14: Second-tier magical artifact – Yu Wang Sword.

Yu Xuzi gently put down his brush, looking at the Golden Light Talisman on the desk—its lines smooth and spiritual light faintly visible—and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up.

He could clearly feel the stable Magical Power contained within it.

Although it was only the lowest-tier Golden Light Talisman, and its effect was slightly worse than normal due to the materials—perhaps he should prefix it with “Pseudo” or “Half”?

But this was also the first Talisman with a Spell effect that he had successfully produced through his own efforts.

This marked his formal entry into the Dao of Talismans, which was immensely significant.

“Success after ten attempts!”

“And the majority of those failures were due to substandard materials; otherwise, I should have succeeded within the fifth, or even the third, attempt.”

“Calculated this way, I should also be a Talisman Genius.”

Yu Xuzi excitedly picked up the hard-won Golden Light Talisman and carefully sealed and stored it.

At this moment, the sky outside the window was already faintly bright.

Before he knew it, an entire night had passed.

“Creak~”

Pushing open the wooden door, cold air rushed in, invigorating Yu Xuzi.

He slowly walked into the small courtyard, preparing to stretch his muscles and bones before beginning his morning meditation and cultivation.

He now possessed twenty-eight strands of Magical Power within his body, and needed just two more strands to achieve a Breakthrough to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.

The Path of Cultivation cannot be neglected for a single day.

Half a Shi Chen later, the sky had just become fully bright.

A faint clamor, like a surging tide, began to spread rapidly throughout the city.

Gradually, the sound grew louder.

Yu Xuzi, who was meditating, frowned slightly, opened his eyes, and listened carefully.

“...Defeated! Defeated again!”

“Those damned Yellow Heaven Bandits! Run!”

“The Government Troops can't hold them off! They are only a hundred Li from the city!”

“Mother! Stop packing! Hurry up and leave! It will be too late if we wait!”

“Child's father, wait for us...”

Piecing together the scattered information from the chaotic noise, Yu Xuzi instantly understood the reason.

The last hundred thousand troops assembled by the Yu Kingdom Court south of Fufeng Commandery had collapsed, and the vanguard of the Yellow Heaven Cult army was now less than a hundred Li away from this Commandery City.

Five hundred Li further north was the Royal Capital!

Order within the city was collapsing at a visible speed.

The streets were clogged with fleeing people, carriages, and horses.

Crying, cursing, and urging sounds were incessant.

Yu Xuzi stood at the entrance of the small courtyard, silently watching the familiar apocalyptic scene unfolding before him.

For ordinary commoners, this Huang Tian Cult Rebellion was a catastrophe, but for him, it was a huge Opportunity.

“A distance of a hundred Li... For the Yellow Heaven Army, whose Aura is currently flourishing, they will likely arrive at the city walls within two days.”

Yu Xuzi calculated in his mind.

He looked up toward the south of the city, his gaze seeming to penetrate the layers of houses and city walls, seeing the earth-yellow torrent about to sweep over them.

“The State Preceptors Mansion is still Sealed Off Mountain and not emerging... Are they powerless to respond, or do they have another scheme?” Yu Xuzi pondered. “The fate of this Yu Kingdom truly seems about to change, doesn't it?”

“It seems I need to make more plans.”

He turned and returned to the small courtyard, gently closing the gate, temporarily isolating the external noise and panic.

He had only lived here for a month, and already he had to move again.

Next, he would secretly follow the footsteps of the Yellow Heaven Cult army from a distance, whether they headed to the Royal Capital or Purple Gold Mountain... It was late December.

Deep winter had arrived.

Fine snow spray was swept up by the cold wind, whipping against the tall city walls of the Royal Capital, making a howling sound.

The festive cheer and clamor of past year-ends had long been replaced by a suffocating sense of panic and despair.

Outside the Royal Capital, as far as the eye could see were earth-yellow tents covering mountains and plains. The Huangtian Great Army, whose numbers had swollen to over a hundred thousand, had completely surrounded this five-hundred-year-old Ancient Capital.

People shouted, horses neighed, and banners stood like a forest.

The soaring Evil Qi, mixed with cooking smoke, formed a massive, unsettling dark cloud that hung over the city.

Inside the city, the scene was one of chaos preceding the end of the world.

The once-bustling streets were now desolate, shop doors were tightly shut, stalls were overturned, and the ground was littered with debris.

Terrified commoners huddled trembling in their homes; the air was permeated with fear, despair, and a nearly insane Malice.

The dead of night.

A green shadow quietly infiltrated the anxious Royal Palace.

Yu Xuzi had tested the situation for several days in advance, and only after confirming that the State Preceptors Mansion remained sealed off and that there were no Cultivators present in the Royal Capital did he dare to boldly enter the Royal Palace.

Taking advantage of the Yellow Heaven Army besieging the city and most of the palace guards being transferred to the city walls, he easily avoided the sparse patrols using a Cultivator's agility and the Concealment Spell from the Huang Tian True Scripture, arriving at the Wenhua Pavilion deep within the Royal Palace.

This was the Yu Kingdom's Royal Library.

Wenhua Pavilion was five stories high, covering an area of twenty Zhang, with flying eaves and bracket sets, and a magnificent Aura.

However, at this moment, the entrance was deserted; not even a single Eunuch guard could be seen.

Yu Xuzi pushed open the heavy palace door, and a scent of aged ink and old scrolls rushed toward him.

The light inside the hall was dim. Tall bookshelves were neatly arranged like silent giants, densely stacked with various archives and classics.

His goal was clear: not the standard classics, histories, masters, and anthologies, but the scrolls recording the true historical secrets of the Yu Kingdom.

Since the Yu Kingdom was about to perish, he might as well write its final chapter for it, which might lead to unexpected gains.

A faint flame of Magical Power lit up on his fingertip, and Yu Xuzi began searching rapidly through the pavilion.

A Cultivator's spirit is far stronger than a Mortal's; even though he was only a Qi Refining Cultivator and had not yet developed Divine Sense, photographic memory was commonplace.

He didn't need to take anything away; he just needed to scan the information quickly with his eyes and engrave it in his mind.

*The Annals of Grand Ancestor Yu Kingdom*, *The Royal Jade Register*, *Chronicle of Purple Gold Mountain*... Ancient books, some new and some yellowed, were quickly flipped through in his hands. A massive flood of information poured into his mind, which he rapidly sorted and integrated:

“Grand Ancestor Lie, originally a hermit from the previous dynasty, obtained an Immortal Opportunity on Purple Gold Mountain, was taught the Art of Cultivation, and later descended the mountain to establish the three thousand Li territory of the Yu Kingdom...”

“In the 30th year of the Yu Calendar, the Grand Ancestor's achievements reached the pinnacle of creation, establishing his Dao Foundation. His lifespan extended for two hundred years, and he then established the State Preceptors Mansion on Purple Gold Mountain to protect the Yu Kingdom's foundation.”

“In the 195th year of the Yu Calendar, the Grand Ancestor passed away, and the State Preceptors Mansion changed hands.”

“...”

A flash of realization crossed Yu Xuzi's eyes—so this was how the State Preceptors Mansion came to be.

No wonder the current State Preceptors Mansion largely ignores the Yu Kingdom Royal Family.

Apart from the Grand Ancestor of Yu Kingdom, the Yu Kingdom Royal Family has barely produced any descendants with Spiritual Root Aptitude in the past few centuries.

This also led to the subsequent position of State Preceptor being passed down through master-disciple Legacy, with no Bloodline connection to the Yu Kingdom.

The State Preceptors Mansion and the Yu Kingdom Royal Family drifted further apart, to the point where the Mansion had now Usurped the Host's Position!

Three days later.

Yu Xuzi quietly left Wenhua Pavilion, a purple longsword now in his hand.

“Recorded one copy of *Collective—Fate Record: History of Yu Kingdom*.”

“Record Assessment: Largely authentic, minor flaws, contains faint True Intent of Fate, touches upon the Truth of Legacy.”

“Following the old precedent, select the Opportunity.”

“Bestow Reward!”

He succeeded.

Moreover, this time, the reward he received was a physical Magical Artifact longsword!

A Second-Tier Low Grade Magical Artifact—[yu king sword].

Behind him was the Royal Capital of Yu Kingdom, which had already fallen into a Living Hell.

Blood Qi and firelight soared into the sky, and miserable screams and maniacal laughter intertwined, echoing through the clouds.

However, it had nothing to do with him.