Seven Stars Di Bao

"Madam, you don't want to lose everything with Ming Yuanwai, do you?"

Chu Liang said, looking at Madam Ming bound by the red rope.

"Young Hero Chu is willing to request a decree for me?"

Hearing his intention, Ming Yuanwai might not have understood, but Madam Ming was greatly surprised. She hadn't expected this young man before her to be willing to help her so much.

She immediately wanted to kneel down with Ming Yuanwai, but Chu Liang quickly retracted the Demon Binding Rope from her body first, otherwise, the scene would have looked quite strange.

Requesting a decree.

This didn't refer to ancient methods like bestowing titles upon demons, but rather requesting an imperial decree for a benevolent demon, allowing it to live freely in the cities of the human dynasty. It was equivalent to giving it a household registration.

Demons without a decree were like "undocumented residents." If they infiltrated human cities and were discovered by cultivators, they could be killed on the spot at any time. The reason Madam Ming had been so cautious before was her fear of her demon identity being discovered.

This power of granting decrees was only held by the human dynasties and the Nine Heavens Immortal Sects. Even the secondary Ten Earths Immortal Sects did not have this power. For a demon, obtaining a decree was an extremely difficult matter.

The current feudal dynasty was called the Yu Dynasty, established over six hundred years ago and currently in a time of peace and prosperity. Every demon living in a human city could be a hidden danger in this peace. As the saying goes, those not of our kind are sure to have different hearts, let alone demons?

Whether it was the imperial court or the Nine Heavens Immortal Sects, issuing a decree was equivalent to endorsing this demon. If this demon caused trouble in the future, whoever issued the decree would have to bear the responsibility.

Within the Mount Shu, small disciples like Chu Liang did not have such power. This matter required his master, Di Nufeng, to step forward and go through a series of procedures such as observing aura and examining the heart to confirm that Madam Ming was indeed a benevolent demon who had never harmed anyone and had a very low possibility of causing trouble in the future. Only then would a decree be issued. From then on, she would also have to regularly visit Shu Mountain to pay respects and accept the Mount Shu's tracking techniques and positioning.

Usually, even disciples of the Nine Heavens Immortal Sects rarely did such troublesome things.

Just slaying demons and monsters was so straightforward and clean.

However, with this one-size-fits-all approach, even though it saved worry, effort, and responsibility, Chu Liang couldn't help but feel uneasy in his conscience.

After much thought, he still wanted to help them.

As for Ming Yuanwai's family property, he naturally couldn't accept it.

There was no need to mention the profuse thanks and gratitude. Chu Liang took them back to Shu Mountain that very day. Xingzhou City was not far from Shu Mountain to begin with, otherwise, the request from the Ming Residence would not have been delivered to the Sword Exchange Pavilion of Shu Mountain.

After returning to the mountain gate and explaining the matter to his master on Silver Sword Peak, there was nothing left for Chu Liang to do.

Di Nufeng was a chivalrous and righteous person and greatly praised Chu Liang's actions. As for the subsequent decree matters, with her overseeing it, it was estimated that Reaching Heaven Peak would not dare to be negligent.

Chu Liang first returned to his small wooden house on the hillside and settled down before sinking his consciousness into the white pagoda... It was time to claim his reward!

In a large iron cage, only a golden Cat Spirit's illusory figure floated in the air.

Chu Liang skillfully pressed the "Refine" character.

Boom—

A red light flashed, and a brilliant glow floated out. Chu Liang caught it with his hand and found it was a talisman. At the same time, a thought entered his mind.

[Spirit Cat Leap Talisman]: When this talisman is used, you will gain the possession of a Cat Spirit, greatly increasing your body's agility for a quarter of an hour. If you subconsciously lick your palm with your tongue, it is a normal phenomenon, please do not panic.

"A talisman?"

This was the first time Chu Liang had received a talisman. Disposable pills and talismans were definitely not as impressive as permanent magical treasures in terms of appearance. But on second thought, since they were disposable, their power would definitely be greater. Using them at a critical moment might not fail to produce miraculous effects.

Thinking this, he put the item away with satisfaction.

"Hah—"

Just as he finished receiving his reward, Chu Liang heard a loud cry from outside. He looked up and saw a large white crane landing outside the wooden house.

It was pure white all over, without a single miscellaneous feather. It stood taller than an adult man, and its eyes were black and bright, clearly indicating extraordinary intelligence. A basket hung from its long neck, and it was using its sharp beak to pull out a small booklet from it, placing it on the stone table outside.

It turned out to be this month's Seven Stars Di Bao.

Chu Liang called out towards the window, "Thank you."

"Hah—" The white crane raised its neck and cried out again, seemingly in response, then flapped its wings and soared high, heading towards its next destination.

This was a white crane messenger from the Mount Shu, specifically for delivering letters to the disciples on the various peaks. And what it delivered today was the monthly Seven Stars Di Bao.

Within the Nine Heavens Immortal Sects, there was a sect called the Tian Shu Pavilion.

The main business of the Tian Shu Pavilion was deduction and divination, making them the lineage closest to the secrets of heaven in the world. Even though they were not skilled in combat, they had always been respected by major powers. Their position among the Nine Heavens was the best proof.

Their side business was collecting strange tales and anecdotes from the martial world and distributing a copy of the Seven Stars Di Bao every month. For hundreds of years, the Tian Shu Pavilion's Seven Stars Di Bao had become popular throughout the land, from the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten down to the children in the market, everyone talked about it with relish.

Chu Liang raised his finger and drew the booklet into the room, then began to read it.

The Seven Stars Di Bao was divided into three parts: "Records of Jianghu Anecdotes," "Catalogue of Human World Treasures," and "Chronicles of the Nine Provinces."

Among them, the "Catalogue of Human World Treasures" was a large list that recorded and ranked the magical treasures of the world. There were not many changes each month, and there would be a separate article detailing the ranking changes that occurred this month for easy viewing. Most of the changes were among the lower-ranked items, while the top-ranked heaven and earth treasures had hardly changed for hundreds of years.

For example, the number one ranked item was always the human world divine artifact, the Demon Suppressing Pagoda.

Unfortunately, there was a line of small text appended after the Demon Suppressing Pagoda: "Originally belonged to Shu Mountain, now lost."

That's right, the Mount Shu was able to be listed among the Nine Heavens back then, and even once dominated as the number one immortal sect, becoming the leader of the righteous path in the human world, entirely thanks to the existence of the Demon Suppressing Pagoda. However, five hundred years ago, due to a great upheaval, Shu Mountain lost this supreme divine artifact.

This led to the subsequent decline of the sect, and to this day, several of the top-ranked sects among the Ten Earths might even surpass the Mount Shu in terms of pure strength. The voices in the martial world saying that the Mount Shu was not worthy of being among the Nine Heavens were also growing louder.

Ranked second was the Tian Shu Pavilion's Seven Stars Sword, an ancient divine sword with the great power to move mountains and overturn seas.

However, the Tian Shu Pavilion had always been detached from worldly affairs and rarely participated in martial world conflicts. The Seven Stars Sword had also not been used for many years. The last recorded instance of it being drawn was a hundred years ago when the demonic sect Strange Beast Sect awakened the extremely fierce Qiongqi and attempted to raid the Tian Shu Pavilion. The Seven Stars Sword was drawn, suppressing the Qiongqi with one strike, and then slaying three hundred demons with another, directly wiping out the Strange Beast Sect lineage.

Legend has it that the Tian Shu Pavilion had to pay a great price every time they used the Seven Stars Sword, but the secrets behind this were not something that would be written for outsiders to know.

Ranked third was the Mirror Sky Eight Trigrams of Mist Hidden Immortal Mountain, which was connected to the Great Dao and had infinite wondrous uses.

Mist Hidden Immortal Mountain was also one of the Nine Heavens, and the Mirror Sky Eight Trigrams was a legendary divine artifact that fell from the immortal realm. It was widely rumored in the martial world that the reason the Mirror Sky Eight Trigrams was ranked below the Seven Stars Sword was simply because the Catalogue of Treasures was compiled by the Tian Shu Pavilion. In terms of actual power, it was only higher, not lower.

These distant divine artifacts were things that were not accessible in daily life and would not cause any stir. What Chu Liang saw most often was ranked fifty-seventh.

Phoenix Spirit Blood Jade.

Condensed from the essence and blood of an ancient divine phoenix, wearing it could nourish the body. When divine abilities were used, it would be accompanied by the divine phoenix's blood energy, greatly increasing the power of attacks.

This treasure was embedded in the chest of his master, Di Nufeng.