Experimental Dharma Artifacts

Outside the East Gate of the market, about half a li south, lay an open stretch of barren gravelly ground.

Li Yuan stood in the middle of the wasteland and took the Flame Snake Tube from his sleeve.

Its dark-red barrel glinted dully beneath the morning light as Li Yuan poured spiritual power into the copper tube.

The Fire Crystal flashed for an instant. A tiny crimson arc sprang from the muzzle and shot out with a whoosh, striking a boulder half a man's height some twenty zhang away.

Crack. A fingernail-sized scorched pit appeared on the stone's surface, scattering a few chips of gravel.

Its power truly was not great, far inferior even to his own Fireball Technique.

But it was fast. From channeling spiritual power into it to firing, there was almost no charge-up time in between.

Li Yuan channeled spiritual power into it three times in succession. Three crimson arcs shot out one after another within a single breath, striking three different spots on the boulder's surface and leaving tightly clustered scorch marks.

Its firing rate was very fast, its precision was decent, and it consumed little spiritual power—one shot used only a little over thirty percent of what the Fireball Technique required.

The Flame Snake Tube was easier to control than the Fireball Technique. Once spiritual power was poured in, it could fire, while the direction was controlled by the wrist.

It was suited for disruption and restraint, not as a primary offensive method.

After firing more than a dozen shots, Li Yuan tucked the Flame Snake Tube back into his sleeve and took out the Breath-Concealing Jade Pendant.

The System Panel had displayed a Green Trait, Breath Concealment. The trait's effect was clear enough, but Li Yuan did not know how this Dharma Artifact was used.

He tried channeling spiritual power into it.

Once spiritual power entered the jade pendant, it vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, with no response whatsoever. The pendant neither glowed nor heated up nor vibrated; it was no different from channeling spiritual power into an ordinary rock.

Li Yuan turned it over several times, then tried infusing it with different amounts and frequencies of spiritual power. It still showed no reaction.

It was not the sort of Dharma Artifact that could be activated simply by channeling spiritual power into it. This jade pendant's method of use was likely rather special.

Li Yuan put the pendant into his sleeve and turned toward the market.

In the middle section of North Alley, he turned west into a narrow lane. At the lane's end stood a small shop, with an old wooden sign hanging over its doorway bearing the three faded characters: Treasure Appraisal Pavilion.

Treasure Appraisal Pavilion specialized in appraisals within the market. It also sold, stored, and pawned goods, charged modest fees, and would examine anything brought to it.

Rogue Cultivators could bring in unfamiliar ores picked up in the mountains, strange objects pulled from Demonic Beast bellies, or Dharma Artifacts of uncertain authenticity found at street stalls for appraisal.

Li Yuan pushed open the door and entered.

The shop was small. The front half held a counter, while the back half was separated by a cloth curtain.

Behind the counter sat a man of around forty, lean-faced and wearing a short wisp of beard. He wore a gray-blue robe and was bent over a booklet, writing something with a fine brush.

"How many Spirit Stones to appraise this?" Li Yuan set the jade pendant on the counter.

The appraiser set down his brush. His gaze fell upon the pendant. He gave it a casual glance at first, then reached out and picked it up.

He turned it over to inspect the back, then rubbed its surface with the pad of his thumb.

"One Spirit Stone."

Li Yuan took a Spirit Stone from his sleeve and set it on the counter.

The appraiser accepted it, brought the pendant before his eyes, and scrutinized it carefully.

"Where did it come from?"

"I searched it off a Cultivator Bandit. Spoils of battle."

The jade pendant's origins were perfectly aboveboard, so Li Yuan was not afraid of anyone finding out.

The appraiser had only asked in passing. He gave a grunt, turned the pendant over a few times, lightly flicked its edge with a fingernail, and tilted his ear to listen to the echo.

Then he took a palm-sized dark-green jade slab from beneath the counter, placed the pendant above it, and closed his eyes to sense it for several breaths.

"The jade is ordinary, not Spirit Jade," the appraiser said flatly as he opened his eyes.

"There are no traces of Spirit Patterns on its surface, nor any signs of spiritual power flowing within."

The appraiser set the pendant back on the counter and tapped it with a finger.

"It isn't a Dharma Artifact."

Li Yuan's expression did not change.

"Take a closer look."

The appraiser showed no impatience. He had seen plenty of such people, clutching an object they believed to be treasure when it was actually nothing at all.

The greatest taboo for a shop like Treasure Appraisal Pavilion was offending customers. The appraiser picked it back up and examined it perfunctorily.

His fingers suddenly paused. His long, slender finger slowly traced the pendant's edge before stopping at an extremely inconspicuous worn groove.

The appraiser frowned.

He took out a silver needle from beneath the counter. Its tip entered the groove, and he gently picked at it.

"Wait."

The appraiser's tone changed, gaining several degrees of seriousness. He looked at the needle tip, which had picked up an exceedingly thin layer of dark powder, nearly invisible to the eye.

"This isn't an ordinary jade pendant."

The appraiser set the pendant on the dark-green jade slab and used the silver needle to scrape bit by bit along the groove at its edge.

More and more dark powder was scraped off, gathering on the jade slab's surface in a small pile.

The appraiser brought the powder beneath his nose and sniffed it.

"A compound medicinal powder, ground from at least three kinds of herbs. I cannot identify every component, but one of them is Hidden Glow Grass."

The appraiser put down the silver needle and took out a bronze-mirror-like Dharma Artifact. The bronze mirror lit up and shone upon the jade pendant as the appraiser studied it closely.

A moment later, the appraiser gave his answer.

"Hidden Glow Grass can conceal fluctuations of spiritual energy. Once it is mixed with other herbs, ground into a liquid, and applied into the grooves, the medicinal effects seep into the jade pendant's interior. Then spiritual power is poured in."

The appraiser picked up the pendant and gestured with it.

"After the medicinal liquid is applied, the jade absorbs it like a dry sponge drinking water. If spiritual power is then poured in, it merges with the liquid and slowly seeps back out through the grooves."

"Once the seeped substance is consumed, it can conceal one's aura and cultivation fluctuations for a period of time."

The appraiser paused and glanced at Li Yuan.

"The effect is limited. It cannot conceal everything completely; at most, it makes the aura others sense weaker and hazier. But against sensing methods of the same level or one level lower, it is still effective."

"How long does it last?"

"That depends on the liquid's concentration and quantity. At ordinary concentration, one use can last roughly two or three days, and the medicinal liquid cannot be stored for long."

The appraiser placed the jade pendant back on the counter.

"This thing is inferior to an ordinary Breath-Concealing Jade Pendant, but it does not consume spiritual power midway through use. And such a complicated process is meant to ensure no one discovers it is a Dharma Artifact."

Li Yuan tucked the jade pendant back into his sleeve.

"Can the medicinal powder applied in that groove be prepared in the market?"

The appraiser thought for a moment.

"Hidden Glow Grass occasionally appears for sale in the market. It isn't expensive. I cannot say for certain about the other ingredients, but they should all be common low-grade herbs. Find an alchemist and ask; they are more accurate than I am at identifying medicinal herbs."

Li Yuan nodded, collected the powder, left the Treasure Appraisal Shop, and turned toward Old Sun's stall.

Old Sun was sitting behind his stall, fiddling with a small porcelain bottle. When he saw Li Yuan approach, he raised his eyelids.

Li Yuan crouched down, took out the powder from his sleeve, briefly relayed what the appraiser had said, then handed the powder over.

Old Sun took the jade pendant, scraped at the groove with his fingernail, brought the dark powder beneath his nose to smell it, then rolled it between his fingertips.

"Hidden Glow Grass, Soul-Calming Flower, and... Green Leaf Moss."

Old Sun moved quickly, naming all three herbs in less than ten breaths.

"None of the three are worth much. You can buy them in the market. Grind them into liquid and mix them. As for the proportions—"

Old Sun pondered for a moment, then held up his fingers to indicate them.

"Three parts Hidden Glow Grass, one part Soul-Calming Flower, half a part Green Leaf Moss. Add a little clean water and grind them into a thick paste."

"How much?"

"No charge. They are all the cheapest low-grade herbs, and I have them on hand."

Old Sun turned around, rummaged three kinds of herbs from the medicine chest behind him, and efficiently began grinding them in a small stone mortar.

In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, a small bowl of dark-green paste sat before Li Yuan, giving off a faintly bitter scent.

"Go back and try it yourself." Old Sun dumped out the dregs from the mortar and clapped his hands.

Li Yuan put away the paste and the jade pendant together, thanked him, then rose and left.

After returning to his residence, Li Yuan began experimenting, applying the thick paste to the jade pendant.

Several breaths later, the paste began to seep into the jade.

Once the paste had been fully absorbed, Li Yuan channeled spiritual power into the pendant.

This time was different from before.

The instant spiritual power entered, the jade pendant grew slightly warm, and his fingertips could feel something flowing within it.

After roughly twenty breaths, liquid began to seep from the groove.

A tiny dark-green droplet emerged from the groove's edge, slowly slid down the pendant's surface, and fell onto Li Yuan's fingertip. He took out a bowl and began collecting it.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, the pendant stopped secreting spiritual liquid, though only a thin layer covered the bottom of the bowl.

Li Yuan drank it. It was slightly bitter on the tongue, with the astringent taste of herbs. After he swallowed it, an extremely faint coolness slid from his throat into his chest and abdomen, slowly spreading along his meridians.

Wherever the coolness went, Li Yuan felt the spiritual power fluctuations in that area draw in slightly, as though veiled by a thin mist.

With a thought, Li Yuan sensed the fluctuations of his own spiritual power.

They had indeed weakened considerably. His Qi Refining Fifth Layer aura had been suppressed to roughly the Qi Refining Third Level; without close scrutiny, it would be difficult to distinguish.

After thinking it over, Li Yuan decided to report this matter to Wang De. Perhaps he could earn quite a few contribution points.

Most importantly, the source of the information was reasonable and would not expose anything unusual about himself. Cultivators possessed astonishing memories; it was not strange for him to remember Zhao Wu's jade pendant.