Be the Hardest Working Demon Cultivator!

Tan Shuchang stared at the Spirit Communication Magic Artifact placed before him, feeling somewhat surreal. Was he really holding in his hands the artifact that loose cultivators dared only dream about?

So, how much had the people of Qitian Pavilion profited privately in the past?

This brought to mind the martial sect's Spirit Communication Magic Artifact "Heavenly Dragon Hairpin" for Tan Shuchang.

Emperor Yi, in order to obtain this artifact, one could imagine without even thinking that he paid a hefty price, yet in the end, he only got this toy.

Although the "Heavenly Dragon Hairpin" was indeed a genuine Spirit Communication Magic Artifact, effortlessly adjustable in size and even capable of transforming into a flood dragon with astonishing Divine Skills, once its set techniques of sealing, commanding, and forbidding were deployed, even a cultivator with the strength of a Jiawu cycle would perish instantly.

But as The Utmost Supreme, aside from the artifact's power, he also had to consider its dignity and authority!

Otherwise, how would he make the world's commoners believe in the divine right of kings?

This, in the end, was merely because the world's noble families did not wish for The Utmost Supreme to truly possess a Spirit Communication Magic Artifact.

Were it not for the cultivators in this world rarely living beyond two Jiawu cycles, Emperor Yi probably wouldn't even have the chance to practice cultivation.

After all, Zi Xuan Dynasty viewed these Immortal Sects as merely tools to maintain the stability of the Upper Profound Seal.

Lacking a universally accepted currency in the past, transactions or seeking assistance were exceptionally troublesome.

Though ordinary gold and silver were still somewhat useful to cultivators, for things like expanding their families or purchasing children from mortal families as servants, such uses were too limited to make gold and silver acceptable currency among cultivators.

But with the Upper Profound Seal, all these troubles disappeared.

For ordinary cultivators, the Upper Profound Seal, which could be exchanged for Taichi Pure Gold anytime and without limit, was incredibly precious. For those cultivation sects, receiving a large amount of Upper Profound Seals from the royal court each year enabled them to control the world's cultivators with something essentially useless.

For instance, a loose cultivator might accidentally come into possession of an exceedingly rare heavenly material. In the past, obtaining this material from a loose cultivator discreetly could be painstaking.

But now, one only needed to hammer down with the Upper Profound Seals until the other party couldn't resist agreeing!

How simple is that?

The abundant cultivation resources contemporary Immortal Sect disciples had, such as possessing at least two low realm magic artifacts upon descending the mountain — something loose cultivators could only dream of obtaining in a lifetime — stemmed from this very reason.

The harvesting of the Upper Profound Seals had satiated the Immortal Sects, especially the few top-tier ones, to an unimaginably glutted state.

However, because of the high demand for Taichi Pure Gold, the Zi Xuan Dynasty had been unable to develop in many areas.

In the past, a force that dominated half a province could declare itself an emperor, under which circumstances the common people undoubtedly led harsh lives. Now, under the support of the Immortal Sects, the Zi Xuan Dynasty controlled seventeen provinces of the Jiawu Realm and could certainly boast of a unified realm, yet the common people's lives remained harsh.

After all, those sent to dig in the gold mines could hardly be cultivators.

And certainly not the noble lords of the court.

Therefore, as responsibilities shifted down the line, the common people had to bear hardship once more.

"Master, this Spirit Communication Magic Artifact is the final work of Pure Yang Master before he, like his predecessors, retreats from the world to cultivate in seclusion." At that moment, the new manager of Magical Treasure Pavilion spoke up, having delivered the artifact to Qitian Hall and not yet departed.

Seeing Tan Shuchang silently contemplative, he thought Tan Shuchang did not recognize the item's value and promptly explained.

Hearing the manager, Tan Shuchang's drifting thoughts returned.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist," he said.

"This is what I should do." Hearing this, the new head of the Magical Treasure Pavilion finally breathed a sigh of relief. He understood that the previous affair had now been thoroughly settled, although for the sake of this spirit-communicating magic artifact, he had exhausted his family wealth and owed many people favors—but it was better than being executed by this person over some pretense!

With this thought in mind, the new head of the Magical Treasure Pavilion immediately thought of another crucial matter and hastily said, "Sir, I shall take my leave first."

It turned out that the Pure Yang Master, before refining this spirit-communicating magic artifact, had asked him to recruit the children of an enemy from his youth to work at Qitian Pavilion.

According to the Pure Yang Master, as he had grown old and had few acquaintances left, he felt a connection with the children of his youthful enemy and wanted to secure their futures before he retreated from the world to live in seclusion.

Regarding this, the new head of the Magical Treasure Pavilion could only marvel—worthy of being Sword Son's close friend, not only equally passionate about justice, but also possessing such an unbelievably broad-minded nature.

If it were him, he would certainly have eradicated them completely.

Upon hearing these words, Tan Shuchang immediately waved his hand, indicating that the other party could leave. His attention, naturally, was focused on the spirit-communicating magic artifact in front of him all along.

This was a book-like magic artifact, but it didn't contain many pages; even including the cover and the back, there were only three pages.

However, even though it had just one page, the power of this magic artifact varied depending on how it was opened.

For Tan Shuchang, however, the power of this magic artifact was not really important. Although the artifact had reached the spirit-communicating grade, it seemed that the materials used for artifact refining were not exceptional, which led to this spirit-communicating magic artifact lacking the immense lethality of other artifacts at the same level.

Of course, being able to reach the spirit-communicating grade, the artifact still had its advantages.

And these advantages were exactly what Tan Shuchang needed.

He just needed to nurture its spirit nature, so he could link the magic artifact with his own aura. Any changes surrounding this magic artifact could then be perceived by him.

And the text written within it would also be concealed.

Moreover, once the text was hidden, unless he himself activated the artifact or the method of opening it was incorrect, the text would completely vanish.

"Foolish thief, I really want to see clearly how you managed to steal it,"

Filled with confidence, Tan Shuchang immediately began to nurture the artifact spirit.

Nurturing the spirit of an artifact is a lengthy process, especially for higher-grade artifacts. However, profound cultivation could also shorten the time needed to nurture the spirit.

...

Meanwhile, just as Tan Shuchang obtained the spirit-communicating magic artifact and began its cultivation, Long Zhangyuan, who had been asleep under the arrangements of the cultivators of Mount Tu Sword Sect, finally awoke.

This slumber was like a rebirth for Long Zhangyuan; as he opened his eyes, a touch of vicissitude appeared in them. Then he stood up and bowed to the elderly cultivators of the Tu Sword Mountain Sect, who had been guarding him: "Disciple thanks the uncles for their protection!"

"Oh, did you gain any enlightenment?" The elderly cultivators of the Tu Sword Mountain Sect asked with a smile.

"Yes. I am very grateful to Tan Shuchang at this moment," he answered.

"Why do you thank him?" These elderly cultivators showed even more joy upon hearing this because they all knew what this slumber was about.

"If a person doesn't experience embarrassment or undergo incidents that make one uncomfortable, it's difficult to grow. From the moment I ascended Mount Tu Sword, I had uncontrollably developed arrogance, but unfortunately, my vision and wisdom were still insufficient.

That's why there were several foolish actions after I descended the mountain," Long Zhangyuan said calmly, his voice full of acceptance, though his eyes still held a trace of darkness.

"Good, it seems you truly have understood," the elderly cultivators of the Tu Sword Mountain Sect remarked joyously, and one of them immediately said, "If you have understood this, then you can personally seek revenge. The Secret Sword Testimony is about to take place, and as a Sword Dao Judge, you must attend."

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