Chapter 384: Ninety Thousand Merit Points! The Warmth of the Mortal World! A Strange Dream in Guanyu Village!

Daoist Spiritual Master Moyun had hidden his physical body within his manifested Dharma Form, but both body and form were completely annihilated, shattered to dust by the mysterious resonance of the Jiaoslayer.

Only a single streak of spiritual light fell from the sky.

Li Yanchu moved swiftly, catching that strand of light in his palm, and in the next instant, his figure vanished.

Daoist art: Godspeed!

This mystical technique was extremely overbearing, and when used in combination with Wallbreak, it produced a terrifying effect: instant teleportation.

He appeared beside Lady Yun and the innkeeper, and with a flick of his sleeve, brought them both away.

The cultivators who had been watching from afar were still lost in stunned silence at Li Yanchu’s feat: he had slain a third-realm Yang Spirit! For a long while, none of them could calm down.

“So... There are such hidden talents in Wei City!?”

***

The three soon returned to Wei City and arrived at the Taiping Inn. The moment the inn’s waiter saw them, his eyes widened in disbelief.

“Eh!?” He was utterly dumbfounded.

Wasn’t Daoist Yanchu just out looking for the innkeeper? Then why had he come back with another woman beside him?

The woman dressed in plain blue robes, her hair in a simple coiled bun. She was graceful and gentle, her eyes clear as autumn waters.

The young waiter couldn’t help but swallow hard. And he wasn’t the only one, many of the inn’s patrons also turned to stare.

The innkeeper was mature and alluring, while this gentle woman exuded a quiet, refined beauty; they were two entirely different kinds of charm.

To Li Yanchu’s surprise, the two women didn’t clash at all.

Lady Yun easily won the innkeeper’s favor, calling her “Sister, Sister” with affectionate closeness. Plus, she seemed to like this bustling, lively place quite a lot.

Li Yanchu glanced at her and asked softly, “You want to stay here at the inn?”

Lady Yun replied gently, “I like it here. I can help Sister with the work.”

The innkeeper put her hands on her hips and shot him a glare. “What’s the matter? Don’t tell me you can’t bear to let her help me?”

Li Yanchu couldn’t help but laugh with a gentle wave of his hand. “Since you’ve both agreed, then do as you please.”

Lady Yun had once loved cultivating in the quiet tranquility of Longhu, and now, if she preferred the lively warmth of Taiping Inn, that too was her freedom, so long as the innkeeper agreed.

“I’ll head back to the temple first,” Li Yanchu said softly.

“Take care, Daoist Master,” Lady Yun replied, bowing gracefully, like a beauty walking out of a landscape painting.

Somehow, her presence didn’t clash with the bustling air of the inn at all.

Li Yanchu’s lips twitched slightly. She’d been so quiet and obedient before, yet a few words from the innkeeper, and now she was already settled in.

Is it really this easy for women to befriend each other?

he thought wryly.

***

He pushed open the doors of Qingyun Temple, where Blackie was lazily chewing grass in the back courtyard.

Li Yanchu smiled faintly. “You lazy brute.”

After returning to his room, he finally began to examine his spoils from this battle.

Slaying Madam Bai earned him 40,000 merit points, while slaying Daoist Spiritual Master Moyun earned him 50,000 merit points.

And in his possession was a flower basket and a pearl the size of a quail egg.

The flower basket had been Madam Bai’s personal magic artifact, it could even absorb his saber light, and was thus classified as a defensive artifact. As for the pearl, he couldn’t discern any particular secret from it, though it contained a trace of divine aura. But which deity it originated from, he had no way of sensing that.

In truth, it would’ve been strange if he

could

sense it.

To be kept close by a third-realm Yang Spirit, and to survive the strike of the Jiaoslayer intact, this is certainly a top-grade artifact

, Li Yanchu thought to himself.

He placed both the flower basket and the pearl into his Universe Pouch. At this point, he already possessed quite a number of magic artifacts. Although he had cultivated Telekinetic Retrieval, it was still impossible to control so many at once, unless he learned some divine power to divide his mind, or attained a mythical Dharma Body with three heads and six arms.

But he didn’t dwell on that problem. Instead, his brows furrowed slightly as he pondered over Daoist Spiritual Master Moyun’s case.

I didn’t have time to ask about him properly... but from what those cultivators were saying, that gray-robed old man was once formidable. His lifespan was nearing its end... he fell into Demonic Dao... and schemed in the shadows.

A thoughtful gleam flickered in Li Yanchu’s eyes.

He faintly felt that Daoist Spiritual Master Moyun might not have been acting alone, and there was likely a great force behind him, one vast enough to be difficult to believe.

As for their purpose, he still had no clear answer. But it seemed they had an unusual interest in the sealed demons, as though intent on recruiting them.

If even a single sect like Divine Heavens has a Yang Spirit elder who fell into Demonic Dao near the end of his life... then how many temples and Daoist halls across the land might have people who’ve done the same?

Li Yanchu took a deep breath. That was a chilling thought indeed. He pressed down the uneasy feeling in his chest and took out a yellow talisman to enhance. It was a Five-Lightning Talisman.

He hadn’t given any protective talismans to the innkeeper before, and now he regretted that oversight. If this recent affair hadn’t ended smoothly, he truly would have hated himself for it and might’ve even killed himself!

The six-times enhanced Five-Lightning Talismans was far stronger than his previous five-times enhanced ones, their lightning aura several times more intense. The two talismans cost a total of forty-two thousand merit points, with each costing twenty-one thousand merit points.

He handed one to the innkeeper, and the other to Fang Qinglan.

The Five-Lightning Talisman was a fearsome weapon, and its power to annihilate demons and ghosts was nothing short of overwhelming.

As for Madam Bai’s flower basket, he also gifted that to the innkeeper.

“The sword in my hand is sharp enough, no need to replace it,” Fang Qinglan said calmly.

Li Yanchu, however, insisted.

He also entrusted Dragon-Tiger Scepter to Lady Yun, who herself possessed considerable strength, making her the perfect bodyguard for the innkeeper.

***

In the days that followed, Li Yanchu secluded himself in Qingyun Temple for cultivation. He focused on mastering the nine-times enhanced Jiaoslayer, nurturing it constantly with spiritual energy, building a deeper resonance with it.

At the same time, he nurtured the Flying Smoke Sword and Cloudpiercer, two pseudo-mythical flame artifacts.

With that, he had now gathered all five legendary weapons of the Fire Virtue Star Lord.

“As steady as a horse,” he murmured with satisfaction.

The battles against Madam Bai and Daoist Spiritual Master Moyun, both third-realm Yang Spirits, had greatly benefited his cultivation. He gained profound insights, and his state of mind ascended to yet another level.

That day, Li Yanchu was cultivating quietly in Qingyun Temple, working to condense the Longhu Golden Alchemy Method, steadily strengthening his magical power.

Suddenly, two pale-faced young men arrived at the temple.

“Daoist Master, please save us!”

“Daoist Master, we beg you, save our entire village!”

The two fell to their knees and kowtowed repeatedly, pleading in desperation. Li Yanchu calmly asked what had happened.

The two explained that they were villagers from Guanyu Village, a settlement near the great river surrounding Wei City. Life there had always been fairly prosperous.

But recently, for several nights in a row, everyone in the village had the same dream. In the dream, a woman appeared, her whole body dripping wet and her hair disheveled, her face hidden from sight. She would stand at the foot of the bed staring silently at them, as if trying to speak.

At first, people thought it was merely a nightmare. But when they began talking among themselves, they realized that every household had dreamed the exact same thing.

That was when the fear set in.

So, they came all the way to Wei City, hoping to find a Daoist skilled in exorcising ghosts and banishing evil to resolve the matter for them.

Otherwise, they said, panic was already spreading through Guanyu Village, and if nothing was done soon, something terrible was bound to happen.