Chapter 710: Fire of Karma
"Thank you." Xu Ziqing accepted it with both hands.
"Oh, no, you’re being too polite."
Wu Zheng saw Song Yan and understood his purpose, so he said to wait a moment and walked to the back hall.
Xu Ziqing looked at Song Yan and smiled: "Just as Qi Refining Realm Cultivators have Sword Trials, we Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators naturally have Sword Trials as well."
Song Yan suddenly realized. Thinking about it carefully, it was true.
In the Cave Abyss Sect, there were many Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators. There were many spectator slots for the Dragon Pool Mountain Nine Pulses Grand Competition, but only a few contestant slots, so some selection methods were naturally needed.
"It’s just that the Foundation Establishment Realm Sword Trials aren’t as publicized. Everyone just closes their doors, has a sparring match, and that’s that."
Xu Ziqing gave a bitter laugh: "To get me to lead the team for the Dragon Pool Mountain trip three years from now, those people really put a lot of effort into it."
After they chatted for a few sentences, Wu Zheng brought Song Yan’s Sword Trial reward.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Wu."
"Oh, Junior Brother Song is astonishingly talented. I’m just a useless old man; I can’t bear the title of Senior Brother."
"Hmm? Martial Nephew Song, aren’t you going to look at the High Grade Spiritual Artifacts and their equivalent treasures?"
Xu Ziqing saw Song Yan about to leave after taking the qiankun bag and immediately spoke up to remind him.
"High Grade Spiritual Artifacts are easy to obtain, but natural spiritual items suitable for oneself are not easy to find."
This time, it was Song Yan’s turn to be surprised: "Elder Xu, when the rewards were announced previously, only High Grade Spiritual Artifacts were mentioned. It was never said that High Grade Spiritual Artifacts could also be exchanged for equivalent spiritual items."
Xu Ziqing was slightly stunned, then explained: "When the rewards were announced, only Low Grade and Medium Grade Spiritual Artifacts could be exchanged for equivalent spiritual items because the Sect had plenty of those things."
"Disciples can always find treasures suitable for themselves."
"As for the equivalent spiritual items that can be chosen as rewards for High Grade Spiritual Artifacts, the Sect doesn’t have many."
"In the past, some Cultivators would be misled by many of these items. They weren’t suitable for them, but they insisted on giving up a High Grade Spiritual Artifact to exchange for them."
"So, later on, this matter was gradually no longer mentioned, becoming an unwritten rule."
"Elder Qin Xijun didn’t mention it to you?"
Song Yan gave an awkward smile: "Uh, she didn’t know I was coming to collect the reward."
"For Disciples who have clear goals and know when to advance or retreat, I actually think they can go and take a look."
"Since you’re already here, go in and have a look."
"Alright, thank you for the guidance, Elder Xu."
Xu Ziqing waved his hand and left first.
Song Yan, on the other hand, followed Wu Zheng slowly towards the Earth-level Treasury.
In fact, for him at present, directly choosing a High Grade Spiritual Artifact Flying Sword was not a makeshift choice.
Because he had already begun to study the basic sword formation that required three Flying Swords, and the Lord Lin was just a mortal weapon.
If he could exchange for a High Grade Spiritual Artifact, it would be a huge improvement for him.
However, since he was already here, there was no harm in looking.
Song Yan followed Wu Zheng through a Restriction with flowing spiritual light, and his vision suddenly opened up.
The Earth-level Treasury was not like the Relief Grocery Store, a storeroom filled with wooden shelves, but rather a circular pavilion.
Countless light clusters revolved slowly around a central jade platform like stars, each spiritual light cluster containing a sealed treasure.
"..."
The Earth-level Treasury indeed contained many good things.
The so-called "not many" was actually still a lot.
"Junior Brother Song, you can use your Divine Sense to probe the items within the light clusters."
Wu Zheng pointed to a small bronze mirror on the edge of the jade platform, "If you are interested, you can use this mirror to call up a detailed introduction of the item, think carefully, and then make a decision."
Song Yan nodded, thanking him for the reminder.
When his Divine Sense probed into the first light cluster, he vaguely understood why the situation Xu Ziqing mentioned would occur.
"Soul-Crossing Incense. Burning the incense calms the soul, soothing... vengeful spirits?!"
Xiao Song re-read its description text multiple times.
These things were bizarre and varied. Even if they were useless to him, they could easily tempt people to exchange for them... "Items for brewing wine, spiritual platform medicinal sprouts."
"Within the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn after drinking, if an Incarnation-type Dao Technique is cast, the duration of its maintenance can be slightly extended."
"..."
Incarnation-type Dao Technique was something Song Yan had little contact with, but its preciousness was probably comparable to Cultivation Techniques for Spirit Refining.
No wonder this item could be placed here.
The advantages of powerful Divine Sense were evident at this moment.
Song Yan simply split his Divine Sense and quickly touched the light clusters around the jade platform.
Countless dazzling spiritual items flashed before his eyes. Several times, he almost couldn’t resist and nearly exchanged them on the spot.
Fortunately, with his current Clear Sword Heart, he sobered up in time.
He spent a lot of effort, looking at most of these treasures.
So far, what had moved Song Yan the most was an ancient item called a Substitute Ghost Puppet.
"Substitute Ghost Puppet."
"It can replace the body’s position with a puppet during a fatal blow from a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator."
"The nature and origin of this item are still unclear, and it is unknown if there are negative effects after use."
It was an extremely powerful life-saving item.
This Substitute Puppet was roughly the same size as Nan Hong’s mud puppet and looked like it had a silk-like texture.
The unknown nature of this item made Song Yan hesitate slightly.
"Eh?"
Just as Song Yan was undecided, a fiery red caught his eye.
Within the light cluster, a cluster of purplish-red spiritual flame burned quietly.
"Supreme Spiritual Item, Fenru Karma Fire."
"A spiritual fire of unknown origin, which can be used to assist in Cultivating certain fire-attribute Cultivation Techniques or secret arts."
"..."
It was actually a Supreme Spiritual Item... Seeing this spiritual fire, Song Yan stopped.
He couldn’t help but ponder and calculate.
Now, he had three choices before him: first, to leave this place and honestly choose a High Grade Flying Sword Spiritual Artifact at Wild Goose Peak.
Second, the Substitute Ghost Puppet.
Third, this Fenru Karma Fire.
"Although High Grade Spiritual Artifacts are precious and can directly improve combat power, there will be opportunities to obtain them in the future."
The Substitute Ghost Puppet could give him a slim chance of survival under a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator, so logically, this was the best choice.
If his life was gone, everything would be gone.
However... firstly, that Substitute Puppet was too eerie, and its description also stated that the specific negative effects were unknown.
Secondly, this Supreme Spiritual Item could also strengthen the Dao of the Sword Seed, which would be of great benefit to his future Sword Dao Cultivation, and it held considerable attraction for Song Yan.
"..."
"Forget it, the Substitute Puppet is ultimately an external object."
After much deliberation, he finally decided.
"Moreover, having this item by my side might make me more prone to taking risky actions, which could lead me into danger instead."
Song Yan looked at the cluster of flames and no longer hesitated.
"I’ll choose it."
Supreme Spiritual Items are usually hard to come by... After confirming repeatedly with Wu Zheng, Song Yan took out a jade slip from the qiankun bag he had just received as a Sword Trial reward.
It represented the opportunity to exchange for a High Grade Spiritual Artifact.
Handing over the jade slip, Wu Zheng assisted him in taking out the true spiritual fire.
The outer layer of "Fenru" was dark red, like congealed blood scabs. The core of the flame, however, was pure and flawless, exuding a hint of purplish-gold.
It burned silently, yet subtly emitted a chillingly hot sensation.
Facing this object directly, Song Yan truly felt the violent fire-attribute spiritual energy beneath the calm flame.
The amount of Fenru Karma Fire was not much, just a small cluster of flame the size of a fingertip.
However, he didn’t care. As long as this item existed in the Liangyi Realm, even a tiny bit could enhance the Dao of the Sword Seed.
With his current Cultivation Realm, he couldn’t consume too much anyway.
