Distributing the Artifacts

On the back mountain, Su Yao suddenly flew toward a turquoise waterfall.

He arrived beneath the waterfall.

Looking up, he saw that calling it a waterfall might not have been quite accurate. There was no water above it, only a stone box that continuously scattered turquoise raindrops down the cliff, making it resemble a waterfall.

Su Yao looked up and said thoughtfully:

"This must be the 'heaven-tilting profound dew marrow.'"

This spiritual object was one of the representations of Heaven and Earth Overturned, a core image of the Gui Water path.

He flew up and held out the token, shining its light on it.

The turquoise raindrops swiftly gathered back inside, and he flew in front of the stone box.

He reached out and took the stone box down.

Then he withdrew and landed on the ground.

He opened the stone box and saw an object the size of a pigeon's egg. It looked like neither metal nor jade, and was shaped like a drop of water about to fall.

Its entire body was a deep, rain-washed turquoise.

Next, he took out the piece of submerging ford rinsing mysterious essence he had obtained earlier.

It was shaped like a pebble polished by flowing water for countless years, about the size of a thumb. Its entire body was a subdued brownish white, with a restrained luster. Rather than the warmth and smoothness of jade, it had a cool, slick feel, as though it had been steeped in moisture for years.

On closer inspection, it looked like the ripples spreading from a drop of water falling into a deep pool, frozen in an instant.

After briefly comparing them, he put both spiritual objects into his Storage Bag.

Then he flew toward Azure Water Hall.

After tasting the crimson clouds cinnabar bud, the other two had stayed there to savor their insights. He had originally come to look for the exit to Nanzhao, but instead of finding it, he had found this spiritual object ahead of time.

Reckoning that the two had already awakened, he would ask them to come to the treasure pavilion and take a look, then equip themselves with a few more Law Artifacts and talismans.

After all, the journey to Nanzhao was perilous. The imperial court, witch tribes, native chieftains, demonkind, and even Buddhism all had a hand in affairs there.

Besides, the True Lord had only said that they could not touch those Spirit Artifacts; he had not said they could not take Law Artifacts.

This secret realm was where the Cang Water Sect kept its treasures, so presumably there were a few formidable Law Artifacts as well.

In front of Azure Water Hall, Liu Yunhe woke first, his eyes flashing with wonder.

He looked at the tea leaf in the cup before him, whose miraculous qualities had already faded.

He nevertheless carefully put it away in his Storage Bag.

Looking across from him, he saw that Li Siyi had also awakened at some point.

She had been sitting quietly, but when she saw Liu Yunhe put the "crimson clouds cinnabar bud" tea leaf away in his Storage Bag, a bad feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.

She thought to herself:

Liu Yunhe always thinks about putting on a show, no matter when.

So she stood up and put away the tea leaf that belonged to her.

While she was pondering, she caught sight of Liu Yunhe heading toward the place where Su Yao had been sitting.

She cursed inwardly:

This man really has no shame at all. Biting her pearly teeth, she raced over as well.

But Liu Yunhe had come prepared. A vine-whip technique shot out in an instant, blocking her for a moment.

Liu Yunhe seized the opportunity and put the tea leaf into his Storage Bag.

Seeing this, she gave a cold snort.

"What are you two doing?"

Su Yao's voice came from the direction of Azure Water Hall.

The two turned toward the sound and saw Su Yao looking at them with a dark expression.

Liu Yunhe spoke first:

"Daozi, I was just curious and wanted a memento. I don't know why Fellow Daoist Li is so worked up."

With that, he gave Li Siyi a provocative look.

Li Siyi showed nothing on her face, but cursed inwardly:

Just you wait, Liu Yunhe. I'll find a chance to deal with you.

Aloud, however, she hurriedly said:

"Daozi, please don't misunderstand. It was Liu Yunhe..."

But before she could finish, Su Yao interrupted her.

Although Su Yao's expression was dark as he watched them, he was amused inwardly.

Li Siyi might have had many schemes, but it was clear at a glance that she had spent years cultivating in the mountains, paying no heed to worldly affairs. She was still far behind Liu Yunhe in that regard.

So he said to the two:

"Come with me to the treasure pavilion."

With that, he headed toward the treasure pavilion behind them.

Li Siyi rolled her eyes at Liu Yunhe and followed first.

Grinning cheekily, Liu Yunhe mounted his Law Artifact and followed.

The two landed in front of the treasure pavilion, one after the other.

Su Yao had already gone inside.

Seeing this, the two went straight into the treasure pavilion as well.

Inside, they saw Su Yao selecting Law Artifacts.

In the present age, cultivators at the Mystery Opening realm used talisman artifacts. At Qi Refinement, whether they could obtain one or two low-grade Law Artifacts depended on their background and fortuitous opportunities.

As for Foundation Establishment cultivators, even the worst off had two mid-grade Law Artifacts in hand.

The two could not compare with Su Yao. Among all their possessions, the fan and flute they commonly used were supreme-grade Law Artifacts, while the feather robes they wore were high-grade. They also had another two or three mid- and high-grade Law Artifacts.

Meanwhile, Su Yao had made up his mind and selected four Law Artifacts.

He first handed a cloak and a sword to Liu Yunhe and said:

"This cloak is called the Wind-Riding Cloak. It belongs to the Xun Wind path and lets you turn into wind to escape and conceal your presence. Xun Wind represents spring, so this cloak is best used in the mountains and forests. Nanzhao has many forests and trees. The sword is called the Righteous Thunder Sword. It belongs to the Heavenly Thunder path, and lightning appears of its own accord when the sword is drawn. It's best for dealing with the Witchcraft Dao and demonkind. Both wind and thunder arise from wood, so they suit you perfectly. The former is a high-grade Law Artifact, and the latter is supreme-grade."

Liu Yunhe thanked him, then accepted them with a delighted smile.

Su Yao took out a bracelet and a gold hairpin and handed them to Li Siyi:

"The bracelet is called the Punishing Thunder Bracelet. It belongs to the Firmament Thunder path. Heavenly Thunder is upright, while Firmament Thunder enforces. This item is even more powerful than that sword. When unleashed, it sends a blaze of golden lightning straight down, delivering punishment in a single strike. It can't be used as long as the sword, though, and it needs time to build up power. The gold hairpin is called the Gold-Breaking Hairpin. It belongs to the Geng Metal path. Its sharp edge pierces armor, making it just right for you. After all, metal is born from the essence held within earth, and the Wu Earth you cultivate happens to be the essence of earth's virtue... earth holds the essence from which metal is born, so the images are exceptionally well matched. The former is a supreme-grade Law Artifact, and the latter is high-grade."

Li Siyi lowered her head and smiled:

"Many thanks, Daozi."

Then she accepted the two items.

Seeing the two begin to comprehend and refine their artifacts, Su Yao started choosing Law Artifacts for himself.

He thought to himself:

Before descending the mountain, I really didn't expect things to be this troublesome. Otherwise, I definitely would have brought a few more Law Artifacts with me.

At the thought, he could not help grumbling about Daozheng inwardly. Daozheng had known full well how dangerous this matter was, yet had given him no warning.

At present, the Clear Wind Sword in his possession was a supreme-grade Law Artifact of the Shaping Wind path. Of the four winds, Shaping Wind was the most lethal. Moreover, it would be easy to upgrade the sword to a Spirit Artifact in the future.

The feather robe he wore, which belonged to the Rainbow Clouds path, was also a supreme-grade Law Artifact. Feather robes were difficult to make.

The Great Yin Dharma Robe and the Transforming Azure Bracelet on his wrist were both spirit treasures.

As for Zhengji, the sword had no grade. If it had to be assigned one, it should be an ancient Law Treasure.

After pondering for a moment, he ultimately chose a spirit boat and a treasured mirror.

Like the cloak he had given Liu Yunhe, the spirit boat belonged to the Xun Wind path. It was called the Wind-Chasing Boat, and it traveled by turning into wind, swift and inconspicuous.

The treasured mirror was a Law Artifact of the Sha Qi path, called the Sha-Stabilizing Mirror. Wherever its light shone, it could immobilize Sha Qi and blunt an enemy's attack.

Both Law Artifacts were supreme-grade.

After some thought, he finally took a spear Law Artifact of the Kan Water path as well, called the Abyss-Plunging Spear.

Kan Water lay in peril. When the spear struck, it surged like a hidden current, its shifting shadows leaving enemies as though they had fallen into an illusion of a rushing river, unable to distinguish truth from illusion.

Once he had refined the Law Artifacts, he would go look for the exit to Nanzhao.