Indestructible

"It seemed to be nothing more than physical fatigue, nothing serious." Shen Luo felt a little less worried, but even more doubtful.

He carefully recalled everything that had happened the previous night. The more he thought about it, the more the events in that mountain village felt like something he had personally experienced.

"It seems there's only one way to determine whether it was a dream." Shen Luo muttered.

He roused himself somewhat, took off his shirt again, bared his upper body, then viciously bit open his index finger and carefully drew two blood-red runes on his chest with his blood, just as he had in the dream the day before.

One was the "Ghost-Expelling Talisman," and the other was the "Minor Thunder Talisman." Both were runes that had truly been activated the previous night.

If everything in that mountain village had really happened, then he should be able to do the same in reality.

Shen Luo half-closed his eyes and began slowly channeling the Yang Gang energy within him into the blood-red runes on his upper body, repeating every step from the previous night.

When the Yang Hardness Force entered the Ghost-Expelling Talisman rune, there was not the slightest abnormality.

Shen Luo's heart sank slightly. He then urged the Yang Hardness Force into the Burst Talisman rune, but still nothing happened.

After his thoughts raced through several turns, he gritted his teeth and increased the rate at which he injected the Yang Hardness Force severalfold. At last, he felt the rune on his chest begin to heat up slightly. It grew hotter and hotter, carrying a faint hint of the searing heat from before the rune had erupted the previous night.

Shen Luo was overjoyed. Just as he was about to inject more Yang Hardness Force, the Minor Thunder Talisman on his chest rapidly cooled down again, and there were no further changes.

He froze. He could only pour all his remaining Yang Hardness Force into the rune on his chest in one breath, yet there was still no reaction whatsoever.

Did that count as a successful activation, or a failure?

Even Shen Luo himself was completely bewildered!

Unwilling to leave it at that, he waited until meditation restored a little of his Yang Hardness Force, then drew another Minor Thunder Talisman on his body. Yet the result remained unchanged.

The rune drawn with his vital blood still only heated up slightly before producing no further result.

Shen Luo pondered it for a long while without reaching any conclusion. Instead, his stomach began to growl.

"Forget it. I can only set this aside for now. It's time for lunch—I'll fill my stomach first." Shen Luo stood up unwillingly. After all that fuss, most of the soreness in his body had vanished.

But after taking only a few steps out the door, he turned back, took out a talisman from his sleeve, and stuck it in the center of the Jade Pillow. Only then did he carefully lift it from the bed, bend down to place it beneath the table, and pat his hands in relief.

Lunchtime at the dining hall was when the most people gathered. Shen Luo had arrived a little early, and there were not many people inside yet.

After collecting his meal, he chose his usual seat and sat down to eat.

He had only finished half his meal when more and more people gradually filled the dining hall.

Just then, someone suddenly patted Shen Luo's left shoulder.

When he turned to look, the left side of the bench was empty, while a figure flashed to his right and sat down.

It was Bai Xiaotian.

"Junior Brother Shen, I have to say something to you. You can't slack off in cultivation just because you've made a little progress..." Bai Xiaotian set down his meal, looking like an elder earnestly instructing a junior.

"Why do you say that, Senior Brother Bai?" Shen Luo asked in surprise.

"After I finished cultivating this morning, I went to look for you at the big rock outside Jade Emperor Hall, but you weren't there. Usually, you never missed a single day, rain or shine. Tell me, where did you go?" Bai Xiaotian put away his teasing expression and asked.

"Oh... I felt a little unwell when I got up this morning, so I just meditated in my room." Shen Luo hesitated briefly, choosing not to mention the dream from the previous night.

Bai Xiaotian carefully examined Shen Luo's complexion and saw that he did indeed look somewhat listless. He could not help asking, "How do you feel now? Do you want me to take you to Daoist Luo for a look?"

"There's no need to go to all that trouble. I'm already fine. After I eat and rest a little more, I should be alright by tomorrow." Shen Luo replied with a smile.

"If you say so, I won't force you. Get plenty of rest." Bai Xiaotian nodded.

Shen Luo smiled and lowered his head to continue eating.

"Hey, tell me... you wouldn't happen to have some unspeakable problem, would you? Here, speak quietly. I promise I won't tell anyone." Bai Xiaotian held it in for a while, then suddenly leaned closer and whispered.

"Get lost." Shen Luo shot him a glare, pretending to be angry.

"Haha..."

After lunch, Shen Luo parted ways with Bai Xiaotian but did not immediately return to his room. Instead, he went to the library of Spring Autumn Temple and casually looked through several books related to metals and minerals.

Unfortunately, he found nothing. There was no record of any material similar to that strange Jade Pillow.

With no other choice, Shen Luo returned to his residence.

After pushing open the door, he immediately glanced beneath the table and saw that strange Jade Pillow still lying obediently on the floor.

He shut the door, bent down to place the Jade Pillow back on the table, and stared at it in thought for a long time.

"No. This time, I have to figure out exactly what you are." After a long while, Shen Luo gritted his teeth and said fiercely.

With that, he took out a piece of gray cotton cloth, wrapped up the Jade Pillow, hurried out, and headed straight for the back mountain.

It was just past noon, when the yang energy between heaven and earth was at its strongest. If there were any sinister, evil things, they should be lying low and not emerging. Shen Luo intended to take advantage of this favorable time to properly test whether the Jade Pillow was truly strange.

The back mountain faced away from the sun, and most areas received sunlight only in the evening all year round. Shen Luo searched for a long time before finding a protruding rock formation with no trees around it, fully exposed to the blazing midday sun.

He placed the Jade Pillow on the rock and unwrapped the gray cotton cloth.

Sunlight fell upon the Jade Pillow, making its originally somewhat dim dark-yellow color appear a little more translucent. Other than that, however, there was no further abnormality.

"I want to see whether you really are indestructible." Shen Luo steeled himself and drew a brightly polished axe from behind his waist.

He had borrowed it from the dining hall on his way here. Under the sunlight, it gleamed with a sharp, cold sheen.

Previously, he had tested the Jade Pillow with the small knife he carried, but he had been unable to leave even the slightest mark on it. This time, he had simply switched to something larger and more suitable for chopping.

Shen Luo gripped the axe handle but did not strike immediately. Instead, he used one pointed corner of the axe blade to lightly tap the Jade Pillow.

A faint sound rang out, and the Jade Pillow trembled slightly. When he moved the axe away and looked, its surface indeed still bore no trace at all.

Seeing this, Shen Luo tightened his grip on the axe handle and gestured at the Jade Pillow. He turned the axe blade aside and used the thick rear portion of the axe to smash down hard on the Jade Pillow.

Bang!

The axe bounced back from the impact, while the Jade Pillow remained completely unscathed.

This strike had still only been a test. Shen Luo had not dared to use his full strength, fearing he might smash the Jade Pillow to pieces and cause something to suddenly emerge from within. Yet he had clearly underestimated the Jade Pillow's toughness.

Bang! Another dull thud rang out.

After the first two attempts, Shen Luo did not hold back much this time. The axe struck the Jade Pillow solidly, and the rebounding force made his hand go somewhat numb. At the same time, there came a strange crack.

"It cracked..."

Shen Luo was delighted. Shaking out his hand, he hurried over to inspect it.

However, the Jade Pillow was still perfectly intact. Instead, a crack had opened in the weathered rock beneath it.

"It looks like I'll have to get serious." Shen Luo's brows furrowed slightly.

This time, he directly reversed the axe, no longer holding back in the slightest. Raising the blade high above the Jade Pillow, he brought it down with all his strength.

Clang...

The sound of metal striking stone rang out, and a shower of sparks burst from the Jade Pillow.

Shen Luo felt his thumb and forefinger jolt as the axe bounced back. His entire palm went numb.

He rotated his wrist, propped the axe against the ground with one hand, then leaned in for a closer look. He could not help falling speechless.

The once sharp and sturdy axe blade had curled, just like his knife had last time. Yet the Jade Pillow still did not bear the slightest mark.

"What kind of damned material is this thing made of..." Shen Luo muttered as his gaze fell once more upon the patterns on the Jade Pillow's surface.

At that moment, he became even more certain that the bizarre dream from the previous night was inextricably connected to this thing.