Chapter 32: Kunpeng Six Transformations (Part 2)
The statue erected inside the Armory Pavilion was neither of the Xiyan Ancient Sect's Primordial Ancestor, Mingren Immortal Emperor, nor of any ancestor who had made outstanding contributions. It was a giant crow.
A giant crow was poised to take flight, its wings spread as if to shake the Nine Heavens. However, this crow clutched a short blade in each of its claws. These short blades were Qimen Sabers. They weren't some treasured divine sabers or artifacts, but merely ordinary Qimen Sabers forged from Mortal Iron.
It was impossible to tell how much time these ordinary Qimen Sabers had endured. Rust had formed on their blades, and the sabers themselves were mottled and ancient. It looked as if they could shatter at any moment.
Upon seeing the statue of the giant crow, Li Qiye couldn't help but stare blankly for a moment. Memories of a time long past surfaced in his mind. He had already forgotten this posture, this gesture, but Mingren Immortal Emperor had not.
Seeing Li Qiye staring blankly at the giant statue, Nan Huairun quietly explained, "Senior Brother, this is the legendary Divine Crow. Legend has it that when the Patriarch was young, he received guidance from the Divine Crow. The Divine Crow landed on this very peak, and later, the Patriarch established the Xiyan Ancient Sect here. After shouldering the Celestial Mandate and becoming an Immortal Emperor, he erected this statue to commemorate the Divine Crow."
Hearing Nan Huairun's words, Li Qiye just smiled. 'The so-called Divine Crow was none other than him, the Yin Ya. Of course, the part about the Divine Crow landing on this peak and Mingren Immortal Emperor consequently establishing the Xiyan Ancient Sect here was a bunch of nonsense. He chose this place to build the sect for reasons only he knew!'
'Of course, the statue's pose wasn't fake. Back when he first met the Mingren Kid, the boy was still a hot-blooded youth who loved martial arts. The very first time they met, he had used his claws to snatch the Qimen Short Knives right out of the Mingren Kid's hands.'
'To think that even after shouldering the Celestial Mandate and becoming an Immortal Emperor, the Mingren Kid still remembered this!'
"Let's go inside." Li Qiye came back to his senses and gave a faint smile. Without saying anything else, he entered the Armory Pavilion.
The Armory Pavilion housed numerous Treasure Artifacts, Longevity Treasures, and more. The first floor alone held tens of thousands of weapons. Of course, most of the weapons here were not high-grade; they were mostly just weapons forged from Treasure Iron mixed with Divine Gold. Even if there were Treasure Artifacts, Longevity Treasures, or even True Artifacts on the first floor, they were all relatively low-level treasures.
A Cultivator's armaments are divided into four main categories: first, Ordinary Weapons; second, Longevity Treasures; third, Ordinary Life Tools; and fourth, True Destiny Artifacts.
Ordinary Weapons are generally used by newly initiated disciples. They are numerous and are simply forged from Treasure Iron mixed with various types of Divine Gold. Although such weapons would be considered divine sabers and swords that could sever a falling hair in the eyes of a Mortal, they are nothing special to a Cultivator because they cannot unleash the power of the Great Dao Laws!
Longevity Treasures, on the other hand, do not belong to the weapon category; they are treasures. Their function is to extend one's lifespan and nourish one's blood. It could be said that every Cultivator has a Longevity Treasure, because nurturing one's Life Wheel with a Longevity Treasure will make one's life longer and one's Blood Qi more vigorous.
At the same time, a Longevity Treasure can play a supportive role in battle. When Blood Qi is depleted during a fight, a Longevity Treasure can replenish the lost Blood Qi.
Ordinary Life Tools and True Destiny Artifacts are indispensable weapons for every Cultivator. Both are used for protecting one's life and felling one's foes.
Ordinary Life Tools are also known as Life Artifacts or Treasure Artifacts, while True Destiny Artifacts are known as True Artifacts.
A Cultivator can possess multiple or even countless Treasure Artifacts in their lifetime, and can even inherit them from others. However, a Cultivator can only have one True Destiny Artifact in their entire life. This is because a True Destiny Artifact is connected to one's True Destiny, complementing it. Furthermore, every Cultivator's True Destiny Artifact must be personally refined and cannot be inherited.
Although a True Artifact must be personally refined and accompanies one for life, its power cannot be compared to that of an Ordinary Life Tool. A True Artifact of a certain level can completely and instantly destroy an Ordinary Life Tool of the same level!
On the first floor of the Armory Pavilion, there were tens of thousands of weapons. There were Ordinary Weapons like the Mystic Iron Sword, the Cold Moon Saber, and the Flying Star Claw... At the same time, there were also Treasure Artifacts, such as the Mountain and River Tower, the Demon-Suppressing Wheel, and the River Flood Dragon Ruler...
In addition to these, there were also some True Artifacts, such as the Green Treasure Divine Stone, the Red Blood Celestial Rope, and the Fierce Sun Dip Pen...
These Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts were all very low-level. Only ordinary third-generation disciples would choose from them. Any disciple who had rendered meritorious service would go to the second floor for their treasures.
The first floor held tens of thousands of treasures. As Li Qiye walked among them, he could feel the chilling aura emanating from the weapons, and he could also sense the Dao Power pulsating from the Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts.
Li Qiye browsed through these Treasure Weapons one by one, moving from the first floor to the second. There were no more Ordinary Weapons on the second floor; it was all Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts. Moreover, the Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts on the second floor were clearly of a higher grade than those on the first.
However, after looking through them all, Li Qiye didn't find any Treasure Artifacts or True Artifacts that caught his eye. Finally, accompanied by Nan Huairun, he stepped onto the third floor.
Li Qiye entering the third floor of the Armory Pavilion drew the interest of some disciples who were selecting Treasure Artifacts. One disciple couldn't help but snort coldly and say, "I had to go to South Iron Mountain and slay a Longevity Spirit, rendering no small merit, just to be able to enter the second floor and pick a True Artifact. He's just a piece of trash who just joined the sect. He has no merits, no achievements. By what right does he get to enter the third floor!"
This was because, besides disciples who had performed great deeds, only those at the Hall Master Level or above could enter the third floor of the Armory Pavilion. Li Qiye had entered the third floor not long after joining the sect, so how could they not be annoyed?
"He has an elder's Hand Order." This was the only answer the disciple guarding the Armory Pavilion could give to the others' doubts.
As for Li Qiye, he glanced back at the disgruntled disciples and said unhurriedly, "If you've got the guts, go question the elders. What's the point of whining here?"
Li Qiye's words made the faces of the several disciples present flush red with anger. They held a relatively high status among the third-generation disciples, yet today they were being looked down upon by a good-for-nothing. They trembled with rage.
"We'll see how long you can act so arrogant. One day, I'll teach you a good lesson!" one disciple couldn't help but say hatefully.
However, Li Qiye couldn't be bothered with them and stepped onto the third floor of the Armory Pavilion. Nan Huairun secretly shook his head. 'These disciples are really courting death, only able to see the surface. Do they really think Li Qiye is a good-for-nothing?'
Upon stepping onto the third floor of the Armory Pavilion, he was met with a pulsating radiance. Waves of Dao Power rolled toward him like a tide. Some Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts even let out a resonant hum, as if each and every one of them was alive.
Without a doubt, the Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts stored on this floor were far superior to those on the two floors below. Every single one had a considerable origin.
"Senior Brother, the Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts here are higher-grade than the ones below," Nan Huairun hurriedly explained to Li Qiye. "The lowest-grade items on this floor are at the Vigorous Longevity Level, the higher ones are at the Celestial Essence Level, and there are even True Artifacts at the God Nurturing Level."
The level of a Treasure Artifact or True Artifact was directly related to the level of the Cultivator who refined it. For example, a Treasure Artifact or True Artifact refined by a Cultivator at the Vigorous Longevity Realm would be a Vigorous Longevity Level item.
"Look, this is the Nine Deer Longevity Wheel—" Nan Huairun began to introduce it to Li Qiye. "Senior Brother, this Life Wheel was refined from the Annual Ring of a three-thousand-year-old Iron Deer Longevity Spirit. It inherited the merits of the Iron Deer Longevity Spirit. If you use this wheel to nurture your own Life Wheel, it will surely make your Longevity Blood purer."
"This is a Flying Flood Dragon Celestial Rope." Nan Huairun, speaking with great familiarity as if listing his own family's treasures, introduced another Treasure Artifact to Li Qiye. "This Treasure Artifact was refined from the Celestial Beast Dao Bone of a Celestial Beast whose Dao Practice was comparable to the Canopy Realm. I heard that this Celestial Beast was a winged, two-headed flood dragon. When this Treasure Artifact is cultivated to a certain degree, it can activate the laws within the winged, two-headed flood dragon's Dao Bone."
"This is an Earth-Shattering Axe, refined from a piece of Broken Star Divine Gold..."
Nan Huairun seemed to be very familiar with the Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts on the third floor, introducing them to Li Qiye one by one with intimate knowledge.
Seeing Nan Huairun excitedly introducing the Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts, Li Qiye glanced at him and said, "It seems you're quite familiar with this place."
Questioned by Li Qiye, Nan Huairun gave a few awkward laughs and said in a low voice, "Every time my Master came, I would shamelessly tag along, so I know a little. I've only been to the fourth floor once. My Grandmaster took me."
Nan Huairun was adept at social networking, completely different from his master, Guardian Mo. Because of this, his grandmaster, Elder Sun—one of the Six Great Elders—was also quite fond of him.
"What kind of Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts are on the upper floors?" Li Qiye asked casually. The Armory Pavilion had a total of nine floors, but for now, he could only go up to the third.
"I've only been to the fourth floor once. The best Treasure Artifacts and True Artifacts there are only at the Prince Level. I'm not too clear about the rest," Nan Huairun said with a bitter smile, shaking his head.
"Are there Immortal Emperor's Treasures on the ninth floor?" Li Qiye asked. 'Throughout his life, Mingren Immortal Emperor had refined far more than one Immortal Emperor's Treasure. Furthermore, as far as he knew, Mingren Immortal Emperor had left behind several Immortal Emperor's Treasures to protect the Xiyan Ancient Sect.'
At this, Nan Huairun glanced around before lowering his voice to a whisper. "I've heard that our Xiyan Ancient Sect no longer has any Immortal Emperor's Treasures, let alone an Immortal Emperor True Artifact."
"They're gone?" Li Qiye was surprised to hear this. 'Mingren Immortal Emperor left behind more than one Immortal Emperor's Treasure. Even if the descendants of the Xiyan Ancient Sect were unfilial and prodigal, they couldn't have squandered all of the Immortal Emperor's Treasures, could they?'
Nan Huairun shook his head and said in a low voice, "I'm not clear on the specific details; in fact, even my Master isn't sure. I heard that thirty thousand years ago, during the war between our Xiyan Ancient Sect and the Holy Heaven Sect, not only did we lose the Ancient Country we had ruled for millions of years, but our last Immortal Emperor's Treasure was also lost in that battle."