Heaven-Stealing Thief

Rumble!

Outside, in the courtyard, Wang Ping stood with his hands behind his back and his eyes half closed. Most of his Spirit Sense had left his body and settled entirely on the Six-Desire Chaos Demon behind him.

In an instant, his vision changed.

Until now, the world he saw had been no different from the world he sensed with his Spirit Sense. Mountains were mountains, water was water, and everything was in its proper place.

But now it was different.

Through the Six-Desire Chaos Demon's eyes, the world beneath his Spirit Sense took on an entirely different appearance—or rather, gained a strange new radiance.

The radiance spread through the air like an aurora, filling the heavens and earth. At first glance, countless tiny gu insects seemed to writhe within it. In the next instant, they became surging waves. Both qualities existed together, their colors shifting with the rising sun and setting moon.

Azure, yellow, red, white, and black rotated in turn.

The five colors formed different shapes across Wang Ping's vision. They seemed jumbled together, yet were clearly divided into twenty-four streams.

"This is..."

The sight immediately brought to mind a passage from the Six Desires Heaven's Free Attainment Method: "Heaven and earth contain the Twenty-Four Qi, which govern the transformations of all things."

Hence the name, the Twenty-Four Seasonal Qi.

According to legend, Qi Refinement cultivation was tied to the Twenty-Four Seasonal Qi. Unfortunately, the method said little more, leaving him unable to learn the truth.

Soon, however, as the Six Desires Heaven's Free Attainment Method circulated, Wang Ping saw one of the twenty-four auroras filling heaven and earth respond. Endless color fell with the Six-Desire Chaos Demon's breathing, enveloping Wang Ping like a waterfall before he drew it in bit by bit.

Crack!

At almost the same moment, Wang Ping felt as though he had been thrown into boiling water. Scalding heat poured through his mouth and nose, flowing into every limb and bone.

It felt like being melted down and reforged.

His sinews, bones, flesh, and even his meridians seemed to dissolve in that heat, then be worked and forged into an entirely new shape.

"What the hell!?"

Wang Ping opened his mouth on instinct and nearly bit off his tongue. Agonizing pain battered his nerves.

If he had to describe it, it was like being buried in sand with only his head exposed, then having someone split open the top of his skull and pour in mercury. The unbearable itching and pain made him want to crawl out through that opening.

Wang Ping... could not resist.

Pfft!

He jerked his head up and crawled out through the opening at its crown, where the heat melting his body seemed to originate. Then his vision went black.

Crack, crack, crack, crack!

The harsh sound went on without end.

Rotting skin peeled away. Blood seeped from his pores, veins swelled, and his sinews and bones grew dense. Wang Ping slowly straightened.

The pain fell away like an unlocked shackle. A ragged layer of human skin fell with it, and the sheer relief made his whole body tremble.

He had shed his mortal shell and remade his bones!

Wang Ping was like a serpent shedding its old skin and being born anew. In the sunlight, his exposed skin gleamed gold.

Spirit-Communing Thought, Perfectly Sealed True Body, Cosmic Circulation Breath Intake, and Qi-Manifesting Technique.

Of the four cultivation traits of the First Tribulation Realm, Wang Ping had already attained Spirit-Communing Thought. He was now cultivating the second: Perfectly Sealed True Body.

Of course, this was only the beginning. The glow of his skin revealed something extraordinary at a glance, but it remained superficial and had yet to penetrate his meridians. Once he truly attained the Perfectly Sealed True Body, every sign of its power would withdraw, leaving him outwardly no different from an ordinary man.

Crack!

The next moment, Wang Ping lifted and lowered his foot. He had used no strength, intending only to take a few steps, yet the blue brick beneath him shattered!

"Incredible..."

Wang Ping swayed where he stood, then took another two steps. Both crushed the bricks beneath him. Only on the fifth step did he rein in his strength enough to leave mere cracks.

Such power!

He had used no Inner Force at all. His physique alone had displayed strength no weaker than when he had charged an enemy formation by himself!

And back then, he had used the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Art!

Compared with him now, those so-called masters of External Arts Perfection and their True Dragon Sinew and Mountain Lord Bone were a joke. They did not even deserve comparison!

Did that make sense?

"I suppose it does. I'm cultivating immortality now..."

Standing there, Wang Ping swung his arms and ran through a set of punches. With the aid of his Spirit Sense, he gradually brought his newfound physical strength under control.

"Am I still human?"

In the Great Shun Dynasty, an ordinary martial artist needed ten years of bitter training to reach External Arts Perfection, then another ten to become an Inner Force Martial Master. How long had it taken him just now?

The time it took to breathe in a mouthful of spiritual energy!

With only that one breath, his physique had become comparable to an Inner Force Martial Master's. This was hardly a difference between two people.

It was a difference between species!

"No, wait. My martial arts..."

Wang Ping circulated his Spirit Sense and carefully examined his changes. Every trace left on his body by the martial arts he had practiced was gone.

Or rather, those traces had been overwritten.

True Dragon Sinew, Mountain Lord Bone, Dragon-Elephant Flesh, Kui Ox Hide, Supreme Yang Blood, Snow-Tempered Marrow... His mortal physique had been entirely overwritten by a more profound power.

The change was like a serpent becoming a dragon.

"...Incredible!"

Even the Inner Force physique he had cultivated through the Sky Roc Dragon-Seizing Physique Diagram was visibly breaking apart and dissolving back into his meridians.

The reason was simple.

"The martial art's grade isn't high enough..." Wang Ping murmured.

What was Inner Force? What was an Inner Force physique?

Put simply, a martial artist built another human system inside the body. Essence, qi, and spirit were transformed through it, and the power it produced was Inner Force.

The problem he faced was straightforward: the Sky Roc Dragon-Seizing Physique Diagram lacked the capacity to unite his transformed essence, qi, and spirit and turn them into Inner Force. Even the Inner Force he had already produced was breaking down again as his body functioned naturally.

It was as if his body were telling him:

Something that small isn't allowed inside me?

At the thought, Wang Ping nearly laughed. If he returned to the Great Shun Court now, he probably would not even qualify as an Inner Force Martial Master. He would count only as an external-arts martial artist.

"So be it."

"Inner Force or no Inner Force, my power has undeniably grown. That's what matters. Besides, looked at another way, this shows my potential..."

Although the Sky Roc Dragon-Seizing Physique Diagram could no longer produce Inner Force for him, the Great Shun Court surely had stronger Inner Force physiques. From that perspective, losing his cultivation this time was not a bad thing. He could seek a better martial art in the future and go farther along the Martial Dao.

Having thought it through, Wang Ping let it go.

"Martial arts may not compare with immortal cultivation, but they're quicker to learn and still useful in the early stages. Besides, I have a Defective Spiritual Root and no hope of reaching the Great Dao. I need to prepare for a rainy day."

He steadied his mind.

Wang Ping withdrew his consciousness from the Six-Desire Chaos Demon and returned to his body. Then he recalled the towering, three-meter-tall divine general into his shadow.

Feeling the power surging through him, he could not help imagining what he might do with it. "My own combat strength already matches what I had in my previous life after using the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Art. Now I've also cultivated the Six-Desire Chaos Demon. It has plenty of extraordinary abilities and is probably even stronger than I am."

And the two of them could fight together.

"If we really fought, I could attack with a bow from behind while the Six-Desire Chaos Demon held the front. Could we trade blows with a Titled Martial Master like Xu Bingzheng?"

Wang Ping itched to try.

But he soon calmed down. "No. If I'm going to show off, it can wait until I'm back at the Great Shun Court. Here in the Immortal Sect, I need to keep my head down..."

After all, he had attained only Spirit-Communing Thought and was already this capable.

What about Daoist Nun You?

Even by a conservative estimate, she should have passed the Human Tribulation and cultivated Dharma Power. She clearly had a True Spiritual Root and was a formal disciple of the Immortal Sect.

Jingle!

Just then, the silver bell beneath the eaves rang. Wang Ping looked up at once. Daoist Nun You had emerged from seclusion and was summoning him, her attendant boy.

Wang Ping did not dare delay. He hurried to the courtyard wall with a door painted on it, took out his token, knocked, and gently pushed against the painting.

Clang!

The door swung open.

The Grotto-Heaven within the painting appeared before him.

Wang Ping walked through the doorway and entered the inner residence.

At almost the same moment, Daoist Nun You, who stood beneath a towering ancient tree in its courtyard, sensed his arrival and turned. Her gaze settled on him.

"...Hm?"

The next instant, Daoist Nun You gave a soft exclamation. She studied Wang Ping, a hint of delight appearing in her beautiful eyes, then nodded slightly.

"Well done."

Wang Ping immediately bowed. "Your praise is too generous, my lady. I've merely made a little progress with the method."

"A little progress?" Daoist Nun You said with satisfaction. "You reached the fourth level of the Six Desires Heaven's Free Attainment Method in three months. That is hardly a little progress."

Wang Ping's heart tightened.

He had prepared himself for this, but hearing Daoist Nun You state his progress so casually still left him deeply uneasy.

This is too risky.

If only I had a secret art to conceal my cultivation. Otherwise, my progress is so abnormal that it'll easily draw the wrong kind of attention.

"Since you've made progress, you can come with me this time."

Daoist Nun You reached into her sleeve, took out a jade slip, and tossed it into Wang Ping's arms. "Read it carefully. You'll guard me on this trip."

"As you command."

Wang Ping held the jade slip and accepted the order. Only then did he extend his Spirit Sense to read its contents. His expression shifted slightly.

The jade slip contained a summons.

Order: You Xuexin, disciple of Bliss Peak, is to escort the recently discovered Five Thieves Steal Heaven Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman back to the Divine Weapons Institute within three days. No delay or failure will be tolerated.

"This is an edict from the Immortal Sect."

Daoist Nun You spoke calmly. "It was issued personally by Martial Uncle Ming De, a Qi Refiner of the Divine Weapons Institute. He sent it to me because I have mastered Swordsmanship."

"As for the Five Thieves Steal Heaven Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman, it is an immortal art created by a former disciple cast out of the Immortal Sect. He calls himself the Heaven-Stealing Thief. The method he spread is extraordinarily sinister and can beguile the mind. Only cultivators like me, who have mastered Swordsmanship and possess a clear sword heart, can resist it."

Daoist Nun You explained further.

"Originally, every copy of the Five Thieves Steal Heaven Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman should have been destroyed. This one is a stray that an Outer Sect Disciple discovered."

"That is why I, being closest, have been assigned to escort it."

"But the Heaven-Stealing Thief's poison runs deep within the Immortal Sect, and he still has many followers. If they learn of this, they may well intercept and kill us along the way."

Wang Ping frowned.

"If this object is so important, why don't the sect's seniors come to collect it themselves? And are there really thieves within the Immortal Sect?"

"There's nothing strange about it," Daoist Nun You said coolly. "That is not something you need to know. In any case, the sect's Qi Refiners do not lightly enter the mortal world. As for the thieves, the Immortal Sect calls them Marauder Cultivators. They are cultivators shut out of the orthodox path, so they can only resort to such crooked ways."

Only after hearing her explanation did Wang Ping understand.

The so-called Marauder Cultivators were Rogue Cultivators whom the Immortal Sect did not recognize. Unable to advance within the sect, they had been forced to find another path.

The Five Thieves Steal Heaven Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman had arisen from that need.

In short, the expelled disciple known as the Heaven-Stealing Thief had made his method freely available. With no barriers to learning it, he had spread it throughout the Immortal Sect.

Everyone who cultivated his method was therefore his disciple and a natural ally. Once they banded together, they became the Immortal Sect's Marauder Cultivators.

"Ordinarily, they hide within the Immortal Sect. When the time comes, they assume new identities and ambush the sect's cultivators to gather resources for the Immortal Dao. The sect has spent considerable effort trying to wipe them out, but these Marauder Cultivators are like weeds. No matter how many are cut down, they keep growing back."

That was only natural.

Wang Ping was not surprised. For every policy imposed from above, those below found a countermeasure.

As long as the Immortal Sect kept restricting cultivators' paths along the Immortal Dao, the soil that bred Marauder Cultivators would remain. At heart, it was a problem with the system.

Wang Ping kept that thought to himself and gave no sign of it. He lowered his head and asked respectfully, "My lady, when do we leave?"

"...In three days."

Daoist Nun You paused. Then she looked at Wang Ping and, unusually, gave him a dazzling smile.

"I must admit, your progress has far exceeded my expectations."

"So I'll need to adjust my plans. Go back and rest. Come see me again in three days, and I'll have a surprise for you."

"One that will let you fully realize your value as human livestock."

A surprise? What kind of surprise?

Wang Ping's eye twitched. The process of creating the Immortal Sect's Force Servitors flashed through his mind, along with the so-called tax on the dead under the sect's rule that he remembered from his predecessor's life.

When he looked at Daoist Nun You again, his face changed.

Surely there isn't something wrong with this surprise?