Chapter 363: The Heavenly Alliance
————The first chapter has been updated.
The measurement of the sky's height and thickness dealt a heavy blow to Qin Mu and the others, but the greatest blow fell upon Dao Lord Lin Xuan.
The doctrines of the Dao Sect, its techniques, and its divine abilities were all built upon the foundation of the Dao following nature, seeking the essence of all things from nature, so that one's techniques, divine abilities, and even state of mind could approach nature and thus the Dao.
Suddenly, he discovered that the celestial phenomena in nature were false—no wonder his state of mind was collapsing!
What kind of Dao could one comprehend from meditating on a false nature?
Dao Lord Lin Xuan, who had been walking forward lost in thought, suddenly felt his legs give way. With a thud, he knelt on the ground, his expression wooden, his eyes vacant. Several Daoist priests rushed forward to support him, but they heard their Dao Lord muttering, "The fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword has never been cultivated by anyone. Master spent his entire life trying to comprehend the fourteenth sword. His knowledge was certainly sufficient, yet he still couldn't master it... So it wasn't that it couldn't be mastered, but that even nature itself is false. How could one possibly master it by meditating on a false nature? Cough, cough!"
He coughed violently, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, utterly despairing. The Dao following nature—this was the doctrine of the Dao Sect—and if nature itself was false, the blow to him was unimaginable.
Qin Mu looked at Xu Shenghua and asked, "Is the sky in your Upper Firmament the same as the sky here?"
Xu Shenghua looked up at the sky and nodded.
The same sky, the same stars. The Upper Firmament was no exception.
Qin Mu had called him an abandoned one, and this statement was not false.
The sky was a cage. Whether in the Upper Firmament or the Great Ruin, they were all birds in a cage, only the birds did not know they were trapped.
Qin Mu steadied his mind, walked over to Dao Lord Lin Xuan, and helped him up, speaking in a low voice: "The truth is truly cold and hard to accept. It's best not to make it public. Dao Lord, go after those fleeing Daoist priests and tell them not to spread this. At least leave some hope."
Dao Lord Lin Xuan stared straight at him, his expression somewhat strange, his voice hoarse: "Do you think anyone would believe them if they told this?"
Qin Mu smiled. "But if you speak, people will believe you."
"Are you telling me not to speak?"
Dao Lord Lin Xuan let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Heh heh. The successive Dao Lords of my Dao Sect, countless Daoist priests, have all tried to unravel the fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword. They wasted countless efforts, meditating on the nature of heaven and earth. The fourteenth sword seemed like an unclimbable peak, an unsolvable conjecture. Yet in the end, it was all because the celestial phenomena were wrong. Heh, ironic. Damn ironic!"
Although he was the Dao Lord of this sacred land, the Dao Sect, he was still essentially a youth, so he couldn't help but let out a few curses.
Qin Mu said meaningfully, "The previous Dao Lords of the Dao Sect didn't know where the error lay, so they couldn't master the fourteenth sword. But you now know. Perhaps Dao Lord Lin will be the first to master the fourteenth sword!"
Dao Lord Lin Xuan's heart trembled slightly as he looked at him.
"Crisis, crisis—danger and opportunity coexist. It is both a danger and an opportunity."
Qin Mu smiled faintly. "Ordinary people can only see the danger, but the wise can see the opportunity that coexists with the danger. However, only those with ability can seize that opportunity! Which kind of person is the Dao Lord?"
Dao Lord Lin Xuan's chest heaved violently.
He had just felt that the sky was false, the celestial phenomena were false, and these false phenomena had locked the progress of the Dao Sect's techniques and divine abilities, preventing anyone from comprehending the ultimate mystery of the Dao Sword.
But Qin Mu's words made him see the arrival of an opportunity. Knowing it was false, he could then seek the true. Then the possibility of mastering the fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword existed!
"You being the Human Sovereign—I accept it with all my heart."
Dao Lord Lin Xuan steadied himself and said, "I think the doctrinal dispute between the Dao Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect can be set aside for now."
Qin Mu nodded. "It should be set aside. I think we can form an alliance. When our strength is sufficient, we can pierce this sky!"
Wang Muran walked over, extended his hand, and said, "Wang Muran of the Lesser Jade Capital is willing to form an alliance with the Human Sovereign and the Dao Sect!"
Qin Mu and Dao Lord Lin Xuan each extended their hands and placed them together. Qin Mu turned to look at Xu Shenghua. Xu Shenghua walked over and extended his hand. "Xu Shenghua of the Upper Firmament is willing to form an alliance with the Human Sovereign, the Dao Sect, and the Lesser Jade Capital. But shouldn't this alliance have a name?"
Wang Muran smiled. "How about calling it the Heavenly Alliance?"
The three spoke in unison: "Good! Let it be called the Heavenly Alliance!"
The four withdrew their hands. Dao Lord Lin Xuan bowed to everyone and left with the many experts of the Dao Sect.
"Lord Qin, should this matter be reported to the Emperor?" Volcano Lord stepped forward and asked in a low voice.
"Naturally, it should be reported to the Emperor."
Qin Mu said, "But only to the Emperor. Don't tell anyone else, or you might lose your head."
Volcano Lord quickly nodded, summoned the other officials of the Heavenly Observatory, and hurried away.
Wang Muran let out a turbid breath and said, "Human Sovereign, forgive me, but I must tell Senior Uncle Qingyou about this!"
Qin Mu nodded. "Immortal Qingyou knows what to say and what not to say. Just tell him."
Wang Muran said to Mu Qingdai, "Senior Sister, go find Senior Brother Long Yu. I will go see Senior Uncle!"
The two immediately parted ways.
Now only Qin Mu, Xu Shenghua, and Jing Yan remained. Qin Mu glanced at Xu Shenghua and said, "Brother Xu seems not at all shocked. Even the Dao Lord was inevitably shaken and unstable, yet Brother Xu remains as calm as ever, which I admire. I also lost my composure earlier. In terms of mental cultivation, I am still somewhat inferior to Brother Xu."
Xu Shenghua's expression did not change. "I was shocked, and I am still in shock. I originally thought the Upper Firmament was high above, far from the filth of the mortal world. I never expected it was also within a cage. The shock and blow to me are beyond measure."
Qin Mu studied him, unable to see any sign of shock, and asked suspiciously, "Really?"
Jing Yan said softly, "Lord Qin, when my young master is shocked, this is how he looks. At most, he furrows his brow a little."
Qin Mu frowned. "And when he is not shocked?"
"The same."
Qin Mu was stunned. Xu Shenghua looked up at the sky and suddenly said, "Brother Qin, what do you think is beyond the sky?"
"I don't know."
Qin Mu walked toward the capital city. "When we have the strength, we will go and see what is beyond the sky."
Xu Shenghua followed him. The three entered the city. Xu Shenghua and Jing Yan returned to the blacksmith shop, while Qin Mu went to the Imperial Academy. In the Imperial Academy, many mathematical experts had already established the spatial mathematical model of the Golden Book Scroll. The Dao Sect had copied a portion, the Imperial Palace had one, Qingyou Hermit had copied a portion, the Imperial Academy kept a copy, and of course, the Heavenly Demon Sect also had one.
Establishing the Golden Book Scroll meant that the sect leaders who had been trapped at the Divine Bridge realm now had a chance to break through, likely leading to a surge of divine beings. Of course, not everyone could connect to the Divine Bridge. Cultivating the techniques in the Golden Book Scroll still required a high level of mathematical skill.
If one's skill was insufficient, even obtaining the techniques and spatial mathematical model of the Golden Book Scroll would not allow them to complete the Divine Bridge.
Qin Mu arrived at his residence and saw Qingyou Hermit, Village Chief, and the others all there, their expressions grave. Wang Muran was also nearby, clearly having already told them about the calculations made by Qin Mu and the others.
"I recall someone."
Village Chief looked up at the sky and suddenly said absently, "Perhaps he knows some secrets. Fellow Daoist Qingyou, do you know who I am talking about?"
"Yes, the one who struck at the sky."
Qingyou Hermit's eyes flickered. "The Heavenly Blade."
Qin Mu was startled. "Grandpa Butcher?"
"Legend has it that the Heavenly Blade struck at the sky, slashing into the heavens. Many people witnessed that scene. His blade cut open the sky, the gods appeared, and he fought with them, only for his corpse to fall back into the mortal world. He was called the craziest martial madman. If not for that battle, the Heavenly Blade would not have vanished without a trace."
Qingyou Hermit said, "Back then, if the Heavenly Blade had not left, the Yan'kang National Master would not have been able to make the sword technique school surpass the combat technique school, and the Yan'kang National Master would not have been called the Sword God. The gods who fought with the Heavenly Blade did not come from the Upper Firmament but from beyond the sky. I never thought about it carefully before, but now that I think about it, the Heavenly Blade must know many things. Some time ago, the Heavenly Blade and the Divine Spear visited my Lesser Jade Capital. Sensing the presence of the Upper Firmament's gods, they left in a hurry. Unfortunately, I don't know where they are."
Village Chief pondered. "That madman must have gone to find those false gods of the Upper Firmament. After his waist was reattached, he has been in a half-mad state. If Blind hadn't been by his side, he would have caused who knows what disaster. He knows many secrets, so let's go find him. Mu'er, we are going to find the Butcher."
Qin Mu hesitated. "The Yan'kang National Master still owes me a hundred treasures. He is about to return to the capital..."
Village Chief shook his head. "Are the treasures of the Loulan Golden Palace even worth a second glance? The Great Venerable of the Golden Palace is just a scavenger. The treasures he collected in his lifetime are not even worth Lame's notice."
Qin Mu hesitated again, then quickly called over Fox Ling'er and instructed, "Ling'er, the Yan'kang National Master still owes me a hundred treasures. After he returns to the capital, collect them for me."
Fox Ling'er's eyes immediately lit up, and she smiled. "Young master, what kind of treasures?"
Qin Mu said, "The treasures he brought from the Loulan Golden Palace. We can pick a hundred of them!"
Fox Ling'er was overjoyed but hesitated. "Young master, my eyesight is not as good as yours. I'm afraid I won't be able to pick the best ones."
"I will teach you the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique. Once you open your eyes and look, you will be able to tell which treasures are valuable."
...
Qin Mu taught Fox Ling'er the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique, then summoned the Dragon Qilin and placed Village Chief on its back. "Village Chief, how do we find Grandpa Butcher?"
Village Chief said calmly, "It's very simple. As soon as I release my aura, it will alert the visitors from the Upper Firmament, and it will also alert the Butcher and Blind. That way, they will know where we are. The visitors from the Upper Firmament will inevitably release their auras to challenge me. Once we go over, we will see the Butcher and Blind."
He said softly, "This matter of the Upper Firmament's visitors should also be resolved."
Just as he was about to unleash his aura, he suddenly showed a look of surprise. Qingyou Hermit and the other experts of the Lesser Jade Capital also showed surprise, each looking in the same direction.
Qin Mu was about to ask what was happening when he also felt a series of terrifying tremors.
Village Chief murmured, "It's those fellows from the Upper Firmament. Strange, I haven't released my aura yet, but they have already released theirs first... No, they are fighting!"
A look of shock appeared on his face. "The Four Lords of the Upper Firmament are killing each other! What happened? Mu'er, I'll go ahead!"
Boom!
A loud noise came from the rocking chair. Village Chief vanished from the Dragon Qilin's back, followed by several more vibrations as Qingyou, Youhe, and Youyun, the three old immortals, also disappeared into thin air.
"Murran, after Qingdai finds Long Yu, you two catch up!" Qingyou Hermit's voice came from afar.