Chapter 658: Accumulating Virtue and Stealing Treasure

This is truly rare!

Sun Lingtong, ensuring no heist was ever empty-handed, had read countless books, secretly controlled the black market, and combined learning with practical experience. His extensive knowledge meant he was familiar with most materials, even those from the underworld. However, all the precious materials here were completely outside his scope of knowledge; he had no understanding of them whatsoever.

Noticing Sun Lingtong’s confusion and yearning, Zeng Jide clasped his hands behind his back and slowly paced towards the shelves. "This collection can be considered the very essence of Oblivion City," he said.

"The River of Oblivion is the most famous long river in the underworld. When souls fall into the river, they gradually shed their memories and emotions. Once these memories and emotions are discarded, the souls become lighter, as if freed from a burden, until they are light enough to float to the surface and eventually reach the shore. Souls that reach the shore remember nothing, like newborn infants, innocent and curious about everything. Therefore, some also call the River of Oblivion the River of Absolution or the River of Rebirth."

After this introduction, Zeng Jide brought the conversation back. "These precious materials all originate from the River of Oblivion. They are unique to this place and are almost never seen elsewhere. So, it's normal that you don't recognize them. For instance, this one is called the 'Sorrow-Entwined Heart Lotus Root'."

Sun Lingtong looked and saw a pile of lotus roots, each about half a foot long, entirely grey and decaying, as if withered. The surface of the roots was entwined with numerous translucent, grayish-white threads. Upon closer inspection, he noticed these threads wriggling on their own, interweaving, and emitting a mournful aura that made his chest heavy and brought him to the verge of tears.

Zeng Jide pointed to another spot and said, "This is the 'Wrathful Fire Glaze'. Similar to the Sorrow-Entwined Heart Lotus Root, it forms at the bottom of the River of Oblivion, accumulating and condensing from thousands of angry thoughts and resentments."

Sun Lingtong took a few steps and, upon seeing the material Zeng Jide pointed to, immediately felt a stinging sensation in his eyes. It was a fist-sized, irregularly shaped crystal. Its entire body was blood-red, with what looked like raging flames burning and leaping within, constantly emitting faint crackling sounds, while radiating a violent, destructive surge of anger.

Next, Zeng Jide introduced the 'Fear Soul Ice Crystal', the 'Malice Mist Flower', and 'Obsidian Iron'. The Fear Soul Ice Crystal was an ice-blue prismatic crystal, emitting a chilling coldness that instilled panic and fear. The petals of the Malice Mist Flower were as black as ink, layered one upon another, while its stamen was an eerie purplish-red. Obsidian Iron looked ordinary, appearing as heavy, ink-black chunks of metal. If placed before Sun Lingtong, they would simply be mistaken for common iron. In reality, these chunks were exceptionally heavy and were core materials for forging top-tier defensive artifacts.

Zeng Jide stopped before another shelf, a glint in his eyes. "Oh?" he exclaimed with surprise, "There's even 'Pure Child's Tear Gold' here."

This was liquid gold, contained in a bowl. It was pure and unblemished, emanating an aura of extreme warmth, attachment, and hope, like the rising sun. "These are the purest and most flawless souls, shedding tears of ultimate truth. Normally, such souls are rare. But the River of Oblivion can thoroughly cleanse souls, making them like new, which significantly increases the probability of such tears."

Sun Lingtong was greatly enlightened.

Zeng Jide finally stopped at the deepest shelf, his gaze fixed. "Found it," he said. "This is my target for this heist—the 'Oblivion Vortex Eye'."

"'Vortex Eye'?" Sun Lingtong recognized the term. Any flowing substance that consistently forms a vortex might, at its center, develop an eye-like formation. This is a vortex eye.

Zeng Jide said, "It's the kind of vortex eye you know, but these particular ones are different; they are formed within the River of Oblivion. You must understand, the River of Oblivion contains the Dao of Oblivion, capable of eroding emotions and memories. Every drop of water from the River of Oblivion possesses this effect and can be considered a precious material, which is no small matter. The items on the previous shelves were merely accumulations of countless emotions. The Oblivion Vortex Eye, however, is a manifestation refined from the River of Oblivion itself. These are two different levels. The River of Oblivion is a great river of precious materials. Materials born within these materials, with their intricate and harmonious principles, are often natural artifacts!"

Sun Lingtong's eyes lit up. He had long heard of natural artifacts, but they had always remained concepts on paper or legends told by others; now, he was finally seeing a real one.

Standing before the Oblivion Vortex Eye, Zeng Jide performed a series of hand seals. With each touch, a subtle, almost imperceptible ripple spread across the shimmering barrier. One by one, arcane talismans appeared, then silently faded, as if the lock's mechanism had been "picked" by the most precise tool. Ten breaths later, a gap appeared in the shimmering barrier. The talismans at its edges twisted and flickered, but no alarm was triggered. Zeng Jide reached in and effortlessly took out several Oblivion Vortex Eyes.

Zeng Jide carefully examined the vortex eyes, discovering that only the highest quality one had truly become a natural artifact. The others were still a bit short of reaching the level of an artifact. Zeng Jide looked at the vortex eye on his fingertip. "Thus, my objective for this trip has been achieved," he said.

Sun Lingtong asked, "Huh? Senior, you traveled thousands of miles to Oblivion City and risked so much, just to steal this?"

Zeng Jide nodded, then shook his head. "Whenever I conduct a heist, I openly send out an invitation, stating that I will be coming to a certain place soon to steal a particular item. This time is no exception. In my invitation to the Oblivion Prefect, I specifically named the Oblivion Vortex Eye as my target."

Hearing this, Sun Lingtong's pupils dilated in astonishment. "Your method of thievery, Senior... it's truly unique!"

Zeng Jide chuckled. "I feel like you're looking at me as if I'm an idiot."

Sun Lingtong put his hands behind his head. "Heh heh, I couldn't do something so foolish. Why go to such trouble for so little gain? If I'm stealing, I'd be very careful and try to be as inconspicuous as possible."

Hearing his actions described as foolish, Zeng Jide found Sun Lingtong even more to his liking. "Brat, you're quite blunt. Heh heh, I don't mind telling you, I've done such 'foolish' things many times. Every successful attempt significantly boosts my thieving arts! Do you think I'd engage in such ostentatious acts if the benefits weren't substantial enough?"

Sun Lingtong's eyes widened again. This was the first time he had heard of such a cultivation method. He said in disbelief, "Thieving arts are a type of magic. Besides increasing one's realm through diligent practice, are there other shortcuts to cultivation?"

"There are, young man," Zeng Jide replied. "I've read Buddhist scriptures and also cultivate Buddhist techniques. I can make vows, fulfill vows, and repay vows. Every time I send out an invitation, it's making a vow. A successful theft is fulfilling the vow. Finally, by repaying the vow, any technique I used during the theft gets a rapid enhancement! This cultivation efficiency far surpasses my diligent practice."

Sun Lingtong was immediately enlightened. "Buddhist cultivation has such a method?"

Zeng Jide stroked his beard and smiled, teaching him: "The hundreds of arts, thousands of schools, and myriad methods of cultivation are all essentially ways to cultivate. If it's useful to you, then use it. Don't concern yourself with whether it's Buddhist or demonic. Cultivators should embrace all possibilities, adapt flexibly, turn everything to their own use, and never be rigid."

Sun Lingtong nodded repeatedly, taking his words to heart.

Zeng Jide took all the vortex eyes, having achieved his objective for the trip, but did not leave immediately. "Since we're already here, Senior, why not take a bit more?" Sun Lingtong suggested.

Zeng Jide nodded, saying earnestly, "Exactly. These are all destined for me. In our Buddhist cultivation, we speak of vows, and we also speak of destiny." Zeng Jide then acted repeatedly, sweeping away all the precious materials from the shelves.

"Oh? There's a secret room here!" Zeng Jide made an unexpected discovery. He had to perform several thieving arts consecutively before the secret room door opened.

The secret room was not large, containing only three types of precious materials: the 'Innocent True Dew', 'Seven Emotions Jade', and the 'Void-Consciousness Moon Soul'.

There was only one drop of Innocent True Dew. It floated in the center of a jade bottle. The dewdrop was crystal clear and transparent, seemingly non-existent yet undeniably present. It emitted an aura of ultimate purity, a transcendent "nothingness" that seemed capable of cleansing all delusive thoughts and worldly defilements. Zeng Jide's gaze was complex as he introduced it: "Under very rare circumstances, the River of Oblivion can form an 'Innocent Dao Field'. The Innocent True Dew is the sole treasure left behind when an Innocent Dao Field naturally disappears. It can purify inner demons, dispel illusions, and stabilize the Dao heart. It is a sacred item for cultivating top-tier righteous techniques and overcoming inner demon tribulations. Even a single drop is enough to cause a frenzied struggle among powerful cultivators from both righteous and demonic paths!"

There were seven pieces of Seven Emotions Jade, each of a different color, shaped like glazed jade stones. They were naturally stacked together, forming a small, colorful mountain. "'Seven Emotions Jade!'" Zeng Jide took a deep breath. "Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire—these are the seven fundamental emotions. When these seven original emotions accumulate to their extreme, under certain special conditions, they condense into jade! Each piece contains the primordial power of an extreme emotion! They are supreme sacred items for cultivating the 'Seven Emotions Demonic Arts', and core materials for top-tier illusion arrays, emotional attack, or defensive artifacts. It is said that collecting all seven pieces can awaken the primordial source of the seven emotions, unleashing infinite power and wondrous uses! This is an item of ultimate emotion and nature, 'washed' and 'settled' by the River of Oblivion over countless ages from innumerable fallen souls."

Sun Lingtong immediately understood. Many of the previous precious materials were also products of emotional accumulation, such as the Sorrow-Entwined Heart Lotus Root, Wrathful Fire Glaze, Fear Soul Ice Crystal, Malice Mist Flower, and Obsidian Iron. The Seven Emotions Jade should be the pinnacle of these materials!

The Void-Consciousness Moon Soul looked like a crescent moon sealed within ten-thousand-year-old profound ice. The crescent moon was a strange blue-translucent, emitting an peculiar vibration that seemed to trace the past and reflect former lives. "'The Buddha said, 'The Four Great Elements are all void'." Zeng Jide continued, "This is the origin of 'void' condensed from the River of Oblivion, containing the true meaning of 'emptiness and stillness'. It is a supreme treasure for cultivating top-tier oblivion-path techniques such as 'Supreme Oblivion' or 'Nirvana Mind Method', and also a wondrous auxiliary item for forging spatial artifacts or comprehending spatial laws. However, direct contact carries the immense danger of losing oneself and dissolving into nothingness. Legend has it that Yun Xiao used this item to burn himself out and create the Void-Return Raft. It is said that the Void-Consciousness Moon Soul he used then was as large as a small mountain, extremely astonishing. It was probably the largest and most accumulated material of its kind in the River of Oblivion!"

Sun Lingtong was deeply moved. "Then this is too much of a coincidence, isn't it? Just when Yun Xiao wanted to save his Dao companion, he encountered the Void-Consciousness Moon Soul, which perfectly allowed him to achieve such conditions."

Zeng Jide nodded slightly. "Therefore, there's another perspective on Yun Xiao's story. It is said that the heavens of the underworld, unwilling to see the River of Oblivion become a forbidden zone, wished to create a method for crossing the river, allowing beings of the underworld to traverse it. Thus, under the evolution of fate, cultivators Yun Xiao and Yue Yi were arranged. Ultimately, Yun Xiao sacrificed himself, leading to the creation of many Oblivion Crossings and Void-Return Rafts. This is the theory of fate."

Sun Lingtong remained silent, but inwardly he thought: his arrival at Oblivion City this time, encountering Zeng Jide, and receiving his assistance, was probably also a result of the evolution of fate. He asked Zeng Jide, "Elder Zeng, I am extremely interested in fate! Can you, will you teach me? I have a good idea: I want to cultivate the method of fate alongside my current arts, then combine them to create a new thieving art. With this new thieving art, I could directly steal fate itself. By then, I might encounter treasures simply by walking a few steps, my enemies would turn on each other, and my life would be utterly smooth sailing and prosperous! Life would be incredibly delightful."

"Hahahaha." Zeng Jide was amused and laughed heartily three times. He extended a finger and lightly tapped Sun Lingtong's forehead from a distance. "You're dreaming too big, young man. I don't possess any methods related to divination or fate. Even the dignified ruler of an entire nation, the Oblivion Prefect, doesn't have them. If he wants to divine, he still has to seek help from Elder Greybone. There's a secret hidden within this!"

Sun Lingtong pressed, "What secret?"

Zeng Jide explained, "To obtain the methods of fate or divination, force won't work. It relies on conforming to heaven's will and destiny! Only when heaven wills it for you, will such arrangements be made. Otherwise, the stronger a being (person or power), the less likely they are to acquire such methods. This is because learning such methods can easily lead to becoming an uncontrollable 'stubborn disease' in the world, difficult to eliminate, and threatening the natural cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death."

Sun Lingtong frowned. "If that's the case, looking at it from another angle, it means the stronger a person is, the less likely they are to obtain methods of fate or divination?"

Zeng Jide nodded. "Yes. Here, 'strong' also refers to individuals with great potential like you. Although you are currently weak, as long as you continue to grow, you will certainly become powerful. Therefore, it's almost impossible for you to seek out methods of fate or divination." At this point, Zeng Jide sighed. "Alas, I've already tried. If I had divination methods, combined with my vow-making art, I could calculate the chances of success and hidden risks before every invitation I send. Then my cultivation speed would undergo a complete qualitative change, and becoming a legendary Thief Saint would be within reach. Therefore, cultivators who acquire methods of fate or divination often have weak destinies or frequently encounter tribulations, often suffering from the 'three shortcomings and five defects'. As far as I know, diviners also highly value their own fate, meticulously maintaining it between an upper and lower limit."