**Chapter 99: The Way of the Sages**
Qin Mu stepped forward, radiating vitality. As the saying goes, fine feathers make fine birds—this outfit fit him perfectly, far surpassing the beast-hide garments he'd worn before.
Fragrance Master Qu laughed. "Young Master's craftsmanship is superb. I'm tempted to keep you here as my shop tailor."
Qin Mu smiled. "This is Grandmother's craft. I'm merely learning as I go."
The shop owner nodded. "Young Master, though this fabric is impervious to blades, it cannot defend against spiritual weapons like needles. Please be mindful."
Qin Mu thanked him for the reminder.
Fragrance Master Qu clapped his hands, summoning a young attendant. After a whispered instruction, the boy brought a money pouch, which the shop owner presented. "Young Master, this isn't a large sum, but it represents this subordinate's sincerity."
Qin Mu took only a handful—perhaps a hundred coins—and smiled. "I've already received your shop's treasure. That's more than enough. Please keep the rest."
Fragrance Master Qu agreed. "As the saying goes, rouge for the fair maiden, a fine sword for the hero. These Dragon Fang Shears have been enshrined here and rarely used. Since Young Master's tailoring is so exceptional, perhaps you should keep them."
Qin Mu politely declined, and the shop owner relented.
Feng Xiuyun escorted Qin Mu to the inn before taking her leave. "Young Master, the lock gates open tomorrow, and the caravan will depart Mishui Pass. Please remember to travel with them. These times are truly unsettled."
Qin Mu expressed his thanks.
That night, Hu Ling'er lit the oil lamp. By candlelight, Qin Mu raised his hand. A thread from his glove's fingertip extended like a living snake, gradually thickening until the characters of the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra became visible. He studied them carefully.
The Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra was a scripture that could lead one to godhood or demonhood. When Qin Mu departed, Grandma Si had given him this scripture but hadn't taught him how to cultivate it, leaving him to comprehend it on his own.
"Grandmother said the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra was originally brought down from heaven by sages who intended to use this art to enlighten all beings. Unfortunately, it was too easily practiced incorrectly, earning it the name 'Heavenly Demon Sutra.'"
Qin Mu carefully examined the general principles of the sutra. The opening statement was nothing short of thunderous:
"The Way of the Sages differs not from the daily use of the common people. Whatever differs from this is heterodox! Acting according to one's nature, following what is natural—that is the Way."
Qin Mu started in surprise. The meaning was clear: any principle that couldn't serve the daily needs of the common people—whether it be the way of gods, demons, or Buddha—was heresy.
Whatever served the people's daily lives was the righteous path.
And what constituted the righteous path? Acting according to nature, letting things be natural.
Such a fierce opening explained why this text was called a demon scripture!
Yet this principle also laid the foundation for the Heavenly Devil Cult. The cult's three hundred and sixty halls were each led by masters from as many worldly trades—professions that served the people's daily needs and were visible in ordinary life. The divine abilities employed by these halls were similarly practical: the Rain Hall Master performing rituals to bring rain for the people's drought relief.
This was the music of the common folk, while the way of gods and Buddhas was the music of the elite.
Qin Mu actually found the general principles of the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra quite reasonable, though he could see how they might be misunderstood.
The sutra contained an enormous variety of techniques and divine abilities—innovative and bizarre concepts that left Qin Mu dazzled and astonished.
However, as Qin Mu drew the glove into a single thread and read from beginning to end, his brow furrowed increasingly. The Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra lacked a unifying cultivation method that could encompass all its techniques!
Cultivation arts consisted of both gong (inner power methods) and fa (techniques). For instance, Qin Mu's Supreme Body Three-Dan Art was gong—the internal driving force—while techniques included the Butcher's Blade Arts, the Heaven-Thieving Leg Arts, and the Eight Thunder Moves. Techniques were the means of channeling a gong's power to its fullest.
For techniques to achieve maximum potency, they required corresponding gong.
The Eight Thunder Moves, for example, needed the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra to unleash their full power.
Though the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra contained numerous gong and fa, it had no single method to unify all techniques. This fell far short of a scripture said to enable one to become a god or demon.
"The Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra is incomplete!"
Qin Mu immediately grasped the crux of the matter. Though the sutra encompassed everything, it lacked a unified cultivation method. The sheer number of techniques and divine abilities meant each was individually excellent, but practicing any one demanded considerable energy, making mastery of the complete sutra impossible.
Within the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, the varieties of gong and fa numbered over a thousand. Nearly every fa had a corresponding gong, but no single method could command all of them.
Only one explanation could account for this: the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra was incomplete.
"But it can't truly be incomplete. The Heavenly Devil Cult treats this scripture as their most precious treasure—their foundational cultivation method. There must be a unifying technique. Otherwise, the cult wouldn't have pursued Grandmother for forty years..."
Qin Mu's mind stirred, and he reviewed the sutra from beginning to end once more, but still found no clue. He then examined it in reverse, from end to beginning, yet remained no wiser.
"Where is the key to the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra? Perhaps even Grandmother never discovered the unifying principle."
Qin Mu fell into deep thought. Among the nine elders of the Village of Broken Elders, Grandma Si possessed the lowest cultivation. It seemed she too had been unable to unify the sutra's myriad techniques.
She had likely chosen to cultivate only a few methods, avoiding the waste of time and energy that would come from attempting too many.
For any person to master and perfect the thousand-plus gong and fa of the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra within their lifetime was nearly impossible.
"Could it be in that jade box sealed by the successive Ancestors?"
Qin Mu rummaged through his bundle and found the jade box Grandma Si had stuffed in. He tried to open it, but it was sealed with numerous talismans. When Grandma Si had caused chaos in Xianglong City, she'd mentioned these were seals from the Heavenly Devil Cult's successive Cult Masters.
Qin Mu pinched one talisman and gently peeled it off—it came away easily.
He stared at it, then turned it over. On the back were written words: "Fake, hehe."
"Grandmother really is playful..."
Qin Mu shook his head, removed the remaining talismans, and opened the box. Inside, it was empty.
"Without a unifying method, who could ever cultivate the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra?"
His head throbbed. After pondering a moment, he thought: "My cultivation method is the Supreme Body Three-Dan Art. I already have a gong. Why bother seeking the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra's unifying principle? Couldn't I use the Supreme Body Three-Dan Art to unify them instead?"
He acted on the thought immediately. Opening the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, he located a technique called the Rain-Making Art. In short order, he had learned it.
He pushed open the window and peered into the darkness outside, hesitating briefly before realizing: "This is no longer the Great Ruins. The darkness out there is ordinary night. There are still people on the streets—no need for fear."
His tension eased. He leaped from the window, caught the eave, and with a light exertion, flipped onto the roof.
A gust of wind blew from the window, and Hu Ling'er flew out on her cushion pillow, blown this way and that until she landed beside Qin Mu on the roof.
"What is that in the sky?" The little fox suddenly cried out, pointing at the moon with a mixture of wonder and fear.
"That's the moon."
Qin Mu looked up, his gaze misty. "It should be the moon, right? I saw it during the day—it looked somewhat like this..."
He wasn't entirely certain. When he was young, Grandma Si had pointed to a pale silver sphere in the daytime sky and told him it was the moon, that it would be very bright at night. But in all his life, Qin Mu had never seen the moon after dark.
Nights in the Great Ruins were pitch black, with nothing visible in the sky. Similarly, there were no stars.
The bright moon hung clear and luminous—it was the sixteenth of the fifth month, when the moon reached its fullest.
Under the moonlight, Qin Mu activated the Rain-Making Art. Above the inn, clouds gathered, and rain began to fall in a gentle patter.
With a wave of his hand, Qin Mu halted all the raindrops. Countless rain lines hung suspended in the air, as if time itself had frozen.
Hu Ling'er marveled, jumping up to touch the rain lines, getting her fur thoroughly wet before dashing back into the inn and using her magic to dry herself.
On the roof, Qin Mu's hands moved as his vital energy drove the Rain-Making Art. He plucked at the rain lines, and they emitted melodic sounds like stringed instruments. As the music played, the raindrops transformed into razor-sharp water blades that shot skyward.
The blades pierced through dozens of yards before losing momentum and reverting to water.
This was the merchant district, filled with traders, so his practice drew no inquiry.
"Still not quite right. Not smooth enough."
Qin Mu's feet shifted as he continuously plucked the rain lines. Within the rain, hundreds of invisible blades clashed and collided, brimming with killing intent. Hu Ling'er drifted from the inn's window again, clapping her furry paws in delight.
The Rain-Making Art had its own corresponding gong. When Qin Mu drove it with the Supreme Body Three-Dan Art, he felt unable to fully unleash its power.
His technique was already formidable, but that was primarily due to his exceptional cultivation. With the proper gong, this art could be vastly more powerful.