The 36 Thieves Formed a Sworn Brotherhood

Chapter 74 The Thirty-Six Thieves Formed a Sworn Brotherhood

Once that thought arose, it was like a spark falling on a barren plain; in an instant, it had become a raging fire.

Wugensheng felt a sudden boom in his mind, as if something had burst forth from the ground at that moment.

"Surely there's someone in this world who understands all this talk about the Golden Core Dao?"

He muttered to himself, his voice echoing in the empty cave, striking the stone walls and returning again and again, as if something was responding to him.

"Those old Taoist priests in the temples, who spend their whole lives tending to incense and reading alchemical texts, shouldn't they understand?"

"Those hermits deep in the mountains, who renounce worldly affairs and seek only longevity, surely they understand?"

"Those predecessors who devoted their entire lives to alchemy, studying scriptures until their hair turned white, trying to comprehend the workings of nature—surely they understand this?"

Wugensheng spoke faster and faster, his voice filled with an irrepressible excitement, like a drowning person suddenly grabbing onto a piece of driftwood, or a lost person suddenly seeing a light.

"As long as you find like-minded people, you can understand and ponder together."

"If you chime in and I chime in, if you know a little and I know a little, and we piece it all together, maybe we can figure out these poems!"

"In this way, solving this major problem will no longer be difficult!"

Before the words were finished, the hurried footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

Only Wugensheng's panting echoed in the empty cave.

The breathing was heavy and rapid, as if he had just run a thousand miles, or as if he had just woken up from a long dream.

In the silent cave, the sound was amplified countless times, crashing against the stone walls and bouncing back, again and again, as if something was pounding on his chest.

"only...

"9

That single "just" was as light as a feather, yet as heavy as a mountain.

The excitement that had just begun to ignite was doused with cold water by that single word, "just."

It wasn't the kind of ice-cold water, but rather the kind of lukewarm water that gradually cools you down.

Wugensheng's brows furrowed slightly.

He leaned against the stone wall.

The stone wall was icy cold; you could feel the chill even through your clothes.

The chill seeped in from my back, climbing up my spine, all the way to the back of my head and the top of my head.

But he was completely unaware, simply leaning there, gazing at the empty space ahead.

There was nothing in the void ahead.

Only the poems and inscriptions covering the walls, flickering in the torchlight, seemed to come alive.

The poems and inscriptions covering the walls had given him a headache, made him anxious, and made him want to bang his head against the wall. But now, looking at them again, they seemed distant.

As distant as the stars in the sky, visible but untouchable.

It's so far away, like being separated by a veil, hazy and indistinct, clearly right in front of you, yet you just can't reach it.

What kind of person are you looking for?

Wugensheng asked himself in his heart.

The sound echoed in my heart, one beat after another, like someone tolling a bell.

First, one must understand the things of Taoism.

This is the most basic thing.

If you don't understand the Golden Elixir Dao, Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, the union of Kan and Li, or the concept of a young girl or infant, coming here will be a waste of your time.

The words in those poems were like gibberish to them. When they put them together, they just stared at each other blankly, unable to understand or explain them.

What's that called?

That's like a group of blind men touching an elephant; they touch it and touch it, but they can't figure it out.

Secondly, they must be reliable.

Wu Gensheng's eyes darkened slightly as he thought of this.

Over the years, he has traveled all over the country, met many people, and experienced many things.

He knew all too well what the human heart was like.

The human heart is like water, seemingly calm, yet turbulent beneath. The human heart is like an abyss, seemingly shallow, yet unfathomably deep.

In a place like this, with its rich traditions, if someone with ill intentions were to be brought in, wouldn't that be like inviting a wolf into the house?

If you fail to comprehend the inheritance, you might end up causing a lot of trouble.

Even Wugensheng's gaze deepened.

What if that person harbors malicious intentions and tries to monopolize the inheritance, and then attacks him?

He wasn't afraid of death.

He was afraid that after he died, no one would understand his poems and writings.

Again, it depends on fate.

Why would anyone come to this remote mountain forest with you for no reason?

Why should I believe your claim that "there is a tradition here"?

Why should I put everything I have on my plate to do this thing with you, even if it might not have a result?

Wugensheng gave a bitter smile.

He himself thought it was absurd.

A complete stranger suddenly comes up to you and says:

I've discovered a cave, and there's a legacy within. Come and explore it with me.

If it were him, he wouldn't believe it either.

He would think that person was either a liar or a madman.

Finally, and most importantly, one must be willing to come.

They were willing to give up everything they had and come to the depths of the Qinling Mountains for a vague and ethereal "inheritance".

I am willing to stay in these deep mountains and forests for who knows how long, just to understand those obscure and difficult verses.

They are willing to invest their time and energy in something whose outcome is uncertain.

He was willing to entrust his life to a complete stranger.

Wugensheng scratched his head.

In that movement, there was three parts frustration, three parts helplessness, three parts bewilderment, and one part—which he himself was unaware of—

look forward to.

That expectation was small, as small as a speck of dust, hidden in the deepest part of my heart, beneath all my worries and confusion.

But it is there.

It was there, throbbing faintly, like a newly planted seed waiting to sprout.

Where can you find someone like that?

He didn't know many people to begin with.

Over the years of traveling around the country, I have met some extraordinary people, but most of them were just casual acquaintances.

We drank together, chatted together, walked together for a while, and then went our separate ways and never saw each other again.

Some of those people would pat their chests at the dinner table and say, "Brothers, just let me know if you need anything," only to disappear the next day.

Some said "see you later" with red eyes when they parted, and then there was never a "see you later".

Most friendships in the martial arts world are like this.

There isn't a single person you could entrust with such a thing.

Those casual acquaintances are not close enough to be trusted.

Those acquaintances you barely know are not capable enough to be of any use.

Those truly capable and highly skilled individuals are beyond his reach and beyond his reach.

He couldn't find or meet those reclusive elders who lived deep in the mountains.

Wugensheng became more and more worried as he thought about it, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.

But in that sorrow, there was no intention to retreat.

The Book of Changes says, "When two people are of one mind, their strength can break metal."

This is absolutely true.

A road that one person cannot travel, may become passable when two people travel together.

If two people can't make it, then three, four, five...

Ten people, twenty people, thirty people!

Many hands make light work.

With united will, we can overcome any obstacle.

Something that one person can't understand might become clear when a group of people get together, chattering and discussing it.

A mystery that one person cannot understand might become clear when a group of people gather together, each contributing a little bit.

In this world, there are always some things that require a group of people to accomplish.

Just like building a house, one person can't build a skyscraper.

Just like crossing a river, one person cannot build a boat or a bridge.

Like a temple path—

Wugensheng suddenly thought of a word:

Together.

Let us contemplate and understand together.

The word flashed through his mind, as if something had exploded in his brain.

Yes, we participate together.

Don't those high-ranking Taoist masters often gather together to discuss scriptures and doctrines and learn from each other?

You know a little, I know a little, and together we create our own world.

If you understand a part, and I understand a part, together we achieve perfection.

The truth of this world becomes clearer the more it is debated.

The mysteries of this world are those that become clearer the more you try to understand them.

What Wugensheng didn't know was—

The thought that crossed his mind at that moment was the very beginning of the sworn brotherhood of the Thirty-Six Thieves that would later shock the entire world of supernatural beings.

It was this idea of ​​"finding a group of people to comprehend together" that led him to form a sworn brotherhood with those thirty-five people in that valley later on.

It was this idea that made that valley the starting point of the Thirty-Six Thieves and the source of that earth-shattering event.

It was this idea that led the eight people to eventually comprehend the eight astonishing skills from the poems and inscriptions covering the walls of that valley.

Those Eight Extraordinary Skills—

His ingenuity is ever-changing, his skill is unparalleled, and his creative potential is boundless.

Feng Hou Qi Men, reverses heaven and earth, inverts yin and yang.

The Heavenly Scroll, a talisman that reaches to the heavens, startles even ghosts and gods.

And that...

Binding Spirits and Commanding Generals, Six Treasuries of Immortal Thieves, Body Source Flow, Great Luo Cave Observation, Dual-Handed Techniques.

Each of these schools is enough to establish a sect, each of these schools is enough to make extraordinary people in the world take notice, and each of these schools is enough to make people look up to them for thousands of years.

They were born here, they emerged from here, and they changed the entire landscape of the supernatural world from here.

And the seeds of all this are now sprouting in Wugensheng's heart.

The seeds are so small that they are almost invisible.

But it has already been planted.

Plant it in this cave, plant it in front of the poems and inscriptions covering the walls, plant it in this moment of desperation and a flash of inspiration.

When the time comes, it will sprout from the soil and grow into a towering tree.

It is only waiting for the right conditions to come together, and it will blossom and bear fruit, producing an astonishing result.

Thousands of miles away.

Li Yuan quietly gazed at that ray of sexual light.

In that luminous light, Wugensheng leaned against the stone wall, his brows furrowed, his face full of sorrow.

But beneath that sorrowful expression, a fire was burning.

Li Yuan could see that ball of fire clearly.

That is the fire of seeking the Way, the heart of asking the Way, and the resolute determination to knowingly walk into the tiger's den.

He saw Wugensheng jump up and blurt out, "That's right."

He saw Wugensheng pacing back and forth, becoming more and more excited as he spoke, like a fire burning brighter and brighter.

He saw Wugensheng suddenly stop, his brows furrowed, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.

He saw Wugensheng leaning against the stone wall, scratching his head, looking worried, and then the light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

A profound and subtle meaning now surfaced in those gentle eyes.

That was indeed the case.

That was exactly what I expected.

That is—it is fate, in the dark.

"Rootless..."

'

Li Yuan whispered softly.

"You really did come up with this idea."

"Otherwise, there would have been no sworn brotherhood among the thirty-six thieves."

"We wouldn't specifically choose Tongtian Valley, one of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, to swear brotherhood."

His gaze pierced through the barriers of time and space, through layers of mist, through the years yet to come, and saw the future yet to unfold.

In that future, there were thirty-six people standing in this valley.

In that future, there are thirty-six that soar into the sky and pierce through the clouds.

In that future, there are thirty-six hearts beating in unison, burning as one flame.

In that future, there were eight people sitting in front of these stone walls.

In that future, eight gazes fell upon these poems and writings.

In that future, eight beams of light broke through the barrier from these words.

In that future, those eight extraordinary skills will emerge from this cave, spreading throughout the world, to future generations, and to the admiration and pursuit of countless people.

And now, all of this started with just one person, a young man standing in front of the stone wall, frowning, yet suddenly struck by a flash of inspiration.

A seeker who, having reached a dead end, unexpectedly forged a new path.

A fool who doesn't know what lies ahead, yet still decides to keep going.

Li Yuan closed his eyes slightly.

In that ray of light, Wugensheng was still pacing back and forth, still pondering what kind of person he should find, still worrying about those problems.

He didn't know that from this moment on, his fate was inextricably linked to that valley.

He had no idea that his thoughts today would change the fate of countless people and stir up a monstrous wave in this world of supernatural beings.

He didn't know that every step he took at that moment was leading him to that destined place.

Little did he know that a thousand miles away, a pair of gentle eyes were quietly watching him.

Watching him walk step by step toward that destined place.

Watching him step by step walk towards that valley, towards those thirty-six people, towards those eight extraordinary skills, towards the admiration and sighs of future generations.

The Tao Te Ching states: "The Tao gives birth to them, Virtue nourishes them, things take shape, and circumstances bring them to fruition."

That unseen force is quietly taking shape here.

The Way has already been born—the poems and inscriptions covering this wall are that Way.

Virtue, nurtured without roots, gives rise to this heart that seeks the Way; this is virtue.

Once the form and shape of things are complete, a new world will emerge.

Once those thirty-five people have all gathered, a momentous event will unfold.

Li Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

The sky outside the window had completely darkened.

The night was as dark as ink, dyeing everything in the world pitch black.

The distant mountains are no longer visible, the nearby trees are no longer visible, and even the courtyard of the inn is no longer clearly visible.

Only that lone lantern still flickered with a faint light in the night.

That lamp burned quietly in the night.

The dim, yellow flames flickered gently, as if something was brewing within them.

Like a seed, quietly sprouting in the soil.

Like a baby, slowly taking shape in the mother's womb.

It's like a world, slowly being born from nothingness.

A very faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

In that smile, there was satisfaction, understanding, and relief, as well as a hint that was difficult for others to detect—

look forward to.

That expectation is a chess player's expectation of how the game will unfold.

That anticipation is a viewer's expectation of the climax of the play.

That expectation is a Taoist's expectation of a soul.