Chapter 27: Magic Treasures and Spells

Spell duels are a tribulation that cultivators can never escape.

In truth, most magic treasures and spells offer little help to one's cultivation base; take the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, most common among Demon Sects: it is excellent for dueling, but no matter how many malicious ghosts or resentful souls you possess, they will hardly increase your cultivation base. Ultimately, one must still refine elixirs, consume medicine, and focus on cultivation to attain immortality and realize the Dao.

It is just that cultivation is too arduous; relying solely on quiet meditation and sitting in absorption, one would be lucky to reach merely the Qi Sea Realm in a lifetime.

Had Chen Ye not received Su Su Chunyi's assistance, relying only on blood cultivation, it would have taken him several more years to condense his Qi Sea.

The total number of rare treasures in the world is fixed; if you do not fight and contend for them, you will never become an immortal.

Therefore, conflicts are inevitable, and with them, spell duels cannot be avoided.

Both magic treasures and spells are essential for spell duels.

Chen Ye now possesses the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and the Sword Box, so he lacks no magic treasures; however, he truly must study spells carefully.

Do not be misled by how skillfully Chen Ye used his Teleportation Art while digging graves, creating a large pit with a single scoop, which seemed little different from Monk Ku'e's Vajra Pestle.

Yet Monk Ku'e's Vajra Pestle manifested the instant he chanted, striking immediately, whereas Chen Ye's Teleportation Art required chanting incantations for half a day before he could focus his mind entirely to execute it step by step.

If they had truly fought with their lives on the line, Chen Ye would have died a hundred times over.

Thus, both magic treasures and spells prize instant manifestation upon chanting; the faster the spellcasting speed, the greater the chance of survival.

Among the spells transmitted by Mo Ci, there were very few to choose from; this is the trouble with scattered cultivators, who lack a complete inheritance and must rely on themselves for everything.

However, what Chen Ye cared about more now was Mo Ci's final remark: what did it mean that his appearance would cause trouble?

Aside from his noble and pure soul, this physical body was the most precious thing Chen Ye had brought from his previous life.

Regarding his looks, Chen Ye was quite confident.

But since Mo Ci had spoken so earnestly, Chen Ye felt somewhat uncertain.

Could it be that sleeping outdoors in the wilds for these past few days had damaged his appearance?

Unfortunately, Mo Ci had fallen asleep again, leaving Chen Ye no way to ask for clarification.

In these desolate mountains and wild ridges, where could he find a mirror? Chen Ye could only shake the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, summoning a resentful soul covered in scars.

The moment this resentful soul appeared, seeing Chen Ye, it immediately opened its mouth and said, "I pay my respects to my benefactor."

This was the master soul of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, refined by Monk Ku'e, named Yang Yang Chongguang. In life, he was an old man who had served in the army for many years; when his grandson fell gravely ill, he sought Monk Ku'e's help to save him, never expecting that all seven members of his family would end up on the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

Although he was old and frail when he died, he had been a brave general on the battlefield, and after being refined, he became exceptionally fierce.

Though he still appeared quite ferocious now, when they first met, he barely retained human form; every scar on his face had transformed into a grotesque giant mouth, ready to devour people.

Monk Ku'e showed no mercy while torturing him; later, when Chen Ye helped him achieve revenge, Yang Yang Chongguang willingly submitted to Chen Ye's command.

Now, summoned by decree, he behaved with extraordinary reverence.

"Old man, there is no need for such formalities; as I said, avenging you was merely a case of being in the right place at the right time. Moreover, in truth, you largely avenged yourselves."

Chen Ye had merely set up a formation and waited for Monk Ku'e to walk into the trap; when the battle began, he relied only on verbal taunts without even showing his face.

Yet Yang Yang Chongguang said, "I am a crude man who cannot speak any great principles, but without the benefactor's aid, we would have remained lonely wandering ghosts for eternity, suffering endless torment. Furthermore, the benefactor saved us not just once; did not that so-called River Sect intend to scatter our souls? Had the benefactor not spoken up righteously on our behalf, our souls would have been scattered."

Chen Ye sighed and said, "One cannot blame Miss Su; the Demon Path has accumulated countless blood debts, and often one must overcorrect to rectify the wrong."

Yang Yang Chongguang asked, "When the old emperor issued a single order, hundreds of thousands died building his cultivation palace, with more than half perishing, yet we never saw this young lady intervene? When we were harmed and killed, we never saw that so-called sect come to save us; why is it only now, when we seek revenge and redress, that they speak of overcorrecting?"

Chen Ye laughed and said, "Old man, your question makes sense; I will ask Miss Su about this later."

Chen Ye would never advise Yang Yang Chongguang to be magnanimous; regarding such injustices, he had felt them deeply in his previous life as well.

"The benefactor honors me too much; this old man never studied books nor understands cultivation, but I can see that the young lady holds a status unlike any other. I was merely venting grievances; if my words cause the benefactor difficulty, then this old man truly lacks shame."

Yang Yang Chongguang felt immensely fortunate to have encountered Chen Ye; in his eyes, this youth was an exceptionally good person, virtually a god who saves beings from suffering, so naturally, causing him difficulty would be an act of sheer ingratitude.

"This minor matter can wait until later. Old man, has Monk Ku'e confessed yet?" Chen Ye asked.

Yang Yang Chongguang hurriedly replied, "He confessed, he confessed, long ago. It is just that we hate him to the bone; if the benefactor does not ask, we simply apply harsh torture a few more times."

Chen Ye had coveted Monk Ku'e's lifelong learning, intending to extract all his cultivation techniques, expecting it to take some time, yet he never imagined Monk Ku'e would be so weak-willed.

But upon reflection, it made sense; those who cultivate the Demon Path seek only pleasure and cannot endure bitter cultivation, so naturally, they possess no firm willpower.

It was perfect timing to see what could be learned; Chen Ye was quite envious of the Miraculous Secret Art of Opening Mouth Zen. With his own eloquent tongue, if he mastered this art, would it not be a perfect match?

After carefully securing everything extracted from Monk Ku'e, Chen Ye asked Yang Yang Chongguang again, "Old man, I have a question: looking at my face, do you see anything improper about it?"

Yang Yang Chongguang examined Chen Ye's face carefully and hesitated, saying, "This face of the benefactor..."

Yang Yang Chongguang pondered for a long time without speaking, making Chen Ye so anxious his heart pounded; he quickly asked, "What is wrong with my face? Old man, please speak freely."

"This face of the benefactor... As the saying goes: 'A nose like a hanging gallbladder reveals elegant bones, lips dotted with cinnabar surpass the peony. On the roads of Luoyang, thrown fruits fill carriages; throughout the city, all contend to gaze upon the beautiful youth.' These lines from the operas I heard in my youth describe precisely the appearance of the benefactor; you are absolutely a handsome young man rarely seen in this world."

Chen Ye was nearly frightened to death by him; all that heavy breathing had merely been him searching for the right words.

But that did not make sense; why had his Master said this face needed to be covered?

Never mind; excessive thinking was useless now. Before returning to the city, he must first master his magic treasures and spells.

The method to refine the Sword Box was simple; Su Su Chunyi had already erased all magic power imprints, so Chen Ye only needed to inject spiritual energy into it and leave his own imprint within its formation.

In but a moment, the heavy Sword Box hovered before Chen Ye.

With a single command from Chen Ye, a mysterious light flew out from the Sword Box, shooting toward distant mountain rocks.

A faint sound was heard as the sword light almost completely penetrated the rock, leaving only half an inch exposed; as spiritual energy dissipated, the sword light gradually faded, leaving only a hollow hole in the stone.

"Impressive; truly worthy of being a magic treasure of the Qinghejian Sect, though the consumption is too great."

This Sword Box contained no flying swords; instead, it could condense spiritual energy into sword light. The power was considerable, but Chen Ye's cultivation base was too low; if he triggered it using his own spiritual energy, he could sustain at most three sword qi strikes.

However, this Sword Box possessed its own marvelous utility: it could condense sword qi in advance and store them within. It could hold up to thirty-six sword qi strikes, though there was a time limit; unless nurtured daily with spiritual energy, each sword qi could remain stored for at most seven days.

This was a massive consumer of spiritual energy; if Chen Ye had not yet condensed his Qi Sea, this Sword Box would be equivalent to trash and completely unusable.

Chen Ye calculated carefully: with his current spiritual energy, he could at best ensure seven sword qi remained stored in the Sword Box; any more would require him to embrace the Sword Box all day long, injecting spiritual energy continuously, leaving him unable to do anything else.

With the magic treasure refined, the next step was spells.

Most of the Demon Sect spells transmitted by Mo Ci were vicious and cruel, primarily designed to harm others; since Chen Ye had the Sword Box for protection, he had no immediate need for them.

As for Monk Ku'e's Miraculous Secret Art of Opening Mouth Zen, Chen Ye was indeed quite envious.

When it came to scripture debates, Chen Ye truly feared no one. In the bizarre and motley society of his previous life, all sorts of outrageous theories emerged endlessly; casually spinning a few arguments could leave ordinary cultivators so furious their seven orifices smoked, yet rendered speechless.

Cultivating this Miraculous Secret Art was also simple: recite scriptures, make a grand vow before the "Buddha" worshipped by the Niepan Sect, and the art would be mastered.

Then, by fulfilling that grand vow, one would naturally receive corresponding enhancements.

Monk Ku'e's Opening Mouth Zen required constantly engaging others in scripture debates; as long as one's defenses did not break, one would gain the protection of a Golden Body. Cultivation was not difficult; Chen Ye did not need to worship at the Niepan Sect. Regardless of time or place, simply reciting scriptures could complete the ritual of making a grand vow.

However, the essence of this Miraculous Secret Art was ultimately borrowing power from the "Buddha."

The scriptures claimed the Buddha was selfless, saving all sentient beings, and that anyone could make a grand vow to cultivate this art.

But who knew whether this Buddha was real or fake? What if it were an evil deity fabricated by the Niepan Sect?

Judging by the conduct of Niepan Sect disciples, this art likely harbored something sinister. Worshipping this Buddha, who did not even have a name, would probably lead to disaster sooner or later.

After much deliberation, practicing the four Soul Secret Arts of Restrain, Lock, Question, and Punish from the Zang Ben Yuan Jing seemed the safest option.

Having carefully studied these four Secret Arts, he decided to begin cultivating the "Lock" Character Seal.

The Soul-Locking Art was precisely the key Chen Ye had used to capture Monk Ku'e; since he already had a foundation, practicing it would yield results faster. The first move of this Lock Character Seal was the Paralysis Technique.