Magical Treasures and Spells

Fighting with magic was a tribulation cultivators could never escape.

Most magical treasures and spells did little to improve one's cultivation. Take the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, the most common demonic treasure. It was useful in battle, but no matter how many evil spirits and vengeful souls it held, it could hardly help its owner advance. In the end, one still had to refine pills, take medicines, and devote oneself to cultivation to achieve immortality and the Dao.

Cultivation was simply too difficult. If all you did was meditate in seclusion, you'd be lucky to reach the Qi Sea Realm in your entire life.

If Chen Ye hadn't had Su Chunyi's help, even blood-refinement cultivation would have taken him several more years to form a qi sea.

The world held only so many rare treasures. If you didn't fight for them, you'd never become an immortal.

And so there was always conflict, and with it, magical combat.

Magical treasures and spells were both essential for fighting with magic.

Chen Ye already had the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and the Sword Box, so he had no shortage of treasures. Spells, however, were something he truly needed to study.

Chen Ye had seemed quite skilled with the Transportation Technique when digging up graves. One sweep of his hand could make a great pit, and it looked almost as powerful as Monk Ku'e's Vajra Pestle.

But Ku'e's Vajra Pestle appeared the moment he willed it, crashing down on his opponent. Chen Ye's Transportation Technique required a long incantation, followed by complete concentration as he slowly worked the spell.

If they'd been fighting to the death, Chen Ye would've died a hundred times over.

That was why magical treasures and spells alike prized instant activation. The faster you could cast, the better your chances of staying alive.

There weren't many spells among the ones Mo Ci had taught him that he could choose from. That was the trouble with being a Rogue Cultivator: without a complete inheritance, you had to rely on yourself for everything.

But what concerned Chen Ye more was Mo Ci's last remark. What did she mean that his appearance would cause trouble?

Aside from his noble, pure soul, this body was the most precious thing Chen Ye had brought with him from his previous life.

When it came to his looks, Chen Ye was very confident.

But Mo Ci had sounded so certain that he wasn't quite sure anymore.

Could spending the past few days sleeping rough have ruined his looks?

Unfortunately, Mo Ci had fallen asleep again, so Chen Ye couldn't ask her to explain.

There were no mirrors in this wilderness, so all Chen Ye could do was shake the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and summon a vengeful soul with a face covered in scars.

The moment the soul appeared, he saw Chen Ye and opened his mouth. "Greetings, benefactor."

He was the chief soul of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, which Monk Ku'e had refined. His name was Yang Chongguang. In life, he had been a veteran who'd spent many years in the army. When his grandson fell gravely ill, he'd gone to Monk Ku'e to beg him to save the boy. Who could've guessed all seven members of his family would end up in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner?

Though he'd been old and frail when he died, he'd been a fierce warrior on the battlefield. After being refined, he'd become exceptionally savage.

Even now he looked fierce, but when Chen Ye had first met him, he'd barely resembled a human. Every scar on his face had become a hideous, gaping maw, ready to devour anyone in sight.

Monk Ku'e had shown him no mercy when torturing him. Later, Chen Ye helped him take his revenge, and Yang Chongguang willingly agreed to serve him.

Now that he'd been summoned, he was exceptionally respectful.

"Elder, there's no need for such formalities. I told you that helping you take revenge was just a coincidence. Besides, you were the ones who really avenged yourselves."

Chen Ye had merely set up a formation, then waited for Monk Ku'e to walk right into it. When the battle began, he'd only mocked him from afar without ever showing his face.

Yang Chongguang said, "I'm a coarse fellow and can't offer any profound wisdom. But without your help, we'd have spent our lives as lonely ghosts, suffering endless torment. And you've saved us more than once, benefactor. That... what was it called, the River Sect? They wanted to make our souls vanish forever. If you hadn't spoken up for us, we'd have been annihilated."

Chen Ye sighed. "You can't blame Miss Su, either. The demonic path has shed oceans of blood. Sometimes, people have no choice but to overcorrect."

Yang Chongguang asked, "The emperor gives the word, and tens of thousands of people build his palace of cultivation, with half of them dying or getting injured. Why doesn't that young lady step in then? When we were harmed and killed, where was that sect? Why is it only when we take revenge that they suddenly need to overcorrect?"

Chen Ye smiled. "That's a fair question, Elder. I'll ask Miss Su about it later."

Chen Ye wasn't going to tell Yang Chongguang to be magnanimous. He knew all too well what it was like to suffer injustice; he'd felt the same way in his previous life.

"You flatter me, benefactor. I never went to school and know nothing of cultivation, but I can tell that young lady has an extraordinary status. I was only venting. If I've put you in a difficult position, then I'd be shameless indeed."

Yang Chongguang was grateful to have met Chen Ye. In his eyes, the young man was a wonderful person, practically a deity who rescued the suffering. To cause him trouble would be a true act of ingratitude.

"It's a small matter. We can talk about it later. Elder, has Monk Ku'e confessed?" Chen Ye asked.

Yang Chongguang hurriedly replied, "He has, he has. He confessed ages ago. It's just that we hate him to the bone, so when you didn't ask, we gave him a few more rounds of torture."

Chen Ye had his eye on everything Monk Ku'e had learned in his life and planned to pry all his cultivation arts out of him. He'd thought it would take some time, but who'd have guessed Monk Ku'e would be so spineless?

Then again, it made sense. Demonic cultivators pursued pleasure and couldn't endure the hardships of cultivation. Naturally, they lacked steadfast resolve.

It was a good chance to see what he could learn. Chen Ye had been especially eager to get his hands on Kaikou Chan. With a mouth like his, wouldn't that spell be the perfect fit?

After carefully putting away everything he'd extracted from Monk Ku'e, Chen Ye asked Yang Chongguang, "Elder, I have a question. Do you see anything wrong with my face?"

Yang Chongguang studied Chen Ye's face, then hesitated. "Your face..."

Yang Chongguang pondered for a long time without saying a word. Chen Ye grew more and more anxious and quickly asked, "What's wrong with my face? Don't hold back, Elder."

"Your face... As the old verse goes: 'A nose like a gallbladder, features carved in jade; lips touched with cinnabar, more lovely than peonies. Tossed fruit fills the carriages along Luoyang's roads; the whole city gathers to gaze upon the beautiful young man.' I heard those lines in a play long ago. They describe a face like yours, benefactor—an unparalleled beauty, rare in all the world."

Chen Ye nearly died of fright. He'd been holding his breath just to come up with a poem.

Then again, that didn't explain why his master had told him to cover his face.

Forget it. There was no point in worrying about it now. Before returning to the city, he'd better practice his magical treasures and spells.

Refining the Sword Box was simple. Su Chunyi had already wiped away the imprint of her magical power, so Chen Ye only had to pour his spiritual energy into it and leave his own imprint in the formation.

In just a moment, the heavy Sword Box floated before Chen Ye.

At his command, a streak of profound light shot out of the box and flew toward a distant boulder.

With a soft swish, the sword light sank almost entirely into the stone, leaving only half an inch exposed. As the spiritual energy dissipated, the light gradually faded, leaving nothing but a hole in the boulder.

"Impressive. No wonder it's a treasure of the Qinghe Sword Sect. But it consumes far too much energy."

There was no flying sword inside the Sword Box. Instead, it condensed spiritual energy into sword light. Its power was considerable, but Chen Ye's cultivation was still too low. If he activated it with his own spiritual energy, he could manage only three blasts of Sword Qi at most.

But the Sword Box had its own special use: it could condense Sword Qi in advance and store it inside. It could hold up to thirty-six blasts, though they didn't last forever. Unless he nourished them with spiritual energy every day, each blast would fade after seven days at most.

The Sword Box was a huge drain on spiritual energy. If Chen Ye hadn't formed a qi sea yet, it would've been no better than a paperweight. He wouldn't have been able to use it at all.

Chen Ye calculated carefully. With his spiritual energy as it was, he could keep at most seven blasts of Sword Qi in the box. Any more, and he'd have to spend all day holding it and pouring in energy, with no time for anything else.

The treasure was ready. Next came the spells.

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

As for Monk Ku'e's Kaikou Chan, Chen Ye was genuinely eager to learn it.

When it came to debating the scriptures, Chen Ye wasn't afraid of anyone. The bizarre society of his previous life had been full of wild, outrageous opinions. A few arguments were enough to leave ordinary cultivators so furious their orifices bled, yet unable to answer.

The spell was simple to learn: recite the scriptures and make a solemn vow to the "Buddha" enshrined by the Nirvana Sect, and the divine ability would be his.

After that, he simply had to fulfill his vow to receive the corresponding benefits.

Monk Ku'e's Kaikou Chan required him to debate the scriptures with others. As long as he didn't lose his temper, he would be protected by a golden body. It wasn't difficult to cultivate, and Chen Ye didn't need to go to the Nirvana Sect to pay his respects. No matter when or where he was, reciting the scriptures was enough to complete the vow-making ritual.

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

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

But who knew whether this Buddha was real? What if the Nirvana Sect had made him up—a wicked god in disguise?

Judging by the way the Nirvana Sect's disciples acted, the divine ability was probably tainted by something sinister. Paying respects to a Buddha who didn't even have a name would likely lead to trouble sooner or later.

After thinking it over, Chen Ye decided that the four soul arts in the Ksitigarbha Vow Sutra—Detention, Locking, Interrogation, and Punishment—were the safest to practice.

He studied the four secret arts carefully, then decided to start with the Locking Formula.

The soul-locking art had been key to capturing Monk Ku'e. Since Chen Ye already had a foundation, he'd be able to make progress more quickly. The first move of the Locking Formula was the Immobilization Technique.