Chapter 69: Decree of Bestowal, A World of Black and White

As night fell, Li Yanchu sat cross-legged in meditation within the Daoist temple. The copper coins collected earlier that day from the people were laid out before him.

Of the 2,000 coins checked that day, over 1,500 had been exorcized using talismans. He had brought back intentionally the remaining 500 or so blood-stained coins.

His goal was simple, to use these coins to lure out whatever dark force was behind them. If this thing wanted to kill and consume one’s three souls and seven spirits, to drink the essence and qi of the living, then only Qingyun Temple remained as a target in all of Wei City.

Just in case, he took out his Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman. “Decree of Bestowal!”

With his voice imitating the majestic resonance of the Great Dao, the talisman began to pulse with the tidal rhythm of cosmic law. A flash of brilliant golden light burst forth, and the talisman now radiated a dignified and divine qi.

This talisman was one Li Yanchu had carefully selected from hundreds, one with the strongest spiritual resonance. It had been this very talisman that helped him slay the false City God.

“So it

can

be enhanced a second time,” Li Yanchu said, eyes lighting up with joy.

He checked his merit points, and he had just spent 2,000 on this second enhancement.

The first enhancement cost 1,000, the second 2,000... so the third would cost 3,000?

he pondered silently.

He carefully placed this authentic Daoist treasure talisman back against his chest. Immediately, a warm, Divine Dao aura began to nourish his soul.

Compared to the first enhancement, the power this time was easily twice as strong. Li Yanchu’s fatigue from the long day vanished in an instant, leaving him feeling vibrant and energized.

Grinning from ear to ear, he pulled out another talisman. This time, he took out a Five-Lightning Talisman. “Decree of Bestowal!”

The tidal resonance of the Great Dao surged forth again. The Five-Lightning Talisman instantly radiated a qi of pure yang lightning energy, causing the entire room’s residual evil qi to be swept away as if blown by a divine wind.

Lightning arts was the most righteous force under Heaven, capable of subduing all evil, corruption, and filth. With the talisman now enhanced a second time, its power was terrifying, and even a single glare from Li Yanchu while holding it might cause wandering ghosts to disperse on the spot. This second enhancement cost another 2,000 merit points.

Li Yanchu glanced at the used Five-Lightning Talisman he had employed once before. After a brief pause, he decided not to re-enhance it yet. There were still two other artifacts he could choose to enhance: the Jiaoslayer, and the lightning-struck wooden knuckle duster.

Lightning-struck wood naturally contained the power of lightning, and was exceptionally rare. Li Yanchu only had a small piece of it, which was not big enough to make a sword. He had instead cleverly forged it into a knuckle duster.

But after some thought, Li Yanchu decided to hold off on enhancing that item, and instead, he turned back to the recently twice-enhanced Five-Lightning Talisman, preparing to enhance it a third time. The Five-Lightning Talisman was heavily focused on slaughter and suppression, perfect as a trump card for critical moments.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Li Yanchu drew a deep breath and said, “Decree of Bestowal!”

Once again, the tide of the Dao surged. This time, the process lasted longer than both previous enhancements combined.

When all finally settled into calm, Li Yanchu felt as though an endless lightning pool had manifested before his eyes. The pure yang qi from the Five-Lightning Talisman steadily seeped into his spirit, refining his primordial soul, making it more solid and radiant. Normally, only powerful cultivators capable of daytime astral projection possessed primordial spirits with such pure yang aura.

Li Yanchu was far from reaching that level. However, this Five-Lightning Talisman possessed the ability to refine the yang spirit, a quality that alone made it a rare and precious Daoist treasure.

This time, it consumed a total of 7,000 merit points!

“So merit really is just like money. No matter how much you have, it’s never enough,” Li Yanchu murmured with a wry smile.

Li Yanchu continued cultivating deep into the night before finally preparing to rest.

After nightfall, Wei City was unusually quiet. The recent string of blood money–related deaths had left the people on edge, filled with fear and dread. Just as he was about to sleep, Li Yanchu caught a faint scent of burning incense. It was subtle at first, but it quickly spread throughout the entire room.

As the fragrance of incense thickened in the air, Li Yanchu felt as if he were being pulled into a swirling abyss. Somewhere deep in his consciousness, he began to hear a voice. The voice was vague, distant, and drifting left and right. Plus, its source was impossible to pinpoint.

Li Yanchu snapped his eyes open, but he was no longer in the Daoist temple. Instead, he found himself standing within a world of black and white.

Splash...

Ssshhh... Splash...

The sound of water echoed around him. Looking down, Li Yanchu saw that he was standing in shallow water that stretched endlessly in every direction.

“Where am I?” Li Yanchu’s eyes sharpened.

Instinctively, he reached toward his chest and found that the three talismans were still there, pressed safely against his skin. Before falling asleep, he had also been holding his Jiaoslayer, and sure enough, it was still in his hand. That gave him a measure of reassurance.

Turning his attention back to the black-and-white world, he grew more alert. In folk belief, black and white often symbolized the realm of the dead.

Ssshh... Splash... Splashhhh...

The water beneath him wasn’t calm. It was like restless waves, slapping against his ankles again and again.

“This water is freezing...” Li Yanchu’s expression shifted.

A thick mist hung heavily around him, limiting visibility to barely three zhang ahead. Even with nerves like forged iron, Li Yanchu couldn’t help but feel unsettled.

Suddenly...

“Li Yanchu! Li Yanchu!” a strange, sharp and piercing voice called his name, like a spirit summoning the dead.

Li Yanchu ran in the direction of the voice, and his footsteps splashed against the watery surface.

Splat, splat, splat.

In this fog-drenched black-and-white world, he had no sense of direction. But then, he abruptly halted, because he suddenly heard footsteps identical to his own behind him.

Someone is following me!

However, Li Yanchu didn’t turn around right away. He stood perfectly still. The eerie, soul-calling voice continued to echo in his ears, repeatedly chanting his name. When he stopped moving, the footsteps behind him also stopped.

There was an old folk belief that the human body carries three yang flames. If, while walking alone at night, someone tapped one’s shoulder and called one’s name, one should never turn around, or else a ghost might blow out one of your flames.

This warning had been passed down for generations, and it wasn’t without basis. When people are startled or terrified, their yang qi weakens, leaving them vulnerable to spiritual intrusion.

That was why folk wisdom said that when encountering evil, one should curse, shout, and act fierce, hence the saying, “Ghosts fear the wicked man.”

Li Yanchu might not be wicked, but he had slain cruel and vicious beings, and his body was steeped in killing qi. Especially since he carried with him authentic Daoist talismans and the Jiaoslayer, ordinary evil spirits wouldn’t dare come anywhere near him.

And precisely because of that, Li Yanchu grew even more alert. This eerie, ominous black-and-white realm of the dead seemed to suppress his blood and killing qi, like a realm designed to muffle his power.

Though the footsteps behind him had ceased, a strange hissing and growling suddenly rose in his ears.

He heard the crackle of fire, as if something were burning. Then, he heard the splashing struggle of someone drowning, and the slow and heavy dull dripping of water. It was as if vengeful spirits he could not see were whispering beside his ears, filling the air with death, fear, and grievance.

Anyone with a weaker will would likely fall into sheer terror, unable to escape. Surrounded by this black-and-white world of the dead, with strange footsteps behind and ghostly whispers in his ears, the horror was so visceral that even his tailbone felt like it was turning cold.

This... was a fear worse than death itself.

But Li Yanchu’s expression remained grim and composed, his gaze firm and unshaken. The more dangerous the situation, the calmer he became.

Still, his brows drew together slightly. Because in addition to all the terrifying sounds and illusions, he now also felt a dull ache and heaviness in his neck... as though something were pressing down on him from behind.