The three of them activated the Transmission Treasure once more. With three pops, their vision went dark and their bodies were tightly bound. Realizing something was wrong, they quickly released a burst of qi to shatter the surroundings, only to discover that by following Qin Mu, they had transmitted themselves into the trunks of several large trees.
"Where is the Cult Master?" Heavenly King Shi asked.
The words had barely left his mouth when they spotted Qin Mu. A head poked out from the trunk of a tree that would take two people to wrap their arms around, while his body was stuck inside the trunk, unable to struggle free.
The tree was an iron tree, harder than steel.
Heavenly King Lu had a fiery temper. He barked, "Cult Master, why aren't you running anymore?"
"Three Heavenly Kings, you haven't left yet?"
Qin Mu blushed. "I've exhausted my qi, and I'm trapped in this iron tree. I can't lift my garment. Three Heavenly Kings, give me a hand."
The three Heavenly Kings didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Heavenly King Shi chopped through the iron tree and freed Qin Mu. "Cult Master, you are after all the Holy Church's Cult Master, holding a high and powerful position. You cannot cause trouble here on Holy Arrival Mountain. The buildings on the Sacred Mountain are all ancient relics with significance."
Heavenly King Lu said, "Cult Master, you're not a child—"
At this point he realized something was amiss. Their Cult Master, wasn't he indeed just a child?
Qin Mu hadn't yet turned fifteen. He wasn't even a fraction of their age.
Heavenly King Lu stammered, "When I was the Cult Master's age, I was still playing with mud... no, I was already harvesting rice. But Cult Master, the transmission technique is very dangerous. If you're the least bit careless and transmit to some forbidden zone, not even the gods could save you! Our Holy Arrival Mountain has quite a few forbidden zones!"
Qin Mu's blood ran cold. If he transmitted into a forbidden zone, he would die without even a grave!
"Cult Master, the Transmission Treasure requires positioning. How to determine the precise coordinates of transmission is the key."
The three Heavenly Kings exchanged glances, suppressing the shock in their hearts. Heavenly King Shi said, "Cult Master, you've refined the Transmission Garment but haven't yet mastered how to transmit accurately. It's extremely dangerous. First, you must determine where you are, then determine where you want to go. As you approach your destination, you must immediately withdraw your qi, or you'll crash into something. When trying for the first time, don't go too far—go a short distance. A shorter distance makes it easier to stop at any time."
Qin Mu's eyes lit up. "I'll try again!"
The three Heavenly Kings' faces immediately fell.
Heavenly King Yu quickly said, "Cult Master, you've exhausted your qi. There's no need to rush. Moreover, the reason the Young Ancestor left you here was not for you to learn the Transmission divine ability, but for you to calm your mind and comprehend the Grand Unified Cultivation Art. Holy Arrival Mountain is very tranquil, free from the noise and distractions of the outside world. If you leave here, I'm afraid it would take a year or two before you could fully comprehend the Grand Unified Cultivation Art."
Qin Mu's heart shuddered. The Young Ancestor had left him here with deep purpose.
These past two days he had been thinking about finishing the Transmission Garment quickly and leaving this place, without considering what the Young Ancestor's true intention was.
"I was too eager for results."
Qin Mu admitted frankly, bowing respectfully. "Thank you, Heavenly Kings, for your guidance."
"We wouldn't dare!"
The three Heavenly Kings straightened respectfully and bowed in return.
Heavenly King Shi said, "The Cult Master is extraordinarily talented. Staying here a few more days will surely bring great rewards."
Qin Mu calmed his mind, walked to the pine and cypress tree, sat upon the stone, and devoted himself to contemplating the Woodcutter's Discourse.
The three Heavenly Kings breathed a sigh of relief. Heavenly King Shi murmured, "The Young Ancestor left the Cult Master on Holy Arrival Mountain to temper his character. The Cult Master's nature is indeed quite mischievous, but I'm afraid even the Young Ancestor didn't expect the Cult Master to refine the transmission technique to this degree so quickly?"
The other two Heavenly Kings also wore peculiar expressions. The Young Ancestor's plan was sound, but no one had expected that barely had he left before Qin Mu realized the Transmission divine ability couldn't be mastered now and that numerology had to be mastered first.
What was even more monstrous was that Qin Mu immediately realized he could refine a Transmission Treasure first.
It was only the second day, and he had already crafted a Transmission Garment, transmitting back and forth, thoroughly exhausting the three Heavenly Kings.
Heavenly King Lu shook his head. "What level of wisdom does the Young Ancestor possess? How could he not have anticipated this? He must have foreseen it long ago, which is why he left the three of us here to watch over him."
After a moment, the three Heavenly Kings sighed in unison: "The Young Ancestor absolutely did not foresee this."
The three Heavenly Kings were filled with worry and apprehension. This Cult Master was irrepressibly mischievous, yet so brilliant that tempering his character was practically impossible.
At Qin Mu's pace, he would likely master the use of the Transmission Garment after just a few more practice sessions. And then how would they keep him here to temper his nature?
After a moment, Heavenly King Yu laughed. "We're overthinking this."
The other two Heavenly Kings looked at him with inquiry in their eyes. Heavenly King Yu smiled. "The Cult Master is so clever—if he wants to cause trouble, let him. If his nature is mischievous, so be it. After all, he is the Cult Master. We don't need to worry about anything else—we just need to clean up his messes. Cleaning up well—that is our duty."
Heavenly King Shi said, "It can only be this way. Having said that, if the Cult Master is going to cause trouble, I think it would be better to let him leave Holy Arrival Mountain early and go cause trouble at the Imperial Academy instead."
The three elders went to the Phoenix Arrival Pavilion and acted as masons, repairing the pavilion. Then they went to the Three Kings Hall and patched the roof.
Heavenly King Lu made a trip and returned two days later, bringing back the School Hall Master. They had him forge the forgery, writing the record of the Phoenix resting on the wutong tree on the walls of the Phoenix Arrival Pavilion.
After settling everything, the three Heavenly Kings breathed a sigh of relief and exchanged glances. "The Cult Master's contemplation this time should give us half a year of peace, right?"
"With the Cult Master's monstrous talent, I doubt it."
Beneath the pine and cypress tree, upon the Sage's Stone, Qin Mu sat there for days on end. When he grew hungry and thirsty, Hu Ling'er would come running over with a pile of fruit she had picked from somewhere, and Qin Mu would eat the fruit together with her.
Qin Mu contemplated for over ten days, going back and forth through the Woodcutter's Discourse more than ten times, yet he still felt unable to comprehend the Grand Unified Cultivation Art. Gradually, anxiety crept into his heart.
"I'm not eating fruit today. Eating fruit every day is really bland on the tongue."
Qin Mu rose from the Sage's Stone and said to Hu Ling'er, "Today we eat meat. Ling'er, is there anything in the mountains we can eat?"
Hu Ling'er cheered. "There are river deer in the mountains! I saw a whole herd of fragrant river deer and have been wanting to get my hands on them, but this is Holy Arrival Mountain, so I didn't dare act."
Qin Mu was excited. "Let's go catch one!"
Before long, the boy and the fox were roasting river deer meat. Hu Ling'er took out salt and cumin from her bundle and sprinkled them on, the fragrance making their mouths water.
They were truly famished and devoured the entire river deer. Hu Ling'er lay on her back, rubbing her bulging belly, thoroughly satisfied. Qin Mu was also stuffed, so he got up and walked around, activating the Tyrant Body Three Pills Art to speed up digestion.
His steps grew faster and faster, and before he knew it, he was cultivating using the methods from the Village of Broken Elders. His feet moved like the wind, and suddenly he unleashed the Eight Thunderclap Forms, his fists and palms blasting the air apart as thunder boomed.
He then used his hands as hammers, performing the Mute's hammering technique. Each strike turned the air into a great drum, and he seemed like a giant. The deep, rumbling sounds set the leaves of the mountain forest rustling.
Qin Mu's forms changed again—he unleashed his leg techniques, then shifted to spear techniques, then sword techniques, then saber techniques.
His pace grew ever faster. He actually gathered his qi into a brush and painted in the air, abandoning all restraint, indulging freely in his expression.
Suddenly, he performed the Rain-Calling Formula. Rain lines shot forth like swords and bowstrings, the sound of rain interwoven with the notes of a qin.
Then he switched to the Thunder and Flame Art, snapping his fingers in succession. Thunder boomed and fireballs exploded in every direction.
A sphere of fire rose slowly in Qin Mu's hand, growing redder and redder like a setting sun. Flames and sword qi shot out in all directions as he performed the Sunset Sword Art.
Then his qi shifted, and his body surged like a White Tiger, its claws and fangs shattering mountains and splitting stone.
He unleashed the seven chapters of the Creation Mystery Art—Creation Spirit Art taking form, Creation Heavenly God Art manifesting power, Creation Heavenly Demon Art manifesting appearance, Creation Human King Art manifesting dragons, Creation Ghost God Art manifesting spirits, Creation Earth Origin Art manifesting spirits, Creation Primordial Art manifesting infants.
He then performed all manner of spells, fist techniques, sword techniques, and saber techniques from the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra.
Before he knew it, he had fallen into a wondrous state. In his mind, the Woodcutter's voice came in fits and starts—at times resounding, at times fading, at times booming, at times low and deep.
All manner of profound mysteries rushed in, filling his mind, then flowed from his hands and transformed into wondrous techniques.
He felt only joy, wielding freely, no longer asking what technique or ability it was, what form or sword art—everything came out, regardless of order or sequence.
He felt his heart growing wild. If the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra's qi circulation wasn't smooth, he modified it. If the Tyrant Body Three Pills Art's flow was sluggish, he adjusted the direction of his qi naturally.
Acting according to one's nature, letting everything follow its natural course—this was the Dao. At this moment, he finally gained a profound understanding of these words.
He need not follow what the ancients had laid down. It didn't matter whether it was the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra or the Tyrant Body Three Pills Art—however the qi flowed most smoothly, that was how he circulated it. He performed all techniques and abilities, and however his qi was most powerful, that was how he directed it, regardless of whether it was standard.
The more he did this, the more mysteries the Woodcutter's Stone radiated that he was able to comprehend, the more profound insights he gained.
The three Heavenly Kings were also alarmed and hurried out to look. They saw that in the forests of Holy Arrival Mountain, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled from time to time. The ground churned, the air rippled, sword light and blade shadows appeared, and trees fell in waves as entire swathes of forest collapsed.
The three Heavenly Kings' faces changed drastically. Heavenly King Shi cried, "Not good—the Cult Master is heading toward the Sacred Tree!"
The three elders quickly flew into the air and landed beneath the pine and cypress tree. They saw Qin Mu, wild and frenzied, indulging freely and wielding all manner of techniques and abilities at random. His qi even manifested various divine and demonic visions—righteous techniques, demonic techniques, Buddhist techniques—all of them unleashed.
Whether it was the White Tiger Spirit Body's unique divine abilities, the Black Tortoise Spirit Body's specialized defenses, the Green Dragon Spirit Body's wind and thunder, or the Vermilion Bird Spirit Body's true fire—all were displayed in his hands, wielded freely, leaving the three Pillar Heavenly Kings dumbstruck.
"The Grand Unified Cultivation Art..."
Heavenly King Shi murmured, "He's figured it out. He's figured it out..."