At this time, Li Yanchu glanced at the merit points he had accumulated: 56,020 points. He had truly gotten rich overnight. Thinking about this, he felt overjoyed. He planned to enhance a few more Daoist talismans for protection. If not for the Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman and the Five-Lightning Talisman during that trip into the tomb, he might’ve died in there already. Now that his cultivation had reached the second realm, his success rate in inscribing talismans had increased greatly. The spiritual resonance infused into the symbols far surpassed anything from before. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel✶fire.net This meant that a triple-enhanced Five-Lightning Talisman now held far greater power than it used to. Naturally, his first choice to enhance again was the Five-Lightning Talisman. This talisman focused on lethal offense, with immense destructive force. Even someone on the level of that noble-robed youth couldn’t withstand a quadruple-enhanced Five-Lightning strike. Li Yanchu considered it a perfect trump card as it was ideal for protecting his life. Then, he took out a freshly inscribed Five-Lightning Talisman. Even as it sat silently on the table, it faintly radiated heat, and a wisp of lightning-fire aura was already leaking from it. Just then, Li Yanchu took a deep breath, recalling the Great Dao’s sacred intonation in his mind. “Decree of Bestowal!” With that, the Five-Lightning Talisman surged with Daoist tides. From the cinnabar-stroked symbols, pure yang qi began to rise. It was already far more powerful than the single-enhanced talismans. “Decree of Bestowal!” He didn’t stop, opting for a second enhancement. “Decree of Bestowal!” Now, on the third enhancement, the talisman faintly crackled with thunder. Its Pure Yang Lightning aura was incredibly invigorating. For those with upright and righteous hearts, the lightning-fire from the Five-Lightning Talisman didn’t harm, but instead cleansed the blood and qi, dispelling all evil and yin qi within the body. “Decree of Bestowal!” Without hesitation, he chose to enhance it a fourth time. A lightning qi surged through the entire room, as if a celestial thunder pool had descended to the mortal world. Compared to the ones he’d enhanced in the tomb, this one was now on a whole new level in both spiritual potency and divine resonance. Thus, Li Yanchu felt completely reassured. Merit, for him, had always seemed intangible; it was vague and ill-defined. Even if he was the only one in all of Kingdom of Qian who could actually harness it, it still felt more real to him when he converted that merit into tangible items. One round of quadruple enhancement had cost him 10,000 merit points. Without pause, he pulled out a new Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman, the most spiritually potent one he had. “Decree of Bestowal!” The Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman emanated a vast and majestic divine aura. Moreover, since it was a treasured talisman used to summon Spirit Officer Wang, it also carried the presence of pure yang energy. It resonated with the Five-Lightning Talisman, and the swirling aura of lightning and flame interweaved, constantly tempering Li Yanchu’s body and primordial spirit. Just like last time, Li Yanchu didn’t enhance the Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman four times, but instead chose to enhance it three times, which consumed 6,000 merit points. Rather than continuing to enhance more talismans, he turned his attention to the Jiaoslayer, his trusted weapon in countless deadly battles. This ancient, unadorned saber had only been enhanced once, yet it was already razor-sharp, capable of slaying ghosts and demons alike. Now, he decided to enhance it again. After all, his martial cultivation had reached a very high level, and his blood and qi alone could now clash head-on with demonic forces. His saber techniques remained his strongest martial art. Just then, Li Yanchu placed the saber on the table. In a low, steady voice, he said, “Decree of Bestowal!” With that 2,000 merit points were consumed. The Jiaoslayer let out a sudden resonant hum, and its cold gleam burst forth. Instantly, the air in the room filled with a chilling saber qi. Li Yanchu’s eyes lit up. As one of the foremost saber experts in the martial world, he felt an intimate familiarity with a weapon of this caliber. Just two enhancements, and already the saber was so chilling and keen. What if I enhance it one more time? The thought stirred in Li Yanchu’s heart. He once again simulated the voice of the Great Dao in his mind. And as the words fell from his lips, a surge of Daoist tides washed over the saber. This time, the appearance of the Jiaoslayer changed completely. Once shaped like a traditional ox-tail saber, it was heavy and unadorned, and it now took on an even more majestic form. The hilt and guard were carved with intricate patterns and imbued with a sense of ancient might and grandeur. The current appearance of the Jiaoslayer, in Li Yanchu’s eyes, closely resembled the ancient Tang Sword[1]. Its design was simple and streamlined, free of any ornate embellishments, yet it emanated a chilling aura of lethal intent. It was so razor-sharp that even a single glance felt like it could cut deep, as if one’s skin might split just from looking at it. The saber was three chi long, two fingers wide, and bore none of the icy gleam typical of common sabers. Instead, mysterious and intricate patterns covered its surface. It wasn’t a saber that, upon being drawn, would light up the entire room with radiant steel, but rather one that carried the weight and menace of a weapon forged through countless battles. At this time, Li Yanchu reached out and gently gripped the hilt of the thrice-enhanced saber. In that instant, he felt a surge of connection and resonance, as if the saber were an extension of his own flesh and blood. Then, a resounding saber cry echoed from the saber. Nearby, the weapons of other martial artists suddenly began to hum and vibrate, as if about to wrench themselves from their owners’ grips. When they saw this, shock and confusion flashed across their faces. They had no idea what was happening, or why their weapons had reacted so violently. In the Taiping Inn, the innkeeper heard the distant ringing of a saber and immediately turned her gaze toward the direction it came from. A look of delight blossomed in her eyes. “As expected of my man, even his saber isn’t ordinary. It's a true divine artifact... Those are rare nowadays.” She smiled sweetly, and she was clearly pleased. Back at Qingyun Temple, Li Yanchu held the thrice-enhanced saber and casually spun it through the air, sending a flurry of dazzling arcs flashing from its edge. The air shimmered, and a blast of invisible saber qi effortlessly sliced through the tables and chairs in the room without a sound. Immediately, the wooden furniture collapsed to the ground in pieces. The cut surfaces were so smooth and polished that they resembled mirrors. Seeing this, Li Yanchu was slightly stunned. He’d only waved the saber a few times without channeling any inner strength. Yet saber qi had formed naturally? “This saber... truly deserves to be called a divine artifact now.” His thoughts echoed the very words the innkeeper had just spoken. The only difference was that Li Yanchu said it from a place of pure martial admiration, as he was genuinely satisfied with the power of the thrice-enhanced saber. Whereas the innkeeper’s use of “divine artifact” referred to a rare class of sabers, a term not lightly granted to even the most renowned swords. It had to possess sufficient spiritual resonance. With just the enhancement of three items, Li Yanchu had already consumed 21,000 merit points. But he didn’t stop there. After all, he was now a man of wealth and substance, holding over fifty thousand merit points. He could afford to spend more if he wanted to. Next, Li Yanchu took out an Eight Trigrams Mirror from his robes. This had once been the magical artifact of Daoist Jin Feng, and it was incredibly spiritually potent. Although Jin Feng’s cultivation level wasn’t among the highest within the ranks of cultivators, this Eight Trigrams Mirror was undeniably an exceptional treasure. Back then, when Li Yanchu’s spirit left his body, just a glancing beam from this mirror had forced him to retreat. Among all the tools encountered within the grand tomb, apart from that mysterious Demonslayer Pestle, this Eight Trigrams Mirror was undoubtedly one of the most powerful. Now, it had changed ownership. And Li Yanchu was pleased that it now belonged to him. At this time, Li Yanchu’s fingers gently rubbed the surface of the mirror, carefully sensing the spirit energy contained within. Inside, there pulsed an extremely powerful force. Li Yanchu took a deep breath and said, “Enhance!” With that, the familiar tide of the Great Dao surged forth. The surface of the mirror rippled like water, and a divine radiance shimmered into being. At this time, Li Yanchu glanced at his merit value. To his surprise, just this first enhancement of the Eight Trigrams Mirror had cost him 2,000 merit points. This meant the artifact had already been enhanced once by its previous owner. This was the first time Li Yanchu had encountered something . 1. The Tang Sword originates from the military culture of China’s Tang Dynasty. It is a collective term for the four standard weapons used by the armies of the Sui and Tang dynasties: Yi Dao (ceremonial sword), Zhang Dao (shielded sword), Heng Dao (horizontal sword), and Mo Dao (long-handled sword), and generally refers to the Tang Heng Dao (Tang horizontal sword). I chose to translate 唐刀 as “Tang Sword” rather than localizing it because I wanted to preserve the historical and cultural identity of the weapon. Using “Tang Sword” clearly indicates its origin in the Tang Dynasty. Localizing it could dilute its historical specificity or cause readers to misunderstand its significance. Besides, I usually use saber for 刀 and sword for 剑，but here I’m using sword eventhough the raw is 刀 because in historical Tang Dynasty records, there were only “dao” (single-edged swords/knives) and no true “jian” (double-edged swords). Even when a weapon was called a “jian” at the time, it was in fact a Tang Dao. Using “sword” rather than “saber” preserves the broader historical and cultural meaning of the weapon, without limiting it to the modern English association of a saber as a curved cavalry sword.