Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin

Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin

Decorative coins?

Li Yan looked at the copper coins in his hand, his brow slightly furrowed.

He had liked antiques in his previous life, so naturally he recognized this thing.

This kind of decorative coin was also called an "Auspicious Coin" or "Folk Coin." They came in countless varieties and served different purposes, mostly used to ward off evil, avert disaster, pray for blessings, and welcome good fortune. They held no value as currency.

But the coins in his hand were clearly anything but ordinary.

Merely holding them, Li Yan could smell an intense scent, like sharp icicles laced with blood.

The incense-and-offering scent that had belonged to the tablet before had vanished completely.

This thing's scent was extraordinarily rich, brimming with murderous intent like a vicious blade.

The "Victorious in a Hundred Battles" tablet from before seemed to have merely been its sheath.

Now that the sheath had been damaged, the sharp weapon had finally revealed itself.

Creak~

Just then, the door opened.

His grandfather, Li Gui, had awakened and come out of the house.

The moment Li Yan saw him, his heart sank.

Back when the northern frontier rebellion had been put down, his grandfather had lost a leg during the pursuit across the Icy Plains, but it had also been the greatest achievement of his life.

Li Yan knew exactly how highly his grandfather regarded that "Victorious in a Hundred Battles" tablet. He wiped it regularly and burned incense before it every festival.

Now that he saw the tablet damaged, he likely would not be able to bear it.

Sure enough, when Li Gui saw the cracked, peeling tablet, he froze for a moment. His lips moved, but in the end, he merely sighed softly.

Li Yan cautiously asked, "Grandpa, you..."

"It's nothing."

Li Gui waved a hand, then lit his long pipe again. After taking a few puffs, he shook his head. "It must have dried out and cracked over these past few days. Just find someone to patch it up."

With that, he leaned on his cane, hummed a little tune, and went out for a stroll.

Judging by his manner, he did not seem to be lying.

Li Yan sighed in relief, but inwardly found it strange.

Ever since his father had died, his grandfather had been in poor spirits and quick-tempered. Whenever something displeased him, he would curse and grumble without end.

Why was he acting so unusually today?

Of course, Li Yan had no time to dwell on it. After putting his things in order, he hurried toward Widow Wang's home...

"Being alive is good. Being alive is good!"

That was the first thing Widow Wang said when she opened the door and saw him.

Li Yan frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Come in."

Widow Wang shut the courtyard gate and led him inside. Without wasting words, she explained directly, "We miscalculated yesterday too."

"When that Cold Altar Rampaging Soldier appeared, its cultivation had grown by another step. It must have swallowed every Lonely Soul and Wild Ghost within ten li. It is even more troublesome now."

"We thought you would lose your life. Never expected you to still be alive..."

"You miscalculated?!"

At her words, Li Yan's anger flared.

That thing's methods last night had been far more vicious than the Immortal Family had claimed. From Widow Wang's tone, even if he had made no mistakes, they still would not have caught it.

How could something that risked his life be handled so carelessly?

Widow Wang wore a bitter expression, but said no more. She struck the Wen Wang Drum again and sang the spirit-invoking tune, inviting Hu Sangu to appear.

When Hu Sangu saw him, she immediately launched into another stream of incomprehensible chatter.

Widow Wang explained, "The Immortal Family wants you to recount everything that happened last night in detail."

"Also, what magical artifact are you carrying? Its vicious baleful aura is too heavy and makes the Immortal Family very uncomfortable. Move a little farther away, and do not approach the red circle."

Li Yan nodded, retreated several steps, and recounted the events of the previous night. Then he took out the three copper coins and asked about their origin.

The girl stretched out her neck for a look. Surprise and uncertainty flickered in her eyes. She angrily whipped her fly-whisk, signaling for him to move farther away, before rattling off another torrent of sounds.

Widow Wang listened at the side and translated as she went.

"The Immortal Family says that Cold Altar Rampaging Soldier is bloodthirsty and cunning. Its origins are definitely not simple."

"Also, has your family offended someone?"

Li Yan was slightly stunned. "What do you mean?"

Widow Wang explained, "Decorative coins are an important kind of magical artifact. Every lineage and sect, even the imperial court, expends great effort refining them."

"The decorative coins in your hand have an extraordinary origin. Have you heard of Yang Yi?"

Li Yan nodded. "Of course. The Killing God's name is like thunder in one's ears."

During the Former Dynasty Da Xing, the Golden Horde Khanate invaded and occupied half the realm. It faced Da Xing from north and south, and a century of warfare left countless dead and wounded, while producing many Martial Arts grandmasters.

Yang Yi was one of them.

He excelled with twin sabers and had achieved Reverse Innate, stepping into the Grandmaster Realm.

There were even folk rumors that he had transcended the mundane world, comprehended the true path, and touched the threshold of the Grandmasters, becoming the pinnacle of the martial world in that era.

The Two Forms Six Harmonies Saber Technique he left behind was still practiced by many to this day.

Of course, what made him even more famous was his title, the Killing God.

He had been a general of the Da Xing Dynasty. He once led a lone force deep into the grasslands, killing until blood flowed like a river. In his later years, he led troops to suppress the Ji Province rebellion and slaughtered three cities in succession.

In folk legends, he was practically an evil god.

Hu Sangu chattered away, and Widow Wang continued, "Folk legends are often distorted. Some matters are known only to Xuan Gate People."

"Although Yang Yi was a grandmaster, he still could not overpower all rivals by himself. So he invited Treasure Hunters to search everywhere, found a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Treasure, then spent great manpower forging and consecrating it into a pair of Demon Blades that made gods and ghosts flee."

"At the time, he cooperated with the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect to scatter the Grassland Shaman lineage of the Golden Horde Wolf Country, laying the foundation for the later unification of the realm."

"But the Demon Blades were exceedingly vicious. Yang Yi was affected by them in his later years as well, becoming bloodthirsty and brutal. After his death, the Da Xing Dynasty melted down the Demon Blades and cast them into one hundred and eight talisman decorative coins, then enshrined them with incense offerings at Mount Tai Temple to dispel their demonic aura."

"These coins are called Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins. Sun, Moon, and Star are carved on the back, while the front bears Yang Yi's portrait along with the incantation: Heaven clear, earth peaceful; slay ghosts, destroy fiends; behead demons, expel evil; swiftly, swiftly, as the law commands!"

Joy rose in Li Yan's heart when he heard this. "So it's a fine treasure?"

"Of course it's a good thing."

Listening to Hu Sangu, Widow Wang explained, "Though this Talisman Coin is not top-grade, as long as you gather the Sun, Moon, and Star Three Talents, it can suppress evil and slay fiends."

"But hiding them in a House Protecting Tablet is an exceptionally malicious method!"

"That tablet was bestowed by the imperial court upon those with merit. Even if one were to place decorative coins inside, they would usually be the sort that bestowed blessings and protected the home, and they would need incense offerings for consecration."

"But the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins were refined from Demon Blades. Their vicious baleful aura suppresses evil, yet they were hidden inside the tablet and disguised with the scent of incense offerings. It was like a needle hidden in cotton—three vicious blades suspended above the door. This was a clever form of auspicious sorcery."

"If I'm not mistaken, your family must have few descendants. After your grandfather, the fortunes of three generations have been burdened, and all bear signs of dying violent deaths, until your bloodline is severed!"

"What?!"

Li Yan's face was full of disbelief.

In the past, he never would have believed in something so mysterious and intangible as fate and fortune. But what he had experienced these past days had shown him that this world possessed occult powers.

Everything Hu Sangu said was true.

His family had passed down through a single line. According to his grandfather, several sons had been born in succession, but all had died young. Only his father had survived as the lone sapling.

His father had been a saber-wielder and a wanderer.

He had a wife at home and owed a whole pile of romantic debts outside, yet he too had only one son. Even his death had been somewhat suspicious.

Thinking carefully, had the previous owner of this body not also died inexplicably atop a graveyard in the middle of the night as a child, allowing Li Yan's soul to cross over? Was that not another sign of a violent death?

At that thought, killing intent surged through Li Yan's heart. "Senior, do you know who used this method?"

"Even if you knew, what could you do about it?"

Widow Wang shook her head and advised, "Ordinary sorcerers would turn green with envy upon seeing these Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins, yet someone used them to harm your family and could even tamper with something bestowed by the imperial court. Is that someone a child like you can afford to provoke?"

"Revenge? Focus on keeping your life first."

As she spoke, she cocked her head to listen to the Immortal Family. A trace of delight appeared in her eyes as she said, "Still, the odds were slim before, but with this thing, the calamity can be dispelled!"

"The method we used two days ago may not have fooled the Rampaging Soldier, but it swallowed the peachwood from the rooster's belly and then clashed head-on with your house-protecting object. Its Divine Soul has already been injured."

"The previous method can work once or twice, but never three or four times. When that Rampaging Soldier comes again tonight, it will definitely come straight for you."

"Tonight, hide beside the Land God Temple at the entrance of the village. The incense offerings there are abundant. If the Rampaging Soldier wants to approach, it must find a Physical Body to possess, and it will also be suppressed by the Land God."

"The Immortal Family will use a secret method to make these Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins into a saber tassel. Then you can directly sever its possessed body's head, and win the battle in a single stroke!"

With that, the girl possessed by the Immortal Family had Widow Wang bring red cord.

First, she stained it with Li Yan's blood. Then, with obvious pain in her eyes, she plucked more than ten long white strands from the fly-whisk in her hand.

Following her instructions, Widow Wang wove the white strands and red cord into a strange knot, threading the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins into it.

As she wove, she explained, "The horsehair used in this fly-whisk was shed by a spiritual horse that had attained cultivation. When my Branch Hall suffered calamity, this was the only one left..."

"This knot is called an Exorcising Ruyi Knot. Woven with the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins as a saber tassel, it can draw out and enhance the vicious baleful aura in your saber, allowing you to kill Rampaging Soldiers. Ordinary evil things will not even dare approach. You can count it as gaining something from this..."

"But you are not one of the Xuan Gate People, so you cannot wear this item often. When not in use, place it in a red cloth pouch and offer incense to it on the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month, lest you suffer harm from it instead..."

Widow Wang droned on and on, while Li Yan listened closely.

After this incident, how could he dare be careless?

An hour later, the knot was finally finished. Li Yan tied it behind the Guan Shan Saber, and a strange look immediately flashed through his eyes.

He could smell the bloody, vicious baleful aura of the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins spreading along the saber hilt to the blade. When he held it, it felt like ice.

Not only that, this Guan Shan Saber had originally been left behind by his father. It had been forged by a master craftsman, and many souls had perished beneath it. The vicious aura within the saber itself seemed to have been drawn forth as well.

With the slightest shake, its cold gleam stabbed painfully at the eyes.

Li Yan's heart turned solemn. He hurriedly removed the saber tassel with care, took the red cloth pouch Widow Wang gave him, and placed it inside.

Only after asking carefully about the precautions once more did Li Yan take his leave.

What he did not know was that not long after he left, the girl possessed by Hu Sangu suddenly opened her eyes again and spoke:

"That Rampaging Soldier came under suspicious circumstances. It may have been sent by an enemy. Once this matter is settled and the roads are clear, we will leave immediately."

Her tone was sharp, but it was no longer indistinct beast speech.

The words of the Immortal Family were called Superior Language and required disciples to translate them.

Yet being able to speak human language meant she was already a deeply cultivated old hand.

Widow Wang froze, then carefully asked, "Third Aunt, that boy's Spiritual Root has opened. Should we take him into our fold?"

The girl shook her head. "It is merely Smelling Mystical Power. Besides, he is already too old and has long missed the right time. Even if he barely enters the path, he will never amount to much."

"Let him go. Once a Spiritual Root opens, ghosts and gods peer upon him, and there are experts plotting against him..."

"Tut, tut. Even if he survives this calamity, he will not live much longer..."

As she spoke, her upper and lower eyelids began fighting each other. Her voice grew softer and softer, and she soon fell into a deep sleep again.