Chapter 276: A Bit in the Mood to Kill
(Author forgot to mention: In the previous chapter, the character for "Luan Di Khan" had a question mark due to a missing character in the Qidian library. It will now be written as "Luan Di Khan," pronounced "luan, di.")
"Banggongcuo sent a great shaman to kill me with sorcery last night, and today he dares to invite me to a banquet?"
Qin Mu was slightly startled. "Does he think that, being a sacred land as well, the Loulan Golden Palace can still overpower the Heavenly Saint Cult? Or does he have another plan?"
Bashan, the Sacrificial Wine Master, walked over and asked, "Do you want me to accompany you?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "No need. If Banggongcuo dared to kill me openly, he wouldn't have used sorcery last night. I'll go meet him alone."
The Jade Fragrance Pavilion was the largest restaurant in the capital, built in a garden-style layout. Each courtyard was separate, with rockeries, flowing water, and fountains. Maids played music and danced, creating a serene and elegant atmosphere. People came here not so much for the food and drink, but to find a place to talk.
Before the famine struck, business was booming. Even high-ranking officials had to book banquets in advance. But after the disaster broke out and the emperor personally led relief efforts, the capital's nobles were also required to donate, and the Jade Fragrance Pavilion's business had quieted down. It was expected to pick up again once the famine's effects passed.
In the Bamboo Garden courtyard of the Jade Fragrance Pavilion, Banggongcuo greeted Qin Mu. "Cult Leader Qin, my attendants were gravely disrespectful. They are dead now, and all grievances end with death. I ask for your forgiveness."
Qin Mu entered the Bamboo Garden and looked around. "You are too kind, Prince."
This courtyard was called the Bamboo Garden. Through a moon-shaped gate, slender bamboo shaded the path on both sides. The sound of babbling water reached his ears. After two turns, he saw a clear stream cascading from a rockery piled with strange stones. Though it was a small stream, it gave the impression of a rushing waterfall.
The waterfall flowed into a jade vase held in the hand of a Bodhisattva statue. The vase tilted, the water swirled inside, then flowed out into a pond to the south.
Qin Mu glanced at the pond. It contained some sandy islets, scattered like islands in the sea, quite interesting. On the pond were written the words "Guanyin of the South Sea, Vows as Deep as the Ocean."
The Bodhisattva was carved together with the rockery, likely using some minor magic to keep the water flowing. Though the pond was small, it was meticulously crafted. Looking closely, one truly felt as if standing above the vast South Sea, overlooking its boundless expanse.
"Please, Cult Leader Qin."
Banggongcuo gestured for Qin Mu to walk along the corridor to a private room beside the pond. The windows were open, and sitting by the window offered a perfect view of the garden's scenery.
Two yellow-robed great shamans stood silently inside the door, one on each side.
Banggongcuo waved his hand. "You may leave. Have them bring the food and wine."
The two great shamans of the Loulan Golden Palace left the room. After a moment, maidservants brought in dishes and wine. In the courtyard, some graceful young women in foreign attire arrived, playing instruments like ox horns, yangqin, and dama drums. The music had a unique flavor.
"Last night, I did not order anyone to kill you."
Banggongcuo looked deeply at Qin Mu. "If I want to kill someone, I don't need to use another's hands. What happened last night was simply my attendants, angered by your killing of so many Golden Palace disciples, entering your dream to kill you with sorcery."
Qin Mu was surprised to hear him bring this up. He had assumed Banggongcuo would avoid the topic, but the first thing he did upon sitting down was to clarify the matter.
"I see."
Qin Mu smiled. "Fortunately, I am unharmed, and they are dead. I believe you had nothing to do with this, Little Prince."
Banggongcuo shook his head. "You still don't understand. I knew he intended to kill you, but I did not stop him. Do you want to know why, Cult Leader Qin?"
Qin Mu was surprised again and said humbly, "Little Prince, you are truly unpredictable. I would be glad to hear your explanation."
Banggongcuo poured him some wine. "The reason I didn't stop him is because I knew you would have Bashan, the Sacrificial Wine Master, stay in your room to guard against me trying to kill you with sorcery in the middle of the night. He couldn't kill you, but he could waste your time."
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow. He lifted his wine glass, and they clinked glasses and drank in one gulp.
Banggongcuo continued, "You and I broke through to the Six Harmonies realm at the same time. I didn't accept your challenge then because I saw that your combat power was extraordinary, and I wasn't completely confident I could defeat you. But after one day, things are different. One day is all it takes."
He revealed a slight smile. "In a duel between experts, one day is enough to determine victory or defeat. You spent the afternoon meeting with the Crown Prince, with no time to consolidate the Six Harmonies realm and discover its mysteries. At night, you had to guard against my attendant's sorcery attacks, again with no time to study it. But I had that one day to consolidate the Six Harmonies and increase my cultivation. A single day is enough to strip you of any chance of victory."
Qin Mu was surprised again. He studied Banggongcuo's face. Though it still had some youthful features, his eyes were deep, with a gravity uncommon in a young man. He praised, "The Little Prince of the grasslands is truly extraordinary. No wonder even Heavenly Blade is so wary of you. You are only fourteen now, right?"
Banggongcuo poured him another glass of wine. "Thirteen. People of the grasslands are weathered by wind and sun, so I look a bit older. Thirteen is my age in this life. If you're asking about the age of my soul, I am now eleven thousand years old."
Qin Mu laughed heartily. "Little Prince, you surprise me more and more. I didn't expect you to reveal this so easily."
"There's no need to hide it from you."
Banggongcuo said, "Cult Leader Qin, you are also highly admirable. You are a disciple of Heavenly Blade, aren't you? So young, yet with such cultivation, I can't help but praise you. If I had faced you on the day we broke through to the Six Harmonies realm, I would have had only an eighty percent chance of victory."
"Oh?" Qin Mu smiled, saying nothing, and toyed with his wine glass.
Banggongcuo said seriously, "Counting this life, I have lived nineteen lives. In my long lifespan, I have seen countless prodigies, countless unparalleled heroes, and countless joys and sorrows of life and death. Sometimes I feel like a reef standing in the river of time, with countless brilliant figures passing by like fleeting images. Even peerless emperors are but a single frame, and even Heavenly Blade, who defied the heavens, was just a passing traveler. I remember in my sixth life, feeling that my Dao techniques and divine powers could advance no further, I entered the Central Plains and joined the Dao Sect to learn the Primordial Supreme Profound Art and the Dao Sword. At that time, the Dao Lord of the Dao Sect held great expectations for me, naming me the Dao Son, and even hoping I would one day become the Dao Lord and lead the sect."
Qin Mu's eyelid twitched slightly. This old monster had once entered the Dao Sect and even become their Dao Son?
He had also learned the Dao Sect's supreme techniques, the Primordial Supreme Profound Art and the Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword?
"The Dao Sword is very difficult to comprehend. In that life, I learned the thirteenth sword, but I could never fully grasp the fourteenth."
Banggongcuo said with emotion, "The Dao Sword is too difficult. Even with the power of the Primordial Supreme Profound Art, it's hard to comprehend thoroughly. It requires a terrifying understanding of mathematical principles. I died old without learning the fourteenth sword. In my seventh life, I re-entered the Dao Sect but still couldn't learn it, only mastering half a move. Then, in my eighth life, I joined the Buddhist Great Thunderclap Temple."
Qin Mu's heart shook violently. He looked at him deeply and said softly, "You felt the Dao Sword couldn't help you break through, so you went to the Great Thunderclap Temple to learn the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra?"
"Wrong."
Banggongcuo said solemnly, "I went to comprehend Buddhist Dharma. The Great Thunderclap Temple's Buddhist Dharma excels in cultivating the mind and nature. The Tathagata Mahayana Sutra is a great vehicle that gathers the cultivation of mind and nature, so naturally, I had to learn it. But I started as a little monk, reading all the Buddhist scriptures of the Great Thunderclap Temple, comprehending them, and then learning the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra."
Qin Mu asked, "The Tathagata of that generation must have held great expectations for you as well, right?"
"He said my talent and comprehension were the best in the world, that my Buddhist Dharma attainment had even surpassed his, and my eloquence was unimpeded."
Banggongcuo said, "I cultivated the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra to the full twenty heavens, but I still left the Great Thunderclap Temple. The Buddhist Dharma of the Great Thunderclap Temple could not help me break through to the final realm. In my next life, I reincarnated as a woman and went to the Emotion Separation Palace. In another life, I went to Little Jade Capital. I spent several lifetimes in Little Jade Capital, learning all their techniques. It is indeed a sacred land surpassing the three great sacred lands."
He sighed with emotion, as if recalling his days in Little Jade Capital. After a pause, he said, "Then I went to the Heavenly Saint Cult."
Qin Mu's eyes flashed with sharp light. "The Heavenly Saint Cult? You learned the Great Cultivation Demon Scripture? What did you comprehend?"
Banggongcuo revealed a smile. "The Great Cultivation Demon Scripture is powerful, but compared to the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra and the Dao Sword, it falls short. I was planning to leave, but then I heard the Great Cultivation Demon Scripture contained a Grand Unification Technique, passed only from Cult Leader to Cult Leader. I wanted it very much, so I stayed in the Heavenly Saint Cult. Unfortunately, the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader of that generation was very strong, and his disciple was even stronger. This disciple was hailed as a sage who appears once every five hundred years. I lost to him and missed my chance to become Cult Leader."
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Banggongcuo continued, "So I betrayed the Heavenly Saint Cult, brought the Dao Sect's experts, and gathered all the righteous warriors to attack the Heavenly Saint Cult, killing that once-in-five-hundred-years sage."
The wine in Qin Mu's glass trembled slightly, and a drop spilled onto the table.
"This sage was indeed remarkable. He fought to the death against the Dao Lord. After I ambushed him successfully, he still managed to severely wound me, but we wore him down with countless righteous warriors."
Banggongcuo said leisurely, "Before he died, he passed the Cult Leader position and the Grand Unification Technique to the then Azure Heavenly King. I was badly injured, but thinking I was only one step away from conquering the Heavenly Saint Cult, I couldn't let it all be for nothing. So I continued to lead the attack. Unexpectedly, this Azure Cult Leader passed the Grand Unification Technique to the then Saintess, then led the cultists in a desperate battle against me. I had to retreat to the grasslands with my injuries."
He sighed with emotion. "Later, I heard that this Azure Cult Leader also died, at Jasper Wave Pond. The Saintess succeeded him as Cult Leader, eventually killing the Dao Sect and the world's righteous until their hearts grew cold. She also exhausted herself, passed on the position, and died. These three Cult Leaders—how does the Heavenly Saint Cult refer to them?"
Qin Mu's expression was indifferent. "The Three Kings."
"The Three Kings?"
Banggongcuo praised, "They truly deserve to be called the Three Kings. Now you should understand my connection to your Heavenly Saint Cult, right? And now you should know where my eighty percent chance of victory came from. But that was a day ago. Facing you now, I have a one hundred percent chance of victory. You have none. Not even one percent."
Qin Mu stood up and stretched his body. "Let's go. I'm a bit in the mood to kill."
Banggongcuo stood up, and they walked out side by side.
Banggongcuo turned back to instruct the two great shamans, "Keep the food warm. I'll be back shortly."