Chapter 167: Seeing Off the Patriarch
The young patriarch’s eyes flickered. He shook his head and said, “You have turned yourself into a heart demon and planted it within her Dao heart. You must know that if she refines you, you will become nothing more than a stepping stone for her.”
“Whether she refines me or I take her over, one of us will achieve greatness.”
Patriarch Li’s voice came through: “Good or bad, it is my choice. The moment I decided to marry her, I knew deeply that she was my heart demon, a heart demon I had to eliminate. Only by eliminating her could I devote myself entirely to the Dao and take another step forward. I ask the teacher to grant this.”
Qin Mu’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at the young patriarch.
He had long known that Granny Si harbored a great heart demon within her, one so powerful that even the Zen staff Xiqiluo of the Great Thunderclap Monastery could not refine it.
Only now did he learn that this heart demon was none other than the former patriarch, Li Tianxing.
Granny Si had killed Li Tianxing, but Li Tianxing had turned into a heart demon and planted himself in Granny Si’s Dao heart, the two of them fighting for control of one body.
In his heart, of course, he wanted to help Granny Si refine Li Tianxing, but the young patriarch clearly held the scales evenly and would not think that way.
Whether Granny Si refined Li Tianxing, or Li Tianxing took over Granny Si’s body like a cuckoo stealing a nest, it was a good thing for him. He had no need to intervene.
After a moment, Granny Si returned to normal, still smiling as if nothing had happened.
Qin Mu could tell that the various hall masters and elders of the Heavenly Demon Sect did not treat Granny Si well. Probably because she had killed Li Tianxing, leaving the Holy Sect without a leader for forty years, scattered like loose sand, and missing many opportunities. So, some of them resented Granny Si.
This time, Granny Si had come to attend the coronation ceremony of the Holy Lord mainly because of Qin Mu.
She was afraid that the people in the sect would bully him, so even if she had to endure their disdain, she came to support him. As for passing on the Great Unification Technique, she didn’t really care; she only cared about Qin Mu.
The young patriarch sighed. A femme fatale was what they called a woman like Granny Si. She was too beautiful. Even if she did no evil, others would do evil because of her.
This mortal world could hardly tolerate such a beauty.
Li Tianxing was worldly, the young patriarch was worldly, and others could not escape being worldly either.
If she wanted to survive in this world, she could only be Granny Si, never revealing her true face, not even her real voice.
After the coronation ceremony ended, the young patriarch called Qin Mu over and walked side by side with him, introducing the scenery of Holy Proximity Mountain. This place was the Pavilion of Forgetfulness, that was the Phoenix Pavilion, another was the Tower Under Heaven, and yet another was the Fish-Watching Pond.
He spoke a great deal, recounting much of the Heavenly Demon Sect’s past history. Some of the sect’s history was very ancient. If he didn’t tell it, once he died, no one would know.
“Patriarch, why is the Holy Lord of our Heavenly Saint Sect called ‘ascending the throne’?”
Qin Mu asked, “Isn’t ‘ascending the throne’ something only emperors use?”
The young patriarch glanced at him and shook his head. “In the most glorious days of our Heavenly Saint Sect, it governed six countries, and the emperors of those six countries were all subjects of the sect. For the Holy Lord to use the term ‘ascending the throne’ like an emperor is actually flattering the emperor. Times have changed. Now, a country is the biggest sect. It’s hard for a sect to make everyone its disciple, but a country can make everyone within its borders its citizen.”
Qin Mu pondered this.
The young patriarch led him up the mountain and said, “Holy Proximity Mountain is our sect’s headquarters. Getting into the headquarters is still a difficult task for you. This time, you entered because the three hundred and sixty hall masters activated the teleportation flags. But as the Holy Lord, how could you not have a way to enter the headquarters on your own?”
Qin Mu followed him as the young patriarch led him into a great hall in the mountain. This hall was ordinary in form, nothing like the extravagant grandeur of the Loulan Golden Palace; it was simply built with green bricks and red tiles.
Inside the hall, the furnishings were also plain, with only a statue of a sage placed there.
The young patriarch went before the sage statue and lit some incense. Qin Mu also bowed to the statue. The young patriarch said, “Many elders and heavenly kings of the Holy Sect are skilled in teleportation techniques and can return to Holy Proximity Mountain. This teleportation method is carved on the walls of this hall. Take your time to comprehend it.”
Qin Mu looked at the walls of the hall. What was carved there was a method for refining treasures—specifically, the method for refining teleportation flags, along with the divine techniques, formations, and runes used in their creation.
The young patriarch said, “Every great hall in our sect has different techniques carved on it. We do not forbid disciples from learning or practicing them. There is no need to hoard what is precious. Once a technique is passed on, the ability to learn it is the true skill. You must have tolerance and an open mind.”
Qin Mu acknowledged this.
The young patriarch continued, “Everything in the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra can be passed on; there is no need to keep it secret. How much they can comprehend is their own fortune. As for sect affairs, minor matters are handled by the hall masters, major matters by the elders, and even bigger ones by the heavenly kings of the sect. There are also inspectors to patrol the halls, law-enforcing elders to enforce the rules, and teaching elders to pass on techniques. There aren’t many things that require your personal attention. You only need to steer the Holy Sect in the right direction.”
He looked at Qin Mu and asked, “What is the first thing you plan to do after becoming the Holy Lord?”
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, “Establish elementary schools in each hall and create the three hundred and sixty-first hall—the School Hall. The Yan Kingdom’s national teacher is reforming and changing the laws, setting up elementary schools and academies to create a new profession in this world. So our Holy Sect must add one more hall. The sect has three hundred and sixty halls. I want to build three hundred and sixty elementary schools to teach the disciples the path of cultivation.”
The young patriarch nodded. “You can summon the Left and Right Dharma Protectors and assign this task to them. They will discuss it with the hall masters, select talents, and establish the schools. This is how you steer the big direction and delegate authority to your subordinates. If you try to do everything yourself, you won’t have the energy, and it will hinder your own cultivation progress.”
Qin Mu was impressed.
Suddenly, a strange thought struck him. The Heavenly Demon Sect was not like a sect at all; it was more like a country!
If the Yan Kingdom was a sect disguised as a country, then the Heavenly Demon Sect was a country disguised as a sect!
The Heavenly Demon Sect was too similar to a country.
Three hundred and sixty halls, each with its own duties, engaged in various trades and professions. The disciples of each hall also pursued their own livelihoods. There were inspectors patrolling the halls, guardian elders and town-guarding heavenly kings as the army to resist external enemies, and the Left and Right Dharma Protectors as the sect’s lineage.
The Heavenly Demon Sect’s followers numbered in the millions, enough to rival a small country.
Of course, the sect’s followers did not call themselves the Heavenly Demon Sect but the Heavenly Saint Sect.
“There is one more thing.”
The young patriarch’s expression grew serious as he earnestly advised, “I know you like to dismantle things. I had Ba Shan the Sacrificial Wine keep an eye on you, but I still couldn’t stop you. You dismantled the Scholar’s Residence again. The Scholar’s Residence can be dismantled, but our Holy Proximity Mountain—you absolutely must not dismantle it. Every hall and every hall on Holy Proximity Mountain is a historical site, and many wonderful techniques are carved inside them.”
Qin Mu’s face reddened slightly, and he stammered, “I don’t dismantle things that often.”
“I understand. You’ve been at the Grand Academy for less than eight days, and you’ve only dismantled things two or three times. Then you went outside the border to dismantle things.”
The young patriarch walked out of the hall. The law-enforcing elder was waiting outside with a pack on his back. The young patriarch waved to Qin Mu. “I’m leaving. Holy Lord, no need to see me off. This parting is forever. No matter how far you see me off, we still have to part.”
Qin Mu shook his head and insisted, “Even if it is a farewell forever, seeing you off is my heartfelt wish.”
The young patriarch nodded and began walking down the mountain.
Qin Mu followed closely, staying by his side.
He had spent relatively little time with the young patriarch, unlike the other elders in the village who had watched him grow up. Although he had only been with the young patriarch for a short time, he saw in him qualities different from the old people of the Cripples’ Village.
He had learned a great deal.
In the Cripples’ Village, he had always been a child, a boy who never grew up in the eyes of the village chief and Granny Si.
But by the patriarch’s side, he learned to grow up.
Now he had grown into an adult.
Seeing someone off a thousand miles, one must eventually part. Holy Proximity Mountain from the peak to the foot was not a thousand miles, but finally, they reached the end.
The young patriarch turned around, bowed, and said, “Holy Lord, please stay.”
Qin Mu stopped. Suddenly, an uncontrollable sadness surged in his heart. He bowed and said, “I respectfully see the patriarch off!”
The young patriarch leaped, jumping from the foot of the mountain. The law-enforcing elder followed him, and the two disappeared into the vast sky.
Qin Mu remained bowed for a long time. Only after a long while did he slowly straighten up, lift his head to look at the sky, and know that he would probably never see this young old man again.
When the law-enforcing elder returned, he would likely bring back only the young patriarch’s ashes.
What is there to say about death?
The body rests with the mountain.
Perhaps the young patriarch’s final wish was to be like this Holy Proximity Mountain.
He had fulfilled that line of the Heavenly Demon’s doctrine, carrying it through his entire life.
Suddenly, on Holy Proximity Mountain, the great flags fluttered one after another, and the three hundred and sixty hall masters departed one after another. Qin Mu called Fox Ling’er and returned to the pine and cypress tree. A few guardian elders were still there. Seeing him approach, they laughed and said, “Holy Lord!”
Qin Mu returned the greeting. There were hardly any people left on Holy Proximity Mountain, just these few old men and old women. Granny Si had also left, probably to see the young patriarch off.
Qin Mu found the Left and Right Dharma Protectors and brought up the matter of establishing schools. The two Dharma Protectors were middle-aged men, one in black and one in white. They exchanged a glance, and the Left Protector said, “Holy Lord, what do you intend to teach in the schools?”
Qin Mu said, “All the techniques and divine abilities in the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra can be taught. Also, besides the schools, we should set up a Heavenly Records Tower on Holy Proximity Mountain to collect the strengths of various schools’ teachings and store them in the tower for the disciples to peruse. The simplest way is to copy the collections from the Grand Academy’s Heavenly Records Tower and send them to our sect’s Heavenly Records Tower.”
The Left and Right Dharma Protectors noted this down.
Qin Mu added, “Are there any brothers in the sect who serve as officials in the court? Have them record the court’s techniques as well and send them to the Heavenly Records Tower.”
“As you command.”
The Left and Right Dharma Protectors asked for some details and then immediately rose. These two, one black and one white, lifted their black and white robes, covered themselves with them, and vanished along with the robes, presumably teleporting out of Holy Proximity Mountain.
“Our sect’s teleportation method is truly formidable.”
Qin Mu praised endlessly. He hurried toward that great hall with Fox Ling’er to learn the teleportation method carved inside. If he didn’t learn it, he would have no way to leave this place!
As the Holy Lord, he couldn’t very well shamelessly beg someone to take him out, could he?