Qualitative Change, Profound Heart Incantation

On the moonlit island, Wuhua's voice drifted over.

"Not long ago, the Heavenly Oversight Bureau of Maple Forest Province acquired an extremely important Bizarre Item."

A Bizarre Item?

Shen Bai's eyes lit up slightly when those two words appeared.

He found that ever since he got his Cheat System, he seemed to have developed an occupational hazard.

Whenever he heard words like Bizarre Item or Malevolent Qi, he'd get a different feeling.

Wuhua didn't notice Shen Bai's unusual reaction. Thinking Shen Bai was surprised by the news, he nodded and said, "That's right. It's said that this Bizarre Item's ability is related to movement techniques, but not long ago, the Bizarre Item was stolen."

Shen Bai stroked his chin, pondering, "To be able to steal a Bizarre Item from the Heavenly Oversight Bureau, the thief must be quite capable."

The Heavenly Oversight Bureau was the Great Zhou Dynasty's primary enforcement agency.

Although the Great Zhou Dynasty's imperial court was in turmoil now, it hadn't completely fallen.

A starved camel is still bigger than a horse; it wasn't a force just anyone dared to provoke.

Now, with the Bizarre Item stolen, it was already good that the Heavenly Oversight Bureau hadn't mobilized its entire force.

Whoever stole it must be extraordinary.

Wuhua nodded. "To steal something from the Heavenly Oversight Bureau, it could only be the Thieves' Gate."

"What kind of force is the Thieves' Gate?" Shen Bai asked.

Wuhua explained, "The Thieves' Gate believes in stealing everything in the world. They are a force greatly reviled by many other factions."

"The ancestral graves of many forces have been completely emptied by the Thieves' Gate. They are virtually universally condemned."

"After the Heavenly Oversight Bureau discovered the Bizarre Item was stolen, they sealed off the entire Maple Forest Province and began searching every inch of it."

"Currently, all counties are being searched. This humble monk estimates Ascending Cloud County will be no different."

Shen Bai thought for a moment and said, "But what does that have to do with me?"

What the Thieves' Gate did was their business.

He was just a pawnshop owner, completely unrelated to the entire affair. Shen Bai felt this matter wouldn't involve him.

Wuhua clasped his hands together and said, "Benefactor, anything is possible in this world. This humble monk merely mentioned this to you. If you truly happen to encounter it, you must be extremely careful."

Hearing this, Shen Bai roughly understood.

Wuhua's intentions were good.

After all, the theft of the Bizarre Item was a major incident. Wuhua was worried that Shen Bai might be affected by it in Ascending Cloud County, so he was giving him a heads-up to prepare.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Shen Bai said.

He just wanted to go back and grind proficiency, first to transmute the Heart-Cleansing Incantation, and then to appraise the Buddha Beads Wuhua gave him.

As for other matters, Shen Bai just saw them as entertainment.

With the Sophora Tree incident resolved, Shen Bai and Wuhua had no intention of lingering. They boarded the raft again and left the island.

On their way back, they returned to Huaixi Village.

On the way there, Shen Bai hadn't paid attention to the deranged middle-aged man, as they were going into battle.

On the way back, Wuhua wanted to take the middle-aged man with them, to the county town to find someone to properly settle him.

Shen Bai didn't refuse either.

But when the two returned, the middle-aged man had already collapsed on the ground.

In the middle-aged man's hand was a stone, and in front of him lay a mangled, bloody corpse.

Wuhua stepped forward to examine the body, sighing, "He died of exhaustion, but his face is peaceful. Perhaps he avenged the Hundred Healers Valley disciples."

Shen Bai looked at the badly smashed corpse on the ground and nodded, "Living can be a form of suffering. To leave peacefully, having resolved the resentment in one's heart, is also a good thing."

The two of them worked together to bury the middle-aged man.

After the burial, Wuhua recited a scripture for transcendence, and only then did they prepare to leave.

As for the villagers' corpses, they weren't worthy; they were only fit to be exposed in this wilderness.

"After we return, this humble monk needs to report to the county yamen."

Wuhua said, "Benefactor lives in seclusion in Ascending Cloud County. You probably don't want to reveal your identity, do you?"

What happened this time was a major event. Xuanxin Temple had a good relationship with the Great Zhou Dynasty, so Wuhua had to follow proper procedures.

Shen Bai nodded. "If it's convenient, you can take all the credit yourself."

Wuhua smiled. "Benefactor, if this major event were to become known to the outside world, you would surely become famous throughout Maple Forest Province. Yet, Benefactor prefers to remain anonymous. This humble monk truly can't compare."

Shen Bai waved his hand. "I just don't want to."

Fame meant a lot of trouble.

Shen Bai had so many things to grind; he didn't have the time for it.

The two didn't linger any longer and left Huaixi Village.

Ascending Cloud County.

By the time they reached the county town, it was already the middle of the night, with the eastern sky beginning to lighten, signaling that daybreak wasn't far off.

After entering the city, the two parted ways. Wuhua headed to the county yamen, while Shen Bai returned to the Pawnshop.

Lighting an oil lamp, Shen Bai poured himself a cup of tea. A wisp of smoke appeared before his eyes.

The smoke swirled and condensed in the void, eventually forming a line of text.

Heart-Cleansing Incantation Lv.2 (Heart-Cleansing +2, Calmness +2): 1000/1000

Glowing Buddha Beads

Appraisal Progress: 0%

Can be rapidly appraised with a wisp of Malevolent Qi.

Malevolent Qi: Two wisps

This journey had been quite fruitful for Shen Bai.

Two whole wisps of Malevolent Qi meant that Shen Bai, who had used up all his Malevolent Qi, was once again wealthy.

Shen Bai's plan was simple: upgrade the Heart-Cleansing Incantation to a qualitative Level 3, and use the remaining wisp of Malevolent Qi to appraise the Glowing Buddha Beads.

With that thought, Shen Bai didn't hesitate. After a brief consideration, he used the Malevolent Qi.

Before his eyes, the Malevolent Qi vanished.

The text for Heart-Cleansing Incantation twisted, imbued with an ancient and mysterious aura.

Moments later, new text appeared before Shen Bai.

Profound Heart Incantation Lv.3 (Heart-Cleansing +4, Calmness +4, Blessing +4): 0/5000

Shen Bai felt a mysterious illusory figure appear in his mind.

The figure sat enthroned amidst the clouds, countless white clouds enveloping it, making it seem even more ethereal.

A faint, ethereal voice emanated from around the figure.

Invisible words rippled, and the surrounding clouds dissipated because of the words.

Countless evil and filthy beings retreated in terror because of the words, turning to ash amidst their wails.

A moment later, everything vanished as if it had never been there.

"Profound Heart's blessing, evil retreat."

Shen Bai opened his eyes, a hint of excitement in them.

"Good stuff, good stuff!"

After transforming into the Profound Heart Incantation, the original attributes doubling was one thing, but the newly appeared attribute was incredibly powerful.

Blessing, as the name suggested, allowed the Profound Heart Incantation to be cast upon Divine Abilities.

Any Divine Ability blessed in this way would experience a multiple increase.

The specific multiplier was indicated by the "+4" next to it.

Shen Bai took a deep breath and circulated the Qi within his body.

The next moment, Shen Bai's left hand pulsed with the Vajra Demon-Subduing Fist, his right with the Blood Sword Dance, and the white light of the Jade Evil Body enveloped him.

Various Divine Abilities, with their dazzling effects, made Shen Bai appear extremely formidable.

But these weren't the main point. The most important thing was that Shen Bai slowly opened his mouth...

Ancient words flowed from his lips, and in the next instant, all his Divine Abilities began to change.