Chapter 579: Profound Foundation! Magical Artifacts at Hand! Tablet Origins! The Third Year of Emperor Jing’s Reign! One Strike!

“Fellow Daoist, don’t worry. I have a magical artifact that can alter my appearance and conceal my aura,” Minghe said with a faint smile.

Li Yanchu couldn’t help glancing at her.

Seeing the surprise in his eyes, Minghe asked, “What is it?”

“You flaunt your artifact so openly... aren’t you afraid I’ll kill and steal it?” Li Yanchu said calmly.

Minghe paused for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed. “Fellow Daoist, you saved my life. If I am to return the favor, I will give it to you freely. Why would you need to kill me?”

Reasonable enough...

Li Yanchu twitched the corner of his mouth, smiled slightly, and said nothing.

Then, Minghe produced a jade pendant and silently recited a spell. In an instant, her entire body transformed into a fox demon, the same as the fox demon women they had seen at the gates of Shituo City earlier. She assumed the form of a beautiful maiden with slender figure, long flowing hair, and a large bushy tail swaying behind her.

Turning into a fox demon... so basically she just gained a tail?

“Why a fox demon? Isn’t this a bit conspicuous?” Li Yanchu asked.

“Fox demons are beautiful. The other demons are all too ugly,” Minghe said with a look of disdain.

After observing for a while, the two noticed a human cultivator boldly barging into Shituo City. He was a stern-faced man in a cyan robe with his hands tucked in his sleeves, moving stiffly like a

jiangshi

dressed in human attire.

As he reached the front of Shituo City, he was immediately stopped by the city’s demon soldiers. Because they were far away, Li Yanchu and Minghe could not hear what was being said.

But in the next instant, one of the demon soldiers was instantly drained into a desiccated corpse by the cyan-robed man.

Chaos erupted immediately, and spells flashed.

Then, a tiger demon, over ten zhang tall and clad in armor, charged out of Shituo City! It wielded a massive thick-backed but thin-edged cleaver.

The cyan-robed man, with his iron-blue, jiangshi-like face, moved astonishingly fast. He opened his mouth and exhaled a jet of black qi!

Yet the tiger demon was undaunted, swinging the cleaver fiercely at him.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Soon, the cyan-robed man’s body bore several deep cuts. He soon spun around and fled!

From the city walls, another demon general in golden armor descended. A creature with a human body and eagle’s head, wings sprouting from its back. It joined forces with the tiger demon, charging at the cyan-robed man!

The cyan-robed man’s hands traced across his forehead, and an eye broke through the flesh at the center of his brow.

The eagle-headed demon general’s body froze midair and plummeted straight down. But the tiger demon advanced with long strides, raising its cleaver. With one strike, it cut into the cyan-robed man’s body.

A terrifying wound instantly appeared on the cyan-robed man, and blood gushed out. He spun and fled using a Teleportation Arts, with the two demon generals close behind.

“Have you seen this man before?” Li Yanchu asked.

Minghe hesitated, thinking he meant her, and was about to shake her head, but the token circling Li Yanchu suddenly spoke, “This man arrived seven days ago. His body exudes death energy, and his cultivation method follows the demonic path. He has trained himself into a living corpse, but that single eye is formidable. His cultivation is in the intermediate second realm.”

The tablet recited the details as if they were common knowledge.

Li Yanchu nodded slightly. Though the distance was still far, he used his Qi Sight to survey the scene. Killing intent surged across Shituo City, and demonic energy permeated the air.

The cyan-robed man was clearly wrapped in resentment and ill intent; he was not someone to be trifled with. Li Yanchu therefore decided not to intervene for now.

Minghe, listening to their exchange, twitched at the corner of her mouth. She was still not quite used to having a palm-sized tablet talking beside her.

“By the way, when did you become the key to this Shanhai Secret Realm?” Li Yanchu asked suddenly.

“The third year of Emperor Jing’s reign,” the tablet replied.

Li Yanchu nodded. Since his last encounter with the city god Jia Chuanfang of the Great Xia Dynasty, he had gone back to study the history of the Kingdom of Qian.

Of course, because the history of the Great Xia period was chaotic, he didn’t go into much detail. But he had gained a rough understanding of the Kingdom of Qian’s history.

He had some impression of Emperor Jing; he was the grandson of the founding emperor. He had reigned for only three years before being overthrown by his uncle, who later became Emperor Shenzong. After that, his whereabouts became unknown. The third year of Emperor Jing’s reign coincided with his final year as emperor.

Li Yanchu remembered it well because some of the historical details remarkably resembled what he knew from his previous life.

As for the tablet, he couldn’t fully trust it. But he could gather more information from it to aid in judgment.

“Was the demon kingdom already so prosperous in this Shanhai Secret Realm when you became the key?” Li Yanchu asked.

The tablet replied, “Back then, there wasn’t really a Shanhai Secret Realm. But there were legends of the Shituo Kingdom, a realm ruled by a Demon King, where flesh was like mud and bones grew like forests. Humans were nothing more than food there.”

Li Yanchu nodded slightly.

Minghe, however, was shocked by their conversation. Earlier, when Li Yanchu had pressed the tablet about its origins, she had not been nearby, so she was completely in the dark.

Unable to hold back, she asked, “Fellow Daoist Li, what exactly is going on with this tablet?”

Li Yanchu turned to explain, “It claims to be a free cultivator named Daoist Tiansong. Its body was slain by the Golden-Winged Roc’s sovereign, and then refined into a tablet to serve as a key for the Shanhai Secret Realm, waiting here for a fated person.”

Minghe blinked, then shook her head. “Too fake.”

Li Yanchu let out a dry chuckle. “You think so too?”

Minghe nodded. “A Golden-Winged Roc capable of resurrecting a whole city, why would it need the soul of a free cultivator to make a key? Surely it could do it by turning stone into gold.”

Li Yanchu stopped and looked at the tablet. “Hear that? Your words aren’t very precise.”

The tablet panicked. “Daoist Master, I was wrong. I’m not Tiansong at all; that was all nonsense.”

“Oh? Now you admit it?” Li Yanchu said coldly.

“Yes. I am just a sentient stone, awakened by the Golden-Winged Roc to serve as a key! But because my spirit energy was too vast, the Roc added several formation layers during refinement. I previously claimed to be a human cultivator only to gain your sympathy and have you bring me out. I was wrong!” the tablet hurriedly explained.

Li Yanchu nodded. “This version sounds more credible.”

He softened his gaze slightly as he looked at the tablet. “It’s such a trivial matter, why not just tell me from the start?”

“Daoist, your insight and benevolence are unmatched! Had I known you were so noble-hearted, I wouldn’t have lied to trick you. I truly deserve punishment! Once you deal with Shituo City, I will follow you closely to assist in your cultivation!” The tablet quickly pledged loyalty.

Li Yanchu only smiled faintly at the tablet’s chatter. “So... you just tricked me once.”

The tablet was startled and hurried to explain, “Daoist Master, I only did that to make you think I was a human soul so you would bring me out.”

Li Yanchu nodded, then the blade of the Jiaoslayer ignited like a streak of lightning.

Before the tablet could react, it was instantly cut in two. The mysterious rhythm embedded in the Jiaoslayer instantly reduced the tablet to dust.

The seal meant to restrain third-realm beings did not take effect, because Li Yanchu was technically a Yin Spirit expert, not a Yang Spirit expert. He was simply extraordinarily strong...

With a tremendous roar, the tablet shattered, and then dissolved into nothingness, vanishing completely.

+ 1,000 merit points!

A subtle resonance of the Dao descended in the void. Anyone who could earn him merit after being slew was certainly no good.

Li Yanchu’s eyes darkened, and his brow furrowed.

...Though, perhaps the merit was a little too little?