If one can understand forty to fifty percent of a language, then the parts that are not understood become codes. Based on the context of the sentences, one can guess the meaning of these codes.
Qin Mu did exactly that.
He originally knew nothing about the demon language, but by chance he heard it at the Goddess Pass in the Great Ruins, so he memorized it. Later, at the Suppressing Calamity Palace, he encountered a demon god sealed in a wall who taught him the Great Freedom Seal, allowing him to understand part of the demon language's meaning.
Once he understood part of the demon language, he could deduce the meaning of more demon language from his existing knowledge, much like cracking a code.
The Dutian Demon King swore three oaths, which contained much pure demon language. Qin Mu had long known that the language of gods and demons held terrifying power, and this time the Dutian Demon King's three oaths allowed Qin Mu's mastery of demon language vocabulary to reach an astonishing level.
If the Dutian Demon King were to swear another oath with him in the human language, then Qin Mu could compare it with the demon language he didn't understand earlier and fully grasp the meaning of the demon language!
The Dutian Demon King accused him of stealing the opportunity to learn, which was not unfair.
Now, it was not difficult for him to converse with the Dutian Demon King in the demon language, but for safety's sake, he felt it was better to use the human language so he could fully grasp the meaning of the words, avoiding being trapped by the Dutian Demon King.
Qin Mu's eyes flashed: "Then, Demon King, do you still want to swear an oath?"
The Dutian Demon King sneered: "Of course, I do!"
He knew Qin Mu intended to use this opportunity to fully grasp the demon language, but he had no choice; otherwise, the only option left was to kill Qin Mu.
But even if he killed Qin Mu, he was merely a wisp of consciousness and magical power, which would vanish upon Qin Mu's death.
"Soul return, Tubo's Nine Promises, observe my body!"
The voice of the Dutian Demon King sounded, calling upon Tubo's name to awaken the attention of this ruler of Youdu. This time he used the human language, so he could not play any tricks or make alterations.
Qin Mu carefully noted the meaning of every word, very cautious and meticulous in his repeated examination.
Gradually, Qin Mu felt an inexplicable force surging from the deep space. With the Dutian Demon King's voice, this force grew stronger, and then formed half a gateway in his mind.
The Dutian Demon King finished reciting the oath and looked at Qin Mu.
After comparing the demon language with the human language, Qin Mu's grasp of the demon language became more complete. He then also recited the oath. As soon as he reached the words "observe my body," he felt a gaze fall upon him—or rather, not upon his body, but upon his soul!
His soul trembled, feeling the power and vastness of the soul ruler!
It was an existence that ruled over all souls, possessing boundless power. It had no interest in the physical body, only in the soul.
If he broke the oath, it would descend and take the soul of the oath-breaker!
Qin Mu continued reciting the oath. Gradually, half a gateway appeared before his eyes. This half connected with the Dutian Demon King's half, forming a complete gateway.
Outside the gateway, he saw only endless darkness.
But beneath the gateway, Qin Mu "saw" a yellow spring—or perhaps it shouldn't be called a yellow spring. It was a golden, winding stream that grew thicker toward the bottom, like a river in the sky.
And at the bottom of the endless yellow spring, he "saw" a pair of eyes devoid of any emotion.
This golden stream was not a yellow spring, but a horn.
The two horns atop the head of Tubo, the soul ruler!
Tubo's Nine Promises—the character "yue" means curve.
Nine Promises meant nine curves.
His horns were the Nine-Curved Yellow Spring.
Qin Mu and the Dutian Demon King swore an oath, and this oath was tied to the nine-curved long horns of this majestic primordial god!
Why is breaking an oath called "violating a promise"? It likely relates to Tubo's Nine Promises. The oath established upon the Nine-Curved Yellow Spring—if broken, Tubo would take the soul of the violator, which was the "violation."
The oath concluded, the gateway closed, and the vision before Qin Mu's eyes vanished.
"Heh heh, heh heh heh..."
The laughter of the Dutian Demon King came. Qin Mu was puzzled: "Demon King, what are you laughing at?"
"Nothing!"
The Dutian Demon King laughed nonstop, but still couldn't help but chuckle: "Kid, no matter how cunning you are, you've fallen into my trap! The oath you swore with me was not with my main body, but with a wisp of my consciousness! Now, just obediently do my bidding! As for the Youdu script, don't expect me to tell you even a little! This wisp of my consciousness, if it's destroyed, it's destroyed—I don't care!"
Qin Mu was struck dumb, stunned for a while without recovering.
The Dutian Demon King laughed heartily, triumphant, enjoying Qin Mu's flustered state with great satisfaction.
After a moment, Qin Mu exhaled a turbid breath, murmuring: "No wonder Grandpa Cripple always tells me to smile at others while being ready to stab them in the back... Demon King, you truly are a master. Luckily, I'm not bad either."
The Dutian Demon King's heart tightened.
Qin Mu muttered to himself: "I also kept a trick up my sleeve. Just now, I was planning to summon a batch of your subordinates and kill them, so that wouldn't count as breaking the oath."
The Dutian Demon King was stunned.
The two fell silent.
After a while, the Dutian Demon King said: "We're hurting each other. Since you don't trust me, there's no need for me to stay in your body. I choose the second path. You create a divine statue mechanism, and I'll leave your body and reside within it. Rest assured, once you've built the divine statue mechanism, I'll pass the Youdu language to you."
"Deal!"
Qin Mu was eager. Old Ma often built various pieces of furniture, so he had learned quite a few crafting skills. Plus the calligraphy and painting methods taught by the Cripple, and the smelting techniques from the Cripple, crafting a divine statue mechanism was not troublesome.
Qin Mu was about to start when he suddenly felt a chill down his spine, cold sweat rolling from his forehead: "I almost fell into his trap! Before creating the divine statue mechanism for him, I must first perform demon summoning to complete the oath. Otherwise, if I'm busy crafting the mechanism and he passes me the Youdu language but I haven't performed demon summoning, that would count as breaking the oath, and Tubo would take my soul!"
The Dutian Demon King praised: "You're quite good. If you ever came to my Dutian, you could survive with your cleverness."
Qin Mu exhaled a turbid breath. Dealing with an existence like the Dutian Demon King, if he wasn't careful, he would definitely be sucked dry to the marrow!
He went to the west room to get some money, planning to go to the treasury to buy some cold iron gold crystal and fine wood for carving the divine statue. But he saw Hu Ling'er standing at the door looking out. Qin Mu smiled: "Ling'er, why aren't you cultivating? What are you looking out for?"
Hu Ling'er said listlessly: "The State Preceptor still owes us a thousand Dafeng coins. It's time to pay up..."
Qin Mu shook his head, went to the treasury to buy some materials, and brought them to the yard.
Carving the divine statue was not difficult for him. In half a day, with the Dutian Demon King's guidance, Qin Mu carved five different wooden statues, all of demon gods.
"These five guys are all disobedient ones. If you summon them and destroy them, it would be doing me a favor," the Dutian Demon King laughed.
After carving the wooden statues, Qin Mu cooked a meal and called Hu Ling'er at the door to eat. Hu Ling'er's eyes were vacant. Halfway through the meal, she said dazedly: "Young Master, the State Preceptor still owes a thousand coins."
Qin Mu took out a smelting furnace he had looted from the Loulan Golden Palace from his Gluttony Bag to forge the cold iron gold crystal and craft the components for the divine statue mechanism. He worked until midnight, and the scholars around were so disturbed by the noise that they couldn't sleep. They complained to the Imperial Academy, and a few officials from the Imperial Academy came in person to inquire politely.
Qin Mu had to stop and go to sleep.
The next day, Qin Mu pushed open his door, washed up, and felt something was missing. After thinking for a while, he realized what had been missing from his bed last night.
"It seems Ling'er didn't crawl into my bed to sleep last night..."
Qin Mu pushed open the yard gate and saw Hu Ling'er standing on the head of the dragon qilin at the door, looking toward the gate of the scholars' residence. Her eyes were red, clearly having not slept all night.
"Young Master, the State Preceptor still owes a thousand Dafeng coins," Hu Ling'er said, somewhat distracted.
Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He picked her up, tucked her into bed, and continued crafting the divine statue mechanism.
By the third day, Hu Ling'er was still waiting at the door. At night, she listlessly came back and ate dinner without spirit. The little fox sat there for a while, then suddenly said dazedly: "The State Preceptor still owes us a thousand Dafeng coins."
By the fourth day, Hu Ling'er didn't say anything more, nor did she wait at the door. She looked very unhappy.
Qin Mu asked with concern, and Hu Ling'er said: "Perhaps the State Preceptor really won't pay back the money."
Qin Mu finally finished the divine statue mechanism. It was a demon god statue with four heads, eight arms, and two feet. The body had various joints and could move freely. The surface was inscribed with various totem patterns. He did not let the Dutian Demon King enter it immediately.
At this moment, there was a knock at the door outside. Qin Mu glanced at Hu Ling'er and saw the little fox still lost in thought, not going to open the door. He shook his head and went to open it himself.
An old man stood at the door. Although his clothes were worn, they were very clean. He smiled: "Is this Young Master Qin Mu? This old servant is the butler of the State Preceptor's mansion, surnamed Fu. By the State Preceptor's order, I have come to repay the debt."
Qin Mu was surprised: "Old Fu, has the emperor's reward arrived?"
Old Fu said: "Yes, it has. The emperor awarded the State Preceptor a hundred palace maids and a million coins. The State Preceptor accepted. These hundred palacemaids will give the State Preceptor a headache; he simply can't afford to keep them all. Fortunately, there is still some money, but after paying the creditors, there will probably only be half left... Young Master Qin, here are a thousand coins..."
Qin Mu was about to turn and call Hu Ling'er when a white light flew before his eyes. Hu Ling'er rushed over like the wind, snatched the money bag from Old Fu's hand, and smiled sweetly: "The State Preceptor is indeed a man of his word. Thank you for your trouble, Old Fu."
Old Fu was surprised but said nothing more: "Young Master Qin, with your vast fortune, you must be careful. Recently, there have been many thieves in the capital, and many high officials and nobles have suffered losses. It's quite tragic. You the Imperial Physician cried for several days and couldn't get out of bed. Several other high officials' homes were also robbed, losing so many precious items they didn't dare speak out. Only the servants are gossiping..."
As he spoke, two old men walked from the scholars' residence. They were dressed splendidly, adorned with gold and silver, looking very wealthy. They arrived at Qin Mu's door. One was the Cripple, and the other looked like a middle-aged or elderly recluse, both appearing affluent and powerful.