Danyangzi rose to his feet and looked toward the battle between Qin Mu and Dao Child Lin Xuan. As for the strange beast, half dragon and half qilin, beneath the mountain gate nearby, it had already lost interest in this side and fallen back into deep sleep.
"The Dao Child can't hold out any longer. He's going to use his full strength." Danyangzi's heart tightened.
Qin Mu's attacks were simply too fast and too domineering. Once he seized the initiative, he gave his opponent no chance to catch his breath, continuing to strike until the other side admitted defeat or died!
Dao Child Lin Xuan could gain no advantage in vital qi, and his techniques were also being suppressed by Qin Mu. He had sealed his Six Harmonies Spirit Vault, so many of his techniques and divine powers could not be used. His only chance now was to employ the Dao Sect's sect-guarding sword art.
Only the sect-guarding sword art could change the situation before them and turn defeat into victory!
It was just that even Danyangzi did not know whether Dao Child Lin Xuan could execute the sect-guarding sword art at the Five Planets Spirit Vault realm.
The Dao Sect's sect-guarding sword art placed extremely high demands on vital qi, and its consumption was also immense. Danyangzi judged that Dao Child Lin Xuan could probably use only one move of the sect-guarding sword art before his vital qi was completely drained.
Just as he thought this, the dust threads in Dao Child Lin Xuan's hand suddenly began to change. It was a marvelous transformation. Part of the dust threads turned black, while another part turned white, spreading through the air. Black and white flowed slowly, like a Taiji diagram emerging in the sky.
The Dao Sect's sect-guarding sword art, the first form of the Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword: "One point pierces and links the vast movement; Yin and Yang repeat within Yin and Yang!"①
Dao Child Lin Xuan's arm trembled, and the black-and-white diagram pressed downward!
Danyangzi let out a breath, rather pleased. Dao Child Lin Xuan was indeed the Dao Child. Relying on his own profound cultivation, he had still managed to execute the sect-guarding sword art at the Five Planets realm.
It had to be known that there were quite a few cultivators of the Dao Sect's sect-guarding sword art, but not many had mastered it, and of those who had, almost none could execute it at the Five Planets realm. This sword art consumed far too much. Let alone the Five Planets realm, even cultivators in the divine arts realm found it difficult to execute.
Moreover, cultivating this sword art placed extremely high demands on one's aptitude and comprehension. The greatest requirement of all was mathematics.
The Ten Chapters of the Calculus Classic alone were enough to give anyone a headache. Beyond the Calculus Classic, there were also profound mathematical texts such as the Great Extension Total Arts and the Jade Mirror of the Four Unknowns.②
Dao Child Lin Xuan was an exceptional talent among them. He was well versed in mathematics, and at a very young age, his attainments in mathematics had already reached an extremely high level. With a foundation in mathematics, he found learning the Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword much easier than others did.
The Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword grew more difficult with each chapter. By the fourteenth chapter, almost no one could master it. Even the current Dao Lord had failed to master the Fourteenth Sword.
However, the Dao Lord placed great hopes in Dao Child Lin Xuan, believing that he might one day master the Fourteenth Sword.
The Dao Lord had once even lent the Dao Sect's Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword to the State Preceptor of Yankang for reference. The State Preceptor of Yankang's discussions of the sword mentioned the Dao Sword and the Son of Heaven's Three Swords; it could be said that they were completely tinged with the shadow of the Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword.
Thus, one could imagine how formidable this move from Dao Child Lin Xuan was!
Beneath the black-and-white diagram, Qin Mu's heart jolted. The sword art pressing down from above was no longer a sword art of the mortal world. Yin and Yang and Yin and Yang entwined with each other, and the energy erupting from them made him shudder even before it reached him.
His fingers flicked. The Thunder Flick made every one of his fingers erupt with thunderous roars, sharp and peerless. Yet even a supreme battle art such as the Eight Thunderclap Forms was useless when it touched that black-and-white Taiji diagram, as though an ox made of mud had plunged into the sea, unable to stir up the slightest ripple.
Crash—
Beneath his feet, the Green Dragon rose into the air. Suddenly, the Green Dragon broke apart, and countless sword lights came surging toward him in a dense stream, falling into his hand and transforming into a long sword.
Qin Mu's expression turned solemn as he raised his sword to meet the descending black-and-white Taiji diagram.
The sword in his hand was like a painter's most delicate brush, a traveler's heaviest step, a singer's throat, and a dancer's dance. He executed the sword form taught to him by the Village Chief.
Sword Treading the Mountains and Rivers.
Can gods be slain?
Yes!
Under his sword, sword lights flashed. Light and darkness, lightness and heaviness, haste and slowness combined perfectly. The fourteen basic sword forms changed in his hands in an instant, and a magnificent landscape of mountains and rivers appeared in the air!
The Dao Sect's Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword were no ordinary sword art, and the sword diagram taught to him by the Village Chief was no ordinary sword art either!
This was a sword art for slaying gods!
Can gods be slain?
The person who used this sword had to have no gods, no demons, and no Buddhas in his heart. He had to hold profound disrespect for all so-called gods, demons, and Buddhas, and possess a heart bent on slaying gods!
The corner of Danyangzi's eye twitched, and he abruptly rose to his feet. At the same time, the strange beast, half dragon and half qilin, beneath the mountain gate awoke from its dream as well, suddenly lifting its head and looking around!
In the air, the two sword arts collided in a dazzling burst. Within the slowly unfolding landscape of mountains and rivers, the black-and-white Taiji diagram shattered. In a single instant, Dao Child Lin Xuan was struck by dozens of swords, his body covered in bloodstains!
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "A flaw!"
Qin Mu noticed his gaze and was startled. The young man's eyes had landed on Qin Mu's left shoulder, which happened to be where the flaw of the Hegemon Body Three Elixirs Art lay!
"Qikedo!"
Qin Mu raised his hand and formed a seal: the Demon God's Power Seal!
This seal blocked his left shoulder, while the sword glow in Qin Mu's other hand surged dramatically as he stabbed toward Dao Child Lin Xuan!
Sss—
Dao Child Lin Xuan's sword pierced through his palm. The tip struck his left shoulder, but the brocade clothes on Qin Mu's body stopped it from entering his flesh. The sword glow, however, pierced through, making Qin Mu's shoulder ache.
At the same time, Dao Child Lin Xuan's body shook violently. He staggered without cease, and dozens of bloody holes instantly appeared across his body before he collapsed to the ground!
Qin Mu dispersed the sharp sword formed from vital qi and bowed. "Dao Child, you were gracious."
Dao Child Lin Xuan struggled to rise. The bloody holes in his body were still bleeding continuously. Danyangzi rushed forward with a shout and was about to apply medicine to him, but Dao Child Lin Xuan raised a hand to stop him. He straightened his clothes, returned the bow, and said, "Thank you for the instruction." Only then did he swallow the medicinal pill.
Danyangzi hurriedly applied wound medicine to him to keep him from bleeding further. Once the wounds had been treated, the old and young Daoists rose and bowed to Qin Mu. Qin Mu bowed in return. The two Daoists put on bamboo-woven hats, turned around, and left.
Qin Mu watched them depart. His expression suddenly changed, and he clutched his left hand, drawing sharp breaths. "It hurts! It hurts like hell! That old Daoist Danyangzi is so stingy. He didn't even think to give me any wound medicine."
The pain in his left hand and shoulder cut to the bone. Dao Child Lin Xuan's sword had injured his bones. Qin Mu drew sharp breaths, and just as he was about to climb the mountain, his step faltered. He hurriedly raised a hand to brace himself against the strange beast, half dragon and half qilin, chained beside him.
He had expended too much vital qi. Using Sword Treading the Mountains and Rivers consumed an enormous amount of vital qi, leaving him feeling somewhat weak.
Qin Mu had passed the mountain gate several times without noticing the strange beast. He had always thought it was some kind of stone sculpture of a dragon qilin. He had not expected that when he touched it, the beast would feel somewhat soft beneath his hand, giving him quite a fright.
The dragon qilin strange beast raised its eyes and glanced at him, then stuck out its tongue and licked his shoulder.
Qin Mu felt his shoulder gradually grow cool, and then the pain slowly disappeared. He hurriedly lowered his head and pulled open his collar to look. The tiny sword wounds left by the sword glow on his shoulder were slowly shrinking. There were more than ten of them, and all were healing at that moment.
Qin Mu was astonished. "Is this... dragon saliva? Or qilin saliva? Whichever it is, it's an excellent medicinal ingredient!"
He hurriedly raised his palm, and the strange beast licked it once more.
Qin Mu saw the flesh in his palm slowly grow back. The flesh at the sword wounds sprouted like tender leaves, quickly closing the wounds. The injuries to his bones seemed to have healed as well, and his skin soon closed over too.
"Senior Brother, do you like sour apricots?"
Qin Mu squatted down, took a jade bottle from his robes, and held it beneath the strange beast's mouth with a smile. "The sour kind, the kind so sour they make your teeth fall out. You don't like them? Then what about yellow plums? They're especially, especially sour. Just imagine them and your mouth will start watering from the sourness... You don't like those either? I'll treat you to some lemons..."
The strange beast rolled its eyes at him twice. Without saying a word or paying him any attention, it sat there without moving. Not a drop of dragon saliva or anything like it flowed from its mouth.
"Then what do you like to eat?" Qin Mu asked.
"There is a big green ox on the mountain. I've had my eye on it for a long time."
The dragon qilin strange beast suddenly spoke. Its eyes remained fixed ahead, and it did not move. "Can you bring it here?"
Qin Mu patted his chest and laughed. "I'm definitely making friends with a brother as loyal as you. Don't worry, I'll bring it here soon!"
The dragon qilin was overjoyed. Saliva seemed about to drip from the corners of its mouth, but with a quick slurp, it sucked it back in.
Qin Mu had no choice but to return to the mountain. He thought, "It seems I'll have to bring him that big green ox before I can trick some dragon saliva out of him. This green ox... I think I've seen it somewhere before. It seemed to be grazing in front of a courtyard... Hmm, I'll ask Ling'er. She wanders around these mountains all the time and knows them better than I do."
He walked up the mountain. By then, people in the Scholar's Residence, the Divine Arts Residence, and the Princes' Garden had gradually begun waking up. They descended the mountain in groups of three or five, passing Qin Mu on the way. One prince said, "After the State Preceptor's guidance, I feel that my cultivation has advanced greatly. I should be able to battle that Dao Child for three hundred rounds!"
The Second Prince, Ling Yushu, shook his head. "Sixth Brother, don't underestimate him. I've fought Dao Child Lin Xuan before, and I could sense that he still had abilities he hadn't used. However, the State Preceptor is indeed extraordinary. Those three sword forms he taught can be fused with the other sword arts I learned before, making those sword arts even more perfect. At least, they give me the strength to fight. But defeating him will probably be difficult."
Ling Yushu stopped and looked at Qin Mu as he walked past, frowning slightly before withdrawing his gaze.
"Second Brother, what is it?" the Sixth Prince asked.
"The Seventh Sister is quite close to him."
Ling Yushu shook his head. "Actually, there is nothing wrong with Qin Mu. His abilities are decent, and he is even known as a divine physician who saved Grand Empress Dowager. But he is, after all, a citizen abandoned by the Great Ruins, and it is truly inappropriate for the Seventh Sister to associate with him. Enough of that. Let's go meet Dao Child Lin Xuan again!"
They arrived at the foot of the mountain, where they heard an uproar ahead and hurried forward. Someone shouted, "Those two Daoists are gone!"
Ling Yushu was astonished. He pushed through the crowd and looked ahead. Sure enough, both Danyangzi and Dao Child Lin Xuan had vanished without a trace.
"Could they have retreated because they knew they were outmatched?" someone murmured.
Ling Yushu frowned and gave a cold laugh. Danyangzi and Dao Child Lin Xuan had come to block the gate and humiliate them. How could they have admitted defeat and retreated of their own accord? Clearly, someone had defeated Dao Child Lin Xuan, and the two had left after admitting defeat!
"The person who defeated Dao Child Lin Xuan is among us, and went down the mountain one step ahead of us!"
Ling Yushu's eyes flickered as he looked through the crowd. "Who could it be? In the Divine Arts Residence, there are three or five people with the strongest abilities: the Sword Addict Xiao Yin, the Mad Demon Tian Feng, and the Mountain-Bearing Strongman Yue Qiu. Their abilities are all formidable, and their aptitudes are exceptional. There are also several in the Princes' Garden. Apart from me, the Seventh Sister is playful and doesn't work hard. Although her comprehension is good, without hard work she cannot advance. Then there's Heir Min Yue... As for the Scholar's Residence, I've heard that Shen Wanyun is quite capable. He has held the position of senior fellow disciple for a long time, so he could be the one as well."
① Excerpted from the Daoist Wang Chuyi's cultivation verse, *Man Ting Fang*. Interested readers may search for it. It describes the state one enters during cultivation.
② The Ten Chapters of the Calculus Classic, the Great Extension Total Arts, and the Jade Mirror of the Four Unknowns are all mathematical works from ancient China. The "four unknowns" refers to equations with four unknowns. Equations, finding roots, and elementary calculus can all be found in mathematical texts from the Song dynasty and earlier.