Chapter 340: Daoist Algorithm

The National Preceptor of Yankang carefully placed Bian Zhenyun’s head down and looked at the skeletons on the ground, his heart trembling. Bian Zhenyun had meticulously arranged the skeletons of the soldiers from Qingmen Pass. For more than ten days, the rain had been relentless, and this old general must have braved the downpour to gather his soldiers’ bodies.

He also noticed a wooden plaque beside each skeleton, inscribed with the soldiers’ names.

The National Preceptor walked forward, with skeletons of Qingmen Pass soldiers lining both sides, each bearing a wooden plaque with a name.

Bian Zhenyun knew every soldier under his command, able to call each one by name!

“You were a worthy general.”

The National Preceptor stopped, not walking further. He turned, and as his robes fluttered, countless skeletons rose, following him towards Yankang.

In distant Yankang, their families awaited their return. Some were young sons, some were aged fathers, some were husbands who had gone to war, and some were beloved daughters, wives, or mothers.

He would send them home.

“Loulan Golden Palace.”

The National Preceptor looked west, then turned and walked towards Yankang.

As night fell, another world encountered this one. Ancient ghostly ships arrived, their scattered lights illuminating old figures crafting paper effigies of people, horses, and boats. The souls from the battlefield silently boarded the ships, making no sound.

The National Preceptor passed them by, not disturbing these envoys from Youdu.

These heroic spirits of the fallen soldiers, and the pastoral nomads who perished in the shamanic plague and torrential floods, would be guided to the mysterious Youdu. What awaited them there, no one knew.

Dao Sect.

Qin Mu ascended Kunlun Yuxu Mountain.

This place, known as the Yuxu Grotto-Heaven, seemed otherworldly, with the feel of a sacred immortal realm. Even the great snow disaster that enveloped Yankang did not affect it in the slightest.

Unlike the Great Thunderclap Temple on Mount Meru, which stood majestically with its myriad resplendent golden monasteries visible from afar, inspiring awe at the vastness of Buddhist teachings, the Yuxu Grotto-Heaven was hidden deep within countless layers of mountains. To reach this sacred Daoist site for pilgrimage required traversing thousands of mountains and rivers, yet even then, finding it was not guaranteed.

The Daoists were primarily practitioners who disliked external disturbances to their tranquility and rarely ventured out.

The Dragon Qilin arrived at the foot of the mountain. There were no strange beasts guarding the gate of Yuxu Mountain, only a thatched hut where an old Daoist was cooking over a fire.

Qin Mu dismounted the Dragon Qilin and greeted the old Daoist, saying, “The Cult Master of Heavenly Saint Cult has come to see the Dao Master. Please inform him, senior brother.”

The old Daoist looked surprised, glancing at Qin Mu, then at the medicine basket on his back and the smiling crippled old man. He said, “Oh, so it’s the Heavenly Devil Cult Master. You killed quite a few of my senior brothers in the battle in the capital.” He then scrutinized the crippled old man, looking puzzled.

Qin Mu smiled faintly, “Daoists fear disturbance to their tranquility, yet they disturb the tranquility of the world. They deserve to be killed.”

The old Daoist shook his head, “For the sake of the world, Daoists must also act. Heavenly Devil Cult Master, I won’t argue with you. Just go up the mountain yourselves; don’t disturb my cultivation.”

The crippled old man chuckled, “The Dao Sect has always been relaxed; they don’t forbid people from climbing the mountain. There aren’t that many rules.”

The old Daoist looked at the crippled old man again, his face suddenly changing drastically. He exclaimed, “You two can go up the mountain, but this old man cannot! He must stay here!”

Qin Mu was puzzled.

The old Daoist angrily said, “I didn’t recognize him earlier! I only remembered after hearing his voice. That divine thief from back then ran wild on Yuxu Mountain, turning everything upside down and almost emptying my Yuxu Mountain!”

The crippled old man stammered, “How many years ago was that? I’ve already reformed and turned over a new leaf these past years.”

“Woof woof woof!”

The old Daoist ignored him and started calling for his dog. A large yellow dog ambled out of the latrine, wagging its tail. The old Daoist yelled, “A dog cannot change its nature!”

The crippled old man was furious inwardly, “This old Daoist is cursing me indirectly!” Although seething with anger, he maintained his radiant smile, making people feel as if they were basking in a spring breeze.

Qin Mu’s heart skipped a beat, and he secretly prayed for the old Daoist.

He ascended the mountain with the Village Chief on the Dragon Qilin. The crippled old man suddenly darted like a ghost, his figure vanishing, and laughed, “You won’t let me up the mountain, but can you stop me?”

The old Daoist hurriedly chased after him, and both disappeared into Yuxu Mountain.

A moment later, halfway up the mountain, Qin Mu saw the old Daoist, stark naked and unencumbered, squatting on a cliff face. Seeing Qin Mu ascending on the Dragon Qilin, the old Daoist quickly hugged himself.

Qin Mu pretended not to see him and walked past.

The old Daoist sighed in relief, but then Qin Mu turned back and asked, “How can I meet the Dao Master?”

The old Daoist, embarrassed and annoyed, said, “Dao Master Lin is in the Yuxu Temple at the mountaintop!”

Qin Mu thanked him, took out a piece of clothing, and threw it to him. The old Daoist quickly caught it, wanting to express gratitude, but Qin Mu had already walked past the cliff.

At the mountaintop, there were cascading waterfalls and flowing springs. Many Daoist disciples were practicing sword forms under the waterfall. Beside the waterfall lay the Dao Sect’s “Fourteen Chapters of Dao Sword,” openly accessible to anyone.

These Daoist disciples practiced sword forms in a peculiar way. They would first perform calculations using various tools. Qin Mu noticed they had refined calculation tools like the Wuji Diagram, Taiji Diagram, Four Symbols Diagram, Five Elements Diagram, and Eight Trigrams Diagram into treasures, combining them into spatial, three-dimensional computational instruments for continuous calculation.

“These Daoists are like geomancers,” Qin Mu thought.

Once they calculated a result, these Daoist disciples would leap up, their flying swords flashing, their sword techniques quite extraordinary.

Qin Mu couldn’t help but stop and watch for a moment, praising them repeatedly, “The Dao Sect truly lives up to its reputation as a sacred place; the academic atmosphere is strong.”

A young Daoist nun, struggling to solve a problem, was scratching her head in frustration when she suddenly saw Qin Mu. She quickly approached him and greeted him, “Senior Brother, whom are you looking for?”

Qin Mu dismounted, “Is Dao Master Lin Xuan here? My name is Qin Mu; I have something to discuss with him.”

“The Dao Master is in Yuxu Temple. He only returned from Little Yujing two days ago,” the young Daoist nun said, pointing to a nearby Daoist temple.

Qin Mu looked at her calculation tool, poked her Eight Trigrams compass twice with a finger, and smiled, “The Sixty-Four Hexagrams Celestial Phenomenon Numbers can be solved this way.”

The young Daoist nun quickly looked at her Eight Trigrams compass, froze, and then beamed with joy.

An old Daoist nun nearby asked, “Who was that person?”

“He said his name is Qin Mu and he’s looking for Dao Master Lin.”

The young Daoist nun chuckled, “He even casually helped me solve this celestial phenomenon number problem, which I use for calculating stellar formations!”

The old Daoist nun exclaimed in surprise, “Qin Mu? That’s the Heavenly Devil Cult Master! This old devil killed countless of our Daoist senior brothers, yet he dares to trespass into our Dao Sect!”

The young Daoist nun was startled, “Heavenly Devil Cult Master? Is he here to kill the Dao Master? What should we do?”

The old Daoist nun laughed, “Yuxu Temple is full of our Dao Sect’s experts. If he resorts to violence, we’ll simply have a new Heavenly Devil Cult Master. Let’s continue practicing our swords; don’t mind him.”

Inside Yuxu Temple, Qin Mu saw a group of old Daoists and Daoist nuns. Some squatted in the garden, engrossed in a single flower; some lay on the ground, watching a group of ants fight; some leisurely drank tea and played chess; some sat by a pavilion, playing a bamboo flute; and others shuffled around in worn-out shoes, their toes peeking playfully through the holes.

Qin Mu stepped back outside, looked up at the plaque hanging over the temple gate, confirming it was indeed Yuxu Temple, then re-entered, asking an old Daoist, “Where is Dao Master Lin Xuan?”

“Dao Master!”

The old Daoist turned his head and called out loudly, “Someone’s looking for you!”

Dao Master Lin Xuan’s voice came from deep within Yuxu Temple: “Oh, got it, I’ll be right out! Please entertain him for a moment; I’m at a critical point in alchemy!”

The old Daoist turned back to Qin Mu and said, “Make yourself at home.”

Qin Mu relaxed, waited for a moment, and then heard a loud *boom*. A mushroom cloud rose from where Dao Master Lin Xuan’s voice had originated. The group of old Daoists and Daoist nuns all laughed, “The Dao Master blew up his furnace again!”

Dao Master Lin Xuan emerged, covered in ash, his face blackened. He said, “Martial Uncle, if you hadn’t called out, I wouldn’t have blown up the furnace... Cult Master Qin!”

Dao Master Lin Xuan was startled to see Qin Mu. He hurriedly wiped the charcoal from his face with his sleeve and said seriously, “Why does the Heavenly Devil Cult Master have time to visit our Dao Sect?”

“Heavenly Devil Cult Master?”

At these words, all the old Daoists and Daoist nuns in Yuxu Temple turned to look at Qin Mu, and Qin Mu immediately felt a murderous intent in their gazes!

The grievances between the Dao Sect and the Heavenly Devil Cult could be traced back one or two tens of thousands of years. The animosity between the two cults was almost ingrained, and coupled with Qin Mu killing nearly half of the Dao Sect’s experts during the rebellion of Ling Yu and Xia in the capital, it was no wonder these Daoist masters harbored murderous intent!

Qin Mu’s expression remained unchanged. At that moment, a white-haired head poked out of the medicine basket on his back.

The Village Chief peered out of the basket, glancing around. Wherever his gaze swept, the old Daoists and Daoist nuns averted their eyes, not meeting his gaze, and resumed their activities.

The Village Chief then slowly retracted back into the basket.

Qin Mu took out the Golden Book Scroll and smiled, “The old Dao Master allowed me to see the Fourteen Chapters of Dao Sword, and I’ve always been grateful. Now that Senior Brother Lin has become the Dao Master, I’ve come to invite you to read this book. You have three days.”

Dao Master Lin Xuan chuckled, “Perhaps you allowed me to see the Grand Creation Heavenly Devil Scripture; you owe our Dao Sect nothing. This book...”

His gaze fell upon the first page of the Golden Book that Qin Mu had opened, and he found it impossible to look away. He unconsciously pulled out numerous rulers, repeatedly measuring the diagrams.

As he measured and calculated, he mumbled various calculation formulas.

The old Daoists and Daoist nuns in Yuxu Temple initially paid no mind to his formulas, but as Dao Master Lin Xuan’s formulas grew more profound and his calculations more complex, their curiosity was piqued.

An old Daoist walked over, his gaze immediately drawn to the patterns in the Golden Book.

A moment later, more and more old Daoists and Daoist nuns gathered around the Golden Book, all engrossed in calculating and measuring.

They were lost in their calculations, unaware of the passage of time, when suddenly a hand reached out and pulled the Golden Book away. Qin Mu’s voice startled everyone awake: “Dao Master, all senior brothers and sisters, three days are up.”

“Has it been three days?” Lin Xuan and the others were startled.

Qin Mu smiled, “I bid farewell.” With that, he turned to leave.

“Wait!”

“Cult Master Qin, wait!”

Qin Mu turned around, a smile on his face.