Knowing the secrets behind it all, Ge Xian truly had no desire to look at that joyful scene.
After a round of socializing, he soon returned home.
This time, he didn't wake the Broom Spirit to keep him company. He knew full well that he'd come away with a great many spoils, and there were bound to be plenty of secrets among them that would excite him to no end. Tonight, he was probably in for a sleepless night.
Once seated, Ge Xian didn't immediately take out the several treasures, nor did he inspect White Jade Daoist's Storage Pouch.
Instead, he patiently replayed the day's assassination in his mind.
"Judging by White Jade Daoist's performance in battle, he was probably infinitely close to the [Foundation Establishment Realm]."
"My combat strength is in the same league, since I managed to kill him."
"Of course, I had the advantage of a sneak attack, and the Rat Demon Body was already severely wounded. In a head-on fight, the current me might be able to trade blows with Zhang Buzu or Zhao Wuyou, provided those Two Ghoul Generals don't have any hidden tricks or trump cards. But that's impossible—the mirror last time was one such example."
"But a head-on fight?"
"Absolutely not. I'm not stupid."
"I'll consider that sort of thing once I'm thoroughly familiar with this world, with vast supernatural powers and means that reach the heavens."
"For now, it's time to inspect the spoils."
After some thought, Ge Xian had a rough idea of where he stood among the many Dao Entry Realm cultivators in Qiantang County.
Feeling somewhat reassured, he eagerly rubbed his hands together and took out all the treasures he'd plundered that day.
There were four items in all!
He'd already known that the book was Anle Zishen's Logbook, a record of White Jade Daoist's work back when he was still the local Son of God in Anle Town.
Before the assassination, he'd heard the Daoist lose control and shriek, so he'd also learned the names of two other items.
Ge Xian had already guessed what the jade talisman was.
What really intrigued him was the page that had clearly been torn from a complete book.
"A Myriad Laws History Book Fragment?"
"So this world does have history books after all."
"But I wonder whether this history book records only the Myriad Laws Sect, or all of history?"
Ge Xian's curiosity flared.
When he'd first acquired the memories of the body's original owner, he'd noticed that few people in this world seemed to compile history books. The dynasties before the Dayuan Dynasty all had names—Great Song, Great Tang, Great Sui, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and farther back, Qin, Han, the Three Kingdoms, and so on.
But there were only a few official-sounding, empty words; the details were vague.
Ge Xian had wondered whether that was because the original owner wasn't well educated. But after making a few inquiries over the next several days, he learned that this really was the custom of the world.
Still, he'd guessed that no matter how little people cared to record history, many books must have survived from every dynasty. There were simply fewer unified "historical records" of the sort he knew. Such books probably existed, but were hard to find.
Now that he'd found this withered yellow page, it seemed to confirm his guess.
Unfortunately, he couldn't understand the script written on it. After studying it for a few glances, he turned to the work log of White Jade Daoist.
He opened to the first page and read it carefully. He nearly burst out laughing, then couldn't help commenting:
"It seems the Imperial Court doesn't have any cultural standards for enshrining Immortal Gods."
"This old Daoist's log is a little too honest."
There was good reason for Ge Xian to say so.
On the first page, written in crude, crooked characters, was this:
"Great joy! Grandpa Bai has been enshrined as a god. Lots of incense oil, lots of rice. The humans raise me, and I'll make them have more babies... I'm going back to my hometown too, to brag to Orchid and coax her into becoming my divine wife. Great joy, great joy, heh heh heh."
Ge Xian had just started to laugh when he suddenly remembered the enormous mother rat he'd seen in the underground lair, as big as a house and giving birth as she ate. Her name had clearly been Orchid.
So this Rat Demon really had started out as a proper Immortal God. After being enshrined, he'd married his childhood sweetheart, and only later had he become what he was?
Having realized all this, Ge Xian found himself unable to laugh. He was simply curious about how this White Jade Rat God had fallen into depravity.
As he continued reading, he soon noticed that White Jade Daoist's words grew more refined with each passing day, and his handwriting grew neater too. It seemed that after consuming the "incense" offered by the humans, his intelligence had gradually awakened, and he'd also been working hard to study.
But in the latter half of the book, while the handwriting remained good, the words grew increasingly deranged and incoherent.
The more Ge Xian read, the tighter his brow furrowed.
It took a full half-hour before he finally closed the logbook with a little stick, his expression complicated and disgusted.
The many questions in his eyes had all been answered.
"Though this is only one side of the story, this Immortal God's Log reveals quite a bit about the cause of the Chaotic World and the secrets of cultivation."
"White Jade Daoist really was once a diligent Anle Son of God. He received offerings and helped Anle Town flourish, its population swelling rapidly... And as the local Immortal God, his cultivation improved in turn. Since he'd been enshrined by the Imperial Court, he also received regular guidance from his superiors. The Myriad Laws Jade Talisman they gave him, which he wore on his person, could suppress the vicious habits that developed in him as he cultivated."
"Who could have guessed that something would happen at the Imperial Court? First the guidance stopped, then the talisman lost its power."
"Under the backlash of his vicious habits, he lost control of his mind and soul and began to fall into depravity. The sweet incense of old became deadly poison, making him more and more fractured, on the verge of sudden death at any moment."
"The only way to save himself: Foundation Establishment."
"He thought that if he could advance to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he'd be able to suppress his vicious habits. If that didn't work, he could at least free his mind and soul from the scorching torment."
"Unfortunately, White Jade Daoist soon discovered that his Dao Path seemed to be a dead end."
"For human cultivators, the road ahead is full of forks—and could just as easily be called a complete mess—with almost too many Cultivation Paths to count. Whether they succeed is another matter, but they do have plenty of choices ahead."
"Take the Foundation Establishment Realm, for instance. It's actually a process of complete mutation, in which you deliberately transform yourself from a human into a nonhuman being. The more drastic and complete the mutation, the more powerful the supernatural abilities and demonic arts you gain... And this process can even be switched. Take the Gu-Eating Spirit Monster Lu Hualong: if he failed at Foundation Establishment and had nowhere else to turn, then, if he could find a way, he could switch over to another Kaiming Spirit God whose gifts suited his own, and try Foundation Establishment again."
"If all else failed, Lu Hualong could even turn to the Eternal Life Cult or some other evil god sect."
"Of course, the price would be unimaginable."
At that thought, Ge Xian paused.
Though he still knew very little, he couldn't help feeling that something was amiss.
Was there something special about the humans of this world? Why were they so favored? It looked as though they were allowed, even encouraged, to pledge themselves to all sorts of powers.
A couple of idle thoughts couldn't explain it, so he continued considering White Jade Daoist's life.
This time, his gaze returned to the withered yellow page.
He hadn't understood it before, but now he did.
"White Jade Daoist was able to enjoy the easy path to godhood because he wasn't human to begin with. He was a White Jade Rat."
"When the Chaotic World arrived, he was the first to suffer."
"How could a monster that was already a spirit mutate and transform any further? There was no road ahead."
"White Jade Daoist was afflicted by the backlash of his vicious habits and grew more and more rotten, but he refused to give up. He desperately searched for a way forward and, through a stroke of luck, obtained a Myriad Laws History Book Fragment. It was said to be a remarkable book, written during the Great Han Dynasty by a mysterious Qi Refiner with the compound surname Sima, one of the few people throughout history to successfully merge with the Dao and ascend."
"The fragment contained no cultivation methods, only a few lines about ancient history. It described a human dynasty called Xia, which worshiped the Myriad Gods, received their guidance, and led its entire population onto the path of cultivation."
"White Jade Daoist took inspiration from this and, in a moment of sudden insight, even extended the idea: if humans could receive guidance from the Myriad Gods, why couldn't the Rat Clan have its own god?"
"So the old Daoist frantically pored over Secret Manuals and ancient records, finally confirming that a Rat Clan deity had once visited this world. Unfortunately, it had left behind no lineage, so he could only follow a few clues and fumble his way forward."
"Whether by some unseen destiny or as part of a scheme, he actually managed to use a secret bloodline technique to establish a connection with that mysterious Rat God, and obtained the corresponding method for Foundation Establishment. The Rat God even promised that once White Jade Daoist succeeded, it would pass on a technique that led straight to the Great Dao: the Lord She God Transformation Technique."
"That was the day he fell completely into depravity."
"Using that Foundation Establishment method, he transformed his old wife and made her breed offspring frantically... In return, he obtained a drop of Rat God's Essence Blood."
At this point, Ge Xian looked at the treasure he'd only managed to seize at the last moment.
His gaze was complicated as he stared at the Storage Pouch called Lord She Treasure Pouch. He actually didn't dare open it.
For almost every cultivator in this world, the first hurdle was "drawing Qi into the body," followed by overcoming rejection.
But the Foundation Establishment method White Jade Daoist obtained didn't require him to draw the essence blood into his own body. Instead, he had to place it somewhere safe. As long as his old wife gave birth to enough "Rat Clan" offspring, that single drop of Rat God's Essence Blood would keep growing until it became a perfect embryo.
When the time came, with countless rats gathered around him, White Jade Daoist could perform a divine sacrifice and replace his old, decrepit Demonic Body with the perfect embryo.
Not only would he complete Foundation Establishment, he would also become the Rat Clan's prophet and the Rat God's spokesman in this world.
One would think that the safest, most unexpected, and most suitable place to keep the "Rat God Embryo" would be in his old wife's belly.
But White Jade Daoist had gone mad and trusted no one in the world, least of all the wife he'd ruined.
He was even afraid she'd get to enjoy the benefits first, after all his careful planning.
So, on a sudden inspiration, he put the embryo in the Storage Pouch.
Then he filled it with human blood essence, creating the ideal environment for his future "Foundation Establishment Demonic Body."
"A bad move, a bad move. I took the wrong treasure."
Having realized everything, Ge Xian couldn't help grumbling.
How could he not understand now? He'd clearly snatched himself a hot potato.
"That so-called Rat God is plainly an evil god coveting this world and trying to descend into it."
"Everyone knows the Myriad Laws Sect accepts all comers. Any filthy Immortal God that can obey orders and get things done is welcome under its banner. If even they didn't take in that Rat God, you can imagine what kind of thing it is."
"White Jade Daoist basically served himself up as a piece of meat. He was already driven half-mad by his vicious habits, and after establishing a connection with the Rat God, he became even more unbearable."
"That so-called Foundation Establishment embryo is clearly a fleshly raft the Rat God prepared for itself to smuggle into this world. He couldn't even see through such a simple scheme. It shows that his mind had already been burned away by then."
The reason Ge Xian felt this way, and was so certain, lay in the logbook.
The first third was crude but honest, written by a proper local Immortal God.
The middle third showed clear improvement, but he grew increasingly anxious and struggled to keep himself together.
By the final third, he'd completely mutated and fallen into depravity. His writing was deranged, and every page was smeared with filthy blood, pestilence, and excrement.
Ge Xian had finished reading with the book held out on the end of a stick. Even so, he still felt sick.
What was even more disgusting was that so-called Lord She Treasure Pouch.
For a while, he couldn't think of what to do with it.
Throwing it away would be a pity; after all, he'd gone to the trouble of stealing it.
But he couldn't open it either. The White Jade Rat Clan's founder and matriarch had died, leaving the clan all but extinct, so the embryo inside the pouch had stopped growing. But it was still a half-formed vessel for an evil god. Ge Xian couldn't be sure whether something might happen if he opened the pouch.
As for using Cai Bu to devour it, that really did seem feasible.
He could just about meet the conditions required for cultivation.
He had all three things he needed: the cultivation method, the embryo, and the details of the sacrifice.
Finding more of the White Jade Rat Clan wouldn't be difficult either. There should still be some left in the underground Rat's Nest. He could devour the embryo to gain its Dao Qi and demonic power, then summon them.
"Hmm... Come to think of it, the Rat God seems much more generous than the Dragon Clan."
"Based on the vague descriptions in the Dragon Transformation Chapter and some secrets recorded in White Jade Daoist's logbook, cultivators who practice Dragon Clan Secret Techniques can obtain some fairly basic demonic arts after Foundation Establishment, such as Cloud Soaring, Water Control, and Beast Devouring. Their main strength comes from the Dragon Clan's powerful bodies, so they still have to fight at close range."
"But if he'd succeeded in Foundation Establishment as a member of the Rat Clan, White Jade Daoist could have obtained more than a dozen demonic arts all at once: Blood Corruption, Rat Summoning, Evil Sound, poisonous water, Earth Evasion, and more. He would have become a regional overlord in a single leap."
"And that would only be the Foundation Establishment Realm. If he reached the Mortal Shedding Realm, or even the stronger Spirit Connection Realm, he could probably conquer an entire province in a short time if he went all out."
"Too bad. I wouldn't mind adding a 'Rat Aspect' to my 'Dragon Aspect,' but I have no confidence in dealing with the Evil God Will that might be inside the embryo."
"Once I open the pouch, there's no turning back."
Muttering to himself, Ge Xian decided to set the pouch aside for now.
All things considered, he'd gone into the lair on purpose, feigned death to launch a sneak attack, and gone to the trouble of killing White Jade Daoist, yet he'd come out with a bit of a loss. After all, he hadn't obtained a single treasure he could turn directly into combat strength.
Fortunately, that wasn't quite the case. Ge Xian soon turned his attention to the three items besides the pouch.
The Myriad Laws History Book Fragment was the rarest, but he could only keep it as a collectible.
The jade talisman that suppressed vicious habits was empty too, so it could only be kept as a collectible as well.
As for Anle Zishen's Logbook, some pages were disgusting, but it contained plenty of valuable knowledge. White Jade Daoist had clearly been an Immortal God who excelled at digging up information, snooping around, and keeping records.
Ge Xian recalled some of it and set aside the other useful details, focusing only on what might help him advance his cultivation. Quite a few things came to mind.
The first one was something Ge Xian knew well:
"There's a Dragon Clan in the Qiantang River. Its Dragon Head was originally human, with the surname Qu. He was said to be extremely treacherous and vicious. Many years ago, he bribed Yelü Tianzheng, the Qiantang County Magistrate at the time, with all sorts of treasures, helping him trap a Dragon Girl that had swum over from the East Sea. After forcing himself on her, he married her, and from then on, he rose to power."
"This fellow is exceedingly greedy. As long as you offer the proper sacrifice and enough treasures, you can obtain corresponding benefits from him."
Before you continue