Chapter 292 - 258: (Refined) Spiritual Artifact
Jiang Yuebai first picked up the Five-Colored Beads. This thing only emitted a five-colored halo when she comprehended the Law Fragment, easily helping her stir the Spiritual Energy Vortex and break through her cultivation hurdles.
After that, no matter how she activated it, she couldn’t mobilize the five-colored halo inside, and the exterior of the bead was extremely sturdy, neither smashable nor breakable.
Moreover, the bead was a one-way intake, and it only devoured Five Elements Essence Qi. The Five Elements Essence Qi amassed in her Five Elements Lotus Platform was entirely injected into it without even causing a ripple.
Jiang Yuebai had a premonition that it was very likely the Five Elements Origin inside. Perhaps it needed to be fed fully, or up to a certain level, for it to regurgitate.
Jiang Yuebai temporarily ignored the bead, storing the Puppet Diagram and the face of the Eight-Armed Vajra into the Storage Bracelet; the Puppet Diagram was obtained from within the Bronze Maze.
There were several kinds of ancient Rune and mechanism manufacturing methods on it that she could learn from, and if she added some other materials and modified the Sword Sky Puppet, its power should approximate the Golden Core Stage.
The Soul-Shaking Stone was indispensable for practicing the Divine Soul Birth Thought Technique; these two pieces could at least allow her to gain another strand of Divine Thought, using her mind for three tasks simultaneously.
In the two medicine bottles, one contained a single Golden Core Formation Elixir, which could increase the success rate of Core Formation by thirty percent, not to be combined with another dose. This type of elixir has always been rare and essential for Peak Foundation Establishment Cultivators, even worth fighting over.
Coincidentally, she also had the Elixir Formula for the Golden Core Formation Elixir, and the necessary Spiritual Medicine wasn’t too hard to find. Even if she didn’t use it herself, she could refine it for Spirit Stones.
The other bottle contained a drop of Primordial Essence, not Demon Beast Primordial Essence, but authentic Golden Core Cultivator Primordial Essence, of a much higher quality than what she had previously consumed.
She could save it for future consumption or for refining a Primordial Spirit Magic Treasure.
Jiang Yuebai picked up the Primordial Turtle Pill Fire stored in the stone box again.
"Little Green, come out."
A red light shot out from Jiang Yuebai’s brow and immediately approached the edge of the stone box.
[Eat eat eat]
Jiang Yuebai moved the stone box away, "I’ve figured it out, I can’t count on you for attacking, so you might as well play to your strengths and cultivate you as a brick and Defensive Magic Treasure."
"This wisp of Primordial Turtle Pill Fire is very pure, and it’s very ancient, at least at the Golden Core Stage. It’s of the Yin attribute, and it contains a trace of the innate divine skill power of a Primordial Turtle. After you devour it, you should be able to mobilize that trace of divine skill power."
"The Primordial Turtle’s innate skill is certainly some kind of defensive divine skill. Just as my Fire Silk is broken, you can watch over the surroundings for me and help fend off hidden attacks in the future."
The phosphorescent flames flickered on both sides of the Little Green Lantern, its emotions running high.
[Leave it to me]
Jiang Yuebai resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Handing everything over was indeed impossible; Little Green could only count as half a layer of defense, but it’s better than nothing.
The main thing is this fire is white, and after Little Green devours it, it will certainly turn white, which is more elegant than a bright red.
Jiang Yuebai opened the stone box, and Little Green swallowed the peanut-sized clump of Primordial Turtle Pill Fire in one gulp. The lantern immediately transitioned between red and white, and it went off to the side by itself to suppress and digest it.
"Let’s take a look at this umbrella last. It’s the only Magic Treasure among over a dozen Magic Artifacts obtained this time, and its style is antiquated, not to be judged by the current grade of Magic Treasures."
It could very well be an Ancient Treasure like the Condensing Light Mirror and Green Jade Bamboo Flute, which she had daringly snatched from underneath the eyes of the conflicting parties at the risk of being targeted by fire.
Jiang Yuebai opened the umbrella, and an ethereal yet profound Crane Cry reverberated through the Sea of Consciousness, as clear and resonant as jade.
The ribs of the umbrella were made of silver Star Meteorite Iron, with an Immortal Crane occupying most of the umbrella’s surface, its feathers vivid and lifelike.
On the remaining small half of the umbrella’s surface, two lines of Cloud Seal Characters were embroidered with silver thread.
[Silent in its solitude, with subtle brilliance and profoundness.
Drinking from the Great Harmony, only the crane takes flight alone.]
Jiang Yuebai silently recited these two sentences, experiencing their meaning, faintly sensing a feeling of tranquility and peace, of the Natural Daoist Technique.
She infused her Divine Sense into the umbrella, and information related to it slowly appeared in her Sea of Consciousness.
The umbrella was named ’Great Harmony’, surprisingly a Spiritual Artifact—Jiang Yuebai’s eyes widened with delight.
The Crane Spirit within the umbrella fell along with its master during Tribulation Crossing, and later people crafted this umbrella with its body and remnant spirit.
Since it had been placed in the maze for over ten thousand years the Crane Spirit had become extremely weak, making her think the umbrella was merely a Magic Treasure.
The Crane Spirit wielded Palm Wind, with the potential for its spells to surpass High-Level Magical Techniques, ascending to the level of Divine Skills. Moreover, after taming the Crane Spirit, it could function as a Primordial Spirit Magical Artifact with easy manipulation, without the need for Primordial Essence for sacrificial refining.
A Spiritual Artifact can accompany a cultivator throughout their life, growing stronger over time.
The Five Elements Lotus Platform doesn’t count as a Spiritual Artifact; this umbrella is her life’s first Spiritual Artifact, truly an unexpected joy.
"Forcing sacrificial refinement would damage the already very weak Crane Spirit; it’s better to slowly tame it. Whatever spells and divine skills this umbrella possesses will only be known after thoroughly taming the Crane Spirit."
"However, the materials used for this umbrella are quite good; it’s more than enough as a Sixth-Grade Defensive Magic Treasure—got a good deal here."
Jiang Yuebai temporarily put away the umbrella; after seven days in seclusion, she needed to get some fresh air before continuing her closed cultivation of the Divine Soul Birth Thought Technique and taming the Crane Spirit.
On days when she didn’t activate the Sound Insulation Array, she could always hear lively noise from the backyard, piquing her curiosity.
As she opened the door, Jiang Yuebai ran into Ding Lanzhi.
Ding Lanzhi took out a letter and a token, handing them over, "Lu Nanzhi has already left; this token is from the Feiyan Pavilion. In the future, if you head to the North Sea and have any issues, you can seek help at the Feiyan Pavilion."
Jiang Yuebai reached out to accept, promptly opening the letter, only to find it contained two words.
[Safe and Sound]
Jiang Yuebai muttered, "He said it was to report safety, and it really was just reporting safety."
"Kongfang City will lift the martial law in a few days. If you feel bored, have Jingshan take you out. He’s in the back courtyard now; I still have things to do, so I’m leaving first."
After Ding Lanzhi left, Jiang Yuebai frowned.
"Every time I see her, she’s trying to create opportunities for Xie Jingshan, as if I’m some naive girl. I’m not falling for it!"
Jiang Yuebai tossed her head, found a servant from the Xie Mansion to ask for directions, and located the Tingfang Courtyard where the disciples from the Heavenly Inference Sect resided.
She lived close to Ding Lanzhi, hence the feeling of being ’supervised.’
Now that ’supervision’ seems lifted, suggesting smooth progress with Feiyan Pavilion’s matters.
She could temporarily rest assured about Lu Nanzhi, focusing on her own matters.
"I wonder if Master approached the Kong Family to retrieve my Green Cicada Flying Coin. Regardless, I was the last one standing under the Ice Pillar and eliminated the three brothers of the Kong Family."
Passing through the rockery and corridor, Jiang Yuebai had just reached the entrance of the Tingfang Courtyard when she heard Xie Jingshan’s voice from inside.
"...She surely hasn’t come out of seclusion yet, Brother Zhuo, why bother coming for nothing? Let’s go out for a drink?"
"No, I drank too much the previous day, spoke recklessly, and got a good scolding from Junior Sister Hua. I won’t drink anymore; I’d better go..."
"Why are you still so obsessed? What do you even like about her?"
"I also don’t know. Since childhood, only the sword has accompanied me. This world seemed black and white, devoid of any interesting colors to me, but on her, I saw a different vibrant array."
"There are plenty of vibrant people in this world; honestly, you shouldn’t always have your eyes on her..."
Listening outside, Jiang Yuebai couldn’t help but smile. That unreliable Xie Jingshan was actually persuading Zhuo Qingfeng to give up, finally doing a good deed.
"...Let me tell you, Brother Zhuo, Jiang Yuebai lacks a heart; she’s so ruthless she wouldn’t spare herself. The vibrant aren’t always human; it might well be a venomous snake. Being fond of her won’t end well; I really can’t bear to see such a good person like you fall at her hands..."
Jiang Yuebai:........