Stone Book

Jiang Yan casually tossed aside the wooden box. Before coming here, he had spent a hundred Talisman Money at the Dao academy to have an instructor in the upper ninth-rank realm prepare this Curse-Subduing Technique.

Now that the spell within had been unleashed, the remaining box was naturally useless.

While the golden toad went out to collect the wolf demon's corpse, Jiang Yan kept busy, rummaging through the monster's residence.

Unfortunately, a monster from such a backwater would have thrown a celebratory feast just for the chance to sell itself to a Dao academy disciple as a servant or mount. It really had little to its name.

Still, even a mosquito's leg was meat. He casually piled everything he found to one side.

Jiang Yan also picked through the monster corpses on the ground, collecting whatever was useful. The golden toad's belly could hold it all anyway.

This Golden Toad of Jiang Yan's was no ordinary creature. It carried a trace of the bloodline of the Three-Legged Golden Toad, one of the High Antiquity Auspicious Beasts.

Legend had it that once such a toad acknowledged a master, it could anchor its master's fortune. If its master later traveled the world to gain experience, bringing the toad along might allow them to turn peril into safety and disaster into good fortune, just as in storybooks.

Moreover, the Size-As-You-Will Divine Ability, which was relatively rare among ordinary spirit beasts, was nothing special to this golden toad.

It also possessed a Divine Ability that opened a space within its belly for storage. It truly was a first-rate variant spirit beast.

Besides, although this golden toad variant had difficulty taking human form and knew no spells, its body was exceptionally powerful.

Jiang Yan's toad already rivaled an immortal cultivator in the ninth-rank lower realm, with bronze skin and iron bones. It was his greatest trump card.

Such a rare variant had not been easy to obtain. Only after studying diligently and training hard at the County Dao Academy, ranking among its best students for three consecutive years, had Jiang Yan earned a chance to exchange for it.

Even after he met that requirement, the Jiang Household had spent a considerable portion of its wealth, even drawing on its reserves, to secure it for him.

As Jiang Yan recalled this, he gathered the various flesh-and-blood resources from the ground, sorting the hearts, livers, spleens, kidneys, and lungs into separate piles.

Yet when he reached out and dragged over the old shepherd's corpse, he did not process it carefully. Instead, he tossed it onto the pile whole, clothes and all, as though impatient.

At the same time, he casually glanced at the flock of meat sheep. Only after seeing that they were all frightened and uneasy, not daring to stare in his direction, did he continue cleaning up without betraying anything.

By the time the courtyard was clean, the golden toad had returned, its tongue wrapped around the wolf demon's corpse. Its hide was gone, leaving only blood-red flesh exposed.

Jiang Yan pulled over a piece of cloth and tied it into a bundle in a few deft movements. With both hands, he stuffed all the spoils into the golden toad's belly before turning his attention to the flock of meat sheep.

"Everyone, the spell cast on you was performed with Spiritual Qi. This humble Daoist is still flesh and blood and has yet to begin refining Qi. I cannot undo it."

Before the sheep could plead with him, Jiang Yan continued,

"However, this humble Daoist is a disciple of the County Daoist Academy and came here for the annual examination. Wait here and do not wander off. An academy instructor will come shortly to cast a spell and rescue you."

Without waiting for a reply, Jiang Yan leaped onto the copper-coin-shaped spot on the golden toad's back. It rose high like a meditation cushion, and he sat cross-legged upon it.

The golden toad's carriage-sized body suddenly sprang forward, disappearing from sight in a few bounds.

Only a swath of crimson remained, strewn with patches of bloody hide and fur. The stench of blood rose to the heavens, making the place resemble a slaughterhouse.

The flock of meat sheep, looking as though they awaited slaughter, exchanged glances filled with terror. Yet all obediently remained where they were, not moving an inch.

The golden toad moved swiftly, covering several zhang in a single bound. It charged straight through the dense trees and undergrowth without a care.

Before long, it had traveled more than ten li.

"Jinbao, stop at that cave ahead. I need to clean off all this filth before going home."

The golden toad obediently stopped at the cave entrance, shrank, and hopped onto Jiang Yan's shoulder.

Jiang Yan walked slowly into the cave, looking around.

Wild animals had probably lived in this cave before. Bits of fur, bones, feathers, and the like still lay in its corners, but there was no unpleasant smell. It had probably stood empty for quite some time.

He raised a hand and patted the golden toad's belly. Understanding at once, it spat out a pile of miscellaneous items.

After casually telling the Golden Toad to guard the entrance, Jiang Yan took a piece of Talisman Paper from inside his robes.

"Keep a good watch. Don't let anyone catch a look at this Daoist."

As he spoke, Jiang Yan cast out the Talisman Paper.

The Talisman Paper stuck to the cave's inner wall and vanished in an instant. A haze then rose over the entrance, and after a moment of wavering, the opening disappeared altogether.

Jiang Yan nodded in satisfaction. This Trace-Obscuring Talisman, which his family had specially prepared for contingencies, certainly lived up to expectations. Its effect was excellent.

Now that the Yearly Examination was over, he could use outside resources.

The academy's rules were strict. It did not concern itself with what students did in ordinary times, but during the Yearly Examination, candidates could rely only on their own efforts.

For instance, the hundred Talisman Money he had paid the instructor for the curse-subduing wooden box had all been earned through his daily work at the academy. His family was not permitted to help.

Ultimately, this was merely an effort to achieve "fairness" as far as possible.

With the talisman deployed and his preparations complete, Jiang Yan reached out and dragged over the scrawny old goat.

Something was wrong with this old goat. In principle, anyone who could perform the Livestock-Transformation Technique on more than a dozen targets at once should have been at least in the ninth-rank lower realm.

How could the Object-Grasping Talisman he had used earlier have plucked out its heart so easily?

Moreover, that goat heart had contained scant Qi and Blood and scattered Demon Qi. Everything indicated that it had come from a lowly mongrel demon that had never ingested Qi.

It had never ingested Qi, yet could cast spells. That was unusual. There had to be a reason!

At this thought, Jiang Yan's hands quickened, continually feeling over every part of the old goat demon's body.

He had never expected the Yearly Examination to offer him a chance at a fortuitous opportunity.

A short while later.

The old goat, which had originally had only a hole in its chest, had now been taken apart into a heap of goat bones, meat, and offal, scattered across the ground.

Jiang Yan held a black object in his hand, examining it repeatedly.

It was about the size of an infant's palm, and its material felt like stone. It resembled an open book, though its pages could not be turned.

Jiang Yan's hands were covered in fresh blood, but it slid off upon contact, unable to cling to the object at all.

During his meticulous search, he had taken apart and carefully examined every inch of the old goat's flesh and bones. This was the only thing at all unusual.

After studying it for a while without discovering anything, Jiang Yan simply changed into clean Daoist robes and cleaned himself thoroughly.

After carefully tucking away the strange book, he beckoned with one hand. Flames identical to those that had roasted the deer earlier flew out and landed on the heap of dismembered flesh.

"This Lotus Fire Talisman certainly is convenient. It works for fighting and for destroying corpses and erasing traces. A pity it can only be used three times."

Jiang Yan waited at the entrance for a while. Only when the sound of stones cracking from the heat came from inside the cave did he mount the golden toad.

"Jinbao, let's go."

"Croak!"

On the official road, seen from afar, a carriage-sized golden toad bounded up and down without stopping.

Jiang Yan sat steadily cross-legged on the Golden Toad's back, a smile on his face.

At this moment, even the desolate scenery around him held a distinct charm in his eyes.

The Yearly Examination was over, and he felt he had done rather well. At the very least, qualifying to sit the Prefecture Dao Academy's entrance examination should be no problem.

"I still can't relax too much. Once I'm home, I must hone my body to perfection. It's about time I completed the tenth-rank realm."

Fourteen years had passed since he reincarnated into this world. At last, he was about to truly cross the threshold into immortal cultivation.

Cultivating immortality was no easy task, and pain and hardship were frequent companions.

All who aspired to the immortal path trained their bodies from childhood, practicing through the bitterest days of winter and the hottest days of summer.

They had to temper their entire bodies, from the outside in, until their muscles and bones were strong and their flesh was pure and free of leakage. Only then was their work complete.

Although this realm did not yet mark entry onto the immortal path, it set one apart from ordinary mortals.

Once Foundation Establishment was complete, the body could possess the strength of an ox.

This ox was not an ordinary water buffalo from the fields, but a kind of exotic beast. Ill-tempered and especially strong, it could trample a tiger or leopard in the mountains to death with a mere movement of its four hooves.

Although those in the tenth-rank realm had not ingested Qi or even begun practicing a proper Cultivation Method, it was the foundation of every immortal cultivator and received considerable emphasis. It was also called the Foundation Establishment realm or the Dao-entry realm.