Chapter 125: The Induction Disk, A Great Harvest, and the Path to Enlightenment

On the corpse of the corpse demon, he saw something crystalline that resembled a jade disc.

The moment the creature died, the object detached from its body and began to rise slowly. Almost instinctively, Chen Yushu reached out with his spiritual sense. The next instant, the jade disc flashed, and a stream of information flooded his mind.

"An Induction Disc?!"

Before he could react, the disc flickered again and, fluid as water, rapidly merged into his body.

"This?"

Chen Yushu’s expression shifted, his heart racing as he hurriedly used his spiritual sense to search within himself. Fortunately, he soon located the jade disc and found that, by exerting his spiritual power, he could extract it from his body at will.

"Induction Disc? What on earth is this thing?"

Chen Yushu controlled the disc to appear in his palm, then tucked it away again, a look of bewilderment on his face. "Induction Disc" was the name conveyed by the information he had received, but he had no idea what its purpose or function might be.

*Could it be one of those legendary magical treasures?*

Unbidden, memories of ancient cultivation myths surfaced in his mind. It was said that magical treasures could merge directly into a practitioner’s body, allowing them to be nurtured and refined by the cultivator’s own cultivation base. The deeper the cultivation, the more powerful the treasure. Ancient sword immortals, for instance, were said to nurture flying swords within their dantian; when battle arose, a single thought would send the sword flashing out like lightning to slay enemies. Legends claimed that top-tier sword immortals could take a head from a thousand miles away—a single stroke capable of suppressing the ages.

Of course, he knew this jade disc was likely nothing of the sort. He felt no overwhelming aura emanating from it; he only sensed a faint connection, as if his spiritual power could command it. But now was not the time to experiment, as they were still inside the tomb.

"Brother Chen, are you alright?"

Zhao Yufeng had recovered slightly. Seeing the state of their surroundings, he realized he and his junior brother must have been ensnared by some trickery, leading them to attack each other and sustaining heavy injuries. He forced himself to stand.

"I'm fine," Chen Yushu replied, looking at them. "How are you two? Brother Qi’s injuries..."

"He just overexerted himself. The Spirit Invocation technique is powerful but consumes a massive amount of energy. He couldn't sustain it for that long. But the lad has a sturdy constitution; he’ll be fine after some rest."

As Zhao Yufeng spoke, his gaze kept drifting back to the corpse demon. His expression flickered between relief and a strange, lingering sadness. After all, the creature had been his master. Killing one’s master was easy to say, but far harder to do. No matter the reasons, such a reputation would never be well-received. Though they didn't care much for public opinion, knowing the creature had died at Chen Yushu’s hands brought him a sense of inexplicable peace.

"Tell me," Zhao Yufeng asked, looking at Chen Yushu with confusion. "What exactly happened just now? I only remember my junior brother and I chasing that old beast with all our might... then, there was a sudden blur, and the next thing I knew, it was dead in your hands. How did you do it?"

That moment of interruption was too strange—like a jump in a scene, and suddenly the corpse demon was dead.

"It was... luck, I suppose," Chen Yushu said.

"Luck?" Zhao Yufeng looked skeptical, but seeing Chen Yushu’s earnest expression, he decided not to press further. Regardless, the old beast was dead, and its transformation into a full corpse demon had been cut short. Had it fully evolved, none of them would have made it out alive.

"Let’s pack up. This is no place to linger. As for these evil jiangshi... it’s a pity, but I can’t control them, so they must be purged. Leaving them behind would only cause disaster."

Chen Yushu nodded. He understood. Evil jiangshi were formidable; if left loose, they would be a catastrophe. It was only because Zhao Yufeng and Qi Jichuan were strong enough to handle them, combined with Chen Yushu’s arsenal of talismans and techniques, that they had managed to take one down. Otherwise, those three alone would have been a headache.

The corpse demon, however, had been easier to deal with because Chen Yushu had reached the state of "Constant Stillness." The creature, not being a "complete" entity, had relied heavily on illusions—illusions that had nearly made Zhao and Qi kill each other. Such a method was, in its own way, terrifying. But it had met the wrong opponent in Chen Yushu.

*Constant Stillness!* It had broken the unsolvable trap.

Chen Yushu quickly finished off the remaining evil jiangshi, which had lost their ability to resist. Having killed such creatures before, he knew they yielded two treasures: the spirit essence and the corpse pill. He collected four of each.

As for Xiao Hei, Chen Yushu left it be. He returned to the stone coffin, finding it empty, and sighed. "What a pauper this corpse demon was."

"Who said it was a pauper?" Zhao Yufeng gasped, gesturing to the cloth pouch hanging at the creature's waist. "Do you know what that is?"

"What is it?" Chen Yushu had noticed it, but it looked so withered and unremarkable that he hadn't bothered with it, assuming it to be a simple coin purse.

"That’s no coin purse. That’s a storage pouch!" Zhao Yufeng huffed. "The old beast treasured that pouch dearly. We followed him for so long and never even knew he had such a treasure. Take it, and let’s get out of here. My junior brother is weak from the Spirit Invocation, and those wounds are tainted with corpse poison—if we wait too long, it will be hard to save him."

Zhao Yufeng stood with effort. He knew they were dependent on Chen Yushu now. Even though he had spotted the pouch, he didn't dare touch it, handing it over instead. He was afraid; their lives were in Chen Yushu's hands.

The man was not entirely trusted, after all. They were just neighbors, and Chen Yushu had only come along due to a sense of obligation and returning favors. Yet, he had been a massive help. Zhao Yufeng realized that if Chen Yushu hadn't broken the illusion, he and his brother would be dead. Despite his caution, a sense of genuine recognition began to grow.

"Alright!" Chen Yushu didn't overthink it. He grabbed the pouch, feeling it was of much higher quality than a normal purse. It felt light, and he felt that if he poured his spiritual sense into it, he could open it. He refrained, however; he remained highly vigilant toward anything unfamiliar.

After collecting the spirit essences and corpse pills, he pulled Qi Jichuan up, stood on a coffin, and with a powerful leap, vaulted out of the pit.

Behind him, Zhao Yufeng secured Xiao Hei with a rope, performed a needle-point acupressure technique on himself to boost his spirit, and piled the corpses of the evil jiangshi together. He scattered a white powder over them and struck a flint.

*Boom!*

A scorching fire flared up. Only then did he leap out of the pit.

Chen Yushu sealed the hole with a large stone and filled it with soil. "Let's go!"

"Right!"

An hour later, they reached a cave. Chen Yushu possessed basic medical knowledge, and with the aid of some herbs and Zhao Yufeng’s anti-corpse-poison medicine, Qi Jichuan finally regained consciousness. Though weak, he could move.

"We are truly blessed by fate this time," Qi Jichuan sighed. When the corpse demon had appeared, they had felt absolute despair. It was a "Specter-level" threat—notoriously difficult and powerful. Even incomplete, it was far beyond their current capabilities.

Both brothers felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Chen Yushu. What impressed them most was that even when they were incapacitated, Chen Yushu hadn't seized the opportunity to kill them and claim all the loot.

"Brother Chen," Qi Jichuan said, his gaze solemn. "I’m not good with words and don't have many friends. The only one I trusted was my senior brother, but now, there is a second: you. If not for you, we wouldn't have survived. I owe you this life."

"Indeed," Zhao Yufeng added. "I’m not one to admire others easily, but I admire you, Brother Chen. If you ever need anything, just say the word."

"It was the right thing to do," Chen Yushu waved it off. "We helped each other. In this dangerous world, mutual aid is the only way to survive. If you treat me as a brother, don't speak of favors."

"Right! Brothers in spirit!" Qi Jichuan slapped his chest, then winced as the pain from his injuries made him go pale.

Zhao Yufeng smiled. Perhaps with his vengeance achieved, his temperament had lightened.

"Let’s divide the spoils," Chen Yushu said, bringing out the five spirit essences, five corpse pills, and the storage pouch.

After some deliberation, they reached an agreement. Chen Yushu was given the task of dividing the loot. They split the gold equally, and for the artifacts and materials, they traded based on need. The storage pouch was left to Chen Yushu, an arrangement they both agreed upon implicitly.

Chen Yushu felt a surge of excitement. The pouch, though only about a cubic meter inside, was a priceless treasure of ancient cultivation. It would be a massive asset for his future travels, allowing him to carry plenty of talismans.

By the next evening, they arrived back in Jianghuan Town.

Chen Yushu smiled as he checked his gains. A storage pouch, a fire-gathering basin, a judge’s brush, large and small spirit essences, gold, spirit stones, and several cultivation manuals—including the "Spirit Invocation" and "Entry-level Hand Seals."

It was a total windfall. He had gone from a struggling practitioner to someone with a solid foundation in just one night. In this perilous world, he finally felt a little more secure.