Chapter 1170: Chapter 789: Sword Lord _2
A chill pervaded the vast room, and Yang Xiao slightly raised his arm, inexplicably breaking out in goosebumps.
"Continue," ordered the Cannibal Buddha with a hint of command in his tone, after noticing Yang Xiao’s pause.
Yang Xiao explained how he rescued Sutana and settled her in the Mirror World. Upon learning that his daughter had been taken care of fairly well by Yang Xiao, the Cannibal Buddha’s icy demeanor slightly softened.
Of course, Yang Xiao dared not provoke him further and tried to speak positively of Sutana’s situation.
"Peace Hotel, huh..." The Cannibal Buddha clenched his fist as big as a sandbag, the pale finger bones protruding, "I will go find them."
"High Priest, this matter has little to do with Peace Hotel. I have inquired, and your daughter was only placed there on consignment; the hotel is merely an auction platform, and the forces behind it are the Chamber of Commerce," explained Yang Xiao.
But in the next second, the Cannibal Buddha’s gaze towards Yang Xiao turned suddenly icy, causing Yang Xiao to shiver as he realized he had misspoken.
He had meant to kindly remind that the hotel was backed by the Chamber of Commerce, but it seemed to the Cannibal Buddha as if he were trying to intimidate him.
However, the terrifying Evil Qi emanating from the Cannibal Buddha dissipated quickly, seemingly taking Yang Xiao’s deeds into account, after all, it was he who brought his daughter back.
Yang Xiao remained calm outwardly, but his heart was pounding hard. Indeed, the people from the Yin Temple were not to be trifled with. Had it been someone else speaking to the Cannibal Buddha in such a manner, the consequences could have been unpredictable.
Especially with the mention of his daughter being mistreated, which added fuel to the fire.
But certain things needed to be said by Yang Xiao; he did not wish to see the Esoteric Sect and Peace Hotel get into conflict, as his martial uncle and two senior brothers were still at the hotel.
Should the Esoteric Sect come looking for trouble, his martial uncle, as the hotel’s protector, would inevitably have to act. Both parties were Yang Xiao’s friends, and he did not wish for his martial uncle to be dragged into it.
Yang Xiao attempted to speak well of his martial uncle, stating that without his uncle’s intelligence, he might never have met Miss Sutana, let alone rescued her.
Hearing this, the Cannibal Buddha’s expression improved somewhat, but he did not promise Yang Xiao he wouldn’t seek trouble with the hotel.
Yang Xiao did not know what this High Priest of the Esoteric Sect was planning, nor did he dare to ask, as he and his friends were still relying on others for shelter these days.
Moments later, the Cannibal Buddha stood up, his towering body leaning forward, and in Yang Xiao’s frightened gaze, he bowed. This made Yang Xiao spring to his feet, exclaiming in panic, "High Priest, what are you..."
"You saved Sutana. As a father, I must thank you for bringing my daughter back," the Cannibal Buddha said solemnly, "Yang Xiao, I want to give you a gift."
Without giving Yang Xiao a chance to refuse, he turned directly and led Yang Xiao outside.
In the dead of night, the two arrived at a heavily guarded concrete warehouse. Passing through several security checkpoints unimpeded, they reached a secret room within, not very large, with many wooden shelves lined with boxes of various sizes.
The boxes came in different materials and appearances. Some wooden boxes seemed to have decayed, their surfaces mottled, while others were silver metal boxes.
Yang Xiao also had something similar, for storing the Resentful Eye.
"This is one of the Esoteric Sect’s treasure troves. The items displayed in this room are quite good. Yang Xiao, you can choose any one to take with you," the Cannibal Buddha said, hands clasped behind his back, looking at Yang Xiao with generous demeanor.
Yang Xiao had not forgotten his agreement with Sheng Yanlin, so he asked, "High Priest, I am not well-versed in these treasures. May I invite Dean Sheng to examine them?"
The Cannibal Buddha nodded to an elderly man who had followed them, who was in charge of the secret room’s key, and he went to fulfill the task. A moment later, Sheng Yanlin arrived hurriedly.
"I need to check on Sutana. Feel free to choose, and let Elder Pumi know once you’ve decided,"
After instructing the elderly man in Myanmar and Thailand language, the Cannibal Buddha left.
Knowing that these two were friends of the High Priest, Elder Pumi did not intervene much, just watched from a distance.
It was evident that losing a treasure pained him, as these were assets of their Esoteric Sect.
Yang Xiao couldn’t differentiate the worth, but Sheng Yanlin could. After checking several boxes, he quickly focused and led Yang Xiao to the innermost row of shelves.
Along the way, Sheng Yanlin whispered to Yang Xiao that the items in this secret room were all quite good, almost uniformly Ghost Level Magic Artifacts.
"No Nether-level?" Yang Xiao knew these Ghost Level artifacts were useless to Sheng Yanlin.
Sheng Yanlin selected a metal box from the bottom of the innermost shelf and dragged it out. The box was slender, about one and a half meters long, obviously containing weapons like swords.
As the box opened, a cold light burst forth, revealing a straight long blade before Yang Xiao, who immediately recognized it as a fine weapon.
The narrow, straight blade was covered in dark python patterns formed by the tempering marks, resembling a frozen moon rainbow, and dried bloodstains were faintly visible on the hilt.
Sheng Yanlin gripped the hilt, lifting the blade. The air seemed to freeze where the blade light swept, as if even dust could be sliced in two.
This was no ceremonial weapon but a bloodthirsty weapon specialized in severing muscles and cracking bones.
"This is..." Sheng Yanlin’s brow furrowed slightly, clearly recognizing this straight blade.
"You recognize this blade?" Yang Xiao asked curiously.
"This is from your Patrol Defense Office," Sheng Yanlin said, startling Yang Xiao with a single sentence, and then explained, "Thirty years ago, a great war broke out between the Yin Temple and your Patrol Defense Office. A Deputy Director of your General Bureau led a team into the Myanmar-Taiwan Three Non-Governmental Zone. Betrayed by allies, they fell into an ambush and nearly faced total annihilation."
"At the last moment, this person stayed behind alone to hold off the enemy, buying time for others to escape. However, he died under the assault of top fighters from the Yin Temple, and this Ring-Headed Saber was his weapon."
"Is it a good item?"
"Yes, a good item!"
"Then let’s choose it, or should we look further?" This visit was to select a magic artifact for Sheng Yanlin, and Yang Xiao also wanted to take this opportunity to gain more knowledge.
With slightly rough hands gently brushing over the blade, Sheng Yanlin slowly shook his head, "What a pity..."
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; Yang Xiao also felt regret for that inspector senior who died in battle, but that was all. He couldn’t fall out with the Esoteric Sect over an old issue from thirty years ago.
Seeing Yang Xiao misunderstood, Sheng Yanlin pointed to the end of the blade hilt, "What I meant by pity is this blade is incomplete, like your Ghost Lantern; it’s a damaged artifact."
Yang Xiao now realized the Ring-Headed Saber’s hilt’s end should have a ring, which now appeared broken.
"The missing part is a copper-cast bas-relief of a Chi Tiger devouring the sun, with barbs hidden in the blood groove of the ring aperture. I saw it in a book once, left a deep impression," Sheng Yanlin explained, wiping the blade with his sleeve and placing it back in the box.
"That Deputy Director was very highly ranked in the office, with the nickname Sword Lord. His ability surpassed both me and Yang Qianhe, nearing the level of the Three Demon Heads under Cannibal Buddha and Black Buddha Mother’s command."
"So... is this also a Nether-level Magic Artifact?" Yang Xiao gazed at the blade, imagining how fierce that battle was thirty years ago.
"In its complete state, naturally. But now, it’s not. If you must ask me, it’s infinitely close to Nether-level but just short."
Sheng Yanlin turned to Yang Xiao, after a moment, said gravely, "This weapon is actually well-suited for you, but as a damaged artifact, it’s unnecessary. If it were intact, I would definitely advise you to take it."
Such words are as good as unsaid; the world is vast, where can one find the lost piece of this blade? Yang Xiao realized it might never be complete, just like his Ghost Lantern.
Then again, having a restored Sheng Yanlin at his side, maybe he could indeed have the strength to match the Opera Robe Ghost.
"A real man lives between heaven and earth; how can he remain submissive forever?"
