Stealing The Heavens

A huge hole that was thousands of miles in diameter suddenly burst open on the immense wall of chaotic energy, from which came shooting out a flash of lighting. Mustering all his divine power, Wu Qi pierced through the void, speeding straight in the direction of Pangu Continent. With his cultivation base of an eighth-tier Primordial expert and the attainment of Dao Breaking, it took him only twenty days to arrive in Pangu Continent. Although at the end of his journey, he could taste blood in his mouth.

He landed on the top of a mountain outside of An He City. There, he flicked his sleeve and threw everyone out, then pressed a palm against Yuan Qing’s forehead, whose eyes were still red. A vast stream of Buddhist energy poured into the ape’s body, forcing out the last bit of fiend energy from his brain. Wu Qi stared at the anxious crowd and said with a wry smile, “Don’t worry, I’ve got rid of that fiend for now. Well, some scapegoats have held it back. As for how long can they last, I do not know. In any case, I don’t think that fiend will come here.”

Today’s Pangu Continent was the focus of conflict between Heaven, Buddhist League, and Great Yu. If a shapeless fiend in the chaos intruded this place and caused some trouble, it would most probably be immediately attacked by the joint forces of Heaven and Buddhist League. Therefore, he did not worry that it would bring him additional trouble.

He heaved a long sigh and went through his harvest. There was no doubt that Yuan Ling Dark Realm would bring him and those around him a huge benefit. After passing the Scripture of Alchemy and the Book of Artifact to his disciples, the medicinal pills and artifacts produced by Underhand Sect and Dong Hai Province would be unequaled in the universe. The six Chaotic Spirit Artifacts would not bring any fundamental change to Dong Hai’s overall strength, for their quantity was too less. As for those medicinal pills, Wu Qi was confident that he would not die after consuming them, but he would not give them to the others, including Princess Zhang Le.

After considering for a while, Wu Qi asked Qing Xia, Bai Wu, Qing Yi, and Qing Shen, the four old immortals, to bring the crowd back to Dong Hai, while he flew toward An He City with Xiang Yu and Huhai. As they drifted across the sky on a cloud, he said to both men helplessly, “I was going to elevate your cultivation bases, but that fiend messed it up. Well, I do have a place for you to cultivate now. Would you like to spend some time there?”

Xiang Yu and Huhai exchanged a glance, then nodded at the same time. Without saying another word, Wu Qi opened his mouth and swallowed both men, throwing them into Yuan Ling Dark Realm. Inside, the Dark Yin Celestial Tower was already hovering midair. Mustering all of his divine power, Wu Qi accelerated the flow of time by 2,000 times, the maximum limit he could now bear. After that, he sent several Blood-draining Fiends to them, who would teach them the Blood Sea Grand Magic and Inferno Hell Fiend Scripture.

If Xiang Yu cultivated the Chiyou Fiend Technique and Blood Sea Grand Magic concurrently, it was possible that he could obtain the true body of Blood Sea Fiend God, which was indestructible. As for Huhai, he was cultivating the ‘Little Star Forbidden Magic’ to begin with, which was a kind of fiend technique. By cultivating it together with the Inferno Hell Fiend Scripture, he would certainly have great achievements in the future. Now, Wu Qi had immortals, demon immortals, Long Bo men, and heavenly ghosts under him, and what he lacked were fiends and monks.

“I need to think of a way to add a Buddhist branch in the Underhand Sect. But, which of those disciples are willing to be monks? Should I find someone whose whole families are slaughtered and have lost all hope to live, then make them my disciples?” With a weird smile on his face, Wu Qi arrived in An He City.

Inside the city, the emperors and courtiers of six states were drinking and merrymaking together. For some reason they did not know of, Wu Qi was away with a group of people for almost a year. The treaty of alliance between the six states and Dong Hai had been officially drawn out, but no one except Wu Qi had the right to officially sign it.

Over the last few months, Great Yu had stepped up its crackdown on the local powers of immortals and itinerant cultivators. Groups of revered elders from the Secret Palace had begun to roam about Pangu Continent, and Ji Ao had led the You Xiong Army and wiped out hundreds of immortal strongholds who had survived the rebellion of Myriad Immortal Alliance.

In this kind of environment, in addition to Great Yan, the other five states also dared not to act arbitrarily. So, the emperors and courtiers of the six states simply gathered in An He City, drinking and merrymaking all day long, while pulling back their forces and ordered everyone to put on the face of good civilians. By doing so, they avoided several inspections by Great Yan’s army and officials.

In the months that Wu Qi was away, the old enemies and rivals of the six states had been getting along surprisingly well with each other. They were all talented, ambitious heroes to begin with, so they were highly complementary in characters and means. After Wu Qi returned strong and nipped the possible conflicts between them, the emperors and courtiers, who knew they would be allies of each other in the future, had reconciled with one another.

When Wu Qi walked into the City Lord Mansion in An He City, he saw the pair of mortal enemies, Bai Qi and Lian Po, drinking with their arms around each other’s shoulder. Su Qin and Zhang Yi sat together in a corner, making some obscene remarks about a dancer’s long legs; Guigu’zi and Xun Kuang, each with a wine jug in hands, were talking and laughing; meanwhile, Ying Zheng and Gao Jianli were singing together. He was stunned by the bizarre scene.

Seeing the heroes of the six states getting along so well, Wu Qi could not help but judge them silently, ‘If you could behave like this in those years, you would have long conquered the whole earth!’ But then, he thought better of it. ‘Well, fortunately you were not like this. Otherwise, you would have been completely wiped out by those from the Buddhist League who supervise the earth.’

Standing at the entrance to the great hall, he roared with laughter and said, “Your Majesties, everyone, I’m back! Well, we will need to find an auspicious day to sign the treaty. And then, we will also need to find another auspicious day to help you get rid of the Black Celestial Forbidden Curse!”

There was a sudden silence in the great hall as everyone looked over at the same time. Lu Chengfeng was the first to stand up. He handed Wu Qi a booklet made of golden plates, which contained the detailed clauses of the treaty he had drawn up on behalf of Dong Hai Province after negotiating with the six states. In this treaty of alliance, Dong Hai Province had the absolute leadership, while the six states retained a small part of their independence. Other powers, including military, administration, finance, and civil affairs, were vested in the new Dong Hai Alliance led by Wu Qi.

The emperors of the six states would become the elders of Dong Hai Alliance, and together with the elders selected by the alliance, they were charged with the responsibility of overseeing the alliance’s affairs. The civil and military officials of the six states would double as the new alliance’s subjects, contributing their knowledge and military forces to the development of the alliance.

Seeing Lu Chengfeng hand Wu Qi the golden booklet, the emperors and courtiers of the six states, including Yan Dan, rose to their feet and bowed deeply at Wu Qi as hey cried out in unison, “Greetings, Lord of Dong Hai Alliance!”

Wu Qi passed the golden booklet back to Lu Chengfeng and returned the salute earnestly. “Your Majesties, everyone, don’t stand on ceremony. We are men of the same blood, from the same place. We will have to support each other in times of future chaos.”

All the heroes in the hall shouted in agreement. When they saw Wu Qi still being so humble and polite even with his formidable cultivation base, they felt a load taken off their minds. Although the six states had to join this alliance under the force of circumstances, no one wanted a tyrannical and arrogant leader sitting over their shoulders. Without a doubt, everyone was pleased with Wu Qi’s courtesy.

Wu Qi glanced at the crowd, nodding and smiling kindly. His face broke into a wide grin when he saw those from Great Qin whom he had conflicts with before; especially Xu Fu, whom he had once knocked out with a stick of drunken dragon incense. He felt a little sorry for what he did to them in Meng Mountains, and he thought of compensating them for what he did.

He was a man of his word. With a flip of his palm, he produced a jade slip. “Mister Xu Fu, this is the Book of Ancient God, an art of Primordial Runes I’ve found by accident,” Wu Qi said with a smile, “I know you are an expert in the art of Primordial Runes, so I think no one is better than you to have this.”

Xu Fu was struck dumb, then he rolled up his sleeve and jumped to his feet as he pointed at Wu Qi and said, “So it was you who abducted me from the camp in the mountain?”

The hall burst into laughter. Amidst the clamor, Xu Fu sulkily took the jade slip. He trembled when he sent his divine sense into it, and he could no longer struggle out of the immense, profound, and mysterious Primordial Runes. Compared with the Book of Ancient God, the legacy of Primordial Runes he inherited was like a firefly in front of the sun. It was simply nowhere near as good.

Everyone in the hall could see the change in Xu Fu’s expression. They realized that Wu Qi had given him an extraordinary cultivation technique, and their eyes filled up with anticipation immediately. After considering for a moment, Wu Qi took out dozens of jade slips and branded the various cultivation techniques he had learned into them, all of which pointed straight to the realm of Gold Immortals. Then, he gave them to the emperors and courtiers of the six states.

Whether it was the Innate Pure Yang Universal Scripture, Inferno Hell Fiend Scripture, Song of Gale, Dark Yin Water Scripture, or any other cultivation technique, they were incomparably wonderful techniques Wu Qi had found. With them, together with his grooming, the prospects of the emperors and courtiers of the six states were virtually unlimited.

The emperors and courtiers of the six states were discerning men. The cultivation techniques they were cultivating could only bring them to the realm of Heaven Immortals, unlike those given by Wu Qi, which pointed straight to the peak-realm of Gold Immortals. They knew what was better and what was not, and they felt that they owed him great favors for his generosity.

For the moment, everyone, including even the most arrogant few, bowed deeply to Wu Qi. Their good opinion of him had deepened once more.

Wu Qi quickly returned the salute while Lu Chengfeng ordered the maids and servants to bring up fresh wine and dishes. Afterward, everyone returned to their seats and the feast was alive once more. The great hall was filled with the festive sound of glasses clinking and people laughing. One after another, the emperors and courtiers of the six states rose to their feet and proposed toasts to Wu Qi, who rejected none of them, drinking and merrymaking with the crowd.

Just as everyone was enjoying a good time in An He City, somewhere in the remotest part of Pangu Continent, a small fair hand suddenly tore open the void, and then a mass of rays flew out of it with a few figures. Kṣitigarbha, whose fire of retribution was completely gone and had recovered his Bodhisattva’s avatar that was glinting goldenly, stood expressionlessly behind the ray and said, “This is Pangu Continent, the homeland to those who escaped. If I may ask, Senior, can we leave now?”

“Leave?” The voice in the ray suddenly let out a sinister laugh. “How is that possible? I need a group of men to run my errands, and who can be better than you? Why do you want to leave? Is this how you bald donkeys repay me, after I’ve helped you get rid of your evil karma?”

With a cold snort, the voice said, “Serve me thirty-six eons and I’ll set you free. If you refuse, I’ll break your bald heads now. Not convinced? Come and beat me then! According to the rule in the Chaotic World, those with bigger fists are the bosses. Do you want to beat me now? If you defeat me, I don’t mind being your lackey!”

Kṣitigarbha opened his mouth in shock and could not recover for a long time. All the Bodhisattvas behind him trembled with rage. But, when they thought of the ray’s terrible overall strength, they bowed their heads in dismay.

Staring at the boundless Pangu Continent, the voice suddenly exclaimed, “What a nice place! It is mine now!”