"Hiss...hah...hiss...hah..."
The Sword Ghost, drenched in blood, squeaked over the agarwood floor, treading a muddy path of blood, heading straight for the main hall of Dongzhen Palace.
Earlier, the female crown, who had fled on a deer, crouched under the altar table of the shrine, watching the ghostly figure standing outside the hall, beyond the door. Her teeth chattered from fear as she desperately rubbed her hands.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah... Immortal save me, Immortal save me, Immortal, Immortal, Immortal save me... urgh!"
Yet, there was no response from the Immortal on the shrine.
The Formless Sword Qi, colorless and silent, formless and intangible, had passed through the hall, piercing into the heart of the female crown. The sword energy penetrated her lungs, tearing into her stomach, wreaking havoc on her insides. A gush of blood spurted out from her mouth and nose uncontrollably.
At the same time, Tie Dan also burst through the door, soaring into the air, hurling his wooden sword. It pierced through the female crown’s head, pinning it to the altar. The Thunderstruck Wood Sword’s tail vibrated, blood splattering, causing her green silk hair to scatter, her brains mixing with blood, staining the ground.
"Hah..."
Only then did Tie Dan, standing in the divine hall’s main chamber, exhale a long breath, his eyes clearing in the blink of an eye.
The entire Dongzhen Palace had been slaughtered clean.
Refreshing.
Hopping around, loosening his limbs, Tie Dan wiped the dried blood off his face with a sleeve and stepped forward. He yanked out the wooden sword from the female crown, thrusting it into her chest again, disemboweling her, wiping away the traces of the Killing Sword, and flicking off the blood and brains from the sword with a shake.
Unfortunately, this battle ruined the sword; wooden swords indeed aren’t meant for hacking. Slashing all the way down, the sword edge had flattened, and the talisman on the wooden sword was barely visible. It was entirely reliant on his Divine Gang Sword Qi to cut people down, leaving muscles numb and bones vibrating. If there were any formidable masters hiding in the shadows of Dongzhen Palace ready to ambush, it would be quite dangerous.
But there weren’t any, the overwhelming majority on this mountain were just idiots, Foundation Establishment disciples, and accompanying maids and concubines—likely local Dui Country aristocrats and rich landlords’ sons, who would have been spending their time with idle pursuits back home, merely offering a batch of tuition to come and socialize in cultivation.
Of course, there wasn’t a single one seriously engaging in Body Refinement, Qi Refining, or sword cultivation. Judging from the workshops and books around, Dongzhen Palace seemed to be on a path of crafting and refining magic treasures, mainly teaching the basics of artifact refining, probably lacking many True Disciples.
As a result, regular disciples just engaged in daytime revelries, partying in groups of threes and fives, drinking and taking drugs, feeling as if they were in paradise, playing those intimate tricks passed down from Ziwei Palace.
Though there were a few in the Golden Core Realm, they were already drunk, completely naked, not even taking necessary safety precautions. If Tie Dan came across them, what more could be said? Caught off guard, it was a sword for each, killing them like dogs and chickens.
So, as he charged all the way in, slaying everyone he saw, the enemies could only present their necks for slaughter, butchered like cattle and sheep. Tie Dan found it rather unexciting, so he didn’t waste words, killing them all quickly and finishing the job.
By now, Shifu was not done yet; but amidst the battle, thunder cracked multiple times in the sky, and bursts of blood rain fell. It shouldn’t take too long.
Thus, Tie Dan was unhurried, wandering around the divine hall of Dongzhen Palace, seeing if there were any opportunities.
Interestingly, the deity enshrined here in Dongzhen Palace was neither Xuan Nu nor the Demon Lord, and certainly not the Ten Extremes Demon Lord; instead, it was a faceless, nameless Immortal.
Indeed, faceless, with attire like a person, the figure was human-like but entirely devoid of facial features—smooth and bald like a boiled egg, with the face appearing to have faint contours, yet completely devoid of eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
And the entire shrine and platform, located in the central hall, were carved from a whole piece of jade. The faceless Immortal was sculpted within it, seemingly about to step out, suddenly rendered immobile as if caught in stone by a disrupted Earth Tunneling Technique.
Although most of the faceless Immortal was encased within the jade, one left hand extended outward. Looking along the arm, it was actually holding a Jade Box in the palm.
Tie Dan was entranced by the sight, instinctively leaping onto the jade platform and reaching out to take it...
"Pia!"
Suddenly, a fish fin swept out from the void, slapping Tie Dan’s hand away.
The Catfish had reappeared.
It had a stern expression, pointing its fin at the faceless figure offering the box, shaking its head.
Tie Dan, "..."
All right, if you say not to take it, then I won’t.
Tie Dan promptly regained clarity, realizing that this faceless Immortal statue might harbor some ghostly mischief, able to lure his Divine Soul into a stupor, hard to control himself, likely hiding something strange, especially considering he had just wiped out a whole sect; it was unlikely to be anything good.
Meanwhile, the plump catfish had indeed saved him several times, and certainly wouldn’t harm him; though its saliva was rather fishy...
"Pop"
The catfish leapt onto Tie Dan’s head, using its fin to point behind the shrine at the floor tiles.
"Hmm? A hidden door?"
Tie Dan fumbled around, levering up a tile with his sword and discovering an iron door in the ground.
But the iron door was locked from the inside, and the door was like a compass, with circle after circle of complex mechanical locks. A rough glance revealed no fewer than sixty-four circles, each densely inscribed with talisman spells. Clearly, it was a door lock contrived by those artifact-making fellows, akin to a Storage Jade, requiring a specific sequence, a specific True Qi, to unlock with a spell. If one didn’t know the secret within, it would probably...
"Ga-la-ga-la-ga-la-la... click!"
Then the round lock automatically rotated and unlocked, a series of soft clicks, followed by the door opening with a creak.
The catfish poked its head out from inside, flicked its fin, and gestured, ‘Follow me, boss!’.
"..."
When did this guy manage to get through... such a little thief...
Tie Dan followed the catfish into the underground passage, groping his way down to find a stone chamber filled with rare antiques and treasures, gold, stone, and jade piled mountains high. The floor was covered with gold bricks, the cabinets stuffed with paintings and calligraphy. Additionally, many magic treasures packed in jade boxes and sealed with talismans, likely worth billions; this must be the Artifact Refining Sect’s reserves.
Good heavens, a fortune.
The catfish patted Tie Dan with its fin, pointing at the ceiling of the stone chamber.
Tie Dan looked up, seeing that the ceiling was indeed a whole slab of jade, glowing serenely.
Judging by the underground chamber’s location, it should be right under the main hall. It’s likely that this jade piece and the faceless Immortal statue outside are one entity, like an iceberg, a whole jade buried in the mountain’s base, with the portion above carved into a statue, and a Jade Cave created below...
Then Tie Dan glanced down, only to find that the entire treasure chamber was now empty...
"??"
Tie Dan was taken aback, rubbed his eyes, and turned his head to see.
The catfish was slyly slurping a string of pearls into its mouth...
Catfish thief ah ah!
"You, you little guy! At least leave something for me!"
Tie Dan nearly lost it, yanking the catfish over to squeeze its belly, trying to retrieve a treasure.
The fish was furious!
It flicked Tie Dan’s hand away with its fin, even leaping up to swat him with its tail, leaving a fishy taste in his mouth. Then, while wiping away the bloodstain from the back of its belly with its fin, it pointed at the jade ceiling and spat a "phoo!"
Tie Dan suspiciously looked up, noticing that where the fish’s saliva had sprayed, True Breath suddenly overflowed, light and shadows flickered, and faint golden rays shimmered.
Upon closer inspection, Tie Dan saw countless fly-sized seal characters, talismanic scripts ignited as if they were set aflame by True Qi infusion, illuminating a fleeting string of light images inside the jade, like a swarm of golden insects crawling about inside the jade ceiling.
Tie Dan, "What’s this?"
The catfish, "Pop"
The old man, "Heavenly Book."
Heaven!
Book!
Tie Dan furrowed his brow,
So what is this Heavenly Book...
However, the catfish seemed angry, refusing to explain further, gesturing and jumping, telling him to see for himself.
After witnessing the demonstration, Tie Dan roughly understood the principle. Climbing onto the emptied boxes around, ascending the shelf to the ceiling, he blew a mouthful of True Qi onto the jade ceiling with a "huff!"
Like sweeping away dust sealed for years, the fiery Inner Breath swept over the jade, as if igniting hidden flames within the stone.
One after another, the golden seal characters rolled and leaped, presenting an unprecedented wondrous scene before Tie Dan’s eyes.
It felt like being brushed by a warm, fine flame wave, or perhaps struck by Heavenly Star’s bolt, needling mercilessly into his skull, directly into his Divine Court, a tingling sensation spreading across his body. Eventually, those jade-clear golden scriptures ended up imprinted onto the youth’s retina, as though starlight cast from the void, etching into his mind.
In truth, although self-aware of his talent, Tie Dan honestly did not know what he was seeing.
He only saw countless symbols dancing out from within the stone, leaping into his mind. But he didn’t comprehend what the scriptures signified, or even how these words should be applied or brought to fruition. How could he possibly comprehend or interpret it?
As he was lost in contemplation, the catfish re-emerged, gesturing with a ‘sneak away!’ look.
Tie Dan snapped back to reality, and only then realized the jade ceiling before him had been burned to ashes, leaving a pitch-black block of coal. Whatever Heavenly Book or Golden Scriptures previously hidden within seemed to have been entirely transcribed into his mind.
Hearing the coal "crackling" under pressure, gradually fracturing and splitting, Tie Dan reacted quickly, hastily fleeing the empty treasury. The moment he emerged from the passage, he witnessed the shrine’s Immortal jade turning into a charred Immortal coal, cracking all over, with thin lines spreading across face, hands, and feet.
When Tie Dan promptly gathered his energy and dashed out of Dongzhen Palace’s main hall, he heard a thunderous roar behind him!
Turning to look back, he saw rolling dust clouds and resonating earth tremors; Dongzhen Palace had entirely collapsed, sinking into a massive pit between the mountain ridges, and was thoroughly reduced to rubble.

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