In the depths of an underground palace, dark shadows darted about amid the howls of Corpse Monsters. Several people screamed as they were torn to shreds like bolts of cloth.
A young man whose face resembled Xu Yan's fled in terror and, in the end, managed to escape with his life.
Years later, a boy cleaning the ancestral home happened to notice a raised floor tile. When he lifted it to look underneath, he found a curved saber made entirely of translucent jade.
"So this saber was brought out of a tomb, and Xu Yan was a scion of a fallen aristocratic clan from Yingzhou."
On Moon-Sand Island, Li Ling opened his eyes and found that he had fallen asleep leaning against his wife. He had already spent more than half a day wandering through dreams.
From needing to fast, bathe, and prepare meticulously at first to becoming increasingly familiar and casual with it, he had truly crossed the threshold of mastery with his Dreamscape Reversal divine ability.
Perhaps because the essence of his soul had been washed and refined by the waters of the Filth Abyss, his communion with the Heavenly Dao had become ever more unobstructed.
But tracing this precious saber's karma and successfully learning its origins still required a measure of luck.
Fortunately, it was not a sentient being, and none of the people involved had possessed methods to obscure heaven's secrets. In the end, Li Ling had uncovered its history.
Weariness showed on his face, and he gestured for his wife to give him a massage.
Mu Qingsi rubbed his temples and said gently, "So this saber actually isn't low-grade?"
Li Ling shifted until he found a comfortable position to lie flat. "Of course not. This is the original blank of a superior treasure artifact!"