Ancient Texts (Seeking Recommendations!)

"Very good, it seems the previous experiments were accurate. Without experiencing mission worlds, time in the outside world is indeed incredibly short, almost fleeting!"

With a flash of electricity, many zombies fell to the ground. A bolt of lightning as thick as a python struck directly at Daoist Qingping, hitting its mark.

Seeing this, Wu Ming's eyes glinted.

He had, of course, returned to the Main God Hall and used merit points to retrieve the Minor Heavens Thunder Talisman.

The cost of bringing it out, combined with its original acquisition price, meant the actual expenditure was higher than searching for this talisman within Great Zhou. But in a moment of danger, how could he still worry about that?

Being able to save his life and kill a powerful enemy was a massive profit by any measure.

"Zombies are indeed evil creatures, extremely vulnerable to lightning!"

Feng Han, seeing the many zombies twitching on the ground, immediately stepped forward. His long saber flashed, severing each of their heads.

Sizzle!

The bronze and iron corpses, originally hard and impervious to blades and spears, now had flesh and bone that had rotted away. They broke apart like withered wood, leaking blood that was either thick black or dark green, reeking of decay.

"Young Master, this demonic Daoist is dead!"

Feng Han moved like the wind and arrived at Daoist Qingping's location. Seeing a charred corpse, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Daoist Qingping... is dead..."

At this moment, even Steward Yu, whose legs had been severed at the knee, was dumbfounded.

He could never have imagined that the dashing, seemingly world-weary Daoist who lived life as he pleased would perish under a thunder talisman like this!

"Keep an eye on him!"

Wu Ming pointed at Steward Yu. Feng Han immediately understood, grinned menacingly, and stepped forward.

"What do you want to do... I am..."

Steward Yu had a bad premonition. He crawled back a couple of steps before a dark shadow whipped out, hitting him hard in the face and knocking out a mouthful of bloody teeth.

"Hmm? There's no poison hidden in his teeth. It seems he's not a suicide operative!"

Feng Han grabbed Steward Yu by the neck, dislocated his jaw, and examined him closely, his tone filled with disappointment.

"Stop his bleeding, but be careful not to kill him!"

Wu Ming gave the order and then no longer paid attention to the man. He walked over to Daoist Qingping.

The Minor Heavens Thunder Talisman's power was immense. This Daoist had now become a charred corpse, with wisps of smoke still rising around him.

"As expected of the number one lightning technique in terms of offense! The Minor Heavens Thunder Talisman is already this powerful. I wonder what kind of might a truly advanced lightning technique possesses!"

Wu Ming reached out and touched the corpse. Layers of charred ash fell away.

"He's become like this... there probably aren't any spoils of war... huh?"

He poked around a few more times, and an iron box fell out. It was tightly sealed, clearly indicating it contained something important.

"Tsk tsk..."

As the iron box landed in his hand, it felt cold. It was perfectly sealed, seemingly undamaged by the previous thunder talisman.

Wu Ming's eyes moved. He found a cloth to wrap it in and then looked at Qingshi Village, which was faintly buzzing with activity. He immediately said to Feng Han, "Please, Master Feng, take this Steward Yu away for interrogation. We must find out who the mastermind is. As for this Daoist... he was sent by the heavens to take the blame..."

"Young Master Ming!"

Not long after, several household servants who had stayed in the village arrived with village guards.

"Hmm... this is a demonic Daoist. He's the one who cast spells to cause the Wu family's recent deaths! He tried to harm me again just now, and I killed him!"

The dead could not speak in their defense, so Wu Ming freely smeared his reputation.

"As expected, a demonic individual!"

At this moment, the iron-armored and bronze-armored corpses lying all over the ground were the best evidence. Coupled with Wu Ming's "prestige," they naturally believed him without question.

"Alas... Uncle Wu and Brother Wu have passed away one after another. This truly saddens me. We should adopt a son from a collateral branch to continue the lineage!"

Wu Ming glanced at the village chief. "How about this... I'll allocate ten mu of land from the Wu family and add another ten mu from my own to serve as village land. Elder, please trouble yourself again to handle the funeral arrangements for the Wu residence! All expenses will be covered by the Wu Family Fortified Village!"

"How can this be..."

The village chief offered a few polite words, but a smile appeared in his eyes. He agreed, and he and Wu Ming understood each other without further words.

The Wu family had experienced such an embarrassment, and naturally, it could not be publicized. Wu Ming wanted to put the matter to rest, so he offered twenty mu of land as public land for the village, intending to buy the villagers' silence.

Furthermore, there were many opportunities to skim profits from the expenses of the funeral.

With so much shared benefit, if any villagers still made noise, the village chief could suppress them.

Not to mention that Wu Ming himself was a major landowner, and few would dare to take such a risk.

"Very good... However, these two, father and son of the Wu family, were killed by demonic arts, and this Daoist also possessed corpse-refining techniques. I worry that these two may not rest in peace after death. I will have to trouble you, Village Chief!"

Wu Ming said with a smile, but his meaning was for the village chief to cremate the two bodies and bury only the ashes, destroying the evidence.

"That is natural..."

The village chief's heart grew cold. Seeing the cold glint in Wu Ming's eyes, he dared not say anything more and nodded directly.

With the two of them in agreement, the subsequent matters became much simpler.

With the ironclad evidence on the ground and Wu Ming's and the village chief's consistent testimonies, Daoist Qingping was immediately branded a demonic cultivator. His corpse was to be thrown into a dung pit even after death. Although the local customs were simple at the time, people hated such corpse-manipulating fiends to the bone. Out of fear, they even burned his body that very night.

The moonlight was like water.

Inside the Wu Family Fortified Village, Wu Ming sat on a cloud bed. His rosewood table was covered with the day's spoils, and he fell into deep thought again.

"It seems... someone is targeting Wu Qing! And I've become their weakness..."

Wu Ming held his forehead with his hand, a cold smile on his lips. "...They really think I'm a pushover... Power! I need power!"

This only intensified his craving for strength.

The Great Zhou was in decline, and regional warlords were rising everywhere. Even a small county town was experiencing such fierce conflict. If he wanted to remain unscathed in these chaotic times and protect his family, how could he do it without power?

"One Innate... is far from enough..."

Wu Ming had already inspected the iron box several times. He held it now, slowly pressing the mechanism.

Click!

After the sound of metal striking metal and gears meshing, a slight gap appeared in the iron box. Wu Ming opened it, and a hint of jade color caught his eye.

"Is this... the Silver Seal Jade Book?"

There weren't many items inside the iron box, only three. All were filled with densely packed tiny characters. One was a jade tablet, covered with dense silver seal script. The characters were ancient and exuded Daoist charm, immediately reminding Wu Ming of the patterns on the Minor Heavens Thunder Talisman.

"I didn't expect this to actually exist... Wu Qing mentioned that this kind of material is only used to preserve high-level scriptures. Could I have found a treasure?"

Wu Ming felt a surge of excitement, but then he noticed the jade book only had one page, and it was even incomplete at the end. He couldn't help but feel a bit regretful.

After taking out the jade book, there was an iron plate underneath, also engraved with text, but this time it was blood-red, exuding a ferocious and terrifying aura.

"Great Yin Corpse Refining Method?"

Wu Ming flipped over the iron plate and saw a portrait of a flying yabasa on the back. An evil aura seemed to emanate from it. His expression changed. "A forbidden art! It seems this Daoist Qingping's iron-armored corpse came from this?"

Further down in the iron box were only a few thin yellow papers, recording some travel experiences and casual notes. These allowed Wu Ming to understand Daoist Qingping's origins.

According to his journal, this person was originally just a hunter from the mountains. When he was twenty, he saw a five-colored treasure light emanating from his backyard mountain at night, with red energy shooting out three feet. Knowing something was unusual, he dug into the ground following the light. After digging about ten feet deep, he obtained that Silver Seal Jade Book.

Although this jade book was severely damaged, the cultivation method it recorded was extremely profound. With its help, Daoist Qingping managed to enter the Qi-refining stage, achieve minor success in his cultivation, and then traveled everywhere seeking patrons. He also wanted to decipher the jade book and complete the method.

His travels broadened his horizons, and by chance, he obtained the Great Yin Corpse Refining Method. He cultivated it like a treasure.

After all, the Silver Seal Jade Book was not only incomplete but also lacked practical techniques. The Great Yin Corpse Refining Method perfectly compensated for this shortcoming. With this cultivation, Daoist Qingping's progress was immense. Not only was his combat ability greatly enhanced, but he also awakened his Spiritual Eyes, gaining an innate understanding of Feng Shui and metaphysics. He could discern the Feng Shui of yin households and enhance the fortune of yang households. Finally, with these skills, he was recruited as a retainer, enjoying a life of ease and comfort.

Unfortunately, he met his end at Wu Ming's hands today.

"Tsk tsk... I didn't expect this guy to be a genius in metaphysics too!"

Although Wu Ming didn't understand, he could sense the pride in Daoist Qingping's words and felt quite impressed. "To be able to awaken his Spiritual Eyes and set up grand Feng Shui formations using only some incomplete fragments he collected... Too bad... you ran into me, bad luck for you!"

"Main God Hall!"

Wu Ming's heart stirred, and he tucked the iron box into his embrace.

[Detecting Main God Apostle's request, permission granted, initiating transfer!]

In an instant, Wu Ming found himself in the vast Main God Space. The magnificent and grand structure of the Main God Hall appeared in the clouds, like a divine palace from the heavens.

"It didn't even cost any merit points to bring it here... Is it because the item can't immediately increase my strength?"

He looked at the iron box in his hand and mused, "Appraise!"

Two beams of light descended, enveloping the iron plate and the jade classic. After a moment, a light screen lowered.

[Great Yin Corpse Refining Method (Incomplete): A cultivation method of the Corpse Refining Sect. It uses the Nine Nether Qi to refine corpses into puppets that are impervious to blades and spears, capable of flying and escaping, and invincible. It is divided into five levels: Bronze Corpse, Iron Corpse, Silver Corpse, Gold Corpse, and Flying Yabasa. This incomplete version only contains the method for Silver Corpse. To complete it, 500 Great Merit is required! Do you wish to complete it?]

[Yellow Court Yin Talisman Scripture ( pháp sư Chapter): Observing the way of heaven, executing the way of heaven. The way of heaven is tranquil, thus all things in heaven and earth are born. The way of heaven and earth is profound, thus Yin and Yang prevail. Yin and Yang push each other, and thus transformations proceed smoothly. - Fundamental Daoist method, the foundation of an Earthly Immortal. It is incomplete. Completing the pháp sư chapter requires 150 Great Merit! Completing the True Man chapter requires 500 Great Merit! Completing the Heavenly Master chapter requires 1000 Great Merit! Do you wish to complete it?]

"One is law, and the other is technique, perhaps?"

Wu Ming first browsed the exchange list provided by the Main God and found information on the Great Yin Corpse Refining Method and the Corpse Refining Sect. He wasn't too moved by it. However, when he searched for the Yellow Court Yin Talisman Scripture, his eyes twitched!

[Yellow Court Yin Talisman Scripture - Earthly Immortal Scroll: Observing the way of heaven, executing the way of heaven. The path of an Earthly Immortal is complete! - Complete Daoist method, can be cultivated to the peak of Earthly Immortal! Exchange requirement: 200 Heavenly Merit!]