Stealing is no more than borrowing things and strength by various means.

Immortals harvest natural energy to obtain immortality, this is stealing.

Humans use Pangu Sacred Energy to strengthen their flesh, this is stealing.

Plants absorb sunlight, water and fertilizer to grow luxuriant leaves and fruits, this is stealing.

Savage beasts hunt weak creatures to survive and reproduce, this is stealing.

Others, like humans harvest grain to feed themselves, this is stealing; drill wood for a fire to keep warm, this is stealing; use cotton and silk to make clothes, this is stealing.

The ambitious hero in the mortal world, who led millions of soldiers to defeat all his opponents, and eventually scaled the lofty throne and ruled over everyone else, is stealing, for he had borrowed other’s powers and influences, stripped others of their lives and rights.

All the living beings in the world are stealing things to accomplish themselves. The billions of living beings in the world, in fact, are thieves who steal from heaven and earth.

The Scroll of Stealing teaches one the truth of stealing, so that one can be better, faster, and more efficient in stealing. What to do with the stolen things? To strengthen oneself, so that one can steal better and faster! Then, what is the ultimate goal of the Scroll of Stealing? No goal. This is the law of heaven and earth contained in the first thread of thief energy in the world, and just like any other laws of heaven and earth, it exists, so it does it, and it does not care why it does it. (@@)

The shadow’s figure had become almost transparent after he passed on the countless information and the thread of thief energy to Wu Qi. He heaved a sigh of relief, looked contentedly at Wu Qi, and said with a smile, “So, you do remember to address me as your Teacher?”

Wu Qi fell on his knees, bowed respectfully to the shadow, and said, “Although I was unconscious then, I remember things that happened around me. Without Teacher, I would have perished long ago, and I would never have achieved what I have today.”

The shadow nodded slowly and said, “I’m glad to hear that. But remember this, you can never achieve anything great by stealing. You are cultivating the Scroll of Stealing, and so you have to go all-out to plunder. What is a grand thief? A grand thief will use the most direct means of violence to plunder everything that he can plunder! A grand thief will immediately flee thousands of miles when he failed, and leave no trace behind! A grand thief must learn to hold grudges, to be tough, and never be discouraged! If a grand thief loses out on a target, he must plunder everything from the target again next time, and take everything from the target’s relatives and neighbors as well! This is the nature a grand thief should have!

“Average humans only steal some grains, crops, livestock, and meat, and that is why they tend to die easily. Immortals, on the other hand, steal natural energy and the Heavenly Dao, and that is why they can live forever. What the mortals do is considered as petty thievery, and the immortals a unbridled plunder. Different means caused different results.”

Taking a deep breath, the shadow said in a low voice, “A grand thief gathers the spirit of heaven and earth to accomplish himself. A grand thief needs only his fleshly body. He can borrow any external things, but he should never rely on them.”

The shadow shared his last understanding, then severely criticized Wu Qi’s mistakes.

“Kunwu Swords, Blood Centipede Sword, Dark Yin Celestial Tower, Taotie’s soul, Natural Phenomena Medallion, the Pearl of Shen, what are you keeping all this stuff for? They are all external things, the condensation of natural energy, and that makes them the targets you can plunder! Devour them, digest them, and merge the seals of their presence in your divine soul! After that, you are the Kunwu Swords, Blood Centipede Sword, Dark Yin Celestial Tower, Taotie’s soul, Natural Phenomena Medallion, the Pearl of Shen!

“Possess them thoroughly, and fuse them into your body with the ultimate technique of the Scroll of Stealing, the ‘Myriad Harmonization Grand Magic’. From that moment on, they are you, but you are more than them, and you can use their powers any time you want. Isn’t this quicker and better than borrowing their powers?

“Take Kunwu Swords as an example. You only have 108 of them now, but if you digest them, fuse with them, brand the seals of their presence into your divine soul, and so long you have enough overall strength, you can have more than 108 Kunwu Swords!

“Which is stronger, a Fiend Slaying Sword Formation constructed with 108 Kunwu Swords, or the one constructed with 108 million Kunwu Swords? When your cultivation base stays the same, an additional Kunwu Sword will make the formation stronger. If you have tens of thousands of Kunwu Swords now, the formation you constructed would have long killed those Primordial experts save Buddha Futu.”

In those days, when the shadow was at his peak, he had devoured and fused a primordial artifact called the ‘Three Prime Seal’ which belonged to a Dao Fusing expert. Later, during the days he was pursued by countless almighty experts, he had conjured a total of 108 Three Prime Seals and beat the original owner of this artifact bloody. The battle was one of the shadow’s crowning triumphs!

In the shadow’s opinion, the essences of these external things were extremely important, but their physical existences were meaningless. So, the best thing to do was to integrate them into oneself. Just as Wu Qi was cultivating so many cultivation techniques at the same time, and owned so many seeds of the innate divine flames, this was actually the embryonic form of the Myriad Harmonization Grand Magic! By mustering his chaotic energy, he could simulate any kind of cultivation technique at will and release any kind of divine flame, but during normal times they all blended in his chaotic energy and never manifest.

And the Myriad Harmonization Grand Magic was one step further. Through it, Wu Qi did not need to store these external things in his chaotic energy at all. He just needed to devour their essences, and branded the seals of their existences into his divine soul, and then he would be able to manifest all sorts of amazing magics smoothly. In this way, the chaotic energy in his body would be purer and more flexible, and he did not have to worry about the interference between the various bloodlines and the seeds of innate divine flame whenever he wished to use them.

Most of the time, the so-called Great Dao could be explained with just a casual remark. Upon hearing the shadow’s advice, Wu Qi’s mind lit up and he suddenly understood many questions he had not noticed before. After pondering for a moment, he threw his head back and roared with laughter. “Of course! The Ghost Realm was formed from a thread of innate ghost energy, and since my body has fused with a thread of innate thief energy, why can’t I myself become a realm?”

His eyes flashed with a bright gleam as he said in a deep voice, “When my cultivation base is strong enough, even the interstitial world in me is no longer useful. By that time, I’ll devour and fuse it with me. Why would I need to breed another world in me, when I myself is a realm? My flesh is a realm, and I will no longer need to rely on any external things!”

In the midst of his laughter, the bloodlines of hundreds of divine beasts and birds shattered and exploded. Wu Qi was shocked by the sheer volume of energy spewing from them. Very quickly, these energies merged with his chaotic energy. After that, the existence seals of these bloodlines were extracted by his divine soul, converted into an invisible energy wave, and merged with his divine soul.

The amount of energy spewing from each of the bloodlines was equivalent to the combined magic power of over a hundred peak Gold Immortals. Wu Qi did not expect that the bloodlines of these divine beasts and birds would disintegrate into such an enormous amount of energy. But when he gave it a thought, he could understand why. Just like what he had learned back on Earth, if an ordinary rock was completely converted into energy, the energy it released in a flash could cause a continent to vibrate.

After disintegrating the bloodlines, Wu Qi gave a loud cry. The seeds of the innate divine flames he owned, including the Divine Flame of Order, the Divine Flame of Void, the Divine Flame of Great Tranquility, the Divine Flame of Phoenix, all disintegrated at the same time. While they released a huge amount of energy to fill his needs, he merged their existence seals with his divine soul. From now on, at his thought, these powerful and amazing divine flames would be released, as if his body was composed of these divine flames.

The shadow nodded satisfyingly and murmured under his breath, “It’s time for me to go. Alas, after my true form had died for so many years, I can finally rest. Perish in both soul and flesh, how tragic is my fate? Remember the list of enemies I have given you. If you have the chance, help me steal everything they have!”

Wu Qi’s heart ached, and he bowed respectfully nine times to the shadow. The shadow roared with laughter, then suddenly disintegrated into a fine beam of light that gradually faded away.

An almighty expert of the Primal Age, who had once thrown the world into chaos, had perished. Wu Qi watched the light faded with a mixture of sadness and alarm. He vowed to himself that he would never get into such a situation. Before he had the overall strength to overwhelm everyone, he would just steal secretly to accumulate enough benefits for the people around him.

The shadow dissipated, and Wu Qi’s divine soul and his flesh merged once again. A terrible hunger instantly washed over him.

Energy, he needed a lot of energy for his body.

He glanced over the various mystic arts in the Myriad Harmonization Grand Magic, the true essence of the Scroll of Stealing. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and sprayed out a plume of Divine Flame of Great Tranquility. The flame, pure and quiet, engulfed the planet which once gave birth to billions of mortals, and began to burn it.

In the space of a few moments, the huge planet dissolved into a stream of pure energy and poured into his body. The feeling of hunger immediately reduced significantly.

Wu Qi chuckled and said to himself, “This is the real grand thief! This is the real Scroll of Stealing!”

A sad cry echoed out as all the soul power of the Taotie he fused with was devoured by his divine soul, and its existence seal merged with his divine soul. In the future, when there was a need, he could always conjure another Taotie at will.

He gave the surroundings a glance and raised one hand. Obediently, Blood Centipede Sword came falling into his grip, and in the blink of an eye it was devoured. Then, he waved his hand. A beam of blood-red light shot out of his fingertip. A brand-new Blood Centipede Sword emerged, followed by a second, a third!

Three Blood Centipede Swords, this was the limit of what Wu Qi could manifest now! And the last sword had a dull luster, which was a clear sign that the energy that made it up was scarce, and its power was not as strong as the previous two.

But Wu Qi was satisfied with the result. “Wonderful, wonderful indeed! What shall I devour next?”

Eyes rolling, he decided the next target should be the Natural Phenomena Medallion!

He opened his mouth, and in the flash the precious artifact personally crafted by the Sacred Emperor Zhuanxu vanished without a trace.

The true horror of the Scroll of Stealing was officially revealed today.