My Artifacts Can Upgrade Infinitely

In this world, everyone wears a mask. Who can truly reveal their real nature? Sometimes, things are just hidden out of necessity.

’Although I think my relationship with Shen Yunjiao is pretty good,’ Zhao Zuo thought, ’it’s clearly not enough for her to drop the facade and show her true self. It’s probably a way of protecting herself.’

The sky gradually darkened, blanketed by ominous clouds. The air grew colder, and before long, snowflakes began to drift down. To think it would snow again so close to the end of the second month.

Zhao Zuo found a chair and sat down less than a meter away from Shen Yunjiao. Amidst her faint, almost imperceptible fragrance, his keen sense of smell detected the tang of blood.

"You’re injured?"

"It’s nothing serious, just an old wound," Shen Yunjiao replied.

Clearly, Shen Yunjiao had no intention of elaborating, and she quickly changed the subject.

"Your Cultivation doesn’t seem to have changed?"

A thought struck Zhao Zuo. ’It must be the Breath Concealment Ring.’ After using it for a while, the ring had upgraded three times, granting him a rather interesting ability: the power to alter his perceived Cultivation level within the same Realm.

He was originally in the Late Period of the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, but he had adjusted his apparent Cultivation down to the Early Stage of the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, the same level he was at before Shen Yunjiao left.

"I’ve been focusing more on Body Refining lately," Zhao Zuo answered.

"If you’re ambitious enough for Foundation Establishment, it’s better to focus your Cultivation on raising your level," Shen Yunjiao advised softly. The distance between them gradually faded, and they began to chat casually, like old friends.

"Mm, I know."

"COUGH, COUGH." Shen Yunjiao clutched her shoulder and let out a series of coughs, her face turning pale.

"Are you sure your injury is fine? Should you go back to your room to treat it first?"

Zhao Zuo suggested, knowing that Shen Yunjiao was much better at treating injuries than he was.

"No need."

’Just like Shen Yunjiao.’ She remained utterly unflustered by her old internal injury, skillfully taking out a healing Pill Medicine and swallowing it as if the discomfort in her body meant nothing at all.

"Where have you been all this time?" Zhao Zuo asked casually.

"That night, I ran into a One Tier, High Level Demon Beast. While it was chasing me, I was fortunate enough to find the cave of a Foundation Establishment senior who had passed away. It took me a whole month to get out," Shen Yunjiao said with remarkable composure.

But Zhao Zuo could read between the lines and understand the immense danger she had faced. For a Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer to encounter a One Tier, High Level Demon Beast was a near-death experience...

"You must have gained a lot, then?" Zhao Zuo was genuinely happy for her.

Shen Yunjiao shook her head, but then quickly nodded.

"I made some gains, but I couldn’t get into the final stone chamber to obtain the most important inheritance. I want to invite you to help me open it."

"Is it very dangerous?"

Zhao Zuo didn’t agree immediately. There wasn’t even a flicker of interest in his eyes. Exploring a Cave Mansion went against the Cultivation plan he had set for himself, and he would never go without first understanding the level of danger involved.

Shen Yunjiao observed him and saw not the slightest trace of greed in his eyes. This was one of the reasons she had chosen to cooperate with Zhao Zuo.

The other reason... was that Shen Yunjiao was confident she could defeat Zhao Zuo if they turned against each other.

"It’s not dangerous. It just requires two people to inject Mana from different positions to open the stone chamber’s door and get the inheritance inside," Shen Yunjiao explained, straightening her posture.

Zhao Zuo fell silent at her words. ’If this is the place where a Foundation Establishment senior passed away,’ he wondered, ’why would he design a stone chamber that requires two people to inject Mana to open?’

’If it were just a simple stone chamber, why not just break it open with brute force?’

’It must be because the chamber is protected by some kind of Array, which is why Shen Yunjiao can’t open the stone door herself. By that logic... the place must be dangerous in some way.’

"Because that senior knew he was going to die when he went into seclusion, he hoped the people who inherited his legacy would be a pair of deeply loving Tao Companions. That’s why he specifically set up such an Array mechanism," Shen Yunjiao explained, her expression unchanging.

For a moment, Zhao Zuo couldn’t tell if she was telling the truth. ’I believe the old Shen Yunjiao wouldn’t have schemed to harm me, but can this new Shen Yunjiao be trusted?’

Snowflakes settled on the two of them. Thanks to his Clear Heart Jade Pendant, Zhao Zuo didn’t feel the cold. Moreover, the snowflakes would be evaporated by an Array as soon as they hit the ground, leaving no trace. Shen Yunjiao, however, clearly had no such protection, and her face was now pale from the cold.

Neither of them spoke again. Zhao Zuo was still not moved by what Shen Yunjiao had said.

This was just her story; it lacked any items that could serve as proof.

It wasn’t enough to convince Zhao Zuo yet.

THWAP.

Shen Yunjiao placed a yellowed Scroll on the stone table.

"These are the instructions left by that senior. You’ll understand once you see."

Hearing this, Zhao Zuo hesitated for a second but ultimately resisted the urge to take out his Spirit Silk Gloves, choosing to trust Shen Yunjiao.

The Scroll slowly unfurled. The ink was faded and blurry in some places, but the contents were still faintly discernible. Judging by how much the ink had faded, it had to be several decades old.

It chronicled the life of a man with the Daoist title True Man Tongmu in great detail, from Qi Cultivation to Foundation Establishment, like a personal autobiography. In it, he wrote that his time was running out, and not wanting his knowledge to be lost, he had left this Scroll behind.

His main legacy consisted of the Cultivation Technique he practiced and several Secret Techniques he had mastered. The Scroll stated that only truly loving Tao Companions or sworn brothers who would entrust their lives to one another could obtain his inheritance.

"I don’t understand... If he wanted to leave behind an inheritance, why set such conditions?"

’If the man was near death and wanted to pass on his legacy, he could have just lowered the requirements. Why insist on truly loving Tao Companions or sworn brothers who would die for each other to inherit his legacy?’

"How could we, the people of a later generation, possibly understand everything a Foundation Establishment senior was thinking back then? In any case, I’m not lying to you. This trip isn’t very difficult, but it really does require two people to disable the Array and open the stone door," Shen Yunjiao said again. It was clear she genuinely wanted Zhao Zuo to go with her.

"I’ll think about it," Zhao Zuo didn’t agree right away.

"No problem. I also need time to heal my internal injuries. If you are willing to go with me, I am willing to give you a share of the inheritance in the stone chamber. I will even make a Heavenly Dao Oath."

A Heavenly Dao Oath was binding to all Cultivators; making one was equivalent to gambling with one’s entire path of cultivation. Hearing this... Zhao Zuo was now certain that Shen Yunjiao would not try to harm him on this trip.

’Still,’ Zhao Zuo thought, ’the Scroll feels strange in every way. There must be some common ground between being "truly in love" and "entrusting one’s life" that I can’t grasp. And that common ground must be the senior’s real test.’

The two talked for a while longer. When Zhao Zuo mentioned that he was being targeted by Xue Liang, Shen Yunjiao subconsciously clenched her fists, her eyes filled with fear. She was genuinely and truly worried for Zhao Zuo.

Seeing this, a warm feeling flowed through Zhao Zuo’s heart. They had known each other for a long time, and although Shen Yunjiao’s attitude toward him often changed, she had never, at the very least, done anything to hurt him.

Because of this, Zhao Zuo was already leaning toward agreeing to help Shen Yunjiao open the door and obtain the inheritance. For one, he was also very curious about a Foundation Establishment inheritance.

For another, the binding power of a Heavenly Dao Oath would prevent them from turning on each other. ’Perhaps that was also the reason Shen Yunjiao was willing to seek his cooperation?’

"So, are you tempted?" Shen Yunjiao suddenly asked, breaking Zhao Zuo from his thoughts.

"I am. If there’s only one Foundation Establishment inheritance, then you should have it. After all, you’re the one who found the Cave Mansion and got past the Early-period traps and mechanisms," Zhao Zuo said seriously.

"Agreed." Shen Yunjiao nodded. If there was only one inheritance, then it should rightfully belong to her. After all, she had already worked for a full month for this inheritance.

"If there’s only one inheritance, I’ll compensate you in other ways." A genuine smile finally appeared on Shen Yunjiao’s face, free of the probing and caution from before.

Through a series of mutual tests and exchanges, they reached a basic agreement to cooperate.

......

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