Chapter 680 — Why the Arts of Calculation Enchant

The only thing needed was for the gods present to hold back the towering magma waves and that unspeakably dreadful hurricane!

A hurricane a hundred times the speed of sound would easily sweep any divine-ability practitioner off their feet, and the poisonous gases and mountain-sized fire-stones mingled in the wind would leave them gravely wounded or dead. So there had to be gods and demons guarding the outer perimeter.

'The volcanoes that erupt from the seabed now and then—those will be a little difficult. . .

' Shen Mu mused. The depths of the magma sea were filled with volcanoes, and each eruption released energy almost equal to a strike from a god or demon; the consequences of such dreadful energy striking a divine-ability practitioner could well be imagined.

'The Sword God and I will deal with the volcanoes.

' Xing An said abruptly: 'His swordsmanship, plus my divine ability, will be enough to suppress the volcanoes.

' Shen Mu nodded, assigned everyone their duties, and said in a deep voice: 'My friends, Taihuang Heaven is destroyed. It is hard to leave one's native land, but what matters most is that people live.

Perhaps in the future we will return and pacify earth, water, wind, and fire.

But for now, we must go!

' Sang Hua knelt and kissed the ground, rubbing her cheek gently against the land. One by one, the other divine-ability practitioners of Taihuang Heaven knelt as well; some kissed the ground, some embraced the earth. The divine-ability practitioners of Jingping watched these people in silence.

The sentiment of home and country is perhaps hard to know in times of peace and prosperity; only at the brink of disaster can it stir that deep, weighty feeling in every heart. After a while, the people rose to their feet.

One after another, the deities stood guard around them, each exerting great dharma power to still earth, water, wind, and fire, while the others trod upon the now-calm surface of the magma sea, following those ahead and pressing forward with all their strength. The magma sea was scorching hot, and the air was dreadfully warm; even with Ma Rulai's Buddha light, it was hard to cool the air.

'Seal every pore of your body and hold in the moisture within you! ' Shen Mu called out loudly: 'Those with flight divine abilities, do not fly—save your vitality. The road is long, and we must walk a long way!

Those of higher cultivation, look after your junior brothers and sisters of lower cultivation!

' He walked to the front.

The Lame Elder took out a compass—very ancient, with a great many markings on it; it must have been a treasure, stolen from some unknown place. The needle on the compass spun wildly like a revolving lantern, making it impossible to tell direction at all.

The Lame Elder sighed, put the compass away, and looked around. Everywhere in Taihuang Heaven was a magma sea; the only thing that might serve to fix direction was Luofu Heaven, thrust slantwise into the center of Taihuang Heaven. Daoist Master Linxuan and a group of old Daoists were using the art of positioning by the stars of the firmament to determine their direction, when Daoist Cha said abruptly: 'Taihuang Heaven has no stars—how can you fix a position?

' Daoist Master Linxuan and the old Daoists were dumbfounded, and slumped in dismay. Others too wished to fix their bearings, but Taihuang Heaven now had no stars, and its prime magnetism was in chaos.

The prime magnetism of Luofu Heaven and that of Taihuang Heaven had been shattered by the impact, forming countless points of magnetic anomaly; there was simply no way to tell one direction from another. Among them were also many strange beasts—dragon-kylins, giant deer, and others—that had always relied on prime magnetism to find their way.

Now the magnetic anomalies left these beasts dizzy and disoriented.

'There is no need to worry about direction, everyone. ' Shen Mu took some Buddha-essence crimson chromium and Lingfo Mother Tree wood from his Taotie Pouch, looked at Ma Rulai, and smiled: 'Grandpa Huo, I need the most deft-handed carpenter under heaven. ' Ma Rulai smiled: 'That would be me.

' Shen Mu looked toward the Silent Craftsman and smiled: 'Grandpa Silent Craftsman, I need the most ingenious artisan! ' The Silent Craftsman grinned, half a tongue protruding from his mouth: 'Ah!

' Shen Mu took out paper and brush and calculated furiously, striving for the utmost precision.

Before long he drew up plans for a carriage and handed them to Grandpa Huo and the Silent Craftsman: 'To forge this south-pointing chariot, the figures must be precise to the instant-unit, so that it may travel hundreds of thousands of li without deviating from its course. ' Ma Rulai and the Silent Craftsman studied the plans, their faces grave.

After a moment they said: 'It is worth a try!

' The two set to work at once, refining and refining again, forging the various parts of the south-pointing chariot.

After a long while, the chariot was finished.

On it stood a metal figure forged of Buddha-essence crimson chromium, one arm raised to point forward; atop the figure's head stood three little men, each holding a mallet, with a drum in the center. Shen Mu looked toward Luofu Heaven, first judged the direction, and adjusted the metal figure's pointing arm. Then he called over the dragon-kylin and had it pull the chariot in several circles.

No matter how the dragon-kylin circled with the chariot, the metal figure's hand always pointed the same way.

'Daoist Master, I understand the principle of Sect Master Shen's south-pointing chariot—it relies on precise bearings, gears, and the turning of the wheels to keep the metal figure always pointing in one direction. ' A young Daoist asked the Daoist Master: 'But what are those three little men atop the metal figure's head and that drum for? ' Many divine-ability practitioners of Taihuang Heaven could not help but prick up their ears. They had spent these past two years cultivating the arts of calculation, many of them learning from the Daoist priests of the Daoist sect, and so they were quite curious about Shen Mu's south-pointing chariot.

Daoist Master Linxuan said: 'Those three little men are for measuring distance. Presumably every hundred li traveled, the gears drive a little man to strike the drum once; one need only count the drumbeats to know the distance covered. ' 'Why measure the distance?

' the crowd asked in surprise, one after another. Daoist Master Linxuan said: 'Sect Master Shen had the Heavenly Artisan and Rulai make the parts precise to the instant-unit, but even at the instant-unit there is still deviation, and that deviation is exceedingly fine.

Roughly, after the chariot travels ten thousand li, the direction the metal figure points will have a thread-unit of deviation. I expect Sect Master Shen will adjust the metal figure's pointing direction after ten thousand li, offsetting it to the right by a thread-unit.

' The crowd was astonished. Yu He murmured: 'Is such precision really necessary?

' 'It is. ' Daoist Master Linxuan, his expression mild, smiled: 'A thread-unit of deviation over ten thousand li becomes a hair-unit over a hundred thousand li, which would put us off from our destination by about a hundred li.

A difference of a hundred li already counts as no small thing.

In all that Sect Master Shen does, he strives for ever greater precision. He could not abide the original sun of Taihuang Heaven, so he blasted it to pieces and had the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping remake it—from this you can see his character. ' 'So he really did blast our sun to pieces on purpose! ' the True God Pang Yu, who was carrying the First Ancestor Human Sovereign on his back, thought with no small indignation.

They had walked about a hundred li when suddenly one of the little men atop the south-pointing chariot's metal figure brought its mallet down, and a drumbeat sounded.

The crowd exclaimed in admiration: 'So it is!