Chapter 679: It's Smiling at Me!

Boom.

The second reward, which was refined from the crab demon's imprint, looked a little strange. It was quite long like a weapon, yet it didn't seem suited for combat.

[Crimson Augmented Shears: A divine pair of shears imbued with qi that is naturally augmented with crimson flames. When used, the shears release bursts of the flame-augmented qi. The shears can cut through even the most indestructible materials. If you're curious about the hardness of an object, just test it with these shears, and you'll know.]

The light faded to reveal a large pair of crimson shears. The shears' handles were very long, and the blades had curved tips that rounded off at the end. When Chu Liang pulled open the shears, he found that the inner part of the blades had jagged edges lined with crimson-gold patterns.

The description of the shears sent a chill of excitement down Chu Liang's back.

To test the shears' strength, Chu Liang took out one of the extra bronze masks he had acquired previously. The first time he found one, he had attempted to destroy it, but despite using a full-powered attack, he hadn't been able to damage it in the slightest.

Even now, with his incredible dragon strength, it was extremely difficult for Chu Liang to damage it with his bare hands, proving the mask's exceptional durability.

He placed the bronze mask in between the blades of the Crimson Augmented Shears and activated his foundational qi.

Then he pushed the shears' handles inward, moving the blades toward the mask, and the jagged edges glowed with crimson-gold light. As the blades touched the mask, intense heat radiated from the contact point. Chu Liang pushed the handles harder, and the bronze mask warped slightly.

Snip.

After a brief standoff, the mask split in two and fell to the ground.

Chu Liang lifted the Crimson Augmented Shears and examined its blades. There wasn't the slightest nick or dent on them.

What incredible shears!

The item's design as a pair of shears made it unsuitable for use as a weapon in combat, but it had been made with a remarkably strong material. Beyond its hardness and sharpness, the most important component was the qi it was imbued with—qi augmented with crimson flames. That was the secret to its unparalleled cutting power.

In certain situations, this tool could even rival a legendary artifact.

Stowing away the Crimson Augmented Shears, Chu Liang turned his attention to the final imprint, the one of the cat demon.

He seemed to be pretty lucky today. The last two rewards were enchanted tools with great practical value.

Boom!

After Chu Liang refined the imprint, another ball of light floated out. This time, it revealed a book.

[Spirit Cat's Tiny Steps: A divine skill that allows a cultivator to channel the divine abilities and character of spirit cats. While moving, the cultivator's flow of qi and any sounds they make will be concealed, allowing them to evade detection. However, their movement speed will be reduced slightly.]

It was a manual for a divine skill. Chu Liang skimmed through the manual, quickly understanding the key points of the divine skill.

The divine skill was about mimicking the hunting style of spirit cats, which involved slowly approaching the prey. During the time that the spirit cat abilities were active, the cultivator's flow of qi and movements would go unnoticed—truly stealthy movements.

After studying the divine skill for a while, he was done grasping the essence of Spirit Cat's Tiny Steps.

When he opened his eyes, he spotted Wang Xuanling standing on the opposite side of the deck. Chu Liang decided to test out the divine skill on him.

First, Chu Liang lowered his posture, then he took a step forward, followed by another.

The divine skill worked flawlessly. His breathing and aura vanished without a trace, and his steps were soundless.

However, the part of the description that said the "movement speed will be reduced slightly" was misleading. At this pace, Old Wang could have relieved himself at the side of the airship and pulled his pants back up long before Chu Liang got to him.

It took quite a while for Chu Liang to creep from one side of the deck to where Wang Xuanling was standing.

Just as Chu Liang was about to get right behind Wang Xuanling, Xu Ziyang stepped out of the cabin.

Puzzled, he asked, "Junior Brother Chu, what are you doing?"

Hearing that, Wang Xuanling turned his head to find that Chu Liang, who had been on the other side of the deck earlier, was suddenly behind him, creeping up in a sneaky stance.

He hadn't sensed anything at all!

Chu Liang grinned awkwardly as he straightened his bent knees. "

Hehe.

Senior Uncle Wang, do you think my shoes look good?"

Wang Xuanling immediately grew alert. A wave of fear washed over him, and his imagination ran wild.

No matter how good-natured Chu Liang appears normally, he's still Di Nufeng's disciple. Perhaps one day, when I've let my guard down… he'll stab me in the back. Then this teacher-disciple duo—these two villains will dominate Mount Shu…

I must never let my guard down around Chu Liang.

…

Around the time Chu Liang was done collecting his rewards, the Lianglong entered Mount Shu's airspace. Compared to Red Cotton Peak, which was bustling and lively with lights all over, the Lianglong had arrived at a side of Mount Shu that was much quieter.

Chu Liang went straight to Heaven-Reaching Peak to find Wen Yulong.

Upon seeing Chu Liang, Wen Yulong smiled and said, "Senior Brother Chu? You came at the right time. I've thought of an excellent way to expand the Circle of Immortal Friends Token!"

Instead of rushing to talk about his own matters, Chu Liang replied, "Oh? Let's hear it?"

Wen Yulong took out a piece of paper and drew two circles on it. "One enchanted formation can hold thousands of spirit sense fragments. If we have one person's spirit sense join two enchanted formations to act as a go-between, information could be exchanged between the two formations. With this method, we could create countless formations and connect all cultivators in the world!"

He used his brush to dab a dot in between the circles, forming an interconnected network.

Chu Liang pondered, "But… once the number of connected formations increases, wouldn't the spiritual energy required be much greater?"

"Yes," Wen Yulong replied. "We're currently relying on the supply of spiritual energy from a large number of spirit talismans. That means we can only maintain up to three formations at the same time. In the future, we may need a stronger source of spiritual energy. If we had an eighth-realm Eminent One, they could maintain hundreds of fully active formations. And if they're willing to put in the effort, they should be able to maintain even more than that."

"Why don't you discuss it with your grandfather?" Chu Liang suggested.

"Oh, please, no. I'm not that close to him. Why don't you talk to him instead?"

"Well, it's not urgent. We don't have that many users yet. The immediate issue is—"

"The blocking!" Wen Yulong nodded. "I've been thinking about this problem for the past two days. How can a connection between two spirit senses be severed unilaterally? It's really difficult. That's what I was thinking about when I got the idea for the connected formations.

"I realized that it would be really hard to give everyone the ability to block others. But we could set up a second formation. If someone doesn't want to see messages from

him

, they could simply jump to the other formation… to avoid him."

As for who was the "him" that Wen Yulong mentioned… Well, Chu Liang didn't need to ask about that.

It’s just unfortunate.

Chu Liang nodded. "Just hurry up and get it done."

"So, did you bring back something good again this time?" Wen Yulong asked.

He knew that if Chu Liang came looking for him right after returning to the mountain, it usually meant he had picked up some loot.

Just as Wen Yulong expected, Chu Liang took out a storage bag. It looked quite plain and simple; it was likely quite old.

Earlier, he searched the two demon corpses he had stored in his enchanted tool, but all he found was this storage bag.

"Whoa!" Wen Yulong exclaimed in surprise. "It's a high-grade storage bag. This is an old item."

In the present day, high-grade storage enchanted tools were typically discreet and elegant objects like jade rings, belts, or hairpins. Storage bags were generally lower-grade items, mainly used to transport bulk goods.

The demons of the Far West were the only ones that would still use these outdated high-grade storage bags and even treat them as valuable items.

The storage bag had been tied shut with a knot that required a specific technique to untie.

After studying it for a while, Wen Yulong tried several times before finally succeeding in untying the knot.

He said, "Good thing you brought this straight to me. The bag's enchanted formation has a security mechanism. Had you tried to force it open, the items inside might have been sent scattering into the endless void."

"Of course, I was careful. After all, there might be a great treasure inside," Chu Liang replied.

He then sent his divine sense inside the storage bag to search for items. The first thing he pulled out was an ornate box.

Upon opening it, he found a palm-sized azure jade lamp. The craftsmanship was exquisite, and there was dense spiritual energy around it. Sparkling crystal-clear water seemed to be flowing inside the translucent wall of the jade lamp, and touching the lamp sent ripples through the water.

Wen Yulong gasped. "Could this be… the Azure Wave Lamp, ranked sixty-seventh in the Catalog of the Mortal World's Ten Thousand Treasures?"

"That's right," Chu Liang answered, gently brushing his fingers over the lamp. He sighed and said, "As I expected, it's here. Unfortunately, those demons probably stole this from an immortal sect. I'll have to find out who this enchanted tool belongs to. I may have to return it to them."

"I know who it is. This is the cherished enchanted tool of Daoist Qinghu[1] from Penglai. However, Daoist Qinghu went missing a few days ago after leaving for a journey. His whereabouts are still unknown."

"So, it's Penglai's…" Chu Liang blinked, then he suddenly looked down. "Junior Brother Wen, look!"

"Hm?" Wen Yulong uttered as he glanced at the Azure Wave Lamp. He asked puzzledly, "Look at what?"

"Look at the Azure Wave Lamp… It's smiling at me!"

Wen Yulong: "?"

"Well, there's nothing I can do.

Haaa…

" Chu Liang sighed. "It seems this item is fated to be with me."

1. His name means green swan. ☜

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD