Be the Hardest Working Demon Cultivator!

Tan Shuchang couldn’t help but become curious.

After all, those who were beaten that day were disciples from Caiyun Valley.

And Caiyun Valley is the sacred land of alchemy in the world. Even if Black Heart Mountain is one of the two great sword cultivator sanctuaries and a direct lineage of the Ancestor of the Dao, it shouldn’t strike out just like that!

However, what the Son of the Heavenly Mandate thought was of no concern to Tan Shuchang.

He was merely puzzled about what could’ve made the Son of the Heavenly Mandate take a special trip down the mountain.

"That day, I ran into people from Caiyun Valley. One of them had previously deceived others with fake pills and was caught and beaten by my master. They held a grudge because of that and schemed against me, taking a pill refined by one of their elders and falsely claiming that they made it themselves, they tricked me out of my magic artifact."

Yi Qingqing recounted the cause and course of events.

Tan Shuchang, upon hearing this, was a bit surprised as he had not expected it to be related to what he had witnessed that very day.

But to make the Son of the Heavenly Mandate come down the mountain just for a magic artifact?

"What sort of magic artifact is it?"

"It’s an upper realm magic artifact, the Fox Spirit Jade. It can reflect an opponent’s attack or change its direction, redirecting it elsewhere," Yi Qingqing said, her expression becoming somewhat downcast.

Because her Fox Spirit Jade was still in the hands of those few from Caiyun Valley.

She really was so foolish!

Tan Shuchang did finally understand why suddenly a burst of sword qi had targeted him then, but this raised another bigger puzzle, so he asked, "This magic artifact, it’s a family heirloom, right?"

"Originally, it was passed down from my maternal grandfather. Since my mother was an only daughter, when she married, my grandfather gave the artifact to my mother, and she then passed it on to me…" As Yi Qingqing clarified the origin of her family’s magic artifact, she suddenly became more than just downcast—her eyelids drooped as if she was on the brink of tears.

Seeing this, Tan Shuchang quickly changed the topic: "So, this upper realm magic artifact called Fox Spirit Jade, besides the spirit nurtured by you, it should also include that of your mother and your grandfather, right?"

Yi Qingqing nodded subconsciously, but then she froze, as she had now understood the implication behind Tan Shuchang’s words.

Besides martial sects’ magic artifacts, other artifacts require the wiping away of their spirit before they can be refined for use, leading to the development of various nurturing methods. The most famous is the Flying Sword Spirit nurturing method of Black Heart Mountain, which basically cannot be refined by outsiders once obtained.

Besides that, there is another method of spirit nurturing. Although it’s a crude method, in terms of being difficult for outsiders to refine, it is on par with the nurturing method of Black Heart Mountain.

It’s just like Yi Qingqing’s Fox Spirit Jade, passed down through generations, nurtured from one heir to the next.

This also meant that the Caiyun Valley disciples who deceived Yi Qingqing and took her magic artifact should have been unable to use the Fox Spirit Jade. However, in their confrontation with the Son of the Heavenly Mandate, they managed to redirect Long Zhangyuan’s sword qi elsewhere using the Fox Spirit Jade at the critical moment.

"So, my mother and grandfather actually knew about this?" Yi Qingqing said softly, because this was the only possibility for the others to use the Fox Spirit Jade.

If the one who refined the artifact permitted it, the artifact could be temporarily lent to someone else for use.

However, such a borrowed artifact generally cannot unleash its full might, and there are restrictions on the number of times it can be used and the duration of the loan.

"I’m not sure about that, but you can go back and ask,"

Tan Shuchang responded noncommittally, merely smiling and offering a suggestion.

"Thank you. Here, this is a Stone Spirit Life Pill. Once you consume it, it can help you withstand a fatal attack, but it will have side effects. Part of your body will turn to stone and will require a higher-grade pill to resolve," Yi Qingqing handed a pill to Tan Shuchang and immediately turned to run away.

Just after she had taken a few steps, mist pervaded her body, and then the next second, she disappeared without a trace.

"Water Spirit Banner?" Tan Shuchang recognized which magic artifact she had used.

No wonder she had been able to approach the Hall of the Daoist General without a sound!

Then, Tan Shuchang looked at the pill in his hand, which was glowing with spiritual light.

Stone Spirit Life Pill!

This was indeed a famous pill; its life-saving effect was considered miraculous. Furthermore, the protective effect of this pill could be stacked multiple times and would not be diminished by excessive consumption.

"She came all the way here just to give me a life-saving pill?" Tan Shuchang was somewhat surprised by this.

After all, they had only met twice before!

Could it be... because of the ten Alchemy Furnaces he bought for her?

"It seems that good deeds do get rewarded sometimes. I’ll have to do more of these in the future!" Tan Shuchang felt a bit of joy in his heart.

After all, this was an experience he had never had during his first three years of cultivation.

Back at Black Heart Mountain, Tan Shuchang considered himself to have done many good deeds, yet not only did no one show gratitude, but someone even stole his diary.

"Almost forgot about that. After I take care of the Son of the Heavenly Mandate from Tu Jian Mountain, I’ll settle the score with that girl. Don’t worry, considering you have some humanity left, I’ll just spank you."

…

While Tan Shuchang was muttering to himself, a special mirror was reflecting his conversation with Yi Qingqing, including the monologue that followed.

This mirror not only reflected images but also externalized the sounds from the scenes it projected.

This was because it was a psychically responsive treasure.

And the person chosen by this psychically responsive treasure was from the Dong family of the Heavenly Sword Mansion in Chu State… Sword Young Master.

Although he was called Sword Young Master, the psychically responsive treasure he possessed was not a sword.

Just as the word "sword" was present in Sword Young Master’s title, what he actually excelled at was the Wolf Fang Club.

"Hehe, look, he has other little girls too!"

"Oh my, come listen, what did he say? Hahaha! He said he’s going to spank you!"

At this moment, Sword Young Master, watching the mirror’s projection, was laughing so hard that his peach-blossom eyes sparkled brilliantly, irritating onlookers with the desire to punch him.

And a certain expressionless little girl indeed thought so, but this time she didn’t act on impulse to draw her sword; instead, she simply said, "Lend me that mirror again."

"Are you going to steal his diary again?" Sword Young Master immediately understood when he heard this.

Because his psychically responsive treasure had only these two functions.