Treasures

The Talisman bore several crookedly drawn runes. It was the God-Speed Talisman. In the cultivation world, this sort of talisman was considered low-grade. It had no elemental affinity, and even its Restrictions were incomplete, which was why it bore only a few runes. Still, that had its advantages: anyone with magic power could activate it.

Yet even a talisman like this was something Yan Chihuo didn't have. He put it away, then picked up the Yellow Jade Blade. Four Restrictions were engraved on it, confirming that it was a Talisman Artifact. It wasn't that the blade's jade core was especially fine; rather, its maker's skills were merely ordinary.

Yan Chihuo examined it closely. The four Restrictions were for the Falling Rock Art. It seemed this Yellow Jade Blade was the Talisman Artifact owned by the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon.

He also recalled the old man mentioning earlier that there was an Earth Shrinking Talisman in the Earth Cave, so he planned to search the caves one by one. As he passed the old man, he noticed a Jade Ring on the ring finger of his right hand.

He hadn't failed to notice the Jade Ring before. But after obtaining those few treasures from the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon, he found it strange that the old man had nothing else on him.

He slipped off the Jade Ring and turned it over in his hand, but noticed nothing unusual. He tried channeling true qi into it and felt a layer of magic power blocking the way. His heart leapt. This had to be a treasure; otherwise, it wouldn't contain magic power.

He channeled true qi into the ring for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, but still couldn't break through the barrier. He withdrew his magic power and put the Jade Ring on, then reconsidered. It was a treasure, and though he didn't know what it was, that didn't mean no one else would recognize it. Wearing it openly might invite covetous eyes, so he tucked it into his robe instead.

He followed the passage onward and soon came to a cave entrance marked with the seal-script character for "Heaven." He wondered, Could this be the Heaven Cave? That man told the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon to retrieve an Earth Shrinking Talisman from the Earth Cave. There might be other treasures in this Heaven Cave, too.

Inside, there was nothing but stone tables, chairs, beds, and other furnishings. It seemed to be where the old man rested. On the stone table lay a round, black Metal Token, its material unknown. A few magical patterns were carved into it, but Yan Chihuo couldn't make out what they were.

Though Yan Chihuo didn't know what it was, he picked up the Metal Token. Only then did he notice a tiger's head engraved on the back, with the character for "seven" beneath it.

He tucked the Metal Token into his robe, searched the Heaven Cave again, and found nothing else before leaving. The next cave had the seal-script character for "Earth" carved above its entrance.

Yan Chihuo went inside and found a statue of a tiger-headed, human-bodied figure. A table stood in front of it, with a Jade Box on top. Several meditation cushions lay on the floor. It seemed to be where the old man cultivated.

Yan Chihuo picked up the Jade Box first and began murmuring an incantation. A moment later, a layer of stone armor covered his body. Only then did he open the box. There were no poison-smoke traps or hidden arrows, just three talismans inside.

He picked up the first. True qi flowed across it, and it was inscribed with a complete spell Restriction: the Earth Shrinking Talisman. Yan Chihuo was secretly delighted. With this talisman, his strength would immediately rise another level. Even some Body Forging Late Stage cultivators might come off worse against him. But the talisman could only be used once.

True qi also flowed across the second and third talismans, both inscribed with complete spell Restrictions. The second bore the Restriction for Imprisoning Earth, an earth-element talisman for trapping enemies.

Seeing this, Yan Chihuo realized he'd escaped with his life by sheer luck. If the old man had carried this talisman when they fought, Yan Chihuo would have died a hundred times over. Even luckier, the old man's cultivation had fallen to the Body Tempering Middle Stage. Had he recovered to the Body Forging Late Stage, he could have used Imprisoning Earth without a Talisman Artifact. The outcome of their battle would have been unthinkable.

Yan Chihuo didn't recognize the spell Restriction on the third talisman. He didn't have time to worry about it and put all three away.

There were no other treasures in the Earth Cave, so he went to the next one. The seal-script character for "Human" was carved outside. Inside, it was much like the Heaven Cave and seemed to be where the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon rested. There was some food, but nothing else. The Heavenly Evil Blood Demon had probably carried all his treasures with him.

Yan Chihuo searched a few more caves, only to find that no one lived in them. After inspecting the last one, he couldn't help worrying.

Though the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon and his disciple were both dead, finding a way out was still a problem. The flock of crows outside would never let him leave so easily.

After thinking for a while, he mused, The Heavenly Evil Blood Demon and his senior brother must have left this place before. They definitely had a way to avoid those Crow Monsters. I just haven't found it yet.

He searched every cave again, but still found nothing. Then he remembered the Jade Ring. He took it out and channeled true qi into it, wearing away at the layer of magic power blocking the way. The barrier was so tough that it took more than an hour for it to weaken even slightly.

Seeing that the method worked, Yan Chihuo patiently chipped away at it, little by little. The barrier was far too strong to wear down in a single day. He steeled himself to persist: when hungry, he ate some of the food here; when tired, he slept on the bed.

Three days later, Yan Chihuo felt he'd made great progress. Only a thin layer of the barrier remained, and it seemed ready to break at any moment. He gathered his magic power and poured it in without pause.

After a long while, Yan Chihuo seemed to hear a bang, as if something had shattered. The barrier was instantly smashed to pieces. In that moment, his consciousness and magic power entered the Jade Ring together.

It was as if his whole body had entered the ring, allowing him to see everything inside with perfect clarity. There was a space about five zhang across, with various objects arranged within.

The first thing that caught his eye was a Green Jade Staff. It resembled the jade staff the old man had used when fighting him, but just judging by its material, it was vastly superior.

He picked up the Green Jade Staff and discovered dozens of Restrictions on it. A careful count revealed forty-one. Yan Chihuo was startled. This was a Dharma Tool, something only Qi Gathering Stage cultivators could use. It must have been left behind by the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon's master. The old man had probably intended to use it only after advancing to the Qi Gathering Stage.