Chapter 57: The Sutra Transmission Token

Facing Ji Xingyao’s question, Lu Yan could only spread his hands and put on a look of helpless regret.

“It’s not that I’m trying to keep anything hidden… it’s just that the place where I got it is far too bizarre. Even I can’t describe it clearly.”

Ji Xingyao nodded and didn’t press further. Instead, she agreed softly, “The world is full of wonders. Since you possess great karmic merit, it’s perfectly normal to encounter some opportunities that others may never obtain.”

Seeing how reasonable she was being, Lu Yan secretly let out a sigh of relief.

What he feared most was that the Sunstone’s value would be too high and provoke Ji Xingyao into coveting it, possibly forcing him to reveal its origin.

But since the Sunstone came from the apocalypse version, Lu Yan couldn’t explain it properly. If he tried, it would probably backfire.

Fortunately, Ji Xingyao wasn’t a domineering person. In their interactions so far, he had already gained considerable favor from her. She showed no signs of trying to coerce him for answers.

Feeling more at ease, Lu Yan asked curiously,
“How effective was the Sunstone for you, Sister Ji?”

Ji Xingyao raised her right hand. Her spiritual power condensed into a floating orb before Lu Yan’s eyes.

Four-fifths of the sphere was still marred by a loathsome gray hue, but the remaining fifth gleamed with pure, semi-solid essence.

“After the first use, a fifth of my spiritual power has been refined. This alone will allow me to persist for several more years.

However, if I can’t completely purge all the corrupted energy, the spiritual flow will eventually cause the contamination to return—even worse than before.

That’s why I would like to request Junior Brother Lu… to help me find more Sunstones.”

As she spoke, Ji Xingyao’s expression turned solemn, and she bowed deeply toward Lu Yan with grace and poise.

Lu Yan didn’t immediately agree. Instead, he asked with deliberation,
“Based on this rate, would Sister Ji need around twelve more Sunstones?”

Ji Xingyao shook her head, her tone growing serious.

“These three refined a fifth of my spiritual power, but that was only the first use. I can’t guarantee the same efficiency going forward.

So I hope Junior Brother can help me gather as many as possible.

If you succeed… I will do everything in my power to repay you!”

Lu Yan kept a troubled expression on his face, but inwardly he was delighted.

The Sunstones were undoubtedly invaluable in the immortal cultivation version, but in the apocalypse version, they were far from rare.

The scavenger he had met back then was only at the late stage of Qi Refining and had three Sunstones on hand.

In exchange, Lu Yan had only offered a month’s worth of food and supplies—yet that had already left the scavenger overjoyed.

This clearly showed that items like food and drink were far more valuable than Sunstones in that world.

So if Lu Yan reentered the apocalypse version, obtaining dozens of Sunstones would be a trivial task.

And compared to those stones, the favor owed by Ji Xingyao was far more valuable.

He didn’t hesitate and spoke directly:

“To be honest, there is one matter I’d like to trouble Sister Ji with.”

“Please, speak freely.”

“I wish to request… a method for crafting merit-based artifacts.”

Lu Yan hadn’t forgotten—the Clear Sun Sect, one of the ten orthodox sects of the Xuanzhen Dao Alliance and overlord of the southern territories, had also participated in the campaign to wipe out the Dao Virtue Sect.

It was highly likely that some remnants of that sect’s legacy were preserved in their archives.

Lu Yan didn’t dare hope for the Dao Virtue Sect’s core inheritances or divine merit techniques, but with Ji Xingyao’s status as a true disciple, he might just obtain a crafting method for merit-based artifacts.

Upon hearing this, Ji Xingyao swept her spiritual sense over Lu Yan and nodded.

“Junior Brother has awakened a divine merit ability, so seeking a method to craft merit-based artifacts is understandable.”

However, her expression turned more solemn as she added,
“But there’s something I must warn you about.

Merit-based artifacts—since they are considered artifacts—are only relevant after forming a Golden Core.

The heavenly materials and treasures they consume are secondary. The real issue is… they require an ocean of merit.

After the Dao Virtue Sect’s fall, some people did obtain parts of their legacy and tried to forge such artifacts to anchor their sect’s fate, but all ended in failure.

Artifacts are, after all, just external tools. Please don’t become so obsessed that you delay your cultivation path.”

Lu Yan could sense her words were genuine concern. After all, a mere mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator seeking the method to forge a merit-based artifact did seem a bit… delusional.

Naturally, he didn’t plan to reveal his secrets, so he simply offered a plausible excuse:

“Don’t worry, Sister Ji. I only wish to study the crafting method for reference purposes.”

Seeing this, Ji Xingyao no longer tried to dissuade him and gave a nod.

“If it’s only the crafting method, then the sect should have some records.

I’ll return to the sect to search. In the meantime, stay here at Green Valley Market and avoid moving around.”

After leaving these instructions, Ji Xingyao turned into a streak of green sword light, piercing through the warding formations and vanishing into the sky.

Watching that streak of light disappear into the clouds, Lu Yan couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.

Although Flight Technique or a low-grade flying vessel could allow flight, neither came close to the speed of this sword escape technique.

If not for the fact that he was currently wielding a soul banner and veering more and more toward an unorthodox path, Lu Yan would have loved to study the sword art himself—soaring through the heavens like in the cultivation tales of his dreams.

——

With Ji Xingyao gone, the upper ranks of Green Valley Market slowly returned, and the place began to recover its former calm.

Although Xie Yun’s tactics had severely damaged the market’s reputation, Ji Xingyao’s heaven-shaking sword intent at the last moment had turned the tide—scaring off the conspirators and salvaging some prestige.

In fact, her fame even attracted new rogue cultivators, willing to settle at Green Valley Market under her name. The market, though shaken, maintained a semblance of prosperity.

During the wait for Ji Xingyao’s return, Lu Yan entered seclusion to cultivate.

Over a month passed. With the help of abundant spirit stones and pills, he successfully broke through to the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

But even with this improvement, Lu Yan didn’t feel any joy.

Ever since Ji Xingyao had left that day, she seemed to have vanished without a trace.

As the version update progress ticked past 90%, Lu Yan could no longer sit still.

He wasn’t worried that Ji Xingyao would break her promise. From what he knew of her personality, once she agreed to something, she would never go back on her word.

What truly concerned him was the possibility that if she returned after the world update, the promised merit artifact crafting method might transform into something completely different.

And by then, who knew what he might actually receive?

As time continued to pass and the update reached 95%, Lu Yan grew increasingly anxious, even putting aside his daily cultivation.

Then—just as the version update passed 95%—a sword light arrived at the entrance to Lu Yan’s cave.

But this time, it wasn’t Ji Xingyao herself—it was a message-sending flying sword, bound with a storage pouch.

Lu Yan quickly deactivated his formation and allowed the sword to fly into his cave. He then removed the storage pouch tied to it.

Opening it, he found several books, a black token, and a folded note.

He first flipped through the books and realized they were geomantic and feng shui manuals, part of the earthly arts inheritance Ji Xingyao had promised him earlier.

But seeing nothing related to the merit-based artifact crafting method, Lu Yan’s heart sank slightly.

He then picked up the token and note.

The token was carved from a dark spiritual wood, engraved with celestial birds, divine beasts, and lofty pavilions. In its center were three bold characters:

“Sutra Transmission Token.”

When he unfolded the note, elegant, sword-like strokes danced across the paper.

[Bearer of the Sutra Transmission Token may enter the Clear Sun Sect’s Sutra Repository.]

(End of Chapter)