Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman

Inside the quiet chamber, black-and-gold flames flickered without cease. Surging radiance had already swallowed Wang Ping whole, layered so densely that even his human shape could no longer be seen.

Seeing this, You Daoist Nun continuously changed the hand seals in her fingers.

The talismanic scripts and secret registers around them seemed to come alive, twisting and leaping beneath the blazing radiance like dragons and serpents baring fangs and brandishing claws.

Meanwhile, within the endless radiance, Wang Ping was left with only one sensation: pain. The agony of flames burning his body had sunk deep into him, numbing him somewhat. Behind him, the Six-Desire Chaos Demon had fallen to one knee, its charred skin unable to shed away.

[Armor Shedding] had its limits as well.

After all, this was merely an innate marvel of the Six-Desire Chaos Demon, not a genuine spell. How could it withstand the spirit flames You Daoist Nun had painstakingly prepared?

"I have to endure it."

Though submerged in agonizing pain, Wang Ping's thoughts remained clear. If he used [Qi Suppression] now, he was confident he could hold out for several more hours.

But—he could not use it.

"I can't explain where I learned [Qi Suppression]. Even if I use it, I can't turn defeat into victory. It would only startle the snake in the grass. There's no point."

It seemed this life would end here.

Wang Ping had already resigned himself to fate. Yet just then, You Daoist Nun outside the formation abruptly opened her beautiful eyes and frowned at him.

"Where is the resentment?"

"You finally set foot upon the path of immortality, only for me to suddenly refine you into a magic artifact. Hope turned into despair, and yet you have fallen this far without producing any resentment?"

You Daoist Nun was somewhat puzzled.

But what she felt more strongly was concern. "That won't do. Without resentment, the chances of this [Six-Desire Demon Banner] advancing to upper grade will probably fall as well."

With that thought, the spell formula in You Daoist Nun's hands immediately changed. At nearly the same moment, Wang Ping sensed the formation shift. From the black-and-gold radiance surrounding him, phantom creatures of strange shapes and bizarre appearances emerged one after another, then flooded into the depths of his brow in a single rush.

"Urgh!"

Wang Ping immediately let out a muffled groan. Layer upon layer of illusions appeared before his eyes, and he recognized those phantom creatures. "Demon heads... This is bad. What is she trying to do?"

Demon heads, also called wandering souls or yin ghosts.

As the name implied, they were born from the turbid yin qi of the earth. Formless and intangible, they nevertheless delighted in the living. They could invade the Sea of Consciousness and devour cultivators' seven emotions and six desires.

Even ordinary cultivators greatly feared them.

These demons were vicious, yet formless and intangible, leaving them with very few natural enemies. They specialized in attacking the Sea of Consciousness, making them impossible to guard against. One slight lapse, and one could become infected by them.

And once infected, at best one's temperament would change drastically; at worst, one would go mad and die.

Just like now. As great numbers of demon heads poured into his Sea of Consciousness, scenes from the past immediately surfaced uncontrollably in Wang Ping's heart—countless images of bygone days.

His wretched childhood in Northern Liao. His youthful vow to surpass everyone and become a member of the Royal Court. His wild rides across the grasslands in his prime. The day he learned of immortality and sought the immortal path, wishing for eternal life. Then the despair he felt upon discovering he had no Spiritual Root...

"...Hm?"

Something was wrong. This wasn't me.

Staring at the utterly unfamiliar parents, children, beloved, teachers, and elders before him, Wang Ping abruptly came to his senses. "This is... the previous owner's memories flashing before his eyes!"

"That venomous woman wants my resentment!"

The so-called resentment naturally came from the previous owner's bitter memories of seeking immortality but failing to obtain it. But that was the previous owner's problem. What did it have to do with Wang Ping?

Cut it off! He had to cut it off!

With that thought, Wang Ping immediately gathered his thoughts and pushed the previous owner's memories to the forefront, allowing the demon heads to weave through them and stir up the resentment and hatred contained within. Before long, those memories gradually became fragmented. The Sea of Consciousness shattered along with them, and dense resentment began drifting out.

"I hate this!"

"Heaven and earth are unfair! Why can't I cultivate immortality? I refuse to accept this..."

"Venomous woman, even if I die, I will never let you go!"

"I refuse to submit!"

The previous owner's memories shattered one after another, and the resentment grew ever heavier, even turning into echoes like ghosts weeping and wolves howling. This was the last remnant left behind by the previous owner.

"It worked!"

Outside the formation, You Daoist Nun finally revealed a satisfied smile. Forming hand seals, she said, "Use resentment as flesh, hatred as sinew and bone, and the six desires as lungs and entrails..."

"The Heavenly Demon emerges!"

As her words fell, all the resentment surged back, sucking out every demon head that had previously rushed into Wang Ping's body. It then wove them together, forming a fluttering banner.

Then, beneath You Daoist Nun's tense gaze, the black-and-gold radiance on the banner flickered in alternation several times before finally condensing slowly into a figure.

A blue face, fangs, crimson hair, and golden eyes.

At a glance, its appearance was seventy to eighty percent similar to Wang Ping's, yet it also incorporated the traits of the Six-Desire Chaos Demon. Only its eyes remained dull and devoid of intelligence.

But this was exactly what You Daoist Nun wanted. After all, draining away every memory and transforming them into resentment was partly to raise the magic artifact's grade, but it was also to prevent the final Six-Desire Demon King from retaining consciousness. What if it devoured its master at a critical moment?

"This is just right."

You Daoist Nun nodded. Then, with a stretch of her hand, she collected the black-and-gold [Six-Desire Demon Banner] into her grasp and gave it a forceful wave.

In an instant, bleak winds howled.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Six hundred and sixty demon heads shrieked in unison, forming ranks like soldiers marching in formation. Wang Ping was their commanding general, demon heads following closely with every gesture he made.

The next second, every strange phenomenon vanished.

Like a hundred birds returning to their nests, the demon heads surged into the banner. Wang Ping's figure also swiftly faded, finally becoming a ferocious ghost face in the banner's center.

"An upper-grade magic artifact... It really succeeded!"

You Daoist Nun held the banner and examined it for a moment, a strange expression appearing on her face. "What a treasure. The resentment is drawn forth but held back; once unleashed, it will surely strike with the force of thunder!"

"It seems I cannot use it lightly."

You Daoist Nun carefully put away the banner, calculating inwardly. "Every bit of resentment used is one bit less. And undoubtedly, its power the first time it is used will be the greatest."

"If used well, it could completely turn defeat into victory."

With that thought, You Daoist Nun made up her mind to regard this [Six-Desire Demon Banner] as her trump card, to be used only at the most critical moment.

She could already imagine the scene.

Just as she and an enemy fought until both sides were grievously wounded, she would suddenly bring out the [Six-Desire Demon Banner] and release the countless yin soldiers and ghost generals within.

There was even a Six-Desire Demon King steeped in resentment among them.

Who could withstand that?

When the time came, the other party's expression would surely be marvelous.

Inside the [Six-Desire Demon Banner].

The Six-Desire Demon King abruptly opened its eyes. Memories and consciousness belonging to Wang Ping's original body swiftly surfaced, restoring liveliness to its formerly dull gaze.

"I really survived..."

Wang Ping blinked, his heart full of unexpected delight. To be honest, he had thought he would suddenly die like last time and had been ready to return to Great Shun to show off.

Yet he had not died.

Not only had he not died, he had even become the artifact spirit of the [Six-Desire Demon Banner]. Wang Ping could clearly feel the control he now possessed over this magic artifact.

That said, when Wang Ping tried to make the [Six-Desire Demon Banner] move even slightly, he keenly detected another force within the artifact. It was You Daoist Nun's Dharma Power and Spirit Sense. If he truly made any move, she would likely notice something was wrong at once.

"I still have to endure."

"Only when You Daoist Nun has reached the end of the road, when she no longer has enough strength to suppress me, will I have my chance to turn against her and settle every debt."

With that thought, Wang Ping withdrew his consciousness once more.

The next second, as his perspective spun heaven and earth upside down, he discovered that he had actually left the Six-Desire Demon King's body and returned to the [Morgue].

"This is..."

Wang Ping looked around in confusion, only to see the towering book before him suddenly flipping its pages with a clatter. At last, it stopped on the first scripture scroll, [Otherworldly Celestial Demon].

A new line of writing had appeared on the scroll.

[It has been detected that the book owner has actively anchored an identity in the "Immortal Sect." When subsequently entering that world, the book owner may actively choose to anchor this identity.]

[Anchored identity: Six-Desire Demon King]

Put simply, when he went to the Immortal Sect in the future, he would no longer need to worry about randomly becoming a Force Servitor or some other person. He could begin directly as an artifact spirit.

Of course, this would not prevent him from starting with a random identity.

"But... what difference does that make?"

Wang Ping furrowed his brow. After thinking for a while, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Come to think of it, if I become an artifact spirit, would I still be restricted by Spiritual Roots?"

In theory, probably not.

From that perspective, as long as he could choose a good master and cling to that master's thigh, allowing the [Six-Desire Demon Banner] to keep growing...

Did that mean the Great Dao was within reach?

At this thought, Wang Ping's brow immediately relaxed. Sure enough, there was a limit to what humans could do. If he wanted to cultivate immortality, he still had to stop being human!

And anchoring an identity had another benefit.

"As long as I want to, I can activate [Otherworldly Celestial Demon] now and choose to revive and start over. After all, strictly speaking, I'm already dead."

This was a very important function.

"Granted, I successfully deceived You Daoist Nun this time, but that was mainly because she herself was not capable enough to discover my consciousness."

"But in the future, if I really latch onto a powerful backer, the higher their cultivation, the more ingenious their methods for refining the [Six-Desire Demon Banner] will be. Then I might not have this kind of luck again. But with this function, I can simply choose to leave on my own while they are refining me."

"That way, the Six-Desire Demon King will be the one suffering."

"Once they finish refining it, I can come back and enjoy the fruits without lifting a finger. I can let the Six-Desire Demon King bear the burden and forge ahead, without having to endure the pain of being refined."

Not bad. Very good!

Wang Ping nodded in satisfaction, then actively left the [Morgue]. Having narrowly survived such a rare stroke of luck, he had no intention of reviving and leaving now.

"First, set a small goal."

"You Xuexin. First, kill that damned venomous woman, then extract her soul and refine it into my banner slave. I'll torture her viciously a thousand times!"

Wang Ping ground his teeth.

That said, he had not lost his reason. He knew perfectly well that rashly devouring his master in return was simply courting death. The reason he chose to remain was because he saw an opportunity.

"That venomous woman still has to escort the [Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman]. That process will certainly be dangerous. The reason she was willing to borrow at such cost just to refine me into a magic artifact ahead of time must also be to deal with this escort. In other words, she is very likely to fall into danger because of it."

This was his opportunity.

"Enjoy your triumph for a few more days..."

Hidden within the [Six-Desire Demon Banner], Wang Ping peered through the banner's ferocious ghost face and stared sinisterly at You Daoist Nun, who was trying to refine him.

"Strange."

Weighing the [Six-Desire Demon Banner] in her hand, You Xuexin was somewhat puzzled. Why did refining this magic artifact feel so obscure and obstructed?

Could it be because its grade was too high?

It was not impossible. After all, she had yet to pass the Heavenly Tribulation and cultivate divine abilities. Though she had mastered quite a few spells, the quality of her Dharma Power was still somewhat lacking.

"Never mind. It's only temporary anyway."

You Xuexin shook her head. This magic artifact's power was decent, but once she cultivated divine abilities, it would no longer keep up with her. It was something that would be discarded sooner or later.

It was perfect as a one-use trump card.

Putting more thought into it would not be worth it.

With that thought, You Xuexin's gaze shifted to the [Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman] at the center of the quiet chamber. A dazed gleam suddenly flashed through her beautiful eyes.

"An immortal art..."

When she had explained things to Wang Ping before, she had only spoken casually. Many matters had been passed over in a stroke, and what she said differed considerably from the truth.

The simplest example was that the Marauder Cultivators who cultivated the [Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman] were not all Immortal Sect disciples who had failed to obtain the True Disciple inheritance. Some, like her, had obtained the true inheritance, yet still became Marauder Cultivators because they coveted this supreme cultivation method that stood above all else in the Immortal Sect.

One had to know that the Heaven-Stealing Thief had not even undergone "Qi Refinement"!

Yet despite that, the vast Immortal Sect—with so many Qi Refiners, True Cultivators, and even immortals—had somehow failed to kill this apostate disciple.

How could such ability be ordinary?

When all was said and done, the Heaven-Stealing Thief's personal talent and brilliance were certainly one reason, but the greater factor lay in the cultivation method he practiced.

This cultivation method was the fundamental reason Marauder Cultivators flocked to it like ducks to water.

"...Why don't I take a look too?"

Without realizing it, You Xuexin's thoughts grew increasingly obsessed. Her beautiful eyes became more and more unfocused, and she walked step by step toward the jade slip. At last, she slowly poured her Spirit Sense and Dharma Power into it.

In an instant, light burst forth.

Unlike other jade slips, this [Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Myriad Transformation Divine Talisman] seemed to wish for everyone to see it. It directly manifested its contents outside.

Thanks to that, Wang Ping saw them too.

"I now transmit this method, called: Heaven has five thieves, spreading myriad transformations. Those who see them prosper; those who steal them become kings... The five thieves are life, things, time, achievement, and spirit!"

"The thief that steals life may steal Life Essence."

"The thief that steals things may seize objects beyond the body."

"The thief that steals time may take fragments of time."

"The thief that steals achievement may replace identities and achievements."

"The thief that steals spirit may alter knowledge and memories."

"When all five thieves are complete, steal heaven and earth's opportunities and seize the qi of the universe. Thus it is called the [Five Thieves Stealing Heaven Method]. Without a True Spiritual Root, one may still obtain the fruit of Entering the Dao through Qi Refinement!"

Upon seeing the last line, Wang Ping's eyes shone brightly.

Yet just then, You Xuexin, whose beautiful eyes had been unfocused, suddenly came to her senses. She staggered back a step, shock and fury mingling on her pretty face as she shouted:

"Monster!"

Before her words had faded, the cry of a sword abruptly rang out.

In an instant, the jade slip that had been blazing with light and displaying the cultivation method's contents dimmed. As though it had suffered a grievous blow, it fell completely silent.