Chapter 453: The Relics of the Terrestrial Immortal

Unwrapping the bundle, there wasn't much inside.

It was simple—this world had no storage rings, and the talismans and tools needed for spellcasting were too numerous to carry all, so one had to choose wisely.

As wandering immortals, Li Yan and his companions typically carried everything with them; even after trimming down, years of travel had accumulated a fair amount of baggage.

The three Wushan hermits must have had other hidden lairs, but since they were dead, their belongings had become ownerless.

This is why, occasionally, one finds caves filled with scriptures and talismans deep in the mountains, giving rise to legends.

First was the "Ruyi Treasure Pearl."

It was still wrapped in red cloth, its aura masked by talismans, for it was too conspicuous—only to be used at critical moments.

Li Yan carefully set it aside, then picked up two knives.

These were left by the one-eyed Daoist.

About this man, all they knew was his surname "Lin," that he practiced the teachings of the Tongtian Sect, and nothing else.

He likely used the soul-seizing method, dying in his original body and taking over another's flesh to barely survive, hiding in Wushan as a terrestrial immortal.

A pair of short knives, both pitch-black, with rough blades and numerous air holes; holding them sent a chilling aura of yin malice pressing against the skin.

Li Yan had just seen this material on Huashan.

It was called "Ming Iron," originally meteorite material that, by chance, fell upon graves or deep valleys saturated with yin malice, slowly forming over time.

It could enhance yin-based spells such as spirit control and yin curses.

This item was a treasure, but unsuitable for them—better to keep it and exchange it when the Qingcheng Mountain treasure vault opens.

This journey to Shu had been full of tasks.

First, attend the "Huangquan" organization's meeting and seek the legacy of Yin Changsheng; their trip to Fengdu was settled—just return in the twelfth lunar month for the gathering and see what benefits they could gain.

Second, help the Dragon Maiden uncover the cause of the River God's unrest—still no leads, but it likely relates to the ancient Dragon Palace's water palace.

This is also one reason for the chaos among Shu's martial circles.

Third, ascend Qingcheng Mountain: first to forge talismans, second to make prior arrangements for the vault-opening ceremony after the New Year.

The rest were scattered tasks.

Such as escorting the Bai family to Qingcheng, or stopping by certain regions to help Wang Jing search for treasure herbs.

Besides these, there were two more treasures.

One was the Bai family's payment: the Siming Assembly had a small hidden vault in Shu; not an earth-shattering hoard, but ancient, its contents suitable for exchange at Qingcheng Mountain.

After all, when the Daoist sect opens its vaults, barter is more appropriate.

With silver, they couldn't afford anything.

The other was the Qingniu Temple's reward: several sites where heavenly and earthly treasures were hidden, requiring a treasure-seeker to help retrieve them.

This was one reason they came to Chongqing.

Thinking of this, Li Yan set the short knives aside again.

The most valuable thing on the one-eyed Daoist was these knives; the rest were trivial trinkets, all given to Meng Shopkeeper.

The key items were those carried by Wang Mengsheng and the Incense Saintess.

Wang Mengsheng carried two books: one called "Yi Chen," the other "Luo Wei"—never-before-heard apocryphal texts.

According to the old woman Bai Huan, Wang Mengsheng had secluded himself in the "Jinghuang Cave" in Wushan; Emperor Wu of Liang had once hidden books there, and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had taken refuge there during the An Lushan Rebellion.

Perhaps they were rare imperial manuscripts.

Li Yan opened them and carefully flipped through.

"Yi Chen" was a set of prophetic diagrams, illustrating the sixty-four hexagrams of the Yi Jing, correlating them with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and including theories of the Five Phases and Six Qi—containing prophecies and some strange spells.

"Luo Wei" was another interpretation of the Luo Book, mostly concerning spirits and ghosts, mixed with certain incantations.

Li Yan found it incomprehensible, so he put them away for now, to be studied later by Wang Daoxuan.

Apocryphal arts were forbidden by Confucianism—likely powerful.

On the Incense Sect Saintess, besides some finely crafted incense powders used for spellcasting, there was only one scroll.

The scroll was ancient, seemingly made of human skin, multicolored, depicting strange deities—clearly a Vajrayana artifact.

Moreover, it was surrounded by a swirling aura of gangsha; gazing at it for too long caused hallucinations to swarm before the eyes.

Li Yan had never seen a scroll-type talisman like this before.

If he met a Buddhist master, perhaps he could ask about it.

After organizing and storing the items, Li Yan shook his head slightly.

This trip, in truth, had been somewhat costly.

He had slain the Qingniu Temple abbot, seized the demonic energy, and acquired one gang ling and one divine gang, but during the killing of the two Wushan immortals, he had used another gang ling.

The situation had been urgent—he had no time to take a mission, so he risked his life to kill the terrestrial immortal, yet received no reward from the Underworld.

Instead, Meng Shopkeeper had gotten a lucky windfall.

Such opportunities were rare.

Living yin officers were the bane of terrestrial immortals and those who returned from death—no matter how high your cultivation, if you didn't surpass heaven's decree, encountering one meant certain death.

Thus, terrestrial immortals rarely showed themselves before living yin officers.

To deal with them, one usually sent disciples, Daoist masters, or even skilled assassins to kill the living yin officers.

In short, it was the classic "stick, tiger, chicken" dynamic.

Mutual balance had created the current situation.

Finding such an opportunity again would be next to impossible.

But he wasn't without gains.

The "Ruyi Treasure Pearl" was merely an external object; what truly delighted Li Yan was that his Dalaofashen had once again advanced.

It had once been a broken stone, then a ceramic form, increasingly refined—now it glowed with metallic luster!

Li Yan focused his spirit inward, observing the Dalaofashen closely.

After its advancement, its color had begun to darken, resembling the black iron statues in ancient temples.

The Gou Die seal on his left palm, chains of soul-snatching hooks wrapped around both arms, seated in meditation with hand seals, his features now clearer, identical to his own.

The only difference: on the lotus pedestal below, two petals were outlined in golden thread, strikingly distinct.

This had appeared after absorbing the "Meng Shen Cloth"'s fortune near a village in Wushan—also enhancing the Dalaofashen's strength.

As for other functions, too few instances had occurred to reveal them.

Li Yan stared, lost in thought.

The Dalaofashen held too many secrets—likely tied to the mysterious Dalaofajie.

Unfortunately, even the Dalaofajie was a hidden secret of heaven and earth; as for the Dalaofashen, no one had probably ever heard of it.

How many secrets still lay hidden in this world…

Though he didn't understand, it didn't hinder its use.

Li Yan pondered, then shook his right hand—dark force erupted as he suddenly slapped his own chest.

Simultaneously, his tendons and membranes trembled, swiftly dispersing and redirecting the force into his feet.

Crack!

The bricks beneath his feet shattered instantly.

The Immortal Seal Technique!

This martial art, originally conceived as a wild idea, now had a complete framework—capable of redirecting incoming force.

It could deflect force, and even use the enemy's force against them.

But this was only the beginning—if multiple attacks struck simultaneously with different forces, he couldn't possibly deflect them all.

To fully master it, he must train relentlessly until it became instinct—thought guiding intent, body following intent, to neutralize the blows.

The next step: transform it into a martial art.

Since entering the martial world, Li Yan had fought countless battles, slain countless masters—he finally understood one truth: no matter how high your martial skill or how sharp your spells, the one who survives the battle is the victor.

In the martial world, how can one avoid getting cut?

Relying solely on the Dalaofashen, he would eventually face an unstoppable force—three lives wouldn't be enough to waste.

Thus, survival techniques were essential.

The Immortal Seal Technique was an auxiliary to the Dalaofashen.

Previously, his training had often gone awry, leaving cracks in the Dalaofashen; in critical battles, he might lose a life.

Now that the Dalaofashen's strength had increased, he could endure more damage—and his training speed for the Immortal Seal Technique could accelerate!

Also, the Third Level of Dao cultivation—no wonder it was the peak of mortals.

From here on, even for him, cultivation speed had slowed drastically; the Fourth Level was still far off.

Spell cultivation couldn't be neglected—he'd need to find yin-malicious places along the way to practice using the "Bei Di Luo Feng Jing."

Thinking of this, Li Yan took out the Sichuan map and marked it, aiming to open the Bai family's vault before reaching Chengdu, while also stopping by a few places to train…

!.

…………

Unaware, dusk approached.

Chongqing Prefecture lay at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, famed as the "Fog City," often shrouded in thick fog, especially in autumn and winter.

Noon had been a rare clear day, but by afternoon, dense fog rose again, carrying a chilling, damp chill that seeped into the marrow.

Because of the fog, night fell early.

In the courtyard, Sha Li Fei had cleared the weeds with Wu Ba and Lu San, gathered piles of firewood, and lit a bonfire.

The flames crackled, driving away the surrounding cold.

"Come on, Wu Ba, come with me to borrow some water!"

Sha Li Fei shouted, and Wu Ba immediately shouldered the large pot and hurried after him out the door.

The well water behind us had been contaminated by corpses; although Wang Daoxuan performed rituals to dispel the ill omen, the water was clearly undrinkable.

Li Yan happened to be leaving just then and saw it but did not stop them.

Lu San had already used rats to monitor this entire area.

Half the houses stood empty; the Jianghu performers settled here were mostly ordinary wanderers, and any unusual ones were merely novice sorcerers.

To them, it was insignificant.

Li Yan first sought out Wang Daoxuan.

The Daoist was pacing around the courtyard, trying to set up a simple fengshui array to prevent being watched.

"Master, come with me."

Li Yan gave a glance, then led Wang Daoxuan into the room and handed him all the ancient texts.

"The Yi Chen and Luo Wei?"

Wang Daoxuan took them, his face filled with surprise. "I've never heard of these. Are they from Wang Mengsheng?"

When Li Yan looted the corpses, though others like Chongxu of Qingniu Temple were present, he moved quickly and no one noticed.

He alone slew the Earth Immortal—this wasn't mere treasure; naturally, it couldn't be shared by all who saw it.

Like him, Wang Daoxuan flipped through a few pages, then frowned. "Indeed, this is chenwei art; this method is notoriously difficult—even Confucian masters might not master it."

Li Yan smiled. "Master, you may first study it. If you truly can't learn it, we'll figure out what to do later."

"Very well."

Wang Daoxuan was already absorbed in the book, not lifting his head as he replied.

Li Yan didn't mind; he turned and left the room, heading toward the broken side rooms where the Bai family had set up camp.

The Bai family disciples practiced witchcraft and poison magic, and due to their poor innate talent, all suffered varying degrees of backlash—many had pus-filled boils on their faces.

Women, after all, care for beauty; even in the courtyard, they still wore white veils over their faces, preparing the ingredients bought from Luoluo Village.

"Cough! Cough!"

A weak cough came from the side room.

With a creak, the old woman Bai Wan pushed open the door and saw Li Yan. She nodded slightly, signaling him to follow her out.

The two arrived at another small courtyard, and only then did Li Yan speak up: "Elder, what exactly is going on with this Long girl? From her manner, she wants to travel with us?"

They had long seen through her intentions.

In this mission to slay the Earth Immortal, Long Yan had contributed greatly—and lost her life-soul Golden Silkworm gu. Li Yan could no longer pretend ignorance.

"Sigh~"

The old woman Bai Wan sighed, gazing at the overgrown courtyard, and shook her head. "She's a poor child. Her family was murdered by mountain bandits when she was young; she barely survived alone in the wild mountains."

"Without her master and senior brother, she would have been devoured by wolves, tigers, and leopards. After joining the Cult of Poison Magic, her extraordinary innate talent earned her great favor."

"You know what happened after: the Yang family of Bozhou set a trap, the Cult of Gu fell into chaos, her master and senior brother were killed and turned into corpse-gods by dark arts—she couldn't even rest in death."

"The Yang family of Bozhou is wealthy and powerful, with many elite Daoist masters under them. Not only the Cult of Gu, but several other lineages have already submitted. How could a young girl like her possibly challenge them?"

"She came to me—first for refuge, second to ask me to perform rites to guide her master and senior brother's souls. But my Bai family is barely holding on ourselves—how could we possibly do it?"

"Going to Chengdu, my Bai family may gain protection, but it means switching sects. I must help guard the mountain gate, and my disciples must abide by the rules—henceforth entering the Daoist path."

"The only ones who might help her are you."

"I see..."

Li Yan frowned. "This Long girl is indeed pitiful, but Elder, you overestimate us. We can't challenge the Yang family of Bozhou either."

"You need not oppose them."

The old woman Bai Wan said: "No matter how strong the Yang family is, to the imperial court, they're nothing. The imperial army is advancing south—eventually, they will fall."

"Then, we can find their corpses and perform rites to lay them to rest."

"This isn't urgent. We'll deal with it later..."

Li Yan shook his head slightly, not immediately agreeing.

He was known in the Jianghu for keeping his word—but he also acted cautiously, never making promises lightly.

After all, this was a team. Only if everyone agreed would he consider it.

"I understand."

Bai Wan wasn't surprised. She shook her head. "The Long girl lost her life-soul gu; her years of cultivation are barely holding back the backlash. I'll first try to save her life..."

As they spoke, the courtyard gate creaked open.

"Water's here! Water's here!"

Sha Li Fei led the way, Wu Ba carrying a massive iron pot brimming with water like a mighty king bearing a tripod, stepping heavily into the courtyard and slowly setting it down.

The Bai women hurried forward to fetch water and wash vegetables.

They worked swiftly, washing the pork hocks, potatoes, tofu skins, and tossing them all into the pot to stew together.

The Bai women's cooking skills, of course, were unmatched. Though it was a haphazard stew, the aroma filled the entire courtyard.

Everyone gathered around the fire, ladling out bowl after bowl. The steaming meal dispelled the fatigue of travel and the chill of autumn night.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

At that moment, several servants ran down the street, clutching gongs and drums, striking them urgently.

The young man at the front shouted: "Ladies and gentlemen! I'm from the Zhou family of North City. We're holding a funeral tonight and need a Sichuan opera troupe—double the pay!"

Creak!

The courtyards where the Sichuan opera troupes were lodged all opened their doors.

There were two Sichuan opera troupes here, but both just watched, uninterested.

Across the way, another opera troupe—their leader chuckled: "You fool, you're lying."

"Why the rush in the dead of night? This isn't just any ordinary opera..."

(End of Chapter)