Chapter 20: New Skill Offspring (Requesting Monthly Tickets, Requesting Follow-reads!)

Me, at the Spirit Opening Realm, suppressing an Old Talisman Realm expert?

How is this any different from the Nine-Headed Bug sending Ben Bo'er Ba to kill Tang Seng and his disciples?

"Don't panic, don't panic!"

Ba Lie laughed heartily: "Of course we're not going to face an Old Talisman Realm powerhouse directly; even I couldn't withstand that. It's merely a historical relic extracted from the corpse of a deceased Old Talisman Realm expert."

"Originally, this item was kept in the treasury of the Jiangnan Provincial Headquarters, but because our Pan'an Branch performed excellently, the Headquarters specially rewarded it to us. Most of its power has already been sealed, yet it remains somewhat unruly and occasionally causes a disturbance."

A hint of confusion flashed in Zhao Zhao Yinman's eyes as she opened her mouth to speak: "Director Ba, didn't you say earlier..."

"Right, Zhao Yinman, I almost forgot to tell you; I left a historical relic in the car. Go check on it quickly; it would be troublesome if an ordinary person stole it."

Before she could finish speaking, Ba Lie cut her off preemptively.

"... Alright."

Zhao Zhao Yinman nodded, turned around, and departed.

Watching the elevator doors close, Ba Lie finally breathed a sigh of relief; he couldn't exactly tell Jiang Yan that the Headquarters had intercepted too many new recruits, causing him to hold a banner and block the main entrance to lodge complaints for several days, leaving them with no choice but to reluctantly offer compensation.

It was a historical relic at the Old Talisman level capable of sorting out the energy of the earth veins.

It sounded very impressive, and Ba Lie had been quite delighted initially.

But only after bringing it back did he realize that while its combat power was not low, it frequently caused disturbances, becoming more of a burden than an asset.

Moreover, he had learned from a friend that the earth veins in central Jiangnan Province had been chaotic lately, with a probability of an earthquake occurring; therefore, the Jiangnan Provincial Headquarters simply used the pretext of compensation to gain a free worker for clearing earth vein blockages, killing two birds with one stone.

Although it had many flaws, it was ultimately an Old Talisman-level historical relic, and Ba Lie was reluctant to return it.

But he hadn't expected the frequency of its disturbances to increase recently, as if it had gone mad, making Ba Lie very depressed.

His sleep quality had plummeted.

He had just suppressed it the day before yesterday; according to past patterns, it should have remained docile for a month, yet today it acted up again.

Did it want to let people rest or not!

If Zhao Zhao Yinman revealed the truth, he would lose the last shred of his dignity, let alone trick anyone into joining the branch bureau.

Thinking of this, Ba Lie urged: "How about it? This is a great opportunity to experience the might of the Old Talisman Realm in advance; it will benefit the tempering of your own spirituality. Miss this chance... and there won't be another."

"Alright!"

Jiang Yan nodded, feeling that Ba Lie wouldn't necessarily trick him, and it was a good opportunity to witness the power of high-level supernaturals.

Before that, he still had some matters to attend to, asking them to wait a few minutes.

Ba Lie readily agreed, taking the elevator downstairs, where he found Zhao Zhao Yinman with the car door open, still rummaging around.

She suddenly turned her head and said: "Director Ba, I don't see the historical relic; it might have been stolen. We need to contact the Public Security Bureau immediately to seal off this area."

"..."

Ba Lie looked up at the sky, speechless.

This girl was good in every way, just too honest.

She hadn't even realized he was making up an excuse to brush her off, but to prevent the situation from escalating, he could only laugh it off: "Look at my memory; I remembered incorrectly. It seems I left it at the bureau and forgot to bring it."

"Director Ba, don't think I'm stupid; you were clearly trying to brush me off just now."

"This..."

Ba Lie looked awkward; he was about to explain that he was doing it for the sake of the branch bureau when he heard her continue:

"You're afraid I'll discover that girl inside and make everyone awkward, right? Although I've never had a boyfriend, I can pretend I saw nothing; I'm not that dumb."

"Haha, that's right; Xiao Zhao truly deserves to be the bureau's number one strategist!"

Ba Lie forced a few laughs and said: "After all, it's already awkward enough for that girl to be possessed by such a monster; there's no need to expose her and cause her social death."

Although Jiang Yan hadn't let them enter, as a veteran History Walker, he had long smelled the fishy stench lingering in the hotel, heard the supernatural fluctuations and faint sounds coming from the room, and quickly deduced most of what had happened.

They had all prepared to help, only to find that Jiang Yan alone had forced out the possessing monster, rescued the young girl, and resolved all issues.

The process was handled with extreme proficiency, nothing like a novice.

This led Ba Lie to initially assume, based on first impressions, that the other party was a veteran History Walker.

Thinking of this, Ba Lie took out a pack of White Liqun cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, lit it, and glanced at Zhao Zhao Yinman; unfortunately, he couldn't share.

Sharing with the people is called 'benefiting the masses'; smoking alone is merely 'self-benefit'.

Without inhaling the first puff, Ba Lie exhaled a smoke ring, a smile playing on the corners of his mouth: "Send someone tomorrow to have her sign the confidentiality agreement; after all, she is still 'sleeping'."

In Room 401,

Jiang Yan ignored the young girl who was still "unconscious" and turned his gaze to the skill-type offspring nurtured by the Mountain Lady.

【Shadow Swap (Entry Level 95%)】

【Quality: Ordinary】

【Skill Introduction: The Mountain Lady is a white-furred ape monkey living in deep mountains; only females exist. They are adept at mimicking humans and favor handsome human males. By parasitizing their white fur onto human shadows, they absorb male essence to replenish yin and enhance their strength. They specialize in shadow evasion and can manipulate filthy artifacts and the Peach Blossom Sunflower Water technique.】

【After being re-nurtured by the Lord of Weight of the Demon God Embryo, it transformed into a skill-type offspring. Through subtle control over bones and muscles, it adjusts facial features and height to achieve disguise effects. The user can briefly transform into a shadow for three seconds, requiring a thirty-minute cooldown before reuse.】

【Effects double under moonlight.】

【Frequent use carries a probability of the shadow assimilating one's own flesh and blood, causing special white fur to grow, allowing long-term infiltration into shadows.】

【Evaluation: I envy you, and I want to become you even more.】

"Not only did it grant shadow elementalization, but it also came with a disguise technique; this drop rate isn't bad."

Jiang Yan was quite satisfied with this; although the Mountain Lady was somewhat weak in reality, in folk legends, it took the incarnation of Erlang Shen to subdue her.

Compared to the shadow transformation, a pseudo-invincible ability immune to physical attacks, he cared more about the side effects of the disguise technique... possessing control over one's own muscles and bones would greatly help improve physical constitution.

Previously, in order to create the Burial Coffin, Jiang Yan had nearly drained himself; although it didn't endanger his life, the sudden loss of large amounts of flesh, blood, and bones had caused anemia, physical weakness, a significant drop in immunity, and other side effects.

He could even now feel a dull distending pain in his upper right abdomen, accompanied by a sensation of nausea and retching.

In all likelihood... his liver cancer had worsened!

Fortunately, before battling Colonel Lu, he had chosen to exchange part of the Wild Boar Cavalry's flesh and blood along with the Mouth of Pure Altar for vitality; subsequently, he successfully condensed the Ashen Lamp, causing his soul power to surge, and coupled with this newly acquired body control ability, he could maintain his bodily functions operating normally.

If this had happened to an ordinary person, they would have long been rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

As for sacrificing the cancer cells to the Demon God embryo... Jiang Yan had considered it, but the sheer number of cells was immense, the targets were too small to locate, and they had already fused with parts of the liver; surely he couldn't just cut it all out?

Even though the liver could regenerate, it would inflict secondary trauma on his already weak body, triggering a chain reaction.

"The most urgent task is to strengthen my physique first; once I find a skill or item that enhances the five viscera, the problem will resolve itself. Tomorrow, I'll start planting the spirit rice."

Jiang Yan pondered in his heart without anxiety; when problems arose, one simply solved them. Since the Corpse-Dissection Wang Ting allowed one to die and be reborn, why fear being unable to repair organs?

With little time to spare, Jiang Yan picked up his phone, took the Coffin Spirit, and prepared to leave.

Passing by the bedside, he suddenly stopped, looked at the young girl whose eyelashes were trembling slightly, and muttered to himself:

"To be honest, this receptionist girl looks far better without makeup than with all that heavy paint, but that's no reason for her to occupy my bed. If I don't have time to return tonight, I'll have to charge her for the room; after all, I didn't sleep in it."

Having said that, Jiang Yan closed the door and walked out.

In the quiet room, Chen Yu opened her eyes, looked at the lights on the ceiling, and whispered softly:

"Thank you."

Although she had no control over her body, it was as if she possessed a god's-eye view, aware of the stupid things she had just done, especially offering herself up and behaving coquettishly, which was enough to make a young girl like her die of shame and indignation.

Everything stemmed from her own jealousy and stupidity.

His praise was not an indication of interest in her; he was merely protecting her last shred of dignity.

"Ahhh, so gentle, so handsome, and so powerful—how can there be such a perfect man? It's just a pity..."

Chen Yu buried her head under the covers, her gaze filled with loss, but she quickly adjusted her mood, sniffed lightly, and murmured, "Sleep a little longer; tomorrow I'll compensate you with a luxury single room."

Meanwhile,

Jiang Yan had already boarded Barel's Maybach VS680 with its red interior and was on his way to the Historical Correction Bureau.

Continuing to ask for monthly tickets and follows; as for the group chat, I feel that chatting there affects my writing speed, so I've disbanded it for now. I'll consider creating a new one when the word count increases, since telling a good story is the most important thing.

Reading a novel is like boarding a bus; you can see the scenery along the way, but eventually, you must get off. There will be new scenery, new lives, and new stories setting sail. Thank you, everyone.

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(End of Chapter)