My Artifacts Can Upgrade Infinitely

Zhao Zuo put down his bowl and chopsticks. He rubbed his cheeks vigorously, a faint smile appearing on his face.

The moment their eyes met, a hint of gray reappeared in the depths of Zhao Zuo’s eyes. Another wisp of the Qi of Time surged from Shen Yunjiao’s body, quickly merging into the Spring and Autumn Cicada in his robes, which warmed slightly.

"That’s good," Shen Yunjiao said with a nod.

"Have the bodies of those two been dealt with?" Zhao Zuo asked casually, picking up a piece of Demon Beast meat with his chopsticks.

"They’re dealt with. I absorbed them using the Taotie Secret Technique," Shen Yunjiao said nonchalantly.

Zhao Zuo’s movements paused for a moment. Using the corpses of other Cultivators for Cultivation was considered a Demon Path method in the Cultivation Realm. It offered extraordinary progress at an extremely fast pace... but the inherent spirituality of the Cultivator would often pollute the devourer’s Soul.

"Doing that will pollute your Soul. It will only harm your future breakthroughs, not help them," Zhao Zuo advised.

"It’s nothing. The Taotie Secret Technique can devour this so-called pollution. You don’t need to worry."

Shen Yunjiao’s expression remained unchanged as she continued to heartily eat her dinner. In truth, she was being deliberate... She told Zhao Zuo this to draw a clear line between them, to stop herself from nurturing feelings that were doomed to go nowhere and would only cause her needless grief.

"That’s good, then," Zhao Zuo said with a nod.

"You won’t betray me, will you? After all, I suppose I’m a Demon Path Cultivator now."

"Of course not."

The two great Cultivation sects of the Great Yue Country, the Cyan Wood Sect and the Moyun Sect, both followed the orthodox Immortal Dao. They progressed from Qi Cultivation to Foundation Establishment to Golden Core Formation, one step at a time. This path was naturally slower and placed more emphasis on talent and opportunity.

However, the Cultivation Realm of the neighboring country was dominated by the Demon Path. Their advancement was much faster and less demanding of talent, but most of their legacies had low ceilings and numerous side effects. Despite this, their number of Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators far surpassed that of the Cyan Wood and Moyun Sects.

The two Cultivation Realms were hostile to one another, with a constant standoff at their borders.

As a result, within the Great Yue Country, Demon Path Cultivators were to be hunted down and killed, with bounties on their heads.

Just then, the Qi of Time on Shen Yunjiao’s body was completely devoured by the Spring and Autumn Cicada, and the imperceptible wisp of gray in Zhao Zuo’s eyes vanished just as quickly.

"Of course not. I looked up the side effects of the Taotie Secret Technique in the Scripture Pavilion. I don’t plan to stop your Cultivation, nor will I tell you to give up your hatred, but there’s one thing... you can’t lie to me."

Though Zhao Zuo’s tone was light as he chewed the tough and springy Demon Beast meat, his words successfully wiped the nonchalant expression from Shen Yunjiao’s face. She had already accepted her own death, but she had never imagined that Zhao Zuo would look up the side effects of the Taotie Secret Technique. Naturally, she hadn’t considered... how she would face him now that he knew everything.

"Ask... and I won’t lie to you," Shen Yunjiao said solemnly after a few seconds of stunned silence.

"How much longer do you have to live?" Zhao Zuo looked up and asked, staring into Shen Yunjiao’s eyes.

"Well..."

Shen Yunjiao stuffed a piece of Demon Beast meat into her mouth, her voice becoming muffled.

"Don’t lie to me," Zhao Zuo reminded her.

"Twenty years," Shen Yunjiao said, her eyes showing no panic and her tone firm.

"Okay, I understand. Twenty years is still manageable." Zhao Zuo nodded, his expression barely changing. In that amount of time, Zhao Zuo was confident he could find a Spiritual Medicine or Spiritual Object to extend Shen Yunjiao’s life.

If the Spring and Autumn Cicada continued to level up, it would gain a near-immortal, undying quality.

He didn’t stop to consider if it was worth it. He knew that if he just let Shen Yunjiao die in front of him, he would be tormented by pain and regret.

Zhao Zuo had to do everything he could to help Shen Yunjiao extend her life.

After all... Shen Yunjiao was Zhao Zuo’s only friend in the Cultivation Realm—the kind of friend you could entrust your life to. Just like today’s plan to lure out their enemies; without Shen Yunjiao’s help, he would have surely failed.

Shen Yunjiao pretended to lower her head to pick up some food, but she was really just hiding her inner panic. That’s right... she was lying. With the Devouring Power of the Taotie Secret Technique, living another ten years would be a long life for her.

’I must have fooled him, right?’ Shen Yunjiao thought to herself.

’Her lifespan is definitely less than twenty years. Fifteen? Or maybe ten?’

Zhao Zuo didn’t believe her. In fact, even before asking, he had guessed that Shen Yunjiao would lie. Because... she believed that her life and death were her own business and had nothing to do with anyone else.

Zhao Zuo naturally understood this way of thinking. He just wanted to make his own effort in the matter. If it truly was impossible to extend Shen Yunjiao’s life, then he wouldn’t have any regrets.

That was what he was thinking now.

Zhao Zuo had brought this up simply to find out how much time Shen Yunjiao had left. Based on that timeline, he could devise a plan to extend her life as much as possible without affecting his own Cultivation.

"This is my choice. After I’ve killed my enemies, this world will hold no meaning for me. Even if I die then... it would be a wish fulfilled."

Shen Yunjiao looked up and added, "I can guess what you’re thinking. What I want to say is... you don’t need to interfere so much in my affairs."

She stared into Zhao Zuo’s eyes, expressing her thoughts in an incredibly firm tone, with no trace of fear for death in her words.

To put it simply... it meant, "Stay out of my business."

"I support your choice and don’t plan to interfere. But you can’t interfere with my choice, either."

Zhao Zuo stared back into Shen Yunjiao’s eyes without yielding. For a moment, neither of them backed down, craning their necks like roosters in a fight, neither willing to compromise.

"Fine, have it your way." Shen Yunjiao suddenly smiled. She hadn’t backed down; rather, she had found a solution. Once she fulfilled her wish, she would leave Moyun Workshop and disappear from Zhao Zuo’s world completely.

Then, the Cultivation Realm would be vast, and he wouldn’t be able to find her. Naturally, he would give up on the idea.

"Let’s divide the spoils from this battle later. You did most of the work, so you should take seventy percent," Zhao Zuo said.

The Taotie Secret Technique was like an insatiable beast. If it could be provided with enough sustenance, the rate at which it devoured her lifespan would slow down. Otherwise... it would only accelerate.

Zhao Zuo understood Shen Yunjiao’s immense need for Spirit Stones, so he chose to sacrifice a portion of his own share of the spoils.

"There’s no need for that. We already made an agreement... so we’ll split it fifty-fifty."

Shen Yunjiao shook her head, refusing flatly.

"I want you to see me as a friend, a partner, a teammate fighting by your side—not as some pitiful old woman on her deathbed."

As she said this, Shen Yunjiao stared stubbornly at Zhao Zuo. Her gaze was so complex that he couldn’t discern her true feelings, but... as time passed, her eyes grew cold, as if they would go their separate ways if he didn’t agree.

"Alright." Zhao Zuo sighed in resignation. He had initially been drawn to Shen Yunjiao’s strong sense of morals and principles. After much effort and fighting side-by-side, they had finally become friends.

But now, that same strong sense of morals and principles had become a barrier that prevented him from helping her.

The two fell silent, quickly finishing the food on the table. After about ten more minutes, they had cleared everything and found an empty space to begin dividing the day’s spoils.

"Let’s start with Lin Hao’s things then."

Zhao Zuo took out Lin Hao’s Storage Bag, beginning the Refinement process with his Mana. At the same time, he placed the Spirit Silk Gloves and an Antidote Pill beside him. After all, Lin Hao had hated him deeply, so it was highly likely there was a trap in the Storage Bag, meant to take them both down with him.

After about half a minute, the Mana imprint left by Lin Hao was completely washed away by Zhao Zuo. He could now feel a faint connection to the Storage Bag.

"Be careful, I’m opening it," Zhao Zuo warned.

Then, he infused it with Mana and emptied all of the Storage Bag’s contents onto the ground.

First came a small pile of about five hundred Spirit Stones. Shen Yunjiao began to count them, then divided the Spirit Stones into two piles, pushing one of them toward Zhao Zuo.

Zhao Zuo used his own Storage Bag to collect the Spirit Stones.

Next were Scrolls, Talismans, and a few unidentified Magical Artifacts.

.......

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