Chapter 177 — Knowing and Doing in Equal Measure

Young Holy Cult Master, you have a long road still to walk. " Still Shen Mu could not see through this man. As he was now, he could not yet debate principles with a man of the Imperial Preceptor's level. The Imperial Preceptor's vision was too high, his experience too broad, his depths too deep, and his understanding of the Dao and its divine powers had reached an awe-inspiring height.

He had not reached that level.

He could not fathom the Imperial Preceptor's mind, nor did he know whether in the future the man would be friend or foe. But for the present, as Holy Cult Master, Shen Mu must plan for the future of the Dark Demon Cult. "For this rebellion of the sects within Jingping, my Heaven-Sage Cult will give the Imperial Preceptor its full support. " Shen Mu weighed his words carefully and said, "But I also need a promise from the Imperial Preceptor: after this rebellion is put down, will the Imperial Preceptor purge my cult and tear down the bridge once it has been crossed?

" The Imperial Preceptor turned to look at him and said, "I will not.

" Shen Mu's face showed inquiry.

The Imperial Preceptor said, leisurely, "I need a goad.

To leave the Dark Demon Cult alive is to leave a sword hanging above my head, to goad me, to warn me, so that I do not fall into error. " He smiled slightly. "I am too strong.

If I make a mistake, who can do anything about me?

I need a power that can kill me when my Dao-heart loses its way, and the Heaven-Sage Cult suits very well.

If I betray your principles, I will await your coming to kill me. " Shen Mu felt a certain dread. The Imperial Preceptor strode away.

Shen Mu let out a breath of foul air, feeling that the fine hairs on his body were about to stand on end. In his heart there was only one thought: "The Imperial Preceptor is not a man! " Not human. So long as one is a man, one has the seven emotions and six desires, and one has selfish thoughts; yet the Imperial Preceptor had no seven emotions and six desires, no selfish thoughts.

Without these things, he was no longer a man.

Or one might also call him a sage.

Would the Imperial Preceptor be a sage?

He steadied his mind and dispersed the tangled thoughts in his heart.

Then the dragon qilin in the courtyard said in a muffled, booming voice, "This man is very terrifying.

He stands here; I can see him, but I cannot sense him. " Shen Mu was slightly startled. Just now he had not used the Azure Heaven Eye to look upon the Imperial Preceptor, and a chance had been lost.

He had once used the Heaven Eye to look upon the village headman, and had seen a god of whole body and radiant majesty.

If he looked upon the Imperial Preceptor, what would he see?

Outside the Scholars' Lodge, Shen Feiyue was bowing in waiting. The Imperial Preceptor came over and said, "Let us go back. " Shen Feiyue did not dare say much.

As they walked, the Imperial Preceptor suddenly said, "The Grand Libationer had good judgment. " Shen Feiyue smiled.

"Pei Wujiu is not bad, but he has been sealed in ice for two hundred years, standing still and making no progress. I fear he has fallen behind the times.

" "I mean the other Grand Libationer.

" The Imperial Preceptor turned his head to look back at the Grand Academy and said, "The successor he chose is very good, a fine seedling — only he is very like me. Seeing this person always makes me somewhat uncomfortable.

I always want to kill him. " Shen Feiyue was puzzled as to his meaning.

The Imperial Preceptor strode away, murmuring, "I hate looking in mirrors.

The self in the mirror is never so perfect as the self in my principles. " In the Scholars' Lodge, Shen Mu could at last settle his heart. His Grand Unification Art was not yet perfected; he still needed to calm himself and ponder it in detail, striving to make it as flawless as he could.

The Imperial Preceptor had dealt him a mighty shock.

A man who advances and struggles for a principle always has some charm that makes the heart bow. As for the Imperial Preceptor's saying that to leave the Dark Demon Cult alive was to leave a sword hanging overhead — to accomplish that would be very hard.

Even marshaling the whole strength of the Dark Demon Cult, it could not be done. "The Imperial Preceptor has such heroic spirit; he must be granted his wish.

" Shen Mu urged his art into motion, walking gradually about the courtyard, minutely experiencing the Grand Unification Art he had created upon the foundation of the Mystic Body Three Cinnabar Art, then gathering and ordering it, and from time to time taking out the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Sutra to ponder over it. A long while passed.

Shen Mu let out a breath of foul air, and his speed suddenly increased. He ran swiftly over hill and field, driving into motion the Grand Unification Art he had comprehended, his figure flitting like a flash of light and a passing shadow over the slopes before and behind the Grand Academy's mountain.