Chapter 51: An Unexpected Surprise
Chapter 51: Chapter 51: An Unexpected Surprise
Xu Chang’an activated his Magical Artifact and flew through the sky.
Whenever he felt his Demon Power drop by more than half, he would stop and find a secluded spot to rest.
Once restored, he would resume his journey.
He repeated this process, putting great distance between himself and Peacock Demon City.
After consulting his map and confirming there were no powerful factions in the vicinity,
he finally recalled his Magical Artifact and began to travel on foot.
Behind a cluster of secluded mountain rocks.
After setting up a Middle-grade Defense Array, Xu Chang’an took out the Storage Bag he’d acquired and began to sort through the spoils.
Over two hundred Demon Stones, two Middle-grade Magical Artifacts, several Low-grade Magical Artifacts, some Elixirs and Demon Talismans, and an assortment of miscellaneous cultivation items.
The contents of the Storage Bag were decent, but nothing extraordinary.
’This should restore some of my wealth.’
Xu Chang’an reflected with a small sigh.
He had spent most of his savings trying to acquire that Top-grade Magical Artifact.
Getting this haul now wasn’t bad at all.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he took the Elixirs from the Storage Bag and swallowed them all.
A warm current surged through him.
A moment later, Xu Chang’an slowly opened his eyes.
He was quite satisfied to see his Energy Points on the panel rise to 65.
A gain of 6 Energy Points!
Not bad!
’It feels so good to see my progress, bit by bit!’
Hmm!?
Xu Chang’an suddenly frowned slightly.
He had consumed all the Elixirs from which he could absorb Energy.
’Why can I still sense the fluctuations of a Spiritual Item?’
’The panel’s detection range is tiny, but it’s never wrong.’
Xu Chang’an immediately began to inspect the contents of the Storage Bag again.
Demon Stones, Demon Talismans, Magical Artifacts...
He checked them one by one but found nothing amiss.
’No, I can definitely feel the fluctuations of a Spiritual Item!’
Xu Chang’an checked carefully again.
After several more checks, he narrowed his search to the miscellaneous cultivation items.
There were more than ten Books in the Storage Bag.
Five of them recorded common Magic and Skills for the Qi Cultivation Stage.
Three cataloged common Spiritual Items and Spirit Medicine.
Three contained miscellaneous notes on cultivation experiences.
And the last one seemed to be some sort of genealogical register.
Xu Chang’an went through them one by one, using his panel to get a careful reading.
’This one!’
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and he pulled one of the Books out.
It was the one that served as the genealogical register.
The Book seemed to be made of some strange beast hide. It was quite tough, and its pages were unusually thick.
’Something’s not right!’
With a burst of Demon Power, he tore the pages out one by one.
When he reached the middle of the Book, tearing the page revealed a pitch-black piece of talisman paper hidden within.
A Demon Talisman had been hidden inside the page!
Xu Chang’an looked closely.
The material of this Demon Talisman was different from that of an ordinary one.
It appeared to be made from the bark of some kind of Spirit Wood, and its Grade was likely quite high.
A lifelike ring was inscribed upon the talisman paper.
In an instant, Xu Chang’an recognized what it was.
"Talisman Treasure!"
A tremor ran through Xu Chang’an.
’To get such a prize through a bizarre twist of fate!’
Suppressing the joy in his heart, Xu Chang’an picked up the Demon Talisman and examined it closely.
Its Spiritual Light was completely contained within, showing no hint of anything unusual.
If not for his panel, it would have been impossible to detect while hidden within the book’s pages.
Generally, Middle-grade Magical Artifacts were more than enough for Demons in the Qi Refining Realm.
Some Qi Refining Old Demons with deep resources or powerful backgrounds might possess Top-grade Magical Artifacts at most.
Foundation Establishment Great Demons, on the other hand, generally used Top-grade or Supreme-grade Magical Artifacts.
Some of the most elite Top-tier Great Demons might even possess a Quasi-Magical Treasure.
Foundation Establishment Great Demons were normally completely incapable of wielding a Magical Treasure.
Therefore, Magical Treasures were items that could only be possessed by those at the Demon King level.
A Talisman Treasure is created by extracting a portion of a Magical Treasure’s power and sealing it onto talisman paper using special methods.
Every time a Talisman Treasure is made, it consumes the power of the Magical Treasure.
The Magical Treasure’s owner must then expend great effort and a significant amount of time Nurturing it to restore its power.
Ordinary Demon Kings would never do such a thankless task.
It was usually done when a Demon King was on the verge of death with no descendant capable of wielding their legacy Magical Treasure.
As a lesser alternative, they would use a portion of the Magical Treasure’s power to create a Talisman Treasure, leaving it behind as a foundational Guardian Dao for their descendants.
A Talisman Treasure possessed a portion of a Magical Treasure’s might—power even greater than that of a Supreme-grade Magical Artifact—and could be used by a Great Demon.
For this reason, they were highly sought after by many Foundation Establishment Great Demons.
Unfortunately, Talisman Treasures were exceedingly rare—nearly impossible to find.
Even Top-tier Great Demons at the Late-stage of Foundation Establishment would have difficulty acquiring one.
’Everything is preordained.
He tried to rob and kill me, but instead, he just ended up being my Treasure Delivery Boy.’
Xu Chang’an’s expression was relaxed, his heart light.
A Talisman Treasure must be activated via Demon Sense, which is why only Foundation Establishment Great Demons can wield them.
’But...
according to the experiences from my past life, with the perfect breakthroughs granted by the panel...
...I should be able to gain Demon Sense early when I reach the Ninth Level of Qi Refining.
At that time, at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining, I’ll be able to wield the Talisman Treasure.
If the timing is right and I catch one off guard, even a Foundation Establishment Great Demon could be instantly obliterated by the Talisman Treasure.’
With this Talisman Treasure, Xu Chang’an finally had a true life-saving trump card.
As long as he could wield it, the Talisman Treasure’s power would render the vast majority of Foundation Establishment Great Demons harmless to him.
’The only pity is that it loses power with every use!
In a heated battle, it would be completely spent after three uses at most!’
Xu Chang’an sighed lightly.
But he adjusted his mood in the next moment.
’Even if it only has three uses, it’s still an incredibly rare Heavy Treasure.’
That meant he had at least three chances to save his own life!
’An unexpected surprise, getting this Talisman Treasure.
But a Talisman Treasure is an ace in the hole, not something to be used in ordinary Magical Combat.
I still need to finish refining the Golden Radiance Needle as soon as possible.’
’After I get back to Langlang Mountain, refining the Golden Radiance Needle will be my top priority.
And...
...I need to completely master the Skills of Mid-grade Alchemy!’
...
After another ten days or so, Xu Chang’an finally returned to Langlang Mountain.
Counting the round trip, he had been away from Langlang Mountain for almost half a year.
He had only just entered the territory of Langlang Mountain when he ran into a squad of Mountain Patrol Little Demons.
"Little Wild Boar, let me tell you something about this mountain patrol gig. It’s actually pretty simple. It all comes down to your eyes, your legs, and your mouth."
"If you want to live a good life, you gotta have sharp eyes!
You need to know which Demons you can afford to offend and which you can’t. Which ones you report up the chain, and which ones you can take the credit for yourself."
"When you run into danger, you report it right away, but your legs better keep up. When it matters, you have to be fast on your feet.
And when there’s no danger, you have to walk with a swagger, show off our Langlang Mountain style."
"Most importantly, you need a quick tongue. I’m not saying you have to twist black into white, but at the very least, you have to frame ’saving your own skin’ as ’living to better serve Langlang Mountain.’
You call running away a ’strategic retreat to deliver intelligence back to the mountain’!"
"The key is, you gotta sell it with sincerity."
A Jackal Wolf Demon at the Qi Refining Third Layer strode majestically at the front, a yellow Command Flag on his back and a standard-issue Steel Fork in his hand.
A Wild Boar Demon at the Qi Refining First Layer followed closely behind him.
The Jackal Wolf Demon lectured the Wild Boar Demon as they walked.
This familiar scene...
Xu Chang’an found himself slightly lost in the moment.
Nine years ago, he had heard that very same speech.
Back then, he was just like this Little Wild Boar Demon.
He was so young back then, his robes still so thin!
...
PS: Thank you, fellow Daoists, for your support. We successfully passed the first round of PK, and now it’s on to the second. Please, lend this little Demon a hand once more. Let’s crush this second round!!!