Yinshan Record

Chapter 53 Insect Script and Bird Seal Script
He killed seven people in a row.

Su Che slowly put the short sword into its scabbard.

A sword is, after all, a weapon of death.

The seven secret scrolls within his sea of ​​consciousness stirred.

Yin energy condensed in Su Che's hand, transforming into the shape of an ancient bell.

The bell tolled clear and crisp, and the spirit of the old man named Tokiwa appeared in the moonlight amidst the repeated tolling.

One of the supernatural manifestations in the "Zhou Jue Yin Tian Mi Lu" is similar to the Soul-Binding Rope and is called "Spirit Fixation".

This bell can seize souls and stabilize spirits.

The bell was originally a musical instrument used in the army in ancient times. As the saying goes, "The northern wind carries the sound of the bell, and the cold light shines on the iron armor." In ancient times, both the drum and the bell were used to command the advance of the army.

It is also the foundation of the Ghost King's supernatural powers in "The Secret Record of the Yin Heaven of King Zhou".

The black rope can bind souls, while the black bell can command ghosts.

"Who are you?"

Su Che shouted a question.

"Licheng Changpan".

"What martial arts method do you practice?"

"Great Sage Hunyuan Splitting Wind Hammer".

"What level of cultivation is this?"

"Ninth Rank Martial Arts Cultivation".

I've never heard of the Chang family of Licheng before; I guess they're from some poor family in some remote area.

In Daliang, the most prestigious families typically have at least one fifth-rank or even fourth-rank expert in charge.

The most prominent aristocratic families of the time, such as the Yu family of Yingchuan, the Xie family of Chenjun, the Wang family of Langya, the Wang family of Taiyuan, the Tao family of Lujiang, and the Liu family of Zhongshan, not only have highly skilled martial artists in their homes, but also have marital ties with the imperial family.

They are all intertwined, forming a rather complex group.

Although Su Che's family, the Su clan of Duling, and Wei Huaiwen's family, both rose to prominence through martial arts, they still lagged behind these first-rate clans in terms of their power and influence, as well as their relationship with the royal family.

In his debut battle, Wei Huaiwen defeated the enemy in Yongzhou with ease, utterly crushing the Northern Wei cavalry and beheading three thousand.

In order to promote the young scholar-generals of the time, the Emperor of Liang held a grand banquet for his officials on New Year's Day and placed him in the highest seat. However, he was stopped by the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who came from the Xie family of Chen Commandery.

"How can someone newly entering a household be impolite?"

The matter was thus dropped. Though it was harsh to say, it was the truth.

The so-called Chang family of Licheng was only slightly better than the "Jiang family of Shanyin" or the "Tian family of Shanyin".

Such families often lack a lineage, and unless a few extraordinary individuals emerge from their lineage, they are destined to remain in decline until Confucianism establishes academies and widely promotes education.

The ninth rank in martial arts is already considered to be above average among them.

In this world where power originates from within, no matter how many ninth-rank experts accumulate, it's only a matter of time before a fifth-rank expert can defeat them.

Why did you come to Shanyin County?

“There is something unusual about the family’s treasure. Our ancestors once said that once this treasure shows any signs of movement, we should take it to Shanyin County and find an ancient temple where we can obtain a great opportunity.”

Su Che searched the old man's body and found some silver coins, a short dagger, and a piece of gold paper, which he assumed were the "treasures" the old man had mentioned.

This gold paper looks extremely thin. One side is blank, while the other side is engraved with cloud and thunder patterns in some unknown way.

The edges are not neat, as if it were a piece torn from a whole sheet of paper.

It feels very soft to the touch and is also a little cool.

Su Che was momentarily tempted. He laid the gold paper horizontally on the ground, then drew a short sword from its sheath, focused his sword intent on the blade, and unleashed a full-force attack. The sword strike that had shattered the corpse was completely ineffective against the gold paper.

Su Che thought to himself, "This thing might be a protective treasure."

"Who is the person who left those words in the Chang family of Licheng?"

“He was the founding ancestor of my family. In the early years of the founding of the Great Liang Dynasty, he led the entire clan to establish a foundation in Licheng.”

In the early years of the founding of the nation, it does seem to match the old lion's stirring up trouble at the end of the previous dynasty. Could it be that this gold paper is still related to the old lion?
Su Che began to wonder if his luck had also turned bad after his destiny was shattered.

The Ministry of Personnel had given him seven counties to choose from, but he chose Shanyin County, which had the most problems.

The plan was to cultivate oneself to avoid trouble, but instead, one ended up in the eye of the storm.

It's basically like immigrating from Afghanistan to Iraq, then moving to Syria when things get suspicious.

There is one more person.

Of all those who attacked the old man, Su Che was most concerned about the person manipulating the fluorescent light, wondering what methods this person used.

The spirit-stabilizing bell vibrated repeatedly, and Su Che summoned the remnant soul of the man in black, but he couldn't call it out for a moment.

Su Che frowned for a moment.

Although there are various paths to cultivation, they all ultimately come down to the two words "spirit and soul." The more one cultivates, regardless of the method one uses, the more one's spirit and soul will surpass that of ordinary people.

The remnant soul of an ordinary person doesn't linger long enough, but this is absolutely not the case for a cultivator.

Could it be that this person isn't completely dead?
Without much thought, Su Che unleashed a sweeping sword aura.

We must eradicate evil completely, lest things escalate and become unpredictable.

The black-clad man's body was shattered into pieces. The spirit-summoning bell was struck again, but still no remnant soul was summoned.

Su Che looked around intently and, by the moonlight, discovered a clue.

Around the corpse, there was a faint trail of saliva, twisted left and right like a snake mark, which had been severely damaged by his sword energy. However, it could be seen that it extended outside the City God Temple.

It was a carelessness on my part. I don't know what tricks that person used, but he managed to get away.

With this thought in mind, Su Che summoned the Soul-Binding Rope, shattering all the remaining souls into wisps of Yin energy. The black rope, like a python, devoured the remaining souls completely.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the seven Yin Heaven Secret Talismans slowly rotated.

Su Che bent down and searched the bodies of the dead men.

Apart from some loose silver coins, there was nothing else of value.

However, the man with the glowing hand made a different discovery.

He had a black leather pouch hanging from his waist, which was not clearly visible in the moonlight. It was bulging inside, and one of the medicine bottles was full of green insect eggs. Each egg looked like a miniature human head, with a sharp mouth at the end, but no organs were visible.

In addition, there was a small book with yellow leather pages, filled with writing that resembled insects and birds.

Looking at the traces of the characters, Su Che recalled that the book "Xuanzhong Ji" mentioned that this kind of script was used in the Hundred Thousand Mountains of the Southwest, and it even had a name: "Insect Script and Bird Seal Script".

It is said to have been used in ancient times and is known for its beautiful and varied writing style.

If one could enter the Imperial Guard's library and learn how to decipher this "insect script and bird seal script," perhaps one could then understand the contents of this book.

Su Che suddenly felt that his future official career might be able to lean towards the direction of the Imperial Guard.

"The air is thick with the stench of blood. He took seven lives with a single move. Master Liu has a tremendous killing intent."

Just as Su Che finished cooking, a sound rang out at the entrance of the City God Temple.

A middle-aged man dressed as a wealthy businessman walked through the broken gate of the City God Temple.

(End of this chapter)