Stealing The Heavens

Chapter 548: Laying the Foundation

Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: Hitesh_

The sky was nowhere to be seen when standing in this nameless valley. It was veiled by the massive green crowns of the pine trees which had been growing for many long years, as well as the wisterias hanging down from their thick branches. Dozens of illuminating rocks and pearls were used to light up the valley.

Under the faint light, people were gathering on a grassy land, measuring roughly one acre in area.

Supremacy Three Flame, Xue Mei, You Jin, and Bajie… these were the people who Wu Qi was familiar with, and whom he could trust. Behind them stood six hundred boys and girls in a neat formation, whose background and latent talents were flawless. Several thousand boys and girls had been carefully selected from An Le County, but only six hundred of them had survived the battle of Greenwood Mountain, and were eventually brought into this valley.

Because of the plan forged by Wu Qi and Su Qin, several thousand boys and girls were turned into ashes in the Greenwood Mountain.

Wu Qi ran his glance across the young faces of these boys and girls, and saw worries in their eyes. Yet, his heart was as calm as still waters. There was no pressure, no guilt, no disturbing thoughts, and no burden of morality. Their companions, and even brothers and sisters, were turned into ashes because of Wu Qi’s plot. But Wu Qi was no longer the same Wu Qi from back in the days.

Standing atop a raised rock platform materialized with a spell, Wu Qi looked down at the people in front of him. His hands were clasped behind his back, and a frightening power was being emanated from within his body. The auras of True Body of Heaven and Earth Scripture, the Dragon Transformation Script, the Song of Gale, the Dark Yin Water Scripture, the Inferno Hell Fiend Scripture, the Asamskrta Energy Unity Scripture, and even the Magnetic Grand Magic, the Dao of Primordial Talismans, and the Dao of Ghost and Deity, were spreading out and sweeping across the place in a wanton manner. Some felt heavy, some bizarre, some pure and orthodox, some brutal and mighty… Everything was mixed and blended into a tremendous pressure.

One after another, all six hundred boys and girls dropped to their knees in a series of thuds. They bowed their heads deeply and dared not to look at Wu Qi.

Wu Qi nodded slowly as his pointed a finger at them and said in a deep voice, “You are ants who are born and live under the Heavenly Dao, and you have been enjoying the great fortune of the heaven and earth. But, you are muddleheaded, not knowing what the true meaning of the heaven and earth is. You are powerless, unable to struggle free from the restriction put on you by the Heavenly Dao. You are bound to the cycle of birth, old age, illness, and death, reincarnating for thousands of times to live over and over again in hardship. You have no way out!

“I, Wu Qi, do not care what the human race should do. I do not care what the limits the Heavenly Dao has set upon the human race are! Now, I will give you an opportunity, one that can allow you to transcend the Heavenly Dao, struggle free from the destiny of endless reincarnation, and live forever in freedom and leisure!

“I do not care one whether you are a man or a woman, beautiful or ugly, kind or evil… These are not my concerns! I do not care if you will commit murder and arson in the future, bully men and rape women, or run amok in the world to cause troubles everywhere. These are not my concerns, and I will not restrict you from doing that!

“So long as you have the overall strength, you can do whatever you wish to do!

“So long as you have the overall strength, you can raid anything you like!

“So long as you have the overall strength, you can choose to be a Buddha, an Immortal, a Fiend, anything you feel suits you the best!

“I will give you the overall strength, the opportunity to change your destiny… And what I want in return, is your loyalty… An allegiance without reservation, absolute loyalty! Apart from your loyalty, I want the same amount of submission!

“When I want you to live, you will live; when I want you to die, you will die. When I want you to cry, you will cry; when I want you to laugh, you will laugh. When I want you to kill your beloved brothers, your most intimate lovers, you will draw your weapons and cut off their heads!

“Loyalty and submission, these are the only two things I want from you! Be absolutely loyal and submissive to me, and I will give you an opportunity to become stronger, to live forever, to stand above and enjoy the worship of all the lesser people!”

The dreadful pressure had made all the boys and girls bow their heads deeply, their clothes drenched in sweat. Even Supremacy Three Flame and the other three were staring at Wu Qi with shock. They did not understand how Wu Qi managed to possess such a frightening power, and was able to emanate such a bizarre aura.

“Underhand Sect, this is the name of our sect!

“The real name of our Ancestral Master is Tan Lang, and Greed is his title! I am the second-generation Ancestral Master and the current Sect Leader!”

A huge fine jade flew out as he waved his right hand. Then, from the tips of his fingers came shooting out countless sword energies of the Heaven Breaking Sword. Using it, he carved the white jade into a large jade tablet in just a flash. It stood thirty feet tall with clouds as the roof and nine dragons as the foundation. After that, a beam of golden light darted out from his fingertip, and the carving of ‘Underhand Sect’ was set on the face of the jade tablet. At the same time, three rows of tiny characters appeared on the top of its back: Ancestral Master – Tan Lang the Reverend Greed, Second-generation Ancestral Master – Le Xiaobai, Second-generation Ancestral Master – Wu Qi.

“Our first Guardian Elder, Supremacy Three Flame!” Wu Qi cried at the top of his voice.

He turned to give Supremacy Three Flame a long, deep look, then asked, “Fellow Daoist, my brother, will you help me?”

Supremacy Three Flame looked back at Wu Qi as he suddenly burst into a loud laughter and said, “The Underhand Sect, I like the name! Also, the sect rules you have laid down, my brother, are quite to my taste! What you want from us are loyalty and submission, and we are allowed to commit murder and arson, do all kinds of evil?”

“The Underhand Sect is never going to be some honest and upright sect!” Wu Qi said with a smile.

‘More than that, if truth be told…’ thought Wu Qi. Back in the days, the Underhand Sect was an underground organization which even the government had to infiltrate with a secret agent. In fact, it could be considered as an organization of gangsters. Wu Qi had already seen the true colors of the world of cultivators. Therefore, he would never establish an honest and upright sect! What he needed was a formidable sect, and that was all he wanted! As long as the sect was loyal and submissive to him, he did not care if anyone from the sect would commit murder and arson, or do all kinds of evil!

‘If you don’t kill others, others will kill you; if you don’t rob others, others will rob you.’ Only violence and power, as well as endless schemes and intrigues, could allow one to survive in this cruel world. Only the fiercest, most poisonous snake could survive in this dark forest governed by the laws of the jungle!

After getting the answer from Wu Qi, Supremacy Three Flame laughed heartily as he dropped to his knees and offered the jade tablet a kowtow in the most solemn manner.

Wu Qi nodded. A beam of golden light shot out from his fingertip and carved out another row of characters at the back of the jade tablet, ‘Second-generation Guardian Elder – Supremacy Three Flame.’ After that, without seeking opinion from the others, he quickly carved out another two rows of characters – Eldest Disciple of the Second-generation Ancestral Master – Zhu Bajie, Second-generation Chief Steward – You Jin.

Just like Supremacy Three Flame, You Jin and Bajie went down to their knees and offered the jade tablet a kowtow.

When it was done, Supremacy Three Flame rose to his feet and clapped Xue Mei on the back. “Sect Leader, all I can provide for Xue Mei are hardships. Why don’t you take her as your disciple?” he said with a laugh, his eyes filled with anticipation. He had witnessed Wu Qi’s various magical abilities, and he had a vague feeling that should Xue Mei follow Wu Qi, she would definitely have a bright future.

Also, if Xue Mei kept following him everywhere, how could he have the opportunity to develop love affairs with some female cultivators?

With a smile on his face, Wu Qi gave Supremacy Three Flame a glance before turning to Xue Mei, who had grown more beautiful. “Well, if that is the case, Xue Mei, I will take you as my second disciple!” A thread of golden light shot out of his fingertip and carved another name on the back of the jade tablet, ‘Second Disciple of the Second-generation Ancestral Master – Xue Mei.’

His stern glance swept across the boys and girls, who were kneeling on the ground and dared not to raise their heads. “Tell me your names. You will be the in-name disciples of Underhand Sect. I will teach you the Asamskrta Energy Unity Scripture, and it will serve as the foundation-laying scripture for our sect. If any of you can cultivate to the Gold Core realm with this cultivation technique, I will teach you some other supreme cultivation techniques!”

The Asamskrta Energy Unity Scripture was known for its focus in laying down a solid foundation. The energy produced from cultivating it was pure, compact, and upright, all of which conformed to the qualities of Daoism. It would be the perfect foundation-laying technique for the sect.

When any of these disciples stepped into the Gold Core realm, Wu Qi would teach them more advanced cultivation techniques according to their preferences. For those who wished to walk the path of Fiend League, he could give them the Inferno Hell Fiend Scripture, or the Fiend celestial Battle the Heaven Script which he obtained from the puppets. The others could always cultivate the various mystic techniques found in the Dark Yin Water Scripture. Together with the Dao of Ghost and Deity, the Dao of Primordial Runes, the Dao of Fiend Formations he stole from Miao Ying Palace, and the various pill recipes and formations, the Underhand Sect possessed a myriad of divine abilities and mystic techniques that could make all the other major sects in the world of cultivators drool with jealousy.

For disciples who Wu Qi could trust, such as Bajie and Xue Mei, he would teach them the Song of Gale. It was a supreme cultivation technique that could lead one straight to the realm of Primordial Immortal. As to whether could they achieve that, it would have to depend on their ability of understanding and luck.

Afterward, Wu Qi told them the sect rules, which he had copied from the rules of the Underhand Sect on the earth in the past. Willfully, he had imposed the rules of a modern underground organization on a sect in the world of cultivators. Finally, after passing the Asamskrta Energy Unity Scripture to all six hundred boys and girls, he dragged Supremacy Three Flame and the other three into the depth of the valley, where he began to teach them part of the Song of Gale.

You Jin, Xue Mei, and Bajie were unable to perceive its advantage, but when Supremacy Three Flame heard the scripts which Wu Qi read from one of the chapters found in the Song of Gale, his eyes went wide instantly, and he clutched Wu Qi’s arm as tears began to stream down his cheek. “Is this a scripture that could allow me to cultivate to Gold Immortal realm? My brother, you are truly a good brother!”

Supremacy Three Flame suddenly felt that knowing Wu Qi and becoming his friend was the best thing that had ever happened in his entire life. The Song of Gale was an extremely profound cultivation technique, and it was completely different from any of the cultivation techniques he had known in the past. He reckoned that it must be a mystic technique that could lead him straight into the realm of Gold Immortal!

Wu Qi gave Supremacy Three Flame a glance, whose face was smeared with tears, then he cleared his throat and said in a flat tone, “Well, it leads straight to the realm of Ninth Tier Primordial Immortal. After that, we will have to gain enlightenment through meditation.”

Supremacy Three Flame fell sprawling on the ground with a thud. It made Wu Qi guffaw. Then, he told the rest to take care of themselves and the place, before he took his leave from the valley in a hurry.

Since the Underhand Sect was established, there was a lurking trouble that he had to resolve as soon as possible.

Wu Qi suddenly realized that he was very, very busy! Although he had found a lump of Star Jade Spirit Gold, he just could not find the time to craft himself a handy weapon.

After leaving the mountains, he stepped into the sky and shot straight toward Zhong Ning City.