Chapter 828: The Prestige of the Overlord Body
The Qingyun Heavenly Dao Palace was in complete chaos, with many Taoists flying through the sky and running on the ground, searching everywhere for the thieving Taoist. After the incident of the theft in the Dao Academy was exposed, the other palaces and academies of Qingyun Heaven discovered that they had not only been robbed at the Dao Academy—they too had been visited by the thief.
It was just that the thief was truly cunning; the treasure vaults of the various palaces and academies had been ransacked without anyone noticing, and it was only when the Taoists discovered their own treasures missing that attention was finally drawn.
Even the Dao Palace itself had been plundered. Many elderly Taoists hurriedly rushed toward the palace's treasure vault, where over a dozen Taoists at the Divine Realm guarded the outside, while others opened the seals and filed in one by one to check whether any treasures were missing.
Lin Xuan, the Dao Master, watched the chaotic scene at Qingyun Sect and laughed: "Sect Master Qin, when your elder visits my Dao Sect, it's the same kind of chaos. Every time he comes, my Dao Sect's senior uncles search the mountains far and wide for his trail, and they've even raised several divine hounds specifically to deal with him."
Qin Mu had a headache and said helplessly: "In the past, Grandpa Cripple's cultivation wasn't high, so you could still catch him. Now that he's cultivated to the Divine Realm and practiced the Art of Creation, he's even hidden his own scent. Catching him now is harder than reaching the heavens."
The two of them continued climbing upward as if nothing had happened, as though the deaths of the disciples of the Zhou Tian Star Lord's main god in the Dao Academy had nothing to do with them.
Some Taoists hurriedly flew toward the outer heavens, summoning divine hounds, divine mastiffs, and divine rats from the divine nations under their jurisdiction, as well as inviting some constables to search everywhere.
Qin Mu and Lin Xuan, the Dao Master, chatted idly, unhurriedly ascending the mountain. The Zha Taoist, Dragon Qilin, and Water Qilin followed behind them. Some Taoists stopped them for questioning, then let them pass after a brief interrogation.
"Is Lan Yutian alright?" Lin Xuan, the Dao Master, asked.
"Not a big problem."
Although Qin Mu said this, his forehead felt like it was about to split open. He said with a headache: "Brother Yu doesn't have his past memories. Right now he's a blank sheet of paper—one can paint the most beautiful picture on it, or one can scribble all over it and make a mess. I'm very worried he'll pick up the habit of petty thievery."
"Petty thievery? Can that cause such a big commotion?" Lin Xuan, the Dao Master, laughed.
"Grandpa Cripple's rule is: a thief never leaves empty-handed."
Qin Mu said seriously: "As long as he makes a move, he has to steal the best thing. Just now he stole from all of us, and when he got to Lan Yutian, he found that Lan Yutian didn't have any treasures on him, so he stole Lan Yutian himself. I'm not worried about Brother Yu's safety, only that he'll learn bad habits."
"The divine thief should have escaped Qingyun Heaven with Lan Yutian by now, right?"
"Escape? Impossible. Grandpa Cripple is someone who loves watching a good show and never thinks the chaos is big enough. He's absolutely still in the Dao Palace right now, disguised, following those Taoists around as they search for the thief's whereabouts."
The two finally arrived at the Dao Palace outside the mountain peak. The palace was on high alert, with many Taoists coming and going, activating various treasures like mirrors to shine light in all directions, searching for the whereabouts of the old thieving Taoist.
A young Taoist hurried out from within the palace and met Qin Mu and Lin Xuan, the Dao Master, face to face. He was slightly startled, then lowered his voice and said: "How did you two come up the mountain? I just told the Sect Master about your visit, but now that a thief has stirred up trouble in the Dao Palace, the Sect Master has no time to see you."
This Taoist was none other than Yuchen.
Qin Mu smiled slightly and said in a clear voice: "Qin Mu of the Yankang Overlord Body, and Lin Xuan, Dao Master of the Yankang Dao Sect, have come to pay respects to the Qingyun Sect Master and the Heavenly Court Envoys! Qingyun Sect Master, you are merely a branch of the Dao Sect—why don't you come out to welcome us?"
His voice was loud and resonant, rising from the foot of the mountain and exploding in the sky above the Qingyun Heavenly Dao Palace, spreading throughout the Dao Palace and the Twenty-Four Halls!
The many Taoists who were searching for the old thief stopped involuntarily at the sound and looked in their direction. The atmosphere suddenly became extremely oppressive.
Yuchen's expression changed slightly.
Lin Xuan, the Dao Master, however, kept his eyes lowered and his mind focused, as calm as still water, as if he had long expected Qin Mu to say this. He said leisurely: "Sect Master Qin is the Yankang Overlord Body, unmatched through the ages. With the Sect Master announcing his name like this, I'm afraid there are countless people in the Dao Palace who want to kill you."
Qin Mu laughed: "There are many people in the world who want to kill me, but I'm still alive. Although I have the title of Overlord Body, the name of the Overlord Body was earned more through killing than through praise. You shouldn't worry about me—you should worry about yourself. I called Qingyun Sect a branch of the Dao Sect. Can Qingyun Sect tolerate you?"
Lin Xuan, the Dao Master, flicked his horsetail whisk and laughed heartily.
Yuchen frowned and said in a low voice: "You two have no sense of propriety! I let you up the mountain out of consideration for our fellow sectarian bond. You were supposed to come up quietly, the Sect Master would meet you quietly, give you some benefits, and you'd go back down the mountain. Now you've announced your names—when the Heavenly Court Envoys find out, can they still tolerate you?"
Just as he finished speaking, an old voice came from within the Dao Palace: "Yuchenzi, please invite the young friend of the Yankang Dao Sect and the Qin Overlord Body inside."
Yuchen had no choice but to bow and acknowledge, saying: "Follow me. You've stirred up trouble—whether you can leave alive is hard to say..."
Qin Mu laughed: "Senior Brother Yuchen, we're not poor relatives coming up the mountain to beg for food, to be sent away with a few scraps. What are the Heavenly Court Envoys anyway? Didn't I still kill Qiuxiao, the prince of the Heavenly Court? Senior Brother, when you were in Lu County, your insight and vision were extremely high, and I admired you. How is it that now that you've returned to the Dao Sect, you've become so spineless?"
Yuchen frowned deeply and led them toward the Dao Palace, shaking his head: "You don't know your place."
The two smiled and walked into the Dao Palace under the watchful eyes of everyone.
Inside the Dao Palace, the main hall was extremely spacious, about a hundred zhang square, but strangely, there was no ceiling above. This Dao Palace was open to the sky, with sunlight shining down from above.
Qin Mu looked carefully and saw that precisely because the Dao Palace had no ceiling, the light of the sun, moon, and stars in the sky could all shine down. Moreover, the space here seemed peculiar—after the sun passed, the moonlight would be cast here, keeping the Dao Palace forever bathed in light.
And the man-made stars and star rivers in the sky, after their light was gathered, appeared much larger here than elsewhere. One could even see the textures on those stars and the palaces on them with the naked eye alone, without activating any divine powers.
The stars were brilliant and colorful, truly wondrous.
At this moment, several dozen elderly Taoists were already sitting on prayer mats in the main hall, floating in the air, each surrounded by auspicious aura.
These old Taoists had ancient appearances, having lived for who knows how many years. Their long brows and long hair were snow-white, and they sat there in stillness, their dim old eyes open, their expressions solemn.
Although their eyes were dim, from time to time, terrifying glints burst forth from their pupils, clearly indicating their cultivation was unfathomable.
There were also some Taoists who were younger—though "younger" was relative. These Taoists were probably also quite old, all with graying hair, their Dao robes washed white, some robes tattered and torn, their straw sandals worn through with toes poking out.
Qin Mu glanced around and noticed a few people dressed most splendidly.
One of them was a middle-aged man wearing a yellow Dao crown with a purple sash, holding a horsetail whisk in his hand and a Dao sword at his waist. He should be the Sect Master of Qingyun Heaven.
The others should be guests from the Heavenly Court—quite young, mostly boys and girls with delicate features, curiously looking at Qin Mu and Lin Xuan, the Dao Master, as they entered.
Strangely, the Qingyun Sect Master was not seated in the highest position but on a lower step, his status lower than those young boys and girls.
Those young boys and girls were also not seated in the highest position. At the highest position was a statue of the Dao Ancestor, apparently carved from wood, of great antiquity.
The statue was about ten zhang tall, depicting a slovenly Taoist with a horsetail whisk stuck in his back, holding a peculiar compass in his hand, his body hunched forward with the compass extended, his gaze fixed upon it.
The wooden carving was lifelike and vivid.
"It really is him."
Qin Mu revealed a smile. This slovenly Taoist was the one he had encountered at the Yaochi Gathering, who had attended together with the young Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha.
At that time, the Taoist did nothing all day but study numerology, while Great Brahma went around begging for spirit pills, using the pills he collected to support the two of them. Moreover, Great Brahma had a temper—if given too many spirit pills, he would firmly refuse, saying it would ruin his cultivation.
"The Dao Sect of the lower realm was founded by apostates who were cast out of the Dao Sect back then. During the Kaihuang Era, they once aided Kaihuang in his rebellion, committing treasonous acts. In truth, they are guilty."
The Qingyun Sect Master's seat was very high, and he looked down at Lin Xuan and the Zha Taoist from above, explaining the origins of the Yankang Dao Sect unhurriedly: "My Qingyun Heaven, also called Qingyun Sect, is the direct lineage passed down by the Dao Ancestor, and has always resided here. Back then, when the traitor Kaihuang rebelled and caused chaos, Qingyun Heaven hid in the heavens of the Primordial Realm, ordered to seal the sky of Yankang. According to the laws of the Heavenly Court, the Yankang Dao Sect was to be exterminated. It was I who petitioned the Heavenly Court on your behalf and spared you. Young friend Lin, you just called my Qingyun Heaven a branch of your Dao Sect. Now do you understand the truth?"
An old Taoist beside him sneered: "Young friend Lin, why haven't you prostrated yourself before the Sect Master?"
Lin Xuan, the Dao Master, saluted the Qingyun Sect Master with a bow of the hands and said: "Senior Brother."
The assembled Taoists frowned and shouted in unison: "Outrageous! Why aren't you kneeling?"
Lin Xuan's salute was one of equal standing. According to the rules, he should have performed the great kneeling bow of a junior to an elder—three kneelings and nine prostrations!
Qin Mu laughed: "Both come from the Dao Sect, so both are fellow disciples. To perform the great kneeling bow to a fellow disciple—you're not the Dao Ancestor. Can you bear it?"
"I carry the three treasures passed down by the Dao Ancestor—the horsetail whisk, the Dao sandals, and the Dao crown—representing the Dao Ancestor himself. Naturally, I can bear young friend Lin's kneeling bow."
The Qingyun Sect Master's gaze was sharp as he looked at Qin Mu and said: "The Heavenly Sage Sect Master of Yankang, also known as the Overlord Body Qin Mu. Young friend Lin is a fellow disciple, and I acknowledge him as a junior brother. He may be excused from bowing. But why won't you bow to me?"
Qin Mu laughed in spite of himself and said: "For me to bow—not only can you not bear it, even if the Dao Ancestor himself came in person, he couldn't bear it either. If I bow to you, it will shorten your lifespan."
The Qingyun Sect Master flicked his horsetail whisk and said leisurely: "Yankang is a small nation. My Qingyun Heaven governs twenty-four divine nations below, and any one of them is no smaller than Yankang. You are the Sect Master of a small sect in a small nation. I can accept one bow from you."
He smiled slightly and said: "Behind me are the Heavenly Court Envoys, representing the Heavenly Court and symbolizing the authority of the Heavenly Emperor. They too can accept one bow from you. Qin Overlord Body, you may kneel and pay your respects now."
The young boys and girls behind him sat on their thrones, watching Qin Mu with great interest.
Qin Mu laughed heartily and shook his head: "Since the Sect Master insists that I bow, then I should first bow to the Dao Ancestor. Little brats of the Heavenly Court, step aside! Don't block the Dao Ancestor!"
The Qingyun Sect Master frowned and left his throne.
The young men and women of the Heavenly Court chuckled lightly and also left their seats.
Qin Mu stepped forward, looked up at the wooden statue of the slovenly Taoist, and laughed: "Old Taoist, Mu has come to see you. Your disciples and descendants want me to bow to you. Then I shall bow!"
He had just lifted the hem of his robe when suddenly, with a thunderous crash, the wooden statue of the Dao Ancestor split apart!
In the Dao Palace, all the old Taoists were startled. They saw that after the statue split open, Dao fire suddenly ignited, quickly burning it to ashes!
Qin Mu laughed heartily without bowing, turned toward the Qingyun Sect Master, and said in a clear voice: "Old Taoist, your disciples and descendants want me to bow to your Dao crown, Dao sandals, and horsetail whisk. To bow to these three treasures is to bow to you. Then you shall receive one bow from me!"
He made as if to bow, and suddenly the Dao crown on the Qingyun Sect Master's head burst apart with a crack, the horsetail whisk in his hand burst into flames, and the Dao sandals beneath his feet instantly turned to ashes!
Qin Mu straightened his back, looked at the flustered Qingyun Sect Master, and said with a half-smile: "Sect Master, now you know—you cannot bear one bow from me, and even the Dao Ancestor cannot bear one bow from me. Put away your arrogance."
The Qingyun Sect Master's hair was disheveled, he discarded the whisk that had burned to ashes, and stood there barefoot, at a loss.
The other old Taoists were terrified and equally at a loss: "Is the Overlord Body really this powerful? Even the Dao Ancestor dares not receive one bow from him?"