My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

Bearing the immortal's supreme power, it transformed into azure sword light, pierced through the window, drilled into the ground, and retrieved the head of the armored corpse hundreds of feet away!

Traces of immortal magic remain on this, and it bears the glory of vanquishing evil spirits!

This is not just a sword; it is a sacred object that witnessed a "miracle"! It is an object that the immortal once "used"!

A thought ignited in Zhou Yongfu's mind like wildfire, instantly overshadowing his fear and regret.

He strode up to the guard, his voice trembling with excitement: "You...your sword..."

The guard was startled and instinctively clutched his longsword, stammering, "S-Master...this is my personal sword..."

"I know it's your sword!" Zhou Yongfu's eyes lit up, his tone urgent.

"Just now... just now, did the immortal master use it to perform immortal magic?"

"Yes, yes... The immortal master merely pointed at the void, and it flew out on its own, then flew back, and even... it brought the monster's head with it..."

The guard still felt lingering fear when he recalled that scene.

"That's right!" Zhou Yongfu slapped his thigh, his face glowing.

"This sword, imbued with the immortal's magical power, has slain demons and is no ordinary object! To leave it in the hands of a mere guard is... is to cast a pearl into the water, and may even tarnish the immortal's destiny!"

He paused, then adopted a gentler but unquestionable tone as he spoke to the guard.

"Alright, I'll buy this sword! Name your price! One hundred taels? No, five hundred taels of silver!"

That's enough for you to buy land, get married, have children, and live a comfortable life for the rest of your days! What do you think?

The guard was completely dumbfounded. Five hundred taels of silver? He couldn't save that much in his entire life as a guard!

This sword is just an ordinary weapon, not worth much money... Master, what is this...?

Zhou Wenxuan watched from the side, and was taken aback at first, but then he understood his father's thoughts.

Father wants to take back the sword that carries the "miracle" and use it as a treasure to ward off evil spirits and even worship!

Although it seems a bit too straightforward and utilitarian, upon closer examination, it doesn't seem entirely unreasonable.

At least, this sword now holds a different significance.

"Father, Father..." Zhou Wenxuan wanted to say something.

Zhou Yongfu waved his hand to interrupt him, and just looked at the guards with great interest.

"How about it? Five hundred taels, in cash! If you're willing, you can go to the accounting office and collect it now! Give me the sword!"

The guard looked at the ordinary longsword in his hand, and then thought about the five hundred taels of silver.

Looking again at the master's eager eyes, he gritted his teeth and presented the longsword and scabbard with both hands.

"Your Excellency is too kind, I... I am willing!" How could an ordinary guard resist such a temptation?

Zhou Yongfu was overjoyed and almost snatched the longsword from him. It was heavy and cold to the touch.

But he could almost feel the invisible "celestial energy" contained within it, and his fingers trembled slightly with excitement.

He carefully held the longsword in his arms, as if holding a newborn baby, or as if cradling an ancestral jade disc.

"Good! Good! Wenxuan, quick, take him to the accounting office to withdraw five hundred taels of silver! No, give him six hundred taels! Consider the extra hundred taels a reward!"

After giving his instructions, Zhou Yongfu looked down at the scabbard in his arms with a fascination and murmured to himself.

"We must commission the best craftsmen to make a sword rack from sandalwood, no, from agarwood! We'll place it in the ancestral hall, burning incense day and night... No, no, the ancestral hall isn't respectful enough; we need a separate quiet room to enshrine it..."

This is a true 'divine artifact'! With it, my Zhou family will surely be safe and protected from evil spirits!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, and his previous fear and regret seemed to have been overshadowed by the joy of receiving the "divine blessing".

Looking at his father's expression, Zhou Wenxuan sighed inwardly, knowing that it would be useless to try to persuade him.

He glanced at the grotesque iron-armored corpse's head on the table, then looked out at the pitch-black night outside the mansion, silently praying in his heart.

"Immortal Master, Daoist Chiyangzi, you must return safely and completely eradicate that root of evil..."

......

Outside Heishan Town, deep in the Wild Boar Forest.

The trees here are older and denser than those in the surrounding area, with twisted and gnarled branches that almost completely block out the sunlight, making it as dark as dusk even during the day.

The air was filled with the lingering smell of humus and a deeper, more unsettling chill.

Ordinary birds and beasts have long since disappeared, with only some shady, poisonous insects rustling and crawling under the thick layer of fallen leaves.

Pass through a labyrinthine barrier formed by natural stalagmites and fallen giant trees.

The terrain drops abruptly, forming a hidden, sunken cave partially surrounded by the mountain.

The entrance to the cave is hidden by vines and cleverly disguised rocks, making it extremely difficult to find unless you are looking for it.

The interior of the cave is larger than imagined, several meters high and tens of meters in circumference, clearly formed naturally and then carved by humans.

The cave walls were slippery, seeping with cold water droplets, and emitting a strong earthy smell and... a complex odor mixed with metallic rust, ancient amber, and strange medicinal fragrance, which was nauseating.

In the center of the cave, instead of soil, there was a huge circular altar made of a strange, dark red soil that looked as if it had been soaked in dried blood.

The altar was covered with dense, twisted black runes that resembled snakes and worms, possessing an eerie beauty.

Within the runic grooves, a dark red glow seemed to flow slowly like blood, emanating a chilling energy fluctuation.

In the center of the altar, there was a huge, pitch-black coffin.

The coffin was neither wood nor stone, and its material was unknown. Its surface was covered with ancient and ferocious reliefs depicting scenes of battlefield carnage and devastation, with a faint black mist swirling around it.

The coffin lid was not completely closed, leaving a gap from which wisps of condensed, grayish-black corpse energy were constantly seeping out.

It writhes like a living thing, intertwining with the dark red light of the altar runes to create a bizarre and sinister sight.

At this moment, a person is sitting cross-legged on the coffin.

The man appeared to be around forty years old, with a withered face and a pale complexion, as if he had never seen the sun.

His cheekbones were high and his eye sockets were deep, but his eyes shone with an almost fanatical light in the dim cave.

He was dressed in a tattered, coarse cloth outfit that was almost unrecognizable in its original color, and on his feet were worn-out straw sandals, looking no different from a woodcutter in the mountains.

However, the cold, obscure, and subtly connected magical energy emanating from him, which was faintly linked to the aura of the altar and coffin, indicated that he was no ordinary person.

He is the "master" mentioned by Yunhe Zhenren, the true source of all the strange events deep in the Wild Boar Forest.

He has no Taoist name, or even a proper name. Perhaps he once had one, but he abandoned it long ago on his mad pursuit of power.

Now, all he knows is what he has to do—to refine the object in this coffin!

His hands were lightly placed on the coffin lid, palms facing the crack.

Strands of gray-black magical power, mixed with his own essence and blood, were continuously being poured into the coffin.

It is engaging in some kind of deep communication and catalysis with the contents of the coffin.

His breathing was long and slow, as if in sync with the pulse of the coffin, and his entire spirit seemed to be closely connected with the contents of the coffin.