Chapter 262: The Journey Home

“So that’s how it is.” Li Yanchu nodded slightly.

He still had another ancient sword obtained from the Blissful Land, but it seemed Hongtu wouldn’t be able to use that one either. He hadn’t expected that Flying Sword techniques would have such strict requirements on the sword itself.

The two were of similar age, their temperaments matched, and naturally their friendship deepened. They spent half the night bragging together, then each returned to his own room.

Only then did Li Yanchu begin to examine his spoils. At present, his total merit points amounted to 237,000, and this was

after

deducting the merit spent on sealing the Plague-Dispelling Talisman and a new Five-Lightning Talisman.

In his room, Li Yanchu couldn’t help the upward curl of his lips. Then his smile grew even more unrestrained.

“With more than two hundred thousand merit points, I really am rich now!” Li Yanchu was overjoyed.

He took out the

Clearheart Jade Pendant

, preparing to seal it. This pendant had the effect of protecting the primordial spirit and calming the mind. It had been a gift from the Old Celestial Master of Mount Longhu.

Li Yanchu had also discovered that he could use the vast spiritual power contained in this pendant to cast powerful Daoist spells, for example, one of the Eight Great Daoist Mantras! It felt extremely handy in use.

“I wonder what changes it will have after being enhanced?” He felt a faint sense of anticipation.

Placing the jade pendant on the table, he simulated in his mind the vast, majestic sound of the Great Dao.

“Enhance!” A tide of the Great Dao surged over the Clearheart Jade Pendant, light flowing across its surface.

Moments later, the tide receded, and the jade pendant became even more crystal-clear and brimming with spiritual energy!

- 3,000 merit points!

Li Yanchu’s eyes lit up, as this meant that the pendant itself was already equivalent to a twice-enhanced magic item, of even higher quality than the evil-repelling Eight Trigrams Mirror.

“Enhance!”

- 4,000 merit points!

After four sealings, the pendant suddenly blazed with rolling clouds of rainbow light, and its aura formed into dragons and tigers. Just standing next to it, one could feel the vast and majestic spiritual force.

Moreover, the Clearheart Jade Pendant constantly absorbed spiritual energy on its own, like a naturally formed spirit-gathering formation.

However, Li Yanchu tried it and found that this spiritual energy could only aid him in casting Daoist arts. It could not be absorbed directly into his body.

“I was being too greedy,” he said with a smile.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him.

From his Universe Pouch, he took out several talismans and laid them out on the table.

They were a quadruple-enhanced Five-Lightning Talisman that had already expended its spiritual power, a quadruple-enhanced Plague-Dispelling Talisman, a triple-enhanced Five-Lightning Talisman, and a quadruple-enhanced Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman.

He picked up the quadruple-enhanced Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman and placed the Clearheart Jade Pendant upon it. To his delight, something unexpected happened!

The Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman, which had already used up part of its spiritual energy, began to slowly recover.

Before long, the quadruple-enhanced Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman’s spiritual glow was fully restored. Its divine aura was thick and heavy, no different from when it had just been freshly enhanced!

“It really works!!!” Li Yanchu’s eyes lit up.

Next, he picked up the quadruple-enhanced Five-Lightning Talisman that had wiped out three members of the Shaman Sect in an instant, its spiritual energy completely spent.

He placed the Clearheart Jade Pendant on top.

The yellow talisman began to slowly regain its aura, and it took about three times as long as the previous one.

But in the end, this quadruple-enhanced Five-Lightning Talisman regained its full spiritual energy! Pure Yang Five-Lightning energy poured forth, refining Li Yanchu’s body and soul. The lightning-fire was forging the Golden Body!

The discovery made his heart bloom with joy.

“Isn’t this just a jumbo-sized power bank!?” Following the same method, he “recharged” every talisman on the table, restoring their spiritual energy.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

His grin nearly reached the back of his head.

After carefully sensing the Clearheart Jade Pendant’s energy, he found it had only consumed about half of its spiritual power. And already, the pendant was beginning to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy again, slowly restoring itself.

The night passed without incident.

Originally, Li Yanchu had planned to re-enhance a few more magical items, but after discovering this new function of the Clearheart Jade Pendant, he didn’t bother, as the find alone was enough to make him overjoyed.

***

The next day, the three of them mounted camels and joined a caravan returning to the Central Plains.

Among these frontier caravans, Li Yanchu’s name was already like thunder in their ears. A demon-exorcising Daoist priest with immense divine strength, he was practically a figure from myth and legend.

With such a man of cultivation accompanying them, the caravan leader could hardly close his mouth from smiling.

Perhaps it was because Bai Hongtu had already exhausted all his bad luck, the journey back was uneventful.

Upon entering Tianhai Pass, the three of them exchanged their camels for swift horses. These were famous frontier breeds, exceptionally enduring and well-suited for long-distance travel.

***

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was the Lantern Festival. The entire city of Wei was ablaze with lanterns, bustling with life and festivity. This year, Heaven had been unusually restrained, and only two light snowfalls had come.

Unlike the past years when Beifeng Prefecture was buried under ice and snow, it was still bone-chillingly cold, but the ground was not so deeply frozen.

At the inn, the innkeeper had built a small snowman, which was so small it had no facial features. It was hard to believe that such a mature and voluptuous woman could have such girlish whims.

She often gazed softly at the little snowman, or sat by the inn’s doorway, glancing outside from time to time.

“It’s already the fifteenth day of the first month... why hasn’t he come back yet?” A trace of melancholy appeared on her delicate face.

Fang Qinglan walked in, an iron sword at her waist, her aura colder than ever. She glanced at her elder sister and said, “What’s this? Missing him?”

The innkeeper straightened her face and spat lightly, “What nonsense.”

Fang Qinglan said coolly, “He’s been gone this long, so either he died out there, or he’s gotten tangled up with that pretty woman and can’t bear to come back. You’d better prepare yourself.”

This was how the two sisters bickered on a daily basis.

The innkeeper shot her a glare with those beautiful almond-shaped eyes. With her hands on her hips, her figure curved in a way that made it hard to look away.

Then suddenly, she smiled. “Funny... why do I feel like you’re actually talking about yourself?”

A flush crept across Fang Qinglan’s cheeks, but she quickly regained her frosty demeanor. “You’re overthinking it...”

The innkeeper smiled sweetly. “Qinglan, you know I wouldn’t mind. You’re my sister, after all. Better we serve one husband together than leave him to some outsider.”

Fang Qinglan’s elegant brows furrowed. “Are you insane?”

The innkeeper’s smile grew brighter as she leaned in close, studying her younger sister’s cold, beautiful face. “Tsk tsk... your eyes can’t lie to me. If that heartless man comes back alive this time, I’ll help you get him.”

Fang Qinglan’s expression grew colder, and she snapped, “What nonsense are you spouting?”

The innkeeper said softly, “That man, he’s clearly a Daoist, but women seem to flock to him. I need an ally to deal with the competition. I’ve thought it through, your kind of wandering swordswoman is exactly his type. If we sisters join forces, won’t we hold an even greater place in his heart?”

A faint blush crept across Fang Qinglan’s face. “Hey!”

Fang Qinglan’s face flushed with both shyness and annoyance, while the innkeeper blinked playfully.

“What, you don’t want to?”

“Want what?” a warm, deep voice suddenly sounded.

The innkeeper’s eyes lit up in surprise, and she looked up. Fang Qinglan also turned sharply around.

At the inn’s doorway stood a handsome young man with striking brows and starry eyes. His features easily brought to mind words like

steadfast

and

aloof

. Though he carried the weathered traces of travel, his eyes shone with piercing brightness.

It was none other than Li Yanchu, returning from beyond the frontier.