Chapter 56 Tang Ze Uses The Grimoire: Part Two
Tang Ze was standing at the edge of a river in a forest somewhere. Out of the forest, an elephant emerged and began to wade through the forest.
As Tang Ze watched this, a crocodile suddenly leapt out of the water and grabbed onto the elephant's left hind leg with its jaw.
Immediately, the elephant let out a cry of pain as an immense struggle between the crocodile and the elephant began, though no matter how much the elephant applied itself, it could not free itself from the crocodile's jaws.
Tang Ze's attention was then drawn to a single lotus flower floating alongside the river, which seemed to float along without an issue despite the disturbance created by the elephant and crocodile.
The elephant grabbed this lotus, and held it high in the air as a light began shining out of the clouds.
The crocodile released its grip, and the elephant walked out of the water, finally free.
The scene shifted again.
'This is- am I back on Earth?' Tang Ze thought as he realized that he was standing in his old bedroom.
Once again, he was watching a version of himself from the third person point of view, though this Tang Ze was quite younger than he currently was.
Tang Ze thought he had seen this scenario before - no doubt, it was based off of something in his memories, but why? And to what end?
His younger self reached over the side of the bed, but reached too far, and ended up stuck in the space between there and the bed.
Ah - yes, Tang Ze realized he remembered this. He had gotten stuck in that gap unwittingly, and had to call for his family to help him out, who had all gotten a good laugh at his predicament, though his father had been able to pull him out rather easily.
His younger self began to call out for help, and no doubt, any time now, his parents and younger brother would come running.
Only time passed… and no one came.
Tang Ze frowned. He didn't know how time worked in this strange dream realm when compared with reality, but he was sure that more than ten minutes had passed.
No matter how much he tried, he couldn't get his younger self to acknowledge his own presence, nor could he rescue himself by his own hand.
He was reduced to a simple spectator at this point and nothing else.
And, as he was wondering just what was going on, he heard someone coming up the stairs.
Just as he was about to let out a sigh of relief, he saw that it wasn't his parents coming up.
It was a giant spider, about the size of a dog, crawling up onto the roof, and towards his younger self.
And then this scene, too, vanished.
He now found himself looking at the ground. Wherever he was, it was back on Earth, though he was a lot shorter than he currently was.
Tang Ze examined his hands - it looked like he was a toddler right now.
Out of nowhere, hands grabbed onto him, though he didn't resist as his father lifted him and placed him in a swing set.
His father began to push him, and a while later, his mother came into view, with a bulge in her belly that signified to him that she was still carrying his younger brother inside of her.
That meant that he was probably about three at this time.
His father stopped pushing Tang Ze as his mother's face came into view, who gently stroked his hair.
His parents started talking, and his father held his hand as they walked back home.
It was rather odd to see how big everything felt when his body was this tiny, and once they were home, Tang Ze's parents looked down at him as he was placed on a sofa and about to doze off for an afternoon nap.
"Remember - we will always love you."
The scene shifted yet again.
Tang Ze found himself in a classroom, and much like before, it was as if no one could hear or see him.
He didn't remember this classroom, though it was clearly from back on Earth. It was also either an elementary school class or a kindergarten based on the ages of the students, and as he scanned them, he found a familiar face, and took a step back.
It wasn't his younger self - it was his younger brother!
"Alright class," the teacher said, drawing everyone's attention to the front of the classroom. Tang Ze vaguely recognized her as one of the newer teachers - at least for the time that is. Both he and his younger brother had gone to the same school, but he wasn't being taught by the same teachers Tang Ze had been. This was someone new, but someone whom Tang Ze did recognize by face if not by name.
If he recalled correctly, that meant that he would be in the sixth or seventh grade at this time.
"We are going to spend this period drawing - and the topic is - anything! Whatever you want to draw, go ahead!"
The kids all pulled their crayons out, and naturally, Tang Ze walked over to where his younger brother was.
It was odd - he was pretty sure that he had never been in this classroom, meaning that the Grimoire of Heaven could indeed manifest knowledge that he himself didn't know about. Perhaps it was true then - there was nothing that escaped the eyes of Heaven, even when it came to other worlds apparently. Either that, or it was generating this room based on what it thought that Tang Ze would think that this classroom would look like.
Fifteen minutes in, the teacher walked by his younger brother and asked, "Tang Jun, what did you make?"
"It's me and my big brother," Tang Jun said, holding up his drawing. It was a simple crayon drawing that you would often see kids make, and showed two people holding hands. "My big brother is the coolest!"
"I'm glad to hear that," the teacher said with a warm smile.
The words tugged on Tang Ze's heartstrings. It was probably one of the few times that anyone would've called him 'cool.'
There was a reason that his parents put most of their aspirations on Tang Jun and not on Tang Ze, at least, once they found that Tang Ze wasn't ever going to accomplish something big in his life. The care and affection he'd felt back when he was a toddler had withered away as the years crept on by and he found himself unable to keep up with his parent's expectations.
His brother had always been the better student and worker, though for whatever reason, Tang Ze recalled, always seemed to look up to him.
Which made it all the worse that Tang Ze had been able to do nothing to save him…
'My big brother is the coolest!' - those words brought tears to his eyes.
His younger brother had always looked up to Tang Ze, and what had he, Tang Ze, given Tang Jun in return? When it had mattered most, he had found himself unable to act.
He had found himself wishing a million times over that he could go back in time, push his brother away, and take that knife blow himself instead.
His heart seemed to nearly erupt in pain as the scene dissolved.
"No!" Tang Ze cried out. Even if it was just a dream, and even if it wasn't real - he wanted to be able to see his brother again, he wanted to indulge himself even if it was only for a moment longer.
But the grimoire had other plans and did not care for his protests.
Tang Ze now found himself standing outside a run-down apartment building back on Earth.
He didn't recognize this place either, though he found himself walking up the steps and through the wall of one of the apartments into someone's place as his legs were working on their own.
Odd, he didn't recognize anything even when he was inside the place - it was completely foreign to him.
There were two people fighting inside of it, one was a man yelling at a cowering woman, the man was clearly drunk. Tang Ze didn't recognize either of them, though as he turned his head, he saw a young child cowering in the corner.
Nope - the kid didn't look familiar either, but Tang Ze found that he couldn't look away from the boy now, as if his head was locked into place.
The boy grew older, going from being about ten to being a teenager, and all of a sudden, in the span of a few breath's time, was an adult.
And it was then that Tang Ze recognized him.
How could he not?
The man whose face he oftentimes saw in his dreams.
A man whose face invoked the deepest of hatred within himself.
The man then lurched forward, and just like he had back on Earth, charged with a knife, but this time he wasn't targeting Tang Jun and came directly for Tang Ze.
Pain began to blossom across his stomach before disappearing as suddenly as it had come, as he now found himself in a dark hallway with a mirror in front of him.
Only, his reflection was different from his actual self. The mirror image of Tang Ze looked like it had had the life drained out of itself, and all of a sudden, Tang Ze's eyes moved to see that there was something gripping onto his mirror image, like an unwanted piggyback rider.
It was a malformed creature that had a face that vaguely resembled Tang Ze's, though it was as if someone had taken his face onto a plastic mold and then melted it slightly near a fireplace. The creature had a spider-like body attached to its head, and was gripped to his mirror image tightly, fangs near the neck of the reflected Tang Ze.
And right then, Tang Ze felt a huge weight on his shoulder, and turned his head to see the malformed creature in the mirror was as a matter of fact, clinging to him in real life as well.
Just like in the mirror, it was riding atop his shoulders, latched onto his body like a leech. No matter how much Tang Ze struggled, he found that he couldn't get it off of himself. "Where'd you come from? Get off me!" Tang Ze screamed.
In response, the creature whispered into his ear, speaking in Tang Jun's voice, "I was always here."
And with that, the scene shifted, and white light washed over Tang Ze as he found himself back in the room with the Grimoire of Heaven still open to its first page.
The elder he had seen earlier walked in and said, "Time's up!"
The incense stick in the room had burnt out completely.
Chapter 57 Zhang Long Uses The Grimoire: Part One
"What was that?" Tang Ze asked. He was lying on the floor, face and body coated in sweat.
He had thought that the Grimoire of Heaven would help him along his cultivation journey - that he might even end up jumping a minor realm or two. Either that, or he would get a deeper understanding of himself.
Instead, it felt like going through all of his nightmares, but dialed up to eleven!
If anything, he felt even more confused about himself than when he had walked in.
He couldn't make heads or tails of some of the things he had seen that were not related to his earlier life, but what he did understand didn't exactly give him any tranquility or inner peace like he would've expected.
If possible, he would've asked for a refund for his ticket, or would've gone back in time to stop himself from ever coming to use it.
"I take it that the wisdom ingrained in the Grimoire of Heaven was too much for junior to handle?" the sect elder asked, seeing Tang Ze's bewildered expression.
"You could say that again," Tang Ze said, wiping the sweat from his brow. The guy who was lined up to go after him now gave the book an apprehensive look as he saw what it had done to Tang Ze.
Tang Ze was left to go back to the sect, wondering all the while what that book had been trying to tell him.
The man who had stabbed his brother - okay, he had had a terrible childhood, so what? It didn't make Tang Ze have the slightest bit more sympathy towards the man, if that was what the Grimoire of Heaven was trying to say.
What really unnerved him was that… thing he had seen wrapped around his body. Even now, he shook himself, wondering if it was somehow still clinging to him, invisible to his eyes for now.
Unbeknownst to Tang Ze, however, he had retained the tiniest spark of the grimoire's power within him.
As Tang Ze continued to contemplate this over the coming days, it was Zhang Long's turn to use the Grimoire of Heaven.
He had been a bit apprehensive about trying the thing after what it did to Tang Ze, but he wasn't going to back out now.
A white light flashed over him much like it had with Tang Ze when he started, and Zhang Long found himself back in his village, looking at another version of himself, though maybe four or five years younger than he was right now.
"Hello other me!" Zhang Long called out, though this other Zhang Long did not respond to his voice. It did not look like other-Zhang Long could hear him. "Hmm… so I'm just here to watch things then?"
Zhang Long watched as this other version of himself looked kind of worried, and he was clearly waiting for someone - who turned out to be Jin Zhen.
Jin Zhen had a cold look on her face that Zhang Long was not familiar with. He initially thought that perhaps something had gone wrong, but he couldn't recall anything like this happening in his memories. Not to mention that Jin Zhen didn't look worried - and it wasn't just her facial expression, but her entire demeanor that had turned icy. Where was the warm and bubbly childhood friend he'd known for so long?
"Listen, Zhang Long," this Jin Zhen said. "I… can't be with you anymore."
"What!?" both Zhang Longs shouted out simultaneously.
"It's just, your cultivation level is trash," Jin Zhen said. "I've been supporting you for so long, but my parents don't think that you're going to amount to much - and, I, really can't say 'no' to them any longer. I'm sorry, Zhang Long, but they're cutting off our engagement. My parents have found a new match for me. From now on, this is goodbye."
While the other Zhang Long was still flabbergasted, the real Zhang Long stroked his chin as he felt that several things were off about this whole scenario. This Jin Zhen was behaving completely abnormally - but what was the Grimoire of Heaven trying to tell him here?
The other Zhang Long began pleading, even crying, though Jin Zhen simply turned around and walked away, his pleas falling on deaf ears.
Zhang Long saw this other self of his then ran towards the river, where he completely burst into tears.
Zhang Long couldn't help but think that this other version of himself was kind of pathetic. That said, he wasn't sure how he would've reacted if Jin Zhen actually said those words to him, mainly because he was sure that she would never do so. He did think that he would take it better than this, though.
Other-Zhang Long, once he was done sobbing, decided to head back home. As he was trudging along the road though, a carriage came out of nowhere and nearly crashed into other-Zhang Long, who barely avoided it.
The encounter, though, caused the carriage to swerve off the road, and someone emerged out of it, glaring angrily at other-Zhang Long.
"You dumb peasant!" the man yelled out at him. The real Zhang Long frowned, he had never seen this person before - he was wearing elegant robes and seemed to come from at least moderate wealth. "How dare you obstruct this young master's carriage?!"
Other-Zhang Long was then forced to kowtow fifty times while apologizing, and when he got home, his parents disowned him.
"Zhang Long, we heard what happened with that young master, and this village can't afford to be enemies with him," his father said with a sigh. "We can't be associated with you anymore."
"That, and your talent is trash. We can't be seen continuing to support you," his mother added.
With those cold words, his parents threw other-Zhang Long out.
Meanwhile, the real Zhang Long watched this all happen with a perplexed expression on his face. Why was everyone in his life in this weird alternate reality acting so differently than they actually did? And how did these two events - Jin Zhen breaking her engagement with him and nearly getting run over by that young master's carriage happen so close to each other on the same day? It was like this version of him had the inverse luck of Leonald the Lucky Leprechaun.
Not to mention, as he thought about it, why was that young master's carriage going through his village in the first place? Their village was a backwater and not really connected to any important areas. It made no sense whatsoever.
Still, even as he thought this, other-Zhang Long was left to wander the wilderness, not a penny to his name, and enduring the wrath of the wild animals and the elements until one day, near a different village, someone walked up to him.
"Tang Ze?" Zhang Long muttered to himself - though there was something off about this Tang Ze, namely in the fact that he was about two hundred pounds heavier than his real-life counterpart. Not to mention this wasn't how he had met Tang Ze in the real world, and overall, this scene didn't line up with events that had happened like Tang Ze helping him save Jin Zhen.
However, he supposed that he couldn't have met Tang Ze the same way given what had just happened to him earlier.
"Hello, friend, are you lost?" the overweight Tang Ze asked this world's Zhang Long.
"Ah, yes, I don't even know where to start with things," the other Zhang Long said, a despondent tone in his voice. Other-Zhang Long then explained what had happened to him.
This other world's Tang Ze said, "In such a case, if you need a roof to sleep under, you can come with me."
It seemed that this other Tang Ze didn't have his actual talent for copying strengths based on costumes, but was somewhat wealthy instead. Also, from the conversation going on between his other self and this other Tang Ze, Zhang Long deduced that this Tang Ze had always lived in this place close to his village.
Again, this contrasted greatly with reality where Tang Ze claimed to come from a very distant land.
The scene shifted to the next day, as this other Zhang Long decided to go for a walk, and somewhere in the woods, tripped over a root, and then found a small ring buried in the mud.
Upon wearing this ring, a voice called out to Zhang Long.
"Hello!"
It turned out that this ring contained the soul of an Eternal Soul cultivator who had passed away several decades ago, and as this other Zhang Long wore it, this old cultivator could communicate with him and started to give him pointers on cultivating.
"Thanks, gramps!" the other Zhang Long said as the two of them started training.
First off, this old grandpa's soul helped Zhang Long find a couple of inheritances hidden in secret realms, and unlike the book he had gotten in real life which gave out a single technique, all of the inheritances that this other Zhang Long found were heaven-defying treasures which took almost no effort to get once he had found then.
If the inheritance that Zhang Long had found in real life had been a two out of ten on the difficulty scale of inheritances, the ones that this Zhang Long found could charitably be given a difficulty rating of zero. He was basically just handed several relics and pills that allowed his cultivation to skyrocket, jumping up four minor realms in under a month's time.
It would be incredible for even someone who had the full backing of the Imperial Family to accomplish something like that, but this world's Zhang Long's luck didn't stop there.
Time was flowing at varying paces while Zhang Long watched this - all of the 'boring' parts were skipped to get to the more interesting bits.
One month after he had been kicked out of his parent's house and was still living with an obese and wealthy version of Tang Ze, this Tang Ze told him of a way that they could get back at the young master who had face-slapped him earlier.
"So, I know that his family has this rare treasure, and word on the street is there is an entrance to their house that isn't that secure," Tang Ze said. "With grandpa's help, I think we could easily break in and take that treasure. Just think of it as 'compensation' for all that he did to you."
"Alright," the other Zhang Long said, agreeing to this act of brazen theft rather easily.
The two of them broke into the noble family's house, and stole the treasure in question - which turned out to be some kind of odd sphere.
The two of them took it back, only for it to turn out a few days later that it wasn't some kind of sphere - it was actually an egg!
It began hatching, and out of it emerged a tiny dragon with snow-white scales. It looked at this world's Zhang Long with adoring eyes, likely thinking that he was its mother.
"I will call you - Xiao Bai!" other-Zhang Long said. The dragon let out a happy growl as it nestled in his hair.
Dragons were very powerful creatures which were in the realm of phoenixes, basically, in real life, Zhang Long would've been lucky if he ever happened to lay eyes on one, let alone being able to raise one as his pet.
Chapter 58 Zhang Long Uses the Grimoire: Part Two
Zhang Long pondered the situation for a while.
This egg had hatched a dragon - a kind of celestial beast that could not normally be found. And yet, it seemed that the owners had made no attempt to try to find it. At least, no dedicated attempt or they likely would've found the culprit quickly.
Not only that, but feeding such a creature would also be an issue. While dragons could feed on meat while they were young, as they got older, they would need gold and precious jewels in their diet as well. Not to mention that once it grew bigger, it would be nearly impossible to hide from the outside world.
Just as he was thinking this, the problem seemed to solve itself as other-Zhang Long found a secret realm filled with jewels and that was perfect to hide Xiao Bai in. Not only that, time moved in this secret realm much faster than the outside world, allowing Xiao Bai to reach maturity in a matter of weeks - following which she had learned to hide her celestial beast aura and could transform into a cat, thereby accompanying other-Zhang Long without arousing suspicion.
Meanwhile, this world's Zhang Long continued to cultivate, moving through minor realms at an incredible speed until he broke through to the Qi Refinement realm two months later.
One night, while this world's Zhang Long was cuddling with Xiao Bai, she suddenly transformed from her cat form but she didn't become a dragon again. Instead, she revealed that she had a human form.
Her human form had the shape of a voluptuous woman who said that she had fallen in love with this world's Zhang Long, and wanted to marry him. The only thing that really spoke to the fact that she was a dragon were her pointed ears, two large fangs, and that here eyes were still the same - a dark amber color with slits like that of a cat's.
"I won't treat you like that fiancé of yours who dumped you!" Xiao Bai said enthusiastically. "And I even have a present that'll really help you!"
She then helped Zhang Long make a secret recipe of dragon wine using her powers which tripled his already abnormal cultivation speed so that he was nearly at the peak of Qi Refinement realm a few months later.
'Didn't just six months pass in this time?' - Zhang Long wondered, astounded by this pace of cultivation. "Tomorrow is the sect entrance exam," the other Tang Ze told Zhang Long. "If you go through to it, you can enter in the sect's tournament - and then win big!"
In this world, Tang Ze was the one who paid for Zhang Long's entrance fee to join the Rising Phoenix sect. It was a reversal of what had actually happened.
'So this takes place before I became a member? No, that's not possible, I became a member when I was only fifteen - this Zhang Long is at least nineteen,' Zhang Long thought to himself as he watched the other Zhang Long ace the entrance exam.
'This alternate dimension has too many inconsistencies' - Zhang Long thought to himself when comparing it to real life.
So he was rather sure that he was not meant to take anything that happened here in the literal sense, but he wasn't really sure what the lesson was supposed to be either.
Within a few months, a sect tournament was announced, and with his powerful cultivation base, this Zhang Long was able to beat all of his opponents with ease.
However, trouble began to brew as the finals approached.
"Brother Zhang Long, didn't you hear?" Tang Ze told him before the final match. "Your opponent for the final round is Jin Zhen's new fiancé! No doubt he wants to cripple you so that you don't go after her again. He's a Golden Core cultivator though, you have no chance of winning!"
At this point, the real Zhang Long was following the story with some mild interest - though hyped up and exaggerated at points, it was at least mildly interesting. But at this revelation, even he had to snort and say, "What on earth is going on here? This is completely ludicrous!"
For one, there was no way that they would allow Golden Core cultivators to pair off with Qi Refinement stage cultivators in any kind of tournament like this. That was why the sects had the Novice and Advanced Tournaments as separate events, after all.
And not only that, but this happened to occur in the final round, with his opponent happening to be Jin Zhen's new fiancé?
"Don't worry," the other Zhang Long said, seemingly having no problem with this matchup.
"But Zhang Long-" Xiao Bai said, worried. She was in her cat form, purring as she rubbed herself against other-Zhang Long's leg.
"Like I said, don't worry," other-Zhang Long reiterated. This world's version was at the final minor realm of Qi Refinement, and the ascension to the Golden Core realm multiplied one's strength three times. However, that multiplicative factor of three did not fully do justice to the massive gap in abilities between even the weakest Golden Core cultivator and the strongest Qi Refinement stage cultivator. That was because at the Golden Core, one could use various abilities and skills to augment one's strength that one could not do easily at the Qi Refinement realm.
On top of that, being at Golden Core meant that one's body had undergone a significant transformation, such that ordinary strikes were almost completely ineffective against them. Unless one laced one's blows with Qi, the wounds on a Golden Core cultivator would heal rapidly, and most people at the Qi Refinement stage did not have such abilities.
Jumping from Qi Refinement to Golden Core was a massive jump, to the point that even this other-Zhang Long who was quite prodigal in his cultivation hadn't made the ascension yet. Perhaps that was too unrealistic even for this dream realm.
"If you're up against someone that strong," the old man in other-Zhang Long's ring said, "there may be a way to bridge the gap."
During the final fight, other-Zhang Long used a secret technique the old man had taught him and absolutely broke the bones of his enemy, crippling him not only physically but also destroying his meridians making it nearly impossible for him to resume cultivating.
'Is that really me?' Zhang Long wondered, watching this borderline psychopathic behavior which utterly repulsed him as it came from someone who looked just like him, greatly disturbing him. Was this a warning from the Grimoire of Heaven - that he shouldn't end up like this? That if he walked a path of only gaining power this would be who he would become in the future?
"How did he manage to win at just the Qi Refinement realm? He shouldn't have a chance against a Golden Core cultivator!"
"Didn't you see? That was the [Profound Heavenly Dragon's Fist] technique. I thought it was lost to time, but somehow, this Zhang Long fellow happens to know it."
"Incredible! The fact that it could break through even a Golden Cultivator's defense!"
Zhang Long turned to see who it was who was speaking in the crowd, and he did a double-take.
He noticed two familiar faces - Yin Tiang and Chen Yu, though in this version of events, he had never met them, meaning they were just bystanders.
Other-Zhang Long was declared the winner of the tournament, and as he was about to step out, Jin Zhen ran up to him, tears streaming down her face.
The real Zhang Long was deeply moved, even in this dream realm, by seeing her tears and wanted to be the one to wipe them away, but alas, he could do nothing but watch on.
After all, Jin Zhen was his beloved childhood friend and soon to be wife. Given all the inconsistencies with how this alternate reality presented to him worked, he knew that this 'betrayal' of hers was something that she would never do in real life.
He badly wished to be able to console her and dry her tears, but as he reached for her, his hand passed through her as if she were made of mist.
Right, his emotions had run rampant, making him almost forget that this wasn't really happening.
Other-Jin Zhen began pleading with other-Zhang Long to take her back, and that she had broken off their engagement merely from her parent's coercion and had never truly stopped loving him.
"Go away!" the other Zhang Long said, hatred oozing from his eyes as he latched onto Xiao Bai.
"Yeah, get lost!" Xiao Bai said, sticking her tongue out at this other Jin Zhen.
The real Zhang Long was quite frustrated but hoped that this would be the end of it, only it wasn't.
Right after this, by coincidence, a huge earthquake hit his home village, killing many people there, destroying almost all of the houses, and leaving his parents homeless.
Now, his parents wanted to move back in with him, but this world's Zhang Long not only kicked them out when they came to meet him, but refused to provide aide to any of his former villagers.
No, actually, other-Zhang Long went a step further and actively forbade other people from donating to the villagers, leaving them to essentially die in poverty with a gleeful smile on his face, relishing in the revenge he had gotten.
'Who is this person who looks like me?' the actual Zhang Long thought as he saw these events unfold. He would never be filled with schadenfreude in this way seeing his old companions suffer like this. Even if he harbored hatred towards his parents, the other villagers had done nothing to this other-Zhang Long. Did this world's Zhang Long think they deserved it as they hadn't helped him when he was down?
The real Zhang Long could never imagine himself to be this petty.
Other-Zhang Long would go on to accomplish many things, becoming an alchemist who was better than even Yin Tiang currently was rather quickly, and even turning out to have one of the Five Attributes which he could use better than Chen Yu could. He naturally ascended to the Golden Core a few weeks later with ease, and after marrying Xiao Bai added two additional wives to his harem - Tang Ru of all people for some reason and a girl named Zheng Mei who he had never heard of before.
And with that, a flash of light passed over him, and the elder told him that the six hour time limit was up.
Chapter 59 Chen Yu Uses The Grimoire
Zhang Long had barely finished a single page in six hours. No wonder it had taken Song Xian eighty-one years to decipher all of the secrets of the Grimoire of Heaven. But, these six hours were all that Zhang Long would get.
Zhang Long left almost as confused, if not as mentally traumatized, as Tang Ze had been when he had finished with the Grimoire of Heaven.
What on earth was that world? Why did everyone behave so… oddly? Jin Zhen would never betray him, Zhang Long was sure of that. Nor would his parents leave him. Why didn't Tang Ze have his powers in that realm and had turned into a wealthy fatty somehow? And he hoped to heaven even if those two things happened he wouldn't turn out the way he did in that dream realm that the Grimoire of Heaven showed him.
The only thing that was somewhat reflective of reality in that dream realm was that Tang Ze was still a good friend to him even there, though for some reason Tang Ze seemed far more like a bootlicker when it came to his behavior in that odd reality than he was in real life.
Zhang Long shuddered. No, he far more preferred this world compared to that dream world - which honestly seemed more like a nightmare than a dream.
He was left, much like Tang Ze, to ponder the Dao regarding his experiences.
The next member of the squad who got to use the Grimoire of Heaven was Chen Yu.
Naturally his heart felt some trepidation as he opened up to the first page, wondering if he would also end up encountering something that would either confuse him or mentally scar him.
Or, in Tang Ze's case, both.
Like with the others, when Chen Yu began reading, a white light passed over him.
He was now no longer in that same room, but in a grand hall which had been emptied of any furniture. It looked like the inside of a palace, though devoid of any furniture, paintings, or decorations that you would normally find in a place like that.
Standing before him was a single towering figure. His face was like that of a lion, and he was wearing glowing scarlet plate armor - armor that anyone within the Raswatian Empire would've recognized. A crown adorned his head, and he wore a long flowing purple cape. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, and his face, while kind, also gave the aura of a battle-hardened veteran. He was a man who had gone through hell and back multiple times; who had achieved a synchrony with heaven that others could only dream of.
There was no way that Chen Yu would not recognize him- was there anyone within the Raswatian Empire who couldn't tell who this person was?
If this man called himself the second strongest under heaven, there was not a soul who had ever lived within the Raswatian Empire who would dare claim themselves to be the first.
"Has junior forgotten his manners? You have yet to greet your old ancestor," the Emperor of Five Attributes asked.
This man - was the founder of the Raswatian Empire. The original owner of the Five Attributes, and also the origin of Chen Yu's bloodline ability.
"Are you real?" Chen Yu asked, forgetting to greet this man. He knew the Grimoire of Heaven was powerful, but could it really simulate a Hinayana realm cultivator?
"Real enough for me to do this," he replied, sending a small fireball Chen Yu's way.
Chen Yu felt the heat of the flame even as he moved and was able to just barely avoid it.
"Good, your reflexes are fine," the man said. "Even if you have forgotten to give face to this old emperor. Let me see how well you can use your attribute - to be as tough as steel, no?"
He then lunged at Chen Yu.
Chen Yu barely blocked the strike with the help of [Steelskin]. He still felt as if the strike had nearly broken his bones, but he knew that if this man used his actual strength no defensive ability would've saved him.
"[Steelskin]? Not bad," he said. "Again!"
He struck again, this time Chen Yu barely being able to hold on.
"Your skin is tough," the man said. "But what of your bones? What of your tendons? They can still be shattered."
He was right - [Steelskin] did make it so that Chen Yu's skin was hard as if he was wearing a several inches thick layer of armor, while retaining normal skin's properties. That meant that the impact of most blows would be distributed over the skin, saving the vital tissues beneath, and meant that his bones and muscles would normally not be hurt.
That was not to say that a strong enough blow could not get through that and shatter his bones like glass. Given the emperor's strength, he could easily just break off both of Chen Yu's arms.
The two of them continued to spar until Chen Yu's entire body was covered in sweat, he felt sore all over, and nearly collapsed. He panted, his lungs feeling like they were burning.
"You're still weak," the man said. "Terribly so. But every oak was once an acorn - and for that, I will impart a piece of wisdom to you."
It was the basics for mastering the technique [Ironbones] - a similar defensive skill that could work on one's bones, and the benefit was that this could very easily be used offensively, even more so than [Steelskin].
It was not a complete technique and still needed to be refined, but Chen Yu could already see the pieces falling together in his mind and what he might need to do in order to perfect it.
White light washed over him, and he was told his time was up.
Although his encounter had been mentally exhausting, he had the pieces for a new skill, and also felt that his understanding of the Dao had increased to the point where a few more pills and he would move up a minor realm!
Chen Yu returned to the common living quarters of the squad, and Yin Tiang turned towards him.
Zhang Long and Tang Ze had had bad experiences with the Grimoire of Heaven, and he likely wanted to know whether or not Chen Yu had also ran into some issue.
Chen Yu shook his head at the quizzical look. "Nope! I honestly don't know what Tang Ze and Yin Tiang were complaining about, things went great for me. Ah, no offense guys, but I felt that I really benefited from using it."
Chen Yu probably couldn't have gotten more unless he had been at Qi Refinement so that he could learn about more advanced defensive techniques that relied on his bloodline, but even this was quite useful.
"Alright then," Yin Tiang said, suddenly feeling much better about going to use the Grimoire of Heaven.
Tang Ze and Zhang Long, on the other hand, exchanged looks, likely wondering if there was some problem with them in understanding what the Grimoire of Heaven was saying, or if they had just been unlucky.
The morning that it was his turn, Yin Tiang got up early and went over to the designated spot where the Grimoire of Heaven was being held, only to see there was already something of a crowd around the area for some reason.
Even Division Head Elder He Xuan was there.
"Ah, what's going on?" Yin Tiang asked one of the prefects.
"We're busy right now, can't you see? We don't have time for questions - shoo!" the prefect said, trying to wave him away, before seeing who he was talking to. "Wait - you're one of the people who won a ticket, right?"
"Yes," Yin Tiang said. "What's going on?"
The prefect backed away two paces as Elder He Xuan approached Yin Tiang. "I'm afraid I have terrible news. The Grimoire of Heaven has been stolen."
"Stolen!?"
"Keep your voice down, junior," Elder He Xuan said solemnly. "We don't want panic brewing about. But please stay here for now while we investigate this matter." He turned to one of the prefects. "Everyone who had access to the grimoire up till now, bring them here immediately!"
Within half an hour, the other winners were there, which included the rest of Yin Tiang's squad.
"Hmm? All four of you won a ticket?" Elder He Xuan wondered, his gaze moving over all of them. He was looking for anything that might be out of the ordinary, and while this was suspicious, it wasn't like it was necessarily impossible for it to happen. Just highly unlikely.
Not to mention if it was these four involved, Elder He Xuan thought, it wouldn't have been stolen before Yin Tiang was going to use it. Naturally, the most suspicion fell on the one who used it last - who didn't belong to their group.
But, that person was already being grilled quite thoroughly.
"Answer me! You were the last one with the grimoire - so you've been caught red-handed. What did you do to the book?"
"Please, I'm honest I have no idea what happened."
"Liar!"
"At ease," a voice said, cutting through the noise. It was the same elder in charge of taking care of the grimoire, the one who was at the Nascent Soul realm. "This boy here is only at the Qi Refinement realm. It is unthinkable that he could be the one who stole it, let alone could hide its aura so that I cannot detect it. He cannot be the culprit, it was either another Nascent Soul cultivator, or an Eternal Soul realm cultivator."
The Rising Phoenix sect only had a few other Nascent Soul cultivators, and not a single Eternal Soul cultivator.
"Senior Elder Wang Zhen, do you think this is the action of a rival sect then?" Elder He Xuan asked.
"That would be the most likely culprit yes, but who could be so bold and have so far a reach as to get so far without us noticing?" Senior Elder Wang Zhen asked. This would normally be a matter of such severity that it could lead to an all-out inter-sect war, but without any evidence as to who the culprit was they could only gnash their teeth in anger.
"Did anyone see anything?" Elder He Xuan asked those who had went to use the book. They all shook their heads - they had seen quite a lot due to the book, but nothing that could be considered abnormal.
"This…" Senior Elder Wang Zhen said, sighing as he bowed his head to all of them, eliciting gasps from many in the crowd. A Nascent Soul realm cultivator bowing to people like them? "...I must apologize. I have failed in my duty to protect the Grimoire of Heaven. I request that you all cooperate and help me apprehend the suspect - as it is, this failure will still forever stain my reputation even if the grimoire is found again. If it is not, without a doubt I will answer by offering my life to the sect as recompense."
There was a sincerity to his words which made all of them realize the weight of what he had just said.
The Grimoire of Heaven was an irreplaceable treasure - one that had been gifted to them by one of the greatest minds in the history of the Rising Phoenix sect. To have lost it was to besmirch the entire name of the Rising Phoenix sect and it's legacy.
All of them had the same thought - if Song Xian were looking down at them, what would he think of those who had inherited his legacy but had allowed it to be stolen?
That was why the theft had to be treated with such gravity.
Such a crime was unforgivable - but before any of them could say anything on that matter, they first had to try their hardest to find the book and where it was.
That was the most important thing - they could always assign blame later once things became clearer.
Chapter 59 Asking For Help
The Grimoire of Heaven had disappeared overnight, meaning that the thief likely couldn't have gotten far, especially while hiding the Grimoire of Heaven's aura.
"Of course we will all cooperate with Senior Elder Wang Zhen," Elder He Xuan said, bowing his head slightly. "In the meanwhile, we must prevent news of this from getting out. We will investigate behind the scenes until then. Not a whisper of this should escape your lips."
He knew the prefects would toe the line, but his words were made for the other winners, who all nodded. "Of course! Not a whisper!"
"Good," Elder He Xuan said. "You are dismissed for now, but we will be interviewing you all in depth. Do not leave the sect's grounds right now for any reason, and if you see anything, do not hesitate to speak up."
Zhang Long, Tang Ze, Chen Yu, and Yin Tiang all walked back to their common area.
"Sorry 'bout that," they all said to Yin Tiang, who had been the only one who didn't get a shot at using the Grimoire of Heaven.
"No I mean, it's crazy it got stolen though," Yin Tiang said, dropping his voice to a whisper as they reached their common living area.
The four of them weren't even sure how the sect was going to conduct its investigation in secret, given how much tighter security would be. People would naturally ask questions about the heightened security, and by not answering that question, it indirectly answered the question.
"If only there was someone who could help," Zhang Long said. However, they were all Qi Condensation cultivators. What could they do? "Unless you have a costume that could help us."
The issue of dressing up as characters like Sherlock Holmes and the like was that their intelligence wasn't considered a power by his talent. It was only if their superpower was intelligence - or put another way, that the character would not be as intelligence as they actually were without that power. Dressing as someone like Sherlock Holmes or a similar fictional detective who had trained their minds and senses to solve crimes would not work because he would not get their life experiences and would basically just be a regular person if he tried. That was because there was nothing 'superhuman' about their abilities.
It was the same for all costumes he made actually in that regard. He could gain a character's powers, but not their experiences using those powers, usually necessitating practice before he put them into action. Unless it was something like with Leonald the Lucky Leprechaun.
He did know a few characters who were specifically intelligent as a result of their powers, but they all had very strange designs, some of them being aliens - which were very difficult to replicate. One such character was a giant brain in a vat of liquid - how was he going to make a costume like that?
Even if he could do so, the fact of the matter was that one cannot make bricks without clay - Tang Ze was a newcomer to this world and was constantly discovering things about it that he hadn't known before. So even if he somehow became very smart, without the requisite knowledge of the world, his intelligence would be useless.
And since he knew so little about what had gone on in order to steal the grimoire, he didn't know what powerset would be useful in this kind of circumstance.
And so, Tang Ze shook his head in response to the question sent his way. He couldn't think of anyone in his wide arsenal who would be able to solve a strange cultivation mystery…
...or was there?
Not a character he knew, but someone else who might be able to help them.
"Wait - I have an idea," Tang Ze said, going to fetch his wizard costume.
"This again? Didn't we go over this already?" the others whined about him dressing up as a wizard again, though it didn't stop Tang Ze one bit as he teleported to go visit Xian Yue.
Yes, he had been instructed to not leave the sect, but this was to find someone who might be able to help them find the Grimoire of Heaven.
He found her spirit and quickly relayed what had happened.
"So? What do you expect for me to do about it?" Xian Yue asked. During her past lives, she had once been part of the Jasmine Dragon sect, though in her most recent life, she had joined the Emerald Floral sect.
She had barely any ties to them now, however, and had never been a member of the Rising Phoenix sect.
So, Tang Ze couldn't arouse her sympathies that way.
"I… well, Elder Wang Zhen thought that it must've been done by someone at the Nascent Soul or the Eternal Soul realm… and we don't have anyone at the Eternal Soul realm, so I thought if maybe you could help out…"
Xian Yue had no reason to help out. This was an internal sect matter, or, in the case that the thief really was from another sect, it was an inter-sect matter which she no longer wanted to be bothered with. The Emerald Floral sect thought that she was dead and she had no desire to relieve them of that misconception.
That said, Tang Ze had helped her out. Or at least, he was trying to.
When it came to karma, no cultivator could deny its existence, though that did not stop demonic cultivators from committing demonic acts.
There was a common story told in regarding that aspect.
There was once was a man who had discovered a rare inheritance along with his brother, though, coveting the treasure for himself he killed his brother over the inheritance. Ironically enough, it gave him the ability to sense karma, and he could see how his actions had tainted himself. One day, while in the woods, a wild animal attacked him, and ended up breaking most of his bones - which he could tell was the karmic retribution of murdering his brother. However, now the negative karma had been cleared from his soul; using his newfound cultivation talents he healed his wounds, essentially suffering from the fruit of his actions, but at the same time, it had not impeded his journey overall whatsoever save for a few moments of pain.
Many demonic cultivators used this story to justify their actions saying 'I may accrue negative karma by my actions, but I can get strong enough to ignore those consequences!'
Now, it was unlikely that helping Tang Ze out would help Xian Yue out in any significant way even if the universe chose to reward her for it, but it also would not cost her very much either.
She already had a very good idea on how the theft had occurred just by listening to Tang Ze's story.
"Alright then, let me see if I can help you," Xian Yue said. "Over there in that chest, you can find a few jade rings, bring one to me."
A smile blossomed on Tang Ze's face - she had to admit that despite herself, she had grown to be somewhat fond of that smile.
He handed her spectral form one of the jade rings, and she injected a piece of her soul into it. Nascent Soul and Eternal Soul cultivators could do this with ease, though even some Golden Core cultivators had managed to develop techniques that let them do so.
Jade was one of the better materials to do so, though other valuable materials like silver and gold could also work. Copper was somewhat dicey to use as a basis for such as it tended to leak large amounts of spiritual energy, but was still viable depending on the grade of the copper used.
This would decrease the amount of spectral energy she had to maintain her soul by a slight amount - but it was like taking a drop of water out of a large lake. As it was, it would make little difference to her plight. Either Tang Ze would find a way to finish that dress and she could ascend, or she would end up fading and rolling the dice with the Wheel of Samsara once again.
She had placed all her chips on this one bet, and she could only wait and see if it would payoff or not.
"This'll let me speak to you even if we're at a distance without you having to dream," Xian Yue explained.
"Heh," Tang Ze said, smirking as he took the ring.
"What's so funny?"
"I've heard of stories of people finding old grandpas in rings, but I managed to find an old granny."
Xian Yue huffed and put her hands on her hips. "You dare! You're calling me granny!"
"I mean, aren't you thousands of years old?" Tang Ze asked. Matter of fact she was so old that her original body had decayed from age and this soul was all that was left.
"Still, I'm a young maiden at heart!" she retorted. She looked like she was about to smack Tang Ze on the head- since she was at the Eternal Soul realm, her soul could interact with physical objects to a large extent (though not as much as her body could), unlike the soul of a Nascent Soul cultivator which would be largely powerless when it came to the physical realm.
"Ah…" Tang Ze began, but trailed off.
"If I still had my body and looked like this, you'd think I was youthful and beautiful, wouldn't you?" Xian Yue said.
"I still think you're beautiful, even like this."
Xian Yue didn't know how to counter that and crossed her arms before huffing. "Ah- tha- shut up! Let's get going and solve your dumb problem before I change my mind!"
Tang Ze left, but Xian Yue was still left with one thing on her mind.
A memory that had crept up on her.
Of sitting in a room, wondering what the commotion was when her father walked in, with a despondent look on his face.
She hadn't understood what was going on initially - wasn't this supposed to be her big day? What her mother said would be the start of her new life?
It was not to be so, and ever since she had been able to reawaken those memories, she had taken essentially an informal vow of celibacy. She could not see herself placing her trust in another person.
And yet, she had thought that she was long beyond those feelings. Her journey of cultivation was so long she felt that she was over that memory.
Clearly though, she wasn't.
She turned to the dress - that old bridal gown, feeling an intense hatred for what it reminded her of. Practically nothing of the original gown remained by this point, still, the memory of its form seemed to hover over the actual dress.
Were it not for the fact that it was vital to her ascension she would have burned it right that instant.
Her thoughts then went to the man who had just been there a few moments ago.
'I still think you're beautiful, even like this' - his words echoed in her mind as she sighed.
He was such an idiot sometimes!
Especially as he had called her old - something that she normally wouldn't have minded, yet when he said it… she couldn't help but feel intense rage erupt within her heart!
Chapter 60 Conspiracy
Tang Ze teleported back to his room. "Can you still hear me?" he asked the ring he was wearing on his finger.
"Yes I can," Xian Yue said in his mind.
"Sure we can hear you," Zhang Long said.
"Sorry, wasn't talking to you guys," Tang Ze said.
"We're not talking to you either so long as you're dressed like that."
Tang Ze went into his room to change.
"W-What are you doing? Shameless!" Xian Yue yelled.
"Ah - I didn't know that you could see!" Tang Ze quickly apologized.
"Why would I demand to give you this ring and come with you then?"
"Ah, sorry, anyway you can uh… close your eyes while you're in that ring?"
"Y-Yes! Now be quick about this!"
"Right," Tang Ze said.
He changed into the sect uniform and went to go see Elder He Xuan - Xian Yue told him that she had already solved the case, and that he should help her get to the scene of the crime.
"But you'll need to convince this elder first," Xian Yue said. "Just repeat what I say, and we will be fine."
It would normally be hard for someone like Tang Ze to get an audience with Elder He Xuan, but given the circumstances when Tang Ze said he might know what had happened to the Grimoire of Heaven, he was rushed in to see the man at once.
"So, you know what happened to the Grimoire of Heaven?" Elder He Xuan asked. He gently motioned for Tang Ze to sit, though the man was clearly on edge. "I will not mince words - please get to the point as soon as you can."
"Right," Tang Ze said. Xian Yue dictated the words into his head that Tang Ze relayed. "I think I know what happened and how the grimoire vanished like that. There's no one who could take it away from under Senior Elder Wang Zhen's nose while he's so deep within our sect's territory, so the reason it can't be found is because it's still in the same room… only it isn't."
"I don't follow?"
"I meant to say that someone made a secret realm inside of the safe," Tang Ze said. He really wished that Xian Yue would just get to the point - it was fine if she spoke in circles when it came to the two of them, but Elder He Xuan was not going to be so patient with a matter like this. "And they created this long ago before the grimoire was moved in there. Then, when the time came, they snatched the grimoire, moving it into the secret realm, and still have kept it in there. They would be stowing away for several months until a time would come when they could exit, later on when security would be less tight, and then escape with it."
Elder He Xuan traced his beard with his finger. Though he looked calm and composed, the gears in his head were whirring as they spun into overdrive. Tang Ze could almost hear them grinding in Elder He Xuan's head from where he was sitting. "Come with me."
Tang Ze didn't know whether or not this meant that Elder He Xuan believed him or not, but he grabbed what looked like a metal detector out of a cabinet in his room, and practically dragged Tang Ze to the scene of the crime.
Senior Elder Wang Zhen was there, and Elder He Xuan explained the situation to him in a few sentences.
Senior Elder Wang Zhen's eyes widened at the suggestion. "I would never have thought of that - but it's a possibility. Let us go and see."
The metal detector was actually a device that was specially made to detect secret realms, and as it was, Elder He Xuan had some experience when it came to secret realms.
He waved it around the room, until he stopped.
There, in the room, a small ball of light suddenly appeared as he waved the metal detector over it.
They had found it!
"Junior Tang Ze, stay here," Elder He Xuan said, as both he and Senior Elder Wang Zhen intended to invade this pocket dimension.
Tang Ze would've liked to go with them, but he didn't argue.
"Don't think of following them - what if there's a Nascent Soul cultivator inside? Can you fight someone like that? No! So don't do something so reckless!" Xian Yue reprimanded him, likely sensing what his intentions otherwise would have been.
After an hour, the two of them finally emerged from the secret realm, carrying the corpse of a third person, while Wang Zhen had the Grimoire of Heaven in his hands, clutching it like it was his newborn child.
"Ah - what happened?" Tang Ze asked.
The actual story was far less exciting than he'd expected - the two of them had found their way into the pocket realm, and ran into the supposed thief who turned out to be just a Golden Core cultivator. He didn't put up the slightest bit of a fight however, and simply took some kind of poison that ended his own life once he realized the jig was up.
There were no identifying markers on the thief that might let them know which sect he belonged to, but they did get the Grimoire of Heaven back.
The reason it felt like an hour had passed in real life was because time moved faster in that pocket realm - which was sort of understandable given the fact that the thief would've been required to wait in there for quite a while. Other than the thief and the Grimoire of Heaven, they found some supplies to last someone a few months if need be, but not much else.
"Ah, but the Grimoire of Heaven is now safe and sound," Senior Elder Wang Zhen said. He turned to Tang Ze and bowed deeply.
"Ah - Senior Elder Wang Zhen please raise your head-"
"Junior, this elder is truly in your debt," Senior Elder Wang Zhen said. "If you had not helped me, who knows whether we would have figured out this act of trickery or not? Is there anything I can give you in exchange for your help?"
"Could I… get more time with the Grimoire of Heaven?" Tang Ze asked. He had felt that he had essentially wasted his first chance with it as he had not gotten anything which seemed to be useful from it, so maybe another pass at it and he would actually gain some enlightenment?
Based on the side-eye that Elder He Xuan was giving him, this was likely a situation where he was supposed to first decline the reward, but the words had already left his mouth.
"I'm afraid that is the one thing I cannot grant you," Senior Elder Whang Zhen said. "The rules set up by Song Xian are ironclad - it was to be based on luck solely and not even such a thing can change them."
"I understand, no issue," Tang Ze said. In that case, he would need to wait a few more years before he could get a shot at reading it again.
"With that said, I am curious," Elder He Xuan said. "How did you figure this out?"
"Well the thing is that-" Tang Ze began before Xian Yue screamed something into his mind.
"Tang Ze, do not let them know who I am!"
"-I uh, read a novel at one point where the thief used something like this," Tang Ze said.
"Is that so? I thought I had no time to spare for novels earlier, though maybe I should've taken some time if I could've benefited from them in such a way," Senior Elder Wang Zhen said. "What was the name of that book?"
"I uh - can't recall right now, I'm sorry, but if I find it, I'll let you know," Tang Ze said.
"Ah, all's well that end's well I guess," Senior Elder Wang Zhen said. "Though I will still have to live with my reputation besmirched by letting it fall into enemy hands in the first place…"
He trailed off, and the two elders dismissed Tang Ze, saying that he would get his reward later once they had thought of what would be appropriate.
They would be looking into who had caused the incident, however, it didn't look like they had any leads.
"Thanks for the help, Xian Yue," Tang Ze said when the two of them were alone.
"No problem, but take this chance to work harder on fixing the dress, won't you?"
"Sure, shame we don't know who the thief is," Tang Ze said.
"You haven't figured it out yet? I thought it was rather obvious," Xian Yue said. Then again, with her years of experience that stretched for over ten thousand years, many things were obvious to her that wouldn't be to other people. That was how she had figured out the root cause of this quagmire while even someone like Senior Elder Wang Zhen could not.
Tang Ze stopped in his tracks. "So you know - why didn't you say something earlier?"
He could almost imagine the woman sighing and shaking her head as she answered.
"Because it would not change anything," Xian Yue said. "Let me ask you this - do you really think that one of the other sects would steal the Grimoire of Heaven? It is an object that cannot be easily hidden. Sects are not based off of bloodlines or clan systems, so to actually benefit from stealing the grimoire; the secret would be leaked out eventually once it had passed through enough hands. As the Grimoire of Heaven would be made available to more and more sect members, it would be unavoidable that the secret would get out of whichever sect tried to steal it. And that would lead to a massive conflict. The Grimoire of Heaven is a unique treasure, but some things are still not worth fighting over - especially for the righteous sects. Not to mention there are even more powerful artifacts - it might be one of a kind but it is not peerless in ability, especially for training large numbers of recruits which is what the sects rely upon. But there is a group who could get its hands on it and would find it to be quite useful."
Tang Ze processed her words as the gears in his head started to turn.
He had a feeling she was testing him so that he would find the answer on his own - why all of this indirect talk instead of telling him who the culprit was?
Still, he figured that it was a worth a shot to try to figure it out on his own.
So… it was someone who was not affiliated with the sects, capable of not only hiring a Golden Core cultivator for the job but a Golden Core cultivator motivated enough to end themselves rather than risk exposing who they worked for, a group small enough to keep their possession of the Grimoire of Heaven secret, and who would even know about the Grimoire of Heaven in the first place.
Additionally, they would have enough people who could benefit from the grimoire to make the whole heist worthwhile in the first place.
Tang Ze stopped in his tracks the moment an answer came to him - it was so glaringly obvious that he was genuinely nearly face-palming at how he had missed it. But, was he right?
Now that he had the answer, he was almost scared to say it, thinking that it was too simple and that he might be scolded by Xian Yue for giving a stupid answer.
"It seems you've found the answer."
Tang Ze licked his lips, before deciding to say what was on his mind. If he turned out to be disastrously wrong, so be it!
"The Imperial Family. The Imperial Family were the ones who tried to steal the Grimoire of Heaven," Tang Ze said.
Chapter 61 Despite Knowing the Culprit, Being Helpless to Act.
Despite Knowing the Culprit, Being Helpless to Act. [Cosplay Cultivator Chap 61]
The words sounded strange to say, but as Tang Ze said them out loud, the more he came to realize that it was the truth.
"Ah, so you're not as slow as I initially thought you were," Xian Yue said. "Yes, the Imperial Family would have coveted that book to use for their closest relatives, and would have the means to carry it out. Ties between family members are stronger than those between those of a sect meaning it would be far less likely to leak out to the public, and the grimoire would've been quite useful even for a select few members of the Imperial Family. They must have been planning this for several years if not decades."
The Imperial Family had both the means and the motivation to carry out something like this.
If Tang Ze could figure it out - it was likely that Elder He Xuan and Senior Elder Wang Zhen could as well.
And that was when he realized why Xian Yue hadn't bothered bringing it up.
Because though the answer was obvious, there was no solid evidence. And if there was no solid evidence, how could the Rising Phoenix sect go up against the Imperial Family? The other sects would not back them up on this matter.
If anything, had the theft succeeded, the other sects would've secretly smiled at the Rising Phoenix sect's misfortune. After all, anything that weakened another sect strengthened their own in a way.
Tang Ze had to admit that the plot had been carefully constructed to be nearly flawless. They had nearly gotten away with it - and even when they failed, there was no way to tie that dead body back to them.
One thing did make him wonder though - how were they so sure that the thief would kill himself instead of negotiating with them? They likely had something serious on him, but Tang Ze couldn't fathom what that was. Maybe they had kept his family hostage or something?
Anyway, even if he knew all of this, there was little he could do about that level of political machinations as a mere Initiate.
Yin Tiang did get his chance to use the book though, and managed to think of a new recipe for a medium-grade pill through what he was able to learn from it.
Although medium-grade pills at the Qi Condensation level were not that hard to get, the materials needed to make them were always in high demand. Having an alternative recipe for them meant that the strain on those resources could be lifted slightly as he could use different ingredients, and also that should something happen - like an ingredient going extinct or being unavailable due to logistical issues, there would be an alternative manufacturing process.
"But really, the best part is that I can get these ingredients for cheap," Yin Tiang said.
So long as he kept a monopoly on that recipe, he could make pills far cheaper than other people could as the ingredients he used wouldn't be in high demand, and would be able to take advantage of a greater profit margin.
Granted, this advantage would only last for a while before eventually, someone would take notice of what he could do and reverse engineer the recipe used for it.
However, for the time being, it could be quite lucrative for Yin Tiang. As it was, right now - he would be keeping the recipe for his own personal use.
Tang Ze decided to see if he could reap further benefits from using the Leonald the Lucky Leprechaun outfit. While the Grimoire of Heaven hadn't been as beneficial as he might've hoped, it wasn't like the luck hadn't been there. He had been able to win four winning tickets, though it was the aspect of actually using the Grimoire of Heaven which had failed to live up to expectations.
A rock gambling den would be the obvious place to target, but there were sadly none near the sect (actually, thinking about it, that was probably a good thing). Teleporting and swapping out his clothes could be an option, but it was cumbersome - as it was, Chen Yu had a different idea.
"So, what exactly do you think I can do here?" Tang Ze asked.
"Shh… let me see what's here," Chen Yu said.
The two of them had walked into a store that wasn't too far off at Chen Yu's insistence, and Tang Ze was dressed up like a leprechaun. That drew a bunch of strange glances towards his direction, though given he was walking with Chen Yu who was dressed in the Rising Phoenix sect's uniform, no one actually said anything.
Tang Ze had actually not really paid attention to it before, but he did now - people treated them quite nicely when they walked around in their sect uniforms. Normal people, that is.
Tang Ze didn't really have any prior experiences to compare this to, and Chen Yu likely just considered it part and parcel of being in the sect, but Tang Ze was beginning to see how differently they were treated compared to others. Restaurants which were full would suddenly have a table open for them, people standing in line would offer for them to cut ahead without them even having to ask, and sometimes random strangers walking on the street would bow to them.
Tang Ze spent most of his time within the sect division and didn't go out much, and when he did, he had chalked up things like these to people just being friendly and nice. But, as he got to observe the world a bit more and how the regular people interacted with each other compared to them, he saw that they were definitely getting special treatment.
The Rising Phoenix sect, after all, was more than a cultivation school. It was the governing body of this part of the Raswatian Empire, much like the Ecclesial Fiefs of the European middle ages.
And though the two of them were just Initiates, at the bottom of the sect totem pole, they must have seemed high and mighty to these average people.
Right now though, Tang Ze was out of uniform. Although they hadn't walked far from the sect, he wished that Chen Yu would hurry up regarding whatever this was.
This costume was rather uncomfortable - it was hard to design costumes that were accurate and also easy to move about in. Tang Ze was only one person after all, and there was a limit to what he could accomplish.
The store they had walked into was filled with what Tang Ze could only describe as junk. Or at least, what he perceived to be junk. There were old teapots, paintings, accessories, and other random goods which might have slightly caught the eye, but didn't seem to be valuable in any significant way.
"So," Chen Yu said, whispering to him. "This is basically all just random junk that people have leftover, which this store buys and then resells. Most of it is worthless - but I've heard of people finding valuable relics or important works of art, you know? Do you think you can pick out anything like that?"
"Well, that's not how my skill works," Tang Ze told him. It wasn't like he had a sense for treasure, but on the flip side, if he were to treat this like picking lottery tickets, perhaps it would work?
He went around the place, seeing if anything happened to catch his eye.
There was a teapot that looked somewhat nice, and a ring whose gleam stood out to him, so he pointed to those two things and Chen Yu bought them.
Tang Ze watched with slight envy at the metal coins that Chen Yu had. One reason that Tang Ze didn't venture out much on his own was because he didn't have any real money with him - just the sect merit points which most merchants did not accept. However, someone like Chen Yu, although his family wasn't ultra-wealthy, would not have trouble getting his hands on some actual money.
Granted, if their little scheme panned out, they would split the share of profits, and Tang Ze would finally be able to get his hands on some cold, hard, cash.
As they went back to the sect, a small flaw in their plan became evident.
Once Tang Ze changed out of his clothes, their run of luck was over.
And would you know it, Yin Tiang was making a concoction which just had to burst into flames, causing Chen Yu to drop what they had purchased in shock.
A shame really, as both of them had turned out to be historic art pieces that were otherwise lost to time and that people had thought had been destroyed - now though, people were definitely sure that they had been destroyed.
A group of villagers heard the howling of wolves in the distance and shuddered.
Moonlight Wolves - a species of wolf that could absorb moonlight and weave it into their skin, making it much harder than normal wolf skin. On top of that, they could use moonlight to strengthen their fangs and claws.
They weren't that much stronger than normal wolves and Qi Refinement cultivators could take care of them with relative ease.
The issue was that this was a remote village, and they had the misfortune of attracting the attention of a pack of the creatures.
The wolf pack had harassed their village for a month by now. Every single day it seemed, at least one person would fall victim to the wolves.
They had sent word to the Rising Phoenix sect to ask for help, but help had not yet arrived.
For now, the villagers lived in constant fear of the wolves. The fields had been abandoned as no one dared to go near them, and the villagers had abandoned most of their houses for the night and were sleeping in extremely crowded conditions in the village chief's home.
They figured that there was great safety in numbers, and the village chief's house was the only one which was made of stone, making it a good deal safer than the mud huts most of them lived in.
Still, the howls of the wolves roused many of them as the noises came closer and closer…
Until someone saw something fly down from the sky from one of the windows.
Help had arrived!
Tang Ze landed lightly. This village was a ways away from the sect division, and was yet another solo mission he'd been handed. However, this was not a punishment, after hearing of the plight of the villagers, and that it would take time for the sect to form a strike force to strike at the wolf pack, he had volunteered his services as he could simply fly here.
The wolves took notice of him soon enough, and one leapt at him from the shadows.
Tang Ze turned to face the wolf, and let out a beam of energy from his eyes which cut the wolf in half.
Heat vision.
it was a skill he didn't use very often since he generally wasn't trying to kill his enemies, but it was perfect to use here.
As he charged into the wolf pack with supernatural speed, a part of him felt sorry for the creatures. The wolf pack was likely targeting this village because they had been driven from their usual hunting ground by a stronger predator. They were just trying to survive in this cold, harsh world, much like humans after all - but that pity did not translate to any mercy from his end as he knew that the villagers had been harassed for a long time by these things.
In the end, it was either the villagers or the wolves, and he would choose the villagers each time.
Once nine in ten of the wolves had been eliminated and the others ran into the wilderness, he considered his work done as he flew back to the sect.
The villagers were quite bewildered in the morning at seeing how many of the wolves were now dead. Some of them had seen a mysterious stranger emit flashes of light last night at the wolves, though this mysterious benefactor had flown away without even introducing himself.
Still, their bewilderment soon changed to joy as they realized that they no longer had to live in fear of the wolves. The few that had escaped did not have the numbers to threaten their village anymore - as a matter of fact the villagers themselves could easily take care of them by forming small hunting parties.
And so, life in the village began to finally return to normal.