The Power of Virtue possessed countless strange and wondrous uses. It could raise one's cultivation realm, ward off inner demons, grant comprehension of the Heavenly Dao, or even obscure the Heavenly Secrets. In the past, it was a mysterious power many cultivators sought after.
But since the Immortal Ascension Heavenly Ladder vanished nine thousand years ago, the Power of Virtue had not appeared in the Nine Provinces for nine thousand years as well. No matter how great a deed one did for the blessings of all beings, not even the faintest trace of virtuous power would appear.
Gradually, cultivators had forgotten that such a power had ever existed. The power that remained the most in any force was within the Dream River Dynasty. They were so extravagant that they once used Virtue Gold Bricks to build a Golden House for the Red Dust Fairy.
Yet that was the foolish whim of the Dream River Emperor. The moment he came to his senses, he quickly ordered all the gold bricks reclaimed and stored them away in the national treasury as a most precious reserve. The ancestral precept of that dynasty clearly stated: unless the nation faced extinction, those Virtue Gold Bricks must never be used.
Because the Power of Virtue was so exceedingly rare, at present very few cultivators could even recognize it. Even elders of the Spirit Transformation Stage believed the strange strength came from within themselves—their own Divine Repository Power—and not from any heaven‑bestowed virtue.
The Dao Sect once explained that all the Power of Virtue was blocked above in the Immortal Realm and could no longer descend. Judging from what was before him now, Jiang Li felt that was completely wrong. The conditions for the descent of virtuous power must have changed.
Killing could now earn virtue! No. That didn’t seem right. He had killed plenty already.
He had even just slain Long Sanshui, yet not the slightest trace of virtuous power had manifested. There must be some other condition.
“What is it then? Does one have to join that Divine Repository Cult, or undergo some kind of ceremony? Or perhaps, must one have faith in that so‑called Divine Repository Venerable who suddenly appeared out of nowhere?”
Jiang Li pondered aloud and turned to the old man he had captured. The old man barely opened his mouth—before a single word left his lips, his whole body suddenly swelled up like a balloon, round as a sphere and seemingly about to explode.
Jiang Li reacted instantly, sealing the old man’s body with a binding technique to prevent him from bursting apart. He managed to halt the detonation for the moment, but could not restore the man’s form. The old man remained trapped in that grotesque, bloated shape.
Moreover, if Jiang Li released his binding even for a breath, the man would surely explode.
“…A lost curse technique?”
Jiang Li murmured. He had read descriptions of curses before—some would cause punishment if certain words were spoken or remembered, such as the spontaneous explosion before him. Over nine thousand years had passed; the Nine Provinces had developed continuously, new inheritances emerged and old ones perished.
The art of Curse Techniques was one such lost inheritance. It was said that those who cultivated curses were themselves cursed by heaven, born with the fate of the Heavenly Calamity Lone Star. Therefore the line of curse masters always passed single‑handedly, and it was only natural that the heritage vanished.
“You three must not speak of what happened here, nor get yourselves involved.”
Jiang Li sternly instructed Qin Luan and the other two. He knew their temperaments—they weren’t the type to blather—but he still cautioned them again. This matter carried implications far too heavy.
Jiang Li took the spherical elder and tore through the skies.
“Bai Hongtu, come out and see if you can break whatever this is.”
Jiang Li flew back to the Dao Sect and summoned Bai Hongtu, who had been in seclusion. Upon hearing Jiang Li’s voice, Immortal Elder Changcun and the Yin‑Yang Heavenly Seal also appeared, knowing something serious had occurred.
“Break what? The binding? If I undo it, he’ll blow up, you know,” Bai Hongtu said blankly, utterly confused why he’d been summoned so suddenly.
“You don’t recognize this as a curse technique?”
“I don’t,” Bai Hongtu replied justifiedly.
“I’ve only seen written descriptions. How could I just conclude it’s that? This is called being cautious.”
“This is indeed a curse, and not just any, but the extremely stringent Hex Refining Seal Curse. The art of curses has long been lost to the Nine Provinces. Where did you even find this man?”
Immortal Elder Changcun, well‑traveled and well‑learned, identified at a glance the kind of curse that bound the elder.
“Can it be undone?”
Changcun shook his head.
“Ordinary curses I could unbind, but for the Hex Refining Seal Curse—its conditions for casting are exceedingly strict—aside from the one who cast it, no one can undo it.”
“What conditions are required to cast it?”
“First, the subject must agree in full awareness and pure willingness. One cannot coerce by threatening life or kin, nor entice by treasure or power. Second, the caster must be an entire major realm higher than the subject.”
“Completely voluntary, yet allowed someone to curse him? Where did you find such a fool?”
Bai Hongtu asked curiously. Jiang Li did not answer. The fewer who knew, the better.
“Tianyin, take a look—see with whom this man has formed karmic ties.”
“…This man’s karmic threads are shrouded by some mysterious power. I can only see faintly that he has never once left the Heavenly Origin Dynasty. Beyond that, nothing more,” the Yin‑Yang Heavenly Seal answered with a hint of frustration.
Ever since he gained sentience, his power over karma had rarely shown use—aside from finding his master’s corpse. Tianyin, you must work harder. If you don’t cultivate diligently, someday Jiang Li might really toss you into the furnace.
The Yin‑Yang Heavenly Seal secretly swore to improve. Its first task would be devising a method for spirit treasures like itself to cultivate independently. Back before it had awakened intelligence, it already had experience in self‑refinement, so this was not beyond reach.
Jiang Li knew the Power of Virtue had veiled the lines of karma. That even the Heavenly Seal could still catch glimpses proved how well Tianyin had grasped karmic power.
“Heavenly Origin Dynasty. Got it.”
Jiang Li said no more. He flew far from the Dao Sect, released the binding, and let the old man explode on his own. He couldn’t dirty the Dao Sect grounds.
Then Jiang Li headed straight to the Heavenly Mystery Tower’s Great Zhou Branch Pavilion. The moment he entered the hall, his eyes caught sight of a large plaque titled “Human Emperor Jiang at Heavenly Mystery Tower.” The shock momentarily froze him.
He patted Zhou Youfu on the shoulder as if entrusting him with some important matter. Zhou Youfu’s round face gleamed with sweat as he gave a proud, “Leave it to me” expression. Normally, with Jiang Li’s Mahayana‑stage memory—especially with something that happened fairly recently—he should recall everything perfectly.
Yet now he couldn’t help but doubt his own memory. Hearing that the Human Emperor Jiang had arrived, Zhou Youfu hurried down the stairs to greet him. Watching the man’s fat flab shake as he trotted down the steps, Jiang Li couldn’t help but think he looked like a mother pig bouncing her way down.
This time Jiang Li didn’t even give Zhou Youfu the chance to overthink matters. He yanked him into a secret chamber.
“I’m not here to inspect the Heavenly Mystery Tower. I want to buy every piece of information you have on the Divine Repository Cult.”
“The Divine Repository Cult?”
Zhou Youfu’s face instantly revealed a troubled look. Asking straightaway for information that even the Heavenly Mystery Tower barely knew—that alone told him this wasn’t some ordinary visit of inspection. Still, Zhou Youfu quickly gathered all existing records about the Divine Repository Cult and handed them over.
“That’s it?”
Jiang Li swept through the contents within the jade talisman—pitifully few.
“That’s it,” Zhou Youfu answered honestly.
“Our Heavenly Mystery Tower doesn’t know much about this cult that suddenly appeared either.”
“When we first learned of their existence, we dispatched several disciples to investigate. But all of them ended up being drawn into the cult, becoming devout believers. Since then, the Divine Repository Cult has been wary of us, guarding against all our probes.”
“Your disciples defected like that, and you didn’t think to reclaim your dignity, to dig deeper into this cult?”
Jiang Li’s eyes narrowed. Zhou Youfu chuckled.
“Lord Human Emperor, you jest. We are merchants. What is a few disciples but workers moving from one shop to another? There is no betrayal in that. Besides, if there is no client paying us spirit stones, why would we bother losing profit and effort to investigate the Divine Repository Cult?”
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(End of Chapter)