Chapter 38: Magical Artifacts, Spiritual Power, Divine Sense, Primordial Spirit

The Hunwu County magistrate's office was piled high with treasure chests, their gold, silver, and jewels dazzling the eyes.

Qin Sang was currently arranging personnel to inventory them.

"These land deeds belong to the people near Hunwu County. I suspect those rogue monks seized them through coercion. Pass them to Wu Chuanzong and the Hunwu County Magistrate to return them to the people."

The visible treasury of Xuanji Temple had been almost entirely emptied, but within it lay a small chest of land deeds. Qin Sang flipped through them; they were all for lands surrounding Hunwu County.

Qin Sang handed the chest to Wu Chuanzong, but seeing him hesitate to speak, he couldn't help but feel inwardly curious.

"What are you thinking about, Chuanzong? If you have something to say, say it directly."

Wu Chuanzong was a bright and perceptive child. Qin Sang found him easy to work with and kept him close by his side.

Furthermore, Wu Chuanzong possessed good comprehension and was hardworking, never ceasing his studies or martial training. Although he had missed the optimal age for martial cultivation, with proper guidance, he could achieve great things.

"Reporting to Master," Wu Chuanzong addressed Qin Sang as "Master," as he always had. "I am only afraid that the people might not necessarily want to take the land deeds back."

Qin Sang asked in surprise, "Why?"

Was there actually someone who did not want their land back?

"There is a temple in my hometown as well. I heard that many people voluntarily donate their land to the temple. During the drought the year before last, while the local commoners could barely survive, the temple's tenant farmers actually had food to eat. It is said that temple lands are exempt from land taxes; the people only need to donate some grain to the temple each year. In years of disaster, if they cannot pay the full amount, the temple will show leniency, and sometimes even provide relief. However, if one is even a single peck short when reporting to the government, there is trouble—not to mention various weight discrepancies and 'wastage' fees. Master used to say that many people weren't starved to death, but were driven to death by the government."

Qin Sang was even more astonished upon hearing this. He had finally managed to perform an act of kindness, only to nearly have it backfire?

Qin Sang looked at the others. "Is it like this everywhere?"

Zhang Wenkui cleared his throat and said, "Reporting to the Hall Master, it is not exactly the same everywhere. There are indeed virtuous high monks, but there is no shortage of wicked monks who plunder property and oppress the people. If a temple's influence is great, even the government cannot touch them. Whether Xuanji Temple is good or evil remains to be seen."

"Then go investigate," Qin Sang tossed the land deeds to Zhang Wenkui and Wu Chuanzong. "You have one day. The two of you find out clearly: whether the deeds are returned to the people or sent back to the temple is for you to decide."

Seeing Zhang Wenkui's long face, Qin Sang teased with a laugh, "Who are you making that miserable face for? There will be no shortage of benefits for you here!"

After arranging the personnel, Qin Sang left Zhou Mingguang and Water Monkey to oversee the inventory, while he impatiently returned to his quarters and bolted the courtyard gates.

The texture of this talisman was completely different from the paper used by Daoist Master Jixin; it was as white as snow and incredibly resilient, even superior to the finest Xuan paper.

The talisman was inscribed with lines that Qin Sang could not understand, far more complex than the fraudulent talismans of Daoist Master Jixin. Qin Sang studied it for a while but could not make sense of it.

According to Master Yuanjue, once that cultivator released the water curtain, the talisman had shattered. It was likely a single-use item, and since this was the only one he had, Qin Sang was loath to use it recklessly for fear of destroying it.

Picking up the purple bell and the jade slip with both hands, Qin Sang recalled the process of controlling the Yama Banner. He only needed to direct the *qi* within his body into the banner, and the incantation for the Yama Banner would appear in his mind.

However, there were outliers like the Ebony Sword; no matter how much *qi* he poured into it, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean.

Qin Sang did not know why such a difference existed.

He hesitated for a moment, remembering the purple bell's performance when it killed. He suspected it was likely something sinister, much like the Yama Banner. This jade slip, however, emitted a soft luster, feeling warm and endearing. He decided to try it first.

Setting the bell down, Qin Sang gripped the jade slip and directed a surge of *qi* into it tentatively.

Unexpectedly, the jade slip suddenly broke free from Qin Sang's hand and pressed itself firmly against his forehead.

Qin Sang felt as if his consciousness was being sucked into the jade slip. Startled, he did not panic too much, having the Yama Banner as a prior lesson, and maintained his composure.

Was there a hidden world within the jade slip?

As Qin Sang was inwardly murmuring, he discovered that the jade slip actually contained a piece of writing, which caused his spirits to lift.

Half an hour later, Qin Sang, who had been sitting motionless by the table the entire time, raised his hand to remove the jade slip. He opened his eyes and looked at the slip, his eyes shimmering with excitement.

He understood now. This jade slip was not a weapon, but a medium for recording text. The writing inside was an explanation of the bell's abilities and how to manipulate it.

The bell was originally called the Purple Soul Bell, a high-grade magical tool with the effect of blurring the soul and confusing the mind. If a cultivator were powerful enough, it could even directly destroy an enemy's primordial spirit.

The method of using the Purple Soul Bell was simple; it required no incantations. A cultivator only needed to use spiritual power to trigger the bell's ring and then use their divine sense to manipulate it.

The jade slip described the process of controlling the Purple Soul Bell in great detail.

When first starting out, a cultivator would be unskilled at controlling the bell. They would need to use their divine sense to control the sound while focusing all their strength on a single enemy to maximize the bell's power.

Once one could manipulate the Purple Soul Bell as easily as one's own limbs, the tool could exert its most formidable power, and confusing three or four people at once would be no problem.

Unable to wait, Qin Sang picked up the Purple Soul Bell and followed the method in the jade slip, sending his divine sense into the magical tool and then using the *qi* in his body to trigger it.

His movements were unpracticed, and it took several attempts before he became familiar with it.

To his surprise, the Purple Soul Bell was like a bottomless pit; he had to give his all, exhausting all his spiritual power, to barely succeed.

*Ding-ling-ling...*

The Purple Soul Bell rang on its own without wind, its crisp chime echoing through the room.

Qin Sang wiped the sweat from his forehead. The spiritual power in his body had been swept clean, leaving him incredibly weak, but his face was filled with excitement.

Obtaining a miraculous magical tool was certainly joyful, but what excited Qin Sang most was the text itself.

The *qi* in his body was the "spiritual power" described in the jade slip!

The *Netherworld Scripture* was indeed a cultivation manual!

This finally stilled Qin Sang's long-standing anxiety.

Furthermore, Qin Sang learned a great deal from the jade slip.

The souls of cultivators seemed to be different from those of mortals, referred to as the "Primordial Spirit."

"Divine sense" was also something not mentioned in the *Netherworld Scripture*; Qin Sang only now learned of its existence. According to the jade slip, once cultivation began, divine sense would be generated within the Primordial Spirit. Divine sense could not only manipulate magical tools but also had other mysterious uses, though Qin Sang would have to figure those out for himself over time.

Thinking of this, Qin Sang hurriedly took out the Ebony Sword and the other items he had obtained earlier.

Qin Sang picked up the Ebony Sword and probed it with his divine sense. Unfortunately, the Ebony Sword was still like a bottomless pit; it accepted both divine sense and spiritual power without the slightest reaction.

Only when he sent his divine sense into the Yama Banner did Qin Sang find a new discovery.

Although the Yama King had an instinct to seek good fortune and avoid disaster, its intelligence was not particularly high. Previously, when using the Yama Banner, he could only designate people within his field of vision to the Yama King; otherwise, he could not constrain the Yama King's actions at all.

Now, he could completely shroud the Yama King with his divine sense and command it at any time.