"Ban Gongcuo ordered a Great Shaman to kill me with shamanic sorcery last night, and he still dares to invite me to a banquet today?"
Qin Mu was slightly stunned. "Could it be he thinks the Loulan Golden Palace can overpower the Heavenly Demon Cult just because they're both holy sites? Or does he have another plan?"
Bashan, the Abbot, walked over. "Do you want me to accompany you?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "That won't be necessary. If Ban Gongcuo dared to kill me openly, he wouldn't have used shamanic sorcery last night. I'll go to the meeting alone."
The Jade Fragrance Tower was the largest restaurant in the capital, designed in a garden style with separate courtyards, each containing artificial mountains, flowing water, and fountains. Maidens played music and danced, and the separate courtyards provided a quiet, elegant atmosphere. People who came here to eat and drink weren't really there for the food or tea—they were looking for a place to talk.
Before the calamity year arrived, the business here was extremely booming. Even high-ranking officials and nobles needed to book in advance. However, with the natural disaster outbreak and the emperor personally overseeing relief efforts, the capital's nobles were also required to donate, causing business at the Jade Fragrance Tower to become quiet.
It was expected that once the impact of the calamity passed, this restaurant's business would surely pick up again.
At the Green Bamboo Garden of the Jade Fragrance Tower, Ban Gongcuo welcomed Qin Mu and said, "Cult Master Qin, my attendants were quite rude. They are now dead, and all matters are settled after death. I ask for your forgiveness."
Qin Mu entered the Green Bamboo Garden and looked around. "Your Highness is too kind."
This courtyard was called the Green Bamboo Garden. The circular moon gate led into a passage lined with slender bamboo forming a canopy on both sides. The sound of flowing water could be heard, and after two turns, they saw clear water flowing down from an artificial mountain of strange rocks. Though it was a thin stream, it gave the feeling of a rushing waterfall.
This waterfall flowed into a jade bottle held by a Bodhisattva statue. The bottle was tilted, and the water circled inside before flowing out again into a southern pool.
Qin Mu glanced at it. The southern pool contained some sandy islands, resembling islands in the sea, scattered like stars—quite interesting. On the pool was written "Guanyin of the South Sea, Vows as Deep as the Sea."
The Bodhisattva was carved together with the artificial mountain, likely using some minor magic to keep the water flowing continuously. Though the pool wasn't large, it was meticulously detailed. Looking closely, it truly gave the feeling of standing above the South Sea, overlooking the vast ocean.
"Cult Master Qin, please."
Ban Gongcuo gestured, inviting Qin Mu to walk down a long corridor to a private room beside the pool. The windows were already open, and sitting by the window allowed one to enjoy the garden's scenery.
Beside the banquet table stood two Great Shamans in yellow robes, their faces expressionless, positioned on either side inside the door.
Ban Gongcuo waved his hand. "You may withdraw. Have them serve the food and wine."
The two Loulan Golden Palace Great Shamans left the room. After a moment, maidens served food and wine, and several graceful young women entered the courtyard. Dressed in exotic attire, they played ox horns, hammered dulcimers, and beat Damar drums. The music had a unique charm.
"Last night, it wasn't my instruction for someone to kill you."
Ban Gongcuo looked deeply at Qin Mu. "When I want to kill someone, I don't need another's hand. Last night, my attendants were upset because you had killed too many disciples of the Golden Palace, so they entered your dreams to perform shamanic sorcery against you."
Hearing him mention this, Qin Mu was somewhat surprised. He had expected Ban Gongcuo to avoid the topic, but instead, the first thing he did upon sitting down was bring it up openly.
"I see."
Qin Mu smiled. "Fortunately, I'm fine, and the person is now dead. I believe Your Highness had no involvement in this matter."
Ban Gongcuo shook his head. "You still don't know everything. I knew he wanted to kill you, but I didn't stop him. Cult Master Qin, would you like to know why?"
Qin Mu was surprised again and said modestly, "Your Highness is truly unexpected. I am willing to hear the details."
Ban Gongcuo poured him wine. "The reason I didn't stop him is because I knew you would definitely have Bashan the Abbot stay in your room to guard against my shamanic attacks at night. He couldn't kill you, but he could delay your time."
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow, lifted his wine cup, and they toasted each other, drinking in one gulp.
Ban Gongcuo continued. "You and I broke through to the Six Harmonies realm at the same time. I didn't accept your challenge then because I saw that your combat power was indeed extraordinary, and I wasn't fully confident in defeating you. But after one day, it's different. Just one day."
A slight smile appeared on his face. "In a duel between experts, one day is enough to determine the outcome. You met with the Crown Prince in the afternoon, leaving you no time to consolidate your Six Harmonies realm and discover its mysteries. At night, you had to guard against my attendant's shamanic attacks, leaving you no time to study the Six Harmonies realm. But I had this entire day to consolidate the Six Harmonies and elevate my cultivation. Just one day is enough to leave you with no chance of victory."
Qin Mu was surprised again, examining his face. He still had some youthful innocence, but his eyes were deep, possessing a depth uncommon among the young. He praised, "The young prince of the grasslands is truly extraordinary. No wonder even Heaven Blade is wary of you. You're only fourteen, right?"
Ban Gongcuo poured him wine again. "Thirteen. Grasslanders are weathered by wind and sun, making our bodies sturdier and larger. Thirteen is my age in this life. If the Cult Master is asking about my soul's lifespan, it's already eleven thousand years old."
Qin Mu laughed heartily. "Your Highness surprises me more and more. I didn't expect you to reveal this so easily."
"There's no need to hide it from you."
Ban Gongcuo said, "Cult Master Qin is also extremely impressive. You're a disciple of Heaven Blade, aren't you? At such a young age, you have such cultivation—it fills me with admiration. If we had faced each other on the day of our breakthrough to the Six Harmonies realm, I would have had only an eighty percent chance of winning."
"Oh?" Qin Mu smiled without comment, toying with his wine cup.
Ban Gongcuo said solemnly, "Counting this life, I have lived nineteen lives. In my long lifespan, I've seen countless geniuses, countless heroes, and countless joys and sorrows of life and death. Sometimes I feel like a reef standing firm in time, with countless brilliant figures flowing past like fleeting images. Even peerless emperors are just casual snapshots. Even Heaven Blade, who defies the heavens, is just a passing traveler. I remember in my sixth life, I felt my Dao techniques and divine abilities could no longer progress, so I entered the Central Plains and joined the Dao Sect, learning the Primordial Grand Mystery Art and Dao Sword."
Qin Mu's eyelid twitched slightly. This old monster had once joined the Dao Sect and even became the Dao Child?
The Dao Sect's supreme teachings, the Primordial Grand Mystery Art and the fourteen chapters of Dao Sword, had also been learned by him?
"Dao Sword was difficult to comprehend. In that life, I learned up to the thirteenth sword, but the fourteenth sword remained elusive."
Ban Gongcuo sighed. "Dao Sword is truly too difficult. Even with the power of the Primordial Grand Mystery Art, it's hard to fully comprehend. It requires a terrifying understanding of mathematics to achieve. I never learned the fourteenth sword until my old age and death. In my seventh life, I re-entered the Dao Sect, but still couldn't learn the fourteenth sword, mastering only half a move. Then in my eighth life, I joined the Buddhist Great Thunderclap Monastery."
Qin Mu's heart shook violently. He looked at him deeply and asked softly, "You felt that Dao Sword couldn't allow you to break through, so you went to the Great Thunderclap Monastery to learn the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra?"
"Wrong."
Ban Gongcuo said solemnly, "I went to comprehend Buddhist teachings. The Buddhism of the Great Thunderclap Monastery has extremely high enlightenment in mental cultivation. The Tathagata Mahayana Sutra is a collection of mental cultivation, so naturally, I wanted to learn it. However, I started as a novice monk, reading through all the Buddhist scriptures of the Great Thunderclap Monastery and comprehending them, before learning the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra."
Qin Mu asked, "The Tathagata of that generation must have also had high expectations for you?"
"He said my aptitude and comprehension were the finest of the age, and my attainment in Buddhism had even surpassed his. My eloquence was unimpeded."
Ban Gongcuo said, "In the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra, I cultivated to the Twenty Heavenly Domains, but I still left the Great Thunderclap Monastery. The Buddhism there couldn't allow me to break through to the final realm. In the next life, I reincarnated as a woman and went to the Palace of Severed Feelings. Another life later, I went to Little Yujing. I stayed in Little Yujing for several lives to fully learn their supreme arts—it is indeed a holy site that surpasses the three great holy sites."
He seemed to be reminiscing about his days in Little Yujing, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Then I went to the Heavenly Demon Cult."
Qin Mu's eyes flashed with sharp light. "The Heavenly Demon Cult? Did you learn the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra? What did you comprehend?"
Ban Gongcuo smiled. "The Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra is powerful, but compared to the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra and Dao Sword, it's somewhat inferior. I originally intended to leave, but then I heard that the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra contained a Grand Unification Technique that could only be passed from Cult Master to Cult Master. I wanted to obtain it, so I stayed in the Heavenly Demon Cult. Unfortunately, the Cult Master of that generation was very strong, and his disciple was also very strong. This disciple was hailed as a Sage appearing once in five hundred years. I was defeated by him and had no chance at the Cult Master's position."
Qin Mu sighed with relief. Ban Gongcuo continued. "So I rebelled against the Heavenly Demon Cult, brought Dao Sect experts, gathered all the righteous heroes, and attacked the Heavenly Demon Cult, killing this Sage who appeared once in five hundred years."
The wine in Qin Mu's cup trembled slightly, and a drop spilled onto the table.
"This Sage was indeed rare. He fought the Dao Lord to the death, and after I ambushed and struck him, he still managed to severely wound me. But he was eventually exhausted to death by us and countless righteous heroes."
Ban Gongcuo said leisurely. "Before dying, he passed the Cult Master's position and the Grand Unification Technique to the then Heavenly King Qing. I was severely wounded at the time, but I thought we were only one step away from conquering the Heavenly Demon Cult—how could I give up halfway? So I continued leading the assault. Unexpectedly, this Cult Master Qing passed the Grand Unification Technique to the then Holy Maiden, then led the cult members to fight me to the death. I had no choice but to retreat to the grasslands wounded."
He sighed. "Later, I heard that this Cult Master Qing also died at Azure Wave Pool. The Holy Maiden succeeded as Cult Master and finally fought the Dao Sect and all the righteous sects to the point of fear. In the end, she also exhausted her strength and died after passing on the position. How does the Heavenly Demon Cult refer to these three Cult Masters?"
Qin Mu's face was expressionless. "The Three Kings."
"The Three Kings?"
Ban Gongcuo praised. "They truly deserve to be called the Three Kings. Now you should know my connection with your Heavenly Demon Cult. Now you should also know where my eighty percent chance of winning comes from. But that was a day ago. Now, facing you, I have a ten percent chance of winning. You, have not even one chance."
Qin Mu stood up and stretched his body. "Let's go. I'm feeling a bit like killing."
Ban Gongcuo stood up, and the two walked out side by side.
Ban Gongcuo turned back to instruct the two Great Shamans. "Keep the food and wine warm. I'll be back in a moment."