One Heart

Chapter 289: One Heart

On the fifth day after Fan Yunxiao left, many people in strange costumes appeared on the island, including men, women, young and old. First, one person came and planted a big flag on the island, and then flashes of light appeared, and many flags appeared on the island.

When the flags were folded, hundreds of people appeared on the island and sat down around the island. Each person sat in a different position, scattered around the island, and none of them moved.

However, every two hours, these people would get up and change their positions, and this pattern remained unchanged.

Under the shade of the tree, Long Jiaonan shivered several times and quickly moved towards the center of the island.

Si Yunxiang was very happy and cooked for everyone so that they would not go hungry.

Ling Yuxiu looked solemn, and looking around, she could see that this was a large formation that trapped them all on the island, not giving them a chance to leave. If they forced their way through the formation, the formation would be activated, turning into a killing formation, turning the island into a Shura field!

When this formation is activated, it will be extremely terrifying!

Moreover, she also saw that some of these strange people were wearing court robes and were high-ranking officials of the current dynasty. Some were butchers in the vegetable market, some were executioners who beheaded people, and some were from the Imperial Academy. They were really weird!

The most amazing thing is that these people change their positions every two hours. They are changing the formation. They should be on guard against the Taoist master from figuring out the changes in the formation.

"The Heavenly Demon Sect is worthy of being the largest sect in the demon world. It has made a very accurate judgment."

The old Taoist master was also looking at the killing array, praising it repeatedly in his heart, and said: "It took me two hours to calculate the changes in the array, and they just changed the array. The master of the array hall is really cunning."

The head of the Formation Hall was from the Imperial Academy's Formation Yuan Hall, and was named a Hanlin scholar by Emperor Yanfeng. He was extremely favored and was often summoned to the palace to inquire about state affairs. Although the emperor did not give him real power because of his origins in the Tianmo Sect, most of the formations in the army were designed by him.

It was obvious that the master of the Formation Hall had the old Taoist master in his sight. As long as Qin Mu was in trouble, he would never let him leave alive. Even if he left, he had to leave with his death.

Before he knew it, it was the fourteenth day. Qin Mu closed his eyes, and after a while he opened them again. He stood up from under the stone tablet and saluted the Taoist master: "Thank you, Senior Brother, for allowing me to comprehend the Dao Sword."

The Taoist Master stood up and returned the greeting, saying, "I don't deserve it. The Human Emperor is already qualified to comprehend the Dao Sword. I will give you the Dao Sword to look at, and Tathagata will also give you the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra to look at. Human Emperor, you deserve it."

Qin Mu said: "I have read the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra."

The Taoist master was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said with a smile, "This old fellow is still very cunning and got there before me. Disciple, return the Great Yu Tian Mo Jing to the Human Emperor."

Daozi Lin Xuan woke up from his meditation, and quickly collected the Dayu Tianmo Sutra, turned it into a ball of thread, and returned it to Qin Mu in both hands.

Qin Mu smiled and said, "You and I are about the same age, there is no need to be so polite."

Daozi Lin Xuan shook his head and said, "The more courtesy you show, the less blame you will get. As long as I don't become a Dao master, I will always be your junior."

Qin Mu was helpless and said, "Although the Taoist master has not read the Great Yutian Demon Sutra, the sentence "Evil and good exist" is deeply rooted in the Great Yutian Demon Sutra. How much good and evil have you seen from the Great Yutian Demon Sutra?"

Daozi Lin Xuan hesitated for a moment, and Daoist Master smiled and said, "Master Qin is an expert in this field, just tell me."

Lin Xuan Daozi said: "It may be due to preconceived ideas. When I first read the Great Yu Tian Mo Jing, I felt that every sentence was harmful. When I read the middle part, I began to understand some of the meaning, and I no longer had the concept of good and evil in my mind. When I read the last part, I felt that what I read before might have been a misunderstanding, so I read it again from the beginning, and my feelings were different."

Qin Mu asked with a smile: "How many of them are demons?"

"There is still 20% left." Lin Xuan Daozi said honestly.

Qin Mu said: "Your heart of Taoism still has 20% of demons. But you are already very good compared to the Buddha. The Buddha's heart of Buddha reads the Great Yu Tian Mo Sutra and sees demons everywhere. He has the appearance of a Buddha, but his heart is an incurable demon."

Lin Xuan Daozi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "So that's it!"

He felt a little dissatisfied again, and looked at Qin Mu with a flickering gaze, saying, "How likely is it that the Human Emperor is a demon after reading the Great Yutian Demon Sutra?"

Qin Mu said: "All chapters of the Great Yu Tian Mo Jing are both righteous and evil. It depends on how I use them."

Lin Xuan Daozi was stunned: "This..."

Qin Mu said meaningfully: "The way of the saints lies in the daily life of the people. The first sentence of the Great Reproduction Demon Sutra has already made it clear. You and I are also people. When you and I have the right way in mind, the Great Reproduction Demon Sutra is the right way. When you and I have the devil in mind, the Great Reproduction Demon Sutra is the devil. I can use it as a right way technique, or I can use it as a devil technique. The magic of its application lies in one's heart."

"The secret of application lies in one's heart?" Lin Xuan Daozi was stunned again and felt that it made a lot of sense.

The old Taoist master shouted: "Hey! Don't listen to his teachings, it's just a perverted doctrine of letting nature take its course! You are the next generation of Taoist master, be careful not to be deceived by his sweet words and join his evil cult!"

Lin Xuan Daozi woke up and couldn't help sweating profusely. He thought to himself, "He used the opportunity to instruct me and talk about the doctrines of the Demon Sect to seduce me! His pure and natural way is different from the way of my Dao Sect!"

The old Taoist said sternly: "Master Qin's character is indeed a level higher than yours. In the future, he will become your enemy as the Demon Master. You must be careful. Don't just remember that he is the Human Emperor and forget that he is also the Heavenly Demon Master!"

Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The old Taoist master actually treated him as a scourge. When instructing his disciples, he had to be on high alert to prevent them from being led to the Heavenly Demon Sect by him.

The old Taoist master asked, "What does the Human Emperor think of the Dao Sword?"

Qin Mu said solemnly: "It is extremely mathematical and exquisite. The last few moves seem to transcend mathematics and are close to Taoism."

The old Taoist master's words were full of meaning. He smiled and said, "The Dao sword of our sect can actually be seen as how to accurately measure a circle. The density and approximation are close to infinity. The diameter and circumference cannot be ended by emptiness and purity. There are countless digits behind. The Dao has no end, and the circumference has no end. Therefore, why should the Dao be changed? Why should the Dharma be changed?"①

Qin Mu was stunned. This old Taoist master was trying to spread the Taoist principles to him!

"Master, that's enough." Qin Mu said with a smile.

The old Taoist master laughed and asked Lin Xuan Daozi to put away the stone wall. He said: "Human Emperor, you have a special identity and will have many terrible enemies. It is better to return to Daxu as soon as possible. I asked her to invite the Dragon King's daughter to you. Can you let me take her away?"

Qin Mu looked at the Polygonatum sibiricum under their feet. Many of them had already grown a few leaves, but many of them had already died.

"Don't worry, she listens to me and she won't come here again."

The old Taoist master smiled and said, "You didn't lose anything, but she lost a lot."

Qin Mu nodded and called Long Jiaonan to come forward. Long Jiaonan endured the pain and staggered forward.

Qin Mu asked: "Are you still my enemy?"

Long Jiaonan said: "My Yulong Sect was wiped out because of you, so I have no choice but to become your enemy."

"Whether I am here or not, your Yulong Sect will be destroyed. This is the trend of the times. Even if I am not in Tianbo City, you will still end up in the same situation."

Qin Mu said: "I just happened to be there. It's natural for you to hate me, but next time you come to kill me, I will show no mercy."

Long Jiaonan gritted his teeth and said, "I won't show mercy either!"

Qin Mu shook his head and said, "You no longer have a chance. Stop shedding your skin. If you continue to shed your skin, you will become old. Follow the Taoist master."

Long Jiaonan stood beside the Taoist master, feeling confused. Every time she met Qin Mu, she found that Qin Mu was much stronger than before. Will she still be his opponent when she meets Qin Mu next time?

Do I still have a chance?

However, her mind was soon overwhelmed by hatred and she put this confusion behind her.

The old Taoist master clasped his fists, holding the Tai Chi diagram on the outside and the Ziwu Jue on the inside, and said, "I'll leave."

Qin Mu returned the greeting, stood up and said, "See you, Master."

With a loud noise, the leaders of the Demonic Church, protectors, kings and others around the island stood up one after another and made way for a path.

The old Taoist took Long Jiaonan and Lin Xuan Daozi out of the island, and then a cloud rose under their feet, taking the two away.

Qin Mu looked at the demon sect members around him, waved his hand and said with a smile: "Disperse, all of you go."

Everyone bowed, rolled up the big flag and disappeared without a trace, but Master Jade King stayed behind, obviously not worried about Qin Mu's safety.

Qin Mu smiled and said, "There's no need to worry about me. You guys can go too."

The two kings looked at each other, covered themselves with clothes, and disappeared.

"I don't think they will go far." Si Yunxiang said.

Qin Mu nodded, but Ling Yuxiu was worried and said, "Grandmaster, you are only concerned with showing off in front of your subordinates. If you let them go, how can we leave?"

Qin Mu hesitated for a moment. He was indeed putting on airs. The elders in the village had taught him since he was a child that it was better to lose the battle than the formation, and that he must not lose his momentum. That was why he did not let the members of the Heavenly Demon Sect take him, the Saint Leader, away from the East China Sea, so as to avoid losing face in front of his subordinates.

"Do you think Fan Yunxiao will come back to pick us up?" he asked tentatively.

The two girls sneered and said in unison: "He cried so miserably when he left, so he won't come back!"

Qin Mu hesitated and said, "How about we just walk back from the sea..."

"It's the only way."

Si Yunxiang turned back to look at Lingquan, a little reluctant, and said: "Do you think those Huangjing will still recognize us after they wake up?"

"have no idea."

Qin Mu looked back and saw the greenery beside the spiritual spring. He shook his head and said, "They died once. If they originally had souls, their souls should have fallen into the dark underworld. But they came back to life again. As for whether the souls are the original souls, whether the memories are the original memories, or whether new souls were born from their bodies and the memories are like a blank sheet of paper, it is unknown."

Si Yunxiang felt a little melancholy. Seeing Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu walking on the sea, she hurriedly chased after them. A wave appeared under Qin Mu's feet, like a dragon head, surging forward and carrying them to the west.

In another place, the witch master of the Golden Palace of Loulan received the news from Bangong Co and immediately left the Golden Palace and headed west.

He walked a long way, bypassing the vast Daxu, crossing the snow-capped mountains and plateaus, entering the flaming desert, coming to the Western Land, and climbing the highest peak in the Western Land.

There was nothing on the golden top of this sacred mountain except for an altar. The witch took three incense sticks and lit them. Smoke rose up to the sky.

Where the smoke disappeared, a green face faintly emerged in the air, and seemed to merge with the blue sky.

"The new Human Emperor has appeared." Wu Zun burned incense and bowed.

Note ①: The term "closed ratio" and "approximate ratio" are terms used for pi. Zu Chongzhi, a mathematician from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, derived the close ratio and "approximate ratio" when calculating pi. You can check it out if you are interested. Zu Chongzhi was a Taoist priest of the Tianshi Dao and a master of mathematics. He said: "I specialize in mathematics and have searched through the past and present."

So, if you want to cultivate immortality? Are you good at math? Are you good at chemistry (Taoist chemist Tao Hongjing)? Are you good at medicine (Taoist medical practitioners Ge Hong and Sun Simiao)? Are you good at philosophy (Laozi and Zhuangzi)? How about governing a country (Wei Zheng and Li Mi)? How about economics (Fan Li), military strategy (Zhang Liang), calligraphy and painting (Wang Xizhi and Wu Daozi), astronomy (too many), and poetry (Li Bai)?

Study hard and ascend to heaven soon!

PS: Zhaizhu is going to Shanghai and Japan to attend the author salons, which are held by Yuewen. I am leaving today. I don’t know if I can publish chapters in Japan. The updates should be unstable or interrupted these days. If I can publish chapters in Japan, Zhaizhu will try my best to write and update as much as possible. There is no charge from annotation to PS, so don’t worry.