He Who Transforms at Will Governs the Desire Realm Heavenly Book

Inside the Morgue, Wang Ping opened his eyes.

Then he clutched his head. His pupils shook violently as passage after passage of demonic scripture surfaced in his mind.

The Heavenly Book of He Who Transforms at Will and Governs the Desire Realm!

Merely looking at those words, Wang Ping seemed to glimpse a strange bodhisattva with both male and female bodies, seated in an embrace upon a lotus throne, chanting scripture.

The deity said the mortal world was a vast Desire Sea. All living beings struggled within it, sinking into pleasure. To indulge every desire was only natural, yet worldly desires had their limits. Once you had enjoyed every pleasure, you would free yourself from them as a matter of course and never again hold them in your heart.

This was emptiness.

Thus, "indulgence in pleasure is emptiness." The scripture accepted every desire and even encouraged people to fulfill them. Only then could they break free—

The scripture stopped dead.

The chanting in his mind vanished abruptly. Wang Ping stood there in a daze, just short of drooling. Only after a while did he come to his senses.

"...Why did it stop?"

That was right. The Heavenly Book of He Who Transforms at Will and Governs the Desire Realm had only an opening. It had barely finished describing its principles before ending unfinished.

If the scripture's goal was to take a practitioner from pleasure to liberation, its contents covered only the pleasure part... No, they did not even cover that in full. Only by cutting away the clutter had Wang Ping managed to piece together a secret art from it.

The Desire-Realm Celestial Birth Method.

"This is a secret art for transforming the body. Once mastered, it turns the body into a special cultivation physique called a Desire-Realm Celestial Being."

This physique could sense other people's thoughts and emotions. It could even condense Spirit Sense, something normally possessed only by cultivators, without formally practicing cultivation.

"Good stuff!"

Wang Ping pumped his fist in excitement. He had thought his time as a human offering to the Immortal Sect would yield nothing, only to gain a tremendous opportunity just before his death.

And Daoist Nun You had forced it on him herself.

She really was a good person.

For such kindness, he would have to find a good chance next time to repay her with all his heart and soul.

"Too bad the scripture is incomplete. There's only a secret art for transforming my physique, not a true method that would let me cultivate immortality. Otherwise, I'd have struck it rich."

At that thought, Wang Ping hurriedly drew a deep breath.

"Calm down. Don't get greedy."

"Cultivating immortality isn't my only path anyway. There's still the Great Shun Dynasty, where martial arts are just getting started. If I train all the way to the peak, there might be a future in it."

Wang Ping had always let his position decide his convictions, and his principles were flexible.

Earlier, he had wanted to return to Great Shun and crush the weak. But now that he had no way to pursue immortality, he was a staunch supporter of the Martial Dao. A good martial artist need not be inferior to an immortal!

With that, Wang Ping made his plan.

"First I'll return to the Great Shun Dynasty and master the Desire-Realm Celestial Birth Method. Better yet, I'll learn a few martial arts too. Once I have some strength, I'll explore the Immortal Sect's world again!"

Then he looked toward the Peace Scripture.

At that moment, however, Wang Ping discovered that new writing had appeared beneath "Otherworldly Celestial Demon" on the title page of the towering book before him.

[Current identity: refugee (commoner).]

[Current Destiny: one (White Lotus Sect hall master)]

[Spend Destiny to obtain a new identity?]

"What's this...?"

Looking at the writing on the scripture, Wang Ping recalled another function of the Otherworldly Celestial Demon: he could spend Destiny to obtain a new identity!

But the description said it worked only in a specific world.

"Does 'specific world' mean the Great Shun Dynasty?"

After all, "White Lotus Sect hall master" had been his identity when he first died, but he had received no prompt to choose a new identity when he went to the Immortal Sect's world.

"There are six ranks of identity."

"Commoner, lowly official, Azure Scholar, Vermilion Robe, Violet Minister, Gold-Ranked Noble... Each time my Destiny rises a rank, I can exchange it for an identity of the corresponding rank."

That suited him perfectly!

It was the White Lotus Sect's Destiny anyway. If it was gone, so be it. Besides, that position had been given to him by that old bastard Shouchong. Wouldn't it be a waste not to use it?

At that thought, Wang Ping immediately nodded. "Exchange it!"

The moment he spoke, the writing on the Peace Scripture began to shift. His Destiny was instantly cut to zero, while his identity gradually burst into light.

It was a beam of mysterious light.

Then Wang Ping saw the description in parentheses beside his identity change from "commoner" to "lowly official." The identity itself began to change as well.

Merchant, great-clan member, scholar... Many identities flashed past before it finally stopped on one that surprised even Wang Ping:

[Constable].

The next second, Wang Ping drew a deep breath and strode through the Otherworldly Celestial Demon's doorway. Light slowly filled his vision as he passed through.

Wang Ping opened his eyes.

What met his gaze was a small room.

He stood before a bronze mirror. Reflected in it was a face in its twenties, looking somewhat tired.

"This... is me?"

Wang Ping immediately realized that he had not taken over another body this time. The face was exactly the same as his own had been before, except it had become that of a young man.

For a moment, Wang Ping felt conflicted.

"Just as well. I didn't take over a stranger's body. I've simply been given a new identity. I'm still me, a firework of a different color..."

Soon, memories surfaced.

Rather than memories, they were more like background information. Wang Ping quickly understood his circumstances, and the expression that had just relaxed turned grave again.

"This place... is Longxing County!"

"Last time, the constables of Longxing County's yamen killed me. This time, I've become a yamen constable? And a newly recruited one at that?"

"According to this background, three generations of my family have been constables. We're on the yamen's rolls, a constable family of sorts. My father died heroically this time, leaving his position vacant, so I was recruited to fill it. They've even prepared my appointment letter and all my equipment."

At that thought, Wang Ping shifted his gaze.

On a nearby table lay a constable's appointment letter, an Ox-Tail Saber, a constable's uniform, and a martial arts manual.

...Wait, a martial arts manual!?

All at once, Wang Ping snapped out of his casual mood. He hurried to the table and picked up the manual.

Yama's Three Demon Blades.

"This is the standard martial art for Longxing County's constables... No, for every yamen constable under the Great Shun Dynasty. It's a brutal art devoted to killing!"

Wang Ping opened the manual and read it word by word.

Then he reached for the Ox-Tail Saber on the table. With a clang, the long blade left its sheath, and a cold white gleam lit the room.

"This saber art... has its good and bad points."

Wang Ping idly swung the Ox-Tail Saber as he frowned in thought.

The good point was that the art had only combat forms and a breathing method, with no forging method. The court had already made standard Ox-Tail Sabers for every constable.

Constables therefore had no need for a forging method. With an Ox-Tail Saber in hand, learning the basics was only a matter of time. It was much simpler than the Plain Moon Lotus Blade that old Shouchong had taught him. That art demanded some insight and money to forge a blade; for this one, the court had arranged everything for its constables.

But that was also the bad point.

"Without a forging method, a martial artist has no foundation. If the Ox-Tail Saber is damaged or taken back, this martial art is all but useless."

"The court has thought this through." Wang Ping could not help murmuring in admiration.

"This binds the constables to the yamen and ensures that, even if the manual's contents leak, no outsider can truly master the art."

As Wang Ping studied the martial art, a knock suddenly came at the door.

"...Who is it?"

Wang Ping raised an eyebrow. Saber in hand and fully alert, he opened the door. Outside stood a servant carrying a food box.

"Officer, I've brought you your meal."

The servant bowed and scraped, respectfully offering the food box. "Please take a look, officer. Is there anything that isn't to your taste?"

Only then did Wang Ping remember that he was a constable now.

The meal before him was one of his "benefits" as a constable. Joyous Arrival Tower, the largest restaurant in Longxing County, provided him with three meals a day for free.

They called it free, but it was really protection money.

After all, constables held considerable power in Longxing County. They would not otherwise be called tigers that cleared the streets. That power could help merchants make money.

It could also bankrupt them.

Everyone knew officials and merchants could make money together faster than robbers could steal it. Supplying three daily meals was how Joyous Arrival Tower had grown to its present size.

After seeing the servant off, Wang Ping carried the food box into his room.

He lifted the lid, and a delicious aroma rushed out. Every grain of rice was plump and translucent, while the vegetables and meat were of the finest quality. Eating this before training would make his efforts twice as effective with half the work.

"Is this... Wojiao rice?"

Wang Ping's mouth fell open. He recognized the rice in the box: a rare variety grown through secret methods, many times more precious than ordinary refined rice.

The meat also seemed to come from some kind of demonic beast, while the vegetables had been grown and picked from a medicinal field to nourish the blood and replenish vitality. Forget eating them. Just standing beside the box and breathing in the aroma, Wang Ping could feel the blood and vigor within him boiling and flowing more freely.

"These parasites..."

At the sight of this, Wang Ping could not help recalling his life in the countryside. Back then, he had thought he was doing well to have rice and meat to eat.

Compared with what people in the county town ate, what difference was there between his meals and eating shit?

And this was merely what a constable, one of the lowest ranks in the county yamen, ate. What did the real officials eat? Wang Ping could not even imagine it.

A wave of sorrow rose in him.

Years ago, his greatest dream had been to finish his undercover assignment, enter the county yamen on the strength of his merits, and openly earn his living from the court.

He had worked so hard for it, only to be betrayed and die suddenly.

At that thought, Wang Ping looked at the Peace Scripture, which had so easily brought him into the county yamen as a constable, and sighed from the heart.

"Sure enough... personal effort matters, but in the end, you still need a cheat!"

For a moment, anger surged in Wang Ping's heart and wickedness rose in his guts. He seized a spoon, dug a huge bite out of the food box, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Ah... delicious!

In a residence in eastern Longxing County, just as Wang Ping revived with his new identity, a pair of tightly closed eyes snapped open.

"What happened...!?"

Along with the voice, thick with shock and fury, something like a flash of lightning crossed the room. The eyes that had opened were filled with confusion and resentment.

Then another voice spoke.

"Master? What happened?"

Had Wang Ping been there, he would have recognized the speaker at once: his dear senior apprentice brother, Xie Shi.

As for the man who was both shocked and furious, he was naturally the White Lotus Sect's leader, the old Daoist Shouchong.

Shouchong's eyelids twitched wildly. His once-healthy complexion grew redder and redder, and his clenched jaw trembled faintly.

The next second—

"Pfft!"

He threw his head back and spat a mouthful of hot blood. His red face instantly turned white, taking on a faint, deathly pallor.

Then his hoarse voice, like a night owl's cry, drifted through the room.

"The Destiny... is gone."

"My White Lotus Sect's Destiny! I traveled north and south, fought government troops three times, and finally built up our reputation and Destiny. Now nearly half of it has suddenly vanished!"

The thought made Shouchong feel as though his heart were bleeding.

Without that Destiny, he would have to revise his plan from the beginning. It would also introduce countless uncertainties, leaving little hope that his martial arts would advance further.

"Who was it? Who's plotting against me?"

Rumble!

Rolling thunder echoed through the room, yet not a sound reached outside. It displayed the depth of Shouchong's power and showed that he had not lost his reason.

Only after a long while did Shouchong speak again.

"Someone must have tampered with the Lotus Blade. Nothing else could have caused this. We must retrieve the blade. We can't leave it in the government's hands any longer."

Hearing this, Xie Shi looked at him with concern.

"Master, the county yamen is an important government stronghold, and those black-clad men from the Divine Constables Bureau guard it. It's far too dangerous. The slightest slip could be disastrous."

Shouchong turned to Xie Shi and tilted his head.

"Of course I understand that, my disciple. Don't worry. I've already prepared a foolproof plan. A mere county yamen cannot hold me."

Xie Shi's face filled with admiration. "Master, are you going to storm the county yamen?"

"No. You're going to storm the county yamen."

Xie Shi: "...???"