Huh? Zhang Yuanqing was startled. The last time the Demon-Subduing Pestle had stirred was when the old crone broke free and rattled the various supernatural Spirit Realm instances. Did the old crone want to come out, vibrating it to prompt him to produce the Demon-Subduing Pestle?
He couldn't help glancing at Elder Gao Feng. Just as he hesitated over whether to take out the Demon-Subduing Pestle right in front of this Elder to respectfully welcome Niangniang's appearance, the pestle in his inventory suddenly fell still again.
At that moment, Guan Ya secretly passed her phone to Zhang Yuanqing while whispering, "What's written on it?"
Her childhood and teenage years had been spent abroad. Although the Fu family taught their youth their mother tongue, they had never insisted on classical Chinese. Guan Ya didn't possess Fu Qingyang's relentless, studious drive either, so she couldn't make much sense of the text on the stone stele.
Zhang Yuanqing took the phone and looked closely. It was a character profile sent by Fu Qingyang:
"Spirit Realm ID: Scaling Peaks. Gender: Male. Age: 44. Position: Elder of the Hang City branch. Class: Earth Monster. Level: 8."
"Notes: Easygoing personality. Enjoys mountain climbing. Likes having subordinates treat him to lavish meals. Possesses a Dominator-grade rule-based item. Ranks number one in defense among official Elders. Distinct trait: dirt-poor—unable to accumulate any wealth whatsoever, suspected to be the cost of the rule-based item."
Guan Ya had actually secretly inquired with Fu Qingyang about Elder Gao Feng? After reading this, Zhang Yuanqing's mind was filled with exclamation marks!
He had assumed Elder Gao Feng was merely an "ordinary" Elder, never expecting him to be Level 8. Even within the Dominator stage, the gap between Level 7 and Level 8 was massive.
More importantly, this Elder controlled a Dominator-grade rule-based item. That meant his practical capability was already comparable to a Level 9 Dominator without one.
He was actually such a heavyweight?
Among the six Elders of the Hang City branch, he was probably near the very top.
—Hang City branch was the collective designation for Jiangnan Province's official walkers. Although there were six Elders, they were distributed evenly across the major cities of Jiangnan Province. (Note 1)
Wasn't this way more impressive than Elder Dog? Well, Elder Dog possessed a rule-based item too... Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, quietly handed the phone back to Guan Ya, and fixed his eyes on the stone stele. The inscription was written in regular script, packed tightly with over a hundred characters.
As a top student from Songhai University, he naturally had no trouble reading classical Chinese. The inscription read:
During the Northern Song dynasty, a fiend emerged in the cultivation world. He ran rampant, committing murder, arson, and pillage, throwing the world into panic and striking terror into the hearts of both immortal sects and demonic cultivators alike.
The imperial court repeatedly convened demon-subduing assemblies, inviting righteous figures across the realm to eradicate this fiend, only to return empty-handed and suffer heavy losses.
Helpless, the court organized righteous figures to slay the demon while offering lavish bounties, inviting heroes throughout the world to join the crusade.
Still to no avail!
In the end, unable to watch any longer, an imperial princess led the Pure Yang Sect to ambush the fiend. After days of fierce combat, they finally suppressed the demon, restoring peace to the realm.
After reading the inscription, Zhang Yuanqing glanced around at the official walkers beside him. He noticed that the Deacons, along with Elder Gao Feng, were all frowning deeply, staring at the inscription in silence.
Did they all have some reading difficulty? Oh, right. These people weren't young anymore. Knowledge was the sort of thing where if you left school and didn't use it for a few years, you basically gave it all back to your teachers...
Besides, as leaders, they only needed to guide the overall direction. Technical and academic matters were naturally handled by subordinates.
"Ahem!"
Zhang Yuanqing cleared his throat, translated the inscription into plain speech, and recited it aloud. "That's basically the gist of it."
Guan Ya uttered an "Oh," enlightened.
Elder Gao Feng's brow smoothed out, and the three Deacons, including Natsuki's Love, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Elder Gao Feng smiled. "A fine translation. Young man, your education must be quite solid. What do you make of the inscription's contents?"
Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a few seconds before answering, "There are two things that puzzle me. First, the inscription doesn't mention the fiend's identity or name. As the central figure of the event—a villain guilty of monstrous atrocities—how could he be merely glossed over in the entire text? The ancients placed great weight on leaving a name that stank for ten thousand years. Throughout history, every treacherous official and villain was recorded with a full name.
"Second, the inscription states that an imperial princess led the Pure Yang Sect to suppress the fiend. Yet the preceding section states that the imperial court rallied the nation's full might to crusade against him, only to be routed in defeat. Why didn't the Pure Yang Sect appear back then?"
If they had already marshaled the power of the entire realm, why would the court overlook the Pure Yang Sect? And if the Pure Yang Sect had participated back then, it proved that the Pure Yang Sect couldn't deal with the fiend either. How did they manage to eliminate him later on?
Elder Gao Feng nodded slightly. "Well said. Seen in this light, the key should lie with this imperial princess. Unfortunately, the inscription doesn't record the specific year, making it impossible to determine during which Song emperor's reign this took place."
The thinning-haired, middle-aged Elder pondered for a moment, then turned to the three Hang City branch Deacons. "Do any of you recall a Pure Yang Sect?"
The three Deacons shook their heads. "Among the immortal sects we know of, there is no Pure Yang Sect."
Guan Ya remarked, "I'm more curious about what class that fiend was, what level he reached, and how he managed to be invincible under heaven."
No one could answer that question.
From behind, Jiang Jingwei urged impatiently, "Let's go look at the stone coffin! Let's go look at the stone coffin!"
She had no interest in the inscription, but was deeply fascinated by the stone coffin. Children were always overwhelmingly curious about strange and novel things.
Elder Gao Feng glanced back and said helplessly, "Little girl, you're even more impetuous and impatient than your brother. Your talent must be even greater than his."
With that, he looked toward the elevated stone platform, leaped across the several-meter-wide 'moat,' landed below the platform, and proceeded up the stone steps.
Zhang Yuanqing and the others leaped across the moat one after another, following behind the Elder.
Before long, they reached the top of the platform and arrived in front of the stone coffin.
The coffin was excessively large, about 1.5 meters wide and 3 meters long.
The edges of the coffin were covered with yellow paper talismans. A thousand years had passed, yet these paper talismans remained brand-new, their cinnabar bright and vivid, bearing no trace of the passage of time.
However, the thick layer of dust coating the coffin's surface testified to the vicissitudes of time.
"Spirit Talismans!" With just a glance, Zhang Yuanqing recognized that the paper talismans belonged to the Night Walker class. "These talismans are for suppressing corpses and spirits."
Elder Gao Feng nodded. "From the looks of it, the Pure Yang Sect was an immortal sect of Night Walkers."
An immortal sect of Night Walkers... No wonder they could refine a corpse-like puppet like that bronze man. Hmm, from the Song dynasty. I should find an opportunity to ask the old crone about it... Zhang Yuanqing was thinking to himself when he heard the cool, glamorous female instructor ask, "Elder, shall we open the coffin?"
Elder Gao Feng pondered for several seconds before saying slowly, "Open it!"
Now that the ancient tomb had been excavated, they naturally had to investigate it thoroughly to leave no hidden hazards behind.
Besides, the ancient tomb incident in Jinhui City had caused such a stir that the evil classes already knew about it. The officials couldn't keep heavy guards posted near the tomb indefinitely.
Resealing the ancient tomb and pretending nothing had happened was out of the question.
Let's check their facial features... Zhang Yuanqing quietly opened his Star Eyes to observe everyone's physiognomy.
—Even with a Dominator-stage Elder watching over them, checking their physiognomy was the safest measure.
"Everyone's physiognomy is normal, which means the fiend in the tomb really is dead." Zhang Yuanqing breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Deacon Houde Zaiwu stepped forward with large strides, brushed away the yellow paper talismans on the coffin rim, and shoved the coffin lid open amid a groaning creak.
Bang!
As the heavy lid crashed to the ground, everyone saw what lay within: a skeleton wrapped in a tattered robe, lying quietly inside the coffin.
Beside the skeleton were burial goods.
Two thread-bound books, a miniature sword, an antique mirror, a palm-sized bronze Taotie beast, an emerald bead, a double-dragon jade pendant, a small pennant patterned with flames, and a palm-sized bronze cauldron.
Zhang Yuanqing picked up a thread-bound book, blew the dust off its cover, and saw written on the title page:
*Taiyin Spirit-Refining Chapter*
He picked up the other ancient book, which read:
*Pure Yang Body Cleansing Record*
"Huh, it's an item, but how come I can't see any item information?"
Guided by a Fire Specialist's intuition, Jiang Jingwei picked up the small pennant embroidered with flame patterns. With just a gentle wave, the pennant spat out scorching flames.
Guan Ya, Yu, Natsuki's Love, and Houde Zaiwu each picked up a burial good of their liking to inspect.
Yu's eyes sparkled as she said, "These are dharma treasures of ancient cultivators, not items. Naturally, they don't have item attributes."
As they talked, Zhang Yuanqing had already opened the ancient book and began reading its contents. After skimming a few lines, his eyes lit up.
The *Taiyin Spirit-Refining Chapter* detailed how to absorb and breathe lunar energy to temper the spirit body—this cultivation method held zero practical value because the real world had long since lost the so-called spiritual power, unless one cultivated within the Spirit Realm.
Yet if one entered the Spirit Realm, why cultivate at all? Clearing an instance yielded experience directly.
What pleasantly surprised Zhang Yuanqing were the arts in the second half of the *Taiyin Spirit-Refining Chapter*, namely various techniques for utilizing lunar energy.
These were primarily divided into three aspects: Charm Art, Astral Travel, and Spirit Talismans.
Take Charm Art, for example: when a standard Night Walker cast Charm Art, a ghost-induced maze was their limit; mostly, it just created a false illusion, which was exceedingly rudimentary.
However, the text recorded some rather profound methods that could use Charm Art to produce effects comparable to an illusion realm.
Take Astral Travel again: a Night Walker's Astral Travel could usually only possess bodies and perform simple telekinesis, but the text recorded two very interesting techniques: Primordial Spirit Sword Control and Soul Hooking.
Lastly, Spirit Talismans: the back of the ancient book recorded over a dozen kinds of Spirit Talismans, such as Immobilization Talismans, Puppet Talismans, Lightning Talismans, Fortune-Gathering Talismans, Peace Talismans, Disaster-Averting Talismans, Peach Wood Talismans, and so on.
Ordinary Night Walkers usually only knew how to carve two kinds of Spirit Talismans—those used to refine yin corpses and spirit servants.
Spirit talismans and corpse talismans are the foundation of Spirit Talismans; the others are merely extensions. Most probably aren't extraordinarily powerful, but they make up for it with sheer versatility and flashy variety. The ancients really studied Spirit Talismans deeply, Zhang Yuanqing mused.
Next, he flipped open the *Pure Yang Body Cleansing Record*. After a brief skim, he was even more pleasantly surprised.
The *Pure Yang Body Cleansing Record* was a method for tempering the physical body. By absorbing solar essence to cleanse the flesh, it comprehensively enhanced physical fitness, extended lifespan, and bolstered resistance against poisons, mental control, and hexes or sorcery.
It made Night Walkers, who were not adept at close combat, much more proficient in battle.
Most importantly, one didn't need to be in the Dominator stage to practice it.
"If I can master and integrate the techniques in both ancient books, my combat strength will far surpass Night Walkers of the same level. And since Night Walkers are already a peak combat class, that means ordinary evil classes won't be a match for me either."
Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of joy, but then sighed.
For the Taiyin Spirit-Refining Chapter, I only need to learn the techniques, but this Pure Yang Body Cleansing Record requires breathing solar essence. It probably isn't just plain sunlight, which makes it hard to cultivate in the modern world...
Wait, I can use the divine power of the sun inside the Demon-Subduing Pestle! I can fleece the old crone once more.
With that thought, he cheered up again.
Just as everyone was immersed in the thrill of unearthing treasures, Elder Gao Feng frowned and said in a heavy voice, "Something's wrong!"
Chapter 324