Chapter 21: Great Increase in Strength

On this day, Zhang Cheng returned to the righteous manor. Only Wencai was in the manor; as for Uncle Nine and Zhe Gu, they had gone to town to buy things, while Qiusheng was watching the shop for his aunt.

Seeing Zhang Cheng return, Wencai hurriedly stepped forward to greet him: "Sheng... ah... no, Junior Martial Uncle, why have you returned? Did you not follow Grandmaster back to Mount Luofu?"

Zhang Cheng suppressed a laugh and said: "Master said I can practice on my own now, so I have come back to stay at the righteous manor for a while. Wencai, seeing how well-behaved you are, your Martial Uncle has prepared a gift for you."

Wencai's aggrieved expression immediately turned into a beaming smile. He put down the broom, wiped his hands on his clothes, and ran over to ask: "Martial Uncle, what gift are you going to give me?"

Zhang Cheng took out a watch and said: "Here, this is a pocket watch, used for telling time."

"Wow!" Wencai said with a look of surprise and a smile, "I heard these are expensive. How much money did you spend, Martial Uncle?"

Zhang Cheng said with a calm expression: "Eh, it's not worth much, just one hundred and twenty silver dollars."

Wencai's eyes widened. He was stunned for a good while before stammering: "O... one hundred and twenty silver dollars! Wow, this watch is enough for me to buy a house, buy land, and take a wife!"

Zhang Cheng smiled: "Of course it is. Anyway, this is a gift for you; you can do whatever you like with it."

"Thank you, Martial Uncle!" Wencai said, overjoyed.

"Ah Sheng is back?" Uncle Nine walked in first. He looked at the ecstatic Wencai and frowned, "Wencai, what madness are you up to again?"

Wencai ran to Uncle Nine's side and said excitedly: "Master, Martial Uncle gave me a pocket watch worth one hundred and twenty silver dollars!"

Uncle Nine was greatly shocked. He looked at Zhang Cheng and said with some reproach: "Ah Sheng, why did you give him such an expensive item?"

Zhang Cheng explained: "Giving money is too vulgar; giving a gift is just right. Don't worry, Senior Martial Brother, I have plenty of wealth on me."

Uncle Nine said crossly: "With your abilities, will you ever lack money in this lifetime? I am worried about Wencai."

Zhang Cheng smiled: "With you here, Senior Martial Brother, who would be so blind as to come and trouble Wencai? Senior Martial Brother, I brought gifts for both you and Senior Martial Sister Zhe Gu."

As he spoke, he took out a Rolex pocket watch with an 18K pure gold casing and exquisitely carved patterns; one look told you it was a premium item. As for Zhe Gu's gift, it was a set of exquisite jewelry.

Zhe Gu was delighted and laughed loudly: "Hahaha, Ah Sheng, it is enough that you are back; why bring gifts? You are making this Senior Martial Sister feel embarrassed."

Having said that, she took the gift and ran into the room, beaming, to put it on.

Although Uncle Nine complained about Zhang Cheng spending money on gifts, he was also very happy to take the pocket watch, unable to put it down.

Zhang Cheng said: "Qiusheng hasn't returned, so his gift will have to wait until later. By the way, Senior Martial Brother, I still have a group of evil ghosts in this treasure gourd that need to be refined, so I must stay here for a period of time."

Uncle Nine nodded and smiled: "You can stay as long as you like. However, Ah Sheng, with your current abilities, you could open a Daoist temple. Do you have any thoughts on that?"

Zhang Cheng had indeed thought about this matter, but he needed merit. Waiting for ghosts and monsters to appear was simply a waste of time; it was best if he went to find them himself, so he could only make the four seas his home.

He said earnestly: "Senior Martial Brother, the world is currently in chaos and demons run rampant. I intend to travel far and wide to act on behalf of Heaven."

Uncle Nine pondered for a moment and nodded: "With your skills, there is no danger in traveling far and wide. Good, I support you!"

Zhang Cheng settled down in the righteous manor. He practiced in his room every day, though he also entrusted Uncle Nine to help him purchase some medicinal herbs and supplements. In any case, he had the Universe Patchwork Robe, so he didn't have to worry about having nowhere to store them.

He currently focused on the Capital Merit Qi-Refining Method while also practicing talismans, incantations, and the like. Among the talismans, he focused on cultivating Spirit Talismans; Spirit Talismans are based on one's own Daoist arts and require no borrowing of power.

As for Divine Talismans, they require borrowing power from deities; the more one borrows, the more severe the consequences.

Under the blessing of merit, his cultivation speed was very fast.

In five days, he broke through to the fifth level of the Qi-Refining Method, and in seven days, he broke through to the sixth level. This cost Zhang Cheng two thousand four hundred points of merit, with over one thousand five hundred remaining.

This merit was not enough to let him break through to the seventh level, but the treasure gourd was still refining.

Fortunately, he still had a Captain's Gift Box that he hadn't used yet; now was the perfect time. If he gained merit, he could continue to cultivate the Qi-Refining Method.

"Gift box opening... Congratulations on obtaining two thousand merit, the Thousand-Mile Landscape Map, and the Universe Bag."

"Hiss... two Dharma treasures!"

Zhang Cheng was greatly surprised. He hurriedly checked the status of these two Dharma treasures.

"Thousand-Mile Landscape Map: Can simultaneously contain a thousand ordinary demons, monsters, and ghosts; once inside this map, they lose their Dharma power."

"Universe Bag: Can absorb and store all things; cannot contain living creatures."

After reading about the two Dharma treasures, Zhang Cheng was slightly disappointed, but the Universe Bag was still very practical. At the very least, he could change out of his Dharma robe when going out.

He put away the two Dharma treasures and continued to practice the Capital Merit Qi-Refining Method. This time, it took him fifteen days to break through to the seventh level.

"Host: Zhang Cheng"

"Profession: Daoist"

"Rank: Seventh Grade"

"Strength: 4.9"

"Constitution: 4.8"

"Agility: 4.7"

"Intelligence: 4.7"

"Cultivation Arts: 'Valley Clothes Heart Scripture' Lv5 (0/800), 'Supreme Three-Five Capital Merit Scripture Seal' Lv8 (0/6400)"

"Spirit Refining Art Lv4 (0/400)"

"Equipment: Universe Patchwork Robe (↑), Hundred-Year Peachwood Sword (10/10), Five-Thunder Command (1/1), Evil-Refining Treasure Gourd (Refining), Fire Crow Pot, Thousand-Mile Landscape Map, Universe Bag, Eight Trigrams Mirror"

"Merit: 340"

He had already reached great success in his Qi-Refining Method. Based on his current strength, he could take on two of his former self. If he were to encounter the Imperial Zombie alone, he was confident he could defeat it by himself.

Zhang Cheng was overjoyed and hurriedly took out a few ginseng slices to hold in his mouth; his exhausted body instantly came back to life.

He stretched and maintained his cultivation posture. In one more day, the evil ghosts in the treasure gourd would be refined.

The next morning.

"Refined eighteen evil ghosts and one fierce ghost; obtained two thousand three hundred points of merit."

Having merit credited first thing in the morning was truly a pleasant day.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

"Martial Uncle, breakfast is ready." Wencai shouted from outside.

"Coming."

Zhang Cheng straightened his Dharma robe and walked out of the room.

At the dining table, Uncle Nine said, "Asheng, tonight is the Ghost Festival, when the gates of the underworld open wide. Some people nowadays do not believe in ghosts and gods, and it is easy for them to commit taboos. Zhe Gu and I are going to Ren Family Town; are you free to come along?"

The Ghost Festival? Zhang Cheng was slightly stunned; he remembered that his third senior brother, Lin Fengjiao, was set up by his two disciples during the Ghost Festival. If he went to help when the time came, his Thousand-Mile Mountains and Rivers Map would certainly come in handy.

He nodded and said, "Senior Brother, I have already refined the evil ghost, so I have plenty of time. I am duty-bound to help with this matter."

Uncle Nine smiled and nodded, saying, "With your help, I will be much more at ease."

Wencai interjected, "Master, Qiusheng and I will also help."

Uncle Nine glared at Wencai and said, "As long as you two brats don't drop the ball, that's enough."

"Oh my, why are you always lecturing Wencai?" Zhe Gu hurriedly tried to mediate, while Wencai could only drink his glutinous rice porridge in grievance.