Within the Weapon Repository stood a statue. It was neither of Washing Yan Ancient Sect's founder, Immortal Emperor Mingren, nor of some ancestor who had made outstanding contributions, but a gigantic crow.
The enormous crow spread its wings as if about to take flight, ready to soar and shake the nine heavens. Yet each of its claws gripped a short blade. These two short blades were Mystic Gate Sabers—not some treasured divine sabers, but merely ordinary Mystic Gate Sabers forged from common iron.
No one knew how many ages these two ordinary Mystic Gate Sabers had endured. Rust had grown across their edges, and the entire blades were mottled and ancient, looking as though they might snap apart at any moment.
The instant Li Qiye saw the statue of the gigantic crow, he could not help falling into a daze. Days long past surfaced in his mind. He had already forgotten that posture, that movement, but Immortal Emperor Mingren had not.
Seeing Li Qiye staring blankly at the enormous statue, Nan Huairen softly explained, "Senior Brother, this is the legendary Divine Crow. Legend has it that when our patriarch was young, he received the Divine Crow's guidance. The Divine Crow descended upon this peak, and afterward, our patriarch established Washing Yan Ancient Sect here. After our patriarch bore the Heaven's Will and became an Immortal Emperor, he erected this statue here in remembrance of the Divine Crow."
Hearing Nan Huairen's words, Li Qiye merely smiled. The so-called Divine Crow referred to him, the Shadow Crow. Of course, the tale that the Divine Crow had landed upon this peak and Immortal Emperor Mingren had therefore founded Washing Yan Ancient Sect here was utter nonsense. He had chosen this place for reasons known only to him!
Still, the statue's pose was genuine. When he had first met that brat Mingren, Mingren had been a hot-blooded youth who loved martial arts. At their first meeting, he had snatched the Mystic Gate short saber from Mingren's hand with a single claw.
He had not expected that after brat Mingren bore the Heaven's Will and became an Immortal Emperor, he would still remember that incident!
"Let's go in." Li Qiye came back to his senses and smiled faintly. Without saying anything else, he entered the Weapon Repository.
The Weapon Repository housed quite a few treasures, Life Treasures, and the like. The first floor alone contained over ten thousand weapons. Naturally, most of the weapons stored here were nothing remarkable, mostly weapons forged from Treasure Iron blended with divine metals. Even if there were artifacts, Life Treasures, or even True Artifacts among the first-floor collection, they were only relatively low-grade treasures.
Cultivators' weapons were divided into four major categories: first, ordinary weapons; second, Life Treasures; third, Common Fate Artifacts; fourth, True Fate Artifacts.
Ordinary weapons were generally used by disciples who had only just entered the path. They were extremely numerous, merely forged by blending Treasure Iron with various divine metals. Though such weapons were already divine sabers and swords that could slice through hair in the eyes of mortals, they amounted to nothing in the eyes of cultivators, because they could not unleash the power of grand dao laws!
Life Treasures, on the other hand, did not belong to the category of weapons, but rather to the category of treasures. Their purpose was to extend one's lifespan and nourish one's blood. It could be said that every cultivator possessed a Life Treasure, for only by using one to nurture their Life Wheel could they live longer and possess more vigorous blood energy.
At the same time, Life Treasures could serve an auxiliary role in battle. When blood energy was depleted during combat, a Life Treasure could replenish the lost blood energy.
Common Fate Artifacts and True Fate Artifacts were indispensable weapons for every cultivator. Whether Common Fate Artifacts or True Fate Artifacts, they were used to protect one's life and strike down enemies.
Common Fate Artifacts were also called Fate Artifacts or treasure artifacts, while True Fate Artifacts were called True Artifacts.
A cultivator could possess several, or even countless, treasure artifacts in a lifetime and could even inherit another person's treasure artifacts. However, a cultivator could possess only one True Artifact in a lifetime, because a True Fate Artifact connected to the True Fate and complemented it. Furthermore, every cultivator's True Fate Artifact was personally refined by its owner and could not be inherited from another.
Although True Artifacts had to be personally refined and accompany their owner throughout life, their power was beyond comparison with Common Fate Artifacts. A True Artifact of the same level could utterly crush a Common Fate Artifact in an instant!
The first floor of the Weapon Repository held over ten thousand weapons: Mysterious Iron Swords, Cold Moon Sabers, Flying Star Claws... such ordinary weapons. It also held treasure artifacts such as Mountain River Pagodas, Demon Suppression Wheels, River Dragon Rulers...
Beyond those, there were also some True Artifacts, such as Azure Treasure Divine Stones, Scarlet Blood Heavenly Ropes, Blazing Sun Sinking Brushes...
These treasure artifacts and True Artifacts were all of very low grade. Only third-generation ordinary disciples would choose from them. Any disciple who had rendered merit would go to the second floor to select treasures.
The first floor contained over ten thousand treasures and weapons. As Li Qiye walked through it, he could feel the chill radiating from the weapons, as well as the grand dao power breathed out by the treasure artifacts and True Artifacts.
Li Qiye examined the artifacts and weapons one by one, moving from the first floor to the second. The second floor no longer contained ordinary weapons, only treasure artifacts and True Artifacts, and the artifacts there were clearly of a higher grade than those on the first floor.
However, after looking through them all, Li Qiye found no treasure artifact or True Artifact that caught his eye. In the end, accompanied by Nan Huairen, he ascended to the third floor.
Li Qiye's entry into the third floor of the Weapon Repository drew the attention of several disciples selecting artifacts there. One disciple could not help snorting coldly. "I went to South Iron Mountain and slew a life essence, rendering no small merit before I was allowed into the second floor to choose a True Artifact. He's a useless good-for-nothing who just entered the sect. He has rendered no merit and achieved nothing—what right does he have to enter the third floor?!"
After all, apart from disciples who had rendered great merit, only those at the level of Hall Master or above could enter the third floor of the Weapon Repository. How could they not feel displeased when Li Qiye, who had joined the sect only recently, was allowed inside?
"He has an Elder's warrant." That was the only answer the disciple guarding the Weapon Repository could give in response to the others' doubts.
As for Li Qiye, he turned back to glance at the dissatisfied disciples and said unhurriedly, "If you have the ability, go question the Elder. What kind of ability is it to complain here?"
Li Qiye's words made several disciples present flush red with anger. Their status among the third-generation disciples was not low, yet today they had been looked down upon by a useless straw-stuffed fool. They trembled with rage.
"Let's see how long you can stay arrogant. One day, I'll teach you a proper lesson!" one disciple could not help saying resentfully.
Yet Li Qiye could not even be bothered to acknowledge them. He stepped into the third floor of the Weapon Repository, while Nan Huairen secretly shook his head. These disciples truly did not know whether they were alive or dead. They only saw the surface—did they really think Li Qiye was a straw-stuffed fool?
Upon entering the third floor of the Weapon Repository, they were met by surging light. Wave after wave of grand dao power rolled toward them like a tidal sea. Some treasure artifacts and True Artifacts even let out weapon cries, as though every artifact possessed life.
There was no doubt that the treasure artifacts and True Artifacts stored on this floor were far more advanced than those on the two floors below. Every one of them had no small origin.
"Senior Brother, the treasure artifacts and True Artifacts here are more advanced than those below. The lowest-grade artifacts on this floor are at the Life Strengthening level, while the higher ones are at the Heavenly Origin level. There are even Spirit Nurturing level True Artifacts," Nan Huairen hurriedly explained to Li Qiye.
The grades of treasure artifacts and True Artifacts were directly tied to the cultivation level of the cultivator who refined them. For example, a cultivator in the Life Strengthening Realm would refine Life Strengthening level treasure artifacts and True Artifacts.
"Look, this is the Nine Deer Life Wheel—" Nan Huairen introduced it to Li Qiye. "Senior Brother, this Life Wheel was refined from the growth ring of a three-thousand-year Iron Deer Life Essence. It has inherited the Iron Deer Life Essence's strengths. If one used this wheel to nurture one's own Life Wheel, it would certainly make one's lifespan blood more refined."
"This is a Flying Flood Dragon Heavenly Rope." Like a man reciting treasures from his own household, Nan Huairen introduced another treasure artifact to Li Qiye. "This treasure artifact was refined from the dao bone of a Heavenly Beast whose cultivation could rival the Canopy Realm. I heard that this Heavenly Beast was a winged, two-headed flood dragon. Once this treasure artifact is cultivated to a certain degree, it can activate the dao-bone laws of that winged, two-headed flood dragon."
"This is an Earth Shattering Axe, refined from a piece of Star Shattering Divine Metal..."
Nan Huairen seemed extremely familiar with the treasure artifacts and True Artifacts on the third floor, introducing them to Li Qiye one after another as though reciting treasures from his own household.
Seeing Nan Huairen eagerly introducing every treasure artifact and True Artifact here, Li Qiye shot him a glance and said, "Looks like you know this place quite well."
Questioned by Li Qiye, Nan Huairen gave an embarrassed dry laugh and said quietly, "Whenever my master came here, I shamelessly followed along, so I learned a little. I've only been to the fourth floor once. My grandmaster took me there."
Nan Huairen was adept at handling people, completely unlike his master, Protector Mo. Therefore, Elder Sun, one of his grandmasters and one of the six great Elders, also cared for him greatly.
"What treasure artifacts and True Artifacts are on the floors above?" Li Qiye asked casually. The Weapon Repository had nine floors in total, but for now, he could only go as high as the third.
"I've only visited the fourth floor once myself. The best treasure artifacts and True Artifacts on the fourth floor are only at the King Marquis level. I don't know much about the rest." Nan Huairen shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Does the ninth floor have Immortal Emperor Artifacts?" Li Qiye asked. Immortal Emperor Mingren had refined far more than one Immortal Emperor Artifact in his lifetime. Moreover, Li Qiye knew that Immortal Emperor Mingren had later left behind several Immortal Emperor Artifacts to protect Washing Yan Ancient Sect.
At this point, Nan Huairen looked around, then lowered his voice to the barest whisper. "I heard that our Washing Yan Ancient Sect no longer has any Immortal Emperor Artifacts, much less Immortal Emperor True Artifacts."
"None left?" Li Qiye was surprised upon hearing this. Immortal Emperor Mingren had left behind more than one Immortal Emperor Artifact. No matter how unfilial or wasteful Washing Yan Ancient Sect's descendants had been, they could not possibly have squandered every single Immortal Emperor Artifact, could they?
Nan Huairen shook his head and said quietly, "I don't know the specifics either. In fact, even my master doesn't know. I heard that thirty thousand years ago, when Washing Yan Ancient Sect fought Holy Heaven Sect, we not only lost the ancient kingdom we had ruled for millions upon millions of years, but in that battle, it is said that even Washing Yan Ancient Sect's final Immortal Emperor Artifact was lost."
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