The Emperor and the State Preceptor did not know whether to laugh or cry. This Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult was truly audacious—as the head of the Heavenly Demon Cult, he showed not the slightest restraint, even trying to recruit both the Emperor and the State Preceptor into his cult!
"If you cannot heal your injuries, and you cannot reclaim the throne, well, with the skills of my Heavenly Saint Cult, you can at least earn a living to support your family," Qin Mu persuaded. "Moreover, if you join now, I can give you very high positions—Heavenly King, Elder, and such. But if you wait until you are completely crippled and beyond saving, the best I can offer is Incense Master, and a deputy one at that. Madam, please help me persuade them."
The State Preceptor's Wife smiled but said nothing.
The State Preceptor of Yankang replied calmly: "If I am to serve, I would serve as the Cult Master."
Emperor Yanfeng nodded: "As would I."
The State Preceptor said: "If you become the Cult Master, I shall be your assistant."
Qin Mu's eyes lit up: "Does Your Majesty truly wish to be the Cult Master?"
Emperor Yanfeng was dumbfounded. He had never expected that Qin Mu would genuinely consider handing over the position of Heavenly Demon Cult Master. If he became the Cult Master, would that not mean the entire State of Yankang belonged to the Heavenly Demon Cult?
This was a burning potato—impossible to take!
The State Preceptor of Yankang also found the matter troublesome, and quietly shook his head at the Emperor, signaling him not to accept.
The State Preceptor's Wife chuckled: "Cult Master Qin, they are unwilling, but I am willing. I wonder what position the Cult Master could arrange for me?"
Qin Mu's eyes brightened, silently admiring the woman's cleverness. She had stepped in to smooth things over so that neither the State Preceptor nor the Emperor would be embarrassed.
"If Madam wishes to join, I can give her a nominal position—a title with no real duties," Qin Mu said with a smile. "Does Madam know embroidery? How would you like to be Incense Master of the Embroidery Hall?"
"Very well," the young woman replied with a smile, pulling the State Preceptor aside and whispering: "My lord, why refuse Cult Master Qin? What are your chances upon returning to the capital this time?"
The State Preceptor of Yankang was silent for a moment, then said: "The people of the realm support the reforms. Seventy or eighty percent of the civil and military officials in court are loyal to me and the Emperor. Once we return to the capital, we can certainly slay the traitors and reclaim our positions."
The State Preceptor's Wife smiled: "Is that so? Will the Great Thunderclap Monastery and the Dao Sect not stand in your way? Can you withstand the Tathagata and the Dao Lord, or can the Emperor?"
Qin Mu leaned in and said with a grin: "The mansions of the noble ministers in the capital all have a few Daoist priests or Buddhist monks living in them, either chanting sutras or reciting Daoist scriptures."
The State Preceptor of Yankang fell silent. The State Preceptor's Wife pushed Qin Mu away and whispered: "The two great sacred grounds have your forces completely cornered. Those who were close to you have either been placed under house arrest or thrown into prison. The only force you can borrow now is Cult Master Qin's. If you borrow his strength, you must also put his mind at ease."
Qin Mu leaned in again, about to speak, but the State Preceptor's Wife pushed him away once more.
The State Preceptor of Yankang pondered for a moment, then walked toward Qin Mu: "Is the Heavenly Saint Cult still short a Heavenly King?"
Qin Mu nodded: "The fourth Heavenly King."
The State Preceptor said: "I shall take this fourth Heavenly King position. But the Emperor must have no connection whatsoever to the Heavenly Saint Cult. Your Majesty—I shall join his Heavenly Saint Cult."
Emperor Yanfeng was stunned. After a long pause, he spoke slowly: "That is too great a sacrifice, State Preceptor."
Qin Mu smiled and said to Emperor Yanfeng: "Your Majesty seems to have a misunderstanding about my Heavenly Saint Cult. Our cult is not truly a religion—we merely uphold the philosophy of the common people's daily lives, walking the path of the sages. The reforms that Your Majesty and the State Preceptor have undertaken share the same ideals as ours..."
The State Preceptor's Wife interrupted with a smile: "Cult Master, we should set off and stop proselytizing. His Majesty cannot join our Heavenly Saint Cult."
The State Preceptor's Wife rode atop Dragon Qilin, while Qin Mu, the State Preceptor, and the Emperor walked below. The two men practiced the Tyrant Body Three Pill Art that Qin Mu had taught them to recover some of their vitality.
The two of them were like ascetic monks—moving slowly, struggling with every step. It took them two or three days to reach Qinzhou.
The Heavenly Demon Cult branch in Qinzhou had prepared the medicinal ingredients, and Qin Mu finally healed Emperor Yanfeng's soul injuries. The State Preceptor's external wounds had also recovered, though Qin Mu had no way to draw out the residual divine techniques that the god had left inside his body.
The god's residual techniques were extraordinarily powerful. If the State Preceptor of Yankang could refine and absorb these residual techniques, Qin Mu could heal all his injuries without much difficulty. The problem was that the State Preceptor could not circulate his magical power. These residual techniques were hidden within his body and his Divine Storage, and he had to use his own magical power to suppress them. The slightest slip could trigger their devastating force.
"The Emperor and the State Preceptor—neither can fight," Qin Mu sighed to himself.
The two strongest figures in the State of Yankang had both become invalids, requiring his care and protection.
Qin Mu continued his own cultivation without rest day or night. Whenever he walked, the Tyrant Body Three Pill Art activated unconsciously, and five streams of starlight flowed down from the heavens to nourish him.
While traveling, Qin Mu also practiced swordsmanship with great diligence, repeatedly drilling the two sword techniques that the Village Chief had taught him, trying to refine and perfect them.
When the State Preceptor of Yankang saw these two Sword Diagrams, he let out a soft exclamation and could not help studying them more closely. Surprised, he asked: "Cult Master, which elder of yours taught you these?"
"The Village Chief from our village—the oldest one."
The State Preceptor of Yankang pondered for a moment: "You are trying to integrate the three basic sword forms that I created into these two sword techniques? These two techniques are already nearly perfect. Adding my basic forms would disrupt the balance—they could increase power, but they would also introduce many openings. Why would you do that?"
Qin Mu performed One Sword Opens the Bloody Ocean of the Ancient Emperor. Suddenly, a feeling of sorrow welled up within him, threatening to bring tears to his eyes. One Sword Opens the Bloody Ocean of the Ancient Emperor—the mountains and rivers remain, yet the heart is lost in vastness. Looking left and right, the old kingdom is gone, but the people still wear their former garments. It was the lament of a lonely soul mourning his lost homeland and fallen martyrs, carrying a tragic and heroic spirit.
The State Preceptor of Yankang picked up a tree branch from the ground: "Your technique still has many openings. Allow me to spar with you."
Qin Mu's eyes lit up: "Please, instruct me."
"I would not dare claim superiority."
Qin Mu also took a branch, and the two used them as swords. The State Preceptor attacked while Qin Mu defended with the two techniques of the Sword Diagram. Before long, the State Preceptor found an opening and broke through Sword Treads Mountains and Rivers.
Qin Mu pondered for a long while. The openings the State Preceptor identified were different from those the Village Chief had pointed out. Both were supreme masters of the sword, but they walked different paths. The Village Chief's swordsmanship contained a passionate, heroic spirit, while the State Preceptor's was about bold strategy, reform, and pioneering progress.
Different philosophies led to different swordsmanship.
The guidance they each offered Qin Mu bore different fruits.
The Village Chief's teaching had pushed Qin Mu to the limits of his current understanding—his foundation was insufficient to continue improving these two techniques. But the State Preceptor's guidance opened a new path, allowing him to keep refining his swordsmanship.
They practiced as they walked, and Qin Mu's understanding of the sword deepened ever further. He felt as though his swordsmanship was on the verge of leaping to another level, yet a thin veil still separated him from that breakthrough, and he could not quite push through.
"Stop practicing. Further drilling will bring no improvement," the State Preceptor of Yankang said. "To break through, you must reach your own epiphany."
Qin Mu did not understand, but Emperor Yanfeng, who had been watching from the side, understood perfectly. He sighed: "One step further, and you would be a Lesser Grandmaster. Qin, how old are you to have already reached this level? When I reached your stage, I was fifty-seven. I cultivated the Nine Dragons Emperor Art, drawing upon the energy of nine dragons, my vitality vast and mighty, sensing the dragon veins of the earth surging beneath me, the great tides of the world shifting in unpredictable ways—and only then did I break through. You are thirty or forty years ahead of me."
Qin Mu smiled: "What is the greatest strength of Your Majesty's Nine Dragons Emperor Art?"
"The greatest strength is transformation," Emperor Yanfeng said solemnly. "If you wish to learn it, I can teach you. Before me, the Nine Dragons Emperor Art was merely a technique for mastering spells. But in my hands, any spell, any sword art, any bodily divine ability—all can be executed. Why? Because the dragon embodies transformation! The dragon can be great or small, hidden or manifest. It can soar into the heavens or dive into the deepest seas. The hidden dragon lurks in the abyss; the appearing dragon surveys the field. It can command clouds and rain, blaze with heavenly fire, control wind and thunder, and bring sweet dew. Would you like to learn?"
He had expected Qin Mu to refuse—after all, the young man was the Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult, a figure of legendary stature. But to his surprise, Qin Mu replied briskly: "Yes!"
Emperor Yanfeng was stunned, then burst into hearty laughter: "Very well then. Who says the Nine Dragons Emperor Art belongs exclusively to the Ling family and cannot be taught to outsiders? I shall pass it on to you."
The State Preceptor's Wife looked at Emperor Yanfeng in surprise. The State Preceptor of Yankang remained calm: "His Majesty has always been this way—bold and generous. Otherwise, he would never have dared to employ me. As for the original text of the Nine Dragons Emperor Art, I have read it no fewer than ten times."
Emperor Yanfeng transmitted the Nine Dragons Emperor Art to Qin Mu, teaching him how to circulate his qi and how to harness the energy of the nine dragons.
This technique was vastly different from the Tyrant Body Three Pill Art. Its movements were majestic and grand, yet at the same time endlessly varied—every gesture and step contained the immense power of heaven and earth.
"The Nine Heavens Divine Dragon Shield is a spell that manifests nine true dragons hidden within the clouds, striking at the enemy. Watch!"
Emperor Yanfeng channeled his vital energy, and a palm-sized cloud appeared three inches above his head. Within it, several dragons as thin as earthworms writhed and clawed, looking fierce despite their diminutive size.
Emperor Yanfeng's vital energy was exhausted, and the cloud and dragon qi popped and dissipated.
Panting, Emperor Yanfeng stammered: "I have no more magical power... but you should understand the idea."
Qin Mu nodded. He activated the Tyrant Body Three Pill Art and merged the Nine Dragons Emperor Art with his Tyrant Body vital energy. Instantly, dragons appeared and vanished in midair—nine dragon claws reached out, shattering the rocks for dozens of zhang in every direction into powder.
Emperor Yanfeng was stunned. The State Preceptor of Yankang was equally astonished. Then they watched as the nine dragons circled overhead, suddenly transforming into fire dragons. Flames spiraled around them, forming a fire dragon vortex that lifted their bodies into the air.
The fire dragons shifted again, now commanding great water that carried them upon its surface. Then thunder erupted, crackling and striking in every direction.
Emperor Yanfeng and the State Preceptor of Yankang exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
The Nine Dragons Emperor Art, in Qin Mu's hands, looked as though he had been practicing it for ten or twenty years—his control was absolutely masterful, surpassing most of the princes in the Imperial Academy's Prince's Garden.
Qin Mu dispersed the Nine Heavens Divine Dragon Shield. Emperor Yanfeng then transmitted all that he had learned and comprehended without reservation, sighing: "If only your surname were Ling..."
They were now only two or three days from the capital, and only three days remained before the Crown Prince's coronation on the sixth of the third month. Suddenly, a large bird soared down from the sky, landed, and rolled—transforming into a woman in green robes who bowed before them: "Reporting to the Holy Master—all preparations are complete."
Qin Mu nodded: "You may go first."
"As you command." The woman turned and took two steps, then suddenly shook her body. A pair of wings unfurled from her back, and she shot into the sky and vanished.
"If the Great Thunderclap Monastery and the Dao Sect can kill an Emperor, then so can my Heavenly Saint Cult. Otherwise, how could we claim to be the foremost sacred ground of the demonic path?" Qin Mu said softly.
The State Preceptor of Yankang frowned: "What do you intend?"
"Enter the city. Kill the Emperor."