Chapter 57: A Day Back Before Liberation

After reviewing these memories, Chen Shicheng also understood everything.

The owner of the Slashing Immortal Flying Dagger, Lu Ya Daoist, seems to have met an evenly matched opponent; more precisely, all the deities appear to have encountered foes, and this is a full‑scale war between native deities and an unknown enemy.

Moreover, the opponent's strength seems comparable to that of the native deities; otherwise the cataclysmic scene remembered could not have occurred.

Unfortunately, the Slashing Immortal Flying Dagger entered the fray too quickly, and the speed of its demise was even faster; the memory contains no final outcome of that war, but the situation likely was not good.

After all, he still remembers Hui Siye saying that now the immortals and gods have vanished, and even history seems to have a gap.

He also does not know where the native deities' enemies, those unknown strange beasts, have gone. With these massive yet simple memories, Chen Shicheng skimmed them all in just two or three seconds.

The underground cavern, emptied of its formation, has become pitch black, but Chen Shicheng and Hui Siye both possess Divine Perception, so even without light they can see in the darkness.

At this moment, Hui Siye seemed numbed by Chen Shicheng's shock; the disappearance of the formation elicited no special reaction, only a deadpan question, "Hey, kid, can we leave now?"

"Wait a moment first."

Chen Shicheng opened the panel and checked the attributes of the great formation he had just absorbed into his Sea of Knowledge.

【Slashing Immortal Great Formation (single-use)】

【Description: A formation naturally created from the residual power of the Slashing Immortal Flying Dagger; because the power dissipates, it can be used only once, unleashing the full might of the Slashing Immortal Great Formation in a single burst.】

Another trump card acquired.

Though it can be used only once, under Chen Shicheng's control the one‑time full‑power burst of the Slashing Immortal Great Formation could cause consequences even he dares not imagine.

This isn't just a one‑time formation; it's his lifeline! After closing the panel, Chen Shicheng strode toward the glimmer of the Slashing Immortal Flying Dagger, and as he drew nearer, a thick layer of ash on the ground entered his Divine Perception.

His eyes lit up; he quickly reached forward, grabbed a handful, and used the Eye of Bai Ze to identify its attribute.

【Dust of Immortal Remains】

【Description: Powdered dust of a deity's remains, its spirit completely eroded, yet it still possesses some mystic properties; consuming it can slowly heal wounds, adds a 10% boost to alchemy success rates, and has a small chance to upgrade a Golden Core Stage Elixir by one grade.】

Indeed, it's a good thing.

After reviewing those memories, Chen Shicheng set his sights on the corpse of the strange beast slain by the Slashing Immortal Flying Dagger.

Though its spirit has been completely eradicated, its cultivation level was boundlessly high, so the ashes still have some effect; however, the act of pulling out a handful of ashes after being wounded and stuffing them into one's mouth is something Chen Shicheng truly cannot accept.

Moreover, he doesn't practice alchemy, so aside from selling it, this thing seems to have little use for him.

"Better than nothing, I guess."

Upholding the principle of no waste, Chen Shicheng painstakingly began shoveling the ashes into his storage slots, while Hui Siye frowned, fearing he might impulsively repurpose his own corpse for Chen's use.

It should be noted that a fresh Golden Core Stage corpse is a coveted treasure for Demonic Path corpse‑refining cultivators, a rarity hard to come by.

Though it hesitated a few times, it said nothing; after all, it had already decided to let Chen Shicheng take the corpse back to his hometown, so now it can only trust him.

Soon, Chen Shicheng finished gathering all the ash on the ground; seeing the ash occupying five and a half inventory slots, he broke into a farmer‑like grin of harvest. Each storage slot can hold only one item; although stacking is possible, there is a limit of one cubic meter per slot, while weight is unrestricted.

Five and a half slots of ash is no small amount; even if it doesn't fetch a high price, he can win by sheer volume, making the ash a considerable fortune.

"Siye, that's enough; use the Five Ghosts Transport to send it away, okay?"

Feeling his pouch bulging, Chen Shicheng contentedly suggested they leave.

Hui Siye immediately activated his ability; five‑colored light flashed, and man and mouse were back in front of the small shrine.

"Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"

As soon as they steadied, La Tiao darted out of the nearby shrine, scurried up Chen Shicheng's pant leg onto his shoulder, voicing an unusually disgruntled protest at being abandoned.

At that moment, Chen Shicheng remembered that he had casually left the dazed La Tiao on the ground, and Hui Siye's teleportation had not taken it along.

"La Tiao, you know me; I would never just abandon you, it's all because of that," Chen Shicheng quickly turned, exposing Hui Siye on his other shoulder, "It was that thing that teleported me, and it didn't bring you."

The little mouse, which had been dazedly chased all the way, was knocked out by its master; La Tiao, already unsatisfied, now sees another mouse, its eyes instantly brightening, its body arching in eager anticipation.

"No, what does this have to do with me? You didn't say you'd bring me along, so stop staring at me; consider this a warning, I won't be polite!"

Hui Siye didn't want to take an undeserved blame, but before it could finish explaining, La Tiao lunged forward impatiently.

The remaining incense fire power was scarce, and his Yuan Spirit power was also dwindling; Hui Siye, helpless, could only hover in mid‑air, swearing as he dodged La Tiao's attacks. Thus, the mouse and the ferret began a butterfly‑pursuing game among the blossoms.

"What a harmonious scene."

Chen Shicheng watched the two beasts playing gleefully, nodded appreciatively, and focused his gaze back on the panel.

Today was certainly not in vain; whether skill, equipment, or Merit Points, the haul was the greatest since he entered the game.

Seeing that 10,960 Merit Points remained on the panel, his heart warmed briefly, but he soon became conflicted, unsure which skill to upgrade.

The Slashing Immortal Sword Intent needs no further explanation; it will undoubtedly be his primary attack method, yet merely entering the basics already cost him over five thousand Merit Points, and he has no idea how much more is required for an upgrade.

Chen Shicheng estimated that the ten‑plus thousand Merit Points might not make a huge difference; the boost from spending them all might not match the aid from the Slashing Immortal Great Formation. Yet the multiplied Attack Power, defense‑ignoring, and instant‑death effect were so tempting that he couldn't decide at once.

However, considering that such a massive Merit Points windfall might occur only once, and thinking of long‑term development.

After much deliberation, Chen Shicheng could only keep 960 Merit Points as a reserve, pouring the remaining ten thousand into the Slashing Immortal Sword Intent.

【Slashing Immortal Sword Intent (0.1%) → Slashing Immortal Sword Intent (2.6%)】

"Damn, I knew it!"

Even though he was mentally prepared, seeing the skill's percentage rise by only 2.5% made Chen Shicheng mutter under his breath, his face full of gloom.

(End of Chapter)