Chapter 209: The Gate of Kunyuan (Second Update)
Old Fu observed the situation and said, "You have guests. This old servant won't disturb you any longer. I still need to go to a few other homes to repay the money. Two of those families were robbed so badly that if I don't return the money, they'll likely go hungry for the next few days..."
The Cripple and Old Man Ma walked over. The Cripple's face was radiant with glory, while Old Man Ma wore an expression as if poverty or wealth had nothing to do with him.
Qin Mu invited the two inside and asked, "Grandpa Cripple and Grandpa Ma, where have you been these past few days?"
Old Man Ma said, "The Cripple pestered me into going to Lizhou to provide disaster relief."
The Cripple chuckled, "Lizhou was hit hard by the rebellion—natural and man-made calamities, corpses littering the fields. Old Man Ma and I recently made some money, so we went to provide relief. Don't let our fancy clothes fool you; they're all fake. This gold chain is wood painted with gold lacquer, and this jade pendant is counterfeit too. The real ones were pawned by Old Man Ma to buy grain and send it to Lizhou. Your Celestial Demon Cult people were also there providing relief, so we handed the money and supplies over to them."
Qin Mu smiled, "So Imperial Physician You did do some good deeds after all."
He told the two elders about summoning the demon. The Cripple raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Is that so? You didn't embarrass me by getting tricked by that demon king, did you? This matter should be handed over to Old Man Ma. The Horse King God has three eyes—he's the best at subduing demons and exorcising evil."
Old Man Ma's brow suddenly split open, revealing a white fleshy ball. The fleshy ball rotated half a turn to the side, exposing an eye. A great Buddha light shone forth, illuminating Qin Mu's brow!
From Qin Mu's brow came a shrill screech, and a voice wailed, "If you refine me to death, you'll die too!"
Qin Mu quickly said, "Grandpa Ma, I made a pact with him—a Lord of the Earth Pact!"
"A Lord of the Earth Pact?"
The Cripple and Old Man Ma were slightly shaken. Old Man Ma hurriedly closed the third eye on his forehead, his expression grave: "Mu'er, you're too reckless. The Nine Pacts of the Lord of the Earth are extremely perilous. How could you casually make such a pact with anyone? Especially when the other party isn't even human, but a demon god from another world!"
The Cripple shook his head, "This is pure nonsense! You're gambling with your own life! Why did you have to make a Lord of the Earth Pact with him? If you'd just told us, we'd have dealt with him!"
Qin Mu said, "I want to learn the language of the Netherworld."
"There's no need to make a Lord of the Earth Pact for that. Hand him over to the Butcher. I guarantee the Butcher will treat him so well that within three to five days, he'll confess everything."
The Cripple shook his head, "The Butcher loves messing with these gods and demons. In three to five days, they'd beg for a quick death. Let the Butcher handle him—if he doesn't break him, I'll teach you myself!"
Qin Mu looked embarrassed, "The Lord of the Earth Pact is already made and cannot be changed. Now I'm preparing to summon the demon, and I'll need the help of you two elders."
Old Man Ma said, "Go ahead and summon them. We'll destroy them."
Qin Mu went to the Imperial Academy's treasury to buy some bones, retrieved the talisman treasure, and began the summoning ritual.
The Imperial Academy taught all kinds of techniques and spells—orthodox, demonic, and Buddhist. Some required human bones for cultivation, so the treasury kept a supply.
He was familiar with the process and quickly lit up the runes on a demon god statue. This time, the terrifying scene from Tianbo City didn't appear, nor did Qin Mu see the Dutian realm. Clearly, the demon god being summoned this time wasn't as powerful as the Dutian Demon King.
Above the Imperial Academy, the sky suddenly changed dramatically. A vast, overwhelming demonic force shattered the heavens, descending like a black pillar of light, crashing straight toward the scholar's quarters!
In that instant, countless Imperial Academy instructors and scholars were alarmed. The Grand Sacrificial Officer and the Chief Sacrificial Officer were also startled, as were the experts in the capital. All eyes turned toward the scene.
Meanwhile, in Qin Mu's courtyard in the scholar's quarters, the summoning continued. The wooden demon god statue emitted a series of crackling explosions, growing taller and larger. A voice full of demonic nature roared, "This humble world, prepare for the wrath of the Dutian River Demon God!"
At that moment, above the Imperial Academy, a great Buddha light blazed. A massive Buddha sat in midair, extending a palm the size of dozens of acres. With a press downward, a series of crackling explosions rang out. The consciousness and power of the River Demon God had barely descended when they were crushed to dust along with the expanding wooden statue!
The instructors and scholars of the Imperial Academy were shocked once more. The experts in the capital and the troops guarding the city, seeing this sight, felt reassured: "After all, this is the Imperial Academy, full of masters. Such Buddhist cultivation is rare even in the Great Thunderclap Monastery! To think the Imperial Academy has such a formidable expert—not to be underestimated!"
Gu Linuan led the Imperial Academy instructors to the scene. Qin Mu poked his head out of the courtyard and laughed, "Everyone, you've arrived just in time. A demon god just jumped out, but one of my elders killed it."
Gu Linuan's heart skipped a beat. With a wry smile, he said, "Lord Qin, be careful not to damage the scholar's quarters. Alright, everyone disperse. Lord Qin's elders are here, so the Imperial Academy won't have any problems."
The instructors exchanged bewildered glances. Gu Linuan had always been at odds with Qin Mu, so why was he being so accommodating now?
"This clearly looks like Lord Qin summoning a demon. Why isn't the Chief Sacrificial Officer giving him trouble?"
They were puzzled: "Summoning a demon in the capital's scholar's quarters is a crime punishable by death! Why is the Chief Sacrificial Officer letting him get away with it?"
Gu Linuan left ahead of them, cold sweat pouring down his forehead: "His elders have arrived—the blind man who lifted the Yong River with his staff, or the cripple who stole my sword scabbard? Or that ferocious half-bodied old man? No wonder His Majesty said I couldn't afford to provoke him. Truly, I can't! These ferocious monsters actually dared to leave the Great Ruins. The capital is really unsafe, with all kinds of demons and monsters running around here..."
Qin Mu closed the door. The instructors, their hearts pounding, quickly called out the other scholars from the quarters, saying, "This place is extremely dangerous. Don't stay in the scholar's quarters for now, or you might die without knowing how. Everyone, go hide outside for a couple of days and come back when it's safe!"
The scholars in the quarters, already terrified by the sudden appearance of the demon god and Buddha, knew this wasn't a safe place and quickly fled far away.
"Why didn't you summon the other four demon gods?" The Dutian Demon King's voice echoed in Qin Mu's mind, demanding.
Qin Mu shook his head, "I've kept my promise and summoned your subordinate. Now it's your turn to teach me the Netherworld language."
The Dutian Demon King was stunned for a moment: "There are four other statues..."
"Demon King, I've fulfilled my half of the pact. Summoning one is the same as summoning five."
Qin Mu said, "If you don't keep your promise, the Lord of the Earth will take you to the Netherworld immediately!"
The Dutian Demon King laughed in anger, then suddenly chuckled, "What a cunning little brat, setting a trap for me. Fine, fine. Luckily, I kept a card up my sleeve. I'll teach you the Netherworld language, but only one phrase. I never swore to teach you all of it."
Qin Mu's eyes widened.
The Dutian Demon King said smugly, "I'll only tell you the words on that door. As for the words on that scroll of yours, don't even think about it. If you want to learn all of the Netherworld language, go down to the Netherworld and ask!"
Over the past few days, Qin Mu had transformed into the form of the Star Lord. The shadow of the door behind him gradually became clearer, and the words on it were now legible. However, the words on the scroll were still unclear.
Qin Mu tested the waters, "If I summon the other four statues, will you teach me the Netherworld words on the scroll?"
"No!" The Dutian Demon King said flatly.
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Then teach me the phrase on the door."
The Dutian Demon King emitted a strange tone, like the sound of a soul, a bizarre noise like billions of twisted spirits. Qin Mu tried to mimic it but found that humans simply couldn't produce such a strange language. He was stunned.
The Dutian Demon King snickered, "Some languages can't be learned by lowly creatures like you. Your sounds come from the throat, but the Netherworld language doesn't originate from the throat..."
Before he could finish, Qin Mu suddenly spoke. However, the sound didn't come from his throat—it emanated from his soul, very similar to the tone the demon king had just used!
The Dutian Demon King was taken aback, a sense of alert rising within him: "This little brat is so sharp. He figured out in an instant that the sound comes from the soul, not the throat. If he grows up, I might not be able to outwit him... Better to get rid of such a clever brat early!"
Qin Mu repeatedly practiced soul-speech. After a long while, he finally mastered the phrase and asked, "What does this mean?"
The Dutian Demon King didn't answer. When Qin Mu pressed him again, the demon king said, "It means 'The Gate of Kunyuan.'"
Qin Mu was taken aback: "The Gate of Kunyuan? You're not lying to me?"
The Dutian Demon King laughed heartily, "Lying to you? Why would I lie to you? It means 'The Gate of Kunyuan,' that's correct."
Qin Mu was skeptical. The Dutian Demon King's sudden generosity meant this phrase 'The Gate of Kunyuan' was definitely problematic.
His eyes flickered, and he smiled, "Dutian Demon King, you can leave my body now. I've already crafted a divine statue mechanism for you using Cold Iron Gold Crystal. You can take control of it. After that, you can summon demons or do whatever you want."
The Dutian Demon King chuckled, "You want to trick me out so that one-armed old monk can kill me? I'm not that stupid."
Qin Mu shook his head and said to Old Man Ma and the Cripple, "Grandpas, I'll help you reattach your arms and legs now."
Old Man Ma said, "When you reattach our limbs, that demon god will likely try to escape. It might be better to refine him to death now."
Qin Mu said solemnly, "I can't break my word. I promised to make him a divine statue mechanism and let him take control of it. I can't go back on that."
Old Man Ma said nothing more. Qin Mu cleared the bed, had Old Man Ma lie down, and retrieved his arm from the medicine cauldron to reattach it.
As he was busy reattaching the arm, suddenly a bolt of lightning shot out from his brow, crackling as it landed on the eight-armed, four-faced statue at the door.
The Cripple raised an eyebrow and said with a grin, "This damn demon king, I'll let you run eight hundred miles first."
The Dutian Demon King manipulated the statue, found it moved freely, and bolted for the door.
He had just run out of Qin Mu's courtyard and taken a dozen steps when suddenly, with a click, the joints of his legs locked up.
Then, all the joints in his body emitted a series of clicking sounds, as if locks were snapping shut. The Dutian Demon King's eight arms were raised high, one foot lifted but unable to land, his entire body stiff and immobile.
"You motherf*cker set me up!" A furious voice came from the statue, cursing.
Fox Ling'er poked her head out of Qin Mu's courtyard, glanced at the frozen demon god statue, and curled her lip, "Didn't the young master already tell you? He said he'd make you a divine statue mechanism. See, you fell for the mechanism, right? By the way, do you think the young master is a fox spirit in disguise? I kind of think so..."
——Second update! The third update will be at eight in the evening!