989 Ones Heroic Aura Can Stand Out and Last for a Thousand Autumns (1/2)
That old man looked at him and coldly laughed. ”In the past, righteous people died to advise elders and carried coffins to court when the emperor was muddle-headed. Why can't I burn paper money for him? I want to! I have been burning it for 20,000 years. It's to the point where he can be the richest man in Youdu after he dies!”
Shu Jun laughed and humored him. ”If you want to be a righteous volunteer and burn paper money for him, why do you not do it in front of him, why do it in this god-forsaken place with so few people? Who are you burning it for? You aren't a righteous person.”
The old man became disappointed and sat on the ground. He mumbled, ”You're right, I'm not a righteous volunteer. If I was, I would have carried a coffin to court and died to advise the elders. I even made my coffin. However, I got timid and backed out…”
He waved his sleeves, and a black coffin flew out. It was likely the coffin he built back then, which he had intended to carry and die in to advise the elders.
Shu Jun sized up the coffin and saw that it was glistening. It was likely constantly caressed. He couldn't help but laugh. ”You old man, you touched it so much that there's oil on the coffin. You are clearly an overly cautious person with little conviction.”
The old man was furious and wanted to attack, but upon further thought, he agreed with Shu Jun.
He didn't dare to carry his coffin to court. Instead, he spent his days looking at it, touching it, remaining undecided, and causing the coffin to glisten with oil.
Shu Jun was going to taunt him again, but he was stopped by Qin Mu.
”How do I address you, elder?” Qin Mu asked.
The old man depressingly said, ”One of the four assisting junior protectors of the Founding Emperor Celestial Heavens, Fang Youji. Today, I am the guardian of the cemetery of Pure Brightness Heavens.”
Qin Mu asked, ”A junior protector makes you a first ranking high official. How did you end up here?”
Fang Youji rose and said, ”You are Celestial Venerable Mu, so you are always right. However, I know little about the path of the sword. I only know divine arts, so I used it to mimic sword skills. This sword is called the Pure Bright Sword of Stealing Hearts!”
He used his divine arts to deploy the sword skill, and instantly, it drizzled. The entire area became barren. Qin Mu could see the Sword Dao mood beneath this sword.
Founding Emperor opened this path to train himself in stealing hearts by mourning comrades' deaths, worshipping his ancestor's death, and using the past to shape the present. It was also used to test opponents' Dao hearts.
This sword required a lot out of one's Dao heart to fight it. If one's Dao heart wasn't secure, they would lose to him.
Junior Protector Fang Youji deployed it, saying, ”I used divine arts to mimic his third blade. However, it's a divine art, which means it can't fully recreate the marvels of his Sword Dao. If Celestial Venerable Mu didn't see the marvel within, I can deploy it again.”
Qin Mu closed his eyes before opening them and replying, ”There's no need for that.”
Fang Youji squatted again, burning paper money for that nameless tomb. He told Qin Mu, ”Celestial Venerable Mu can go to Dark Embryo Heaven. The sentry there is the second assistant out of the four assistants, Junior Assistant Gao Baixun.”
Qin Mu thanked him and left with Shu Jun. They chose not to seek guidance at Pure Brightness Heaven's academy.
Shu Jun looked back and saw that old man burning paper money still. He no longer cried about how brutally Qin Ye died. Instead, he had a smile on his red face that was grilled by the flames.
”This junior protector of Founding Emperor seems to wish for you to beat Founding Emperor dearly.”
Shu Jun was puzzled. ”This old man bit the hand that fed him. Not only that, but he did it in such a happy manner. Holy infant, now I know why you must walk around. There are so many people under Founding Emperor willing to feed you moves!”
Qin Mu smiled. ”Some people still have ambitions despite being old. Meanwhile, brave heroes have their ambitions reduced. Parts of the army didn't willingly choose to hide at Carefree Village. Those with ambition wish not for me to defeat Founding Emperor, but for me to excite the ambition of this washed-up leader.”
He continued, ”They also want to excite their own ambitions. They are like divine dragons who could rebuke the heavens and earth that are stuck in a tiny swamp. They curl their bodies up and look up into the sky, wishing they were twisting and turning in the clouds and not rolling around in the mud.”
”I feel like you are talking about me.”
Shu Jun laughed. ”I am the divine dragon in your story!”
Qin Mu laughed in return as they ascended into Dark Embryo Heaven. In front of them, the forest was dense, and someone was teaching within it. His voice was loud as he hollered, ”To universally love is to be altruistic. To carry it out is to be righteous. To perform this righteous altruism through one's own strength is Dao. What is this supposed to mean?”
”Universal love constitutes altruism. Materializing this quality makes one righteous. Going on this path is Dao. This quote means finding out about the underlying principles of things and sticking to them, carrying them out even if it's hard.”
”If one walks the talk despite it being hard, one achieves Dao. The person who doesn't do so is Founding Emperor!”
…
Qin Mu and Shu Jun walked forward and saw a teacher, who was dressed like a scholar, holding some books in one hand and a ruler in the other. He was explaining scriptures in an excited manner.
His students were a bunch of monkeys with clothes. Some were scratching themselves while squatting on the ground, while some were grooming other monkeys in trees. They were very lively and very rarely stopped moving.
The monkeys saw Qin Mu and Shu Jun and immediately took off their clothes and ran away, throwing the clothes everywhere.
The teacher was furious as he hollered, ”Unflinching righteousness! Where did it all go? You degenerates, running away when you see an enemy! Tai!”
He jumped towards Qin Mu. He was visibly furious as the ruler in his hands flew. He deployed a marvelous sword skill, the Dark Embryo Sword of Calm Heavens, and directly pressed towards Qin Mu!
”Others may be scared of you, but I'm not!”
Shu Jun was going to block him, but Qin Mu stopped him. The teacher, Gao Baixun, danced with his ruler and deployed his Dark Embryo Sword of Calm Heavens before turning around and walking away. He hollered, ”The enemy is too powerful! I didn't actively engage you, I merely learned to run away like Founding Emperor!” After he finished, he escaped into the woods while stepping on wood.
Shu Jun was startled.