Stealing Heavenly Secrets

Meanwhile, Li Zhi also learned that the original "Primordial Longevity Art" had been in the hands of this grotto-heaven's master's Senior Apprentice-Brother.

And that Senior Apprentice-Brother was a genuine Great Sage Level powerhouse.

His grotto-heaven wasn't in the Qinling Mountains but atop Mount Tai—a bona fide Great Sage's Grotto-heaven.

As for the master of this grotto-heaven, he had only reached the Saint level in life.

And he was a rather impoverished Saint.

His entire fortune had been spent purchasing various kinds of Spiritual Blood.

In the end, he lived for eight thousand years before passing away through Dao Dissolution.

According to his account, the era he lived in fell between the reigns of Emperor Void and Emperor Heng Yu.

After skimming through those materials, Li Zhi tossed and turned all night without sleeping a wink.

The next day, as soon as dawn broke, he packed up his belongings and left the Worship Terrace.

As for those corpses, they would soon be devoured clean by the beasts in the mountains.

Carrying the Myriad Bath Furnace and the Jade Scroll, Li Zhi didn't return to the city but went back to his hometown instead.

He immediately began renovating the house.

And dug a brand-new secret chamber fifteen meters underground.

Then, he copied the Scripture twice, storing both the original and the copies inside the underground chamber.

At the same time, he also placed the copy of Stealing Heavenly Secrets, along with the Small Flat Shovel, Brush, and Oil Lamp, back into the chamber.

Finally, he took the Luoyang Shovel, the Snakeskin Bag, and a Compilation Edition of the "Primordial Longevity Art" and returned to the city.

Four months had passed since he had set out this time.

The two little ones at home were about to celebrate their first birthday.

"Honey, you're back."

As soon as he stepped through the door, Zhou Mei threw herself into Li Zhi's arms.

Li Zhi spun her around twice before setting her down and saying, "I'm back. The house in our hometown is all renovated too. When the New Year comes, our whole family can go back and stay there."

Zhou Mei smiled and nodded, then proudly said, "Go take a look at our two little treasures. They can already call me 'Mommy' now."

Li Zhi replied, "That's because I wasn't home. If I were, they'd definitely learn to call 'Daddy' first."

Then he headed straight to the children's room, where the two kids were napping.

Li Zhi didn't disturb them; he just glanced by the bedside and went downstairs.

Back in the living room, Zhou Mei wrinkled her nose and said, "You're filthy. Go wash up right now."

Li Zhi grabbed her hand and said, "Come with me."

Zhou Mei's cheeks flushed slightly. "There are people in the house."

Li Zhi said, "They won't bother us."

Soon after, the two of them enjoyed a shared bath together.

Before long, feeling refreshed all over, Li Zhi and a beaming Zhou Mei returned to the living room.

Li Zhi asked, "Anything happen at home lately?"

Zhou Mei said, "Nothing much at home, and the company's running well. Brother Dapeng has been very responsible, helping me share a lot of the workload."

Li Zhi nodded. "If anything tricky comes up in the future, just let Brother Dapeng handle it. He'll know what to do."

Li Zhi had arranged for Li Dapeng to work at the family company—not because he actually needed him to clock in, but to have him watch over Zhou Mei.

For that, Li Zhi had already paid a five-million Settled down fee upfront, with an additional one-million bonus for every incident handled.

For Li Dapeng, who had served five years as a scout, there was no issue with his capability.

Then Li Zhi asked, "Has Ye Fan come by looking for me recently?"

Zhou Mei said, "He came twice. When he heard you were building a house in your hometown, he didn't want to bother you."

Lately, Li Zhi had been buried in studying the newly acquired Cultivation Method and those Cultivation Insights, along with trying to activate the Myriad Bath Furnace, plus the house renovation in his hometown—keeping him so busy he'd nearly forgotten about Ye Fan.

He didn't know the exact time when the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport would descend.

He could only estimate its arrival based on Ye Fan's activities.

If he missed the timing, he'd regret it forever.

So many people on Mount Tai, yet only Ye Fan and his classmates were drawn into the bronze coffin. The only foreigner unrelated to Ye Fan was a friend Li Xiaoman brought along.

So he was indirectly connected to Ye Fan too.

As for everyone else on Jade Emperor Peak, none of them got a chance to board the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport.

Not a single exception.

If anyone called that a coincidence, Li Zhi wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death.

That was exactly why Li Zhi went to such lengths to build a good relationship with Ye Fan.

Then Zhou Mei added, "That young friend of yours, Ye Fan, recently got himself a very pretty girlfriend and even brought her home."

Li Zhi asked curiously, "So the kid finally wised up? Stopped chasing his career and started looking for a girlfriend. What's her name?"

Zhou Mei said, "Xu Qiong."

Counting the time, Ye Fan had already been out of university for two years now.

There was only about a year left before the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport descended on Earth.

A sense of urgency immediately rose in Li Zhi's heart.

His time left on Earth was running short, and the Primordial Longevity Art was still missing its most crucial part—the Celestial Platform Chapter.

Li Zhi felt that, no matter what, he had to get the complete scripture before the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport arrived on Earth.

This cultivation method, which granted a third more lifespan than others, seemed tailor-made for him.

For an ordinary person like him, who had almost no chance of obtaining a complete Emperor Scripture, the quasi-emperor level Primordial Longevity Art was likely the best cultivation method he could get before he grew strong enough.

Especially one that continuously strengthened his own Life Force and purified the Wheel of Life—such a method was incredibly rare.

That Great Sage's Grotto-heaven on Mount Tai—maybe he really had to take the risk and go there.

Fortunately, he had obtained the correct map from the Saint's grotto-heaven at the Qin Mountains Worship Terrace, so he wouldn't have to waste time searching blindly.

And right now, Earth was in the Era of Dharma Decline, with Heaven and Earth Essence nearly nonexistent. The formations around the Great Sage's Grotto-heaven were surely unable to withstand the suppression of the Dharma-Ending Aura.

Perhaps, due to the dissipation of essence, they no longer held any power at all.

Just like the Saint's grotto-heaven at the Qin Mountains Worship Terrace, which had already shrunk to the point of collapse. After he took the Myriad Bath Furnace, the grotto-heaven directly crumbled.

Now might be the best time to explore the Great Sage's Grotto-heaven.

Once spiritual energy revived on Earth in the future, the formations around that grotto-heaven might also regain their power.

By then, getting in would be no easy task.

Still, there was no need to rush.

He stayed at home with Zhou Mei, little Jizu, and little Xian'er for over a month, then threw a first birthday party for the two little ones.

He also invited Ye Fan and his girlfriend Xu Qiong to attend Li Jizu and Li Xian'er's birthday banquet.

At the banquet, seeing Li Zhi in good spirits, Ye Fan asked curiously, "Brother Li, any new gains these past few months?"

Li Zhi said, "Same old story."

Ye Fan pressed, "I heard you spent ten million on a cultivation method?"

Li Zhi's expression shifted slightly. "Who told you that?"

Ye Fan laughed. "Heard it from a friend. Some old man named Xu was selling an ancient cultivation method, asking ten million. And sure enough, some sucker named Li Zhi took the bait. I figured the sucker they were talking about might be you, Brother Li."

Li Zhi said, "Five million, and I'll sell you a copy. You want it?"

Ye Fan shook his head outright. "I'll pass. It's another unworkable cultivation method—buying it would be useless to me."

The breathing method Ye Fan practiced and the opening chapters of the Longevity Art had shown a bit of effect at first, but now they had no effect at all.

It made him deeply skeptical of these so-called ancient cultivation methods.

Then Li Zhi asked, "When are you planning to marry your girlfriend?"

Ye Fan said, "In another two years."

Li Zhi patted him on the shoulder. "Don't wait so long that it falls through."

Ye Fan smiled. "Won't happen. My parents really like Xu Qiong. Once we have a kid, I'll move my parents in with us. Then your two little ones can play with him."

Li Zhi laughed. "Definitely."

After the birthday banquet ended, Li Zhi's whole family returned to Da Li Village for a while. At the same time, he placed the Myriad Bath Furnace, which he still couldn't activate, into the secret chamber.

The size of a fist yet weighing over four hundred jin—it was far too conspicuous.