Chapter 75: The Copper Spike
Now that it was no longer being pressured by the divine sword, the male toad spirit was free to unleash all its strength. The cultivators to its back, along with the two gold crow spirits, were sent flying. It then struck at the four black-armored cultivators harassing the female toad spirit.
The cultivators shouted in surprise.
With a great thud, the four Ascension-realm black-armored cultivators were sent flying, freeing both toad spirits. They croaked in outrage.
Meanwhile, the Lady Arclight had killed four other Ascension-realm cultivators. Her frightening strength shocked Xiang Wei and the others.
"Stop her!" Xiang Wei howled, before retreating toward the barrier.
"Trying to run? It's too late!" the Lady Arclight called out. She swung her divine sword, sending a tremendous slash of energy at Xiang Wei.
"No!" Xiang Wei cried out. The jade pendant at his waist formed a barrier of red light around him, sending him flying. Simultaneously, the jade pendant cracked.
"Second Young Master!" a group of black-armored cultivators shouted.
"Quick, stop her!" Xiang Wei commanded.
The Lady Arclight stepped toward them. "Stop me? With what?"
The cultivators slashed at the Lady Arclight, who smiled coldly as she moved, leaving a trail of afterimages behind. She evaded all their techniques as she flashed by their sides, sending three Ascension-realm cultivators' heads flying.
"No, no! We have to flee!" The remaining two Ascension-realm cultivators left Xiang Wei behind as they attempted to run for their lives.
However, as the Lady Arclight swung her divine blade, she cut them both down by the waist before they could take even two steps away. They perished on the spot.
The two golden crow spirits tried to escape as well, but the toad spirits were intent on exacting their revenge. They leapt up into the air and onto the two golden crow spirits, ignoring their desperate fireballs as they stuffed them into their mouths and swallowed them whole.
Meanwhile, by the other side of the cavern, Xiao Nanfeng killed the final Immanence-realm cultivator.
The only other cultivator left within the cavern was Xiang Wei. As he attempted to flee, the Lady Arclight walked right up to him and thrust her sword through his abdomen, shattering his jade pendant and the nascent red barrier that formed around him.
Xiang Wei fell in a pool of blood, crying out in pain, "Don't kill me, don't kill me!"
Xiao Nanfeng and the two toad spirits gathered around him.
"What do you know about this hidden realm, as well as this cavern?" the Lady Arclight interrogated.
"Don't kill me! I'll tell you everything! A chest has been passed down my clan for generations, but it was locked with a secret technique that none of my ancestors were able to open, until a few years ago. Perhaps because the wood itself was rotting away, we were suddenly able to unlock the chest. Within the chest were several manuals that recorded how to access this hidden realm, along with four special artifacts to be used in four places containing natural treasures," Xiang Wei rattled off in fear.
"Where are these manuals and these treasures?"
"The manual is with my father. As for the special artifacts, my father and we three siblings have one each. Father's special artifact is used in the divine domain, whereas ours are in the spirits' domain. I obtained an array-breaking pearl, to be used in this frozen cavern, while the other two artifacts are with my brother and sister, who have gone to the other two locations of natural treasures."
"What can be found in these locations?"
"According to the manual, the three natural treasures of the spirits' domain are part of a divine emperor's tombs, with countless divine instruments and treasures within. Which tomb is real, and which two are fake, is a matter of luck. The manual was written by one of the architects of these tombs, but there wasn't enough detail within it to identify what lies within these tombs. This is all I know. Lady Arclight, please have mercy on me!" Xiang Wei begged.
The Lady Arclight beheaded Xiang Wei in a flash of light. She had no intention of being merciful.
After finally dealing with all the threats, the Lady Arclight and Xiao Nanfeng shot a glance at each other, relaxing perceptibly.
"Your cultivation seems to have improved quite a bit. You can take down an Immanence-realm cultivator without your Immortal Cicada now?" the Lady Arclight asked, rather surprised.
"It's hardly anything worth mentioning. I'm still far weaker than you are, Elder," Xiao Nanfeng replied modestly.
"I've only recovered to Ascension, and I'm still quite far from my peak. If only there were another batch of draconic aether..." the Lady Arclight suddenly looked expectantly at the copper doors not far away.
As the frozen dragon head melted, visible wisps of draconic aether could be seen coming from the cracks in the door.
The two toad spirits croaked as they hopped over to the door and began inhaling the draconic aether seeping from it as they recuperated.
"He said that this was an emperor's tomb? What do you think?" the Lady Arclight asked Xiao Nanfeng.
"I think there's something problematic with it," Xiao Nanfeng replied, frowning.
"Oh?"
"If I were an emperor, I would hardly want to see my grave disturbed. All the histories I've studied suggest that the tomb architects would be put to death alongside the emperors themselves in an attempt to prevent any successive generations from uncovering them. For this architect to have sent a manual and these artifacts to the outer world at large... I think there's a ploy at play here," Xiao Nanfeng analyzed.
"There's certainly danger, but I think there will be opportunity as well. At the very least, there's the draconic aether I need right here." The Lady Arclight's eyes gleamed.
The two toad spirits also seemed to be very excited for the draconic aether within.
"It'll take some time for this frozen dragon's head to melt. I'd like to search around the cavern for the moment," Xiao Nanfeng said. He rummaged through several of the more important cultivators' bodies, finding only a few tokens of identification and miscellaneous objects. Xiao Nanfeng stored it all, along with some weapons, in his storage ring.
Suddenly, Xiao Nanfeng found a copper spike.
"Hmm?" He picked up that copper spike and inspected it with surprise.
"This copper spike... came from the long spike that was used to break apart the frost spheres? It must be of rather decent quality," the Lady Arclight commented.
"No, look!" Xiao Nanfeng showed her his right hand, which also contained a copper spike. The two copper spikes were identical—they were the ones that the blue-armored cultivators had used to suppress the toad spirits.
Exactly the same? The Lady Arclight inspected both spikes carefully. On each spike was runic script that even she couldn't understand. When she infused qi into them, they glowed with faint green light.
"I heard one of the armored cultivators mention that these are called Spikes of Dissolution, a rare treasure bequeathed to them by their crown prince, which can dissipate the toad spirits' spiritual power," Xiao Nanfeng explained.
The toad spirits nodded, as if vindicating Xiao Nanfeng's words.
"The fact that these spikes are used in these formations must make them rather valuable. The crown prince of these blue-armored cultivators must not be aware of the secret behind these spikes—they have to be relics of some sort," the Lady Arclight explained.
"I tried to infuse my qi and spiritual power into them, but nothing happened," Xiao Nanfeng reported.
"There has to be something unusual about them, but we don't have enough information to figure out how to trigger them yet. We'll investigate more."
"Got it!" Xiao Nanfeng nodded.
Not long later, the black pearl that had sucked up all the frost in the cavern began to glow with white light. The frozen dragon's head had melted completely, revealing the copper doors. The copper doors were engraved with the image of a huge phoenix, ancient and symbolic. A wisp of draconic aether seeped out through the crack, causing both cultivators to anticipate what lay beyond.
"Push the copper doors open, spirits!" The Lady Arclight looked toward the two toad spirits, who nodded fervently. They had been eagerly awaiting this moment.
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