Hunwu County's office was piled high with treasure chests, filled with gold, silver, and jewels that dazzled the eyes.
Qin Sang was overseeing the task of inventorying the goods.
"These land deeds belong to the common folk around Hunwu County. They were likely seized by those thieving monks. Chuanzong, take them to the magistrate of Hunwu County and return them to the people."
The overt treasure vault of Xuanji Temple had been nearly emptied, and among the spoils was a small chest of land deeds. Qin Sang flipped through them and found that they were all properties from the surrounding areas of Hunwu County.
Qin Sang handed the chest to Wu Chuanzong but noticed that he seemed hesitant to speak, which made Qin Sang quietly wonder.
"Chuanzong, what's on your mind? Speak freely."
Wu Chuanzong was a sharp and perceptive young man. Qin Sang found him handy to keep around and had kept him close for his own use.
Moreover, Wu Chuanzong was diligent and intelligent. He never slackened in his studies or martial training, despite missing the best age to start martial arts. With proper guidance, he could still achieve significant success.
Qin Sang was surprised. "Why not?"
Was there really anyone who wouldn’t want their land back?
"In my hometown, there was a temple where many people voluntarily d their land. During the drought a couple of years ago, the local villagers couldn’t survive, but the tenants of the temple managed to get by. I’ve heard that temple lands are exempt from land taxes, and the villagers only needed to a portion of their harvest to the temple each year. In years of disaster, when they couldn’t pay in full, the temple would be lenient and sometimes even provide relief. But with the government, even if you miss a single dou[1] of grain, there's no leniency. There's also the issue of shrinkage during weighing, and sometimes people weren't starved to death—they were driven to their deaths by the government."
Qin Sang was even more astonished at this. Had his rare act of kindness almost backfired?
He looked at the others. "Is it everywhere?"
Zhang Wenkui coughed lightly and replied, "Sir, the situation varies across regions. There are indeed virtuous monks, but there are also plenty of evil monks who seize land and oppress the people. If a temple grows too powerful, even the government can't deal with them. As for Xuanji Temple, whether it's good or evil remains to be seen."
"Then investigate it," Qin Sang said, tossing the land deeds to Zhang Wenkui and Wu Chuanzong. "You have one day to figure it out. Decide whether the land deeds should be returned to the people or sent back to the temple."
Seeing Zhang Wenkui's crestfallen expression, Qin Sang laughed and scolded, "Who are you making that face for? There will be no shortage of benefits for you here!"
After arranging the manpower, Qin Sang had Zhou Mingguang and Water Monkey oversee the inventory, while he eagerly returned to his quarters and shut the door behind him.
The texture of this talisman was entirely different from the paper that Daoist Jixin used. It was pure white like snow, incredibly resilient, even better than the finest rice paper.
The lines drawn on the talisman were beyond Qin Sang's comprehension, far more complex than the deceptive talismans Daoist Jixin had used. After studying it for a while, Qin Sang couldn’t make any sense of it.
According to Saint Yuanjue, after the immortal cultivator released the water barrier, the talisman shattered. It was likely a single-use item, and with only one in his possession, Qin Sang was reluctant to experiment further, fearing he might destroy it.
Picking up the purple bell and jade slip, Qin Sang recalled how he had controlled the Yan Luo Banner. All it took was channeling his qi into the Yan Luo Banner, and the incantation appeared in his mind.
However, the ebony sword was an exception. No matter how much qi he channeled into it, it was as if it vanished without a trace.
Why there was such a difference, Qin Sang didn’t know.
After a moment of hesitation, Qin Sang decided to test the jade slip first. The purple bell had shown its deadly potential, likely similar to the Yan Luo Banner, but the jade slip emitted a gentle, warm glow. It seemed harmless enough.
He put the bell aside, held the jade slip in his hand, and cautiously channeled a stream of qi into it.
Unexpectedly, the jade slip suddenly detached from his hand and adhered to his forehead.
Qin Sang felt as if his consciousness was being drawn into the jade slip. Startled, he recalled his experience with the Yan Luo Banner, but he remained calm, refusing to panic.
Is there a hidden secret inside the jade slip?
As Qin Sang was pondering this, he discovered a text within the jade slip, which immediately caught his attention.
Half an hour later, Qin Sang, who had been sitting motionless by the table, raised his hand to remove the jade slip. He opened his eyes, staring at the jade slip with excitement gleaming in them.
Now he understood. The jade slip wasn't a weapon but a carrier of text, containing information about the bell's abilities and how to control it.
The bell was actually named the Purple Soul Bell, a high-grade artifact with the ability to confuse the soul and bewilder the mind. If the practitioner was powerful enough, it could even directly annihilate the enemy’s primordial spirit[2].
The usage of the Purple Soul Bell was straightforward. It required no incantations; the practitioner simply needed to channel spiritual power to produce the bell's sound and then control it with their spiritual consciousness.
The jade slip detailed the process of controlling the Purple Soul Bell extensively.
Initially, when a practitioner was not yet adept at using the Purple Soul Bell, they needed to use their spiritual consciousness to control the bell's sound and focus all their efforts on a single enemy to maximize its power.
Once a practitioner mastered the Purple Soul Bell, it could unleash its full potential and bewilder three or four people with ease.
Eagerly, Qin Sang picked up the Purple Soul Bell and followed the method described in the jade slip. He immersed his spiritual consciousness into the artifact and then used the qi within his body to activate it.
His movements were unrefined, and it took several attempts before he became familiar with the process.
Unexpectedly, the Purple Soul Bell seemed like a bottomless pit. He exerted all his energy and exhausted his spiritual power before barely succeeding.
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The Purple Soul Bell rang on its own without any wind, its clear, crisp sound resonating through the room.
Qin Sang wiped the sweat from his forehead. His spiritual power had been completely depleted, leaving him incredibly weak, but his face was full of excitement.
While acquiring such a magical artifact was certainly gratifying, what thrilled Qin Sang the most was the text itself.
The qi within his body was precisely the spiritual power described in the jade slip!
The Netherworld Scripture was indeed a cultivation technique for immortals!
This revelation finally put Qin Sang’s restless mind at ease.
Moreover, Qin Sang learned a great deal from the jade slip.
It seemed that an immortal cultivator's soul differed from that of a mortal and was referred to as the primordial spirit.
Spiritual consciousness, which was not mentioned in the Netherworld Scripture, was now something Qin Sang learned about for the first time. According to the jade slip, once one began cultivation, spiritual consciousness would emerge from the primordial spirit. Spiritual consciousness could not only control artifacts but also had other wondrous uses, though Qin Sang would have to explore them on his own.
With this in mind, Qin Sang quickly retrieved the ebony sword and other items he had previously obtained.
He took up the ebony sword and extended his spiritual consciousness into it, but unfortunately, it remained like a bottomless pit. The spiritual consciousness and spiritual power met with no response.
When he extended his spiritual consciousness into the Yan Luo Banner, he had new findings.
King Yan, though instinctively inclined to avoid danger and seek fortune, had limited intelligence. Previously, when Qin Sang used the Yan Luo Banner, it could only target those within his line of sight. Otherwise, it was impossible to restrain King Yan's actions.
Now, he could completely envelop King Yan with his spiritual consciousness and command it at all times.
1. unit of weight, used for grains, approx. 7 kg. ☜
2. Primordial Spirit, or yuanshen, is a concept in Daoism. It is defined to be a level of existence surpassing that of physical existence, capable of existing independently in the form of a soul. It is viewed to be the center and essence of a human's existence. ☜