Chapter 577: Silly Roe Deer
Linxuan Daozhu and the others were overjoyed. The Zha Daoist removed the Daoist crown from his head, gently rotated the Yin-Yang Taiji diagram on it, and took out some scriptures, a trident, and several stone slabs bearing sword marks. The trident was presumably his divine weapon. He said, "These books have been kept with me all along. They're full of strange symbols, and I can't understand them."
He had stiff white hair growing on his head, from the front to the back, but his temples were black, unlike the other Daoists. The others wore their hair in topknots, while he had a crew cut, with the white hair on top trimmed neatly, giving him a very spirited look.
This crew-cut Daoist inserted the trident back into his Daoist crown, sealed it with the Taiji imprint, and put the crown back on.
Linxuan Daozhu flipped through the scriptures and examined the sword marks on the stone slabs. His heart pounded wildly, and he couldn't help but shed tears, saying, "My master and the successive Daozhus spent their entire lives studying the Fourteenth Sword, yet never fully comprehended it. It turns out the secret lies not within the sword, but in celestial phenomena. If my master were still alive, he would be very gratified..."
Many Daoists, recalling the previous Daozhu, wept bitterly.
Linxuan Daozhu passed the scriptures around for everyone to read. They contained the subsequent mental techniques of the Primordial Tai Xuan Gong, as well as some records of Tianqing Daoist's insights into the later sword techniques of the Dao Sword.
Tianqing Daoist's records were very detailed, and his deductions were also very meticulous. No wonder the Zha Daoist couldn't understand them.
Wang Muran said softly, "Uncle Qingyou, does our Little Jade Capital have any profound inheritances?"
Qingyou Shanren shook his head. "No."
Wang Muran said angrily, "Isn't our Little Jade Capital the number one sacred land of Yankang? The Dao Sect and the Great Thunderclap Monastery both have higher inheritances. If our Little Jade Capital doesn't have any, how can we compete with them? Even the Heavenly Saint Sect has a Heavenly Master, yet our Little Jade Capital doesn't have a Jade Emperor or similar powerhouse passing down divine-level techniques?"
"Our Little Jade Capital doesn't contend with the world. We've never fought for the title of number one sacred land."
Qingyou Shanren said patiently, "That's just an empty reputation given to us by the world. It's not worth having."
Wang Muran was exasperated. Helpless, he asked the Zha Daoist, "Daoist, may I ask where the Cult Leader Qin is?"
The Zha Daoist said, "Cult Leader Qin? Many people have been looking for him today, all strange folk, including one who rides an ox. But he's not in Li City right now. He's gone out, saying he wants to take his mount to the demon territory for some training."
Wang Muran said in surprise, "He went alone into the demon territory?"
"Not exactly. Our Taihuangtian has already carved out a territory in the demon lands. We've established an outpost at the ruins of Wu Wang City, with Lord Sang Ye stationed there. Many cultivators from Taihuangtian and Yankang are scouring the area for scattered demon soldiers."
The Zha Daoist said, "There's been no fighting recently. For now, it's relatively calm. Neither side has deployed large armies. It's just demon and human cultivators skirmishing at the edges of the battlefield. Cult Leader Qin won't be in danger."
He was referring to an unwritten rule of Taihuangtian. Here, martial spirit flourished. Both demons and humans revered martial prowess. In the absence of major battles, demon cultivators would roam and fight, and humans did the same. Many young demon and human cultivators clashed.
Gods and demons rarely interfered, allowing the cultivators on both sides to collide. This was also an extreme method of training the younger generation. Wang Muran and the others, new to Taihuangtian, didn't yet know the rules here.
Wang Muran asked further, "Did Cult Leader Qin pass the trial of the Town Spirit Tower?"
"What need does he have for that?"
The Zha Daoist showed an expression of admiration and said, "As soon as he arrived in Taihuangtian, he killed the four top demon experts in a row in the dueling battles of Li City, forcing the True Demon Fu Riluo to have his most proud disciple concede defeat. What happened after that was truly legendary. Cult Leader Qin was captured by Fu Riluo, fled for a hundred thousand miles, and almost wiped out all the demon disciples at the Demon God Seven-Star and Six Harmonies realms! Many demon disciples at the Heavenly Being realm also fell by his hand! Now, Cult Leader Qin's strength no longer requires him to pass the trial of the Town Spirit Tower."
Wang Muran's body shook violently, and he showed an expression of disbelief. Suddenly, he turned his head and said, "Uncle, do we really have no profound inheritances?"
Qingyou Shanren laughed and said, "Isn't our Little Jade Capital's inheritance good enough? Although our inheritance has flaws, it's still top-tier. As long as you make up for those flaws, you won't be inferior to the Daozhu. And Taihuangtian is a good place to make up for those flaws. You can learn from the strengths of others and integrate them into our Little Jade Capital's techniques."
Wang Muran slumped, muttering, "There are so many techniques in Little Jade Capital. How can it be easy to integrate them?"
Qingyou Shanren encouraged him, saying, "Where there's a will, there's a way. I have high hopes for you! Once you've fully comprehended it, be sure to teach me first. I'm old, and my mind isn't as sharp as you young people's."
"Master, why hasn't Fatty Long transformed like Jiang Miao?"
Between Wu Wang City and Li City, there were over two thousand li. Hu Ling'er followed Qin Mu, watching Long Qilin fight a demon expert at the Heavenly Being realm. She asked curiously, "Jiang Miao can transform. Fatty Long must be able to too!"
Qin Mu breathed deeply. The Overlord Body Three-Dan Technique circulated in his body, and his primal energy emitted a series of dragon roars as it moved. He said, "I don't know either. Is it because he's too fat to transform? That doesn't seem right..."
Hu Ling'er muttered, "I think it's because he's too lazy."
Long Qilin's Kirin Pearl was extremely powerful. His cultivation was already comparable to a great expert at the Life and Death realm, but his overall combat strength wasn't high. He was beaten black and blue by that demon expert.
Qin Mu didn't help. He stood by and watched, while on the opposite side, several demon experts also didn't interfere, just watching the battle.
The rules of Taihuangtian were quite peculiar. If it was just an encounter between cultivators, they would often fight one-on-one, rarely ganging up. During Qin Mu's hundred-thousand-li escape, he was chased by hundreds of demon cultivators and besieged many times. The reason the demons broke the rules was rooted in the demon gods' kill order.
Long Qilin fought fiercely. Suddenly, he comprehended a mystery of the Ancestral Dragon Tai Xuan Gong. He immediately activated the Kirin Pearl, turning his kirin fire into countless dragon-shaped flames that surged toward his opponent.
Then he shook his body, and the dragon scales on him flew off, turning into bright mirrors that reflected the opponent's techniques.
That demon expert was thrown into disarray by his own techniques and the fire dragons. Suddenly, the dragon scales flew around, spinning rapidly around him.
The demon expert couldn't launch any attacks. Any technique he used was reflected back by the dragon scales. The encirclement of dragon scales grew smaller and smaller. The Kirin Pearl flew into the encirclement, and a great blaze erupted. A scream came from within, and the demon expert was burned to ashes.
Long Qilin shook his body, retracted his dragon scales, opened his mouth to swallow the Kirin Pearl, and said in surprise and joy, "Cult Leader, I won! I finally won once!"
Qin Mu asked suspiciously, "Ling'er, has Fatty Long been training with Senior Brother Tiger for so long and never won once?"
Hu Ling'er nodded. "Not once. Black Tiger God originally said it was shameful and wanted him to kowtow and apologize to the demons who beat him. Later, Black Tiger God got used to it, and Fatty Long got used to it too."
Qin Mu was speechless.
Long Qilin strutted proudly, tiptoeing and wagging his tail as he trotted over to them, circling Qin Mu and Hu Ling'er a few times, looking very pleased with himself.
A demon expert walked out from the opposite side and called out, "Are you Cult Leader Qin Mu of the opposite side?"
Qin Mu said, "That's right. May I ask who you are?"
"An insignificant nobody. Farewell!"
The several demon experts quickly dispersed in different directions. Qin Mu frowned slightly. These demons were all experts at the Heavenly Being realm. One-on-one, it would be hard for him to defeat them. But for them to split up seemed unwise to him. Wouldn't that give him a chance to kill one of them?
"Master, these demons seem to be fleeing for their lives."
Hu Ling'er took out a large basin, had Long Qilin drool some dragon saliva into it, and applied it to his wounds. She said doubtfully, "If they joined forces, they would probably be stronger than us. But they fled instead. Could it be to pass on a message? To be safe, we should return to Li City immediately!"
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow and said, "Further ahead is the Wu Wang City outpost guarded by Lord Sang Ye. Going back to Li City is too far. It's closer to go to the outpost. With Lord Sang Ye there, ordinary demon experts won't dare to come."
He jumped onto Long Qilin's back. Hu Ling'er put away the basin and jumped up too. Long Qilin immediately galloped toward the Wu Wang City outpost.
When they were still over two hundred li from the outpost, Qin Mu could already see the aura of Lord Sang Ye from afar. It was divine light emitted by Lord Sang Ye, like a pillar of light piercing the clouds.
This was the function of the outpost: to show the way to Taihuangtian cultivators in the wilderness. If they encountered danger, they could take shelter there.
Suddenly, a voice came, saying happily, "Is that Cult Leader Qin?"
Qin Mu looked over and saw a small mountain village in the wilderness. Several Taihuangtian cultivators were resting in the village, which was otherwise empty.
Most of these people were acquaintances. One woman was named Guan He. She was a Taihuangtian cultivator introduced to Qin Mu by Yu He. She was an expert at the Heavenly Being realm, ranked ninth among Taihuangtian's Heavenly Being experts, and was extremely powerful.
She was a disciple of a god and was skilled in swordsmanship.
Because the Heavenly Saint Sect was about to expand into Taihuangtian, Qin Mu had appointed Guan He as the hall master of the Heavenly Saint Sect's Taihuangtian Sword Hall.
"Guan He, what are you doing here?" Qin Mu jumped down from Long Qilin's back and looked at the other cultivators. They were also hall masters and incense masters of the Heavenly Saint Sect in Taihuangtian.
"It really is the Cult Leader."
Guan He smiled and said, "We were training nearby and encountered some demon experts. We just killed one, over there. This person was very strong. I fought a hard battle before finally killing him."
Qin Mu looked in the direction she pointed. The dead demon expert was one of the demons who had just fled. There were some traces of battle around.
"I see."
Qin Mu showed a smile and said, "Hall Master Guan, you've worked hard. It's getting late. I plan to go to the outpost. Do you want to come along?"
Guan He's eyes lit up. She stepped forward and said with a smile, "We were planning to go back too!"
The others also stepped forward. Qin Mu took the lead and walked toward the Wu Wang City outpost.
Guan He quickly caught up and said with a smile, "Cult Leader, why are you in such a hurry? We're all experts of our sect here. Who are we afraid of?"
"I was recognized by the demons. I'm afraid they'll summon strong experts to block the way ahead."
Qin Mu showed a smile and said, "Hall Master Guan, who was your master again? Last time Yu He introduced you to me, I forgot to ask."
Guan He quickly said, "My master is Tian Feng Gou. You've met him, Cult Leader."
"So it's Lord Tian Feng Gou."
Qin Mu nodded and asked curiously, "And who are the masters of these hall masters and incense masters?"
A young man laughed and said, "We are also disciples of Tian Feng Gou."
Qin Mu nodded again. He patted the thick neck of Long Qilin, who was walking beside him, and said with a smile, "Hall Master Guan, when you fought that demon expert at the Heavenly Being realm, you must have finished him off quickly. I noticed the traces of your techniques are quite large, but they weren't the fatal wounds. The real fatal wound was the sword you thrust from behind that demon, killing his primordial spirit in one blow. At that time, the distance between you and that demon expert must have been as close as we are now. You were chatting like this, and then you killed him."
Guan He's expression changed. Suddenly, a giant Kirin Pearl soared into the air, and in an instant, blazing kirin fire was everywhere, burning everything!
In the flames, a flying sword shot out. Guan He's sword light burst forth. But just as her swordsmanship was unleashed, Qin Mu's sword finger, which was pointing at his own brow, thrust out. The sword pellet turned into a dazzling sword light that whistled away, shattered Guan He's swordsmanship, and pierced through her brow!
Qin Mu sheathed his sword. All around, the burning hall masters and incense masters of the Heavenly Saint Sect were screaming, and then they were decapitated by huge dragon scales!
Long Qilin shook his body, and the dragon scales returned to him.
"Fatty Long, you've won a few more battles." Qin Mu grabbed the sword pellet and said softly.
"Master, were they the ones those demons were trying to notify?"
Hu Ling'er poked her head out from Long Qilin's ear and asked in confusion, "Then what about Lord Tian Feng Gou..."
Qin Mu was about to speak when suddenly his ears twitched. He spun around sharply and said, "Who?"
A roe deer ran out from the forest, wagged its little tail, and looked at him curiously. Then a herd of roe deer ran out from the forest, raised their heads, and curiously examined them.
"So it's just a bunch of silly roe deer." Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief.
The silly roe deer came forward, looked up at him, and were very bold. Qin Mu's heart stirred. Suddenly, a clear voice came: "Cult Leader Qin, you killed my disciples. Shouldn't you give me an explanation?"
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