Chapter 837: Sword Scar
A white dragon soared through clouds and mist, flying towards the Daoist Sect.
Under the meticulous care of Linxuan Daozhu, Xiao Chunfeng finally regained consciousness. Linxuan Daozhu smiled and said, "It's good that Senior Brother Xiao is fine. The elixirs and spiritual medicines used to treat you were quite valuable, totaling two thousand Dafeng Coins."
Xiao Chunfeng was somewhat dejected. "Two thousand Dafeng Coins? I won't owe you, don't worry. I have plenty of skills; I'll earn the money and pay you back."
Linxuan Daozhu chuckled. "If Senior Brother Xiao doesn't have the money, you could teach at my Daoist Sect and slowly repay the debt."
Xiao Chunfeng stretched his muscles and probed, "Teaching at the Daoist Sect, what's the monthly salary?"
"Thirty Dafeng Coins a month."
Linxuan Daozhu said kindly, "This is already the price of a senior Imperial Academy. An ordinary Daoist Sect Imperial Academy only pays fifteen Dafeng Coins a month. Your skills are high enough to be worth thirty Dafeng Coins."
Xiao Chunfeng was startled, staring at him intently, his voice hoarse: "Only thirty a month? If I don't eat or drink, spend no money at all, I'd have to work for you for five and a half years just to pay off this debt?"
Linxuan Daozhu felt a bit guilty, thinking to himself: "Back then, when Sect Leader Qin severely wounded Xusheng Hua and then treated him, how did he swindle him without batting an eye? My face seems to be losing its nerve; I can't help but want to raise Senior Brother Xiao's monthly salary..."
In Qingyun Heaven, Yuchenzi had made the arrangements. The Qingyun Sect Leader immediately reported to the Heavenly Court, informing them of the case of the attacked envoy, and quietly waited for the Heavenly Court to send someone.
That day, the sky of Qingyun Heaven split open, and a tower ship sailed in from beyond the heavens.
The connection between the Heavenly Court and Qingyun Heaven had never been severed. Even back when the Primordial Realm was sealed and space was folded, leaving only the Great Ruins, Yankang, and the Western Lands, Qingyun Heaven could still communicate with the Heavenly Court.
For Qingyun Heaven and the other heavens, what was sealed was not the Primordial Realm heavens, but Yankang, the Great Ruins, and other places.
The Qingyun Sect Leader hurriedly led the crowd to welcome them. At the bow of the ship stood several demigods of the Heavenly Court, smiling as they looked at them. Behind them were wolf-headed, human-bodied demigods holding spears, making no sound.
The Qingyun Sect Leader and the Daoists lowered their heads, not daring to look up.
"Raise your heads."
The leading demigod laughed. "Fu Yuntian, you are the Sect Leader of Qingyun Heaven of the Daoist Sect, your status far above mine, a mere constable of the Divine Capture Camp. There's no need for such formality."
The Qingyun Sect Leader quickly said, "Your Excellency is joking. Your Excellency is a Censor of the Heavenly Court, a high official, while I am merely a minor deity of the lower realm. How dare I be presumptuous? Your Excellency, this attack on the envoy was my Qingyun Heaven's fault. Everyone in Qingyun Heaven is terrified, fearing the Heavenly Court's wrath and punishment. I beg Your Excellency to put in a good word for Qingyun Heaven when you return. I have prepared some modest gifts..."
That demigod laughed heartily, disembarking with his men, shaking his head. "The laws of the Heavenly Court are strict; who would dare accept your gifts? That's a capital offense! However, if you sneak them onto my ship without me noticing, I can't help it, can I?"
The Qingyun Sect Leader quickly smiled apologetically and signaled to the Daoists, who hurriedly loaded various treasures onto the ship.
The demigod walked up to him and lightly waved his hand. The wolf-headed human-bodied demigods vanished in a flash, their forms appearing and disappearing. Suddenly, they appeared before the various palaces and halls of Qingyun Heaven, crouching on the ground and sniffing around everywhere. After sniffing, they vanished again, only to reappear elsewhere, crouching and sniffing once more.
The Qingyun Sect Leader smiled obsequiously. "Your Excellency, this is..."
"We are just following procedure, Sect Leader Fu, please don't take offense."
That demigod took his arm, laughing heartily. "Don't call me Your Excellency, it's so formal. These are my disciples, and those Sky-Howling Divine Clan are my yamen runners. I am Qu He, Captain of the Divine Capture Camp of the Heavenly Court. Just call me Old Qu."
Suddenly, his primordial spirit flew out behind him, towering a thousand zhang. The spirit's arms stretched out, and with a whoosh, it had over a thousand arms spreading in all directions, palms facing outward.
In the center of each palm grew a large eyeball, rolling around, shooting divine light in all directions to search for traces.
Qu He still held the Qingyun Sect Leader's arm, laughing heartily. "Just doing my duty, don't mind it, don't mind it!"
The Qingyun Sect Leader kept smiling apologetically, thinking to himself: "I wonder if Yuchenzi was thorough enough..."
Qu He's primordial spirit flew up, shining its light everywhere, quickly searching the entire Qingyun Heaven. Meanwhile, the wolf-headed human-bodied demigods leaped about with incredible speed, searching everywhere, and even captured a few Daoists for harsh interrogation.
After a while, Qu He's primordial spirit flew back, and the hundred-plus wolf-headed demigods also appeared suddenly, carrying some Daoists who had been beaten half to death. They all bowed and whispered into the hands of Qu He's primordial spirit.
The Qingyun Sect Leader's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he had no confidence.
Suddenly, Qu He laughed heartily. "Sect Leader, I've injured some of your disciples. Forgive me, forgive me. But this is official business, please understand."
The Qingyun Sect Leader bowed his head. "I wouldn't dare."
"Who discovered the envoy's body?" Qu He asked with a smile.
"It was my disciple, Yuchenzi."
The Qingyun Sect Leader called for Yuchenzi. Qu He reached out, grabbed Yuchenzi, and with a flash, they were already on the tower ship. He laughed, "In that case, let Yuchenzi lead us to the crime scene to have a look! Sect Leader, please stay; Yuchenzi guiding us is enough."
The Qingyun Sect Leader's face changed slightly. Yuchenzi quickly said, "Sect Leader, rest assured. I will accompany the officials to take a look and will return soon."
The Qingyun Sect Leader forced a smile. "Serve the officials well. Officials, I entrust my disciple to you."
Qu He laughed heartily, and the tower ship flew up, heading out of Qingyun Heaven.
At Yongjiang Academy, Qin Mu searched for Cripple but found nothing, growing increasingly anxious.
If it were anyone else from the Village of Broken Elders taking Imperial Heaven Sovereign out into the world, he wouldn't worry. Only Cripple was an exception.
After all, the villagers of the Village of Broken Elders wouldn't actively court danger. Even the bold Butcher wasn't one to stir up trouble.
Only Cripple, who saw it as his mission to steal from the world, would actively dive into danger. Wherever the most treasure was, he would head straight there, and those places were often the most dangerous.
"Don't worry. Cripple's interest in anything only lasts three days."
The Village Chief comforted him. "Cripple is just an old monkey who likes to pick corn and throw it away. Once he gets bored, he'll return Imperial Heaven Sovereign to you."
"I hope so." Qin Mu's worried expression didn't change.
Just then, Blind brought Imperial Heaven Sovereign to Yongjiang Academy. Qin Mu was surprised and quickly went to greet them. Blind said, "I met Cripple at the Flame Dragon Mausoleum. That bastard was being chased by a group of Flame Dragons. Those dragons burned a thousand li of wilderness, chasing him with nowhere to hide! He couldn't escape with the kid, so he handed him to me, telling me to bring him to Yongjiang Academy."
Qin Mu finally relaxed and looked Imperial Heaven Sovereign up and down. Imperial Heaven Sovereign showed a simple, honest smile.
Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat, and he also showed a simple, honest smile.
The Village Chief and Blind cheered in unison: "Cripple taught him well!"
Qin Mu smiled, showing eight white teeth, innocent and sunny. Imperial Heaven Sovereign also smiled, showing eight teeth, equally innocent and sunny, making it impossible to be on guard against him.
Suddenly, Qin Mu's fingers twitched slightly, and then a pair of underpants appeared in his hand.
At the same time, Imperial Heaven Sovereign's arm turned into a blur. Qin Mu laughed heartily, triumphantly: "I never wear those; I find them too stuffy! Give me back my Taotie Pouch!"
Imperial Heaven Sovereign was holding a Taotie Pouch. The pouch was too heavy, and he struggled to hold it.
Qin Mu's face darkened. He tossed the underpants back to him and snatched back the Taotie Pouch, saying with pain in his heart: "Imperial Brother, you're not learning well! You've been corrupted by that old scoundrel! Look, even though I also learned Cripple Grandpa's skills, I never steal. I always take things by force. Blind Grandpa, is Cripple Grandpa alright?"
Blind shook his head. "Hard to say. Those Flame Dragons are extremely skilled. They guard the tomb of a terrifying god or demon. Cripple took your brother and sneaked into the tomb, stealing something inside. It must have been a very important treasure, which is why they chased him. I took a look from afar and felt that any one of those Flame Dragons could easily kill me. So I set up some decoys and escaped with the kid. But Cripple is a master of transformation; he might be able to get out."
Qin Mu was still a bit worried. He looked at the Village Chief, who understood and smiled. "I'll go find the First Ancestor for help and confront the experts of the Flame Dragon Mausoleum." With that, he hurried away.
Qin Mu felt relieved and said to Blind, "Blind Grandpa, if you're free, would you accompany me to the Daoist Sect? I haven't studied Yankang's Dao techniques and divine powers for a few years, and I've fallen behind. I'd like to ask you to teach me a thing or two."
Blind couldn't help but feel proud. "You have indeed fallen behind. I've been studying the formations of the Kaihuang Era for the past few years. A few months ago, I even exchanged ideas with Zixi, one of the Four Heavenly Masters, in the capital. My attainments in formations have now reached a new height."
Qin Mu was overjoyed and laughed. "Zixi Heavenly Master's attainments in formations are truly unmatched!"
Blind shook his head. "Zixi Heavenly Master has also fallen behind. The Yankang National Teacher and many other formation masters and I have created several new types of formation patterns, which she had never seen before. I taught her. However, I also learned a lot from her. She is still worthy of being called the number one formation master in the world. I am still not her match."
In recent years, Yankang had made many achievements in formations. Besides battle formations, killing formations, city defense formations, and other formations, various new formations had appeared. The most fundamental of these were formation patterns.
Just as swordsmanship had nineteen basic sword stances, formation patterns were the foundation of formations. Being able to add a few formation patterns to the existing ones was already a remarkable achievement!
There were many formation masters in Yankang, but they specialized in different directions. Su Yunzhi, the Grand Sacrificial Officer of Yongjiang Academy, was a great expert in formations, specializing in city defense formations. Qin Jian, also known as Qin Baoyue, the Heavenly Strategy General, specialized in battle formations. Together with the Duke of Wei, he was known as the God of the Military.
Sikong Wei Pingbo was in charge of Yankang's water conservancy. He was also a formation master, skilled in using geography to set up formations.
And the Yankang National Teacher, although famous for his swordsmanship, had even higher attainments in formations than the Heavenly Strategy General and others.
These talents of Yankang absorbed the formation achievements of the Kaihuang Era and then expanded upon them, naturally achieving extraordinary results.
Qin Mu called for Dragon Qilin and Water Qilin, took leave of Su Yunqing, Yuyuan Chuyu, and others, and went to the riverbank to summon Dragon Tamer Lord.
When Dragon Tamer Lord saw Blind, he shuddered and said with a flattering smile, "Divine Spear Master, long time no see."
Blind closed his eyes, used his mind's eye to examine him, then opened his eyes and said, "How have you not improved? Dragon Tamer Lord, your cultivation is too low. How will you command the Heavenly River in the future? If you don't strive for improvement, you'll be killed sooner or later."
Dragon Tamer Lord hesitated. "Little dragon is dull-witted..."
Blind sneered. "You've also taught at Yongjiang Academy and served as a Sacrificial Officer. You should know that the Heavenly Record Tower in Yongjiang Academy contains the Primordial Dragon Grand Profound Art. Why haven't you learned it?"
Dragon Tamer Lord glanced at Qin Mu and said with a flattering smile, "The Primordial Dragon Grand Profound Art is such a powerful technique. How would I dare to steal it?"
Blind was amused and exasperated, shaking his head. "You're too cautious. Your master has already made the Primordial Dragon Grand Profound Art public. Anyone in the world can cultivate it. How could he not let you learn it? Those flood dragons that used to lie on you and call 'Maha Maha' have all learned it. Some of them are already more skilled than you. If you don't improve, it will be your turn to lie on them and call 'Maha Maha'."
Dragon Tamer Lord was overjoyed and repeatedly thanked him. He carried them along the river, heading towards the Daoist Sect.
Qin Mu sat on Dragon Tamer Lord's head, consulting Blind about formations. Imperial Heaven Sovereign also listened. Blind thought it would take half a year for them to learn, but after six days, he had nothing left to teach.
Blind's eyes widened. Suddenly, he became inexplicably angry and hammered Dragon Tamer Lord's head a few times.
Dragon Tamer Lord felt the pain but didn't know what he had done wrong to anger this master. He only heard Qin Mu say to Imperial Heaven Sovereign: "Once you learn the basic formation patterns, learning formations becomes easy. It's called understanding one thing and understanding everything. But understanding everything isn't enough; you also need to draw inferences and learn by analogy. Formations aren't just for formations; they can also be used in other areas, like Dao techniques or swordsmanship. Some people only memorize by rote, not realizing that rote memorization is the stupidest method."
Imperial Heaven Sovereign said, "It's not too difficult to learn. I've figured out a few formations. Brother, help me see if they're correct."
Blind got angry again and hammered Dragon Tamer Lord's head twice more.
Dragon Tamer Lord didn't dare to speak and could only trudge forward silently. Finally, they reached their destination. Qin Mu and the others disembarked, and he breathed a sigh of relief, quickly diving into the water and fleeing.
This place was still a long way from the Kunlun Realm where the Daoist Sect was located. Qin Mu and the others continued their journey. After two days, they saw a tower ship stop in the air. Many wolf-headed, humanoid monsters leaped down from the ship, sniffing around everywhere.
Qin Mu was startled and had Dragon Qilin stop. He saw a wolf-headed monster find a corpse, already ravaged by wild beasts, its face unrecognizable.
"This corpse seems to be a demigod I killed. So these monsters are..."
He looked up at the tower ship and saw a golden-armored god standing with his hands behind his back at the bow, with Yuchenzi beside him.
Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat.
A wolf-headed monster leaped like lightning, suddenly appearing before Qin Mu and the others. It sniffed hard, then vanished and reappeared on the ship, whispering to the golden-armored god.
That golden-armored god, Qu He, looked in his direction, smiled, and said to Yuchenzi, "This person once appeared in Qingyun Heaven. The Sky-Howling Divine Clan smelled his scent. Do you know him?"
Yuchenzi was inwardly bitter but quickly said, "I know him. He is Qin Mu, the Heavenly Sage Sect Leader of Yankang. I brought him up the mountain to meet the Sect Leader."
"The Heavenly Sage Sect Leader Qin Mu?"
Qu He tilted his head, thinking. "I seem to have heard that name somewhere... Since he's an acquaintance of yours, let him pass."
Yuchenzi thanked him and called out loudly, "Brother Qin, the Heavenly Court is conducting business here. Take a detour."
Qin Mu acknowledged and instructed Dragon Qilin to take a detour.
"Wait a moment!"
Suddenly, Qu He called him back, smiling. "Qin Mu, you practice swordsmanship, right? Could you demonstrate a sword technique for me to see? I found a sword scar on the wall of the Daoist courtyard in Qingyun Heaven. It's different from the Daoist Sect's sword techniques."
Four thousand character chapter. Updated late, a bit embarrassed to ask for monthly votes. Tears streaming down my face.