Magical Treasures and Spells

Dueling is a tribulation that no cultivator can ever escape.

In truth, most magical treasures and spells offer little help to one's cultivation. Take the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, the most common item in the demonic sects; it is useful for dueling, but no matter how many evil ghosts or vengeful spirits you possess, it will not increase your cultivation. Ultimately, one must still refine pills, take medicine, and focus on cultivation to attain longevity and the Dao.

However, cultivation is far too difficult. Relying solely on meditation and sitting in stillness, one would be lucky to reach the Qi Sea Realm in a lifetime.

If not for the help of Su Chunyi, Chen Ye would have needed several more years of blood refinement cultivation just to condense his Qi Sea.

There are only so many rare treasures in the world; if you do not fight or scramble for them, you will never become an immortal.

Therefore, there is always conflict, and with conflict comes the necessity of dueling.

Both magical treasures and spells are essential for such encounters.

Chen Ye now possesses the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and the Sword Box, so he is not lacking in treasures, but he truly needs to study his spells properly.

Do not be fooled by how proficiently Chen Ye used the Transportation Technique while digging graves—each strike creating a massive pit—which looked no different from the Vajra Pestle of the monk Ku'e.

But the Vajra Pestle of Ku'e is activated the moment a thought arises, striking instantly. Chen Ye's Transportation Technique requires him to chant for ages, followed by total concentration to execute it bit by bit.

If he were truly fighting for his life, Chen Ye would have died a hundred times over.

This is why both magical treasures and spells emphasize instant activation; the faster the spell is cast, the greater the chance of survival.

Among the few spells Mo Ci passed on, there are very few to choose from. This is the trouble with being a rogue cultivator: without a complete lineage, one must rely entirely on oneself.

However, what Chen Ye cares about more now is Mo Ci's final sentence. What did she mean by saying his appearance would cause trouble?

Aside from his noble and pure soul, this skin is the most precious thing Chen Ye brought with him from his previous life.

When it comes to his looks, Chen Ye is quite confident.

But Mo Ci spoke with such gravity that it left Chen Ye feeling uncertain.

Could it be that sleeping in the wilderness these past few days has ruined his complexion?

It is a pity that Mo Ci has fallen asleep again, leaving Chen Ye with no way to ask for clarification.

With no mirror to be found in these desolate mountains, Chen Ye can only shake the Ten Thousand Soul Banner to summon a scarred, vengeful spirit.

The moment the spirit appears and sees Chen Ye, it opens its mouth to say, "Greetings, benefactor."

This is the main soul of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner refined by the monk Ku'e, known as Yang Chongguang. In life, he was an old man who had served in the military for many years. Because his grandson was critically ill, he went to beg the monk Ku'e for help, only for his entire family of seven to end up on the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

Although he was old and frail when he died, he was a brave warrior on the battlefield, and after being refined, he became exceptionally fierce.

Do not be fooled by his current ferocity; when they first met, he barely had a human shape, and every scar on his face had transformed into a hideous, gaping maw, eager to devour anyone in its path.

The monk Ku'e showed no mercy when torturing him, but later, after Chen Ye helped him complete his revenge, Yang Chongguang became willing to serve Chen Ye.

Now, summoned to appear, he acts with extreme respect.

"Old man, there is no need for such formalities. I told you, avenging you was merely a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Besides, you mostly achieved the revenge yourselves."

Chen Ye had only set up the formation and waited for the monk Ku'e to walk into the trap; during the battle, he relied solely on his mouth to taunt, never even showing his face.

Yang Chongguang replied, "I am a crude man and know nothing of grand principles, but without the benefactor's help, we would have been lonely ghosts forever, suffering endless torture. Furthermore, the benefactor saved us more than once. That sect or whatever it was wanted to scatter our souls; if not for the benefactor's righteous words, we would have been obliterated."

Chen Ye sighed, "One cannot blame Miss Su. The demonic path has committed countless blood debts, and often, one must overcorrect to rectify the wrongs."

Yang Chongguang asked, "When the Emperor gave an order, hundreds of thousands of people built his palace, and most died or were injured. Why didn't I see this young lady come to manage that? When we were harmed and killed, we didn't see that sect come to save us either. Why is it that when it comes time for us to seek revenge, they suddenly want to overcorrect?"

Chen Ye laughed, "The old man makes a valid point. I will ask Miss Su about it later."

Chen Ye would never try to persuade Yang Chongguang to be magnanimous; he felt the same way about these injustices in his previous life.

"The benefactor is too kind. I am uneducated and know nothing of cultivation, but I can tell that young lady is of extraordinary status. I was just grumbling. If it causes the benefactor trouble, then I am truly shameless."

Yang Chongguang is very grateful to have met Chen Ye. In his eyes, this young man is a wonderful person, practically a savior deity. Naturally, if he were to cause him trouble, it would be a true act of ingratitude.

"That is a minor matter, we shall discuss it later. Old man, has the monk Ku'e confessed?" Chen Ye asked.

Yang Chongguang quickly said, "He has, he has, he confessed long ago. It is just that we hate him to the bone, so if the benefactor didn't ask, we just used a few more tortures on him."

Chen Ye had his eyes on everything the monk Ku'e had learned throughout his life, intending to dig out all his techniques. He had expected it to take some time, but who would have thought the monk Ku'e was so weak-willed.

But that makes sense; those who practice the demonic path are greedy for pleasure and cannot endure the hardships of cultivation, so naturally, they lack a firm will.

It is the perfect time to see what can be learned. Chen Ye is quite envious of the Kaikou Chan supernatural ability. With his mouth, if he could master this ability, wouldn't it be a perfect match?

After carefully putting away the things he had dug out from the monk Ku'e, Chen Ye asked Yang Chongguang, "Old man, I have a question. Look at my face—is there anything amiss?"

Yang Chongguang scrutinized Chen Ye's face carefully and hesitated, "Benefactor, this face..."

Yang Chongguang pondered for a long time without speaking, making Chen Ye anxious and fearful. He quickly asked, "What is wrong with my face? Please, speak freely."

"Benefactor, this face... as the saying goes, a nose like a hanging gall bladder reveals a refined bone, and lips like vermilion dots surpass the peony. Throwing fruit to fill the carriage on the Luoyang road, the whole city scrambles to see the beautiful youth. I heard this in the plays I listened to in the past. This verse describes the benefactor's appearance perfectly; you are truly a rare and beautiful man in this world."

Chen Ye was almost scared to death; the old man had just been pausing to recall the lines.

But that is not right. Why did his master say this face needed to be covered?

Forget it, thinking too much now is useless. Before returning to the city, he must first master his magical treasures and spells.

The method to refine the Sword Box is very simple. Su Chunyi had already wiped away her mana imprint; Chen Ye only needed to inject his spiritual energy into it and leave his own imprint within the formation.

After only a moment, the heavy Sword Box was hovering before Chen Ye.

Following Chen Ye's sharp command, a streak of mysterious light flew out from the Sword Box, darting toward the rocks in the distance.

With a soft thud, the sword light sank almost entirely into the stone, leaving only half an inch exposed. As the spiritual energy dissipated, the sword light gradually faded, leaving behind nothing but a hollow cavity in the rock.

"Impressive. It truly lives up to the reputation of a Qinghe Sword Sect dharma treasure, though the consumption is far too great."

There were no flying swords inside this Sword Box; instead, it condensed spiritual energy into sword light. While its power was considerable, Chen Ye's cultivation base was still somewhat low. If he were to trigger it using his own spiritual energy, he could support at most three sword strikes.

However, this Sword Box had its own ingenious uses: it could condense sword energy in advance and store it within the box. It could hold up to thirty-six sword strikes, though there was a time limit. Unless nourished with spiritual energy daily, each sword strike would only persist for seven days.

This was a massive drain on spiritual energy. If Chen Ye had not yet condensed his sea of qi, this Sword Box would be no better than scrap metal, completely unusable.

Chen Ye carefully calculated that with his current spiritual energy, he could at most ensure the Sword Box held seven sword strikes. Any more than that, and he would have to spend his entire day hugging the box to channel energy, unable to do anything else.

The dharma treasure was finished; next came the spells.

Most of the demonic sect spells passed down by Mo Ci were vicious and cruel, focused primarily on harming others. With the Sword Box for protection, Chen Ye had no immediate need for them.

As for the Kaikou Chan divine ability of the monk Ku'e, Chen Ye was truly envious.

When it came to debating scriptures, Chen Ye was not afraid of anyone. In his past life, that bizarre and colorful society had produced all sorts of radical theories; he could casually spout a few that would leave ordinary cultivators fuming with rage yet unable to utter a single word in rebuttal.

Cultivating this divine ability was simple: chant the scriptures and make a grand vow to the "Buddha" worshipped by the Nirvana Sect to master the ability.

Then, by practicing that grand vow, one would naturally receive the corresponding bonuses.

The Kaikou Chan of the monk Ku'e required constant debate with others; as long as one's own mental defense remained unbroken, one could gain the protection of a golden body. The cultivation was not difficult, and Chen Ye did not need to go to the Nirvana Sect to make offerings. Regardless of time or place, he could complete the ritual of making a grand vow simply by chanting the scriptures.

However, the essence of this divine ability was, in the end, borrowing power from a "Buddha."

The scriptures claimed that the Buddha was selfless and saved all living beings, allowing anyone to make a grand vow and cultivate the divine ability.

But who knew if this Buddha was real or fake? What if it were an evil god fabricated by the Nirvana Sect?

Looking at the conduct of the Nirvana Sect disciples, this divine ability likely had sinister aspects. Worshipping this Buddha, who didn't even have a name, would likely lead to disaster sooner or later.

After much deliberation, the four soul-related secret techniques of Restrain, Lock, Interrogate, and Punish from the Ksitigarbha Vow Sutra seemed the safest to practice.

After carefully studying the four secret techniques, he decided to start his training with the Locking Formula.

The soul-locking technique was the key Chen Ye had used to capture the monk Ku'e. Since he already had a foundation, he would be able to see results more quickly, and the first move of the Locking Formula was the Immobilization Technique.