This is truly rare!

Sun Lingtong, in his quest to leave no theft empty-handed, had read countless books and secretly controlled the black market, continuously learning and practicing. His knowledge was vast, encompassing even materials from the Underworld.

But the precious materials here were entirely outside his scope of knowledge; he simply didn’t recognize them.

Zeng Jide noticed Sun Lingtong’s confusion and eagerness. With his hands behind his back, he slowly paced to the shelves. “This collection can be considered 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 memories and emotions are discarded, the souls become lighter and lighter, until they float to the surface and eventually reach the shore.”

“Souls that reach the shore remember nothing, like newborn infants, innocent and curious about everything.”

“Therefore, some also refer to the Wangchuan River as the River of Absolution 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 unique products found almost nowhere else.”

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

“For example, this one is called Aisichanxinou.”

Sun Lingtong looked over and saw a pile of lotus root sections, each about half a chi long, completely withered and gray, as if dead. Numerous translucent, grayish-white threads were wrapped around the surface of the lotus roots.

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

Zeng Jide pointed to another spot and said, “This is Chennuhuoliuli. Similar to Aisichanxinou, it forms at the bottom of the Wangchuan River, accumulated and condensed from countless angry and wrathful thoughts.”

Sun Lingtong walked a few steps and looked at the precious material Zeng Jide indicated, feeling a sudden sting in his eyes.

It was a fist-sized, irregularly shaped crystal. Its entire body was blood-red, with what seemed like raging flames burning and leaping inside, constantly emitting faint crackling sounds, while also radiating a violent, destructive anger.

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

Jupohanjin was an ice-blue prismatic crystal, emitting a coldness that instilled panic and fear.

Yuanduzhanghua had petals as black as ink, layered upon layer, but its pistil was an eerie purplish-red.

Zhinian Tie looked ordinary, just heavy, pitch-black iron blocks. If placed before Sun Lingtong, they would simply be mistaken for common iron. In reality, these blocks were extremely heavy and were core precious materials for forging top-tier defensive magical artifacts.

Zeng Jide stopped before a shelf, a flicker of light in his eyes.

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

This was gold in liquid form, held in a bowl. It was pure and untainted, exuding an aura of extreme warmth, attachment, and hope, like the nascent morning sun.

“This is the purest and most flawless soul’s tears, utterly genuine.”

“Under normal circumstances, such souls are rare. But the Wangchuan River, which can completely cleanse souls as if reborn, greatly increases this probability.”

Sun Lingtong’s eyes were opened.

Zeng Jide finally stopped at the deepest shelf, his gaze fixed, and he spoke, “Found it.”

“This is my target for this heist—Wangchuanwoyan.”

“Woyan?” Sun Lingtong knew this term.

Any flowing substance, if it forms a vortex for a long time, might develop an eyeball-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 shedding emotions and memories. Every drop of Wangchuan River water has this effect and can be considered a precious material, which is no small matter.”

“The previous shelves merely held objects accumulated from countless emotions. This Wangchuanwoyan, however, is nurtured and transformed by the Wangchuan River itself. These are two different levels.”

“The Wangchuan River is a great river of precious materials. Precious materials nurtured within other precious materials often embody many intricate and harmonious principles, making them natural magical artifacts!”

Sun Lingtong’s eyes lit up.

He had long heard of natural magical artifacts, but only in books or as legends from others. Now, he was finally seeing a physical example.

Zeng Jide stood before the Wangchuanwoyan, performing a series of hand seals.

Each time his fingertip landed, a minute ripple spread across the intervening light barrier, so subtle it was almost imperceptible.

One abstruse talisman after another appeared, then silently faded, as if the lock core had been “picked” by the most precise tool.

Ten breaths later, a gap opened in the light barrier, its edge talismans twisting and constantly flickering, without triggering any alarm.

Zeng Jide reached in and effortlessly retrieved several Wangchuanwoyan, bringing them out.

Zeng Jide carefully examined these Woyan, finding that only one, the highest quality, had become a natural magical artifact.

The remaining ones were still some distance from reaching the level of a magical artifact.

Zeng Jide looked at the Woyan on his fingertips. “Thus, my objective for this trip has been achieved.”

Sun Lingtong asked, “Ah? Senior, you traveled thousands of li to Wangchuan Xiancheng, risking such danger, just to steal this?”

Zeng Jide nodded, then shook his head. “Whenever I commit a theft, I always openly send an invitation, stating that I will be coming to a certain place to steal a certain item.”

“This time is no exception.”

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

Upon hearing this, Sun Lingtong’s pupils widened in astonishment. “Your old man’s thieving style… is truly unique!”

Zeng Jide chuckled. “I feel like 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 something so thankless? If I’m stealing, I’d be careful, trying to be as discreet as possible.”

Hearing his actions described as foolish, Zeng Jide actually found Sun Lingtong more to his liking. “Brat, you’re quite impertinent.”

“Hehe, I don’t mind telling you, I’ve done such foolish things many times.”

“Each time I succeed, my thieving skills increase by a significant margin! If the gain weren’t enough, do you think I’d do something so ostentatious?”

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

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

“Each 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 trick?”

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

“What does it matter if it’s Buddhist or Demonic?”

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

Sun Lingtong nodded repeatedly, taking these words to heart.

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

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

Zeng Jide nodded, gravely saying, “Indeed, these are all fated to be with me. In our Buddhist cultivation, we speak of vows, and also of fate.”

Zeng Jide moved swiftly, sweeping away all the precious materials from the shelves.

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

He continuously performed several thieving arts before finally opening the door to the secret room.

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

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 there.

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

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

“It can purify inner demons, dispel illusions, and solidify the Dao heart. It is a sacred object for cultivating top-tier righteous Dao techniques and overcoming the heart demon tribulation. A single drop is enough to cause mad contention among great cultivators of both righteous and evil paths!”

There were seven pieces of Qiqingjinyu, each of a different color and resembling glazed jade. They were naturally stacked together, forming a small rainbow mountain.

“Qiqingjinyu!” Zeng Jide took a deep breath. “Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, desire—seven primordial emotions accumulated to the extreme, condensed into jade under certain special conditions! Each piece contains the primordial power of an extreme emotion! It is the supreme sacred object for cultivating the Qiqing Magic Arts, and also a core material for top-tier illusion formations, emotional attack, or defense artifacts. Collecting all seven pieces is rumored to be able to invoke the primordial source of the seven emotions, with infinite power and wondrous uses!”

“This is an object of ultimate emotion and nature, ‘washed’ and ‘precipitated’ from countless fallen souls by the Wangchuan River over unknown eons.”

Sun Lingtong immediately understood.

Many of the previous precious materials were also products of emotional accumulation. For example, Aisichanxinou, Chennuhuoliuli, Jupohanjin, Yuanduzhanghua, Zhinian Tie, and so on.

Qiqingjinyu should be the pinnacle of these precious materials!

Kongshiyuepo looked like a crescent moon sealed within ten-thousand-year-old profound ice.

The crescent moon was a strange translucent blue, emitting peculiar fluctuations that traced back to the past and reflected previous lives.

“Buddhists say, the four elements are all empty.”

“This is the primordial ‘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 ‘Jiemie Xinfa,’ and also a wondrous auxiliary item for forging space-type magical artifacts or comprehending spatial laws. However, direct contact carries the immense danger of losing oneself and dissolving into nothingness.”

“According to legends, Yun Xiao used this object to burn himself out and create the Konghuicha.”

“It is said that the Kongshiyuepo he used at that 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 coincidental, then. Precisely when Yun Xiao wanted to save his Dao companion, he encountered the Kongshiyuepo, which happened to allow him to fulfill those conditions.”

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

“It’s said that the Underworld Heavens, unwilling to see the Wangchuan River become a forbidden zone, wanted to create a method to cross the river for the beings of the Underworld.”

“Therefore, under the evolution of fate, they arranged for the two cultivators, Yun Xiao and Yue Yi. Ultimately, Yun Xiao sacrificed himself, leading to many Wangqingdu and Konghuicha.”

“This is the theory of Qishu.”

Sun Lingtong remained silent, but in his heart, he thought: my encounter with Zeng Jide in Wangchuan Xiancheng, and receiving his help, was probably also due to the evolution of Qishu.

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

“Can you, will you, teach me?”

“I have a good idea: I want to cultivate Qishu techniques concurrently, then integrate and create a new thieving art.”

“With a new thieving art, I could directly steal Qishu. By then, I might find treasures just by walking a few steps, my enemies would kill each other, and I would have completely smooth sailing with wealth! Life couldn’t be more enjoyable.”

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

He extended a finger and lightly tapped Sun Lingtong’s forehead from a distance. “You dream too beautifully, young man.”

“I don’t have any methods related to divination or Qishu.”

“Not even the esteemed Wangchuan Fujun, the ruler of a nation, possesses it. If he wants to divine, he still has to seek help from Grey Bone Elder.”

“There’s a secret hidden within this!”

Sun Lingtong pressed, “What secret?”

Zeng Jide said, “To obtain Qishu and divination methods, force is useless; it relies on obeying heaven’s will and fate!”

“Heaven only makes such arrangements if it wants you to have it.”

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

“This is because learning this method can easily become an uncontrollable problem, a ‘stubborn ailment’ 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 Qishu and divination methods?”

Zeng Jide nodded. “Yes.”

“The strong here also refers to those with great potential like you. Although currently weak, as long as you grow, you will certainly become strong.”

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

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

“Then my cultivation speed would undergo a complete qualitative change, and becoming a renowned Thieving Sage would be within reach.”

“Therefore, cultivators who obtain Qishu and divination methods often have weak Qishu, or frequently encounter disasters and tribulations, often suffering from the ‘three deficiencies and five ailments’.”

“As far as I know, divining cultivators also highly value their own Qishu, maintaining it within an upper and lower limit, with much particularity.”