The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 27: Returning Home and Storing God

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Returning Home and Storing God

This was a drum mallet, made of black rosewood.

It felt slightly heavy in the hand and was carved with a coiling dragon pattern.

Though regarded as finely crafted, by the standards of this era, it truly wasn’t anything extraordinary.

However, a shock of inexplicable horror had already taken hold in Li Yan’s heart.

The moment he made contact with the drum mallet, the Substitute Divine Statue within his dantian suddenly started to tremble, generating a strange suction force.

At the same time, a force emerged from within the drum mallet.

This force, full of warmth, and carrying an indescribable presence, just entered his body and immediately transformed into thousands of streams, moving like Spirit Snakes through his meridians, roaming everywhere.

But in the end, it all converged into his dantian, absorbed by the Divine Statue.

Li Yan instantly understood what it was.

Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure!

He had never expected the original form to be a drum mallet, hidden within this stable.

If not for a fortunate coincidence, he might have searched for several years without finding it.

This Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure could transform into a snake and even scheme for human souls, clearly having developed spiritual awareness, desperately trying to escape.

Its fortune was not only made of Gang Qi but also other unknown breaths, full of vitality, able to take on myriad forms, scurrying everywhere to avoid the dantian.

The drum mallet itself also began to tremble slightly.

However, all struggles were in vain.

Before long, the fortune was completely absorbed by the Substitute Divine Statue.

Throughout this process, not a hint of energy leaked out to attract the attention of others.

No one could know that, in a short period, a Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure had been held in Li Yan’s hands for a while and then became an ordinary mundane object.

A smile couldn’t help but appear on Li Yan’s lips.

He had discovered another function of the Substitute Divine Statue.

Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure, even those Hidden Treasure Men would exhaust their wits, using Qimen Dunjia, the Dao of the Five Elements generating and overcoming one another to capture it.

But all he needed was to make contact to devour its fortune.

The original material of the Three Talents Demon Suppression Coin was also Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure, but the Substitute Divine Statue had not responded, indicating that only the original Spiritual Treasures were effective.

After swallowing this Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure, the Substitute Divine Statue underwent a change.

Its original dilapidated surface began to smoothen, and vague information came through: the quality of the Divine Statue had improved, and it could withstand more damage.

Although his Life Fire had not been replenished, Li Yan was still exhilarated.

This represented hope.

There were myriad types of Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasures, and surely there would be one that could rekindle his Life Fire.

"This young brother,"

Housekeeper Lu, seeing him staring intently at the drum mallet, couldn’t help but laugh and say, "Could it be that you also appreciate this art? Indeed, among all pleasures, only the grandeur of gongs and drums stands supreme. Others may favor the melodies of Jiangnan, but I alone adore this majestic percussion."

"It’s said that this year several families have successors, and the competition for the King of Drummers will surely be incredibly exciting. If you’re interested, on the fifteenth of the first lunar month, you should go to Chang’an to witness it."

"Of course,"

Li Yan replied with a smile and returned the drum mallet to Housekeeper Lu.

"As for this pair, the workmanship is quite decent."

Meanwhile, Sha Lifei had also chosen a saddle and fitted it on the big black horse.

"Thank you, Uncle Sha,"

Li Yan was in high spirits, seeing Sha Lifei as a bringer of good fortune.

An unexpected twist of fate had granted him a Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure, and he now left the grand residence without any regrets, mounted his horse, and with a cupped fist smile said, "Master Wang, I take my leave now. I will wait for you at the Li Family Castle."

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and smiled, "Of course, I will soon follow."

He was also in a good mood; collaborating with Li Yan could make up for his own shortcomings. With a few more big jobs, he could afford the Magic Artifact he had long coveted, and he might even have a chance to refurbish the Ancestor Master Altar.

Sha Lifei also had a thought, his eyes rolling with contemplations.

He had just received a reward, far more than the hard-earned wages from leading the wheat porters. If these two were getting rich, he could not just stand by and watch; he had to skim off some benefits as well.

Thinking this, he immediately patted his chest and said, "Brother Yan, rest assured on your journey. I’ll take care of Master Dao’s safety, everything will be handled perfectly."

Li Yan raised an eyebrow, "Oh, you think you’re up to it?"

Seeing his reaction, Sha Lifei grew anxious, "How could I not be? You should ask around; Sha Lifei’s work has always..."

"Alright, alright,"

Li Yan waved his hand, "Just be safe, that’s all. Farewell!"

Sha Lifei might have been mediocre in his abilities, but he was well-versed in the ways of the pugilistic world. With Master Wang also experienced in traversing the lands, their survival was assured.

With this in mind, he turned the reins and sped off with his horse.

Watching the dust trail gradually dissipate into the distance, Wang Daoxuan also turned away, looking towards the small hill behind him, "Let’s go. The terrain here is gently sloped, lacking a Fengshui Dragon Vein, but it’s not a problem to find an auspicious burial plot. Let’s get the job done today."

"You got it!"

Sha Lifei chuckled and, shouldering his tools, followed the Daoist up the mountain.

After everyone had left, Housekeeper Lu also hurriedly returned, making his way back to the rear courtyard.

In the side room, Landlord Lu was staring blankly at the senior wife.

"Master, they’ve all left."

"Mm, all of you go down, let me stay with the lady for a while."

Landlord Lu had sent all the servants away and then looked around before slowly kneeling on the ground with tears in his eyes, tremblingly said, "Princess, could it be that you’re unwilling?"

"Even if I’m unwilling, there’s nothing I can do. We finally escaped with our lives, why can’t you understand? The court is full of jackals, we can’t fight them, isn’t it better to live incognito and have some peaceful days..."

"You saved my life that year, and I’ve served you all my life without any negligence, so as to repay your kindness."

"The kindness has been repaid, but I’ve let down the bloodline of my ancestors. From now on, I must make plans for myself, and I hope you can forgive me..."

After mumbling to himself for a while, he wiped away his tears and stood up to leave.

Upon returning to the side courtyard, two concubines immediately came forward to serve him.

Landlord Lu had now regained his dignified demeanor, picked up the teacup, and taking a sip, said indifferently, "How has it been these past two days, have you found someone suitable?"

Seeing that the two concubines didn’t speak, he scoffed coldly, "What are you pretending for in front of me? Now you still get to choose, bear a child to carry on my lineage, and you’re guaranteed a lifetime of no worries about food or clothes."

"Are you hesitating because you want to go to the Drum Mallet Meeting?"

"That would be out of your control!"

Hearing about the Drum Mallet Meeting, the concubine in the red dress showed a flash of fear in her eyes and hastily said with a trembling voice, "I think that Brother Li is not bad."

"Hehe, turns out young ladies all love a pretty face."

Landlord Lu seemed not to be angry, sipped his tea, and shook his head, "He’s a man from the pugilistic world, and furthermore, he has the eyes of a phoenix and the gaze of a dragon, a remarkable destiny, there might be trouble in the future."

"Choose from those workers instead, what I want is stability."

Having said that, he put down the teacup and turned to leave.

After he had left, both concubines sighed with relief.

The concubine in white looked around then asked, "Sister Cui Lan, why didn’t you mention Commander Zhao? I saw that night..."

"Shh!"

The concubine in red was startled, quickly shushed her, and after looking outside the window, bitterly shook her head, "You know what this old fox is like, he says one thing and does another, never treating us like humans."

"If he finds out about this, I definitely won’t survive, even if I bear him an heir, I fear he won’t let us off for keeping this secret."

The bright look in the eyes of the concubine in white flashed, "Sister, there is an opportunity at hand."

"It all depends on whether you have the guts..."

...

Riding his horse, Li Yan’s journey was naturally swift.

He traveled during the day and found places to sleep at night, finally arriving back at Li Family Castle at dusk three days later.

"Brother Yan, why have you come back?"

"Where are they?"

The villagers of Li Family Castle were also busy.

Their wheat was about to be harvested.

Seeing Li Yan returning early, they thought something had gone wrong.

"Everyone, rest assured, they’ve taken on a big job and are doing well."

Li Yan explained patiently and didn’t mind the hassle.

In this era, communication was not developed, and the areas were relatively isolated. Sometimes sending a message to a girl who married into the next village had to be specially entrusted to someone, and it would take days to receive a reply.

Both are in Guanzhong, but Xianyang was already far from Li Family Castle.

Having passed on the message, Li Yan then rode back to his home.

From a distance, he saw his grandfather, Li Gui, sitting at the door of the house, holding a large smoking pipe, with messy white hair under the setting sun, his gaze cloudy.

A surge of emotion hit Li Yan, and he quickly dismounted, hurried over, and crouched down with a forced smile, "Grandfather, I’m back. Didn’t I say it would just be a few days?"

"Ah, you’re back, good, good..."

Li Gui’s voice was very flat, but couldn’t hide the tremble within.

"Have you eaten yet?"

Li Yan’s smile was beaming, "Perfect, I learned a new dish while I was away. I’ll cook it for you and then we’ll have a drink together."

"Hmph, what kind of dish could you learn..."

"Just you watch, I could even be a cook if nothing else..."

...

Night fell, and Li Family Castle was engulfed in silence.

In the darkness, Li Yan sat cross-legged on his bed, first regulating his breathing, then rubbing his palms together to warm them, and one by one massaged his scalp, temples, ears, nape, shoulders, and arms...

Storing God is a static skill; these were all preparations before cultivation.

The goal was to relax the mind and have smooth circulation of blood throughout the body, making the senses more acute, establishing oneself with heaven and earth, and the Three Lights of the sun, moon, and stars as the basis.

Thus, by maintaining one’s true nature, one could achieve communication with God. After reaching a certain level of Dao, one could "Transform the altar and Visualization," giving the magic platform its "force."

In the world, famous mountains and rivers, Fengshui and Dragon Veins all have "force."

Only with the circulation of Gang Sha Qi can one form "force" or a "situation."

And to touch upon these, Storing God is the first step.

Li Yan’s eyes were slightly closed as he regulated his breathing, quietly feeling his own body, Visualization of his organs, the Triple Burner, and the Niwan, eventually focusing on the point between his eyebrows...