Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

After delivering the 1,500 "Soul-Forged Iron Cavalry", He Damin did not immediately set off for Taiyuan.

In the deep mountains of northwestern Shanxi, he found an even more secluded cave. The cave was dry inside, but an underground river provided a water source. He cleverly concealed the entrance with boulders and vines, making it appear from the outside as an ordinary mountain wall.

It's time to get things sorted out.

Sitting cross-legged on the flat stone platform inside the cave, He Damin closed his eyes and concentrated. His cultivation had reached the early stage of the Golden Core realm, and the purple-gold pill in his body was slowly rotating in his dantian, absorbing and releasing pure innate true qi. In terms of martial arts, his cultivation at the Transformation Realm allowed him to control his body to a level of precision where "not even a feather could be added, nor a fly could land."

But that's also the problem—his cultivation level improved too quickly, and he gained too many and too varied abilities. Without a so-called "attribute panel" to clearly list them, he had almost forgotten many things, especially the mountains of resources piled up in his small world.

"It's time to take stock," He Damin muttered to himself.

He first focused his mind on his dantian and observed the golden elixir within.

The purplish-gold elixir was about the size of a pigeon egg, with flowing cloud patterns on its surface, containing a small world integrated with the Taiji space. True Qi circulated within it, becoming purer with each cycle. Of the four major realms of the Daoist Primordial Elixir Path—Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit into Emptiness, and Refining Emptiness into the Dao—he was currently in the initial stage of "Refining Qi into Spirit," but had already touched the threshold of "Spirit," and his soul strength far surpassed that of cultivators of the same level.

In terms of martial arts, the skills he possessed flashed through his mind one by one:

The Twelve Tan Legs – a powerful and fierce leg technique, when mastered, can split rocks and shatter monuments. Now, with the application of neutralizing force, its power is increased several times over.

Tai Chi Harmony Exercise – This is an internal martial arts method that focuses on harmonizing Yin and Yang and nourishing the internal organs. When combined with Taoist exercises, it has a synergistic effect.

"Swallow with Three Drops of Water" - a light-body technique, agile and swift, combined with the circulation of true qi, allowing for near-instantaneous teleportation over short distances.

Bajiquan – close-quarters combat with explosive power; the key to “crushing strike” is ingrained in its very bones.

Each of these traditional Chinese martial arts skills is top-notch on its own, and when combined, they are equally effective in both offense and defense, suitable for both close and long-range combat. However, He Damin vaguely sensed that these skills lacked a kind of "integration." Traditional Chinese martial arts focus on "strength," Taoism on "qi," and soul cultivation on "spirit." Although all three belong to oneself, they are like three parallel rivers that have failed to converge into a sea.

"Perhaps when I reach a higher level in Tai Chi Harmony Exercise, I can try to harmonize?" He Damin pondered.

Then, he entered the small world.

On that vast expanse of land in the Anode Space, supplies were piled up like mountains, neatly categorized. He Damin scanned it with his consciousness, as if opening a massive inventory list:

Arms Zone:

Type 38 rifles: more than 23,000.

Light and heavy machine guns: more than 800 units.

Grenade launchers, mortars, infantry guns, and mountain guns: a total of more than 400 pieces.

Various types of ammunition: too numerous to count, piled up in boxes into several small mountains.

Hand grenades, landmines, and explosives: piled up like mountains.

Most of the rifles and sabers have been delivered to Li Yunlong, with a small number remaining as spares.

Supply Area:

Food supplies: rice, wheat flour, compressed biscuits, and canned goods, enough to feed 10,000 people for a year.

Clothing: Japanese soldiers' winter and summer uniforms, overcoats, leather shoes, and large quantities of cloth.

Fuel: Thousands of barrels of gasoline and diesel.

Pharmaceuticals: ranging from sulfonamides to simple surgical instruments, in considerable quantities.

Transportation: More than 30 trucks (some have been delivered), more than 50 sidecar motorcycles, and hundreds of bicycles.

Special Items Section:

Machine tools: more than ten lathes, milling machines, drilling machines, etc., from the railway station warehouse.

Communication equipment: more than ten radios, generators, telephone exchanges, etc.

Precious metals: approximately eight tons of gold and tens of thousands of silver dollars (most of which were seized from the Japanese command post).

Antiques and calligraphy: more than a dozen large boxes, which have not yet been carefully inventoried.

Documents and materials, including Japanese maps, battle plans, and codebooks, were piled up in half a corner.

Miscellaneous items: from pocket watches to fountain pens, from sake to cigarettes, a wide variety of things.

Looking at the supplies, He Damin frowned slightly. There were too many, and they were all disorganized. Many items, such as the antiques and documents, he had only casually picked up when he initially acquired them, and now he had almost forgotten their contents.

"A more systematic storage method needs to be established." With a thought, the ground within the anode space trembled slightly and began to "grow" stone warehouses, shelves, and labels according to his will. Within his consciousness, the supplies automatically flew to the corresponding areas and were neatly stacked in categories.

This process consumed nearly an hour of mental energy, but once completed, the storage of materials in the entire Anode Space became well-organized and clear at a glance.

Then, he looked at the items that had been forgotten in the corner.

First were the dozen or so boxes of antiques. Upon opening them, they were mostly filled with porcelain, jade, and bronzes, ranging in style from the Ming and Qing dynasties to the Tang and Song dynasties, and even included a few bronze swords from the Warring States period. He Damin wasn't an expert in antiques, but he could sense the weight of time on these objects. One blue-and-white plum vase, in particular, had a warm, smooth surface and exquisite patterns; even someone unfamiliar with antiques would know it was quite valuable.

"These can be kept as bargaining chips for future transactions," He Damin thought, resealing the box and placing it in the specially set up "treasure vault".

Then came the documents. He casually flipped through a few, including maps of Japanese troop deployments, reports on mineral resources in North China, and assessments of the combat effectiveness of various Eighth Route Army units… When he reached the very bottom, his eyes narrowed.

It was a file folder sealed with sealing wax, with the cover reading "Top Secret: List of Special Higher Police personnel in North China (partial)".

He Damin opened the file folder, which contained more than a dozen pages of lists detailing the information of Japanese Special Higher Police agents planted in cities such as Beiping, Tianjin, Baoding, and Taiyuan—aliases, public identities, contact methods, and areas of activity. Some of the names were even marked as "having infiltrated the middle levels of the Chongqing Nationalist government" or "having contact with a certain department in Yan'an."

This list is as valuable as the equipment of a division.

He Damin carefully put the file folder away. This thing might come in very handy in the future.

Then, he looked at an inconspicuous wooden box among the miscellaneous items. When he opened it, there were several small porcelain bottles inside, with labels on them: Marrow Cleansing Pill (7), Foundation Building Pill (7), Fusion Pill (1).

He Damin remembered—it was a newbie gift pack issued by the system a long time ago. After he used it, he helped his older brother and sister-in-law take it and then casually threw it into the small world, almost forgetting about it.

He no longer needed the Marrow Cleansing Pill, and the Foundation Establishment Pill was even less suitable for his current level. But that Fusion Pill…

Label annotation: [The main function is to achieve a perfect fusion of soul and body].

He Damin picked up the small porcelain bottle and fell into deep thought. His soul had transmigrated here, and although it fit this body well, it was ultimately not the original. Daily cultivation and combat went smoothly, but whenever he used his soul-type abilities to their limits, he would occasionally experience a slight "disharmony," like a speck of dust mixed into a precision instrument. Fortunately, the system had helped resolve the fusion issue when it was running away.

This fusion pill allows him to be reborn once more after sacrificing his life.

He first carefully put away the pills. Next, it was time to organize his abilities.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, letting the information from the depths of his soul flow through him:

Core techniques:

Taoist Primordial Elixir (Early Stage of Golden Elixir)

Chinese martial arts system (Transformation Realm)

Related to the Small World Tai Chi Space:

Anode space: material storage, planting, and aquaculture (currently mainly used as a warehouse).

Yin-Yang Space: Nurturing the Soul, the Embryo of Reincarnation

Yin-Yang Skills: "Usage of the Three Pure Bells", "Introduction to Peach Wood Sword Forging", Basic Talismans, Footwork, Hand Seals

Soul Ability:

Soul Splitting Technique (can maintain more than 120 split souls simultaneously)

Memory reading (requires close contact; limited effectiveness for those with strong willpower)

Soul control (effective against those whose souls are weaker than one's own)

Soul Refining Banner (Fourth Advancement):

Basic functions: Absorb, refine, and store souls, with capacity and efficiency increased fivefold.

Netherworld Chains - Soul-Eating Thunderfire: Can imprison living souls, multiplies damage to spirits, and inflicts a lightning paralysis effect.

Soul Banner Domain - Underworld Illusion: Within a radius of a hundred feet, it suppresses souls, weaves a death illusion, and incites mental panic.

Night Parade of One Hundred Demons - Command of the Demon Generals: Summons one hundred phantom demons and three demon generals (early Foundation Establishment stage strength).

Soul Banner Projection - Reality Shift: Creates smaller banner shadows that can be used to set up barriers or traps.

Blood Soul Dao Soldiers: Consume soul power and essence blood to create ten materialized Dao soldiers (martial arts strength).

Soul-Stirring Connection: Tracking the location and emotional fluctuations of a specific target

Spatial skills:

Spatial Transfer: Through the soul's split anchor point, the physical body can instantly teleport to the location of the split via a small world space (Limitation: the split can only move at night).

Prototype of Reincarnation (Cathode Space):

The six light holes represent the six realms:

Heavenly Way (purple-gold): Peaceful, lofty

Humanity (milky white): the joys and sorrows of human life, the seven emotions and six desires.

Asura Path (Crimson): Battle, Slaughter, Violence

Animal realm (earthy yellow): ignorance, wildness, instinct.

Hungry Ghost Realm (pale green): Greed, thirst, resentment

Hell Path (not fully revealed): Only a trace of extremely cold and malevolent aura emanates from it.

Currently, there is only a preliminary and rudimentary utilization of the "animal realm" (a warhorse reincarnation experiment).

After finishing his work, He Damin opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

The abilities are numerous and varied, but the core actually lies in three paths: the Taoist Golden Elixir Path (the foundation of longevity), the Chinese martial arts path (a means of protecting one's path), and the Soul Refining Reincarnation (a unique development).

The question now is, how can these three paths be better integrated?

He stood up, walked to the cave entrance, and moved the boulder.

It was dusk outside, and the setting sun painted the mountains in a golden-red hue. The wind in northwestern Shanxi was still biting, but He Damin stood in the wind, his figure as upright as a pine tree, his aura as restrained as a deep pool.

He looked toward Taiyuan, a faint golden glint in his eyes.

"We should go and meet with Commander Shinotsuka, and also... the Taiyuan Arsenal."

As night deepened, a pale golden phantom of a soul drifted out of the cave, carrying an invisible soul banner, and flew silently northward toward the heart of the Japanese-occupied city in Shanxi.

Inside the cave, He Damin sat cross-legged, his breathing deep and rhythmic, making final preparations for the upcoming operation.

Taiyuan, this ancient city with a history of thousands of years, is about to welcome an uninvited guest. The city's wealth, machinery, and soul will all be unknowingly added to an invisible list of things to be harvested.