Chapter 989: Rusty Sword and Rusty Heart

Qin Mu was filled with solemn respect. In the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect, few true Daoists remained; it had become a place for the sons of powerful nobles to gain prestige. In contrast, many Daoists in Yankang's Dao Sect were genuine, passionately devoted to the Dao and to mathematics, thus driving the development of Yankang's divine arts and paths.

This middle-aged Daoist, Su Maiqing, having founded the Dao Sect in the Primordial Realm as an apostate from the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect, was worthy of respect. Furthermore, Qin Mu had heard some rumors about this apostate Daoist. He originated from the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect and descended to the lower realms at the end of the Emperor's Era. He also contributed to the advancement of Daoist divine arts and paths during the Kaihuang era.

The Kaihuang era achieved extraordinary mastery in the art of metallurgy. The forging of divine weapons, mighty warships, and divine cities, as well as reforms in formation arrays, all required mathematics. During that period, the Dao Sect's mathematical skills significantly propelled the Kaihuang era forward. It could even be said that he played a part in Emperor Release Li Youran's creation of Wuyou Township.

This middle-aged Daoist was inconspicuous, unlike the Four Heavenly Kings and Four Heavenly Masters of the Kaihuang era who drew much attention. Yet, his contributions and impact were substantial. Those skilled in battle leave no conspicuous mark; Daoist Su Maiqing was probably such a man.

"It is truly fortunate to meet Dao Master Su here," Qin Mu smiled. "In Yankang, I had good relationships with two generations of Dao Masters. I never expected to encounter Dao Master Su here. Dao Master Su, the Dao Sect you established in the lower realms is now the pillar of Yankang's reforms."

Su Maiqing quickly replied, "Heavenly Venerate, please don't say that. I am no longer a Dao Master; I resigned from that position long ago. Now, I am just a leisurely Daoist, merely teaching and passing my days here. Any achievements of the Yankang Dao Sect are not my credit, but theirs alone."

Qin Mu felt a growing fondness for him. Su Maiqing was the founder of Yankang's Dao Sect, yet he did not claim credit, unlike some people who always liked to take all the glory for themselves.

"Has Heavenly Venerate Mu come here in preparation for the battle with His Majesty two months from now?" The middle-aged Daoist blinked and smiled, "You are looking for His Majesty Kaihuang's divine arts and paths in the wrong place. You should ascend to a higher vantage point and observe the geographical contours of Grand Emperor Heaven."

Qin Mu was taken aback, exclaiming, "Daoist, why did you tell me about Kaihuang's sword dao? You are betraying Kaihuang!"

"So, Heavenly Venerate Mu has already realized Kaihuang's Thirty-Three Heaven Sword Dao?" Su Maiqing chuckled, "This Daoist has been too talkative, underestimating Heavenly Venerate Mu's wisdom. I have betrayed the Heavenly Court, so betraying Kaihuang is no big deal. Back when Wuyou Township was being created, I sided with Wen Tiange, believing it should not be established, though I wasn't as resolute as Wen Tiange."

He sighed, his brows furrowed deeply, and said, "When the Kaihuang Calamity erupted, I still followed Kaihuang. As a result, I've been disheartened for twenty thousand years here, always lacking spirit, and have thus remained in Wuyou Township's lowest level to teach. Wen Tiange was more resolute than me; he swore he would never enter Wuyou Township. He stayed outside, leading the remnants of the army to resist and never came here. I often wonder, if I had been as resolute as him back then, insisting on resistance, perhaps His Majesty would not have entered Wuyou Township."

He stared blankly into space, appearing somewhat dull. Qin Mu's eyes flickered. "You want to use me to force Kaihuang out of Wuyou Township?"

Su Maiqing chuckled slyly, "How could this Daoist have such a rebellious thought? The first style of Kaihuang's sword dao, the Grand Emperor Pacifying Heaven Sword, is hidden within the geographical patterns of Grand Emperor Heaven's mountains and rivers. This sword is Kaihuang's first step into the Dao, the first heaven, and it is truly formidable."

He broke off a branch, using it as a sword, and demonstrated the Grand Emperor Pacifying Heaven Sword. The branch moved through the air, composed of basic sword techniques, imbued with magnificent grandeur. The sword transformed into sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, crisscrossing and sweeping, forming towering peaks and vast rivers, embodying the spirit of pacifying the chaos of heaven and earth.

After demonstrating the move, Su Maiqing held the branch, carefully inserted it into the soil, planting it. He then said, "This small sapling will one day grow into a towering tree."

Qin Mu closed his eyes, savoring the Grand Emperor Pacifying Heaven Sword he had just witnessed. After a long moment, he opened his eyes, bowed, and thanked him, "Thank you for your guidance, Dao Master Su. Dao Master, I have one unanswered question: why did the reforms and changes of the Kaihuang era halt after Kaihuang arrived in Wuyou Township?"

Su Maiqing finished planting the tree, straightened up, and grinned, "Heavenly Venerate, how do you find my current spirit and vitality?"

Qin Mu stated plainly, "It is faded and lacks fighting spirit."

Su Maiqing chuckled, "That is the spirit and vitality of the entire Wuyou Township."

Qin Mu was startled.

"Kaihuang's reforms, aligning with heaven and responding to humanity, had their core principles established by Wen Tiange, primarily focusing on guardianship." Su Maiqing conjured a bit of clear water and poured it over the branch, saying, "Gods were to guard all beings, be used by them, and make their lives better. Among these beings, those with divine arts would be cultivated, and they would become gods, forming a virtuous cycle. Those with divine arts and the gods would develop more divine arts and more useful things, making the Kaihuang era increasingly strong and prosperous. However, when the Kaihuang Calamity erupted, the gods stopped guarding all beings."

He gazed blankly at the small sapling for a moment, then sighed, "The gods abandoned all beings and left. The spirit and vitality of the entire era vanished, and the reforms halted then and there. Heh heh, now there are still people in the imperial court boasting that Wuyou Township has absorbed the Creator's visualization methods and that the reforms are continuing, blowing their own horn so loudly that even they believe it. But this Daoist refuses to believe!"

He snorted, then turned and left, saying, "This Daoist simply doesn't believe it! The soil for reform is gone, the core principles of reform are discarded, all they do is brag all day. Where is the reform then? Nonsense, flattery, sycophancy! This Daoist won't associate with them! This Daoist only hopes you can beat Kaihuang soundly and wake him up!"

Qin Mu was stunned, watching him depart.

Shu Jun walked over, following Qin Mu's gaze, only seeing Su Maiqing's retreating back. He asked, puzzled, "What is the Saint Child looking at?"

"Nothing," Qin Mu recovered his senses and smiled, "Just suddenly felt a little emotional. God King, have you finished reading?"

Shu Jun nodded. "I have a general understanding of the divine arts and paths from the past million years. I also have a rough plan for my future path, though it's not yet clear. Should we ascend into the sky to observe the geography of Grand Emperor Heaven?"

"No need," Qin Mu smiled, "I have already mastered Kaihuang's Grand Emperor Pacifying Heaven Sword. Let us go to Wuyou Township's Grand Clear Heaven."

Shu Jun was puzzled but still followed him, flying towards Grand Clear Heaven. A divine mountain connected Grand Clear Heaven and Grand Emperor Heaven, linking the two heavens. The two flew from the base of this divine mountain to its summit, entering Grand Clear Heaven.

The two repeated the process, finding Grand Clear Heaven's largest academy and thoroughly perusing all its collected books and classics. Qin Mu was still one step ahead of Shu Jun, being the first to read through Grand Clear Heaven's classics, memorizing them thoroughly.

As he was about to exit the library, a voice suddenly scoffed, "Heavenly Venerate Mu, you wish to understand His Majesty Kaihuang's sword techniques and defeat him by merely skimming through them like this, 'swallowing dates whole'? What a wild fantasy!"

Qin Mu looked in the direction of the voice, seeing a burly man with thick eyebrows and large eyes, carrying a sword case on his back, from which several sword hilts protruded. He had already encountered a master who was not misled by his divine sense illusion once before, so seeing this burly man unaffected by his divine sense now did not surprise him much. After all, many in Wuyou Township were masters from the Kaihuang era who had migrated there. Some became disheartened, fell into decline, and chose to live in seclusion.

Qin Mu inquired, "May I ask who you are?"

"Yan Rihuan, Sun Guardian under Kaihuang." The burly man lifted his hand to take off his sword case, gripped a sword hilt, and pulled hard, but failed to draw the sword. He scratched his head and said, "Please wait, Heavenly Venerate Mu. I haven't drawn a sword in twenty thousand years; the treasures I forged myself have rusted."

He pulled the sword with force, finally extracting a flying sword. It was heavily covered in rust.

"It's not the sword that's rusted, but the Sun Guardian's sword heart." Qin Mu observed his precious sword and smiled, "The Sun Guardian's sword heart is very badly rusted."

"Wait till I polish it!" The burly man, Yan Rihuan, walked out of the library and went to the small stream by the academy. He began grinding his rusty sword with a *chi-chi-chi* sound, and the rusty water stained the stream red.

Yan Rihuan continued grinding, but as he did, more and more rust seemed to appear on the sword. Suddenly, he froze, sitting by the stream, staring blankly. Qin Mu stood behind him, waiting quietly.

Then, the rough man's shoulders began to heave. Unbeknownst to Qin Mu, he had started to cry, his tears like fire, splattering from his eyes and transforming into flames that danced through the air.

"What good is this sword to me? What good? This damn sword won't shine again!" He abruptly stood up and swung his sword, lunging towards Qin Mu!

Qin Mu stood still, surrounded by the *chi-chi* sounds of sword light. Yan Rihuan danced his sword, and the heavily rusted iron blade created a world of rust around Qin Mu, like a steel world eroded by time, filled with an aura of decay and ruin.

"If the heart is unclear, the sword is unclear! Even this Grand Clear Equal Heaven Sword has rusted!" Yan Rihuan roared, his sword dancing even faster, continuous roars escaping his lips as he lunged forward, thrusting. He bellowed, "What good is this rusted sword? What good is this rusted heart? My sword was once known as the fastest after Kaihuang's, the hottest sword! But now, it's not fast at all, and neither my sword nor my heart is hot anymore!"

He seemed to have fallen into a frenzy, unleashing the second style of Kaihuang's sword dao, the Grand Clear Equal Heaven Sword. The scene of the rust-laden Grand Clear Heaven emerging around Qin Mu was shockingly impactful.

After unleashing this move, Yan Rihuan could no longer suppress the anger in his heart and flung the rusty sword far away. After throwing the sword, he regretted it. He ran to pick it up and, crying, began grinding it by the stream again.

Shu Jun approached, asking in surprise, "What's wrong with this person?"

"His Dao heart is wounded," Qin Mu said, "Let's go take a look at Pure Clear Heaven."

Shu Jun hesitated, "The divine arts and paths of Wuyou Township initially seem novel, but after reviewing the classics of two academies, I've found much repetition. Saint Child, there's no longer any need to visit the academies in the other heavens."

Qin Mu smiled, "It wouldn't hurt to take a look."

Shu Jun could only follow him. When they arrived at Pure Clear Heaven, before they could even find the academy, they saw an old man by the roadside burning paper offerings before a grave, weeping uncontrollably on the ground. He cried, "Qin Ye, you died young, what a tragic death—"

Shu Jun chuckled, "Old man, I once had a friend as bold as you, who dared to insult the Grand Emperor. The following year, when I visited him, the grass on his grave was taller than a man."