Chapter 669: Golden Inscription Appointment

In the Ghost City of Wuya's Underworld Manor, Xin Wuya had specially prepared a quiet room for Ji Yuan. Ji Yuan sat there alone, a stack of golden paper documents on the table before him. He held one in his hand, meticulously studying its profound mysteries.

The golden paper didn't look like ordinary paper. It was the size of a court memorial and appeared extremely thin, like a delicate gold leaf, yet it possessed remarkable resilience and wasn't easily bent or folded. Upon careful examination, Ji Yuan could discern that the paper was indeed infused with gold dust, though the type of wood used to make it was unclear.

Since he had a considerable quantity on hand, Ji Yuan unreservedly began researching them using various methods.

First, the handwriting was excessively neat, each stroke perfectly resembling standard regular script. Ji Yuan, a master calligrapher himself, couldn't discern any distinctive characteristics of the writer from the text, making it unclear whether it was intentionally written that way or if that was its natural style.

Next, Ji Yuan attempted to damage the golden document using common methods like dousing it with water or burning it, but this special imperial decree remained completely unharmed. So, Ji Yuan then directly used his sword finger, concentrating a small amount of sword energy to lightly draw across the paper. The sword energy only left a faint mark on the paper, which quickly disappeared, much like cutting water with a sword, where the ripples naturally smooth out.

"Hard to damage?" Ji Yuan murmured to himself. Then, calming his mind and focusing his energy, the Geng Metal qi originated from his lungs, and he increased his effort, drawing with his sword finger once more.

"Hiss..." A flash of sword light from Ji Yuan's fingertip, and the golden paper was instantly cut in half. The characters on it, which had appeared vibrant under his spiritual vision, quickly dimmed, though they didn't completely lose their spiritual luminescence. Despite being severed, the paper retained its mystical qualities.

Ji Yuan then picked up one half of the paper and flicked it, producing a clanging sound like a thin metal sheet. He easily folded it, but when unfolded, there was no trace of the fold.

Ji Yuan looked at the other half of the golden paper. 'Could it be restored?'

With a thought, Ji Yuan pieced the two halves of the golden paper together again. A shimmering light passed over them, and the two halves merged, reforming into a single special imperial decree page. However, its spiritual luminescence didn't fully recover, appearing somewhat dimmer.

"So it's not easily destroyed?" Ji Yuan furrowed his brow. Although he had only used a single sword-finger strike, it was by no means a simple technique.

'What about this way?' With that thought, Ji Yuan picked up another intact golden document. At the same time, he slightly opened his mouth and exhaled a wisp of Samadhi True Fire. As the surrounding yin energy was rapidly evaporated, the Samadhi True Fire directly struck the golden paper.

"Whoosh..." The golden document instantly ignited. Ji Yuan released it almost simultaneously, letting it float and burn in the air. This small page of golden paper, under the scorching heat of the Samadhi True Fire, surprisingly resisted for several breaths before completely vanishing, leaving not a trace of ash.

Ji Yuan took another new golden document, concentrating on the characters written on it. He touched the text with his fingertip, feeling each character individually. "Who wrote this?"

Each golden document gave Ji Yuan a distinct impression, making him understand that it wasn't a mere decree or a typical imperial order. It truly felt like an investiture talisman, as if by following the instructions on the golden text and using it correctly, one could receive a true investiture.

Ji Yuan had never seen a true investiture talisman before. While he had once wanted to borrow one from Mount Yuhua in his earlier years, he hadn't actively sought them out since. Such items were exceptionally rare; even an investiture talisman for a minor river deity was considered priceless, or at least highly collectible. Indeed, in the cultivation world, rarity dictates value, and there are collectors. Legendary items like investiture talismans, which diminish with each use, are not easily employed by anyone.

However, Ji Yuan found it hard to believe that these golden texts were actual investiture talismans. After all, he glanced at the stack on the table – they could practically be bound into a book. Moreover, even if he hadn't "eaten pork, he'd seen pigs run." Even without having thoroughly studied a true investiture talisman, Ji Yuan knew that genuine investiture talismans were highly formal documents, containing official formats like 'decree,' 'proclamation,' 'injunction,' and 'command,' embodying the profound mysteries of heaven and earth. Yet, the golden documents in his hand appeared too informal, resembling more a formal letter that stated requirements and offered rewards.

As his gaze swept across the several golden documents and he pondered the issue, a sudden realization struck him, causing a jolt in his mind. 'No, that's not right!' 'Could it be that the difference isn't actually that significant, and the distinction lies only in the improper text and insufficient method?'

Ji Yuan picked up two of the golden documents that had the most text written on them. His gaze fixed on the golden characters, his thoughts rapidly turning. 'I have this feeling now. What if these were combined with the correct form of investiture document and supplemented with a sufficient amount of decree power?'

A slight excitement stirred in Ji Yuan's heart, but at the same time, his thoughts became even more solemn.

One after another, the golden documents on the table floated up, arranging themselves in three rows above, below, and around Ji Yuan. The two golden documents in his hands also flew into the aerial formation. All the golden texts formed a semicircle around Ji Yuan. With his spiritual eyes fully open, he stared intently at all the golden documents before him, his gaze unwavering, his body utterly still, as he entered a state of profound contemplation.

Countless golden characters flickered before his eyes, or perhaps more accurately, flashed through his mind. Within his ethereal landscape, mystical golden texts reformed one by one. In this landscape, Ji Yuan's colossal spiritual form stood with hands clasped behind his back, similarly gazing at the golden texts in the sky, his demeanor and actions identical to Ji Yuan in the quiet room outside.

This state of contemplation lasted for a full nine days and ten nights. After that period, Ji Yuan finally stirred. He reached out for the golden document with the fewest characters, took it, and placed it on the table closer to him. Then, forming his left hand into a sword finger, he lightly touched the beginning of the golden characters on the paper.

"Sizzle... sizzle..." Purple electric light flashed invisibly within the meridians and acupoints of his left hand. Ji Yuan activated his magic power, holding back the full intent of an imperial decree in his mouth. His sword finger slowly rubbed against the paper, moving extremely slowly, as if encountering immense resistance.

"Sizzle... sizzle sizzle..." Purple electric arcs occasionally skipped across the golden paper. As Ji Yuan's left sword finger swept past, the very first character, '敕' (Chì), directly vanished. The spiritual luminescence on the paper abruptly decreased by several tenths, and the resistance Ji Yuan felt also lessened significantly.

Ji Yuan continued without stopping. His left sword finger kept sliding downwards, its speed increasing. After a while, Ji Yuan, having expended a considerable amount of magic power, withdrew his left hand. There was no longer a single character on the entire paper.

At the same moment, Ji Yuan extended his right hand. A stream of light flew from his sleeve, transforming into a wolf-hair brush in his grip. As his right hand assumed the posture of holding a brush, the brush tip was already brimming with ink, ready to drip.

Without hesitation, Ji Yuan immediately put brush to the golden paper. Following the original text and format of the document, and guided by his own decree, he assimilated the spiritual essence of the golden characters. Without reservation, he channeled his magic power to the brush tip, writing the characters, and recreated a golden text with identical content.

As Ji Yuan wrote each character, the golden text grew brighter and brighter. When the last character was completed, the entire golden document shimmered with iridescent light. Only when Ji Yuan lifted the wolf-hair brush did the radiant glow gradually dim, though a spiritual luminescence still flickered.

"Oh!" Ji Yuan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. He put away the brush and meticulously examined the page of golden paper he had written, comparing it with the other golden documents on the table. It seemed that his imitation, though "drawing a gourd from a dipper," was not bad at all. Relying on his own mastery of decrees, he had captured about sixty percent of the original's spiritual essence. Furthermore, his method of decree seemed superior, and his calligraphy was, of course, far better. Considering these factors, the golden document Ji Yuan held in his hand now looked almost indistinguishable from the originals.

Although Ji Yuan had focused intently during this imitation, giving at least twelve-tenths of his effort if not his absolute best, it was still just a copy, leaving room for further refinement and improvement.

This significantly brightened Ji Yuan's mood. He put away most of the golden documents, keeping only the one he had written and one original. Even if the original writer hadn't put their full effort into creating these golden texts, Ji Yuan felt confident he could deduce some things, implying his own efforts were not yet at their limit either.

Outside the quiet room, Xin Wuya had been waiting by the door for a whole night. When he arrived, he found a golden-armored warrior suddenly standing guard outside, naturally understanding that Ji Yuan didn't wish to be disturbed. However, Ji Yuan had previously stated he would emerge within ten days at most, so since it wouldn't be much longer, Xin Wuya simply waited outside, maintaining a respectful demeanor.

During this night of waiting, with nothing else to do, Xin Wuya also examined the additional stack of golden documents he held. Not that he could deduce anything from them, but he simply enjoyed comparing the promises made to other demons and evil cultivators, finding it amusing.

As he was engrossed in reading, he suddenly sensed something. He looked up and saw a paper bird that had flown in at some point, hovering above his head, flapping its wings. It appeared to be a paper artifact, similar to the paper figures commonly used by ghosts, yet it seemed remarkably lively. Xin Wuya had a strong feeling that the paper bird was also reading the text on the golden documents. 'A paper bird? Could it be some peculiar spirit?'

Just as Xin Wuya instinctively reached out to grab the paper bird for a closer look, his ghostly claw extended, but the seemingly only flapping bird instantly transformed into a streak of light and landed on the golden-armored warrior's head. Then, the golden-armored general, who in Xin Wuya's perception usually showed almost no extraneous reactions to the outside world, rolled its eyes to look at its head, then lowered its gaze to Xin Wuya. There seemed to be something more in that indifferent stare, making Xin Wuya, the Lord of the Underworld, inexplicably feel a tightening in his ghostly body. He suddenly felt that this particular golden-armored general was vastly different from those he had seen before.

At that moment, the room door suddenly opened, and Ji Yuan, smiling, emerged from within. The small paper crane on the golden-armored warrior's head immediately flapped its wings and flew to Ji Yuan's shoulder. As Ji Yuan looked at it, the little paper crane extended a wing and pointed towards Xin Wuya.

Faced with this scene, Xin Wuya felt extreme embarrassment and immense pressure.