Cultivating in Reverse: My Sign-In System Wants Me Dead

The strange atmosphere left behind by Huo Yan’s question gradually settled.

Su Bai allowed the matter to end there.

There were still several things he had brought back from Fallen-Star Sanctuary that required answers, and with so many Peak Masters gathered in one place, there was little reason to postpone them any longer.

His hand moved toward the System Inventory again.

This time, what appeared above his palm was something familiar.

A broken spearhead.

The metal had long since lost the brilliance it must once have possessed. Countless years had left marks across its surface, while the broken end made its condition even more pitiful beside the treasures Su Bai had placed before them earlier.

Yet the moment it appeared, the expressions around the table changed.

Huo Yan noticed it first.

His eyes narrowed as he sensed the faint spirituality buried inside the ruined metal.

Su Bai held the spearhead carefully before extending it toward him.

"Martial Uncle Huo, this weapon saved my life inside Fallen-Star Sanctuary. Without it, I might not have returned."

The casual atmosphere disappeared completely.

Huo Yan accepted the spearhead with both hands.

Su Bai continued.

"There is still a trace of spirituality inside it. Do you know any way to restore it?"

Huo Yan did not answer immediately.

His spiritual sense entered the spearhead carefully, moving far more gently than when he had examined the formation blueprint.

The others remained quiet.

Minutes passed before Huo Yan finally withdrew his awareness.

His expression had become complicated.

The excitement he normally showed toward ancient weapons was absent.

Instead, he looked almost regretful.

"I can preserve what remains for now."

Su Bai waited.

Huo Yan’s thumb moved lightly across the damaged surface.

"But restoring it is another matter."

He exhaled slowly.

"The spirit has weakened too much, and most of the original weapon is already gone. If I simply forge a new body around this remnant, there is no guarantee the spirituality will survive the process."

Su Bai had expected something like that.

Still, hearing it confirmed was disappointing.

Huo Yan looked toward him.

"There are treasures capable of nourishing Artifact Spirits. If we can strengthen what remains before attempting any restoration, the chances would improve considerably."

That matched what the ancient Artifact Spirits had told Su Bai inside Fallen-Star Sanctuary.

His attention sharpened.

"Do you know where I can find one?"

Huo Yan thought for a moment.

Yao Ding spoke before him.

"There is something."

Everyone looked toward him.

Yao Ding’s expression remained thoughtful.

"Bodhi Spirit Dew."

Huo Yan immediately understood what he meant.

His fingers tightened slightly around the spearhead.

"That could work."

Su Bai looked between them.

Yao Ding explained, "It forms on old Spirit Bodhi Trees after years of absorbing incense, spiritual energy, and accumulated intent. It is normally used to stabilize damaged souls, nourish spiritual consciousness, or preserve spirits attached to artifacts."

Su Bai immediately became more interested.

"Where can I get it?"

"Mostly in the south," Yao Ding replied. "Several old monasteries still maintain Spirit Bodhi Trees. The dew is rarely sold because very little forms each year."

That was inconvenient, but not impossible.

Huo Yan added, "Trying to buy it directly would probably fail. Those monasteries value it more than Spirit Stones."

Lu Canghai stroked his beard.

"But they still exchange it."

Yao Ding nodded.

"For rare medicines, ancient Buddhist artifacts, favors, or something they genuinely need."

Su Bai glanced toward the mountains of materials outside.

Several people followed his gaze.

Huo Yan’s expression became strange.

Considering what Su Bai had just unloaded onto Heavenly Forge Peak, obtaining something valuable enough to interest a monastery suddenly sounded much less difficult.

Su Bai nodded.

"As long as there is a way."

That was enough for him.

If the Bodhi Spirit Dew could increase the spear’s chances of recovery, he would find it.

Huo Yan returned the spearhead carefully.

"The spirit is only half the problem. Even if you nourish it, rebuilding the weapon without damaging that spirituality will require someone far better at preserving Artifact Spirits during reforging."

Su Bai already knew where that was leading.

"The Divine Artificer Citadel?"

Huo Yan nodded.

"They remain your best option."

Su Bai stored the spearhead again.

"There is something else related to this, Martial Uncle."

Huo Yan’s eyebrows rose.

Su Bai opened his Spirit Beast Pouch and carefully brought out the ancient weapons.

Their forms varied, and most bore obvious scars left by the ancient war. Even in their damaged state, however, the age surrounding them was impossible to mistake.

The room grew quiet once more.

Huo Yan’s gaze moved across the weapons before settling on Su Bai.

"These also need their bodies repaired."

That was enough to make his expression change.

He approached the nearest saber and sent his spiritual sense into it.

Almost immediately, another consciousness met his own.

"So this is the artificer the boy trusts?"

Huo Yan froze.

His eyes shifted toward Su Bai before returning to the saber.

The hammer spirit spoke next through the spiritual connection, its tone as dry as ever.

"He looks disappointed."

"I am not disappointed."

"He still looks disappointed."

Huo Yan’s eye twitched.

Su Bai wisely remained silent.

The other Peak Masters had already endured enough surprises that day, yet even they could not remain indifferent once they sent their own spiritual senses into the ancient weapons and discovered the consciousnesses within.

More than a dozen ancient weapons carrying surviving Artifact Spirits were now resting inside Huo Yan’s forging chamber.

Worse, or perhaps better, everyone present already knew that Su Bai still had treasures he had deliberately kept out of the donation piles outside.

None of them asked what those were.

Huo Yan eventually recovered and began examining the damaged weapons more carefully. Compared with the faint spirituality remaining inside the broken spearhead, these Artifact Spirits were still far more stable, which gave their restoration considerably better prospects.

His interest only grew the longer he inspected them.

Only after the initial shock settled did Mo Shanyue consider another matter.

These Artifact Spirits had lost their original wielders long ago. If their weapon bodies were eventually restored, Radiant Sky Sect could hardly assume they would simply accept whoever was placed before them.

He spoke with proper respect.

"May I ask what you all intend to do once your weapon bodies are restored?"

The saber spirit remained quiet for a moment before answering.

"We have observed enough from within the pouch."

Its consciousness briefly turned toward Su Bai.

"The boy trusts this sect."

Another Artifact Spirit responded soon after.

"For now, that is sufficient."

They had survived an era that no longer existed. Their original wielders were gone, and the world beyond Fallen-Star Sanctuary had changed almost beyond recognition.

There was no reason to choose again in haste.

The hammer spirit spoke last.

"If someone suitable here appears, we will decide for ourselves."

Huo Yan’s eyes immediately brightened.

Radiant Sky Sect suddenly having more than a dozen ancient Artifact Spirits willing to consider future disciples was not something he had expected when he woke up that morning.

He looked toward Su Bai again.

"You truly did not bring back anything ordinary, did you?"

Su Bai considered the question.

"There were ordinary things."

Huo Yan stared at him.

Su Bai decided not to mention that he had mostly left those behind.

After some discussion, the Artifact Spirits returned to the Spirit Beast Pouch.

Their immediate restoration would still require careful planning, and Huo Yan did not pretend otherwise. He could help preserve them, study possible materials, and perhaps repair simpler parts of their future weapon bodies, but anything involving the deeper restoration of ancient Artifact Spirits would still benefit greatly from the Divine Artificer Citadel.

The room finally became quieter.

Yao Ding looked at Su Bai for a moment before something seemed to occur to him.

"How is your cultivation progressing?"

That question drew more attention than Su Bai expected.

He answered without hesitation.

"I’m at the Ninth Stage of the Golden Core Realm now. I still need a little more before reaching the peak of the stage, but after that I should be able to start preparing for the Nascent Soul Realm."

No one spoke immediately.

Huo Yan slowly turned toward him.

Mo Shanyue’s expression changed.

Yao Ding, who had asked the question, stared for several breaths longer than necessary.

Only Lu Canghai remained relatively calm.

He had already known.

When Su Bai entered Fallen-Star Sanctuary, he had only recently reached the Golden Core Realm.

Now he was already approaching its limit.

The amount of time involved made the progression feel ridiculous even by the standards they had long since learned to associate with Su Bai.

Huo Yan finally exhaled.

"At this rate, I should start preparing the formations for your breakthrough before you decide to surprise us again."

Su Bai smiled.

"That would be helpful."

Mo Shanyue looked at him thoughtfully.

"If the heavens favor the sect again, perhaps your breakthrough will bring another blessing."

Su Bai’s smile froze for the briefest moment.

He remembered the previous Heaven’s Blessing far too clearly.

Under normal circumstances, receiving one would be something any cultivator dreamed of.

His Reversal Body had a different opinion.

But then another thought followed.

His Myriad-Calamity Vajra Body could adapt through repeated exposure to genuine harm.

If a Heaven’s Blessing came again and Reversal transformed its beneficial effects into something harmful...

Su Bai’s expression slowly changed.

Perhaps that would not be entirely unfortunate.

If his body could gradually become resistant to even that kind of reversed blessing, the experience might be worth enduring.

Lu Canghai noticed the strange smile appearing on his disciple’s face.

For some reason, he suddenly felt that the heavens themselves should probably be concerned.

Su Bai, meanwhile, had already made peace with the possibility.

Whether the next blessing helped him or tried to kill him, he would find a use for it.