Qin Mu, Old Ma, and the Blind One all nodded in agreement. Grandma Si was beautiful, but she would never use her beauty as a weapon. On the contrary, she knew the destructive power of her looks and would actively disguise herself, playing the part of an ugly woman when meeting others.
However, the great Cult Master Li was different.
The former master of the Heavenly Demon Cult had a twisted mind. He loved Grandma Si too deeply, envied her too greatly, to the point of wanting to become her. Moreover, his understanding of the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra differed from Qin Mu's — Qin Mu had also obtained the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra and received the transmission of teachings on the Woodcutter Stone, grasping the great unified cultivation method. But having been raised among the elders of the Village of Broken Elders since childhood, even though his conduct was sometimes unconventional, he still walked an upright path.
Qin Mu's great unified cultivation method was rooted in the Hegemon Body Three Dantian Art, quite orthodox in nature. Though it contained many techniques and divine abilities that others might consider demonic, when Qin Mu employed them, they were carried out with dignity and propriety.
But the great Cult Master Li's great unified cultivation method was thoroughly sinister, a quintessentially demonic affair.
The great Cult Master Li would never let "himself" suffer any indignity or play the part of an ugly person to meet others. On the contrary, "she" would flaunt her beauty, bringing chaos to the common folk.
As the saying goes, one smile could topple a city, two smiles could topple a kingdom — the great Cult Master Li could not have cared less.
Qin Mu went to Grandma Si's room to pack up, gathering the various animal hides she had collected over the years and placing them in the gluttony bag for any emergency.
Old Ma and the Blind One also packed their belongings. The Blind One's gear was simple — a bamboo staff and a fortune-telling banner with a bronze bagua hanging from it. Old Ma, however, carefully collected the memorial tablets of his wife and children, kissed each one, and wrapped them in a cloth bundle.
He wore a dark blue cassock, like a wandering monk who had endured great suffering and hardship.
Grandma Si's Dao heart was still somewhat unstable, prone to episodes of relapse. Old Ma could help her suppress the great Cult Master Li, while the Blind One stood ready in case Old Ma could not hold — at that point, he would strike and wound the great Cult Master Li, making it easier for Qin Mu to provide treatment.
They walked out of the village. Grandma Si said self-deprecatingly, "Now I need all of you to protect me — even little Mu has to protect me. But I am the former Holy Maiden of the Demon Cult, and the old Buddha is a Tathagata. Will he lend a hand?"
Old Ma's face betrayed no emotion. "The old Tathagata will help you. The great Cult Master Li is the former master of the Heavenly Demon Cult, an existence on equal footing with the old Tathagata. The old Tathagata considers subduing demons as meritorious virtue. Subduing this great demon, the Cult Master Li, will aid his cultivation progress. Besides, it is common for Buddhas to sacrifice themselves to demons."
Qin Mu said worriedly, "I fear that after they subdue the great Cult Master Li, they might subdue Grandma Si along with him."
"The old Tathagata would not do that."
Old Ma shook his head. "He has his own principles, and those principles are his Dao, his rules. At his level of cultivation, he does not need to think about rules — his words and actions never depart from the rules, and that itself is the rule."
Qin Mu could not help but feel somewhat curious. Old Ma and the old Tathagata had deep enmity between them, yet from Old Ma's words, he seemed to hold the old Tathagata in considerable respect and admiration.
This was not merely because the old Tathagata had once been Old Ma's master. The old Tathagata must truly have qualities worthy of respect.
"My doubt now is about the old Tathagata's ability."
The Blind One looked up and said, "Does the old Tathagata truly have the strength? Can he suppress the great Cult Master Li? The great Cult Master Li is an existence on equal standing with him."
No one spoke further.
Among the three great sacred grounds of the martial world — the Dao Sect, the Great Thunderclap Monastery, and the Heavenly Demon Cult — the great Cult Master Li, as the former master of the Heavenly Demon Cult, was a supreme figure in the realm, an existence who stood alongside the old Tathagata.
For the old Tathagata to refine and subdue him would no doubt be extremely difficult.
"The Great Thunderclap Monastery sits on the border between the Great Ruins and the State of Yankang."
Old Ma continued, "Legend has it that the God-Severed Mountain Range was cut by a god, who carved out a great chasm separating the Great Ruins from the State of Yankang. There is a legend within the Great Thunderclap Monastery that when the god's blade reached Mount Sumeru, the monks upon the mountain sat peacefully, filling every peak, vowing to perish alongside Mount Sumeru. The god, moved by the monks' sincerity, circumvented Mount Sumeru. All the other mountains were split clean in half, but only Mount Sumeru was preserved."
The Blind One chuckled. "I think there was simply someone powerful above Mount Sumeru. Otherwise, the god could not be bothered to care about the monks on the mountain."
Mount Sumeru stood at the boundary between the Great Ruins and the State of Yankang, with the State of Yankang on one side and the Great Ruins on the other. This sacred mountain was far from the frontier and the secret waters, though not terribly distant from the Qingmen Pass of the northern frontier — only about four or five thousand li.
From the Village of Broken Elders to Mount Sumeru was slightly less than thirty thousand li. Qin Mu's pace was slower than Grandma Si's and Old Ma's, so walking would take six or seven days.
The nights in the Great Ruins were far too dangerous, so they could only travel by day, which meant the journey would take extra time.
If they flew through the air, they could arrive in two days. But Qin Mu's cultivation was not high enough — if he ran at full speed through the sky, he would need to stop and rest after a hundred li or so to recover his qi. It was better to travel on foot.
Qin Mu brought out the dragon qilin for transportation. The dragon qilin could barely keep up with Old Ma and the others, not dragging the group down.
At dusk, they arrived at an ancient temple. The area was desolate and uninhabited, with only a few strange beasts inside the temple. The creatures paid them no mind when they arrived, lazily sprawled beside a statue of the Heavenly King.
"Little Mu, come pay your respects." The Blind One took out several sticks of incense and beckoned to Qin Mu.
The old man and the young boy hurried to the statue of the Heavenly King, inserted the incense into the worn censer, took three steps back, and prayed in unison: "This humble one is a resident of the Village of Broken Elders, living by the riverside. Passing by this precious temple, we seek to rest on this sacred ground. We apologize for disturbing the master of this place. This humble one has been frail and weak since childhood, with an early leak of primordial yang..."
"Bah!" Grandma Si said angrily. "Blind One, you are corrupting little Mu!"
The Blind One laughed. "Old woman Si, you are not afraid of being taken, but we are. Don't believe me? Ask little Mu if the prayer I taught him worked."
Qin Mu nodded vigorously. "It worked! When Xian Qing'er heard the prayer, she didn't take me."
Grandma Si did not know whether to laugh or cry, and called Qin Mu over. "Come help me cook." When Qin Mu came over, Grandma Si whispered, "The Blind One is full of tricks. Don't always follow his example."
Night fell. The Heavenly King Temple was very quiet — no sound could be heard in any direction except for the dragon qilin's snoring.
Old Ma sat upright like a Buddha. The Blind One leaned against his bamboo staff in a corner of the wall and dozed with his head lowered. Qin Mu used some dry grass to make two simple beds, and Grandma Si slept beside him.
The night deepened in silence.
At that moment, suddenly the sound of drums and gongs erupted outside the temple. Everyone inside was immediately alert. Qin Mu sat up and looked around, but the darkness was still and quiet — only the candles inside the temple emitted a faint glow. Yet the drumming and gong sounds outside were so clear, drawing ever closer.
The Blind One and Old Ma hurried to Qin Mu and Grandma Si's side. Old Ma made a gesture for silence.
The sound of drums and gongs grew closer and closer, gradually arriving at the temple entrance. Several deep voices commanded: "Silence!"
"Make way!"
Several stone statues of divine beings in tattered armor walked into the temple. Beneath the crumbling armor, the stone figures were battered and worn, yet they seemed like living gods. Qin Mu caught a whiff of a pungent, rotting stench.
These statues were quite imposing, followed by a hundred or so bone-white skeleton soldiers carrying tattered weapons, marching in neat formation. Some of the skeleton soldiers held drums and gongs, while others carried banners that read "Silence" and "Make Way."
The stone statues entered the temple, while the skeleton soldiers remained outside.
Qin Mu stared wide-eyed in horror at this absurd scene. The dragon qilin also woke up and yawned with its great maw.
From the mouth of one of the stone divine statues came a human voice, addressing the statue of the Heavenly King in the temple: "Reporting to the Sea-Suppressing Heavenly King! The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, Ao Zhen, has rebelled during the natural disaster. His Majesty has issued an order from the Land of Carefree, commanding us to come and assist the Sea-Suppressing Heavenly King in slaying him!"
The dragon qilin had been sleeping curled up beneath the statue of the Heavenly King, still drowsy and unsure of what was happening.
Suddenly, the towering statue of the Heavenly King beside the qilin stirred. The eight banners planted behind the statue swayed, the stone figure trembled and rattled, then rose to its feet, impossibly majestic and imposing, and bellowed: "After twenty thousand years of catastrophe, this wretch still dares to rebel! Bring me my blade!"
From behind the temple came the sharp ring of a blade being unsheathed. A Qinglong crescent moon blade, over thirty feet long, erupted from the earth behind the temple and came hurtling through the air, catching with a clang in the grasp of the Heavenly King statue. The blade hummed and vibrated.
"Where is my mount?" the Heavenly King statue thundered.
The dragon qilin finally came to its senses, but suddenly felt a heavy weight bear down upon it as the Heavenly King statue mounted its back. Helplessly, it was sent soaring into the air and out of the temple.
The dragon qilin was terrified beyond measure. The voice of the Heavenly King statue boomed from its back: "You all remain here! I shall go slay the rebel and return!"
With that, the dragon qilin was involuntarily transformed into a streak of fire, carrying the Heavenly King statue as they vanished into the vast darkness.
Rather than saying the dragon qilin carried the statue, it was more accurate to say the Heavenly King statue was carrying it into flight. The dragon qilin could not possibly bear the weight of the Heavenly King statue on its own.
Inside the temple, Qin Mu, Grandma Si, the Blind One, and the others were struck dumb, unable to speak for a long while.
The group exchanged bewildered glances. After an indeterminate amount of time, with dawn perhaps approaching, a dragon's roar suddenly sounded, followed by a tremendous crash. A dragon's head tumbled down from the pitch-black sky and rolled twice across the courtyard of the Heavenly King Temple.
Qin Mu looked quickly and saw that the dragon's head was carved from stone — not a real one.
Then the dragon's roar sounded again without end. The Heavenly King statue came flying back on the dragon qilin, vaulted off its back, and settled once more upon the lotus platform inside the temple. It planted the Qinglong crescent moon blade beside itself and said: "Go back and report to His Majesty. This general has not failed his mission — the rebel leader has been beheaded."
The stone statues received their orders, turned, and walked into the darkness, leading the skeleton soldiers away until they vanished. The sound of drums and gongs gradually faded into silence.
Not long after, the crowing of a rooster sounded through the Great Ruins. The darkness receded, the sun rose, and its light poured into the Heavenly King Temple.
Qin Mu shook his head. The events of the night felt like a dream, utterly bizarre and inexplicable.
"Dragon Fatty, what's wrong with you?" Qin Mu asked when he saw the dragon qilin was still dazing.
"I had a dream!"
The dragon qilin was still somewhat dazed. "I dreamed I was carrying a divine king, blazing with brilliant light, charging into a battlefield of surging waves. Countless divine dragons attacked me, and then they were cut down by the divine king riding on my back. I carried that divine king into the sea and charged into a horde of dragon gods, cutting off the head of a Dragon King and carrying it away. That dream felt so real..."
Qin Mu looked at the Blind One and Old Ma and whispered, "Grandpa Blind One, do you think what happened last night was real?"
The Blind One and Old Ma both shook their heads.
"Things in the Great Ruins — who can say for certain? Let's keep moving. Getting to the Great Thunderclap Monastery is what matters."
Qin Mu gazed at the statue of the Heavenly King with a peculiar feeling in his heart. He stepped forward and reached out to touch it. The statue was cold to the touch — not flesh and blood.
"His Majesty issued an order from the Land of Carefree... the Land of Carefree issued an order..."
Qin Mu's expression was complicated as he murmured, "Where exactly is the Land of Carefree..."