Chapter 1604: Disciple of the Dao Sect
"Give him a sliver of hope, and he will pull himself together, even if that hope is insignificant."
The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha said, "He is that kind of person; he never gives up on any hope. Ling Tianzun, what happened earlier?"
Ling Tianzun replied, "Earlier, he was already prepared to humble himself, go to the Heavenly Court, kneel in surrender, and beg the Hao Tianzun to spare the human race."
The Dao Ancestor and the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha fell silent.
If not pushed to the brink, someone like Qin Mu would never have made such a move.
The pressure Qin Mu faced earlier was immense, enough to crush him!
The main reason wasn't the death of the Kai Huang; that was merely a trigger. The most important factor was the fall of the Netherworld.
The loss of the Netherworld was what truly broke him!
"Mu Tianzun, the Heavenly Court's army might be delayed for ten or even decades, but what about when Hao Tianzun, Fire Tianzun, and others attack?"
The Dao Ancestor asked, "How will you resist?"
Qin Mu sank back into thought. Si Po Po glared fiercely at the Dao Ancestor, who looked embarrassed and asked the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha, "Was it wrong to ask?"
The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha replied, "It was right to ask, but not now. Since it's been asked, don't dwell on it. Benefactor Si is just protective of her cub."
The Dao Ancestor praised, "The old monk is worldly-wise."
In the Wen Dao Academy, Qin Mu paced back and forth again. For seven or eight days straight, he kept walking like this, constantly pondering countermeasures.
"Has Yu Chenzi returned?"
He suddenly called out loudly, "Yu Chenzi!"
Yu Chenzi had just returned to the Wen Dao Academy and rushed over, panting. "What are your orders, National Teacher?"
"I will write a letter of surrender to Hao Tianzun, stating that I am willing to submit."
Qin Mu said quickly, "Take my surrender letter to the Heavenly Court and deliver it to Hao Tianzun. On this journey, you might die."
Yu Chenzi said solemnly, "Dying for the nation is acceptable. I am willing to offer my head for Yan Kang."
Qin Mu picked up his brush, and Yu Chenzi ground the ink.
Just as Qin Mu was about to write, he stopped.
Yu Chenzi looked puzzled, watching as Qin Mu slowly gathered his spirit, gradually becoming disheartened and filled with despair. First, two lines of tears fell, and when he set the brush down, the tip trembled twice, as if he were sobbing.
Then, his brush moved swiftly, writing words of surrender to Hao Tianzun on the paper. The words were sincere, yet carried a hint of reluctance, expressing a willingness to fight to the death for the safety of the human race, choosing to break jade rather than preserve tile.
However, he also lowered his stance, saying, "Your Majesty is honored as the Heavenly Emperor, and I am also honored as a Tianzun. Leading Ling, Yue, You, Tai Shi, and other ministers to surrender cannot be done hastily."
In his words, he earnestly requested that the Hao Heavenly Emperor send an envoy to discuss the transfer of power and the specifics of the surrender. His words also revealed a trace of attachment to power, saying, "I wish for a corner of land as a place of seclusion, leading the people of that corner to build a golden statue for Your Majesty, praying and worshiping day and night."
He then detailed Yan Kang's industries, reciting them as if counting family treasures: what each supervisory factory could produce, which factories could be handed over to the Heavenly Court, which he hoped to keep, the provinces under Yan Kang's jurisdiction, the various heavens under its control, what treasures those heavens produced, the amount of Heavenly Currency in Yan Kang's treasury, the amount in each province, and so on.
Yu Chenzi watched and shook his head.
Qin Mu's posture was too low, bordering on flattery.
"But why did the National Teacher say I might die delivering the surrender letter?" he wondered inwardly.
Then he saw Qin Mu write again: "Lang Wo is a woman of unparalleled beauty among the creators. I have already slept with her. If Your Majesty likes her and wishes to make her empress, I will personally deliver her to you day and night."
Yu Chenzi shuddered several times, his face dark as iron, muttering to himself, "I really might die! The National Teacher has a black heart! He says he slept with Lang Wo. If Hao Tianzun wants to be the Heavenly Emperor, he would never want a woman the National Teacher has slept with, let alone make her empress! The first part of the surrender letter might make Hao Tianzun overjoyed, but the latter part will get my head chopped off!"
Qin Mu sealed the surrender letter and handed it to Yu Chenzi. "Yu Jun, can you handle this?"
Yu Chenzi hesitated for a moment, then said boldly, "I am willing to die for Yan Kang!"
Qin Mu gave him a deep look. "You don't have to die. With your intelligence, you can handle this well. But you must be wary of one person."
Yu Chenzi's eyes flickered, and he smiled. "You know me well, National Teacher. Who is this opponent?"
"His name is Meng Yungui, the Meng Heavenly Master among the four great Heavenly Masters of the Heavenly Court."
Qin Mu instructed, "Meng Yungui once saw through my plan to establish the nation through casting. He will surely see through the intention behind my surrender letter."
"The National Teacher's intention is to delay the Heavenly Court's military action by negotiating surrender terms."
Yu Chenzi said, "By listing how many supervisory factories Yan Kang has and what each can produce, the National Teacher is essentially laying out his interests before the bandits. If there were only one bandit, it might be fine, but the Heavenly Court has Hao, Fire, Void, Ancestor, Tai Chu, Tai Ji, and other bandit leaders. They need to divide Yan Kang's interests. How to divide them requires time for them to negotiate among themselves."
Qin Mu nodded. "And then?"
Yu Chenzi held the surrender letter and continued, "They will discuss how to divide the spoils, but the National Teacher may not be willing to give. Even though the National Teacher has surrendered, as a surrendered Tianzun of the Heavenly Court, he will also take a share. And within this, a portion of Yan Kang's interests must be preserved. Only if Yan Kang survives can it bring greater benefits to the Heavenly Court. So the Heavenly Court won't swallow Yan Kang whole, leaving room for endless negotiations and bickering."
Qin Mu nodded again. "And then?"
"The Heavenly Court's envoy will take time to come to Yan Kang, then return to report to the various Tianzuns, which will take more time. Yan Kang's envoy will go to the Heavenly Court to negotiate, which will take time, and then return to Yan Kang to report to the National Teacher, which will take more time."
Yu Chenzi said, "Back and forth, the time will drag on longer and longer. If the National Teacher chooses an envoy who is thick-skinned and shameless, the delay can be even longer. That's why the National Teacher chose me to go to the Heavenly Court. Moreover, the National Teacher can promise extra benefits to a particular Tianzun, causing them to bicker among themselves over these benefits. By the time they reach a conclusion, two or three years will have passed."
Qin Mu smiled.
The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha leaned toward the Dao Ancestor and said, "Your Dao Sect's disciple is quite capable."
The Dao Ancestor replied with some pride, "Our Dao Sect excels in calculations. Yu Chenzi absorbed micro-mathematics during the Yan Kang reforms and comprehended chaotic mathematics, which is quite remarkable. His chaotic mathematics is good at fuzzy calculations."
Yu Chenzi changed the subject and bowed. "Since Meng Yungui, the second Heavenly Master of the Heavenly Court, can see through this, I beg the National Teacher to show me a way to survive."
Qin Mu pondered. "Meng Yungui is human..."
Yu Chenzi said, "Fellow race sentiment may not move him. National Teacher, choose another path."
Qin Mu said, "Meng Yungui is greedy for wealth..."
Yu Chenzi shook his head. "That is his disguise. Because he is human and too intelligent, he is cautious and deliberately exposes his greed to avoid being harmed by others. National Teacher, choose another path."
Qin Mu said, "The third Heavenly Master, Bai Yuqiong, is also human and the reincarnation of the Southern Emperor. After you go to the Heavenly Court, visit her first. Bai Yuqiong knows Meng Yungui deeply and can tell you his weakness."
Yu Chenzi asked, "Then, National Teacher, how do I move Bai Yuqiong?"
Qin Mu used his divine power to refine a jade pendant through the cycle of reincarnation and said, "Show her this jade pendant. She owes me, and it's time to repay. Tell her that if Meng Yungui doesn't keep his mouth shut, the human race will be annihilated."
Yu Chenzi didn't take the jade pendant. "National Teacher, how can you be sure Bai Yuqiong is on the side of the human race?"
"She has reincarnated one hundred and ninety-seven times and has never been reborn as any other race."
Qin Mu's eyes flickered. "All one hundred and ninety-seven lives were as humans."
Yu Chenzi put away the reincarnation jade pendant and bowed. "I will not fail the National Teacher's trust!" With that, he turned and left.
Qin Mu watched him go, sighing with emotion. "For the human race to have such a talent is truly a blessing."
After handling this matter, he suddenly looked around and asked, "The Lang Xuan Divine Emperor is dead. Who is his incarnation in Yan Kang? Has the Emperor sent someone to kill him?"
At that moment, Ling Yuxiu walked in from outside and said, "I have sent the Yujing King Immortal to Canglang Island to execute Lang Xuan's reincarnation, Yu Cangqi. News will come soon!"
"Please, Your Majesty, immediately notify Wang Muran not to kill Lang Xuan's incarnation. Let Yu Cangqi escape and force him to the Southern Heaven to see Fire Tianzun!"
Qin Mu bowed. "Please issue the decree, Your Majesty."
The crowd didn't understand his intent. Ling Yuxiu looked at him and, after a moment, asked, "Forcing Lang Xuan's incarnation into the Southern Heaven—what is the National Teacher's plan? Is it to give Fire Tianzun a stepping stone?"
"Lang Xuan entering the Southern Heaven is not Fire Tianzun's stepping stone."
Qin Mu said, "It is the beginning of Fire Tianzun's downfall."
"Why do you say that?" Ling Yuxiu frowned.
"Lang Xuan is the son of Tai Chu. Hao Tianzun is also the son of Tai Chu. Hao Tianzun can kill Lang Xuan, but Fire Tianzun is a servant; he cannot kill Lang Xun, or it will be his death sentence. Hao Tianzun might tolerate it, but Tai Chu will not."
Qin Mu said unhurriedly, "When Lang Xuan reaches the Southern Heaven, if Fire Tianzun hands him over to Hao Tianzun, Tai Chu will surely kill him to avenge his son. If Fire Tianzun doesn't hand Lang Xuan over to Hao Tianzun, Hao Tianzun will kill him."
He said calmly, "Now, Fire Tianzun has become a burden to Hao Tianzun. The world is about to be unified, and Fire Tianzun taking a share from Hao Tianzun already pains him. Hao Tianzun has always been suspicious of Fire Tianzun, who is human after all, and can't be trusted. He always fears Fire Tianzun might side with the human race. Even if Fire Tianzun doesn't side with the human race, siding with Tai Chu would be the straw that breaks the camel's back, turning his favorable situation against him. At this point, a dead Fire Tianzun is the best dog."
Ling Yuxiu said, "When the cunning hare is dead, the running dog is cooked."
Qin Mu said, "Lang Xuan's reincarnation is insignificant. His going to the Southern Heaven is just a fuse, a fuse for death."
Ling Yuxiu's primordial spirit roared out of her physical body and vanished in an instant. She was using the Primordial Spirit Guidance to personally notify Wang Muran.
Qin Mu closed his eyes, opened them after a moment, and walked over to sit before the Old Buddha and the Dao Ancestor.
The Dao Ancestor poured tea. "The Tianzun has relaxed. Do you plan to do anything else?"
"No."
Qin Mu drank the tea, his expression calm. "Now I just need to wait quietly for the negotiations between the Heavenly Court and Yan Kang, and for the death of Fire Tianzun."
Just then, Hu Ling'er and Si Yunxiang entered with hundreds of Dao Sect experts in a single file. Hu Ling'er said crisply, "Young Master, the trade data and Heavenly Currency circulation data for all the heavens and realms you requested are ready!"
Qin Mu quickly downed the tea in his cup and busied himself again.
The Dao Ancestor shook his head. "Truly unable to rest."
The evening update will be late; requesting two hours off.
.
Zhai Zhu is attending Hangzhou Writers' Week, eating out with friends. Will update upon return!