The Entire Federation Is An Evil Cult

After repeatedly questioning Zhang Fusheng about 'Zhong Shan' with no success, Huang Qiuxian left in a hurry.

"You can wear this jade talisman. It contains a sliver of my Spiritual Realm. If you encounter an attack you cannot resist, you can crush the talisman to save your life."

Zhang Fusheng accepted it and thanked him solemnly. He watched as Huang Qiuxian's figure blurred, faded, and disappeared from his original spot.

Ten minutes later.

"Elder Huang has shown me great kindness," Zhang Fusheng murmured, stroking the jade talisman. "I wonder what grudges he and Master have?"

"Why would Master have a feud with someone like Senior Huang? Is there any way to mediate between them?"

He frowned slightly, pondering deeply, and finally sighed again.

"I suppose Master must have done something wrong."

As soon as he finished speaking, a moment later.

Zhang Fusheng rolled his eyes.

"This old fox, he's finally gone."

After Huang Qiuxian distorted the light and shadow to 'hide,' he hadn't actually left. He had been standing about two meters away, staring at him!

He had stared for more than ten minutes!

If he hadn't already reached the True Spiritual Realm himself, he might not have been able to detect this old fox.

"He looks so honest, but why is he so cunning?" Zhang Fusheng muttered to himself. Setting aside other things, Earlier, when he left the Martial Arts Academy, Huang Qiuxian had interfered with reality using his mental energy, shrouding him in a veil of light and shadow, making him invisible.

But after leaving the Martial Arts Academy and traveling three kilometers away, that cloak of light and shadow began to dissipate, as if it couldn't be maintained. It was as if Elder Huang's mental reach was limited to three kilometers.

Only when Zhang Fusheng personally entered this mental realm did he understand. Ten years of mental accumulation could strengthen one's mental energy to the point where it could probe about one kilometer away.

Old Huang, who was nearly 150 years old, had nearly 150 years of mental accumulation, which should allow him to extend his divine sense more than ten kilometers!

Fortunately, he had been cautious. After moving twenty kilometers away from the Martial Arts Academy, he had then changed into Zhong Shan's appearance.

It was possible that the old man had been secretly watching him for the first ten kilometers!

"The True Spiritual Realm, interfering with reality with one's thoughts, is truly a powerful tool," Zhang Fusheng mused. "It's a shame one cannot maintain the state of extending one's thoughts outward for long periods; the consumption is too great."

He felt a sense of regret. Even if he didn't maintain it constantly, he couldn't cover a full thirty kilometers by spreading his mental energy in all directions.

At most... three hundred meters?

Only a direct, linear projection of his thoughts could extend fully to thirty kilometers.

"This seems a bit illogical?" Zhang Fusheng rubbed his chin and mumbled. "One can refine the false into the real to a certain extent, allowing the mental world to descend into reality, yet the divine sense can only probe such a short distance?"

"There's something wrong."

He shook his head. Things he couldn't figure out, he wouldn't dwell on for now.

After thoroughly inspecting the jade talisman again and confirming there were no issues, he put it away.

This item was of little use to him, But for 'Zhang Fusheng,' it was indeed a life-saving tool.

Evening.

The three of them sat on the floor around the low table, as usual, sharing dinner. The small television beside them was playing the daily news.

It reported that an intercity train in Jiangzhou had been attacked and an explosion had occurred.

"The surveillance was cut, and there's a gap in the cultivation class?" Eldest Senior Brother asked, chewing slowly without looking up. "Little Junior Brother, what's going on with you today?"

"I'm worried the attacks aren't over yet," Zhang Fusheng explained with a smile. "If that's the case, the surveillance might be hacked, and there could be enemy agents among the students. I was practicing the Eight Forms of Body and Spirit this afternoon and made great progress on the 'Newly Dead Form.' I wanted to keep it as a trump card, hidden from outsiders, so..."

Niu Dali and Chen Yuque exchanged glances.

Newly Dead Form??

A sense of powerlessness washed over them. The difference between people was truly immense.

Zhang Fusheng poked his rice with his chopsticks. "Speaking of which, where is Little Senior Sister?"

"Ah, her," Eldest Senior Brother said calmly. "Something minor happened. Her cervical spine was broken."

Zhang Fusheng: "Huh??"

He was stunned.

Eldest Senior Brother, however, appeared unfazed. "She's not dead. Her cervical spine is just fractured, and she was injected with a high concentration of hemostatic toxin, causing her to fall into a coma. She's receiving treatment at the hospital and will likely be unconscious for ten days to half a month."

He paused and added, "Our 'business' offends people easily, and retaliation is common. Besides, they didn't dare to kill, did they?"

Zhang Fusheng was speechless.

Chen Yuque, standing beside him, chuckled, "Attacks like this happen often. They usually don't dare to target us directly. If they occasionally do, it won't be life-threatening. As for the reason? Just look at Master's reaction after you were attacked."

Zhang Fusheng mused, "So that's how it is. I haven't dared to leave the Martial Arts Academy these past few days. But recently, things have been calm. I suppose the person behind my assassination has given up."

He subtly revealed his intention to leave the Martial Arts Academy.

Eldest Senior Brother showed no reaction, maintaining his usual honest demeanor.

Second Senior Sister, however, seemed thoughtful but said nothing, changing the subject instead.

"Oh, right, Junior Brother. Of the two orders you were given, Chen Nuanyu's payment is due today. Have you collected it? I checked and found she bought a train ticket to Longzhou City. I've had the railway company cancel it."

Zhang Fusheng shook his head, "Not yet. I plan to extend her deadline and waive some of the interest."

"Oh?"

Chen Yuque's expression didn't change as she teased, "What, have you really taken a liking to her?"

"A little." Zhang Fusheng appeared shy and nodded bashfully.

He couldn't possibly throw Chen Nuanyu into purgatory. That Unquenchable Heart was something he was determined to obtain.

With that thought, Zhang Fusheng's mind stirred, "Speaking of which, why is Chen Nuanyu going to Longzhou City? Also, I asked her, and she said that those who are overdue are punished in the Purgatory of Perdition. Those who are overdue a second time will be eternally lost there. Is this Master's Mental Spiritual Realm?"

"Her mother is hospitalized in a special hospital in Longzhou City," Chen Yuque stated calmly. "And yes, it is indeed Master's Mental Spiritual Realm."

Zhang Fusheng pondered. He had heard of the special hospital in Longzhou City; it was very famous, one of the few top-tier hospitals located in a smaller city.

His uncle's family lived in Longzhou City.

He then curiously pressed further, "Master wouldn't do something like this without a reason, would he?"

Chen Yuque explained with a smile, "Master has achieved Perfection in his Visualization technique and now possesses his own [Spiritual Realm]. And these Spiritual Realms are very unstable; they can easily backfire."

She paused before continuing, "I heard Master say that a Spiritual Realm needs to be anchored to a 'fixed scene' and must be populated by living beings to help stabilize it. The skeletons you saw in purgatory were real people."

Although Zhang Fusheng already knew this, his face still showed a look of horror, "They were real people??"

"Mm."

Chen Yuque patiently continued her explanation, "The Federation doesn't allow the souls of living people to be arbitrarily stripped to populate Spiritual Realms. So, we all sign formal contracts clearly stating that our souls will be taken if we become overdue. Of course, very few people believe it when they sign."

She shrugged and went on, "Master says that the souls of living beings can not only act as subordinates but also help stabilize the Spiritual Realm. Most importantly, they share the burden. You need at least a thousand souls to achieve Perfection in the Visualization technique."

Zhang Fusheng: ???

A thousand souls to achieve Visualization Perfection?

Wait, what about me?

He asked calmly, "Why is that? What burden do the souls share?"

This time, Eldest Senior Brother spoke, "The Mental Spiritual Realm is profound and mysterious. This path of cultivation involves immense mental pressure. Without enough living souls residing in the Spiritual Realm, acting as [subordinate souls] to share the pressure, one could easily fall into demonic possession."

Zhang Fusheng fell silent.

Ah, demonic possession.

He was familiar with it; he had fallen into it countless times over the past hundred years.

Eldest Senior Brother continued on his own, "Of course, many people, when they reach their limit, just one step away from Perfection, choose to dispel their subordinate souls and actively fall into demonic possession. Junior Brother, you have the potential for Perfection. In a few decades, you can use this as a last resort."

Zhang Fusheng was bewildered, "Actively fall into demonic possession? Eldest Senior Brother, I don't quite understand."

Chen Yuque tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and teased, "Little Junior Brother, haven't you heard of 'going dark makes you ten times stronger'? Those who fall into demonic ways often achieve sudden enlightenment in their Spiritual Realm cultivation. At the very least, they can improve by half a step."

"Just relying on that half-step, if they successfully reach Perfection, there's a high chance they'll awaken from their demonic state. Unfortunately, this 'shortcut' can only be used once in a lifetime, as there's only one chance to awaken upon breaking through to Perfection."

Listening to his Second Senior Sister, Zhang Fusheng was speechless for a long time.

No wonder, no wonder I broke through from minor Perfection to Perfection in just two hundred years.

Others use falling into demonic ways as a last resort; for me, it's an everyday occurrence.

Now that I think about it, after each time I fell into demonic ways, I did gain insights into my meditation technique and the Spiritual Realm.

But...

Zhang Fusheng let out a breath.

"This self-contained spiritual world, after cultivating to the Spiritual Realm, still requires a massive amount of souls to 'suppress' it."

He felt the word "suppress" was quite fitting and continued, "This spiritual cultivation, why is it so twisted?"

"Twisted?"

The Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister both chuckled.

"This is twisted already?"

Chen Yuque said casually, "It's not just spiritual cultivation; physical cultivation is the same. The further you go, the more twisted it gets. You can't do without things like 'souls,' and it's not just us. All sects and factions are the same. If you really want to find an exception."

She thought for a moment and said, "I've heard that besides the Myriad Gods Cult, the other three evil cults – Dao, Buddhist, and Confucian – are each divided into two factions. Within the Dao's [East Cult], the Buddhist [Spirit Mountain System], and the Confucian [Ancient Sage Faction], none require souls for cultivation."

Zhang Fusheng's eyelids twitched. Are those even called evil cults anymore??

And what about the thousand people in Huang Qiuxian's Spiritual Realm?

Chen Yuque sighed softly, "For example, Little Junior Brother, haven't you achieved Great Success with your meditation technique? The Luminous Form that comes with Great Success can generate [Dead Man's Bones]. This process is very slow, but by integrating souls into the bones, you can accelerate it."

Zhang Fusheng was stunned for a long time before he couldn't help but ask, "In that case, for powerful individuals to cultivate, don't they have to kill people, kill many people??"

"No." Chen Yuque shook her head. "The Federation has many farming planets in space, raising large numbers of 'bio-humans' who lack memory, emotions, and subjective consciousness, but they do possess souls."

Zhang Fusheng fell completely silent.

He suddenly felt that the Federation was the biggest evil cult.