Chapter 680 — Why the Arts of Calculation Enchant
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 5
'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.