Tan Shuchang, Who Was Never Hospitable

Tan Shuchang waved for the youth to withdraw. Once he was gone, Tan Shuchang began pondering carefully.

"The cultivation inheritance of the Jia Five Realm has existed for at least several thousand years, no matter how one looks at it. Though the Immortal Cultivation Realm beyond the Cultivation Realm is difficult to attain, over those thousands of years, there should always have been a few astonishing geniuses who climbed a hundred-foot pole and took another step forward, becoming almost like immortals or gods. Yet now..."

Tan Shuchang couldn't help but reveal a strange look. "In this vast Jia Five Realm, not only is there only the Cultivation Realm—even rumors concerning the Immortal Cultivation Realm have scarcely been passed down."

Thinking of this, Tan Shuchang couldn't help recalling the sight of his birth mother when she had left.

Her aura had towered over the heavens, sharp beyond measure. And that glance she cast down from the void had been like a sharp sword that directly severed all mortal ties. That was absolutely not something the Cultivation Realm could accomplish!

Therefore, his birth mother had certainly been in the Immortal Cultivation Realm, and likely no ordinary cultivator of that realm.

"Nine-Sons Mother Heavenly Ghost..."

Tan Shuchang couldn't help thinking of that demonic art again.

A chill immediately crawled through his heart.

Thus, Tan Shuchang settled his mind and suppressed those chaotic thoughts.

Then he raised a hand and flicked his sleeve. A smooth, round bead rolled out from his cuff.

There seemed to be nothing unusual about the bead.

Other than being smooth and round, it was somewhat black.

Yet after Tan Shuchang entered the Artifact Pavilion, this bead had not only rolled over on its own—it had even burrowed directly into his sleeve.

Such liveliness was already close to spiritual communion!

That alone showed this bead was extraordinary. What was strange, however, was that although it reacted to him, Tan Shuchang couldn't even nurture spiritual essence within it.

When cultivators refined Dharma artifacts, they nurtured spiritual essence inside them.

Once the spiritual essence had been successfully nurtured, the Dharma artifact could be wielded as easily as an arm or finger.

Tan Shuchang had refined the long staff improved by the black shadow—the Upper-Tier Dharma Artifact—in precisely this manner.

However, this was merely the most basic form of refinement. If a treasure was seized by someone else, and that person happened to possess a special method, they could erase the spiritual essence within it.

Thus, more sophisticated methods of nurturing spiritual essence emerged.

It was said that in sword cultivator holy lands such as Sword Disciple Mountain and Heavenly Sword Manor, methods for nurturing a flying sword's spiritual essence could transform that essence into Sword Dao Spirit Imprints.

Each Sword Dao Spirit Imprint recorded a portion of that sword cultivator's prior cultivation experiences.

This meant that unless one could replicate that sword cultivator's cultivation experiences, even if one forcibly nurtured spiritual essence within the sword, one would be unable to use that flying sword.

Tan Shuchang took out this bead now because he wanted to try whether he could nurture spiritual essence within it.

It was such a lively Dharma artifact—what if it was a Spirit-Communing Dharma Artifact?

Having experienced the might of an Upper-Tier Dharma Artifact, Tan Shuchang now coveted Spirit-Communing Dharma Artifacts immensely. When he had previously gone to the Artifact Pavilion to collect artifacts, even as a Principal Third Rank Sword Overseer Dao General, he had only been allowed to collect Lower-Tier Dharma Artifacts.

However, unlike the pavilion attendants, he could collect three Lower-Tier Dharma Artifacts directly.

One each for force, dharma, and art.

The Dharma artifact representing Force Suppression Might was called the Strange Gate Seal. It was shaped like a seal and was normally only palm-sized. Once power was poured into it, it could gradually expand until it became as large as an Eight Immortals table, then smash down heavily!

Its display of power was undoubtedly similar to that of the long staff, but it lacked the staff's ability to lock people in place. Thus, it greatly tested a cultivator's predictive ability and throwing accuracy.

The Dharma artifact representing Dharma Command Might was a golden hoop. Once it landed atop someone's head, it could immobilize them. It could also tighten directly, crushing the opponent's body.

This Dharma artifact happened to be well suited for use together with the Strange Gate Seal.

The Dharma artifact representing Art Prohibition Might was rather rare. Usually, artifacts related to arts were either formation flags or formation disks, because those two could most quickly display the sealing power of arts.

Yet the artifact Tan Shuchang had collected was neither a formation flag nor a formation disk, but a painting.

When unfurled into the air, it could grow with the wind under the activation of power, then blend illusorily into the terrain. Any living being passing by would be taken into the painting so long as they failed to notice it in advance.

However, there was no inner heaven-and-earth within the painting, so any living being entering it would instantly be reduced to a bloody pulp.

All three Dharma artifacts were fairly good.

But no matter how good they were, they were still only Lower-Tier Dharma Artifacts. How could they compare to the allure of a Spirit-Communing Dharma Artifact?

Unfortunately, even after Tan Shuchang nurtured spiritual essence for an entire night, the bead showed no reaction whatsoever.

Tan Shuchang had originally decided to continue nurturing it, but Qiu Junlin came looking for him at that moment.

"What are you here for?" Tan Shuchang, who was never hospitable, directly made his attitude clear when facing Qiu Junlin.

"Why did that little grandaunt of the Dong Family send you a letter? Can I take a look? Of course, it's fine if you won't let me, but you can't tell her that I asked to see that letter." Qiu Junlin spoke curiously, but as he continued, he suddenly looked somewhat guilty.

"You know who sent that letter?" Tan Shuchang asked in surprise.

"Of course I do. That little grandaunt of the Dong Family thinks her disguise is flawless, but quite a few people know it's her. They just don't want the little grandaunt to set her sights on them, so they pretend not to know. Her disguise is the same as no disguise at all." Qiu Junlin snorted.

Tan Shuchang nodded, then asked, "Who exactly is this little grandaunt of the Dong Family you're talking about?"

In truth, he already knew who it was, but he was still somewhat uncertain.

"Didn't she slash you with a sword several times in your diary?" Qiu Junlin gave Tan Shuchang a surprised glance.

"..."

Although he had confirmed the answer, Qiu Junlin's response still left Tan Shuchang feeling rather uncomfortable.

At the same time, though, it thoroughly confirmed that the damned little thief who had stolen his diary and made several thousand rubbings of it had been her!

He had merely suspected it before.

Now, it could be considered ironclad proof.

Seeing Tan Shuchang fall silent, Qiu Junlin chuckled. "I have to say, what you wrote was pretty interesting. Oh, right, let me tell you—do you know what her so-called betrothal while still in the womb was all about? When she was five or six, she'd heard too many stories like that and thought she ought to have one too. So she pestered her parents and everyone else in her family about it. In the end, the Sword Young Master, who found her annoying, casually picked someone for her."

"Not only did the little grandaunt believe it, when she was ten, she even tried to make the other party elope with her, because she'd heard too many stories again. Naturally, she scared the other party half to death. After he told the Dong Family about it, he packed up overnight, took his family, and ran."

"So that's why she was sent to Yue Prefecture's Jian Gorge Sect to cultivate?" Tan Shuchang felt an urge to complain.