Tie Dan stared at the monk.
If you choose wrong, I’m afraid you’ll have to fight.
But the monk truly displayed the calm of meditation, remaining motionless, waiting for your choice, with not a hint of a clue on his scabby old face.
So Tie Dan turned his attention back to the Three Treasures: the White Teeth Comb, the Cloud-piercing Burnt-tail Zither, and the Jade Bone Table.
These three funerary objects were probably excavated from some Xiaoyao Immortal Tomb. However, they are all Nascent Soul Treasures, clearly originating from a lower-grade site compared to the Sun and Moon Pools or the Divine Monarch Immortal Tomb.
Moreover, these three items were likely unearthed just last week and clearly hadn’t been refined or cleaned. The comb was coated with a thick layer of corpse grease, and the Jade Bone Table even had faint human-shaped grease stains. Only the Burnt-tail Zither appeared slightly cleaner, though its strings were wrapped with the hair of the dead, emitting a foul stench.
Tie Dan did not hide his disgust, examining each in turn.
The Xuan Nu Talisman Seal on these three magic treasures was intact, not destructively sealed, though they had perhaps languished long in the tomb, entangled by deathly energy, and had not yet awakened their Artifact Spirit due to the lack of Spiritual Qi. Nonetheless, they were not in major disrepair and should recover their original Divine Skills after being bathed in a Spiritual Spring and refined with True Qi regularly.
Judging by their appearance, the three treasures were not much different, all being Middle Grade Nascent Soul treasures, crafted with exquisite skill. Clearly, they were functional magic treasures, not meant for swinging and smashing, which is probably why they remained well-preserved.
The Burnt-tail Zither was naturally meant for sonic wave techniques. The White Teeth Comb, which could be worn in a woman’s hair to tie it up, appeared to be a magic treasure primarily targeting the Primordial Spirit if one judged by its talismanic spell. However, Tie Dan didn’t know much about Primordial Spirit Methods. As for the Jade Bone Table, it was just a table; given its size, it could conveniently hold a human body, clearly a Xiaoyao Sect special provision, perfect for outdoor support when there’s inconvenience with other means, though it would not be much use for other sects...
With that, there wasn’t much more to consider. Tie Dan naturally chose the Cloud-piercing Burnt-tail Zither.
Fortunately, the monk truly did not care about his choice and didn’t shout, "Wrong choice!" and throw a punch at him.
However, the monk also did not take the other two items back, only taking Tie Dan’s Magic Bead, holding it in his hand, and while refining with yin energy, he said,
"Immortal Jile has spoken, should you choose the Cloud-piercing Zither, you may play a tune."
Play a tune? Could it be...
Tie Dan understood, nodded,
Then he gently stroked the zither, adjusted the tuning, and played the tune "Spring Dawn in Jade Tower."
The melody was melodious and enchanting, with a free-flowing warmth, like a gentle breeze, reverberating in the somber, deathly Zen Temple. Outside the courtyard, the wind howled like ghostly wails and divine cries, resonating with it, creating a very eerie atmosphere.
Then he heard someone outside the Zen Temple harmonizing and singing:
"The withered monument stirs yin fire, blood waters paper money. Ghost lamps among lacquered pine blossoms, swirling winds sweep autumn graves.
Cold Pond, silent death mound, ancient tombs born of dust. Skeletons scattered amid the earth, mourning when you’ll perish."
After the tune ended, that person entered the main hall.
Tie Dan looked up and saw a woman disguised as a man, dressed as a scholar, carrying a Sword Box with five swords crafted from human bones. As she walked, gusts of yin wind swirled with ghostly aura. Under the lantern’s light, though she had a handsome face, it was pale and deathly, as if she’d consumed arsenic, clearly not of the Righteous Path.
Though this person also possessed the Nascent Soul Realm, androgynous, with the White Bone Sword on her back showing five colors, likely refined with Five Qi, the conspicuous display of her cultivation gave her the air of an Evil Demon, naturally not a True Inheritor.
With just a glance, Tie Dan felt he could easily eliminate her, assuming she wasn’t the Jile Venerable, rather just a fellow disciple of the haha generation.
Without ceremony, the female scholar stepped inside without the old monk’s invitation, sitting by the mat where Tie Dan sat, leaning beside it, extending a hand towards Tie Dan’s leg, saying,
"Hehe, I didn’t expect our Tao’s lineage to emerge in the Northern lands. It seems the revival of my Xiaoyao Sect’s prosperity is at hand!
This little servant is Gui Nu under the Supreme Bliss’s service; may I ask how you are addressed, my honored friend? On such a beautiful day, why don’t we seek some pleasure together..."
Tie Dan possessed the genuine Xiaoyao Sect inheritance, seeing through her refined Xiaoyao dual forms at a glance, though her skills were insufficient, leaving her a ghostly half-being, and with such a guise, no True Cultivator would be fooled. She had likely only crafted a skin sack as a cover, stealing the Primordial Yang of numerous mortals overnight, arriving guided by the melody, yet Tie Dan coldly rebuked,
"I have come to meet the Supreme Bliss, but you filthy creature are unworthy of asking my name. Scram!"
"W-what! How dare this thief insult me! Ah!!"
Gui Nu was dumbfounded by the words, indeed lacking the skill of retaining her Qi, being instantly enraged by Tie Dan, blushing with fury! Immediately, she jumped up, pinched a seal, pointed her hand, swish swish! Three treasure swords simultaneously unsheathed from her back!
However, in her moment of fury as she rose, a golden light spun, and Gui Nu’s body slanted, ensnared by ’Shadow,’ sliced in half at the waist, half her body collapsing, spilling blood everywhere, severing the Qi Sea, and naturally causing the three White Bone Swords to clatter to the ground.
Before the half-body Gui Nu could react, Tie Dan already plucked a zither string, the ’bang’ of sword energy firing out, slicing her horrified face in two.
Subsequently, the Taiyin Immortal Light swept forth from behind his head, capturing Gui Nu’s Nascent Soul on the spot, disintegrating it under the moonlight, scattering her soul to the wind, and the released Yin Yang double essence was entirely absorbed by Tie Dan into the Divine Court.