Chapter 351: Secret Talks Within the Sect (Part 2)

"Alright, if you four have nothing else, you may leave first; we still have matters to discuss with the Sect Master."

Great Elder Lv Hong looked at the four of them with considerable gratification.

After the four bowed once more to the elders and Chen Che, they left in high spirits.

"These four disciples of ours are considered the best among their peers in the sect. Now that they have gained the favor of the Sect Master, they will surely advance even further."

Second Elder Shi Ning said sincerely.

Chen Che smiled: "Actually, it is nothing. It is also because my master taught me well; most importantly, I have seen the other half of the Heavenly Book."

"What?!"

The four elders were all stunned upon hearing this.

"Sect Master, you have seen the other half of the Heavenly Book? May I ask, where is this other half now?"

The Great Elder asked with an excited expression.

"The Heavenly Book Stele is currently in Xia, and it is very safe."

Chen Che took a sip of tea, "Alright, let's talk about your affairs first—the things that happened after my master taught you how to cultivate and founded the Taiyi Sect, most importantly, that Zanpu Dunzhu."

The four eased their breathing, calmed their emotions, and spoke slowly:

"The old Sect Master did not hold back in imparting the knowledge of the Heavenly Book to us, allowing each of us to possess powerful strength. The Taiyi Sect was also founded at that time."

"The old Sect Master's original intention was to create an organization to shelter those who were displaced by the wars at the time, but as more and more people became Martial Artists through cultivation, it turned into a martial arts sect."

"Later, the wars ceased, and the Taiyi Sect relied on its own strength to rebuild the homes of the past, but the old Sect Master proposed to leave at this very time."

"The old Sect Master said that he had seen the origin and destination of Martial Artists in the Heavenly Book, and had seen the ultimate end of the world. He would often sit alone by the cliff, watching the sun rise and set, and the tides ebb and flow."

None of us could understand the Heavenly Book, so naturally, none of us could understand the old Sect Master's feelings, and so when he wanted to leave, no one could stop him."

"The old Sect Master left without saying goodbye. No one knew where he went, and we did not go looking for him, because we all knew that the old Sect Master went to cultivate. Not to mention whether we could find him, even if we could, the old Sect Master would not return with us."

"Thus, we guarded the Taiyi Sect, continuing to carry forward the old Sect Master's will, teaching the local people knowledge, martial arts, and so on."

Some of the locals treated us as a religion, while others treated us as gods. In short, at that time, the Taiyi Sect was a legendary existence to them."

"Until that person appeared."

Speaking of this, the four elders all paused, their expressions sinking.

"Zanpu Dunzhu?" Chen Che asked.

"That is correct, it is precisely this person."

The Great Elder sighed and said: "He was originally just an ordinary local person, and none of us paid him much attention. But this person displayed aptitude no less than the old Sect Master."

"For the things we taught, Zanpu Dunzhu's learning speed was hundreds or thousands of times faster than others. We were all surprised by his comprehension, and at the same time, we were happy."

"Even when he thought of questions later that we could not answer, we were still gratified that such a person had appeared, hoping in our hearts that he could be like the old Sect Master, benevolent and compassionate, and change the fate of all living beings."

Chen Che guessed: "So, you showed him the Heavenly Book Stele."

"Sigh~~"

The four sighed with regret:

"That was the most mistaken thing we ever did. Thinking back on it now, we underestimated human nature. Not everyone is the old Sect Master, willing to share everything they have with others."

"So what exactly happened?" Xie Wanning pressed.

"We realized that the four of us could no longer teach Zanpu Dunzhu, so we took him to see the Heavenly Book Stele. Adhering to the principle of gradual progress, we still only let him see one piece."

"Just as we expected, after seeing the Heavenly Book Stele, Zanpu Dunzhu became deeply immersed in it, guarding the stele day and night, never leaving even through wind and rain."

"Later, Zanpu Dunzhu comprehended a Divine Miracle, or rather, a type of Artisan Technique—an incomparably powerful and profound Artisan Technique."

Chen Che recalled what Adili had said: "The power of faith?"

"That is correct."

The Great Elder's expression was grave as he recalled those grim years, "After Zanpu Dunzhu came out of seclusion, he began to show people his power and spoke of the scenes he had seen in the Heavenly Book. The people who were conquered by him began to follow him and believe in him."

"He originally taught the world in the name of the Taiyi Sect, but later he began to spread his own thoughts to those believers and the public in his own name. As time passed, he had more and more believers; in the eyes of those believers, he was the supreme god."

"It was also from that time on that we realized the development of things had changed and felt a faint sense of unease. But at that time, we didn't think much of it; after all, although Zanpu Dunzhu's methods were different from the old Sect Master's, he hadn't done anything to mislead or harm others."

"Until a terrifying thing happened."

The Fourth Elder suddenly said.

"What happened?"

Chen Che and Xie Wanning asked in unison.

"An old person passed away. That old person was a believer of Zanpu Dunzhu. We, along with Zanpu Dunzhu, helped her prepare a funeral, just like before."

"It was just that at the funeral, a scene occurred that I still find hard to forget to this day."

"Right when she was being buried, the old person who had died came back to life."

"To be precise, it wasn't exactly living; in short, she was no longer herself, but Zanpu Dunzhu."

Chen Che frowned and exchanged a glance with Xie Wanning: "What does this mean?"

"The old person's physical body had indeed died, but her consciousness remained, and because of faith, this consciousness was unconditionally trusting and obedient to Zanpu Dunzhu."

"And what is very eerie is that she was clearly an ordinary person while alive, but after coming back from the dead, there was True Qi in her body!"

"I still remember what Zanpu Dunzhu looked like when he saw the old person come back to life; his smile was grim and triumphant."

"Zanpu Dunzhu even gave the old person a name: Death Servant. A Death Servant... that belonged solely to him."

Chen Che and Xie Wanning gasped, their hair standing on end, feeling a chill down their spines.

"Then what exactly is a Death Servant?" Chen Che asked impatiently.

"Sect Master, it is a pity, but we still haven't figured out what exactly that thing is to this day. However, through later confrontations, we have analyzed some things."

"These Death Servants, when ordinary people die, they turn into Martial Artists, but their strength and realm are very low. However, Death Servants turned from Martial Artists are more powerful, but they have one thing in common: they absolutely obey Zanpu Dunzhu's orders, have no consciousness of their own, and are completely Zanpu Dunzhu's marionettes."

"So this is the Artisan Technique comprehended from the Heavenly Book..."

Chen Che lowered his head in thought, murmuring softly to himself.

Chen Che was very clear about the profound mystery of the Heavenly Book; different people would comprehend different things, and apart from that person, no one else could understand it, just as others could not understand his own Artisan Techniques.

"And then what happened?" Chen Che looked up and continued to ask.

"Later, we realized this was an evil spirit and found Zanpu Dunzhu, hoping he would not do this anymore, and inadvertently, we revealed the matter of the other half of the Heavenly Book Stele. As a result..."

"As a result, Zanpu Dunzhu became tempted and wanted to see the other half of the Heavenly Book Stele. After we refused him, he started a war."

"Zanpu Dunzhu killed his followers, and after death, the followers were resurrected as death-servants, becoming his powerful Followers."

"The war was intense, and of those who followed the old Sect Master with us, only the four of us remained, but fortunately, we were victorious in the end."

Zanpu Dunzhu was severely wounded, and those death-servants of his also suffered a great reduction in combat power along with his serious injuries. But while fleeing, Zanpu Dunzhu still snatched away a piece of the Heavenly Book Stele.