The Top Grade Defensive Magic Tool, the Merit Bell!

Chu Xuan then took out Huikong's storage bag. After slaying Huikong, he immediately entered the underground palace to rescue Wan Wuying, and then quickly left Misty Manor for Flying Mountain Hall. He had hardly had any downtime until now.Huikong's storage bag was extraordinary. Qi Refining stage cultivators generally used low-grade storage bags, with a space of only about one cubic meter.

Foundation Establishment stage cultivators usually had medium-grade storage bags, offering ten cubic meters of space. However, Huikong possessed a high-grade storage bag, providing a whopping one hundred cubic meters!

It is well known that spatial magic tools are more valuable than other types such as offensive, defensive, or flying magic tools, due to their unique nature. High-grade storage bags are about thirty percent more expensive than high-grade magic tools of other types. Even Li Xuanming currently used a medium-grade bag.

Indeed, Huikong was worthy of being considered a prodigy of the Golden Dragon Temple. Such extravagance!

Rubbing his hands together excitedly, Chu Xuan slowly opened the storage bag. Various treasures immediately caught his eye.

First and foremost were the dazzling spirit stones—a small mountain of small spirit stones, roughly estimated at three thousand pieces. Medium spirit stones were piled in the corner, about fifty in total. Just these spirit stones alone could purchase three to four high-grade magic tools.

Besides the spirit stones, Chu Xuan spotted several magic tools, all of medium grade. Now accustomed to finer items, these medium-grade tools barely caught his interest—they were better than nothing. He had hoped to find Huikong's Vajra Beads, an offensive and defensive magic tool that was a rare find. If tainted with Yin Evil Qi, it could potentially be used by him.

Unfortunately, the Vajra Beads and Vajra Cassock used by Huikong had been destroyed in battle, leaving only the khakkhara saber in Chu Xuan's possession.

Although the saber crafted by the monks of the Golden Dragon Temple was exceptionally fierce, he found it difficult to control only able to unleash thirty percent of its power.

"Hmm... Golden Dragon Array, Ghost Repelling Array, Evil Expelling Array... These formations are quite good, but I have no use for them. I'll find an opportunity to sell them... Foundation Establishment Stage Array Formations Detailed Analysis, this is useful... Huh, is that a box of Earth Evil Pills?"

Earth Evil Pills, crafted from the flesh of Earth Evil, were toxic to cultivators but highly beneficial for corpse puppets. Many zombie soldiers needing advancement to higher ranks relied on these pills. The Infinite Sect had once cultivated a large quantity of Earth Evil specifically for this purpose. Chu Xuan had been wondering where he might find Earth Evil to make these pills, and now Huikong had unwittingly delivered them right to him.

"There are even some Earth Evil seeds here," he noted. "These must have been taken from a demonic cultivator slain by Huikong. He did not understand their value, simply stored them in his bag."

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Chu Xuan smiled and continued rummaging through the bag. "What's this?" he muttered upon discovering an exquisitely crafted large jade box. A seal affixed to the box bore the inscription: "Do not open unless meritorious enough."

Raising an eyebrow, Chu Xuan mused about merit. While he couldn't speak for others, he knew he possessed significant merit. Without hesitation, he opened the jade box.

Inside, an ancient bronze bell lay quietly. Its surface was engraved with various celestial beings—fierce Vajras, serene Bodhisattvas, and smiling Buddhas.

For a moment, Chu Xuan felt as though he was drawn into the gaze of these divine figures, feeling as insignificant as an ant before mountains.

The strange vision vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and he found himself still in the cave. "This magic tool induced a vision in me," he marveled. "Can it really be so powerful?"

Startled yet thrilled by the power he'd sensed without even activating it, Chu Xuan pondered, "I wonder if I can use this bell?"

After much contemplation and preparation, he finally took out the bell. The moment it emerged, it tolled on its own, radiating Buddha's light as if testing whether the user was worthy of wielding it.

Then, unexpectedly, a halo of merit appeared behind Chu Xuan's head. It slowly rotated, vast and majestic, as if a true Buddha had descended to the earthly realm.

The sound from the bell ceased abruptly like a duck squawking at midnight suddenly silenced by a firm grip around its neck. In that moment, the divine gaze of the gods and Buddhas engraved on the bell's surface lost all their intimidating force towards Chu Xuan, seeming... ingratiating.

The halo of merit flickered and vanished. Chu Xuan, looking at the now docile bell before him, scratched his head. "It seems my little bit of merit actually did some good here," he chuckled to himself.

Upon closer inspection of the bell, Chu Xuan soon found two words etched into its base: "Merit Bell." His eyebrows rose in recognition. He had heard of this treasure.

Yuan Hong, the former abbot of the Golden Dragon Temple who was a Foundation Establishment stage monk at the time, had wielded this Merit Bell. With the bell in hand, Yuan Hong stood unshaken like a saint in his sacred robes, unfazed by powerful foes. His most famous feat was when he, alone, withstood the assault of six demonic cultivators of the same realm for five days and nights until reinforcements arrived!

Now that Yuan Hong had ascended to the Golden Core stage, the Merit Bell had naturally been passed down to another monk—unexpectedly, to Huikong. Clearly, Huikong's merits had been insufficient; otherwise, he would have utilized the Merit Bell in their previous battle. The Merit Bell was a top-grade magic tool, and if truly operational, even all four of them together could not breach its defenses.

"Excellent! Others can hardly make it! I can do it easy!" Chu Xuan couldn't help but laugh. What a fortuitous turn of events! The Golden Dragon Temple could never have imagined that a demonic cultivator's merit would be profound enough to activate the Merit Bell!

He glanced affectionately at Huikong, who appeared utterly bewildered, now devoid of his past life's memories and only filled with awe towards Chu Xuan. "Oh, Huikong, you really have done me a great favor."

Chu Xuan spent some time reviewing everything in Huikong's storage bag and finally nodded in satisfaction. The Merit Bell, Earth Evil Pills, and over three thousand small spiritual stones were the greatest treasures he had gleaned from Huikong's possessions.

After a brief moment of joy, he began to plan his next steps: "First, cultivate my lifebound Gu insect. Second, replenish my reserves of Yin Evil Qi and large blood pearls. Third, find a powerful creature to serve as the main soul for my formation. Fourth, focus on cultivation to break through to higher realms. Each task is urgent. It's perfect to use the differing time flows between the two worlds to accelerate my progress!"

Chu Xuan took out the energy-filled Blood Mirror and immediately activated it, ready to harness its powers for the tasks ahead.