Chapter 128: All Magical Artifacts Refined, A Massive Harvest

Name: Su Yang (Quasi-Immortal)
Incense Value: 206
Humanity Merit: 102
Soul Fragments: 6
Realm: Fourth Grade
Artifacts: [Hanguang Flying Sword (Unrefined+)], [Hundred-Treasure Pouch (Unrefined+)]
...

Next to the artifacts on the panel appeared the "refine" option and a plus sign, indicating that Incense could be used directly to refine them, bypassing the need for years of cultivation with vital energy.

With the warriors outside still trapped in the illusion and slaughtering one another, Su Yang hid behind the coffin and tapped the plus sign for refining.

In the next second, the Incense Value on the panel plummeted rapidly, dropping from 206 to 6.

The data for the artifacts also changed.

Artifacts: [Hanguang Flying Sword], [Hundred-Treasure Pouch]

The "unrefined" status had vanished. Su Yang felt as if he had sprouted two extra limbs, which he could control at will using his vital energy.

"Go!"

The Hanguang Flying Sword, wrapped in vital energy, shot toward the tomb wall. It instantly punched a deep hole through the structure. The wall, built from specially reinforced black rock, was incredibly hard, yet it proved fragile before the flying sword. Su Yang’s combat capability had taken a massive leap.

Recalling the Hanguang Flying Sword, he found that while it was originally three inches long, it could now shrink to the size of a peanut or expand to the size of a standard longsword at will—truly miraculous.

He shrunk it to the size of a peanut and swallowed it into his abdomen to nurture it. In battle, he could spit it out to catch opponents off guard, making it nearly impossible to defend against. The sword felt as if it were an extension of his own body, causing no discomfort whatsoever.

Next, Su Yang took out the other artifact, the Hundred-Treasure Pouch. He placed the two stone boxes that had held the artifacts inside, and they vanished into the pouch instantly. He took them out and put them back in—truly magical!

After securing the pouch, Su Yang bowed to the white jade coffin before him. "If I were to leave you be, in a few more years, you would surely become a calamity."

With that, he spat out the Hanguang Flying Sword, slicing the white jade coffin clean in two. A thick, pungent corpse aura billowed out. Once it dissipated, Su Yang saw the corpse that had lain there for two hundred years.

Dressed in black, its face was blue-purple, skin wrinkled like dried plums, with sharp fangs protruding and long, jagged fingernails. It was already a corpse-demon embryo. In another decade, it would have awakened and transformed into a full-fledged corpse-demon.

This was surely the work of an evil art. To refine a corpse-demon meant abandoning any chance of reincarnation; the perpetrator had truly been cold-hearted.

Fortunately, it was still just an embryo. Had it become a full corpse-demon, it would have been a mindless killing machine, devastating the surrounding mountain spirits and the people in the nearby county.

Since it would take another fifty years to fully form, he decided to keep it; it might prove useful later. Su Yang stowed the embryo into the Hundred-Treasure Pouch.

The boxes inside the artifacts had contained letters written by the tomb owner, Shen Zhenxing, to whoever eventually entered his grave, begging them to spare his corpse while offering the artifacts as a bribe—a final, desperate act of cunning.

Had it not been for the landslide that exposed the tomb entrance, this corpse-demon would have emerged in fifty years to wreak havoc on the local populace.

As he walked from the main chamber to the outer area, the Fourth Grade malicious spirit was still hunkered on the ground. Seeing Su Yang emerge unscathed, it looked up, terrified and shocked. "How could you possibly walk out? There is a Third Grade malicious spirit in the main chamber!"

Third Grade malicious spirit.

Hearing this, Su Yang shuddered. "A Third Grade malicious spirit?"

Seeing Su Yang’s bewilderment, the Fourth Grade spirit was equally confused. Could it be that the Third Grade spirit had grown weary of the long wait and ended its own existence, scattering its soul to the winds?

Furthermore, with so many spirits in this tomb and the attempt to refine a corpse-demon, it seemed Shen Zhenxing was no good man.

"Heh, heh, heh... I intended for Hong Gan to kill you, but it seems he has vanished. No matter, I shall finish you myself. Those who trespass in my master's tomb... must die!"

"Bah!"

Seeing the spirit preparing to alter the illusion to make itself appear as a powerful entity in the eyes of the other warriors, Su Yang didn't hesitate. He spat out the flying sword from his mouth.

A flash of bloody light streaked across the air, carrying infinite sharpness.

"The master's flying sword?"

The Fourth Grade spirit’s face twisted in horror as the sword pierced through its body. The violent vital energy shattered its soul completely. The Hanguang Flying Sword circled once and returned to Su Yang’s mouth to be nurtured within his body.

Though the warriors were still trapped in the illusion, the loss of the Fourth Grade spirit's yin energy meant they would likely break free soon.

A pure soul fragment drifted into Su Yang’s panel, and the count rose from 6 to 7.

Looking at the corpses of warriors and demons scattered about, Su Yang couldn't resist the joy of looting. He grabbed the Hundred-Treasure Pouch and began stuffing the stronger demon corpses into it.

A Fifth Grade demon corpse! Another Fifth Grade demon corpse—this one looked like a vixen. A Sixth Grade demon corpse—excellent!

Soon, Su Yang had picked through the best offerings. When the pouch finally seemed unable to hold more, he stopped.

Seeing that no one had yet escaped the illusion, a malicious thought crossed his mind. He waited for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, then, catching the Grass Python demon off guard, he spat out the Hanguang Flying Sword with all his might.

The Grass Python was a Fourth Grade wild demon, and Su Yang was a Fourth Grade warrior. With the aid of his artifact, the sword instantly pierced the demon’s skull, obliterating its brain matter. Its massive body crashed to the ground.

It died with wide, staring eyes, never imagining that a Fourth Grade demon could perish so easily.

Su Yang quickly retrieved his sword, swallowed it, and shoved the Grass Python’s carcass into his overstuffed pouch.

Perhaps due to his intervention, the entire illusion began to crumble. The Tiger demon was the first to recover, followed by the Magistrate of Hulao County, who looked around in confusion. The other warriors soon followed.

"We were caught in an illusion?"

Magistrate Qiu Tieying of Hulao County wore a gloomy expression. Flashing a look of caution, he retreated into a corner. "Where did that Grass Python go?"

"Why has the Three-Colored Snow Lotus become like this?"

The lotus, craved by the two Fourth Grade demons and the Fourth Grade warrior, was now nothing more than a human skull.

The sudden change made Qiu Tieying’s face darken. He grabbed a nearby Rat demon and crushed its neck.

"What?"

The Fourth Grade Tiger demon’s expression shifted. Seeing the skull, it retreated into a corner, scanning the area with suspicion, but found no trace of the Grass Python.

The man and the demon exchanged a look, both filled with rage. A Third Grade medicinal herb turning into a skull was enough to make anyone curse the heavens.

"Where did this illusion come from?"

"Absolutely infuriating." The Tiger demon roared, "That bastard Shen was truly no good."

...

"What happened? Why did the malicious spirits suddenly vanish?" asked a warrior who had just come to his senses.

"Damn it, I was just having a good fight, where did those cursed spirits go?" yelled a porcupine demon, covered in barbs and holding two heavy hammers, reeking of a foul stench.

"Wait, where is my medicinal herb? Where is my Green Flesh Tai Sui? What is this?"

"Why has my Three-Branch Mountain Blood Plum turned into this?"

"Why has all the medicine in my satchel turned into these withered bones and scraps?"

"It was all an illusion... we were trapped in an illusion!"

"What kind of bullsh*t illusion is this? Damn it all!"

"Dammit, my medicinal herbs!"

The demons and warriors in the tomb broke into a chorus of curses. It was like a pauper finding a million-dollar gold bar, complete with certificates, only to realize back home that it was fake—and radioactive to boot. It was a feeling that could make a man weep.

...

Su Yang watched the wailing and cursing with a calm expression. Having made a massive profit, he had no intention of staying. He turned and began to walk toward the tomb exit.

"Stop!"

Suddenly, Magistrate Qiu Tieying called out to him. His tone was cold and stern, his gaze hooked onto Su Yang. "Where do you think you are going?"

"This place is too dangerous. I think it is best I leave. I fear that if I stay, I might lose my life before I can enjoy any gains," Su Yang replied.

"A Fifth Grade warrior. Which master do you serve? Why not show your true face?" Qiu Tieying said icily.

"Magistrate Qiu, what is the meaning of this?"

"What, you won't let people leave?"

Su Yang frowned, inching toward the exit, wishing to avoid any unnecessary argument. Regardless, he was a Fourth Grade warrior himself; he did not fear this man.