Chapter 983: Rusted Sword and Rusted Heart
Qin Mu felt a surge of respect.
There were very few true Daoists left in the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect; it had become a place for the children of powerful nobles and aristocrats to gild their reputations. In contrast, many in the Yan Kang Dao Sect were genuine Daoists, devoted to the Dao and to mathematics, driving the development of divine abilities and techniques in Yan Kang.
This middle-aged Daoist, Su Maiqing, as a renegade from the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect, had founded a Dao Sect in the Primordial Realm and was worthy of respect.
Moreover, Qin Mu had heard a few rumors about this renegade Daoist. He had originally been from the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect and descended to the mortal world at the end of the Sovereign Era.
He had also contributed to the advancement of divine abilities and techniques during the Kai Huang Era.
The Kai Huang Era had achieved extremely high mastery in craftsmanship and technology. The forging of divine weapons, warships, and divine cities, as well as the reform of formations, all required mathematics.
In that era, the Dao Sect's mathematics had greatly propelled the Kai Huang Era forward.
It could even be said that Emperor Sakra Li Youran's creation of the Carefree Realm also owed something to his contributions.
This middle-aged Daoist was very unremarkable, not as conspicuous as the Four Heavenly Kings and Four Heavenly Masters of the Kai Huang Era, yet his contributions and influence were immense.
Those skilled in warfare often lack spectacular achievements; Su Maiqing was probably that kind of person.
"Meeting Dao Lord Su here is truly a stroke of luck."
Qin Mu smiled and said, "I had a good relationship with the two generations of Dao Lords of the Yan Kang Dao Sect. I never expected to meet Dao Lord Su here. Dao Lord Su, the Dao Sect you left behind in the mortal world is the mainstay of the current reforms in Yan Kang."
Su Maiqing quickly replied, "Heavenly Lord, please don't say that. I am no longer the Dao Lord; I resigned from that position long ago. I am just a wandering Daoist now, teaching here and passing the time. Any achievements of the Yan Kang Dao Sect are not my merit; they are their own."
Qin Mu couldn't help but feel a liking for him. Su Maiqing was the founder of the Yan Kang Dao Sect but didn't take credit for it, unlike some who always like to claim all kinds of achievements for themselves.
"Heavenly Lord Mu has come here, is it about the battle with His Majesty in two months?"
The middle-aged Daoist winked and smiled, "You've come to the wrong place if you're looking for Emperor Kai Huang's divine abilities and techniques. You should ascend to a higher place and observe the geographical layout of Tai Huang Heaven."
Qin Mu was stunned and exclaimed, "You Daoist, how can you tell me about Emperor Kai Huang's sword techniques? This is betraying Emperor Kai Huang!"
"So, Heavenly Lord Mu has already realized Emperor Kai Huang's Thirty-Three Heavenly Sword Techniques?"
Su Maiqing smiled and said, "The Daoist speaks too much, underestimating Heavenly Lord Mu's wisdom. I have betrayed the Heavenly Court; betraying Emperor Kai Huang is nothing major. Back when the Carefree Realm was being created, I sided with Wen Tiange, believing that the Carefree Realm should not be established. I just wasn't as resolute as Wen Tiange."
He sighed, his brow furrowed into a frown, and said, "When the Kai Huang Calamity broke out, I still followed Emperor Kai Huang. As a result, I've been stuck here for twenty thousand years, feeling unfulfilled and lacking motivation. I had no choice but to stay and teach at the lowest level of the Carefree Realm. Wen Tiange was more resolute than me; he swore never to enter the Carefree Realm. He stayed outside, leading the remnants of the army in resistance, and never came here. I often think that if I had been as resolute as him back then and insisted on resisting, perhaps His Majesty would not have entered the Carefree Realm."
He stared blankly into space, appearing somewhat dull.
Qin Mu's eyes flickered, and he said, "You want to use my hand to force Emperor Kai Huang out of the Carefree Realm?"
Su Maiqing chuckled and said, "How could a Daoist have such a rebellious thought? The first form of Emperor Kai Huang's sword technique, the Tai Huang Pacifying Heaven Sword, is hidden within the geographical patterns of Tai Huang Heaven. This sword is Emperor Kai Huang's first sword upon entering the Dao, the first heaven, and it is truly formidable."
He broke off a branch, using it as a sword, and performed the Tai Huang Pacifying Heaven Sword.
The branch moved through the air, composed of basic sword techniques, carrying a majestic aura. The sword transformed into sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, sweeping across and forming towering peaks and vast rivers, with the spirit of pacifying the chaos of heaven and earth.
After Su Maiqing performed this move, he held the branch in his hand, carefully inserted it into the soil, and planted it, saying, "This little sapling will one day become a towering tree."
Qin Mu closed his eyes, savoring the Tai Huang Pacifying Heaven Sword he had just demonstrated. After a long time, he opened his eyes and bowed in thanks, saying, "Thank you for the guidance, Dao Lord Su. Dao Lord, I have a question. Why did the reforms and changes of the Kai Huang Era stop after Emperor Kai Huang came to the Carefree Realm?"
Su Maiqing finished planting the tree, straightened his back, grinned, and asked, "Heavenly Lord, what do you think of my current spirit and energy?"
Qin Mu said bluntly, "A twilight atmosphere, lacking fighting spirit."
Su Maiqing smiled and said, "That is the spirit and energy of the entire Carefree Realm."
Qin Mu was taken aback.
"The Kai Huang reforms were in accordance with heaven and responsive to the people. The main theme of the reforms was determined by Wen Tiange, which was primarily protection."
Su Maiqing visualized a bit of clear water and watered the branch, saying, "Gods protect the living beings, serving them, allowing them to live better lives. Among the living beings, those with divine abilities are cultivated, and those with divine abilities become gods, forming a virtuous cycle. Those with divine abilities and gods develop more abilities and more useful things, and the Kai Huang Era grew stronger and more prosperous. However, when the Kai Huang Calamity broke out, the gods no longer protected the living beings."
He stared blankly at the small sapling for a moment, then sighed, "The gods abandoned the living beings and left. The entire spirit and energy of the era vanished instantly, and the reforms stopped. Hmph, now there are still people in the court boasting that the Carefree Realm has absorbed the visualization techniques of the Creators and that the reforms are continuing. They brag so loudly that they even believe it themselves. But this Daoist simply doesn't believe it!"
He snorted, turned around, and left, saying, "This Daoist simply doesn't believe it! The soil for reform is gone, the main theme of reform is abandoned, and all they do all day is brag. Where is the reform? Nonsense! Flattery, sycophancy, bootlicking—this Daoist won't associate with them. This Daoist just hopes you can give Emperor Kai Huang a beating and wake him up!"
Qin Mu was stunned and watched him walk away.
Shu Jun walked over, followed his gaze, and only saw Su Maiqing's back. He asked doubtfully, "What is the Saint Child looking at?"
"Nothing."
Qin Mu snapped back to reality and smiled, "Just suddenly feeling a bit emotional. Divine King, have you finished reading?"
Shu Jun nodded and said, "I have a general understanding of the divine abilities and techniques from the past million years. I have some plans for the path I want to take in the future, but it's not clear yet. Shall we ascend into the sky to look at the geography of Tai Huang Heaven?"
"There's no need anymore."
Qin Mu smiled and said, "I have already mastered Emperor Kai Huang's Tai Huang Pacifying Heaven Sword. Let's go to Tai Ming Heaven in the Carefree Realm."
Shu Jun was puzzled but still followed him towards Tai Ming Heaven.
Tai Ming Heaven and Tai Huang Heaven were connected by a divine mountain, linking the two heavens. The two of them flew from the base of this mountain to its peak and entered Tai Ming Heaven.
They followed the same procedure, found the largest academy in Tai Ming Heaven, and thoroughly perused all the books and scriptures.
Qin Mu was still faster than Shu Jun, finishing reading all the scriptures of Tai Ming Heaven first and memorizing them thoroughly.
Just as he was about to leave the library, a voice suddenly rang out with a cold laugh, "Heavenly Lord Mu, you think you can understand Emperor Kai Huang's sword techniques and defeat him by skimming through things so casually? What a fantasy!"
Qin Mu followed the sound and saw a burly man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, carrying a sword case on his back with several sword hilts protruding from it.
He had already encountered one expert who was not fooled by his divine sense illusion, so he wasn't too surprised to see this man unaffected by his divine sense.
After all, many of the people in the Carefree Realm were experts from the Kai Huang Era. They had migrated here, and some had become disheartened, fallen into obscurity, and hidden themselves away.
Qin Mu asked, "And you are?"
"Under Emperor Kai Huang, Sun Guardian, Yan Rinuan."
The big man raised his hand to take off the sword case, grabbed a sword hilt, and pulled hard, but couldn't draw the sword. He scratched his head and said, "Heavenly Lord Mu, wait a moment. I haven't drawn my sword in twenty thousand years, and my own tempered treasure has rusted."
He pulled hard again and finally managed to draw a flying sword. The sword was covered in rust, thick and heavy.
"It's not the sword that's rusted; it's the Sun Guardian's sword heart that's rusted."
Qin Mu examined his treasured sword and smiled, "The Sun Guardian's sword heart is severely rusted."
"Let me sharpen it!"
The big man, Yan Rinuan, walked out of the library, went to a small stream in the academy, and scraped the rusted sword with a harsh, grating sound, turning the stream water red.
Yan Rinuan scraped and scraped, but the rust on the sword only seemed to increase. Suddenly, he froze, sitting by the stream in a daze.
Qin Mu stood behind him, waiting quietly.
Then, the rough man's shoulders began to shake. At some point, he started crying. His tears were like fire, falling from his eyes with a patter, turning into flames dancing in the air.
"What use is this sword to me? What use? This damned sword can't be sharpened anymore!"
He suddenly stood up and thrust his sword at Qin Mu!
Qin Mu stood motionless, surrounded by the hissing of sword light.
Yan Rinuan danced with his sword, the rust-covered iron sword creating a world of rust around Qin Mu, like a steel world eroded by time, filled with a sense of decay and ruin.
"If the heart is unclear, the sword is unclear! Even this Tai Ming Aligning Heaven Sword is rusted!"
Yan Rinuan shouted, his sword dancing faster, roaring in fury as he leaped forward and thrust, bellowing, "What use is this rusted sword? What use is this rusted heart? My sword was once known as the fastest sword second only to Emperor Kai Huang, the hottest sword! But now it's not fast at all, and my sword and my heart are no longer hot!"
He seemed to be going mad, unleashing the second form of Emperor Kai Huang's sword technique, the Tai Ming Aligning Heaven Sword.
The rust-covered Tai Ming Heaven that materialized around Qin Mu was so shockingly vivid!
After Yan Rinuan executed this move, he could no longer contain the anger in his heart and threw the rusted sword far away.
But after throwing the sword, he regretted it. He ran over, picked it up, and sat by the stream, crying and scraping it again.
Shu Jun walked over and asked in surprise, "What's wrong with this man?"
"His Dao heart has been wounded."
Qin Mu said, "Let's go take a look at Qing Ming Heaven."
Shu Jun hesitated and said, "The divine abilities and techniques of the Carefree Realm seemed novel at first, but after reading the scriptures of two major academies, I found many repetitions. Saint Child, there's no need to visit the academies of the other heavens."
Qin Mu smiled and said, "It's good to take a look anyway."
Shu Jun had no choice but to follow him. They arrived at Qing Ming Heaven, and before they could even find the academy there, they saw an old man by the roadside burning paper money at a grave, crying on the ground, "Qin Ye, you died young, what a tragic death—"
Shu Jun laughed and said, "Old man, I had a friend who was as bold as you, daring to humiliate the Grand Emperor. When I went to see him the next year, the weeds on his grave were already over a man's height."
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