Chapter 170 — All Methods Return to the One

The three of them activated the teleportation treasure once more, and there came three muffled pops — and darkness swallowed their sight, their bodies bound tight. Knowing at once that something was wrong, they shook out their qi and shattered whatever encased them, only to discover that, following Shen Mu, they had teleported themselves into the trunks of several great trees. "Where is the Holy Cult Master? " asked Heavenly King Shi.

The words had scarce left his mouth when they caught sight of Shen Mu: from the trunk of a tree two men could barely encircle with their arms, a head poked out, the body sunk inside the wood, struggling and unable to free itself.

That tree was ironwood, harder in texture than steel. Heavenly King Lu, hot-tempered, bellowed, "Cult Master, why have you stopped running?

" "Heavenly Kings, so the three of you have not gone yet?

" Shen Mu, abashed, said, "My qi is spent, and this ironwood has me trapped — I cannot even lift my clothes.

Heavenly Kings, lend me a hand.

" The three Heavenly Kings did not know whether to laugh or to weep. Heavenly King Shi chopped the ironwood apart and hauled Shen Mu free, saying, "Cult Master, you are, after all, the Holy Cult Master of our Holy Cult, high in station and heavy in authority; here on Sacred Descent Mountain you must not run wild.

The buildings of the sacred mountain are all ancient relics, every one of them full of meaning. " Heavenly King Lu said, "Cult Master, you are not a child. .

.

" And here he realized the impropriety of it: was their Holy Cult Master not, precisely, a child?

Shen Mu was not yet fifteen; he could not match even the last digit of their ages.

Heavenly King Lu said sheepishly, "When I was the Cult Master's age I was still playing in the mud. . . no, by then I was already out in the fields bringing in the rice.

But Cult Master, the teleportation art is most perilous; one slip, and if you land in some forbidden ground, not even the gods could bring you back!

And here on Sacred Descent Mountain, there are no few forbidden grounds!

" Shen Mu shivered. To land in some forbidden ground would be to die with not even a patch of earth for a grave! "Cult Master, teleportation treasures all require anchoring; the key is how to fix the exact bearing of the teleport. " The three Heavenly Kings exchanged glances, suppressing the shock in their hearts. Heavenly King Shi said, "Cult Master, you refined a teleportation robe, yet you have not mastered accurate teleportation — that is most dangerous.

To teleport, you must first determine where you stand, then determine where you mean to go; and as you near the destination, you must at once withdraw your qi, or you will collide with something.

On your first attempts, do not go far — go short.

Short, so that you may halt at any moment. " Shen Mu's eyes brightened. "Let me try again! " The three Heavenly Kings' faces instantly clouded with care. Heavenly King Yu said hurriedly, "Cult Master, your qi is exhausted now; there is no need to rush these things.

And the reason the Patriarch left you here was not that you might study the teleportation arts, but that you might calm your heart and comprehend the Great Unification Art.

Sacred Descent Mountain is tranquil, free of the world's noisy vulgarity; if you leave this place, I fear even a year or two may not suffice to comprehend the Great Unification Art thoroughly.

" Shen Mu was struck with awe.

The young Patriarch had indeed left him here with profound intent.

These past two days he had thought only of refining the teleportation robe soon and leaving this place; he had never asked himself what the young Patriarch's true purpose had been.

"I was too eager for results.

" Shen Mu, forthright, bowed his thanks.

"Many thanks to the Heavenly Kings for pointing out my way.

" "We dare not!

" The three Heavenly Kings, solemn, hastily returned the courtesy. Heavenly King Shi said, "The Cult Master's mind is surpassing; stay a few more days here, and you will surely reap much. " Shen Mu calmed his heart, walked to that pine-and-cypress tree, sat down upon the stone, and with all his mind pondered the woodcutter's preaching from the stone.

The three Heavenly Kings let out a breath. Heavenly King Shi murmured, "The Patriarch kept the Cult Master on Sacred Descent Mountain to temper his nature.

The Holy Cult Master's temper is indeed most unruly; but I fear even the Patriarch did not imagine the Cult Master would refine the teleportation art to such a degree so quickly.

" The other two Heavenly Kings likewise wore strange expressions.

The young Patriarch's idea had been good, but none had foreseen that the moment he left, Shen Mu would grasp that the teleportation art could not now be mastered, that one must first be well versed in the arts of number and divination. And more monstrous still, Shen Mu had at once grasped that he might first refine a teleportation treasure.

Now, on only the second day, he had cobbled together a teleportation robe, teleporting here and there, harrying the three Heavenly Kings half to death.

Heavenly King Lu shook his head. "What wisdom the Patriarch had!

How could he not have foreseen it? He must have anticipated this long ago, and so set the three of us to stand guard here.

" A moment later the three Heavenly Kings sighed in one voice: "The Patriarch absolutely did not anticipate this.

" The three Heavenly Kings were anxious and uneasy at heart: this Holy Cult Master was unruly past measure, and yet so brilliant that it was truly impossible even to temper his nature. At Shen Mu's pace, a few more practices and he would master the use of the teleportation robe. And then how were they to keep him here to grind down his unruly temper? After a moment, Heavenly King Yu laughed.

"We are splitting hairs. " The other two looked at him in inquiry.

Heavenly King Yu said with a smile, "The Holy Cult Master is so clever; if he loves to fret and fuss, let him fret and fuss; if his temper is unruly, let it be unruly. He is the Cult Master, after all.

We need not concern ourselves with anything else — only with wiping his backside. And to wipe it well — that is our proper duty.

" Heavenly King Shi said, "That is all we can do.

Even so, if the Cult Master means to kick up trouble, I say we had best let him leave Sacred Descent Mountain early and go back to the Taixue Academy to kick up his trouble there. " The three elders came to Phoenix Advent Pavilion, played the mason, and repaired the pavilion; then they went on to the Hall of the Three Kings and patched its roof.

That done, the three Heavenly Kings breathed easier, and exchanged glances: "This comprehension of the Holy Cult Master's — it should buy us half a year of ease, should it not? " "With the Holy Cult Master's monstrousness?

Hardly.

" Beneath the pine-and-cypress, upon the Sage's Stone, Shen Mu sat withered for several days.

When hunger and thirst came, the fox came running, bearing a heap of fruits gathered from who knew where, and Shen Mu ate the fruits together with the little snow fox. Shen Mu pondered for more than ten days, savouring the woodcutter's sermon a dozen times over, and still found the Great Unification Art hard to comprehend; his heart could not help but grow restless.

"No fruit today — fruit every day, and my mouth has gone terribly bland.

" Shen Mu rose from the Sage's Stone and said to the snow fox, "Today we eat meat. Ling'er, is there anything in these mountains fit to eat?

" The snow fox gave a cheer. "There are river deer in the mountains! I saw a herd of musk deer — I have wanted to nab one for ages, only this is Sacred Descent Mountain, and I dared not touch anything.

" Shen Mu, elated, said, "Let us go hunt one! " Before long, man and fox were roasting river-deer meat; the snow fox took salt and cumin from its bundle and sprinkled them on — fragrant, mouth-watering. They had truly craved it; they ate a whole deer clean.