Chapter 263: "Consider it Borrowed."

Chapter 263: "Consider it Borrowed."

The scene unfolded abruptly, without any signs or hints. The once lifeless former disciples of the Mock Heaven Sect suddenly came to life, all kneeling in unison and loudly greeting the Sect Leader.

This scene,

In the silent and soundless underground palace, was quite chilling.

Standing next to Chen Qiu was Bear Gao, who felt his soul had nearly been scared away. He wanted to speak up, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn't utter a word.

Instead,

Chen Qiu, sitting in the chair, calmly observed the scene before him. There wasn't much surprise in his eyes, but he lightly tapped his index finger on the armrest.

The next moment—

"Disciples pay respects to the Sect Matriarch!"

A chorus of loud voices echoed once again in the underground palace.

Matriarch?

Bear Gao, who was still in a state of fear, gradually showed a hint of confusion in his eyes. There was no Sect Matriarch here, let alone a female, not even a single female creature. He was a male bear, so how could they mistake him for a female bear?

But just then,

The former disciples of the Mock Heaven Sect, who had stood up, knelt down again in unison and shouted,

"Long live the Mock Heaven Sect for ten thousand years!"

"One day, we will restore our former glory!"

At this moment, Bear Gao also realized that something was amiss. He hadn't fully recovered from his state of fear, and he trembled as he asked, "Old... Old Master, what's going on here?"

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu nodded slightly, and after a moment, he spoke softly, "Scared? They're not resurrected, just some minor tricks."

Under the armrest of the chair, he felt four buttons.

Obviously, these buttons were connected to some mechanisms, but he didn't know what they were. However, no man could resist the temptation of pressing an unknown button.

A married man might be able to resist the temptation of a beautiful woman.

But most likely, he couldn't resist the allure of an unknown button.

In any case, he couldn't resist.

So he pressed it, and immediately felt a faint stream of spiritual energy flowing through the button, directly into the depths of the granite plaza. It was then that he noticed the dense web-like network of spiritual energy pipes beneath the plaza.

This faint spiritual energy flowed through these pipes to the feet of each corpse, controlling them to kneel in perfect unison and activating the sound-amplifying stones they carried on their chests.

And so,

The stunning effect was achieved.

These voices had been recorded tens of thousands of years ago.

". . ."

Chen Qiu's eyes narrowed slightly, and without giving Bear Gao a detailed explanation of what had just happened, he pondered in silence. From this, he could roughly deduce the character of the first Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect.

First of all, his abilities, means, and charisma must have been exceptional, which was why so many people followed him and were willing to die with him.

The greatest recognition among men is the willingness to die together.

Secondly, this person must have enjoyed the feeling of power and status. Even though he had led his disciples to their deaths, he still orchestrated this event before their demise. Chen Qiu had strong reasons to suspect that the former Sect Leader might not have died at all.

He was sitting right there in that chair.

Constantly pressing the buttons, he savored the power that was about to dissipate through the kneeling of the Mock Heaven Sect disciples.

Such a person,

Had become a puppet of power. When one indulges too much in the sweetness of power, they become a living corpse, enslaved by it, like being addicted to a forbidden drug. They can never let go, even if it means the destruction of the world or the ruin of their family. They would rather take their power to the grave than give it up.

A person addicted to a forbidden drug might be able to quit.

But someone enslaved by power can never let go of their power, even until death, they would take it with them to their coffin.

Once you've experienced the feeling of being surrounded and served by others, you never want to go back.

He was currently in a similar situation.

All his happiness and joy were built upon his strength. If one day his strength suddenly plummeted to the Qi Condensation Stage, everything he had would instantly turn to ashes.

Would the Heavenly Axe Sect Leader still answer his calls?

Most likely, he would kill him to erase the memory of his past servitude.

Would Fat Dragon still follow him?

Perhaps he wouldn't harm him, but he would probably leave.

What about the Scholar and Ghost Qu? Not harming him would be the greatest kindness. Perhaps they would loot the Mock Heaven Sect's treasury before leaving or force him to hand over the opportunities he hadn't used over the years.

He has never hesitated to view others with the utmost malice, and this was one of the main reasons he lived well in every life.

This doesn't mean you should treat everyone with malice, but rather, no matter who betrays you, they won't cause you much harm because you've already prepared a solution in your mind, making it easy to resolve the issue.

From this perspective,

He and the first Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect were somewhat similar. They were both enslaved by something, and at their level, they had to keep moving forward, unable to stop. If they stopped, it would be like waiting for death.

However,

Chen Qiu didn't think much of it. He looked up at the massive crack in the granite plaza on the ceiling, above the chair. There was another button on the other armrest, but when he pressed it, nothing happened.

He pressed it a few more times, but still, nothing occurred.

He could vaguely sense a strand of spiritual energy entering the embedded spiritual energy pipes in the wall, shooting upwards towards the crack in the ceiling of the upper plaza. But along the way, this strand of spiritual energy disappeared without a trace.

". . ."

Chen Qiu's lips twitched slightly, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

In plain terms,

This button was meant to open the crack in the granite plaza from the inside, but due to an accident or some other reason, it was now dysfunctional. This meant that deep within the underground palace, the crack in the granite plaza couldn't be opened.

The material surrounding this underground palace was extremely sturdy, with a defensive strength that reached the top-grade Primordial Soul level. This might sound ordinary, but in the First Rank Continent, finding such a high-grade defensive material is already an exaggeration, a highly exaggerated matter.

In other words—

The first Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect, for reasons unknown, whether it was due to a fake death or resurrection, eventually rose from his chair. If his cultivation were to be completely lost upon resurrection, he would be an ordinary mortal at this moment, lacking even the most basic Spirit Qi and Attributes. At this time, he would discover that the exit of the underground palace couldn't be opened.

Then, the only thing to welcome him would be death, quietly awaiting his end in the silent and pitch-black underground palace.

The grand plan had already been accomplished, and the resurrection was successful. He had even prepared resources in advance for his resurrected self, but the problem arose when the Spirit Qi pipeline that controlled the exit was cut off. As an ordinary mortal, not only could he not solve this problem, but he also lacked the ability to even detect it.

The despair of waiting for death in such a situation was tormenting.

This speculation was likely the closest to the reality.

In the secret room on the upper level, the Granite Plaza, although there were many high-grade items, there were also numerous low-grade ones, including preparations from the Qi Condensation Stage to Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul stages.

Moreover, all the items were not placed in a Storage Bracelet but in the secret room.

There were likely two reasons for this. The first reason was to prepare for his resurrected self. After resurrection, as an ordinary mortal, he wouldn't be able to activate a Storage Bracelet.

The second reason was that Storage Bracelets were not meant for permanent use and had the risk of breaking down. Lower-grade ones might last a few hundred years, while higher-grade ones could last for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. Knowing that they would have to wait a long time before resurrection, it was more appropriate to store the items in the secret room.

"Let's go."

Chen Qiu stood up from the chair, preparing to search within the underground palace to see if he could find any traces left by the first Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect.

Now, it was almost certain that this Sect Leader, when faced with a great calamity, had led nearly ten thousand inner disciples to their deaths by swallowing poison. He had also prepared resources, anticipating his future resurrection.

Judging from the prepared resources, this Sect Leader hadn't deceived his disciples and genuinely intended to resurrect everyone. Otherwise, he wouldn't have prepared so many things that he wouldn't need himself.

From the gazes of the corpses, it could also be inferred that this former Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect had sat on this chair, accompanying everyone in their deaths.

Amidst countless possibilities, his thoughts gradually became clearer in his mind, and he vaguely felt that he had arrived at the most likely conclusion.

After that, many years had passed.

The plan succeeded.

The Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect was the first to awaken or resurrect, but when he tried to open the underground palace, he found that the button had been damaged, trapping him inside. As an ordinary mortal, he couldn't leave such a place.

Chen Qiu quickly searched the underground palace, feeling a bit disappointed. He didn't find any ashes or clothing, as too much time had passed, and everything had turned to dust, which was occasionally carried away by the Dustless Formation's gentle breeze.

He also didn't find any traces on the walls or the underground palace itself. Logically, if someone were in a state of despair and unwillingness, facing imminent death, they would most likely search for tools or use their teeth or nails to leave some information.

Unfortunately, the walls and floor of this underground palace were made of top-grade Primordial Soul-level materials, which an ordinary mortal couldn't leave any marks on.

Thus, the once-glorious former Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect met his end in this pitch-black and hopeless underground palace.

This was the conclusion Chen Qiu had reached.

The scene before him further confirmed his speculation.

". "

Chen Qiu narrowed his eyes slightly, standing in front of a shelf filled with exquisite ceramics. These ceramics were once carefully protected, but now they lay shattered on the ground.

Before their deaths, no one would have come to topple this shelf.

Therefore, many things made sense. The former Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect, after his resurrection, was first overjoyed and celebrated his successful plan. Then, when he tried to open the exit of the underground palace, he found himself unable to leave. In his despair, he vented his emotions by causing extensive damage.

The entire logic chain was now complete.

It was perfect.

Chen Qiu scanned his surroundings once more, and after not finding anything unusual, he returned to the upper level with Bear Gao. He pressed the "." character again, and the seams of the Granite Plaza slowly closed.

Without hesitation, he opened all the secret rooms, storing everything in his Heavenly Dao Ring. Fortunately, his Storage Bracelet was a Divine Dao Treasure with ample capacity; otherwise, it might not have been enough.

All the treasures were stored in the secret rooms, not a single one in the Storage Bracelet. This saved him a lot of trouble. If only every sect could do the same, the shopkeeper could retire and wouldn't have to break the Storage Bracelet's restrictions.

This incident taught him a lesson once again! When eating noodles, don't leave the meat for last.

You never know if you or someone else will get to eat that piece of meat.

No matter how good a fortune is, only by seizing it at the first opportunity and putting it in your own mouth does it become your fortune; otherwise, it might become someone else's.

For example, when Chen Qiu had stored all the wealth in his Storage Bracelet, he took a deep breath, clasped his hands together, and murmured with a dazed and devout expression, "Amitabha Buddha, good people truly have good rewards."

Among this wealth, there were a full 1.1 million Spirit Stones, which greatly relieved his urgent need.

It would be enough for him to use for a very long time.

Allowing him to maximize the attribute "Fortune Awaits," his cultivation progress under this attribute was only at 50%. This meant that if he had enough Spirit Stones during this period, his cultivation speed would be incredibly fast.

"Master, do you believe in the Buddha?"

"Occasionally."

"When?"

"When I'm in a good mood."

Chen Qiu smiled lightly and shook his head, then led Bear Gao back along the corridor. The exploration had yielded an extraordinary harvest. Who would have thought that beneath the small world, such a treasure was hidden, and if he had obtained these Spirit Stones earlier, he wouldn't have been so overjoyed.

It was precisely when he was most lacking in Spirit Stones that he acquired this batch.

This gave him a feeling that his luck had turned, and the heavens and earth seemed to be working in his favor.

This feeling was excellent, and it put him in a great mood.

When he was in a good mood, not only would he believe in the Buddha, but even if a thief suddenly appeared and spoke rudely to him, he wouldn't get angry. He might even laugh and ask which family the thief belonged to.

When people are in a good mood, they tend to appear more kind.

Soon—

Chen Qiu led Bear Gao to the corridor exit. Suddenly, Chen Qiu's spirit energy surged, enveloping countless dirt and temporarily blocking the corridor. Then, he extended his divine sense to locate the little wolf hiding in the distance, shaking his head without saying more.

He carefully examined the little wolf with his divine sense and found that there was not even a hint of the wolf's body exploding. Instead, it seemed a bit peculiar.

Fortunately, the little wolf had only swallowed some pills that were specifically for enhancing the cultivation of demonic beasts.

It was fortunate that when the little wolf was in the Great Xia Kingdom, it had only seen him press the 'Sin' character. This time, he had also pressed a single character and hadn't tried any other characters. Otherwise, the wolf would have swallowed all the treasures in the other secret rooms.

If that had happened, the entire Mock Heaven Sect would have had a full wolf banquet today.

What use was there in keeping such a cursed pet?

Now it seemed that the secret room beneath the Endless Ice Plains in the Great Xia Kingdom was probably a... test product? Its quality was obviously lower than the one beneath the small world. That one was just a practice room, while this one was a truly crafted secret room.

"Master," Bear Gao hesitated, "Do you think it's possible that the Sect Matriarch cut off the button?"

"Hmm?"

Chen Qiu narrowed his eyes slightly, and when he heard this possibility, a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes. It was indeed possible, and the likelihood was quite high. He hadn't thought of it before.

From the disciples' chants, he learned that there was a Sect Matriarch.

However, inside the secret room, they couldn't find the Sect Matriarch at all. So, it was highly likely that something went wrong in this step.

Bear Gao continued with his uncertain speculation, "Based on the information you provided, Master, is it possible that the Sect Matriarch didn't go to her death at first but was just sleeping nearby? Then, if something happened to the spirit energy pipeline, she could fix it immediately."

"After the Sect Matriarch slept for a while and felt bored, she left on her own. When the former Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect woke up, he discovered that his wife was gone, and the button was broken. He could only wait in despair for his death."

Generally speaking, the process of controlling something with spirit energy doesn't usually require a spirit energy pipeline. The risk of an accident is quite high, especially over a long period, where anything could happen. There's no need for such complications; all one needs to do is transform their spirit energy into threads and shoot them out.

It's simple and fast.

However, for a mortal body that can't release spirit energy, they can only rely on the existence of a spirit energy pipeline.

In that case, it's indeed necessary to leave someone asleep to maintain the spirit energy pipeline and prevent such accidents.

Before Chen Qiu could respond, Bear Gao continued to share his thoughts.

"Since the former Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect trusted his wife so much and entrusted her with the crucial task of maintaining the pipeline, it shows that their relationship was undoubtedly excellent. So, what was the reason for the Sect Matriarch's destruction of the button?"

"I speculate that there was a particularly important matter, or she simply felt so bored that she had to leave, but she was also worried that her husband would resent her if he woke up and found her gone. The first Sect Leader of the Mock Heaven Sect was undoubtedly not as good as you, Master, but he was still a formidable hero."

"So, fearing future retaliation, she left and cut off the spirit energy pipeline."

"She completely cut off the path of departure. To repair the spirit energy pipeline, one would have to break through the wall made of Primordial Soul-grade material, which is almost impossible for an ordinary person."

"Master, do you think this is possible?"

"Yes."

Chen Qiu nodded, and a glimmer of possibility flashed in his eyes as he narrowed them without speaking.

It had to be acknowledged that Bear Gao's speculation made him feel he was getting closer to the truth. And who could guarantee that their lifespan would last for tens of thousands of years? Even cultivators at the Body Fusion Stage only had a lifespan of ten thousand years.

It was simple.

The Dragon Clan, with their long lifespans and high cultivation, could live long enough to maintain the spirit energy pipeline while sleeping. Additionally, the Dragon Clan had a good relationship with the Mock Heaven Sect and the Profound Heaven Continent, so it wasn't strange for the Sect Matriarch of the Mock Heaven Sect to be a Dragon Clan woman, whether for political marriage considerations or simply growing affection over time.

With this explanation, the logic was almost entirely consistent.

The only inconsistency was that the treasures stored by the Mock Heaven Sect were far beyond what a First Rank Continent could produce. A continent had its limits, and these limits meant that even a business genius couldn't acquire 1.1 million Spirit Stones on a First Rank Continent.

He still had another suspicion.

That was that the Mock Heaven Sect might have been on other high-grade continents before arriving at the Profound Heaven Continent. Perhaps they encountered some disaster and fled, and these Spirit Stones were the remnants of their past.

Until the tiger fell into the open and was bullied by dogs, the top forces of the Profound Heaven Continent joined forces to drive them into a small world.

However, there was still one question that couldn't be explained.

For so long, only the Profound Heaven Continent had experienced the arrival of transmigrators. After the Mock Heaven Sect was forced into the small world, only the Great Xia Kingdom had transmigrators, and he had never seen or heard of any transmigrators in the Vast Continent.

It seemed that only near the Mock Heaven Sect would transmigrators appear.

He himself had come in this manner, and it had been so long that he had forgotten his identity before crossing over. Oh, he remembered now—a freelancer, that was good.

He had once discussed this with Fat Dragon.

He asked Fat Dragon if his appearance after crossing over was the same as before. Fat Dragon replied that his physique and appearance were exactly the same, even down to the arrangement of his pubic hair, which some men would grow.

Fat Dragon had a hobby of gently stroking his pubic hair before bed, giving him a sense of pleasure similar to petting a cat, and so he was very familiar with his own. This was a strong piece of evidence.

Chen Qiu's situation was the same; his body and appearance were identical before and after crossing over.

It seemed like a body-swapping scenario.

But before he crossed over, this body had already lived in this world for over twenty years, which gave him a strange and eerie feeling, as if he was deceiving someone, or rather, deceiving the Heavenly Dao.

Before he crossed over, there was a method called 'identity forgery'.

It was expensive but very effective.

Basically, one would choose someone with a similar physique and appearance and have them live a normal life in another city, doing everyday things like buying groceries, walking the dog, receiving deliveries, and shopping.

Then, when you committed a crime and fled, you could immediately go to that city and assume that person's identity. The people around would testify that you had been living there for a long time—the vegetable seller, the dog walker, the innkeeper, and so on.

This was called 'identity replacement'.

It was a smooth process, seamlessly integrating into an unfamiliar city without arousing any suspicion.

His own crossing over gave him a similar feeling.

First, they would create a body identical to his and have it live a normal life in the Great Xia Kingdom. Then, when he crossed over, he wouldn't encounter any hidden dangers because, in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, he wasn't a transmigrator but a native of that land.

Wait a minute...

A look of horror flashed across Chen Qiu's eyes as he suddenly thought of an incredibly unbelievable possibility, one that finally made him understand the Mock Heaven Sect's plan all along!

The Mock Heaven Sect had been saying one thing:

"If heaven wants us destroyed, it is not because of our battles."

Why would the Heavenly Dao target the Mock Heaven Sect? The Heavenly Dao is ruthless and wouldn't target them just because of their actions. There was only one possibility: all members of the Mock Heaven Sect were transmigrators, considered foreign demons in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, and thus, they were marked for elimination.

This was most likely because the way the Mock Heaven Sect's members had crossed over in the past was through body-swapping, appearing out of thin air in this world. Perhaps not many people noticed this, but in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, it was as obvious as a drop of ink in a cup of clear water.

This was why the Heavenly Dao targeted them, prompting the sect's lament of "If heaven wants us destroyed..."

Originally, they might have already been a powerful force on a high-grade continent, but under the Heavenly Dao's scrutiny, they gradually fell to a first-rank continent and were forced into the Great Xia Kingdom.

The Mock Heaven Sect's solution was...

"Identity Forgery."

Just like in their previous lives, they would first create an identical body in this world and have it live there for decades. In the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, this person would be normal, born from their mother's womb and following the natural process. Then, they would let the transmigrator enter this body, avoiding the Heavenly Dao's targeting and fully integrating into this world.

This was most likely what the Mock Heaven Sect had been doing all along.

And the Mock Heaven Sect had indeed succeeded.

At some point, all the transmigrators Chen Qiu knew of had appeared directly in a physical body. Even if that body was originally a demonic beast, after taking human form, they looked exactly like their original selves.

This was the Mock Heaven Sect's plan, and verifying this guess was extremely simple. They just needed to find out how the Mock Heaven Sect members had crossed over in the past. If they had body-swapped, it would prove his guess to be true!

If that was the case...

A look of horror flashed across Chen Qiu's eyes, and he unconsciously sucked in a breath of cold air. Perhaps the corpses beneath the granite plaza weren't waiting for resurrection, but for a new account!

They wanted to log in with new accounts!

This account had been targeted by the Heavenly Dao, and after discovering that they could fool the Heavenly Dao by logging in with forged identities, they all died together, perhaps not so smoothly? Or maybe after resurrecting, they could directly remove the Heavenly Dao's targeting?

"Hoo..."

Chen Qiu exhaled, pushing all these speculations out of his mind. He had already organized his thoughts, and although he hadn't received confirmation, he felt his guess was most likely correct.

This first batch of transmigrators had caused a huge mess for those who came after them.

But they had also paved the way.

Although they might not have great fortunes, they wouldn't be targeted by the Heavenly Dao.

Thank you, seniors.

For a moment, he felt a twinge of guilt about taking the spirit stones stored by his predecessors.

"Consider it a loan," Chen Qiu said sincerely, looking at the tunnel entrance blocked by mud. "If you come looking for me later, I'll return them. I'm a bit tight on funds right now, so if you don't say anything, I'll take it as your agreement."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end