Even with his sharp eyesight, Li Yanchu had only caught a blur of black. He couldn’t make out the figure’s appearance at all, and the same was true for Master Huizhen. “Could it have been... the Mountain God of this temple?” Li Yanchu had sensed a faint trace of yin qi and some kind of indescribable power emanating from that black shadow. After a brief discussion with Master Huizhen, the two quickly began retracing their steps back to the Martial Manor. This time, as they crossed the Yixian Cliff, they didn’t encounter the scaly, green creature from before. Their journey was smooth and uneventful, and they returned safely to the Martial Manor. Chapters first released on noᴠelfire.net By the time they arrived, the sky was already beginning to lighten with the first rays of dawn. Bai Hongtu and the officials had stood guard in the Martial Manor through the night, and no strange incidents had occurred. The pregnant women in the village were all safe and sound. When Li Yanchu recounted their night’s encounter, Bai Hongtu expressed genuine regret that he hadn’t been able to witness the strange evils of the Yixian Cliff for himself. Li Yanchu gave a faint smile. Bai Hongtu’s Flying Sword Technique was powerful, but that path was extremely dangerous. A single misstep could have sent him plummeting off the cliff. Upon hearing that the mandrill, the creature that had been preying on the pregnant women, had been eliminated, the villagers of the Martial Manor finally breathed a sigh of relief. Head Constable Wang, along with his officers and Master Huizhen, returned to Wei City. Li Yanchu and Bai Hongtu, however, remained behind in the Martial Manor a few more days, just in case. Three days passed, and the Martial Manor remained peaceful and quiet. Even the surrounding villages and counties showed no signs of evil disturbances. Only then did Li Yanchu and Bai Hongtu return to Wei City. For once, life calmed down. At Qingyun Temple, Li Yanchu sat before a freshly written Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman. His previous one had already expended its spirit essence, having been used three times. This one was his newly written, and perhaps the most spiritually resonant version he'd ever crafted. “Decree of Bestowal!” As Li Yanchu uttered the familiar word, the tide of the Great Dao surged around him. A once-ordinary Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman began to radiate with powerful pure yang divine energy. With that, 1,000 merit points consumed. “Decree of Bestowal!” Another 2,000 merit points were consumed. The talisman underwent a second transformation, becoming even more refined. Threads of pure yang aura seeped directly into Li Yanchu’s primordial spirit. “Decree of Bestowal!” Finally, another 3,000 merit points were consumed. He had enhanced the Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman thrice. A burst of golden light filled Li Yanchu’s chamber. From the vast emptiness of the void above, it was as if a voice of Divine Dao thundered down with righteous power. Li Yanchu placed the talisman carefully against his chest. After being enhanced twice, the talisman had already proven extremely beneficial to primordial spirit cultivation, and now that it had been enhanced three times, the benefits would be immense. He glanced at his remaining merit points: 8,920. He had earned 8,000 from the Longmen Village incident, and 2,000 more from slaying the mandrill and the green-robed creature in the Martial Manor. Then, Li Yanchu took out a Five-Lightning Talisman. Without hesitation, he enhanced it as well. After a full triple enhancement, a brand-new Five-Lightning Talisman brimming with spirit essence took form in his hand. Lightning, the ultimate force of pure yang and righteous destruction, was especially effective against evil spirits and malevolent entities. It was Li Yanchu’s most powerful offensive tool. This triple enhancement cost him another 6,000 merit points, which meant he now had only 2,920 merit points left. There’s never enough merit, Li Yanchu sighed inwardly. As it stood, he now had two triple-enhanced Five-Lightning Talismans, one of which had one use left, one triple-enhanced Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman, and one single-enhanced Five-Lightning Talisman, which had already been used once. Next, it was time to focus on cultivation. He planned to resume cultivating with the Yellow Court Classic. His martial cultivation had already reached first-rate, but in terms of Daoist arts, he still had a long way to go. His goal now was to break through to the intermediate Qi Cultivation Realm. After all, he was still a Daoist priest, and if he relied solely on fists and sabers all the time, he would be a bit too much like a wandering jianghu mercenary. After taking Qi-Booster Pills daily, Li Yanchu’s cultivation speed was actually quite decent. However, once he entered the rudimentary Qi Cultivation Realm, the effects of the pills began to diminish somewhat. Still, after seven days, Li Yanchu finally managed to break through to the intermediate Qi Cultivation Realm. The spirit qi within his body became much more refined and abundant, and his overall presence grew steadier and more composed. As a result, spells like Qi Sight, Telekinetic Retrieval, and the Art of Pursuit all saw a significant boost in power. From the techniques recorded in The Yellow Court Classic, Li Yanchu selected a new one to cultivate, the Immobilization Spell. The moment he read of this technique, he couldn’t help but think of Sun Wukong from Journey to the West immobilizing the Seven Fairies in the Peach Garden[1]. This technique has some serious practical potential, Li Yanchu thought to himself. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant; all of them, of course, were entirely proper and upright. Lately, his days had been spent in meditation and cultivating using the Yellow Court Classic, with the rest of his time devoted to practicing the Immobilization Spell. This spell worked by channeling spirit qi to the fingertips, then drawing a special rune onto the palm to freeze the target in place. If one were to bite their fingertip and use blood and qi instead, the spell’s power would double. But... It would be a bit draining. The main limitation of the technique was that it could only immobilize one target at a time. Li Yanchu tested it on an ordinary person like the innkeeper, and it worked effortlessly. On someone like Hongtu, a cultivator of profound skill, the spell could hold him for around eight seconds before being broken by force. As for demons or evil spirits, Li Yanchu hadn’t tested it yet, so its effectiveness in that area remained unknown. The stronger Li Yanchu grew, the more intrigued he became by the techniques in The Yellow Court Classic. Spells like Sandstorm Fury, Bean Soldiers, and Five-Lightning Spell all held immense destructive power. “I’ll just keep at it. Someday, I’ll master them all,” Li Yanchu told himself. On this fine day, Li Yanchu and Bai Hongtu were drinking tea at the Taiping Inn. Since Li Yanchu had recently taken to staying overnight in the innkeeper’s room, the innkeeper had started to find even the previously annoying Bai Hongtu somewhat less unpleasant to look at. Plus, Fang Qinglan, that cool and aloof beauty with a pair of long, elegant legs, had recently been frequently seeking out Li Yanchu. This stirred a sense of crisis in the innkeeper’s heart. Thus, she decided it was better to just let Bai Hongtu and Li Yanchu sit around the inn drinking tea together. After all, she could just charge Bai Hongtu extra for his room. The innkeeper’s complexion was glowing these days, like soil nourished by a spring rain. She looked utterly refreshed and radiant. At this time, she sat behind the counter tallying up the accounts. Then, she would sway her graceful, shapely figure over to pass by Li Yanchu from time to time just to draw his gaze. Bai Hongtu, for his part, couldn’t help but feel a little regretful. How could a woman this alluring and full of charm fall for the guy sitting beside him? And yet he himself, a dashing, refined, young, and wealthy man, still hadn’t met a woman to capture his heart. Just as he was sighing over his misfortune, a familiar figure appeared in front of them. He lightly tapped the table, signaling Li Yanchu to look. Li Yanchu paused for a moment, then greeted the newcomer, “Master Huizhen, it’s been a while.” There were a few more traces of aging on Huizhen’s face now, but he still smiled gently. “Greetings, Daoist Master Yanchu, Young Master Bai.” Hearing this, Bai Hongtu nodded in acknowledgment. Meanwhile, Li Yanchu invited Master Huizhen to sit down, and had a waiter bring the high monk from Lingxi Temple a cup of tea. “Daoist Master, do you still remember that time by the river, when I mentioned that the stone statue of Baxia was connected to a certain Grotto-Heaven and Blissful Land?” Huizhen said. Li Yanchu gave a slight nod. Huizhen said calmly, “This time, I have come specifically to offer you an explanation.” Instantly, Li Yanchu’s heart stirred. The great monk truly was a man of his word. 1. In Chinese mythology, Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a central character in the classic novel Journey to the West. He's a powerful and mischievous figure known for his magical abilities. One famous scene involves Sun Wukong sneaking into the Peach Garden, a celestial orchard where peaches of immortality grow. There, he encounters the Seven Fairies and uses a spell to freeze them in place, rendering them completely motionless. This spell is one of many magical techniques he masters, often used to outwit gods, demons, and spirits. ☜