Chapter 337: Earth Lord Seal! Office of the Earth Lord! Seal of the Lord of Mount Tai! Enhancing Martial Arts!

“Heh.” The Earth Lord let out a cold laugh.

But then, the battle between gods and immortals that Head Constable Wang had half-expected never came. The Earth Lord, it seemed, had no intention of striking at all.

“This wretched form of mine will soon scatter into nothingness between Heaven and Earth. Who would have thought, at the brink of dissolution, I’d encounter you, little Daoist? Very well. Let me give you a gift, call it a return for the mercy you’ve shown.”

From within the humble Earth Temple, a streak of divine light shot forth, falling directly into Li Yanchu’s hands. Looking closely, he saw it was an ancient, unadorned seal, faintly glowing with golden radiance. At its base, four archaic characters were carved, though time had rendered them blurred and indistinct.

“What is this?” Li Yanchu asked.

For a long while, there was no reply. He lifted his head slightly, only to see that He Sanhu, whose voice had moments before carried that cold, aged tone, had already collapsed unconscious. The icy aura, too, was gone.

Li Yanchu’s brows arched slightly.

“Daoist Master Yanchu... has that Earth Lord departed?” Head Constable Wang asked.

“Yes.” Li Yanchu fell into silence.

The so-called Earth Lord had only ever been a wisp of divine thought, lingering about the temple’s shell in pitiful survival.

Yet, rather than fade peacefully into nothingness, he chose instead to expend his final strength to curse and slay He Sanhu’s gang.

What kind of grudge could drive such resolve?

Li Yanchu’s eyes grew thoughtful.

This case of murder by curse magic would, in all likelihood, be quietly suppressed, for it touched upon the realm of gods and spirits.

Among the common folk, belief in local Earth Lords and City Gods was still considered orthodox. Were word to spread, the consequences would be troubling.

The constables, for their part, only praised Daoist Master Li’s profound mastery of the Daoist arts, unaware of the deeper truth.

Meanwhile, Li Yanchu wasted no time returning to his temple. There, he scoured the

Records of Spirits and Wonders

and other Daoist texts left by his master.

But still, he found nothing.

It wasn’t until the old Celestial Master returned with a peachwood sword slung across his back and a Taiji Eight Trigrams satchel over his shoulders that Li Yanchu took out the ancient seal. The old master recognized it at a glance!

“This is the Earth Lord Seal! Where on earth did you get this?”

Li Yanchu recounted the events, like how he had gone to assist Head Constable Wang with a curse magic-murder case, and how he discovered the affair of the Earth Lord.

At this time, the old master’s expression shifted. “The Earth Lord of Wei City?”

As he spoke, he weighed the seal in his hand. The ancient imprint exuded a mysterious aura.

“This thing is... quite remarkable, isn’t it?” Li Yanchu asked.

Perhaps because it had been given so casually, he had thought it was nothing more than a trinket.

The old master shot him a sidelong look and slowly explained, “A Earth Lord Seal is the credential of an Earth Lord or Mountain God. Through it, one can draw in incense and faith from the area under its domain, and cultivate the Divine Dao.”

The Divine Dao!?

Li Yanchu’s eyes widened. “These so-called Earth Lords and Mountain Gods, aren’t they merely titles?”

The old master spoke evenly, “An Earth Lord or Mountain God is one whom a stretch of land or mountain has recognized, and who has received investiture in the Divine Dao. Such beings may indeed come into being.

“Originally, an Earth Lord was a virtuous man who, after death, became a ghost-immortal, forging a golden body through accumulated merit and incense. But now the Great Dao is severed, and many ancient records were lost to time, so what survives is fragmentary at best.

“Worse still, many so-called Earth Lords today are nothing more than mountain sprites or wandering ghosts self-proclaiming the title. True and false are tangled together. Some are half-real, half-false, so it is hard to tell.

“The Hu Jinbao among the Feiyun Twenty-Four Heretics you slew, he was eight or nine parts likely a fake Earth Lord, He erected temples for himself and siphoned incense.

“But according to the ancient texts, a legitimate Earth Lord is a God of Fortune and Virtue with formidable divine power, and carries a Earth Lord Seal. And the one in your hands, that is a genuine Earth Lord Seal!”

The old master’s words made Li Yanchu’s eyes light up. “So, are you saying... I am now the Earth Lord of Wei City? And an officially appointed one at that?” Li Yanchu asked in surprise.

What he did not know was that, indeed, he might truly have inherited the office of Earth Lord, but something had gone awry in the process.

“Don’t think such fanciful thoughts, eldest nephew,” the old master snapped, annoyed. “This thing is definitely not so simple. Even I cannot say for sure. It’s far too ancient.”

When the old Celestial Master first met Li Yanchu, he greeted him with indescribable warmth. It felt as if Li Yanchu weren’t a disciple of Daoist Xuancheng at all, but his long-lost son.

Now that the two had grown more familiar, the old master started addressing Li Yanchu as “eldest nephew,” and his attitude was no longer so kind and gentle.

Li Yanchu just smirked at this.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Sure enough, warmth is something reserved for strangers.

He then consulted this ever more immortal-looking, yet also increasingly down-to-earth old Daoist, while taking out a meal box filled with the head chef’s specialties from Chunfeng Restaurant: braised pork knuckle, beggar’s chicken[1], sweet-and-sour fish, crystal shrimp, and twenty-year-old Nu’er hong[2].

“Senior Uncle, this is just a small token of respect from me, your junior. Please, enjoy,” Li Yanchu said.

The old Celestial Master couldn’t help but raise his brows as the rich aroma stirred his appetite.

After Li Yanchu departed, he picked up his chopsticks without restraint. He had none of the lofty demeanor of a Daoist grandmaster, but instead with the hearty air of a man of the

jianghu

.

He ate happily, then raising a cup of Nu'er hong, he drained it in one go.

He murmured under his breath, “Never thought this thing would actually be hidden in Wei City!”

He then lifted his gaze slightly in Li Yanchu’s direction as a knowing smile tugged at his lips.

“Ah, eldest nephew... I didn’t lie to you. That really is an Earth Lord Seal, but one of an exceedingly high rank. You could ponder it for a lifetime and still never become the Earth Lord of Wei City.”

His eyes grew brighter and brighter, until he couldn’t help blurting out a curse, “Because... that damned thing is the seal of the Lord of Mount Tai!”

The Lord of Mount Tai, also called the God of Mount Tai, was the direct superior of the Ten Kings of the Underworld in the Kingdom of Qian’s mythology.

Such a background was terrifying!

No wonder even the old Celestial Master of Mount Longhu had momentarily lost his composure earlier.

“This brat’s

bazi

is just absurdly tough, but could it be that fate itself has shifted? Why can’t I divine it anymore?” The old master slowly shook his head.

***

Then, Li Yanchu’s days returned to calm. Each day he cultivated Daoist arts, practiced martial techniques, refined pills, drew talismans, nurtured his magical artifacts, and went to teahouses for tea and storytelling. His life was fulfilling.

As the days passed, his cultivation grew ever deeper. After mastering the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram Visualization Method, the power of his primordial spirit in magical combat increased tremendously.

And with abundant cultivation resources in hand, such as Firefly Fruit, Bodhi Pills, Azurewood Immortal Vine, spirit pills of Mount Qingcheng, his progress was astonishingly swift! Once he had fully integrated his martial cultivation, he brought out the three martial manuals he had been practicing.

“Decree of Bestowal!”

- 1,000 merit points!

Six-Yang Saber Formula successfully enhanced!

The last time he had enhanced this saber art, it had cost 1,000 merit points. Now, Li Yanchu found that the entire set of saber techniques had been pared down to its original twelve form, and his eyes lit up.

“Decree of Bestowal!”

- 1,000 merit points!

The formula condensed into six forms. The entire saber art transformed dramatically once again; its power multiplied, and its difficulty of cultivation also greatly increased. Drawing a deep breath, Li Yanchu chose to continue sealing and evolving the technique.

“Decree of Bestowal”

- 1,000 merit points!

Six-Yang Saber Formula condensed into three forms: cleave, slash, and shatter!

Li Yanchu did not continue further. This martial art had already been enhanced three times in succession, consuming a total of 3,000 merit points.

1. Beggar's chicken is a Chinese dish of chicken that is stuffed, wrapped in clay and lotus leaves, and baked slowly using low heat. Preparation of a single portion may take up to six hours. Here is a reference

image

. ☜

2. Nu’er hong is a Chinese rice wine originating in Shaoxing, eastern China. It is a type of huangjiu, or “yellow wine”, brewed by mixing steamed grains with a traditional fermentation starter called

jiuqu

. ☜