Yù Quán brought Su Chunhua out of town and to the old site of the Cult of the Almighty. Yù Quán hadn’t been here since he had first transmigrated. It looked largely the same, except some things that were still partially put together had fallen apart. He was surprised there weren’t any beasts that had taken over the area as their territory. Maybe there just weren’t any beasts who would do such a thing in the area, or it just wasn’t a common behavior of beasts in this world.
Su Chunhua looked around and was hardly impressed. She was surprised Yù Quán had a large, secret area for cult operations to take place and wasn’t expecting much. Just about anything was good enough. But this was even that. It looked like the ruins of a family that angered a powerful force, completely destroyed.
“This is a place…” she said in disappointment.
Yù Quán laughed. “This is the grounds of a cult that recently went defunct.”
“What do you mean? They all just quit or moved?”
Yù Quán stopped and thought for a minute, remembering the memories of Zhuo Duyong dismantling the entire cult headquarters in a fit of rage. “They didn’t really have a choice in the matter.”
Su Chunhua, “...”
Yù Quán went and showed her around, using Zhuo Duyong’s memories of where each facility used to be and the types of materials used.
“There’s some potential here, it would take a lot of work, though. We’ll have to start recruiting now and get them to help us.”
Yù Quán shook his head. “Not yet. First, we’ll need a decent amount of information and intelligence to attract them.”
“Oh, that’s right. I never asked what the cult would be based around.”
Yù Quán told Su Chunhua his original idea, and they worked together to come up with a complete version. What they arrived at was The Archives of Mùlián. He got the name from the main cultivation art of the cult, his [Quanzhì Palace Art], and a piece of the name of his [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body]. He would play the part of an otherworldly being, which he ironically was since he transmigrated from his home, who came to this world in search of all the knowledge so that he could know all and spread information to those who deserved it. He would go on about how the common people were too often kept in the dark about things and deserved to know what the people they worked for knew.
The cult would be separated into a series of groups named after things related to an archive. Yù Quán, known as Mùlián, would be at the top. Then, right below him would be the Keepers. These people ran the ‘schools,’ which were just different categories. They already decided that there would be a School of Knowledge and that Su Chunhua would be the keeper of it. Under the keepers would be head scholars, who were in charge of the several ‘libraries’ in a school. Libraries further broke down schools into categories. For example, they decided Su Chunhua’s School of Knowledge would have the Library of Beggars, similar to the beggars sect Yù Quán had seen in Xianxia novels he had read before transmigrating, the Library of Subterfuge, which will focus on raising spies to infiltrate places and forces and collect information, and the Library of Research, which would conduct research with available knowledge to learn and create new things, as well as verify information they received. Yù Quán and Su Chunhua were quite proud of what they had created.
“I guess I’ll head back to town to start collecting information for us,” Su Chunhua said after they were finished.
“Wait,” Yù Quán stopped Su Chunhua. “Not just yet. We have to use the cultivation art.”
Su Chunhua looked confused. “I can’t cultivate.”
Now, Yù Quán looked confused, then remembered what he had learned when he started cultivating. Not everyone could cultivate otherwise; the only mortals would be the lazy ones. Then he smiled and shook his head.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“This isn’t your average cultivation art. You may not be able to begin cultivating with it, but the information access and transfer works through soul brands. As long as you have a mind, soul, and spirit, there should be no problem.”
Su Chunhua’s eyes lit up. She had been moving on the assumption she wouldn’t have access to the mysterious mind palace Yù Quán had explained to her. She didn’t hesitate since she and Yù Quán had already discussed ethical boundaries while using the art. She trusted Yù Quán to filter out personal memories that didn’t matter to what they were doing. Yù Quán and Su Chunhua spent time cultivating the art together. First, Yù Quán had to create the mind palace, which seemed to exhaust him a bit. Then, he helped Su Chunhua through her cultivation of the art. Yù Quán knew they had gotten it right when he could sense the connection being made.
Both Yù Quán and Su Chunhua tried using the mind palace. When they did, their consciousness appeared in a great library the size of a castle. They could walk around, see, and think but couldn’t feel anything. They seemed to really be appearing in an immaterial place. They looked around and found information in the form of books and records. But, when they opened them, they didn’t have to read them; they just immediately remembered them as if they were their own memories. It was like if, instead of spontaneously remembering things or remembering through hard thinking, they could just flip a switch, and it would be in their thoughts.
They weren’t lost in the palace either. They felt that they instinctively knew where to go to find what they were looking for. Yù Quán had already commanded the palace to filter the information they saved that was personal and not important to the cult to a locked drawer that could only be accessed by the person who owned it or whoever he gave the power to do it. Yù Quán went to his own drawer, which he kept away from where others would have theirs. He felt it would lessen the mystery around ‘Mùlián,’ so he hid his drawer in a place no one was allowed to reach. He began flipping through his memories. It was as if he flipping switches left and right, immediately bringing those memories to the front of his thoughts.
“I’ll never forget and lose a memory again. Even a fleeting thought is forever saved in here…”
Yù Quán was amazed. Su Chunhua was having a similar experience while looking through her own drawer. When they finished, they both exited with a thought, returning to their original bodies in the real world. They both exchanged a look of excitement, then continued talking about their next steps.
“Now collecting information should be even better. But, what are you going to do?”
“I should probably begin my law enforcement duties. The information you have should help with that, plus any new information.”
Su Chunhua nodded. They had agreed the more power and authority he had; the easier it would be to hide the cult and its operations.
Su Chunhua’s face suddenly lit up as she remembered something. “You should find some muscle while you’re at it.”
“Huh? Are you asking me to workout?”
Su Chunhua rolled her eyes. “No. The beginning is really important in developing our future force. If anything bad were to happen, it wouldn’t end to well. Is there anyone strong that you trust enough to fight for us?”
Yù Quán thought for a bit. As far as combat power, Liàng Píng or Yin Mengxia came to mind, but he wouldn’t choose them. He could trust them normally, but not with this. He didn’t know anyone else he could have involved with this project.
“Maybe my junior brother. He’s strong, and he should be more loyal to me than he is to our academy.”
Su Chunhua nodded. “As long as he’s strong. We can teach him to be a leader as we go.”
…
Yù Quán
Realm: Body Tempering Realm
Stage: 1st Level Skin Tempering
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 3)
Strength: 850 Catties
Qi: 1056/2220 wisps
Mùmùlián Core: 22/100
Strange Fire: (Level 2)Murderous Flame(x1)
Techniques:
[Mùmùlián Eye Stealing](Level 3)
[Mùmùlián Eye Refining](Level 3)
[Murder Mantra](Level 1)
[Yellow Qilin Dance](Level 1)
Attributes:
[Strange Fire: Murderous Flame]
[Star Gazing Eyes](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Maned Hog Ferocity Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality Winged Watcher Awareness Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality False Dragon Pride Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality Death-Dealing Dama Killing Eyes](Level 1)(x2)