Testing

Barely half an incense stick's worth of time after leaving the Yellow Maple Valley Market, Jing Wen had changed into a loose black robe, its hood pulled low to hide his features.

He formed a hand seal and pushed the Wind-Riding Art to its limit. His figure became an elusive afterimage as he raced along the skyline at full speed, flying for three whole days.

Throughout those three days, fierce winds cut across his face like knives, and his Spiritual Power drained away like running water.

Most of the Rejuvenation Powder he carried had already become warm currents flowing into his dantian. Though the medicine increased his Spiritual Power recovery rate by fifty percent, it still could not keep pace with his constant expenditure.

Even with some Spiritual Power remaining in his dantian, the prolonged, intense flight had already exhausted him physically.

While passing over a stretch of the Vast Mountains that extended for a thousand miles, he finally could bear it no longer and decided to find somewhere to rest.

After weaving through the jagged mountains for a while, he found a natural cave hidden on the shaded side of a cliff.

Vines half concealed its entrance. Inside, it was deep and quiet, filled with the scent of damp moss and old, rotting leaves. Water occasionally dripped from the rocky ceiling with a "tap, tap," making the emptiness all the more pronounced.

Jing Wen slipped inside and scattered specially prepared Concealment Powder around the entrance behind him.

Colorless and odorless, this powder could conceal spiritual energy, body heat, and even the fine dust left by footsteps. An ordinary cultivator sweeping the area with Divine Sense would take it for nothing more than a wild beast's den.

Only after finishing all this did he breathe a little easier and slowly sit down against the rock wall.

Yet his thoughts remained tangled like a skein of knotted thread, refusing to settle.

The Myriad Treasures Pavilion...

As a giant of the Cultivation World spanning several countries, it had always built its reputation on "trust and honor as its foundation, cheating neither child nor elder." In a hundred years, it had rarely broken its word.

By all rights, Tian Buli should neither have reason nor dare to lay a trap for him.

But as another thought occurred to him, Jing Wen's gaze suddenly turned cold.

Millennium spirit medicine!

The appearance of such a treasure was enough to tempt Golden Core cultivators and draw the attention of old Nascent Soul monsters.

The Myriad Treasures Pavilion might have its rules, but its staff was a mixed crowd: shopkeepers, stewards, appraisers, guards... there were at least several dozen of them.

There was no guarantee that none of them would secretly send word, or that none had already been bought off by hostile forces.

More frightening still-once the news leaked, it would become a towering flood of disaster.

At that thought, Jing Wen's gaze grew increasingly grave.

He took out the two magical artifacts he had just purchased and ran his fingertips over their cold surfaces, silently resolving that he must not use them lightly in the near future, lest he expose his whereabouts.

Suppressing his distracting thoughts, Jing Wen took out the remaining Rejuvenation Powder and swallowed it all.

The powder dissolved the moment it entered his mouth, gently releasing Spiritual Power. He immediately closed his eyes and focused, forming a seal with both hands and circulating his cultivation method at full strength to replenish his depleted Spiritual Power.

Within the cave, there was only his steady breathing, cut off from the mountain winds outside.

As he circulated his cultivation method, the Spiritual Power remaining in his dantian gradually merged with the warm currents produced by the Rejuvenation Powder, slowly filling it like small streams flowing into the sea.

Jing Wen stilled his breathing and concentrated, immersing his entire mind in restoring his Spiritual Power. A faint halo even appeared over his skin, dispelling the cave's damp chill.

An unknown amount of time passed before the Spiritual Power in his dantian recovered to nearly seventy percent, and Jing Wen slowly opened his eyes.

He took out the Dark Tortoise Shell. The blue-black Supreme Magical Artifact gleamed with a cold, shadowy luster in the morning light.

"Rise!"

Jing Wen formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation, and the Dark Tortoise Shell immediately floated into the air.

As he continuously poured Spiritual Power into it, the eight trigrams patterns on the shell lit up one after another, finally forming a translucent barrier of light before him.

Jing Wen held two fingers together like a sword and sent sword qi shooting out-

Bang!

The sword qi struck the light barrier with a dull thud.

The barrier did not budge.

"Again!"

This time, Jing Wen brought out his flying sword directly.

The flying sword became a streak of Jin Guang that slashed toward the barrier. The instant they collided, the entire cave shook.

Under the flying sword's repeated slashes, fine cracks finally appeared across the barrier, but they repaired themselves in an instant.

Beads of sweat had already appeared on Jing Wen's forehead.

Merely maintaining the Dark Tortoise Shell's basic defense had consumed nearly thirty percent of his Spiritual Power.

If he faced a full-strength strike from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, that single blow would probably drain his Spiritual Power dry.

"It really is too much of a strain..."

This Supreme Magical Artifact was like a wild, spirited horse, beyond the ability of a Qi Refining Stage cultivator to rein in.

He estimated that with his current Spiritual Power at the tenth layer of Qi Refining, he could block at most three attacks from an early Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Alas, I'm still too weak!"

Supreme Magical Artifacts were intended for cultivators at Foundation Establishment Stage and above. Their steep prices put them entirely beyond the reach of ordinary Qi Refining Stage cultivators.

Had Jing Wen not bought millennium spirit medicine from Han Li for practically the price of cabbage, he could never have afforded this treasure.

As he sighed over this, the Dark Tortoise Shell flashed. Like a nimble shape of light, it settled onto Jing Wen's body, then quietly vanished from sight.

Next, Jing Wen took out the Nine-Turn Wandering Sword, its nine spiritual patterns glittering in the sunlight.

During his transaction at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, he had not had the opportunity to test this Supreme Magical Artifact.

Now...

Jing Wen took a deep breath and poured Spiritual Power into the sword's hilt.

Hum!

The blade trembled lightly, splitting into three sword shadows.

The three flying swords wove through the air, their paths shifting unpredictably.

Jing Wen swept his sword fingers forward, and all three swords slashed toward the rock wall at once.

Crash!

Shattered stone flew everywhere, and three sword marks more than a foot deep remained in the wall.

Its power was certainly impressive, but it was still far from the true realm of "nine swords emerging together, a sword formation taking shape of its own accord."

"The power of three swords only amounts to a high-grade magical artifact..." Jing Wen marveled.

The Nine-Turn Wandering Sword ranked among the very best Supreme Magical Artifacts, but its demands on Spiritual Power were extremely high.

With his current cultivation, he could not bring out its true power at all.

It was like forcing himself to use late-game equipment in a game: not only could he not make full use of its stats, but it would become a burden instead.

What Jing Wen needed now was "early-game equipment" suited to the Qi Refining Stage.

"I got greedy..." Jing Wen smiled self-mockingly.

But on second thought, although he could not fully control these treasures now, they would immediately become immensely useful once he broke through to Foundation Establishment.

With that thought, Jing Wen rallied his spirits and was about to put away the Nine-Turn Wandering Sword.

Suddenly, an exceedingly faint rustling reached his ears.

The sound was so soft that he would never have noticed it if cultivation had not sharpened his five senses far beyond those of ordinary people.

Jing Wen's heart tightened. He instantly roused the Spiritual Power throughout his body, and his right hand quietly tightened around the Nine-Turn Wandering Sword.

The cave remained dim, with only the faint light filtering through its entrance outlining the rock walls.

The rustling came intermittently, seemingly from deep within the cave. Mixed with faint dripping sounds, it was especially distinct in the silence.

Jing Wen held his breath and swept his keen gaze through the depths of the cave. He was certain there had been no such sounds when he entered.

Could it be this cave's original inhabitant?

Did that commotion just wake a demonic beast?

He pondered silently. Strange beasts and spirits often inhabited the deep mountains of the Cultivation World, and some demonic beasts skilled at concealment could even launch ambushes from the shadows.

Lightening his footsteps like a cat, he made his way deeper into the cave by the faint light.

The Concealment Powder at the entrance was still working, so an outside enemy was unlikely to have intruded. The unknown dangers inside the cave warranted greater caution.

The farther he went, the more a strange, metallic sweetness crept into the damp air, and the rustling grew increasingly clear.

Jing Wen took out a Fire-Starting Talisman and activated it with Spiritual Power at his fingertips. The paper flared into flame with a whoosh, and its orange-yellow light illuminated the path ahead.

Where the firelight reached, fine patterns covered the rock walls, vaguely forming some bizarre design. Several fingernail-sized scales lay scattered on the ground, gleaming dark blue, with still-wet slime clinging to their edges.

"A Qi Refining Stage demonic beast?" Jing Wen bent down and picked up a scale, probing it lightly with Spiritual Power from his fingertips. Though hard, the scale carried the spiritual energy fluctuations characteristic of a Qi Refining Stage demonic beast.

"Judging by the strength of the scales, it's most likely a Qi Refining Stage demonic beast."

When he first heard the strange sounds from deep within the cave, he had already quietly prepared to retreat.

After all, he had just endured a long flight, and his Spiritual Power had yet to recover fully. He did not want to rashly court unknown dangers.

But now that he had confirmed the creature was most likely only a Qi Refining Stage demonic beast, his thinking immediately changed.

Most of his Spiritual Power had recovered, and he had Supreme Magical Artifacts and a Talisman Treasure at hand. Even if he encountered a demonic beast at the Qi Refining Stage peak, he could still put up a fight.

Since a demonic beast lurked in the depths of this cave, there might also be spirit herbs it guarded or some other opportunity hidden there. He might as well take this chance to explore.