Chapter 40: Zongsheng Sect. Zhou Ming leaned against the window on the third floor of the Library, finished reading the last volume of the Youzhou Gazette, closed the book, and returned it to its original place on the shelf.

Looking around, the books ranged from military strategy to official and unofficial histories, and from rare editions of various schools of thought to Incomplete Manuals of banned books from the previous dynasty.

After several days of study, he had finished reading and memorized all the books on the entire three floors.

It was not that Zhou Ming was particularly studious, but rather that his Divine Soul at the Foundation Establishment Stage was simply too powerful.

With a sweep of his Divine Thought, the contents of a page would be imprinted in his mind without a single word missing. However fast he flipped the pages was how fast he could read and comprehend.

Zhou Ming sighed to himself, occasionally unable to help grumbling that if he had possessed such a powerful Divine Soul in his past life, why would he have foolishly chosen archaeology as his major?

With this Heaven-Defying ability of photographic memory and instant memorization via Divine Thought, he might have long since been recommended for graduate school at a prestigious university, with a bright future ahead of him.

He wouldn't have had to harbor dreams of getting rich overnight, run to the antique street, and end up in this world by a bizarre twist of fate.

But then again, if he hadn't run to the antique street, where would he have gotten this level of cultivation?

When Zhou Ming came out of the Library, dusk was already approaching.

The setting sun cast its slanted rays from the west onto the blue brick walls of the Marquis's Mansion, dyeing the stone path in the alley a warm golden color.

Zhou Ming walked along the alley toward the Kitchen of Begonia Court.

As he passed by a secluded courtyard, an extremely faint sound of talking reached Zhou Ming's Divine Sense.

This voice came from a room deep inside the courtyard, separated by several walls.

An ordinary person might not be able to hear a single word even if they stood at the courtyard gate.

But after a few days, Zhou Ming's Divine Sense could already cover a range of over forty meters around him. Within this Fang Yuan, any rustle of wind or grass could not escape his perception.

Zhou Ming stopped, slowly squatted down, pretending to be tired from walking and taking a break.

With his skeletal frame, acting this way did not seem out of place at all.

Leaning against the alley wall, Zhou Ming focused his Divine Sense in the direction of that room.

"The Zongsheng Sect has completely taken over Cang Prefecture. Their next step is either to march into An Province or head straight for Qing Province."

The speaker kept his voice extremely low and spoke rapidly, unable to hide the tension and anxiety in his heart.

A slightly aged voice immediately followed, carrying a hint of disbelief:

"That's impossible, right?"

"The Capital is full of experts, and the Imperial Guard is strong and robust. Even if you gave them ten times the courage, they would never dare to rashly attack An Province."

"In my opinion, they will at most plot against Qing Province."

"Qing Province is wealthy and prosperous. As long as they capture it, they can rely on its money and grain to stabilize the army's morale and establish a foothold."

"That's not necessarily true," the young voice from before immediately countered.

"The banner of the Zongsheng Sect is 'equality for all living beings, strike down the noble families, distribute land, and distribute food.' They have already incited a large number of lower-class commoners to follow them."

"What's even more ridiculous is that the Zongsheng Sect somehow obtained a bizarre Cultivation Technique, and their cultivation progress is astonishingly fast."

"Moreover, this Cultivation Technique does not require specific talent and does not differentiate between men, women, young, or old. As long as they are human, anyone can Cultivate it."

"According to the news from Cang Prefecture, in less than a month, they have gathered hundreds of thousands of followers, and more than half of them have already initiated their cultivation, possessing decent cultivation bases."

The aged voice fell silent for a long time, and only after a long while did it let out a long sigh:

"There is no free lunch in this world. Such a quick-fix Cultivation Technique may seem to benefit all living beings, but in reality, there must be a massive hidden danger behind it. It is by no means a Cultivation Technique of the Righteous Path."

"Exactly, sigh... I think so too. I've never heard of any Cultivation Technique of the Righteous Path that allows for such rapid cultivation speed." The young voice also sighed, full of worry.

"With this kind of momentum, I'm afraid the world is going to fall into complete chaos... Sigh."

"Yes, the mountains and rivers are in turmoil, and the common people are displaced. I'm afraid this world is truly going to fall into great chaos."

At this point, there was no more sound from the room.

Zhou Ming stood up and continued walking forward, his face showing no emotion, but a stormy sea of shock was already raging in his heart.

The Zongsheng Sect?

A Cultivation Technique that allows for rapid cultivation?

Regardless of men, women, young, or old, as long as they are human, anyone can Cultivate it?

What else could this be?

This is the Dushi Sutra!!

Moreover, the entire Cang Prefecture has been taken over by the Zongsheng Sect.

The phantoms in the Causality Web that have been exploding at a rate of over a hundred thousand daily for the past few days must have been added from Cang Prefecture.

Before this, Zhou Ming could never figure out how the scriptures had made a Breakthrough of several million in less than a month.

Now, the answer was glaringly obvious.

The Zongsheng Sect captured Cang Prefecture and is using the population of the entire Cang Prefecture to spread the scripture for him.

Those large-scale broken Causal Chains from before were probably the people who died during the attack on Cang Prefecture.

But how did this scripture spread to Cang Prefecture, which is thousands of miles away?

Cang Prefecture is not close to You Province, and the vast Qing Province still lies between them.

Ancient society is not like modern times, with the internet and communication tools.

To transmit messages, one either has to rely on people traveling on foot or riding horses at full speed day and night.

Generally, official government courier stations and Jianghu message transmissions are already considered the fastest land routes.

And above that, the fastest method is to train falcons and send messages by falcon.

Zhou Ming quickened his pace and turned the corner of the alley, his mind calculating rapidly.

If things continue to develop at this speed, let alone the Great Xia Dynasty, once the scripture spreads throughout the Nine Provinces.

And then crosses the border to the Great Yan Dynasty, Great Yuan Dynasty, or even further.

In just a few years, cultivators of the Dushi Sutra will be everywhere in the world.

And all cultivators, whether they are the sect members fighting on the battlefield,

or the officials strategizing in the imperial court, or even the ordinary commoners who were incited to divide land and plant crops,

they are all cultivating on his behalf.

For every additional person who recites the scripture a hundred times, another chain is added to his Causality Web.

For every additional cultivator who dies, another portion of cultivation is added to the Dao Platform in his Dantian.

This snowball was rolling bigger and bigger, and he didn't have to do anything. He only needed to stay safely and steadily in the Marquis's Mansion and continue to be his Kitchen manager.

His cultivation would soar rapidly, and at that time, immortality and becoming an immortal ancestor would no longer be a dream.

However, it was foreseeable that this scripture would inevitably cause great chaos in the world.

Once an individual's personal martial power skyrockets to the extreme, the ambition to kill and conquer in their heart will also breed. A desire to kill will naturally arise, and hostility will run rampant.

Since ancient times, the strong have always possessed proud bones; no one is willing to be subservient to others and bow their heads.

When desire is infinitely magnified by strength, ambition can no longer be suppressed. Disputes will arise everywhere, and warlords will contend for hegemony. This world is destined to have no more peaceful days, and great chaos is a foregone conclusion.

Zhou Ming shook his head, tossing those messy thoughts out of his mind.

Whether the world fell into chaos or not had nothing to do with him anyway.

The only thing he needed to do now was to continue laying low inside this Marquis's Mansion.

The more chaotic the outside world became, the more reliable the high walls of the Marquis's Mansion seemed.

If the sky fell, there would be taller people to hold it up. He only needed to do his job as the Kitchen manager well, and the rest had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ming walked briskly toward the Kitchen, intending to get a bowl of hot soup before Liu Sandao closed the stove.