CHAPTER 187: UNIVERSE POUCH!

Xiao Ce’s figure quickly disappeared into the ruins. That proud youth, with twin sabers at his waist, had come as swiftly as he had left.

Yet he left a deep impression on Li Yanchu.

If I hadn’t used the talismanic armor or the Jiaoslayer, I might not have been his match... His sabers were simply too fast, beyond what normal people can imagine.

Not only that, they possessed tremendous piercing power. Even Li Yanchu’s Qi Shield could only withstand a few strikes before being broken.

However, after Xiao Ce left, Li Yanchu’s eyes fell on the cloth pouch in his hand, a replica of the legendary Universe Pouch, and a surge of heat and excitement welled up in his heart.

This pouch was incredibly rich in divine essence, far more potent than the other artifacts he currently possessed.

And yet, it was still a broken artifact, unable to be used. It was proof of how extraordinary it must’ve been in its prime.

A replica of a mythic Universe Pouch? Li Yanchu was filled with anticipation.

To Xiao Ce, this pouch was probably nothing more than a damaged relic, good only for spiritual shelter inside the Blissful Land with no actual utility.

But, In Li Yanchu’s hands, it was a completely different story!

He began to mimic the Great Dao’s, summoning the familiar voice of the Dao. “Decree of Bestowal!”

As the tidal waves of the Great Dao surged forth, the ordinary-looking pouch began to transform.

The previously broken, fragmented aura vanished, and it was replaced by a vigorous and sacred radiance.

Li Yanchu checked the cost. 1000 merit points were consumed!

Just enhancing a damaged artifact had cost him a full thousand merit points, and that alone spoke volumes about the pouch’s potential.

He carefully tried to sense its power again, but the spatial ability within the pouch was still inaccessible.

“Still doesn’t work?”

With tens of thousands of merit points to his name, Li Yanchu wasn’t fazed.

“Decree of Bestowal, again!”

He enhanced it a second time. The ancient, timeworn aura vanished further, and the pouch looked even more plain and unassuming.

Two thousand more merit points were consumed, but there was still no response.

“Decree of Bestowal!”

Without hesitation, he enhanced it the third time. Three thousand merit points consumed!

Suddenly, the pouch burst into brilliant light. A strange energy shimmered on its surface like rippling water.

Then...

Whoosh! The pouch lifted into the air, emanating divine radiance that filled the entire Daoist temple hall.

Thankfully, it lasted only a moment. Any longer and he’d have drawn every treasure-hunting expert in the Blissful Land to his doorstep.

Just from the glow alone, it was clear that a powerful treasure had just awakened. The light faded, and the pouch gently descended and settled into Li Yanchu’s palm.

The drawstring at its mouth seemed alive, wrapping itself around his waist like a natural extension of his body. Now it looked only palm-sized, completely unremarkable. It was no longer radiating the ancient or spiritual aura of a Daoist temple hall artifact.

But, Li Yanchu could feel a strange sense of resonance with it, as if they were mysteriously connected, as if it now belonged to him completely.

He gently rubbed his fingers across the pouch’s surface and immediately felt its toughness. Li Yanchu was slightly surprised.

This texture...

Even if he used all his strength, he probably wouldn’t be able to tear it.

This formerly broken Daoist temple hall artifact, a replica of the legendary Universe Pouch, had become a treasure that was impervious to sabers and fire alike after three enhancements.

He turned to look at the massive, heavy jujube tree beside him.

With a single thought, he said, “Store!”

The entire tree vanished from the Daoist temple hall, and Li Yanchu could clearly sense that it now existed inside the mysterious inner space of the pouch. There were no complicated incantations, just a single mental command. And at any time, he could summon the tree back out from thin air!

“Hahahahaha!” Li Yanchu couldn’t help but burst into laughter, feeling truly overjoyed. “This is a high-grade storage artifact!”

He lowered his head and examined the pouch in his hand, falling more in love with it by the second.

He repeatedly placed objects from the hall into the now-enhanced pouch, then summoned them back out, having the time of his life.

This thing is practically a must-have for travel, treasure-hunting... or disposing of enemies!

“From now on, your name is Universe Pouch!” Li Yanchu declared joyfully.

Who cares if it’s a replica? Now, it was as real as they came!

He placed several items into the pouch: the divine wooden token, the miniature incense burner, and the ancient pendant.

As for the octagonal copper bell, he tied it to his waist, intending to show it off a little.

Now that he no longer had to hide the jujube tree’s presence, Li Yanchu set off directly toward the holy site, Mount Jinting.

Xiao Ce had just mentioned that the residual will of the Immortal who once protected this Blissful Land had appeared there. That could only mean one thing that a great treasure was about to emerge. So he moved quickly to get there.

With the Universe Pouch now in his possession, even if it came to a fight over treasure... Who could possibly snatch it away from him now?

***

The sky was still overcast and oppressive, casting a gloomy mood across the land. But Li Yanchu felt completely at ease.

This journey into the Blissful Land had already yielded incredible rewards. And this was only the outer region, he hadn’t even entered Mount Jinting’s core yet!

The closer he got to Mount Jinting, the more he could sense the grandeur of this Immortal Dao site. Even the massive ruined temples gave one a humbling sense of their own insignificance.

Li Yanchu continued toward the mountain, passing several abandoned Daoist temple halls, each much larger than the one he had been in.

But they had long since vanished into the river of time.

The divine aura had vanished, leaving only a pile of rubble and broken tiles.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

From a mountain path up ahead, the sounds of intense fighting echoed, accompanied by the thuds of heavy bodies hitting the ground.

Li Yanchu activated his Qi Sight, observing the flow of qi in that direction.

He discovered not only the pure aura of Daoist practitioners, but also dense yin qi and killing intent.

Don’t tell me this is the Mount Mao Sect ambushing Gongshu Peiyu? A thoughtful glint flashed in Li Yanchu’s eyes.

If that were the case, and he rashly approached...

Wouldn't both sides currently fighting to the death suddenly stop, and join forces to cause him trouble? Li Yanchu believed that it was highly likely to happen.

Even so, in the vast, desolate ruins, it was rare to hear signs of human activity. He couldn’t resist the urge to check it out. So he concealed his aura, and silently flew toward the higher mountain path.

His movement technique had already reached a level of silent steps, no trace in the snow.

Though fast, he made not the slightest sound.

However, when Li Yanchu arrived on the mountain path, he was momentarily stunned. A young, beautiful Daoist girl, clad in robes, was being besieged by three attackers.

She’s not Gongshu Peiyu. Li Yanchu gave her a quick glance.

She was tall and graceful, with a pair of alluring yet authoritative phoenix eyes, radiating a cool and distant aura. Her weapon was a whisk.

Among the three attacking her, Li Yanchu recognized one of them. It was Blind Zhou, a follower of the Mount Mao Sect, who had previously teamed up with a curved-blade-wielding foreigner to attack him. Short, wiry, with a sleazy and sinister appearance, and still holding his erhu.

Blind Zhou!? Li Yanchu’s eyes lit up.

He had a deep impression of this man. He was the one who could use erhu strings to slice a man in half. Clearly, Zhou could see perfectly well; yet he was still called “blind.”

As for another of the attackers, he surprised Li Yanchu even more: A man with bulging, knotted muscles, able to wield massive boulders as weapons. But strangely, he didn’t seem like a martial artist from the jianghu...

Instead, he resembled a mythical strongman, straight out of legend.