Chapter 164 — The Holy Lady

Along the way, Shen Mu could not help but marvel: in Luodu alone, those who wielded divine abilities were too numerous to count, and one could well imagine how many more there were throughout the realm. At present the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping could not command these forces, but once the opposition was eradicated or subdued, Jingping's overall strength would not be diminished in the least; on the contrary, it would rise greatly. At last he came to Yongzhou.

Unlike Luodu, Yongzhou presented a scene of peace and prosperity; the people lived and worked in contentment, flourishing and thriving. Passing by the fields, Shen Mu saw several martial artists casting spells, summoning wind and shaping it into blade after blade of wind to help the farmers harvest their dry rice. Shen Mu halted to watch.

He saw that the martial artists practiced the spells of the Youmo Cult; they controlled the wind, and after finishing the harvest of dry rice for several households, they went to settle accounts with the farmers. One of the girls said, "Do not dry the grain in the sun today; there will be rain toward evening. " The farmers thanked them again and again. Seeing Shen Mu standing at the edge of the field staring their way, the martial artists were puzzled. The girl came forward and stopped a short distance from Shen Mu.

She saluted and said, "Senior brother, is something the matter? " Shen Mu smiled warmly. "Are you from the Wind Hall?

" Shen Mu asked curiously, "Has the Wind Hall not taught you this spell in full?

" Shen Mu circulated his vital essence, transforming it into Azure Dragon vital essence, and said with a smile, "It happens I still have some time.

Let me teach you. Watch. " There beside the rice field he stirred his Azure Dragon vital essence and performed Autumn Wind Skims the Ground.

Blade after blade of wind, like curved scimitars, like snakes gliding through the fields, wove and darted onward; a hundred or more wind blades skimmed along the ground, making straight for an enemy's ankles.

"This move is not only about blades hugging the ground; it can also be used like this.

" Shen Mu suddenly tapped the ground lightly with his toes, leaped up, then landed his toes on a rapidly spinning wind blade, which carried him rushing forward. Standing atop the wind blade, he cast spells while attacking forward; a hundred or more wind blades howled, sweeping through a space of some twenty yards around him, screaming as they slashed ahead!

Although Autumn Wind Skims the Ground was an ordinary spell, its power was in truth not small; on the contrary, this single move was enough to display the greatness of the Great Yu Youmo Scripture, for it could evolve into all manner of different forms of attack. Shen Mu landed and dispersed the spell. They hurriedly sought his guidance. Shen Mu sat down beside the field ridge and answered them in detail, explaining the subtleties of how the power flowed in this move and how to control it with fine precision.

"This move has several other variations.

The wind blades do not necessarily have to travel along the ground. " Shen Mu performed Autumn Wind Skims the Ground again. Suddenly his fingers quivered, and blade after blade of wind stood upright and struck upward.

"The art of spells," he said, "is in fact interconnected with swordsmanship and combat techniques. Though Autumn Wind Skims the Ground is a spell, it can at any moment transform into sword arts or combat skills. " He suddenly produced a blade orb and gave it a gentle shake.

Curved blade after curved blade flew out from the orb, and what he performed was also Autumn Wind Skims the Ground. Though its variations were fewer than when cast as a spell, its power increased several times over. Shen Mu scooped up two curved blades in his hands. Suddenly the blade light flared.

His hands flew, and the blade light skimmed along the ground; the move he performed was again Autumn Wind Skims the Ground, and its power was even greater than when unleashed from the blade orb!

Shen Mu withdrew his blades. Curved blade after curved blade flew back, ringing as they sank one after another into the blade orb. He looked back and saw that the youths and girls were all gaping, utterly spellbound.

Shen Mu smiled.

"Do you understand? " Shen Mu guided them patiently. "Who decreed that a spell must always be used as a spell? There is no harm in using it as blade technique, and using it as a combat skill is only natural. When you practice spells, do not cling to old rules, and do not be bound by others' experience.

" The youths and girls fell into thought. Shen Mu explained the essence of the move several more times, and when they had learned it completely, he asked, "Have you never gone to school? I see you are all young; why do you not attend a primary school? " One youth said gloomily, "We are poor.

Where would we get the money for school? We can only earn a little during the busy farming season. The Holy Cult teaches us spells, sword arts, and combat skills so that we can make a living and not starve to death. " "I see.

" Shen Mu fell into thought. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice say, "Taught well, and learned well.

" Shen Mu quickly turned.

Seeing who had spoken, he hurriedly saluted.

"Patriarch. Elder of Punishments. When did you arrive? " The Young Patriarch had appeared at some point not far away, with the Elder of Punishments beside him. The Elder of Punishments smiled.

"We have been here a while.

We were passing through and saw you teaching them spells, so we stood to the side and listened without disturbing you. " The Young Patriarch praised him. "I now feel that giving you the Great Yu Youmo Scripture was an incomparably correct decision.

When others cultivate the Great Yu Youmo Scripture, merely learning it is already considered remarkable; for a single spell, they can at most develop one or two uses, yet you have devised so many. Good. Very good. " Shen Mu asked doubtfully, "Should spells not be used this way?

" The Young Patriarch smiled.

"They should. It is only that the previous few Sect Masters were too foolish to think of such uses.

Let us go. " Shen Mu assented, brought Snow Fox along, and followed him toward Yongzhou City.

"Oh no, I forgot to ask who he was! " one girl cried out in surprise. The youths and girls stared blankly as Shen Mu and the others walked away. One youth muttered, "Just now he called that other youth Patriarch and called that old man Elder of Punishments, so who could he be.

. . " On the road, Shen Mu saw some Youmo Cult disciples using spells to dig canals, others using spells to plow fields, and still others using flight spells to fly up into trees and pick fruit. However, most of these disciples were not skilled in their spells, and most had not learned them in full. This time Shen Mu did not stop to teach these Youmo Cult disciples the complete spells. The Youmo Cult had too many disciples, spread throughout the world; if he taught alone, it would be impossible to teach them all, and there was no telling how long it would take.

"In Yongzhou, our Holy Cult has rather many disciples.

" The Young Patriarch smiled. "Seeing this, what are your thoughts?

" "Patriarch, you assisted the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping in establishing the Imperial Academy, the University, and primary schools, yet our Holy Cult's disciples have no place to study.

Patriarch, you remembered the world but forgot the Holy Cult.

" Shen Mu shook his head. "Patriarch, you should establish primary schools, universities, and an imperial academy within our cult, so that our disciples do not fall behind the times. " The Young Patriarch smiled. "That is the work of the Holy Sect Master, not of the Patriarch.

Young Sect Master, from now on this shall be your responsibility. " Shen Mu was startled. "Forty years ago, why did Sect Master Li not do it?

" "Sect Master Li was addicted to women and bewitched by the Sect Master's widow.