Artifact Spirit Chengyi, His Secrets Laid Bare

"Are you the artifact spirit in this blade?"

"I don't know. Anyway, ever since I woke up, I haven't been able to get more than five meters away from this blade..."

Lin Yi: "..."

Wasn't this exactly what an artifact spirit was?

Lin Yi clicked his tongue in wonder.

This was the first time he'd ever seen a weapon with an artifact spirit.

Lin Yi had heard that a sixth-grade Treasure Artifact might develop sentience.

But sentience and an artifact spirit that could actually emerge were two completely different things!

Lin Yi was astonished.

"Who are you?" Lin Yi didn't probe further. Instead, he asked his second question.

The girl froze for a moment, as if trying to remember. After a long while, she lifted her head and looked at Lin Yi. "Lu Chengyi."

"My name is Lu Chengyi."

Next, Lin Yi questioned Lu Chengyi from every angle, like he was checking her household registration.

The result left him despairing.

Apart from knowing her own name, the girl before him knew nothing else.

She didn't know where she came from or how she had become the artifact spirit in this blade... She was completely clueless.

Lin Yi rubbed his forehead helplessly. "Then what do you know?"

Lu Chengyi thought for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up. "I know this!"

"?" Lin Yi was puzzled.

Before Lin Yi could react, the girl moved with astonishing speed. She grabbed his hand and pressed it against her smooth, fair forehead.

The warm, soft sensation made Lin Yi freeze.

Then, under Lin Yi's astonished gaze,

the girl's body gradually turned translucent. The next second, she abruptly vanished, transforming into countless energy particles that surged into Lin Yi's palm.

By the time Lin Yi came to his senses, a strange band of white markings had appeared around his right forearm.

At the same time, a familiar, lilting voice rang out in his mind.

"Can you hear me, Lin Yi?"

Lin Yi froze, but didn't panic.

Everything before him was beyond belief, but still within the bounds of what he could accept.

Besides, [Know Heavenly Fate] had said this was a fortuitous opportunity.

So Lin Yi didn't panic.

Once he had his emotions under control, he said, "I can hear you."

"You don't need to speak. Just focus your soul, and you can communicate with me."

"A voice in my mind kept telling me to do this with the first person who could see me. Then I was supposed to follow him, and I'd learn everything about myself..." Lu Chengyi explained as well.

"I woke up not long ago. That gloomy fellow kept carrying me around, but no matter how I appeared, he couldn't see me. I also couldn't go too far away. I haven't met many people these past few days."

Lin Yi knew the fellow she meant was Master Wu.

"But luckily, I met you." Lu Chengyi's voice held a note of relief.

Lin Yi raised his brows, unable to suppress his curiosity.

"What does that... fellow usually do?" Lin Yi asked.

Lu Chengyi's tone turned strange.

"That guy is incredibly odd."

"He spends every day in a huge mansion. There are lots of people inside, but everyone else in the whole mansion is expressionless and silent. He's the only one who talks to himself all day. It's creepy to watch."

"And, oh, every once in a while, he has some random servant from the estate take a batch of goods out, bringing me along, and then find some sucker to sell a Treasure Artifact to..."

Amid Lu Chengyi's flood of complaints, Lin Yi instantly picked out a few useful details.

"You said it was a servant who went out to sell the Treasure Artifacts?"

"Yeah. The old man who sold you the blade I was inhabiting this afternoon was one of his servants."

Lu Chengyi nodded as if it were obvious.

Impossible.

Lin Yi furrowed his brows.

He'd clearly seen the old man's strength at the stall today.

The man was unquestionably at least in the Qi Entry Realm.

He was a top-tier expert throughout Jiaqing County. How could he possibly be a servant?

Then, a flash of inspiration struck.

A rumor surfaced in his mind once more.

"Hardly anyone in all of Jiaqing County has seen Master Wu's true face. Even those who have seen him tell different stories. Some say he's a child, some say a woman, some say an old man, and others say a handsome young man... In short, a thousand people see a thousand faces!"

In an instant,

Lin Yi came up with an incredibly bold theory.

Before, he'd assumed Master Wu was simply skilled at changing his appearance.

But it seemed that wasn't the case.

Master Wu seemed more likely to possess some kind of clone technique.

Everyone in that mansion was one of Master Wu's incarnations!

"Hiss!" Lin Yi drew in a sharp breath.

Wasn't this a bit like the methods of the Corpse Puppet Path?!

Well, well. He'd run into a fellow practitioner!

And a senior from the Corpse Puppet Path, no less.

Making Corpse Puppets look alive, so they seemed just like real people—that technique belonged to at least a seventh-grade Corpse Puppet Path practitioner!

If it was true, then it was terrifying.

If Master Wu wanted to keep an eye on someone, wouldn't anyone nearby potentially be one of his incarnations, one of his spies?

Wouldn't that make the whole area a minefield?

No wonder the second line of the Destiny Intelligence had said: Be wary of the eyes watching you from all around.

Well, well. So he'd been under surveillance!

A flicker of regret passed through Lin Yi's heart.

He'd drawn too much attention to himself today.

But in the next instant, that regret vanished.

When soldiers came, he'd send a general to stop them; when the water came, he'd build an earth barrier.

Fortune favored the bold!

Since this was a [Great Omen] opportunity,

there had to be some danger lurking in the shadows.

Lin Yi gave a faint laugh.

Was he really going to give up an opportunity meant for him just because it carried risks, trembling at the thought of wolves in front and tigers behind?

That would be completely against his nature and his instincts!

Lin Yi steadied his thoughts and continued asking questions.

"You said earlier that he finds suckers to sell Treasure Artifacts to?"

Lu Chengyi nodded as if it were obvious. "Yeah. Those Treasure Artifacts have all been imbued with a secret technique. If you buy one at a low price, you have to lend that guy your Aura of Fortune. I think it lasts for three months."

"No wonder."

No wonder the divination earlier had told him not to proactively buy anything recommended by a shopkeeper.

Lin Yi hurriedly asked, "What about you? Didn't he use a secret technique on the blade you were inhabiting?"

"Of course he did. Whenever those servants take me out, they're trying to deliver me to someone destined to find me."

Lin Yi immediately stood up and pointed at himself in shock. "Huh?"

Lu Chengyi's voice was dismissive. "But I noticed those marks ages ago and wiped them away."

Lin Yi felt relieved.

Lu Chengyi continued:

"And, oh, he also has a secret room. The walls are covered with information about lots of people."

"And this afternoon, that guy named Liu Qingnu was on the information board in the secret room, too. His entry was posted in the most conspicuous spot."

"The board said that Liu Qingnu's master was a Martial Artist in the Qi Entry Realm, formerly an officer of the Crimson Flame Sect. After retiring, he came to Jiaqing County hoping to open a martial arts school..."

Lin Yi raised his brows.

Open a martial arts school?

As everyone knew, opening a martial arts school in Jiaqing County came with requirements, and they were rather strict.

To open a school in Jiaqing County, you first had to train a local as your disciple.

An outsider who personally challenged another school would earn the resentment of his peers and face retaliation afterward, making it impossible to establish himself in the county.

So you had to find a local. Locals could make room for their own.

After that, the disciple had to challenge every martial arts school in the county and beat more than half of them.

There were seven schools in Jiaqing County, so he had to challenge at least four.

Only then could the master leave Jiaqing County and open his school.

But even if the disciple left, it was still worth it.

After all, whether the challenging disciple succeeded determined whether his master could establish himself locally.

Naturally, the master would spare no effort to train him.

"...Liu Qingnu is the disciple this Qi Entry Realm Martial Artist trained to challenge the schools. I heard he's already found a place to go afterward, too. Since his master used to be an officer of the Crimson Flame Sect, he has a recommendation that'll let Liu Qingnu enter the Crimson Flame Sect."

Perhaps because she'd gone too long without talking, Lu Chengyi was rather chatty. She rattled off everything she knew in one breath, conveniently saving Lin Yi from having to ask more.

Lin Yi couldn't help but marvel.

"Liu Qingnu really is blessed with extraordinary luck. His ancestors earned the favor of a Great Demon, he had Grade A Bone Structure from birth, and a Great Demon used its essence blood to cleanse his bones and purge his impurities. Now he even has a chance to enter the Crimson Flame Sect. He won't have to remain confined to a tiny place like Jiaqing County..."

But what truly astonished Lin Yi was the artifact spirit, Lu Chengyi.

Great Omen really lived up to its name.

This artifact spirit had practically stripped Master Wu down to his underwear.

And, while she was at it, she'd stripped every powerful figure in the city down to their underwear, too.

He still didn't know what use the artifact spirit had.

But judging by the information he'd gathered so far,

she was incredible.