Chapter 160: Traverse the World (2)
Currently stationed in the martial chamber on the ground floor of his private courtyard, Wu Yuan didn't rush to depart from the sect. Rather, he began to examine the treasures gifted by The Rain Hierarch.
Hm? This book teaches the usage of first-grade divine weapons? Wu Yuan quickly scanned the various literature left by the Rain Hierarch.
Among them was a book titled 'A Brief Introduction to Spirit Equipment'. Wu Yuan flipped through its pages.
So, storage artifacts and first-grade divine weapons are all referred to as spirit equipment. Spirit equipment is divided into many types. For example, storage artifacts are auxiliary spirit equipment. Powerful weapons are only one type of spirit equipment.
The Cloudstride Sect amassed these pieces of intelligence over centuries, some of which seemed basic but were actually hard-earned lessons, even costing lives.
Controlling spirit equipment is an incredibly complex process. Wu Yuan was surprised as he read on.
The first step was to claim ownership by dripping blood onto the piece of equipment to leave an aura imprint. The second step was to nurture it in hopes of achieving a true connection with the piece of spirit equipment, which allowed one to better unleash its might.
He finished browsing through the whole book.
First-grade divine weapon, the Sunfury Saber.
With a flip of his palm, the sheathed battle saber appeared in his hand. He gripped the hilt with his other hand and unsheathed the saber.
Boom! The fiery red blade was revealed, radiating an aura of impending destruction akin to a volcano on the verge of eruption.
What a fearsome saber intent, as if it yearns to manifest itself.
Wu Yuan willed his Soul Force to leave his body and suppress the saber intent, causing the blade to tremble slightly. Before long, it quieted, its restless nature pacified. No matter how mysterious this spirit saber was, it was just a weapon without an owner.
"Recognize your owner!" Wu Yuan dripped his blood onto the blade. Soon, he felt a vague connection with the battle saber. He could now easily sense the presence of the war saber.
As stated in 'A Brief Introduction to Spirit Equipment', Land Rankers with weak souls cannot suppress the spirituality of a first-grade divine weapon at all. They can only harness a fraction of its power. In fact, even the Moontide Sword has yet to truly recognize The Rain Hierarch as its rightful owner.
Theoretically, one could claim ownership by feeding their spirit equipment a drop of blood.
However, if an ordinary mortal were to attempt the same on a piece of ownerless spirit equipment, it would reject them outright. It was similar to how Wu Yuan becoming a Heavens Heir was something the entire sect accepted as an inevitable outcome. The final ceremony was merely a formality. If a random ordinary disciple took his place, even the backing of the hierarchs would be meaningless. They would just be treated with disdain.
Repress. With a thought, his Soul Force quelled the stirring energy, causing the fearsome aura radiating from the Sunfury Saber to quickly recede. It now looked like any ordinary saber.
Good, that's the way. A weapon that rouses caution in others before it is even wielded loses the element of surprise. Let's try again. Wu Yuan held the saber and concentrated on perceiving it.
Perhaps due to the completion of the ownership ritual or Wu Yuan's formidable soul, he felt as if the elusive and chaotic spiritual qi had become faintly clearer in his soul sense through the saber.
Is this the real appearance of spiritual qi?
Just as the Sword Hierarch had said, spiritual qi was divided into many types. In his soul sense, he saw many colors, some with hints of gold, some slightly brown, and some yellow... a peculiar sight indeed.
When Wu Yuan probed his surroundings with Soul Force, there was no color to speak of. After all, color was merely a reflection of light. But now, his soul sense could distinguish the different types of spiritual qi via their colors. Among the numerous types of spiritual qi, the one Wu Yuan sensed most clearly was a kind of fiery red spiritual qi.
Fire attribute. According to 'A Brief Introduction to Spirit Equipment', the seven common spiritual qi attributes are metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, and thunder. This Sunfury Saber is a fire-type weapon. Wu Yuan's eyes brightened with comprehension. Once its power is unleashed, it can effortlessly stir fire spiritual qi.
Through the saber, Wu Yuan could sense the fire attribute more clearly, and at the same time glimpse into the other mysterious attributes of spiritual qi. It was as if his soul was basking in a profound warmth.
This is heaven and earth's power.
Wu Yuan now understood why the hierarchs claimed that a Grandmaster who wielded a first-grade divine weapon could withstand a few moves from a Heavenly Ranker. It was because of heaven and earth's power! A first-grade divine weapon could mobilize heaven and earth's power.
Let us put it to the test! The door opened a crack, and Wu Yuan's figure vanished from the chamber.
Nighttime on Cloudhill was always tranquil.
Wu Yuan stood silently in his courtyard house. Holding the saber, he extended his Soul Force, his body completely merging with the environment. He could feel the flow of various mystical powers converging on his position. As Wu Yuan's perception of these powers grew clearer, he deftly guided and directed their currents with his Soul Force. Immediately, the surrounding power surged violently, coalescing into a focused torrent within the blade of the saber.
Raising his weapon, Wu Yuan unleashed a fierce slash, propelling a blade ray forward. It soared through the air, traversing several zhangs before dissipating into nothingness.
A hint of surprise flashed in Wu Yuan's eyes. Through this slash, his understanding of the abilities of first-grade divine weapons grew clearer.
Firstly, the divine weapon enhances my awareness of fire qi and grants me a slight perception of various spiritual qi. This can facilitate my progress towards achieving the Unity level of the Harmony of Man and Nature.
Although his perception remained faint, mostly relying on the divine weapon's inherent power, it surpassed the level of being completely unaware. However, it fell short of the skill of a seasoned qi refiner guiding junior martial artists to sense the power of heaven and earth through Intent.
Secondly, the amount of heaven and earth's power that the divine weapon itself can mobilize is roughly equivalent to 30,000 catties of force. Wu Yuan analyzed.
While 30,000 catties might not sound impressive, it became increasingly challenging to enhance physical strength as one approached the human limit. For a Grandmaster who had yet to achieve the Harmony of Man and Nature, their base single-arm strength was generally just over 200,000 catties.
Once I nurture the divine weapon and connect with it on a deeper level, it will be capable of mobilizing a greater amount of heaven and earth's power.
A first-grade divine weapon could mobilize more than 100,000 catties of force through heaven and earth's power!
Compared to Unity-level experts, a divine weapon couldn't flexibly alter heaven and earth's power, barely aiding the owner in aspects other than attacking. Most of the time, it could only concentrate the power on a single point of the weapon to unleash bursts of force.
Even so, it was able to substantially enhance a Land Ranker's strength, also increasing the owner's chances of entering the Heavenly Rankings.
After claiming ownership over the Sunfury Saber and commanding the saber to retract its aura, it now looked like any regular weapon. Wu Yuan strapped it to his back.
The process of nurturing a weapon was essentially about forming a resonance between the mind and the saber. The most straightforward and practical method, as described in 'A Brief Description of Spirit Equipment,' was to simply do everything together: sleep together, eat together, walk together.
This way, after days and months passed, a natural bond would form between the owner and the spirit weapon, overcoming all obstacles in their relationship. In fact, many Grandmasters with weak souls still managed to slowly subdue a first-grade divine weapon through this rather silly method, eventually succeeding in claiming ownership.
Wu Yuan was in no hurry to descend the mountain. While nurturing his divine weapon and refining his body, he began to peruse the plethora of books prepared by The Rain Hierarch. Sharpening the saw didn't delay the chopping of firewood!
Before venturing into the world, one must understand it.
Wu Yuan read one book after another, effortlessly committing them to memory. Records of the Jiang Continent,' '3000 Years of the Dong Continent,' 'Legends of the Heavenly Rankings,' 'History of the Holy Continent,' 'Major Events of the Central Plains,' 'Turbulence In The Bei Continent,' 'Demonic Beasts of the Huang Continent,' 'Records of Immortal Relics Across the World,' 'The Xin Continent'...
So, in the entire Middle Land, there are over a hundred known immortal relics? Among them, more than 80 are considered minor relics, and the truly major relics number just over ten.
Minor relics did not necessarily serve a significant purpose. Some were left behind by ancient qi refiners, containing qi consumption methods, secret techniques for qi refining, and powerful artifacts and weapons, while others contained special items.
For example, in the depths of Cloudhill of my Cloudstride Sect, there exists an immortal relic. Wu Yuan was stunned when he read this.
The details regarding Cloudhill's immortal relic were labeled as top secret, clearly added separately by two Hierarchs.
The entire Eight-Sided Cloudhill enjoyed spring-like weather all year round and continually produced Cloudspring Blood. This was the real reason the Cloudstride Sect had been able to prosper for so long. It was common for long-established sects and factions in the world to exercise control over various immortal relics to some extent.
However, the truly mystical and dangerous relics were the major immortal relics.
The Xin Continent! Wu Yuan's eyes were glued to a simple map within the book beside a description of the Xin Continent.
Of the sixteen major relics known to the Cloudstride Sect, more than ten were either too difficult to access, sealed all year round, or had been occupied by major powers for a long time. Only three were open for exploration. One lay deep in the Huang Continent, and another one was on an overseas island. The last and by far the largest was located on the Xin Continent. These three immortal relics were all treasure troves left by many ancient qi refiners and brimmed with danger.
Any Land Ranker who enters the Huang Continent relic faces certain death? And the Island of Immortals and Devils in the South Ocean has been plundered to near depletion after thousands of years, attracting fewer and fewer martial artists. Only the Xin Continent is left!
If one set out from the Dong Continent, heading Southeast in a straight line for 120,000 li, they would reach a vast and desolate continent. The continent was home to numerous terrifying savage beasts, and even demonic beasts. But at the same time, an abundance of mystical natural treasures and immortal relics lay within its depths!
120,000 li. The continent was only discovered more than 2000 years after the Martial King's rise. Before that, no one in the Middle Land's thirteen continents, not even the Heavenly Rankers, knew of its existence. This is not surprising, after all, it is far too distant.
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