“This is truly a rare find!”

Sun Lingtong, to ensure his thievery was never in vain, had diligently studied countless books and secretly controlled the black market, learning from practice. His knowledge was vast, encompassing even materials from the underworld, which he was largely familiar with.

However, the precious materials here were entirely outside his knowledge, utterly unfamiliar to him.

Zeng Jide, noticing Sun Lingtong’s curiosity and desire, walked slowly with his hands behind his back to these shelves. “This collection is the essence of Wangchuan Xiancheng.”

“The Wangchuan River is the most famous long river in the underworld. When souls fall into the river, they gradually shed their memories and emotions. As these are discarded, the souls become lighter and lighter, as if freed from a heavy burden, until they float to the surface and eventually reach the shore.”

“The souls that come ashore remember nothing, like newborn infants, innocent and curious about everything.”

“Therefore, some also call the Wangchuan River the River of Atonement, or the River of Rebirth.”

After this introduction, Zeng Jide brought the conversation back. “These precious materials all originate from the Wangchuan River; they are local specialties here and rarely seen elsewhere.”

“So, it’s normal that you don’t recognize them.”

“For example, this one is called Aisichanxinou.”

Sun Lingtong looked, seeing a pile of lotus root sections, each about half a *chi* long, withered and gray as if dead. The surface of the lotus root was wrapped with numerous translucent, grayish-white threads.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed these threads wriggling on their own, intertwining, emitting a sorrowful aura that made one’s chest heavy and brought tears to their eyes.

Zeng Jide pointed to another spot and said, “This is Chennuhouliuli. Similar to Aisichanxinou, it forms at the bottom of the Wangchuan River, accumulating and condensing from countless angry and resentful thoughts.”

Sun Lingtong walked a few steps, saw the precious material Zeng Jide pointed to, and immediately felt his eyes sting.

It was a fist-sized, irregularly shaped crystal. It was entirely blood-red, with raging flames seemingly burning and leaping inside, constantly emitting faint crackling sounds, while also radiating a violent, destructive surge of anger.

Next, Zeng Jide introduced Jupohanjin, Yuanduzhanghua, and Zhinian Tie.

Jupohanjin was an ice-blue prismatic crystal, emitting a chilling cold that caused panic and fear.

Yuanduzhanghua had petals as black as ink, layered one upon another, but its pistil was an eerie purple-red.

Zhinian Tie had an unremarkable appearance, just heavy, ink-black lumps of iron. If placed before Sun Lingtong, they would simply be mistaken for ordinary iron. However, these iron lumps were incredibly heavy and were core precious materials for forging top-tier defensive magical artifacts.

Zeng Jide stopped before a shelf, a glint in his eyes.

He said with surprise, “Oh? There’s even Chizileijin here.”

This was gold in liquid form, contained in a bowl. It was pure and untainted, radiating an extreme warmth, attachment, and hope, like the rising sun of a new day.

“These are the purest and most flawless tears shed by the most innocent souls.”

“Normally, such souls are rare. But the Wangchuan River can thoroughly cleanse souls, making them like new, which greatly increases this probability.”

Sun Lingtong’s horizons were broadened.

Zeng Jide finally stopped at the innermost shelf, his gaze fixed, and said, “Found it.”

“This is my target for this journey of theft—the Wangchuan Woyan.”

“Woyan?” Sun Lingtong knew what that was.

Any flowing object, if it forms a vortex over time, can potentially develop an eye-like object at its center. This is a Woyan.

Zeng Jide said, “It’s the Woyan you know, but these few are different; they are Woyan formed in the Wangchuan River.”

“You must understand, the Wangchuan River embodies the Dao of Forgetting, capable of stripping away emotions and memories. Every drop of Wangchuan River water has this effect and can be considered a precious material. This is no small matter.”

“The previous rows of shelves merely held objects formed from accumulated emotions. But this Wangchuan Woyan is nurtured and formed by the Wangchuan River itself. These are two different levels.”

“The Wangchuan River is a great river of precious materials. Precious materials nurtured within precious materials, their principles are numerous and dense, harmoniously integrated, often making them natural magical artifacts!”

Sun Lingtong’s eyes lit up.

He had long heard of natural magical artifacts, but only in legends or written accounts. Now, he was finally seeing a physical example.

Zeng Jide stood before the Wangchuan Woyan and performed a series of hand seals.

Each time his fingertip landed, a minute ripple spread across the intervening light membrane.

Mysterious talismans appeared one by one, then silently faded, as if the lock core had been “picked” by the most precise tool.

Ten breaths later, an opening appeared in the light membrane, its边缘 talismans twisting and constantly flickering, without triggering any alarms.

Zeng Jide reached in and easily retrieved several Wangchuan Woyan, bringing them out.

Zeng Jide carefully examined these Woyan and found that only one, of the best quality, had become a natural magical artifact.

The others were still some distance from being considered magical artifacts.

Zeng Jide looked at the Woyan on his fingertips. “Thus, the purpose of my trip has been achieved.”

Sun Lingtong said, “Ah? Senior traveled all this way to Wangchuan Xiancheng, braving such dangers, just to steal this?”

Zeng Jide nodded, then shook his head. “Whenever I commit a theft, I send a formal invitation, openly stating that I will soon visit a certain place to steal a certain item.”

“This time is no exception.”

“In my invitation to the Wangchuan Fujun, I specifically named the Wangchuan Woyan as my target for theft.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Lingtong’s pupils dilated in surprise. “Your esteemed elder’s thieving style… is truly unique!”

Zeng Jide chuckled. “I feel you’re looking at me as if I’m an idiot.”

Sun Lingtong put his hands behind his head. “Hehe, I could never do such a foolish thing. Why bother with such thankless effort? Since it’s stealing, I’d be careful, trying to be as discreet as possible.”

Zeng Jide, hearing his actions described as foolish, found Sun Lingtong even more to his liking. “You impudent brat, you’re quite outspoken.”

“Heh, I’m not afraid to tell you, I’ve done such foolish things many times.”

“Every success significantly boosts my thieving techniques! If the benefits weren’t enough, do you think I’d act so brazenly?”

Sun Lingtong’s eyes widened again. This was the first time he had heard of such a cultivation method, and he immediately said in disbelief, “Thieving techniques are a type of magical art. Besides increasing one’s realm and diligent practice, are there other shortcuts to cultivation?”

“Yes, little ghost,” Zeng Jide said. “I’ve read Buddhist scriptures and also cultivated Buddhist techniques, allowing me to make vows, fulfill vows, and repay vows.”

“Every time I send an invitation, I am making a vow.”

“Successful theft is fulfilling the vow.”

“Finally, in repaying the vow, any technique I used during the theft will rapidly improve!”

“This cultivation efficiency far surpasses my arduous practice.”

Sun Lingtong was immediately enlightened. “Buddhist cultivation has such a method?”

Zeng Jide stroked his beard and smiled, instructing him, “The hundreds of arts, thousands of schools, and myriad methods of cultivation are essentially all ways of cultivation. If it’s useful to you, then use it.”

“You needn’t care if it’s Buddhist or Demonic.”

“A cultivator should embrace all rivers, be flexible and adaptable, turning everything to their own use, and never be rigid.”

Sun Lingtong nodded repeatedly, taking his words to heart.

Zeng Jide took all the Woyan, having achieved his goal for the trip, but did not leave immediately.

“Since we’re already here, Senior, why not take a bit more?” Sun Lingtong suggested.

Zeng Jide nodded, saying earnestly, “Exactly, these are all destined for me. In our Buddhist cultivation, we speak of vows and also of destiny.”

Zeng Jide acted continuously, sweeping away all the precious materials from the shelves.

“Oh? There’s also a secret room here!” Zeng Jide made an unexpected discovery.

He used several thieving techniques in succession before finally opening the door to the secret room.

The secret room was not large, containing only three kinds of precious materials: Wuwangzhenlu, Qiqingjinyu, and Kongshimoyue.

There was only one drop of Wuwangzhenlu.

It floated in the center of a jade bottle. The dewdrop was clear and transparent, seemingly nonexistent yet truly present.

It emitted an aura of ultimate purity, transcending all “nothingness,” as if it could cleanse all delusions and dust.

Zeng Jide’s gaze was complex as he introduced, “In extremely rare circumstances, the Wangchuan River forms a Wuwang Daocheng. Wuwangzhenlu is the only treasure left behind when a Wuwang Daocheng naturally dissipates.”

“It can purify inner demons, break illusions, and stabilize the Dao heart. It is a sacred object for cultivating top-tier righteous Dao techniques and overcoming heart demon tribulations. A single drop is enough to incite mad competition among grand cultivators of both righteous and demonic paths!”

There were seven pieces of Qiqingjinyu, each of a different color, shaped like glazed jade. They were naturally stacked together, forming a small colorful mountain.

“Qiqingjinyu!” Zeng Jide took a deep breath. “Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, desire—seven primal emotions accumulated to the extreme, then condensed into jade under certain special conditions! Each piece contains the primal power of an extreme emotion! It is the supreme sacred object for cultivating the Seven Emotions Demonic Art, and also the core material for top-tier illusion arrays, emotional attack, or defensive magical artifacts. Collecting all seven pieces is said to activate the primal source of the seven emotions, with endlessly wondrous and powerful uses!”

“This is an object of profound emotion and nature that the Wangchuan River has ‘washed’ and ‘precipitated’ from countless fallen souls over untold ages.”

Sun Lingtong immediately understood.

Many of the previous precious materials were also products of emotional accumulation, such as Aisichanxinou, Chennuhouliuli, Jupohanjin, Yuanduzhanghua, Zhinian Tie, and so on.

Qiqingjinyu should be the pinnacle of these precious materials!

Kongshimoyue resembled a crescent moon sealed within ten-thousand-year-old profound ice.

The crescent moon was an ethereal blue translucent, emitting a strange波动 that seemed to trace the past and reflect previous lives.

“The Buddha says, ‘The four great elements are all empty.’”

“This is the origin of ‘emptiness’ condensed from the Wangchuan River, containing the true meaning of ‘empty stillness.’ It is a supreme treasure for cultivating top-tier emotion-forgetting Dao techniques like ‘Taishang Wangqing’ and ‘Jimie Xinfa,’ and also a miraculous auxiliary object for crafting spatial magical artifacts or comprehending spatial laws. However, direct contact carries the great danger of losing oneself and dissolving into nothingness.”

“Legend has it that Yun Xiao used this object to burn himself out and create the Konghui Cha.”

“It is said that the Kongshimoyue he used at the time was as large as a small mountain, incredibly astonishing. It was probably the largest and most accumulated precious material of its kind in the Wangchuan River!”

Sun Lingtong’s heart stirred. “That’s too much of a coincidence, isn’t it? Just when Yun Xiao wanted to save his Dao companion, he encountered the Kongshimoyue, which allowed him to fulfill those conditions.”

Zeng Jide nodded slightly. “So, there’s another layer to Yun Xiao’s story.”

“It is said that the Cangtian of the underworld was unwilling to see the Wangchuan River become a forbidden zone and wanted to create a method to cross the river for the beings of the underworld.”

“Therefore, under the evolution of Qi Shu, it arranged for cultivators Yun Xiao and Yue Yi. Ultimately, Yun Xiao sacrificed himself, leading to many Wangqing Du and Konghui Cha.”

“This is the theory of Qi Shu.”

Sun Lingtong remained silent, but in his heart, he thought: his own arrival at Wangchuan Xiancheng, encountering Zeng Jide, and receiving his help, was probably also due to the evolution of Qi Shu.

He asked Zeng Jide, “Elder Zeng, I am extremely interested in Qi Shu!”

“Could you, would you teach me?”

“I have a great idea: I want to cultivate the art of Qi Shu, and then integrate it to create a new thieving technique.”

“With a new thieving technique, I could directly steal Qi Shu. By then, I might find treasures just by walking a few steps, my enemies would turn on each other, and I would have completely smooth sailing with wealth and prosperity! Life would be incredibly delightful.”

“Hahaha.” Zeng Jide was amused and laughed three times.

He extended a finger and pointed it distantly at Sun Lingtong’s forehead. “You dream too beautifully, young man.”

“I don’t possess any methods related to divination or Qi Shu.”

“Not even the dignified Wangchuan Fujun, the lord of a country, has it. If he wants to divine, he still has to seek help from Old Man Huigu.”

“There’s a secret in this!”

Sun Lingtong pressed, “What secret?”

Zeng Jide said, “To obtain the methods of Qi Shu and divination, force won’t work; it relies on following heaven’s will and destiny!”

“Only if Heaven wants you to have it, will such arrangements be made.”

“Otherwise, the stronger the existence (people and forces), the less likely they are to obtain this method.”

“This is because learning this method can easily lead to the tail wagging the dog, becoming a ‘stubborn disease’ in the world, difficult to eliminate, and threatening the natural cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death.”

Sun Lingtong frowned. “If that’s the case, looking at it from another angle, it means the stronger a person is, the less likely they are to obtain methods of Qi Shu and divination?”

Zeng Jide nodded. “Yes.”

“The ‘strong’ here also refers to those with great potential like you. Although currently weak, if you continue to grow, you will certainly become strong.”

“Therefore, it’s almost impossible for you to seek out methods of Qi Shu and divination.”

At this point, Zeng Jide sighed. “Alas, I’ve already tried. If I had divination methods, combined with my vow-making technique, I could divine the chances of success and hidden risks before delivering each invitation.”

“Then my cultivation speed would undergo a complete qualitative change, and becoming a renowned Thieving Sage would be just around the corner.”

“So, cultivators who obtain methods of Qi Shu and divination often have weak Qi Shu, or frequent calamities, and often suffer from the ‘three lacks and five defects.’”

“As far as I know, divination cultivators also highly value their own Qi Shu, always maintaining it between an upper and lower limit, with much particularity.”