Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Cold Condensation Curse

“Buzz!”

The Jade Seal trembled slightly. Lu Zheng probed with his mind and discovered that four people had apportioned a total of five strands of the Light of Fortune to him.

Not bad!

Also…

“Goodness, this Corpse-Dissolving Powder is quite potent. It’s truly a perfect solution to destroy corpses and eliminate traces. Which genius invented this?”

Lu Zheng used the Corpse-Dissolving Powder again to completely dissolve the corpses of the other three.

Under the powerful corrosive effect of the Corpse-Dissolving Powder, all three men’s bones, organs, muscles, and flesh turned into a pool of sewage, seeping into the ground, disappearing entirely.

He dug a deep pit, where he gathered and buried the remaining clothes and weapons of the four men. The only evidence of their existence now was the two large bundles before him.

Opening the bundles, they were packed full of coarse hemp cloth, and in the spots of moonlight filtering through the tree canopy, Lu Zheng saw various items separated by the cloth.

Gold Artifact, Agate, White Jade, Pearl…

Each item emitted a thread of Yin Qi.

Burial artifacts!

As expected, they were grave robbers. Who knows whose tomb they dug up?

“Vengeance has a beginning, debt has a source. I’ve avenged you, shouldn’t you thank me?”

Lu Zheng spoke to himself, “There’s no victim in this matter, and these items can’t be exposed. If I were to hand them over to the government, besides not knowing whom they belong to, a portion would likely be embezzled. More importantly, I would be exposed, perhaps inciting retaliation from that Golden Extinction Hall.

Given that, I can only reluctantly accept your ‘thank you’ gifts. Look, I’ve got a big house here, but back home I’m still renting a place, pitiful indeed.”

Lu Zheng first took out an Exorcism Talisman, performed a spell, and tossed it into the two bundles. The lingering Yin Qi on the items was gently extracted, silently dissipating.

Burial items long stored in tombs absorb Yin Qi and cold energy. If worn immediately after being unearthed, the Yin Qi enters the body, causing illness. It needs to be sun-bleached for several days before being safe to wear.

While the Exorcism Talisman isn’t the sun burning brightly over all things, it rivals its effectiveness in purging evil energy. Consuming one Exorcism Talisman, it completely purged the faint Yin Qi contaminating these ordinary objects.

Transporting all items to the modern era, erasing all traces in the forest, Lu Zheng took out another Conceal Breath Talisman, replacing the previous one whose power was nearly depleted.

Since hearing that there were cultivators in the Golden Extinction Hall, Lu Zheng had been very cautious.

…

Having handled everything, Lu Zheng silently returned to Tongyi Lane.

Just as he turned the alley corner, he saw a charming figure standing at his neighbor’s doorway, holding a lantern, gazing toward the alley.

Their gazes met, Liu Qingyan smiled in relief, and then blushed, hurriedly retreating inside.

…

The next day, sunlight shone dimly through the window paper, softly illuminating the bedroom.

Looking down at the quilt covering him, Lu Zheng sighed helplessly.

“Energetic and healthy, my Qi and blood like a furnace, what can I do–”

“Brother Lu! Brother Lu!” Liu Qingquan’s voice called from the front courtyard, “Father asked me to invite you over for breakfast!”

“Coming, coming!”

Hurriedly dressing, Lu Zheng didn’t even wash up before Liu Qingquan dragged him away.

Aunt Liu couldn’t stop smiling, though she sighed helplessly, “Well, there’s no need to make the young master’s breakfast.”

Lu Zheng arrived at the Liu Family, looking sleepy, clearly just awakened.

Liu Qingyan glared at her sister, went to fetch water, and brought along a soap hand towel to assist Lu Zheng with his wash.

“I’ll do it myself! I’ll do it myself!”

Elder Liu and Madam Liu watched with pleased expressions.

“That’s only fitting, only fitting. You saved our family of four; isn’t it right for Qingyan to help you wash up?”

After washing, Lu Zheng was invited to the front courtyard hall, where Madam Liu laid out a lavish breakfast–porridge with pickles, buns with vegetable pancakes, and a bowl of sour soup noodles.

Great kindness needs no thanks. The subsequent matters were understood by all, and the Liu Family didn’t mention the events of last night, instead enthusiastically urging Lu Zheng to eat more, treating him as family.

“Burp… Well, I certainly won’t need lunch today.”

…

After breakfast, Lu Zheng greeted Uncle Li and the others at home, then crossed back to the modern world.

Starting with sorting out the spoils.

Lu Zheng sorted the various items, wrapping each in cloth, placing them inside a large roller suitcase to handle later.

“Gold artifacts together, jade artifacts together, these pieces are agate, these are rubies, these are pearls, all quite large. Oh, this must be emerald. What’s its water quality?”

Lu Zheng muttered while sorting, “It seems my wish to change to a bigger house will soon be fulfilled.”

“Hmm?” Lu Zheng’s eyes narrowed.

He was holding a piece of gold foil, densely covered in small characters. At first glance, it looked like mere patterns.

“What is this?”

Reading carefully, Lu Zheng found that these inscriptions recorded a spell!

Cold Condensation Curse!

Using special runes, aided by True Qi, can absorb cold energy for storage, ultimately releasing it towards a target.

It can be cast from a distance, engraved into a Talisman, or inscribed onto an object, infused with True Qi, absorbing cold energy for release.

Lu Zheng immediately recalled these four men’s visit to Renxin Hall earlier. Their bodies were filled with cold energy, mixed with death and Yin Qi.

Thus, it’s inferred that the tomb owner had buried a Talisman or Dharma Artifact with a Cold Condensation Curse in the tomb, activating it when they robbed the grave.

Although they were severely injured, they didn’t die immediately. They managed to carry items out of the tomb, even making it to Renxin Hall.

At the end of the gold foil, it specifically noted that this spell is most suitable for cultivators practicing a Cold Attribute Technique, or could be cast during winter, or within the icy realms of the Northern Border, with powerful results, unstoppable by humans or ghosts.

“What a treasure!”

Though Lu Zheng wasn’t practicing a Cold Attribute Technique, and it was summer, Lu Zheng had a refrigerator in the modern world!

Need cold energy? You name the amount! I won’t haggle!

No further ado, Lu Zheng set the gold foil aside, focusing more eagerly on sorting items.

After all the items were organized, Lu Zheng found nothing else related to cultivation.

Based on the gold foil’s instructions, it’s deduced the tomb owner might have been a wealthy mortal who acquired the Cold Condensation Curse by chance, and didn’t practice any cultivation techniques.

Objects capable of releasing the Cold Condensation Curse were likely developed by long-term imitation, inadvertently changing over years, harming the four grave robbers.

“Indeed, if it were a cultivator, they wouldn’t have been robbed by four people who hadn’t even entered Martial Dao.”

“But the result benefits me!”

Lu Zheng joyfully opened his computer, transcribing the gold foil’s inscriptions one by one, then stored the gold foil in a book.

It wasn’t until close to ten o’clock that Lu Zheng had finished organizing everything.