My Artifacts Can Upgrade Infinitely

The flickering light dispersed the darkness, illuminating the secret chamber before them.

The chamber was about fifty square meters. In the center of the floor lay a coiled, sleeping Centipede Puppet. At about ten meters long, it was identical to the one Zhao Zuo and Shen Yunjiao had joined forces to slay.

However, this one wasn’t activated. A twenty-centimeter-wide channel was carved into the chamber floor, with clear water flowing through it. Tiny fish could be seen swimming within, eventually disappearing into a hole in the corner of the room.

"This must connect to an underground river," Shen Yunjiao concluded.

Other than that, there were no other traps in the secret chamber.

In front of the other Centipede Puppet stood a stone pedestal, upon which some objects were faintly visible.

"You’re right, I saw it too."

Zhao Zuo agreed. He drew the Black Flame Saber from his waist and cautiously approached the Centipede Puppet. Shen Yunjiao followed close behind him, giving the impression of a wife dutifully following her husband.

Five meters, four, three, two... one.

The Centipede Puppet didn’t stir. The two of them could finally see the items on the stone pedestal clearly.

It was a jade scroll, pure white and flawless. However, its surface was engraved with golden patterns that faintly gleamed under the flickering light, giving it a rather noble air.

This was a Golden Pattern Jade Scroll. A jade scroll was a type of Inheritance Magical Artifact that could directly imprint its knowledge into one’s mind, eliminating the need for reading and memorization. The golden patterns, however, acted as a Restriction equivalent to a Heavenly Dao Oath: any inheritance gained from a Golden Pattern Jade Scroll could not be shared with another person by any means.

In other words... it was a one-time inheritance.

Zhao Zuo could feel Shen Yunjiao’s breath grow heavy behind him, her grip on her sword unconsciously tightening.

"As we agreed, the Golden Pattern Jade Scroll is yours."

Zhao Zuo voluntarily took half a step to his left, clearing the way.

"Okay."

Shen Yunjiao took two steps forward, reached out, and placed the Golden Pattern Jade Scroll into her Storage Bag. The Puppet beside them remained asleep, not launching an attack.

Zhao Zuo didn’t notice that Shen Yunjiao froze for a moment as she picked up the jade scroll.

There were also two Beast Hide Scrolls on the stone pedestal. Shen Yunjiao picked them up and handed them to Zhao Zuo.

Zhao Zuo took the scrolls and slowly unfurled one of them.

As he unrolled it, he saw it was inscribed with Spirit Patterns: Enemy Tracking, complete with diagrams.

Zhao Zuo read it carefully. He discovered it was a type of Spirit Pattern for Artifact Refining. As long as you aimed at an enemy when you released your weapon, it would automatically track them in flight. The tracking would only stop when the enemy was dead or the Magical Artifact was destroyed.

Clearly, this Spirit Pattern was far more difficult to create than the one for Controlling Objects. It also needed to be paired with the Controlling Objects Spirit Pattern to be most effective. When combined, a Magical Artifact would be able to automatically pursue an enemy as soon as it was unleashed.

After reading it, Zhao Zuo placed the scroll into his Storage Bag with a satisfied expression.

Then, under Shen Yunjiao’s expectant gaze, he opened the second scroll. This one, however, described the origin of this Underground Space.

It wasn’t the so-called burial place of True Man Tongmu.

In truth, this was an inheritance site built by the Fangcun Pavilion of Celestial Cyan Mountain to select its Fated Disciples. The initial scroll and everything Shen Yunjiao had experienced were all part of Fangcun Pavilion’s test.

As for "Fated Disciples," the term referred to a system where a senior from Fangcun Pavilion would, on a whim, create a cave, set up a trial, leave behind an inheritance, and provide directions to Fangcun Mountain.

If the inheritor successfully reached Foundation Establishment, they could use the location written on the scroll to travel to Fangcun Pavilion, become a disciple, and join as one of the Fated Disciples.

Failing to reach Foundation Establishment simply meant that the inheritor’s fate with Fangcun Pavilion was too shallow.

It was also fine if one accepted the inheritance but didn’t go to Fangcun Pavilion to become a disciple. That too was proof of a shallow fate.

Zhao Zuo was speechless for a long time after reading this. If he and Shen Yunjiao had fought over the inheritance, violating the test’s rule of entrusting their lives to one another, then both Centipede Puppets would have activated to attack the survivor.

If that person was ultimately killed by the Puppets, it would mean they had no fate with Fangcun Pavilion.

If, however, that person was strong enough to kill both Puppets, then it would mean they did have fate with Fangcun Pavilion.

In reality, this instruction-like Beast Hide Scroll clearly conveyed one truth: the strong could trample the rules. Only the weak needed to abide by the test’s regulations.

The two hadn’t backstabbed or attacked each other, so they had unknowingly complied with the test’s rules. Therefore, the second Puppet was not activated. In a way, they had stumbled their way through the trial.

"Have you ever heard of Fangcun Pavilion?" Zhao Zuo asked as he handed the scroll about Fangcun Pavilion to Shen Yunjiao.

"A thousand years ago, the dominant power in the three kingdoms near the Great Yue was the Five Elements Sect, a Nascent Soul-level force. However, the sect’s Tao Child provoked a purple-robed youth during his travels, and the two ended up in a massive fight."

Shen Yunjiao began to slowly recount a story from long ago.

"In the end, the Five Elements Sect was annihilated. A saying has been passed down through these lands ever since: Do not provoke the Fangcun Demon Palace. This is a consensus among the cultivation powers of the surrounding nations. Any major sect with a proper heritage will warn its disciples never to provoke anyone from the Fangcun Demon Palace," Shen Yunjiao said gradually.

"They’re that powerful?" Zhao Zuo was surprised.

"There are many inheritance sites like this one. Almost every few years, someone will discover one. It’s one of Fangcun Pavilion’s methods for cultivating disciples—they treat the entire world as a crucible to forge the strongest."

Shen Yunjiao added that before finding it, she never would have expected the inheritance to come from the legendary Fangcun Pavilion. However, she did have some knowledge of the infamous Fangcun Demon Palace.

’Such power is truly awe-inspiring.’

Only a power that could truly look down upon the world could do something like this.

In the end, Shen Yunjiao returned the Beast Hide Scroll to Zhao Zuo. Even if she reached Foundation Establishment, she had no intention of joining Fangcun Pavilion. It was an extremely dangerous place.

In the past, those who chose to enter Fangcun Pavilion eventually vanished completely from this part of the world.

Vanished without a trace, neither living nor dead.

Shen Yunjiao hadn’t understood why all those people had disappeared before, but when she’d picked up the jade scroll, she finally understood. However, she chose to hide this truth from Zhao Zuo, not wanting to drag him into trouble...

"Even though I gave you that scroll, you must not actually go to Fangcun Pavilion. Just keep it as a memento."

Before they left, Shen Yunjiao warned Zhao Zuo, her tone more serious than ever before.

"Then I might as well give it back to you." Zhao Zuo took out the scroll and offered it back to Shen Yunjiao. After hearing the story from a thousand years ago, he fully understood why Fangcun Pavilion was called the Fangcun Demon Palace. They would annihilate entire clans at the slightest provocation.

No matter how trivial the issue, even a simple argument could lead to the annihilation of an entire clan.

At one point, many cultivation sects had even united to destroy the Fangcun Demon Palace, but they were annihilated instead. Over time... Fangcun Pavilion became a taboo in the Cultivation Realm.

"Alright, I’ll take it then." For some reason, Shen Yunjiao changed her mind and accepted the Beast Hide Scroll.

In the end, the two decided to leave the Centipede Puppet alone. Attacking it would only activate it, and it wasn’t worth the effort to destroy it just to salvage a few Spirit Stones. Besides, there was no way to make it recognize a master.

About three minutes later, the two returned to the underground platform where they had fought earlier.

After they left, the stone door slammed shut. As they walked, the black ground beneath their feet rapidly healed, becoming smooth once more. In the distance, the remains of the Centipede Puppet slowly dissolved, turning to dust that was absorbed by the black floor.

"What’s happening?" Zhao Zuo asked, surprised.

"This Inheritance Space is resetting, waiting for the next lucky person. It’s a self-contained miniature world. It’s open in the Great Yue region for now, but by next month it could move somewhere else."

When she touched the Golden Pattern Jade Scroll, Shen Yunjiao had learned a lot of inside information and understood clearly what kind of path she had just embarked upon.

"So it’s really an independent world," Zhao Zuo mused. ’Perhaps only something like this is worthy of the Fangcun Demon Palace’s style. But... wasn’t getting the Cultivation Technique a bit too easy?’

’Or maybe there’s something I’m not understanding.’

"By the way, what’s the name of the Foundation Establishment Technique you got?"

"Taotie."

. . . . . . . . .