A Brilliant Plan

Zhou Wuji did not rush to leave Old Dragon Island; he first perused the Ten Directions God-Severing Book.

After all, he had practiced the "Profound Yin Reincarnation Scripture" and had some understanding of the Heavenly Ghost Sect's lineage.

I also consulted Daoist Yiping and learned some secrets about the Heavenly Ghost Sect.

The Ten Directions God-Severing Book is a secret Law Treasure of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, containing the Heavenly Ghost Sect's fundamental Secret Method.

There are also two Divine Artifact: the Greater Yin Profound Emperor Flag and the Six Paths Heavenly Ghost Token.

It is said that these Divine Artifact have long been lost, and the Heavenly Ghost Sect only has the Ten Directions God-Severing Book left in the sect.

Given Xue Ying's cultivation level and status, she should theoretically have no right to obtain the Ten Directions God-Severing Book.

Perhaps Xue Ying was lucky; she somehow obtained this page of the Ten Directions God-Severing Book.

This small page of the book contains hundreds of thousands of characters written in the Snake and Insect Seal Script.

Zhou Wuji was also quite proficient in the Snake and Insect Seal Script, and could easily read the entire text.

It records some Secret Method, such as Grand Yin True Qi, the Ten Directions God-Severing Seal, the Seven Yin Soul-Seizing Sword, the Mystic Yin Ghost Claw, the Soul-Burning Lamp, and so on.

The most powerful of them is undoubtedly the Ten Directions God-Severing Seal, which is used with the Divine Seal Book. It can be said that if it is used, it will hit the target, and if it hits, it will kill.

He was able to withstand the Ten Directions God-Severing Seal because of several powerful Origin Mystic Essence, which was equivalent to forcibly extending his life.

There is also a Ten Directions Ghost Eye, which can see in all directions, making it quite extraordinary.

Xue Ying was able to track down the White Rainbow Sword because of the Ten Directions Ghost Eye.

These Secret Method are all quite powerful, but they are vastly different from his own methods. He can barely control the Profound Yin True Qi, let alone these high-level Secret Method.

Although the Ten Directions God-Severing Book is excellent, it is not needed for the time being.

Zhou Wuji read the Secret Method several times to make sure he had memorized it completely before putting away the Ten Directions God-Severing Book.

It was Heavenly Capital daylight, but Zhou Wuji was still quite excited.

The main reason was that his martial arts skills had advanced to the Sixth Rank, and his body had been greatly enhanced, making him full of energy.

Upon opening the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, his physical stats increased by 120, bringing the total to 620.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit are the three treasures of a cultivator, and also the most important foundation.

Among them, essence is undoubtedly the most important foundation. Qi and spirit both rely on essence to carry them. Qi is governed by spirit, and spirit is strengthened by Qi.

The stronger the essence, the stronger the qi and spirit.

An increase of 120 may not seem like much, but in reality, it represents a quarter-fold improvement in all aspects, a significant boost.

Zhou Wuji had fought with Zhang Banshan. In his opinion, Zhang Banshan's physical level was only around 500, and he wasn't much stronger than Zhang Xinhu in terms of pure physique.

It can only be said that Zhang Xinhu is exceptionally talented, but his temperament is lacking. There is no way to subdue him, which is why he is stuck at the Seventh Rank and unable to advance.

The deceased Xue Ying had a destiny value of five taels and seven mace, which was the highest destiny he had ever obtained, making it extremely valuable.

Such a destiny should naturally be used wisely and should never be wasted.

Zhou Wuji decided to stay one more day before returning to the Lower Court. Before leaving, he would try using the Big Dipper as Eyes last time; if he couldn't find it, he would give up.

But he was lucky; he found Chen Dalu's hiding place that afternoon.

The aura of the Yin Dragon lingered there, shrouded in the pervasive Qi of Earth Sha, yet it could not escape the Big Dipper as Eyes.

This is actually a small crack in the rock wall, no more than half a foot wide. It is so narrow and small, and covered by many vines, that it cannot be seen even when it is right up close.

Zhou Wuji confirmed that there was no danger inside before shrinking his body and entering.

Buried inside was a rough pottery jar covered with runes. Next to it were two mats and some gourd cups and bowls.

Having been unattended for a long time, the mat had long been corroded into pieces by the Qi of Earth Sha, and the cups and bowls were covered in dust.

Fortunately, the area has a peculiar Yin Qi and no snakes or insects.

In one corner was a wooden box. Zhou Wuji opened it and his face lit up with joy. Inside were many gold ingots.

I checked, and there were over three hundred gold ingots, which is more than three thousand taels of gold. There were also some loose silver pieces.

There were no jewels present, which clearly showed that Chen Dalu was a very simple and honest man who only believed in gold and disdained jewels.

With this money, even if only a thousand taels were given to Zhiyuan, the rest would be enough for him to live on for a long time...

Putting away the gold, Zhou Wuji destroyed the coarse pottery jar and used the Tianji Profound Yang Sword to destroy the insignificant remnant soul of the Yin Dragon.

This Yin Dragon remnant soul was too weak, only converting into four ounces and one qian of Origin Profound Qi, which increased the True Qi by more than ten points.

After carefully inspecting the cave, Zhou Wuji, fearing he might have overlooked something, even used the Big Dipper as Eyes to confirm there were no problems before leaving the cave.

There were no fishing boats around Old Dragon Island, Zhou Wuji simply cut down a section of cedar wood and used the trunk to cross the river.

He was going downstream; all he had to do was wave his sleeves and adjust his direction from time to time...

That evening, Zhou Wuji had already returned to the stone house in the Lower Court.

Yang Tie Ying and Shangxing were both quite happy to see Zhou Wuji return.

Zhou Wuji didn't stand on ceremony and instructed two of his servants to fetch and boil water, then he took a bath in a large wooden tub.

The Qi of Earth Sha Old Dragon Island was intense; although he could withstand it, after six or seven days, his whole body felt parched.

After changing into clean clothes, he lay down on a chair, feeling the eerie, cool breeze rising from the Ten Thousand Ghosts Grotto, and felt completely relaxed and comfortable.

Daoist Yiping lay down on a chair nearby and asked with a smile, "You seem to be in a good mood, is there something good?"

"Great news! I've gotten a windfall out of nowhere!" Zhou Wuji grinned. He kept other things a secret, but he wasn't afraid to tell his martial uncle about Chen Dalu's windfall.

When he heard that Zhou Wuji had found Chen Dalu's hidden valuables, Daoist Yiping was also very happy.

For those who cultivate the Tao, money is not the most important thing, but it is absolutely impossible to do without it.

Zhou Wuji casually remarked that he encountered Devil Cultivator from the Heavenly Ghost Sect, which he easily dealt with.

Daoist Yiping assumed he was just an ordinary Devil Cultivator and didn't pay much attention to him.

Taking this opportunity, Zhou Wuji asked, "Uncle-Master, there are countless Secret Method in this world. Isn't there a method that can encompass and master all techniques?"

"That's beyond our knowledge."

Daoist Yiping shook his head. "If such a powerful Secret Method truly existed, it would be kept tightly under wraps, passed down only to the closest of relatives. Why would it be publicized everywhere?"

"Mastering all methods sounds impressive, but it's not much different from specializing in one method."

"The current leader cultivates only the Primordial Unity Qi, claiming to be the strongest in the world, capable of Qi Swallows the Nine Provinces in the land. What an imposing and awe-inspiring presence!"

Zhou Wuji's face showed envy. "Qi Swallows the Nine Provinces, that's a really imposing nickname, it sounds so domineering!"

He then asked with some curiosity, "Is the sect leader the strongest person in the world?"

"Of the vast Nine Provinces, our human race occupies only one or two-tenths. The remaining seven or eight-tenths are inhabited by powerful demons, celestial ghosts, and other demonic Devil Creature, as well as Yin Wuji, the leader of the Ten Myriad Devils Sect, who is probably no less powerful than the sect leader..."

"That doesn't make sense. If the leader of the Demonic Sect were truly that powerful, how could he allow our Buddhist and Daoist sects to be so arrogant?" Zhou Wuji found this very illogical.

"You know nothing! Yin Wuji is just the title of the leader of the Demonic Sect, not his real name. As for what Yin Wuji looks like, outsiders have no idea."

"The methods of the Demonic Sect are intolerable to Heaven; the higher one's cultivation, the more restrictions one faces. If Yin Wuji dares to act recklessly, he will face divine punishment before anyone even lifts a finger..."

Zhou Wuji had only been cultivating for a short time, spending most of his time cultivating or causing trouble. Although he had read some books, he was unaware of these secrets.

Only now did I realize that the Demonic Sect had such restrictions; indeed, it was very reasonable to call it the Demonic Sect.

"I wonder what divine punishment looks like?" Zhou Wuji wondered with longing what level of cultivation one would need to reach to trigger divine punishment.

"Hmph, it's actually very simple!"

Daoist Yiping, however, was dismissive of this, saying, "To put it bluntly, it's nothing more than the interplay of energies and the attraction of yin and yang."

"No matter what method the members of the Demonic Sect use, they are bound to be filthy and evil. Thunder is extremely yang, and strong Yin Qi will attract thunder."

Even under a clear blue sky, enough Yin Qi can trigger thunder.

"I see."

Zhou Wuji suddenly realized, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

If a deity controls heavenly punishment, and he uses the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment all day long but does not abide by the precepts, heavenly punishment will fall on his head sooner or later.

Since divine punishment is a natural occurrence, then it's nothing to worry about.

"Uncle-Master, I have something of great importance to report, but I don't know who to report it to."

Zhou Wuji couldn't find anyone else to discuss it with, so he could only talk to his Uncle Yiping.

Even if Uncle Yiping is lying down, he has been in the Lower Court for so long and knows a bit about the situation. He should be able to give him some advice.

"Are you trying to curry favor with the Yuheng Lineage?"

Daoist Yiping already knew his junior disciple quite well, and upon seeing Zhou Wuji's appearance, he could roughly guess his thoughts.

"Yes," Zhou Wuji said truthfully, "I want to learn the Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword."

Daoist Yiping thought for a moment and said, "There are actually two Upper Court. Our Chunan is the Jingyang Upper Court, Chubei is the Yuyang Upper Court."

"The abbot of Jingyang Upper Court, True Person Zhiyun, is a master of our Heavenly Pivot Lineage. It is said that True Person Zhiyun is easy-going and broad-minded, and under his leadership, the relationships among the seven lineages of the Upper Court are quite good."

"However, you can't really overstep the True Person Zhiyun. Even if the True Person doesn't mind, the other cultivators in Tianshu will have opinions about you."

"You should go directly to Abbot Zhihe and tell him what happened. He's from the Yuheng Lineage, so he'll definitely inform the experts there first. That way, even if things get out later, everyone will blame Zhihe, not you..."

"This plan is brilliant."

Zhou Wuji nodded repeatedly. He had originally intended to bypass Zhihe and write directly to True Person Zhihua.

Now that I think about it, that was definitely not right. Going through Zhihe was the only way to comply with the rules, and it would also allow me to shirk responsibility if something happened in the future, without giving anyone cause for criticism.

"Old ginger is spicier, and my uncle's wisdom is extraordinary. I admire you!" Zhou Wuji praised repeatedly.

Daoist Yiping stroked his beard and smiled, accepting the entire compliment without any hesitation.

The next day, Zhou Wuji went to the Heart-Questioning Hall an audience with Zhihe.

The abbot of the Lower Court of Zhihe Hall, while not exactly a busy man, was in charge of all the cultivators in the Northern Pole region of Yunyang Prefecture, and his various affairs were quite demanding, making him someone he couldn't simply meet whenever he wanted.

Zhihe, Abbot Zhihe valued Zhou Wuji highly, and Zhou Wuji only had to wait for about half an hour before seeing Zhihe again.

The enormous Heart-Questioning Mirror is shrouded in mist Zhihe darkness, reflecting only Zhihe's hazy silhouette.

Zhihe wore a bronze star crown and a blue Daoist robe. A long sword with its sheath was placed on a shelf to the side. He looked very peaceful and serene.

Zhou Wuji bowed in greeting, Zhihe waved his hand, saying, "Just say what you need to say."

Zhou Wuji said solemnly, "This disciple has something extremely important that I wish to report to True Person Zhihua in person."

"Oh..."

Zhihe gave Zhou Wuji a deep look. Zhou Wuji lowered his head, stood with his hands clasped, and looked respectful and obedient.

Zhihe knew that Zhou Wuji was quite shrewd, so if he dared to say such a thing, it must be something big.

Zhou Wuji didn't tell him, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

But this kid isn't a disciple of Yuheng, and he needs Zhou Wuji, so he can't just force him to answer.

"You should go back and wait."

Zhihe flicked his sleeve, signaling Zhou Wuji to get lost.

Zhou Wuji bowed respectfully before retreating to the entrance of the main hall. From inside came Zhihe's voice. "The debate will begin in six days. Don't wander off; be prepared..."

In the empty hall, Zhihe pondered for Zhihe suddenly smiled. This kid was trying to curry favor with True Person Zhihua because he wanted to learn the Northern Dipper Seven Star Sword. He didn't even care about offending him for this reason!

Having figured this out, Zhihe stopped being angry. Indeed, he couldn't give Zhou Wuji what he wanted...