Chapter 1641

“Are the negotiations really breaking down so soon?”

Qin Mu had long anticipated this day, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly. His goal was to buy as much time as possible, giving Yankang a chance to recover. Only a small portion of Yankang’s population had migrated to the chaotic void, and more importantly, their war preparations were far from complete.

“How are the negotiations between Yuchenzi and the Heavenly Court progressing in detail?” He frowned slightly. Negotiating with the Heavenly Court required meticulous attention to detail. The longer the Heavenly Court envoys and Yankang envoys could prolong the discussions, the better.

“It’s actually a good thing that the Heavenly Court wants to annul the agreement,” he mused. He paused, then continued, “Yankang never intended to sign those agreements in the first place. However, we can adopt a more submissive stance and negotiate new terms with the Heavenly Court. For the second round of negotiations, have Yuchenzi concede more of Yankang’s interests.”

The Village Chief and the Apothecary exchanged worried glances.

Qin Mu continued, “This should buy us more time. Regardless of how humiliating or detrimental to our sovereignty the agreements Yuchenzi negotiates are, they must always pass through my hands. As long as I don’t sign, they’re nothing but a scrap of paper.”

The Village Chief and Apothecary’s brows relaxed. The Apothecary chuckled, “Yuchenzi is going to be burdened with a lot of infamy.”

Qin Mu nodded, “He realized this long ago. When I sent him to the Heavenly Court to seek peace, he was already aware that he might become infamous, or even be beaten to death by an enraged populace. He’s been prepared for this. While he’s negotiating with the Heavenly Court, he also needs to prepare the spirit energy migration bridges with the other heavens, establishing direct contact with them, bypassing the Heavenly Court.”

He paced back and forth, contemplating, “During the second round of negotiations between the Heavenly Court and Yankang, the Heavenly Court will face a shortage of celestial currency and will undoubtedly target other heavens. They need funds quickly, and distant solutions won't solve immediate problems. Draining the resources of the heavens already under their control would be the fastest way to acquire wealth, while exploiting those not under their control would take longer.”

He looked up and murmured, “The people in those heavens are suffering beyond measure; rebellion is inevitable. How could the Heavenly Court tolerate such uprisings? Haotian Zun has just ascended as emperor, employing both benevolence and might. This is his chance to establish his authority. He will surely destroy several heavens to intimidate the world. However, destroying heavens that are subservient to the Heavenly Court will only strike fear into other worlds and alienate his own subordinates. Once Yankang steps forward to openly oppose the Heavenly Court, with Yankang as the spearhead, could it ignite a widespread rebellion?”

The Heavenly Court's army of gods and devils draws its strength from all the myriad heavens, and geniuses from across these worlds consider it an honor to join the Heavenly Court. If the Heavenly Court acts against justice and loses the support of the people, it will cut off its source of talent. While Emperor Haotian can certainly use the Heavenly Court’s immense military might to coerce the myriad heavens, a shift in popular sentiment will inevitably lead to a growing number of people resisting its rule. Perhaps many heavens will even ally with Yankang, or even have geniuses from across the myriad heavens join Yankang! This would significantly narrow the gap in mid-level strength between Yankang and the Heavenly Court, making the situation far less desperate than it currently is.

The Village Chief asked, “What if Yankang isn’t ready, and the Heavenly Court forces us to sign? Draining the resources of other heavens merely slows the decline of celestial currency, but draining Yankang’s resources would be a permanent solution for the Heavenly Court! You want to buy time, but Emperor Haotian might not give you that chance! Can you gamble with the lives of everyone in Yankang?”

Qin Mu shook his head. “I cannot take that gamble. So, when the Heavenly Court presents the agreement, I will sign it. However, any contract I sign is merely a piece of waste paper to me, one that can be torn up at any time.”

The Village Chief and Apothecary stared, wide-eyed, as he walked into the palace.

“In the face of Yankang’s survival, what does personal honor or disgrace matter? My child, Mu’er, has truly grown up.”

The Village Chief stood up, smiling. “I must also go to Yankang to negotiate with the Heavenly Court envoys. Apothecary, you should come with me. Your relationship with Lady Yuanmu is excellent; if you intercede, we can surely gain more time through her.”

The Apothecary’s face turned bitter. The Village Chief was asking him to use his charms. He had only just managed to escape Lady Yuanmu’s clutches during the Southern Heaven War, and now he was expected to return?

“Heavenly Venerable Mu.”

The Woodcutter Wen Tiange, the Scholar Yan Yunxi, the Old Farmer Zhuo Cha, and the Fisherman Hantang bowed to Qin Mu. Qin Mu returned the greeting and asked the Woodcutter, “Teacher, what brings you here?”

The Woodcutter replied, “The First Heavenly King, Di Yiyue, has succeeded to the position of Founding Emperor, so we came to inform you, Heavenly Venerable Mu. Would you like to attend the ceremony?”

“Di Yiyue has become the second Founding Emperor?” Qin Mu pondered for a moment before replying, “Her strength is arguably the greatest in Wuyouxiang, though still far inferior to the Founding Emperor’s at his peak. I am currently living in seclusion, so I will not attend.”

The Woodcutter then asked, “With Di Yiyue becoming the second Founding Emperor, the Heavenly Court will surely target Wuyouxiang. Can Wuyouxiang buy some time for Yankang?”

Qin Mu looked at him deeply and shook his head. “Even if Wuyouxiang exhausted all its strength to resist the Heavenly Court’s invasion, lasting a year would be a significant achievement. A single Heavenly Venerable, leading a million gods and devils, would be enough to crush Wuyouxiang within a year!”

The Old Farmer Zhuo Cha asked, “Is one year enough?”

“The minimum amount of time I need is twenty years.” Qin Mu continued, “Wuyouxiang doesn’t need to sacrifice itself in vain. If you truly wish to help Yankang, then send all of Wuyouxiang’s skilled artisans to Yankang to help us forge powerful armaments, in preparation for the great war twenty years from now! Forty years from now, Founding Emperor Qin Ye will appear.”

The four Heavenly Masters were greatly startled, exchanging glances.

Qin Mu said with a smile, “If you trust me, then entrust Wuyouxiang’s future to me. During Yuchenzi’s negotiations, Wuyouxiang can also serve as a valuable bargaining chip, to be used strategically.”

The Old Farmer Zhuo Cha was enraged, but the Woodcutter Saint, understanding the deeper meaning, chuckled, “Wuyouxiang is indeed an excellent bargaining chip. Very well, it is settled then.” When he spoke, the other Heavenly Masters remained silent, offering no dispute.

Qin Mu, curious, asked, “Surely the four of you didn’t come all this way just to inform me about Di Yiyue becoming the second Founding Emperor? Is there something else?”

The Woodcutter Saint replied, “I came for personal reasons. You are my disciple, after all, and as your teacher, I felt I should visit in person. Did you see the wedding gift I sent you?”

Qin Mu nodded. “I saw it.”

The Woodcutter Saint looked expectant. “Could it supplement the deficiencies in your cultivation technique?”

Qin Mu smiled. “Logically, yes, but I’ve found something even better!”

The Woodcutter Saint’s beard trembled, and he reached for the axe on his back. Qin Mu quickly chuckled, “Teacher, I’m only teasing you, don’t get so flustered. Even if all four of you Heavenly Masters attacked me together, you wouldn’t be able to last a single move against me now, so don’t get angry.”

At his words, Yan Yunxi, Zhuo Cha, and Hantang also couldn't help but feel indignant.

Qin Mu quickly interjected, “It’s rare for all four of you Heavenly Masters to visit together. I happen to have a perplexing problem that I haven’t been able to solve, and since you all possess such profound wisdom, perhaps you could help me with it.”

He presented the challenge he encountered when ascending the Chaos Hall, articulating a profound and obscure problem concerning the evolution of the Grand Ultimate (Taiji) Way, which involved the transformations of Yin and Yang, all expressed in Dao language. Despite Qin Mu’s exceptionally high mastery of the Taiji Way, he couldn’t immediately solve it.

The four Heavenly Masters frowned upon hearing this Dao question. The Old Farmer Zhuo Cha whispered, “What is he saying?”

“He asked a question in Dao language.” The Fisherman Hantang hesitated before saying, “He’s talking about Taiji evolution.” The Old Farmer Zhuo Cha’s face flushed slightly. “Why bother with such peculiar things? Martial arts are much simpler!” he grumbled.

Yan Yunxi, the Woodcutter Saint, and Hantang each pondered the question for a moment before beginning to exchange ideas. They had also assimilated the achievements of Yankang’s reforms and made considerable advancements themselves. Hantang cultivated the Way of Yin and Yang Taiji, which was why there were two small red fish in his fishing basket, symbolizing his mastery of Yin and Yang. Yan Yunxi specialized in array formations and various other disciplines, achieving exceptionally high levels of mastery. She also had extensive research into Yin-Yang Taiji, the Four Symbols, and the Eight Trigrams. The Woodcutter Saint’s knowledge was even more diverse.

The three of them racked their brains for a long time but still couldn’t solve it. Qin Mu looked disappointed, realizing that if even he struggled with this problem, it would likely be beyond the four Heavenly Masters of Wuyouxiang as well.

Suddenly, the Woodcutter Saint whispered, “Zixi, could we perhaps use the Yang and Yin lines from the Eight Trigrams to represent zero and one? That way, the Yin-Yang transformations could be solved using numerical calculations. I have an idea for the solution, but my skill in numerology isn’t as refined as yours…”

Yan Yunxi’s eyes lit up. She quickly immersed herself in calculations, and a moment later, clapped her hands and exclaimed, “I’ve solved it!”

Qin Mu was both astonished and delighted. Yan Yunxi then demonstrated her solution process by manifesting it with primordial qi, explaining it once more. In the air, Yin and Yang lines continuously transformed, forming any number using zeros and ones, in an endless evolution. Qin Mu’s eyes widened in realization, and he clapped his hands in admiration.

He immediately entered a meditative state, and his primordial spirit took a step towards the Chaos Hall. A Dao question emerged from within the Hall, which Qin Mu’s primordial spirit answered in Dao language, successfully passing the test. His primordial spirit then took another step forward, and a new Dao question emanated from the Chaos Hall.

This new problem concerned the three-state transformations—form, quality, and substance—of the Grand Purity (Taisu) Way, and it was incredibly difficult. Qin Mu pondered for a long time, but still couldn't solve it, so he stepped back.

The Woodcutter and the other four Heavenly Masters watched him enter meditation, astonished as his cultivation and strength noticeably improved within just a short time. Yan Yunxi whispered to the Woodcutter, “He is cultivating the Numinous Sky Realm. Once one reaches this realm, there are nine hundred and ninety-nine questions on its nine hundred and ninety-nine stone steps. Only by answering these questions can one ascend to the Numinous Sky Palace and advance to the next realm. Each question answered brings an improvement in cultivation.”

The Woodcutter’s face flushed slightly. Among the four Heavenly Masters, his intellect was unparalleled, yet his cultivation realm was the lowest. Although he had benefited from Yankang’s reforms and surpassed the Heavenly Sea Realm, he still hesitated to enter the God-Slaying Platform Realm, let alone the Numinous Sky Realm.

Qin Mu opened his eyes and enthusiastically presented the Grand Purity (Taisu) Dao question he had just heard, awaiting their solutions. However, the four of them had little understanding of the Grand Purity Way and were completely stumped, unable to comprehend the three-state transformations of form, quality, and substance.

The Woodcutter Saint’s eyes gleamed as he reminded Qin Mu, “Why not gather the wisdom of everyone in the world to solve this difficult problem? Why are you fixated on just the four of us? Why not let everyone contribute?”

Qin Mu’s eyes widened in realization. He bowed deeply to the Woodcutter, thanking him, and then chuckled, “Yankang’s reforms have produced countless individuals of extraordinary intellect! I can seek guidance from everyone in the world! Even if I can’t solve it, someone else surely can!”

He recorded this Dao question within a divine mirror. Anyone standing before it would hear the Dao question emanating from its surface. Qin Mu ordered the mirror to be sent to Yankang’s Wen Dao Academy and waited patiently.

More than ten days later, Emperor Yanfeng had the mirror returned, accompanied by several young divine beings. “This junior, Shutongwen, along with these companions, has solved the Heavenly Venerable’s Dao question,” the young divine being said with a bow.

Qin Mu was overjoyed and humbly sought their explanation.

After a long while, Shutongwen and his companions departed with another mirror, returning to the Wen Dao Academy to hang the new mirror at its entrance. This mirror contained a new Dao question, this one concerning the Grand Beginning (Taishi) Way.

Upon hearing the news, Taishi arrived. After listening to the Dao question, he took the mirror and headed to Yongjiang Heavenly Palace.

Two days later, Taishi returned from Yongjiang Heavenly Palace and hung another mirror at the entrance of the Wen Dao Academy.

A few days later, Xu Mengqing, who had come to study, took down the mirror and chuckled, “My father told me about this problem just two days ago!”

A few days later, Xu Mengqing returned to the Wen Dao Academy with a new question. The Yankang Imperial Advisor also heard about this development and came to listen to the Dao question. After hearing it, he smiled and said, “I can solve this.” With that, he took down the mirror and departed for Yongjiang Heavenly Palace.

At Yongjiang Heavenly Palace, Qin Mu was full of enthusiasm, continuously forging new mirrors. He would then send those who had solved a Dao question back to Yankang’s Wen Dao Academy with a new mirror containing the next challenge. Often, within little more than ten days, someone would solve the problem and arrive at Yongjiang Heavenly Palace.

This nearly became a major event at Yankang’s Wen Dao Academy, drawing considerable excitement. Whenever a new mirror was hung, countless young talents and long-established figures would flock there, eager to attempt to solve the problem! And each time a Dao question was successfully answered, it would inevitably erupt into widespread cheers.

Finally, on this day, as the last Dao question was solved, Qin Mu’s primordial spirit ascended to the very top of the Chaos Hall’s stone steps. No new steps appeared. He composed himself, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and looked towards the Chaos Hall.