intended to summon him, he would likely turn hostile and kill.
"You don't need to summon me—you can summon a few of my ministers."
Đô Thiên Ma Vương said: "After that, I will leave you, and you can roam freely. If you help me with this small favor, I can decipher the writing on this door for you."
Tần Mục laughed: "The writing on this door—my elders at home probably recognize it. No need to trouble the Demon King..."
"Heh heh, recognize it? This is writing of U Đô. Even if someone recognizes it, can you read it aloud?"
Đô Thiên Ma Vương said leisurely: "The writing of U Đô is useless if you cannot pronounce it. And this scroll—it records the arts of U Đô. Don't you want to know?"
Tần Mục's eyes flickered: "I still can't clearly see the writing on the scroll, nor can I see the writing on the door. Learning the language of U Đô now would be useless. Besides, not learning the language of U Đô wouldn't affect me much. Demon King, I have no need to trade with you at all."
"Hahaha!"
Đô Thiên Ma Vương burst into laughter: "It seems you still haven't truly understood the true mystery of your current realm! Once you learn the U Đô writing on this door, you will be stronger than Diên Khang Quốc Sư at this realm! Didn't Diên Khang Quốc Sư say that others are triangles while he is a straight line? Once you learn the writing on the door, your straight line will be even longer than his!"
His voice ran around inside Tần Mục's mind, with no fixed location—now left, now right, sometimes sounding from the front, sometimes from the back of his head, making it impossible for Tần Mục to pinpoint where he was hiding.
"A lowly creature like you probably has no idea what U Đô is. Let me tell you what U Đô is!"
"U Đô is the ultimate destination for all you mortals after death. All souls will eventually enter that place—the realm ruled by Đại Đế Thổ Bá, governing the world after death for all living beings in every world!"
"He is a truly ancient deity, a primordial deity, controlling all death. Even gods and Buddhas are enslaved by him after they die."
"U Đô is not the hell spoken of by gods and Buddhas. Hell is merely used to scare you mortals. U Đô is a hundred times more cruel than hell!"
"If you master the writing of U Đô and the arts of U Đô, it will strengthen your soul—this is the true stairway to godhood!"①
Tần Mục was quite tempted, and laughed: "Words are cheap. No matter how beautifully you spin it, it's hard for me to believe. Teach me one art of U Đô, and then I'll trust you."
Đô Thiên Ma Vương chuckled: "You should already know one."
Tần Mục was startled, then exclaimed: "Khiên Hồn Dẫn? Khiên Hồn Dẫn is an art of U Đô?"
"Khiên Hồn Dẫn is not a complete U Đô art. It is a U Đô art reconstructed by mortals of your world using mortal language, far from unleashing the true power of U Đô arts."
Đô Thiên Ma Vương said: "True U Đô arts use U Đô writing. That writing is far more complex than the runes of your world. Your runes are merely simplified versions of U Đô writing."
Tần Mục's heart shook as he looked at the phantom scroll in his hand—this writing was composed in the language of U Đô?
Khiên Hồn Dẫn could call back the souls of the dead. If one could master the language of U Đô and cast arts using it, how powerful would that be?
And another point—Đô Thiên Ma Vương said that U Đô writing needed to be spoken aloud, that one must master the language to cast it. That statement wasn't a lie.
That day on the surface of the Dũng Giang river, the Taoist of Cửu U môn who used Khiên Hồn Dẫn to summon souls had chanted a cryptic ballad, causing black mist to surge forth and a terrifying dark gate to emerge from the river's heart.
Many of Đô Thiên Ma Vương's words were false, but some were true.
"Demon King, one night I saw an old man by the riverbank, ferrying the dead. Someone told me that old man was an Âm Sai. What connection does this Âm Sai have with U Đô?" Tần Mục recalled something and asked.
Đô Thiên Ma Vương said: "Just a minor god under Thổ Bá's command, responsible for maintaining order. Do you want to learn the language of U Đô or not?"
"I do!"
Tần Mục blinked and said: "Teach me quickly!"
Đô Thiên Ma Vương chuckled: "Summon demons—summon a few of my ministers—and I'll teach you."
Tần Mục hesitated: "After I summon them, if you don't keep your promise, wouldn't I be the one at a loss? How about this—I'll craft a wooden puppet mechanism. You can inhabit the puppet and summon demons yourself. First teach me the language of U Đô, then you summon them yourself. Wouldn't that make everyone happy?"
Đô Thiên Ma Vương sneered: "A good idea. But the moment I leave your body, you could call someone to kill me. Am I that stupid? I'll stay inside your body, and you'll preside over the summoning ritual! After you summon them, I'll teach you the language of U Đô!"
Tần Mục sneered: "After I summon your ministers, what if you don't teach me? Your ministers will kill me in an instant, and you'll be free—while I'll be dead and my soul sent to U Đô! Don't forget, last time I summoned you, you didn't care whether I lived or died!"
Silence fell.
After a moment, Đô Thiên Ma Vương laughed: "Little brat, cunning as a ghost—not easy to fool. How about this: I'll swear an oath with you. You summon my ministers, I teach you the language of U Đô. If either of us breaks the oath, may Thổ Bá personally descend and seize the soul of the oath-breaker! What do you say?"
Tần Mục calculated for a moment, then said: "Deal! But don't think you can fool me—I understand some demonic language too. Don't try any tricks with the oath!"
Đô Thiên Ma Vương laughed: "Filthy brat, sharp as a ghost. Fine, I'll be generous this once—no tricks."
In Tần Mục's mind, an extremely obscure demonic language began to sound. The language was awkward and difficult to understand—even Tần Mục could only comprehend half of it. The youth's heart pounded wildly: "Calm down, calm down—can't let this demon king see that I'm only half-versed..."
Before long, Đô Thiên Ma Vương finished reciting the oath, and in Tần Mục's mind, the shape of half a gate slowly emerged, like half a gate of U Đô.
"Your turn." Đô Thiên Ma Vương said.
Tần Mục steadied himself, carefully pondering the meaning of the other half of the demonic language he hadn't understood. Đô Thiên Ma Vương grew somewhat anxious and urged: "Hurry up, or the gate of U Đô will disperse!"
Tần Mục sneered: "You're bluffing me. I won't swear this oath."
Đô Thiên Ma Vương laughed: "Little bastard, you really do understand some demonic language."
The half gate of U Đô dispersed, and the demonic language sounded again. This time Tần Mục understood seven or eight tenths of it, though some words he still couldn't be certain about, so he continued to ponder.
Đô Thiên Ma Vương laughed: "Fine, fine, you've got some skill." With that, he dispersed this half gate of U Đô as well and re-established the oath in demonic language.
Tần Mục suddenly laughed: "Demon King, you keep trying to cheat. How about we swear the oath in human language instead?"
Đô Thiên Ma Vương was silent for a moment, then cursed him for being cunning as a ghost: "You little bastard—you only half-understand demonic language, and you're using this chance to secretly learn my demonic tongue, aren't you?"
Note ①: U Đô and Thổ Bá originate from pre-Qin mythology, extremely ancient, with origins tracing back to primitive society. They predate the hell system by many years and are among the most ancient and primordial deities. Some records of U Đô and Thổ Bá can be found in Khuất Nguyên's "Chiêu Hồn" (Summoning the Soul).
Also, I'd like to ask knowledgeable readers to recommend a few books on pre-Qin mythology research—preferably textual research works, not fiction. Sơn Hải Kinh isn't needed. Thank you, everyone.