Chapter 1632: Gnawing One's Way to Enlightenment
"So soon, the negotiations are about to break down?"
Although Qin Mu had long anticipated this day, he hadn't expected it to come so quickly.
His goal was to delay as much time as possible, giving Yan Kang a chance to catch its breath. Right now, only a small portion of Yan Kang had migrated into the Chaotic Void. More critically, Yan Kang's war preparations were not yet complete.
"What are the specifics of the negotiations between Yu Chenzi and the Heavenly Court?"
He frowned slightly. Negotiating with the Heavenly Court required meticulous attention to detail. The talks between the Heavenly Court's envoy and Yan Kang's envoy relied on these details to buy time—the longer the delay, the better.
"The Heavenly Court tearing up the agreement is actually a good thing."
He pondered for a moment, thinking to himself, "Yan Kang never intended to sign those agreements anyway. However, we can lower our stance and negotiate a new agreement with the Heavenly Court. For the second round of talks, let Yu Chenzi sell off even more of Yan Kang's interests."
The Village Chief and the Medicine Master frowned.
Qin Mu continued, "Doing this should buy us some more time. No matter how humiliating and sovereignty-compromising the agreement Yu Chenzi negotiates, it will always have to pass through my hands. As long as I don't sign it, it's just a piece of scrap paper."
The Village Chief and the Medicine Master's brows relaxed. The Medicine Master chuckled, "Yu Chenzi will have to bear the infamy."
Qin Mu nodded. "He already realized that. When I sent him to the Heavenly Court to sue for peace, he knew he might be cursed with a bad name, maybe even beaten to death by an angry mob. He was prepared for it. While he's negotiating in the Heavenly Court, we also need to prepare the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridges connecting to the other heavens, establishing direct contact with them, bypassing the Heavenly Court."
He paced back and forth, thinking, "During the second round of negotiations between the Heavenly Court and Yan Kang, the Heavenly Court will be short on Heavenly Currency. They will inevitably target the other heavens. The Heavenly Court needs money, and far-off water can't quench a nearby fire. Sucking blood from the heavens under their control is the fastest way to get cash. Sucking blood from other heavens not under their control takes more time."
He looked up, muttering to himself, "Those heavens will be plunged into misery, and rebellion will be inevitable. How can the Heavenly Court tolerate those heavens revolting? Sovereign Hao has just ascended the throne, needing to balance kindness with authority. Now is his chance to establish his might. He will surely destroy a few heavens to intimidate the world. But destroying heavens that are allied with the Heavenly Court will only terrify the other heavenly realms and alienate his subordinates. When Yan Kang eventually stands up to oppose the Heavenly Court, with Yan Kang as the leading sheep, will it spark a wildfire that spreads across the land?"
The source of the Heavenly Court's divine and demon armies was the myriad heavens. The geniuses of all those heavens considered entering the Heavenly Court an honor.
If the Heavenly Court acted tyrannically and lost the people's hearts, it would lose its source of talent.
While Sovereign Hao could certainly use the Heavenly Court's overwhelming military force to coerce the myriad heavens, the shift in popular sentiment would cause more and more people to resist the Heavenly Court.
It might even lead to many heavens allying with Yan Kang, or geniuses from the myriad heavens joining Yan Kang!
This would significantly narrow the gap in mid-level power between Yan Kang and the Heavenly Court, making the situation less hopeless than it currently was.
The Village Chief asked, "What if the Heavenly Court forces Yan Kang to sign before we are ready? Sucking blood from other heavens only delays the decline of the Heavenly Currency. But sucking blood from Yan Kang would be a one-time, permanent solution for the Heavenly Court! You want to buy time, but will Sovereign Hao give you that chance? Can you gamble with the lives of everyone in Yan Kang?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "I cannot. So when the Heavenly Court brings the agreement, I will sign it. But a contract I sign is also just a piece of scrap paper, ready to be torn up at any time."
The Village Chief and the Medicine Master stared wide-eyed as he walked back into the palace.
"Before the survival of Yan Kang, what is personal honor or disgrace? Mu'er has truly grown up."
The Village Chief stood up and smiled, "I need to go to Yan Kang as well, to negotiate with the Heavenly Court's envoy. Medicine Master, come with me. Your relationship with Lady Yuan Mu is excellent. If you step forward and open that channel for us, we can definitely buy some more time."
The Medicine Master's face fell. The Village Chief was asking him to sell his charms.
He had only just managed to escape Lady Yuan Mu's clutches during the Southern Heaven Battle, and now he had to go back?
"Celestial Venerable Mu."
The Woodcutter Wen Tian Pavilion, the Scholar Yan Yunxi, the Farmer Zhuo Cha, and the Fisherman Han Tang greeted Qin Mu. Qin Mu returned the gesture and said to the Woodcutter, "Teacher, why have you come?"
The Woodcutter said, "The First Heavenly King Di Yiyue has succeeded to the position of the Kai Huang. We have come to inform Celestial Venerable Mu. Will Celestial Venerable Mu attend the ceremony?"
"Di Yiyue has become the Second Kai Huang?"
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "Her strength can be considered the top in the Land of No Sorrow, but she is still far inferior to the Kai Huang in his prime. I am in seclusion now, so I won't go."
The Woodcutter said, "If Di Yiyue becomes the Second Kai Huang, the Heavenly Court will surely target the Land of No Sorrow. Can the Land of No Sorrow buy Yan Kang some time?"
Qin Mu gave him a deep look and shook his head. "If the Land of No Sorrow exhausts all its strength to resist the Heavenly Court's punitive expedition, it would be considered good if it lasts a year. If a single Celestial Venerable descends to the mortal realm with a million divine and demon troops, they can crush the Land of No Sorrow within a year!"
The Farmer Zhuo Cha asked, "Is one year enough?"
"The minimum time I need is twenty years."
Qin Mu said, "The Land of No Sorrow doesn't need to throw its life away. If you truly want to help Yan Kang, send all the skilled craftsmen from the Land of No Sorrow to Yan Kang to help forge great weapons, in preparation for the great war twenty years from now! In forty years, the Kai Huang Qin Ye will appear."
The four Heavenly Masters were greatly shaken, exchanging glances.
Qin Mu said with a beaming smile, "If you trust me, entrust the future of the Land of No Sorrow to me. The Land of No Sorrow is also a bargaining chip that can be sold off during Yu Chenzi's negotiations."
The Farmer Zhuo Cha was furious. The Sage Woodcutter, understanding the hint, laughed and said, "The Land of No Sorrow is indeed a very good bargaining chip. Then, it's settled."
With his word, the other Heavenly Masters fell silent, no longer arguing.
Qin Mu asked curiously, "The four Heavenly Masters have come together. It can't be just for Di Yiyue becoming the Second Kai Huang, can it? Is there something else?"
The Sage Woodcutter said, "I came for a personal matter. After all, you are my disciple. As your teacher, I should come and see you in person. Did you look at the wedding gift I sent?"
Qin Mu nodded. "I did."
The Sage Woodcutter showed an expectant look. "Can it make up for the deficiencies in your cultivation technique?"
Qin Mu smiled. "In theory, yes, but I found something better!"
The Sage Woodcutter's beard trembled, and he reached for the axe on his back. Qin Mu quickly laughed and said, "Teacher, I was just joking with you. Look how angry you got. Even if the four Heavenly Masters attacked me together, you couldn't last a single move against me now. Don't get mad."
Hearing this, Yan Yunxi, Zhuo Cha, and Han Tang were also furious.
Qin Mu quickly said, "It's rare for the four Heavenly Masters to come together. I happen to have a problem I can't solve right now. You four are wise and far-sighted, help me figure it out."
He brought up the problem he encountered when ascending the Chaotic Hall steps, posing it in Dao language—a problem concerning the evolution of the Tai Ji Way, involving the evolution of Yin and Yang, profound and abstruse.
Although Qin Mu's attainment in the Tai Ji Way was extremely high, he couldn't solve it at the moment.
Upon hearing this Dao question, the four Heavenly Masters frowned. The Farmer Zhuo Cha muttered, "What is he talking about?"
"He asked a question using Dao language."
The Fisherman Han Tang hesitated for a moment and said, "It's about the evolution of Tai Ji."
The Farmer Zhuo Cha's face flushed slightly. "Why bother with these strange and exotic things? Martial arts are simpler!"
Yan Yunxi, the Sage Woodcutter, and Han Tang each pondered for a while, then exchanged ideas. They had also absorbed the fruits of the Yan Kang Reformation and had made considerable achievements themselves.
Han Tang cultivated the Way of Yin-Yang Tai Ji, which was why his fish basket contained two small red fish, representing his Yin-Yang Way.
Yan Yunxi specialized in formations and various miscellaneous studies, with extremely high attainments. She had also studied Yin-Yang, Tai Ji, Four Symbols, and Eight Trigrams.
The Sage Woodcutter's knowledge was even more eclectic.
The three of them pondered for a long time but couldn't find a solution. Qin Mu looked disappointed. Even he couldn't solve this problem, and it seemed the four Heavenly Masters of the Land of No Sorrow couldn't either.
Suddenly, the Sage Woodcutter whispered, "Zixi, can we use the Yang Yao and Yin Yao of the Eight Trigrams to represent one and zero? This way, the evolution of Yin and Yang can be solved using mathematics. I have a solution path, but my mathematical skills are not as good as yours..."
Yan Yunxi's eyes lit up, and she immediately immersed herself in calculations. After a while, she clapped her hands and laughed, "I've solved it!"
Qin Mu was overjoyed. Yan Yunxi used her Yuan Qi to manifest her solution process and explained it again. The air was filled with constantly changing Yin Yao and Yang Yao, forming any number with zeros and ones, evolving infinitely!
Qin Mu suddenly understood and clapped in admiration.
He immediately entered a meditative state. His Yuan Shen took a step forward into the Chaotic Hall. The Dao question from the Chaotic Hall came, and Qin Mu's Yuan Shen answered it in Dao language, smoothly passing the test!
His Yuan Shen took another step forward, and a new Dao question came from the Chaotic Hall.
This question was about the three-state changes of form, substance, and essence in the Tai Su Way, also extremely difficult.
Qin Mu thought for a long time but still couldn't solve it, so he retreated again.
The Woodcutter and the other three Heavenly Masters watched him enter meditation. In just a short time, his cultivation and strength had improved noticeably, and they were all amazed.
Yan Yunxi whispered to the Woodcutter, "He is cultivating the Ling Xiao realm. After reaching the Ling Xiao realm, there are nine hundred and ninety-nine stone steps, each with a question. Only after solving them can one ascend the Ling Xiao Hall and advance to the next realm. Solving one question improves one's cultivation and realm."
The Woodcutter's face flushed slightly. Among the four Heavenly Masters, he was unmatched in intelligence and wisdom, but his cultivation realm was the lowest. Although he had benefited from the Yan Kang Reformation and passed the Tian Hai realm, he still didn't dare to enter the Zhan Shen Tai realm, let alone the Ling Xiao realm.
Qin Mu opened his eyes and enthusiastically posed the Tai Su Dao question he had heard, expecting the four to solve it.
The four had little understanding of the Tai Su Way and were completely in the dark, unable to solve the three-state changes of form, substance, and essence.
The Sage Woodcutter's eyes flickered, and he reminded him, "Why not gather the wisdom of the world to solve this problem? Why just gnaw on the four of us? Why not gnaw on the people of the world?"
Qin Mu suddenly understood. He bowed deeply, thanking the Woodcutter, and laughed, "The Yan Kang Reformation has countless brilliant people. I can seek advice from the world! If I can't solve it, someone else will!"
He recorded this Dao question in a divine mirror. Anyone standing before the mirror would hear the Dao question emanating from it.
Qin Mu ordered the mirror to be sent to the Yan Kang Wen Dao Academy and waited quietly.
After more than ten days, Emperor Yan Feng sent someone back with the mirror, accompanied by several young deities.
"Junior Shu Tongwen, along with these companions, has solved this Dao question from the Celestial Venerable." The young deity bowed.
Qin Mu was overjoyed and humbly sought instruction.
After a long while, Shu Tongwen and the others left with another divine mirror, returning to the Wen Dao Academy, where they hung the new mirror at the gate.
The mirror contained a new Dao question, one about the Tai Shi Way.
Tai Shi heard about it and came to listen to the Dao question. He then took down the mirror and went to the Yong Jiang Heavenly Palace.
Two days later, Tai Shi returned from the Yong Jiang Heavenly Palace and hung a new mirror at the gate of the Wen Dao Academy.
A few days later, Xu Mengqing, who had come to study, took down the mirror and laughed, "My father explained this question to me just a couple of days ago!"
A few more days passed, and Xu Mengqing returned to the Wen Dao Academy with a new problem. The Yan Kang National Teacher also heard about it and came to listen to the Dao question. After listening, he laughed and said, "I can solve this." He then took down the mirror and went to the Yong Jiang Heavenly Palace.
In the Yong Jiang Heavenly Palace, Qin Mu was enthusiastically forging new divine mirrors, letting those who had solved the Dao questions take the new mirrors back to the Yan Kang Wen Dao Academy.
It often took less than ten days for someone to solve the problem and come to the Yong Jiang Heavenly Palace.
This had almost become a grand event at the Yan Kang Wen Dao Academy, very lively. Whenever a new mirror was hung, countless young talents and long-established figures would come, trying to solve the problem!
And whenever a Dao question was solved, it would inevitably be met with cheers.
Finally, on this day, with the last Dao question solved, Qin Mu's Yuan Shen also stepped onto the topmost stone step of the Chaotic Hall. No new stone steps appeared.
He steadied himself, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and looked towards the Chaotic Hall.