Mind Ape Returns to Righteousness, Six Thieves Vanish

"So what does this have to do with Primordial Qi?"

System 10086 complained. There was no trace of Primordial Qi left in this at all.

"Of course it does. Primordial Qi is Dao Generates One. Beyond that, One generates Two, Two generates Three, and Three generates all things."

"One is Primordial Qi, Two is Complete Nature and Life, Three is the Three Treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and all things are the inner cosmos of the human body."

Lin Xian said leisurely, "Spirit Summoning and Dispatching is a spiritual branch evolved from Innate Qi, the path of the Ghost Immortal."

"It seems a tier below Qi-State Origin-Flow," System 10086 assessed. When they had issued the beginner's gift pack, they had not paid much attention and had merely chosen Qi-State Origin-Flow at the host's request.

Now, it seemed the host had prepared for this long ago. Was it an accident, or intentional?

"That is only natural. What Zhang Huaiyi comprehended surpassed even his fourth brother, Wugensheng. That was why there was the end of techniques, Qi-State Origin-Flow."

Lin Xian said leisurely, "Human Immortals gain a technique, Earth Immortals gain a method, and Heavenly Immortals gain a Dao. Dao generates methods, methods generate techniques. The end of techniques, Qi-State Origin-Flow, has already surpassed techniques. It can be considered an Earth Immortal's method."

"Despite Zhang Huaiyi's talent, he still ranked below Zhang Zhiwei," System 10086 reminded him. "Have you figured out how to deal with the Old Celestial Master?"

Old Celestial Master Zhang Zhiwei's combat power had always been a mystery, because no one had ever seen him fight with his full strength.

Whether it was the Ten Elders or the Eight Extraordinary Skills, Heaven-Connecting Daoist dealt with everyone in a single strike. He had not even used his trump cards, only basic attacks. That overwhelming gap in strength made it impossible to gauge his true realm.

According to the system's calculations, the Old Celestial Master was most likely at Life Spring Peak, with a small chance of having just entered the Initial Divine Bridge. The crucial point was that the Celestial Master wielded the Five Thunder Righteous Method. Even if it possessed only one ten-thousandth of a Heavenly Tribulation's power, it would be enough to crush the mortal world.

"Heaven-Connecting Daoist? That's simple. I'll just break through!"

A vast aura surged forth. The overflowing presence of Life Spring Peak shook the observatory until it nearly collapsed. His blood and qi shot into the heavens like a celestial pillar, while Lin Xian stood in the human world like a god of war.

The phone in his hand flashed as a message arrived.

Xia He: I've found Baron. He agreed to meet you. The address is...

"Six Vaults Immortal Thief."

Lin Xian laughed. The thing he had waited so long for had finally arrived. With this extraordinary skill, combined with the World Association's immense wealth, even in a world where acquired essence was scarce, he could refine essence into qi and perfectly absorb nutrients from food.

The Shrouding Method's Self-as-Seed originated from the Desolate Heaven Emperor during the Chaotic Ancient Era.

And back then, the Desolate Heaven Emperor had eaten his way upward. Other than humanoid creatures, no race could escape his enormous mouth.

Eating was precisely the best way to replenish life energy and fill one's essence and qi.

After notifying Feng Zhenghao to prepare a large quantity of medicinal cuisine, Lin Xian walked into an open area and opened the Depraved Map. Then he connected with the Life Wheel within his body. The Divine Spring gushed continuously, mana rose at once, and a divine rainbow formed beneath his feet, like an Immortal Bridge spanning the horizon.

Like a platinum bolt of lightning, he shot toward the nine heavens, crossing mountain ranges and skimming over winding rivers at astonishing speed.

[The Depraved Map is planning a route for you... You have deviated from the route. Recalculating route...]

[Warning! Warning! You are speeding, you are speeding!!!]

At the city traffic management bureau's Fifth Branch, an administrator was handling various traffic violations and speeding incidents with his usual proficiency when the large screen suddenly flashed and a red alert popped up.

"Speeding again. Drive improperly, and your family will shed two lines of tears," the administrator muttered. He was about to call the nearby traffic police and have them deal with it when the speed shown on the violation report caught the corner of his eye. His pupils shrank, and he blurted out, "Holy shit, isn't that flying way too low?!"

"Beep, beep, beep..." Just as the administrator stood there dumbfounded, the internal phone across from him rang.

He answered it instinctively, and a voice sounded in his ear. "We are members of the All-Management Division Six. We are informing you that you are to set aside all matters currently in hand and ignore any anomalies. Specialists will arrive later to handle the aftermath..."

Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting mottled shadows below. Birdsong occasionally rang out, making it clearly a secluded, tranquil place rarely visited by people.

Xia He sat cross-legged on a moss-covered rock, silently keeping time in her heart. Then a divine flash too fast for the naked eye to catch streaked past.

Lin Xian stood before Xia He, looking over the graceful woman standing alone. He asked calmly, "Where is Baron?"

"Baron is already here." Xia He smiled faintly and pointed toward the dense forest. "He is playing a little game with you."

"A game? No need."

Lin Xian shifted his gaze. He could not see a single figure, but he already understood. This was one of Six Vaults Immortal Thief's abilities. By stealing the vitality of heaven and earth for oneself, one's aura became close to heaven and earth, reaching a kind of unity between man and nature, as though invisible.

"Senior, do you need my help?" Xia He asked with a radiant smile, her eyes gleaming.

"Skip..." Lin Xian said.

"Skip?" Xia He froze. What did that mean?

"I don't need the explanation."

Gathering his blood and qi and weaving Divine Runes, Lin Xian casually formed a hand seal and shouted, "Wretch, reveal yourself!"

In an instant, the immense momentum of Life Spring Peak erupted, like a mountain crashing down from above. With a thunderous boom, divine light spanning dozens of meters blanketed the forest. A massive handprint slammed down, and towering ancient trees toppled like building blocks. It destroyed everything in its path like slicing tofu, blasting a huge crater into the ground!

"Xia He." Countless pieces of wood lay scattered within the crater. A blood-soaked foreigner sprawled on the ground, barely alive, yet he still could not help cursing, "You bastard, you set me up..."

Xia He stood there blankly and swallowed unconsciously. Was that even human?

So the attack that day had not been a finishing move. It had only been a basic attack.

"Stop playing dead. A successor of Sage Thief will not die that easily." Lin Xian grabbed Baron, casually tossed him onto the grass, and quietly watched as his breathing changed from ragged to steady.

The mangled flesh began repairing itself bit by bit. The bleeding stopped at a visible rate, and in the end, he looked as though nothing had happened.

However, when Baron got back up, the grass beneath his feet had already withered yellow. Some of it had even turned to dust and scattered in the wind, leaving behind a large patch of bare ground.

"So this is one of the Eight Extraordinary Skills..." Xia He murmured, deeply shaken.

"Can we talk properly now?" Lin Xian chuckled as he looked at Baron.

Before absolute strength, all words seemed incomparably pale.

Baron fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Like everyone else, you want the Eight Extraordinary Skills. But you do not know how terrifying Six Vaults Immortal Thief is."

"Terrifying? Isn't it merely that your nature cultivation is insufficient while your life cultivation is excessive? A weak soul cannot control a powerful body, so the body's desires swell. Then, because you pursue those desires too excessively, your heart becomes incomparably empty, until eventually you become so bored that you want to eat people."

"When desires are fulfilled, there is emptiness. When desires are not fulfilled, there is suffering."

"All living beings are like this, suffering bitterly without release. Though they possess immortal bodies, they have no immortal hearts."

As if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, Lin Xian laughed loudly. Then he said meaningfully, "If you cannot even pass this trial, what right do you have to speak of becoming immortal?"

When it came to eating people, who could compare to the Dark Supremes of Shrouding the Heavens? They treated the universe as a garden of leeks, consuming galaxy after galaxy.

The dragon slayers of old became evil dragons. The ancient emperors who had protected all living beings in their first Lifetime became the greatest hidden hands in all ages after cutting themselves down with a single slash.

What that slash severed was not merely the ancient emperor's realm and Heavenly Heart. It also slashed at the Great Emperor's Dao Heart.

Compared to that, Baron's psychological problems were nothing more than a drizzle. They would be far too easy to solve.

Baron's pupils contracted. Remembering Xia He's message and the reason he had come here, his voice trembled. "You... no, sir. You have a solution."

"Baron, I will only tell you one sentence." Lin Xian stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "When the mind ape returns to righteousness, the six thieves vanish without trace."