Otherworldly Desert Dust

The ground was covered with fallen leaves, unattended.

Wu Hen entered the courtyard and saw an old man without legs sitting under the courtyard tree, lifeless, as if he were waiting for the sunset to part ways with the world forever.

"Old man, someone entrusted me to deliver a few words to you," Wu Hen approached and spoke to the legless elder.

"Is he dead?" the elder asked without even lifting his eyelids.

"No, he said he committed an irreparable mistake and would never set foot in the Cang Chu Divine Realm again in his lifetime. He asked me to tell you not to worry about him," Wu Hen replied.

"He still knows it's irreparable? Then why did he flee, causing my other children to suffer the thunder punishment!" The elder's emotion fluctuated slightly.

Wu Hen was also puzzled. Was the murderer previously living in this Tongtian City?

What outrageous thing had he done?

"He has many regrets and said he would repay your kindness in his next life," Wu Hen added.

"Alright, the dead are relieved; the living suffer even more," the elder closed his eyes again, continuing to wait for the sunset.

"I should go now. If there's anything you need, you can find me at the Holy Sect; my name is Cai Ting," Wu Hen said.

"You're from the Holy Sect?" The elder suddenly opened his eyes wide, staring at Wu Hen.

"Yes, why?" Wu Hen asked, puzzled.

"Why would you help him if you're from the Holy Sect?" the elder frowned and asked.

Wu Hen was also confused.

Mainly because after they had stopped the torture of the murderer using biological battery technology, the guy was no longer the same; he had severe mental issues. He just wanted me to come here to see the people living in this place—it's more like his last words, just wanting me to console his relatives, without revealing any earth-shattering secrets.

"You don't know anything, do you?" the elder continued.

Wu Hen helplessly nodded, "I just offered him some care towards his end."

"I'm already half in the grave; you must have come for the Tianxuan Saint Decision," the half-bodied elder spoke the words and specifically glanced at himself.

Tianxuan Saint Decision?

The Holy Sect, being part of Mystical Cultivation, possesses cultivation techniques and secret scriptures.

A Saint Decision indicates a powerful secret scripture.

Most of the Saint Decisions currently held by Wu Hen were of a lower level, and the only Advanced Saint Technique he had, the Golden Spirit Giant Shadow, was essentially acquired through stealth learning.

Regarding Saint Decisions, the Holy Sect has strict control. Normally, they serve as rewards for those who contribute significantly to the sect.

Different from traditional martial arts scriptures, each page of a Saint Decision is inscribed with sacred text, unable to be copied or embossed, requiring a rare type of Rock Ink to be produced.

So whether it's a low or high-level, or even the Tianxuan Saint Decision, they're all consumables, and the sect keeps records of all used Saint Decisions.

Wu Hen later learned that after he had studied the Saint Decision that could transform into a Golden Spirit Giant Shadow, it was essentially just an empty shell. After putting it back, others couldn't study from it anymore.

Well, to put it plainly, all the Holy Sect's Saint Decisions use blockchain technology, decentralized, non-replicable, and traceable.

"May I ask if this Tianxuan Saint Decision is truly the ultimate secret scripture of the Totem Sacred Sect?" Wu Hen was also partly ignorant about the Holy Sect's affairs, but seeing that the nearly deceased elder was forthcoming, he stopped pretending.

"As a member of the Holy Sect and donning the robe of a Master, how could you not know this?" the elder also expressed surprise.

"I'm not fully a member of the Holy Sect, it's a long story..." Wu Hen said, feeling helpless.

"Alright, I'm not interested in your story. From the moment you stepped here, you were not the Holy Sect's henchman. Perhaps it's also your fate arriving. I'll tell you the secret of the Tianxuan Saint Decision," the elder waved his hand.

"Oh, I'm very grateful," Wu Hen hurriedly replied.

"We belong to the Thief's House…"

"Thief?"

"Ancient Stealing!" The white-haired elder got a bit agitated, spitting these words out with disdain for petty thievery.

"Oh, oh, oh, craftsmen of ancient techniques," Wu Hen nodded.

"The Holy Sect has many Feathered Masters who, nearing their milestone birthdays, seek an Immortal Burial Land to pass away in peace. We make a living by locating these sites and taking away their left artifacts," the white-haired elder stated.

Wu Hen raised his eyebrows.

Truly a master of Dividing Meridian and Positioning Acupoints, dare I ask if it's Southern Sect or Northern Sect?

"If your targets are all high-ranking members of the Holy Sect, wouldn't you possess a trove of rare treasures?" Wu Hen immediately became interested.

Grave robbers!

Digging the graves of Holy Gods!

One could imagine, achieving one big score would quite literally propel you to the heavens.

"Our ancestors were wise," the old man with white hair spoke with a glint in his eyes and a touch of pride, "they knew that certain prodigies in cultivation were unreachable for common folks like us, no matter the methods we employed to advance ourselves. However, the laws of this world are fair, for even the most brilliant cultivators, who dazzled their era, will eventually fall and meet their end. To possess the treasures they once commanded, one must wait until they've passed and locate their resting place."

Upon hearing this, Wu Hen couldn't help but think that this perspective was brilliant!

Indeed, while they were alive, you wouldn't dare touch their possessions, but once they're gone, even if only their remains are left, they're not much of a threat. Everything they had acquired in their lifetime falls into the hands of craftsmen like these.

It does seem that the only way to compete with the powerful Holy Sect is to outlive them.

"My Sixth Son is also extremely intelligent," the old man sighed deeply, "even though he embarked on the path of cultivation, he was no less talented than those so-called sect geniuses. Yet, he was particularly interested in our family's Art of Ancient Stealing. I was not careful enough and gave him too much freedom, which led him to cause a great disaster that affected our entire family."

Wu Hen wasn't in a hurry and patiently listened to the old man's story.

Who would have thought a murderer would have such skills!

"Whose tomb did he rob?" Wu Hen asked.

"Do you know about the Qilin Girl from the Holy Country?" the old man replied.

"Uh... I've heard a bit, but isn't she alive and well?" Wu Hen said, feeling awkward.

"Of course, not her, she's still young. She had a master, who was an Ancestor of the Holy Country. Because he loved plum wine from Tongtian City, my Sixth Son managed to find his resting place through this detail that others wouldn't have noticed. He took his Holy Bones and the Tianxuan Saint Decision," the old man explained.

Wu Hen's face showed no expression, but inside, a storm was brewing.

A murderer had actually done such an outrageous deed.

He had stolen the tomb of the Cold-blooded Woman's master!

No wonder not a single member of his family survived; it must have taken a lot of effort for this old man to cling onto life...

"Such audacity!" Wu Hen had seen the nature of the Cold-blooded Woman.

The three of them, being direct relatives of the Cold-blooded Woman, merely disagreed with her verbally, and she wanted to feed them to the dogs. The act of stealing her master's tomb... no amount of punishment would seem sufficient.

"Do you dare to take this Tianxuan Saint Decision?" the old man suddenly smiled, "By mentioning it, you're now involved in this karma. It's still not too late to leave if you prefer not to know."

"Just tell me, I'm not afraid," Wu Hen responded.

Always thinking about good opportunities without taking the risks, where in the world could one find such a deal?

Besides, there are more than one ways to handle this.

If it became too much for him to bear, he could always find an excuse to offer the Tianxuan Saint Decision to the Cold-blooded Woman as a way to ease the long-standing aloofness between the siblings. After all, she was heartless, and he had to be disingenuous.

"When you came, did you see the Rain Temple?" the old man asked.

"I saw it."

"The item is hidden on the beams of the Rain Temple, go and take it," the old man generously disclosed the hiding place.

"Thank you!" Wu Hen nodded, no longer lingering, and turned to leave the courtyard.

...

He went to the Rain Temple, which was mostly visited by local residents who volunteered to clean and worship there. It was evident that the temple's worshippers mainly revered ancestors of the Holy Sect and the Rain God, as these enigmatic divine figures didn't have many devotees.

Upon entering the Rain Temple, Wu Hen saw a particularly striking statue.

This sculpture was lifelike, resembling a white jade Divine Beast standing in the hall of the temple, even its demeanor seemed to scrutinize those who entered.

Wu Hen thought he was seeing things.

Upon a closer look, he discovered that the temple's enshrined deity was none other than the Divine Beast Bai Ze!

Truth be told, his experiences in the Scroll Realm felt like a dream. If he hadn't encountered the real Du Mao in the True Martial Continent, he would have doubted whether that period was truly spent lost in a cosmic illusion.

Since Du Mao was real, the Bai Ze he had captured with immense effort in the Scroll Realm was also real.

The eight Divine Officers had promised to send Bai Ze to him. So many years had passed that he had nearly forgotten about it. Unexpectedly, he saw Bai Ze here in this Rain Temple!

"Are... are you a statue, or are you alive?" Wu Hen spoke to the statue in the Rain Temple.

The Bai Ze statue stood there, showing no reactions.

Wu Hen just smiled wryly.

He must not have fully awakened. Even if people worshipped Divine Beast Bai Ze, that was normal, so why would he expect the statue in front of him to actually be Bai Ze himself?

Shaking his head, Wu Hen noticed the statue had a rather long neck, so taking advantage of Bai Ze's long head, he stepped up to retrieve the protection on the temple beams.

But as Wu Hen stepped onto Bai Ze's forehead, he immediately heard a stream of beautiful, mature-sounding language, like that of an elder sister Fairy...

"Little Wu Hen, seeing me, why don't you bow? If you won't bow, fine, but how dare you step on Immortal's delicate forehead!!"

"Immortal will drench you with a torrential rain of Divine Spittle, and with one Thunder Snore, scatter your soul to the winds!!"

In the Rain Temple, the Divine Grace statue truly came to life, and upon awakening, it started a furious barrage on Wu Hen with its dainty hooves!