Artifact Spirit

The prefectural city of Haizhou. A flying boat, glittering with jewel-like opulence and radiating five-colored light, streaked through the sky before coming to a steady halt directly above Haizhou Prefecture. As the vessel came to a stop, two figures emerged from the city below, rising above the multitude. Of these two, one was a favored prodigy from Great Shang's Jixia Academy, standing on equal footing with a true disciple of the Taiyi Immortal Sect. The other... Was even more formidable. The spatial ripples constantly radiating from his body, along with the elusive haze that made him seem situated in an entirely separate dimension, were unmistakable proof of his true strength. The Void Piercing realm! Moreover, he was a true Void Piercing cultivator—one who had opened a grotto-heaven using the power of a true spirit to accommodate a chaos cavern. It was precisely because a grotto-heaven world housing a chaos cavern existed inside them that their very being was shrouded and encircled by spatial power, making them appear as though they inhabited an entirely different space. And it was precisely this continuous scouring of grotto-heaven power, warping the effects of time and space upon them, that allowed any true Void Piercing cultivator to easily live past ten thousand years, enjoying the title of boundless longevity. These two were none other than Old Ancestor Xi Liu of the Xi clan—one of the three great families of Haizhou Prefecture that had just been destroyed—and Xi Chuan, another top-tier expert of the Xi clan who had cultivated a Deep Blue Golden Core. This Xi Chuan was the foremost genius of the Xi clan. Xi Liu pinned great hopes on him, grooming him as a seed for the Void Piercing realm, and had kept him at his side over the years to socialize with the prodigies of the imperial capital. Yet this time, receiving the figures aboard the flying boat with Xi Chuan alone was clearly insufficient in stature. Consequently, Old Ancestor Xi Liu himself—who had already stepped onto another tier as a Void Piercing cultivator—had personally appeared to welcome them. ... As the two arrived, several figures aboard the vessel stepped out onto the deck simultaneously. Leading them was none other than the true disciple of the Taiyi Immortal Sect who had once crossed paths with Yaoguang in the Cangwu Great World, only to retreat in haste when cowed by the mutually destructive resolve of Wan Liugui and Li Hanqiu. Personal disciple to Supreme Elder True Monarch Yuhuang—Jiang Tianzun. Compared to over a decade ago, he had fully grown into his identity as the personal disciple of a Void Shattering expert, carrying himself with far greater dignity and presence. That aloft aura of imperial nobility did not lose out in the slightest even when facing the commanding presence of a Void Piercing cultivator like Xi Liu. Even more so, as Jiang Tianzun and his entourage appeared, Xi Liu—despite being a Void Piercing master—personally stepped forward and took the initiative to clasp his hands in greeting: "True Disciple Jiang." A Void Piercing expert saluting a Deep Blue Golden Core! It was practically unbelievable. Yet Xi Liu delivered the salute nonetheless. On one hand, he had a favor to ask of Jiang Tianzun. On the other hand, it was because of Jiang Tianzun's identity beyond merely being a true disciple: the personal disciple of Supreme Elder Yuhuang. Even a prime minister's gatekeeper ranked as a seventh-grade official. The personal disciple of a supreme elder was hardly inferior in standing to a genuine Void Piercing cultivator. One could glean as much from the middle-aged man following behind Jiang Tianzun. "True Monarch Mo Shan," Xi Liu greeted once again. "True Monarch Xi Liu." Jiang Tianzun and the Void Piercing expert protecting him, Mo Shan, both gave slight nods in return. "Upon arriving at Haizhou Prefecture, I immediately collected all the residual aura left behind by that culprit." Xi Liu produced a jade talisman. Jiang Tianzun did not take it. Instead, True Monarch Mo Shan stepped forward from behind him, accepted the talisman, and handed it directly to a man standing beside Jiang Tianzun. "Mr. Zhi, I must trouble you," Jiang Tianzun said politely. "You are too kind, young master." The other person beside him... This Mr. Zhi took the jade talisman and promptly began to sense it. Xi Liu was briefly taken aback, but then realization seemed to strike him, and he blurted out, "Could this be... True Monarch Zhi Tianming himself!?" "What true monarch or not? I'm far from the Void Piercing realm you speak of. After all, I'm not a Dao artifact forged for slaughter." The man waved a dismissive hand with a chuckle. He spoke casually, yet Xi Liu dared not underestimate him in the least. The identity of this True Monarch Zhi was extraordinary! He was not human, but a Dao artifact! A Dao artifact whose spirituality was so immense that he had taken on human form. Though he had assumed human form less than a century ago and had only cultivated back to the Golden Core realm since restarting in human form, this Dao artifact had accompanied Supreme Elder Yuhuang for three millennia. With seniority and prestige so elevated, no one dared underestimate him in the slightest. Within the Taiyi Immortal Sect, even certain Void Refining cultivators would respectfully address him as "Mr. Zhi" upon meeting. It was no wonder that even Jiang Tianzun treated him with such deference. Without exaggeration, aboard the entire warship, this Zhi Tianming—True Monarch Zhi—was the most honored individual among them. "True Monarch Zhi is being modest," Xi Liu said with utmost courtesy. "For you, reaching the Void Piercing realm is merely a natural progression. Forget Void Piercing—even the Void Refining and Void Shattering realms surely pose no obstacle to you. It is all simply a matter of time." "Cultivating is easy, but being human is hard," Zhi Tianming sighed with emotion. "Take me, for instance—even now, I still can't comprehend why you humans love fighting and killing so much. Aren't you all the same species, the same kind? Gathering together and combining everyone's strength to comprehend the Dao, confirm the Dao, transcend mortality, and ascend to immortality—isn't that far more meaningful than fighting and slaughtering? I don't get it. I truly don't get it." Xi Liu and Jiang Tianzun both felt a touch of awkwardness. Yet they knew that artifact spirits, as life-forms, were inherently direct. Indeed, these were his genuine thoughts. They lacked many human emotions and sensations, so their perspective on things was naturally different. Just as newly born stellar beings could never fathom why humans, as a powerful race, couldn't even perform nuclear fusion or sustain internal temperatures in the tens of millions of degrees—aren't you cold? Such was the cognitive disparity born of fundamentally different concepts of life. "Though I don't understand why you insist on endless killing, since this is the Master's order, I will naturally cooperate. However, I can't guarantee whether I will find him." With that, Zhi Tianming crushed the jade talisman Xi Liu had provided. "With Mr. Zhi taking action, success is all but certain," Jiang Tianzun said with a smile. "The Dao I wield is neither Destiny, foremost beneath the heavens, nor Karma, ranked among the top ten; it is merely a minor Dao of deduction unworthy of boast. And the Dao of deduction... is far too easily disrupted by external factors." As Zhi Tianming answered, wisps of unique Dao charm emanated from his body, and invisible ripples stirred within the void. It seemed as though something had been invoked and was being examined, then subjected to deduction through a specialized method. In mere moments, the Dao artifact halted. "I can only tell that he is currently in the Sea of Chaos. As for the rest, I cannot deduce it," he answered frankly. "The Sea of Chaos?" Jiang Tianzun and Xi Liu—who had placed his hopes in their group to track down the culprit who annihilated his clan—both froze in surprise. "The Sea of Chaos is vast. Mr. Zhi, what about his exact location?" Jiang Tianzun couldn't resist pressing. "I can't deduce it," Zhi Tianming reiterated. "The interference is too severe. At most, I can only determine that he's in the northern part of the Sea of Chaos; beyond that, I have no idea." "Interference?" Beside them, True Monarch Mo Shan seemed to realize something. Struck by a thought, he pursued, "How could there be interference? Has he already attained the Void Piercing realm? But given a Void Piercing cultivator's superficial grasp of the Dao of the void, that shouldn't be enough to disrupt your deduction. Fourteen years ago, you deduced the approximate location of a Void Piercing cultivator with an error of less than a hundred li." "It's a Dao artifact," Zhi Tianming stated bluntly. "He has a Dao artifact on him." Then he added, "And likely more than one. That's why I can only pinpoint him to the north of the Sea of Chaos. Anything more precise is beyond deduction." At those words, Jiang Tianzun, True Monarch Mo Shan, and Old Ancestor Xi Liu were all deeply shaken. "He possesses a Dao artifact?!" "And more than one?!" "This... how is that possible?! He came from the Cangwu Realm and has been on Beihai Star for less than twenty years. How could he possibly own a Dao artifact?!" All three spoke out in unison. "That, I wouldn't know." Zhi Tianming spoke, then seemed to think of something and glanced at Jiang Tianzun. "Perhaps he was taken in as a disciple by some Dao Lord. Were you not also bestowed a quasi-Dao artifact by the Master to help you comprehend the Dao of the void, so you can quickly refine the void into truth, bear your true spirit with the void, and open a grotto-heaven to hold a chaos cavern and advance to the Void Piercing realm? The Master's disciple was granted a quasi-Dao artifact; a Dao Lord's disciple being granted a Dao artifact—that seems perfectly normal, doesn't it?" Artifact spirits were always idiosyncratic. They were glad to share their insights into the Great Dao with other beings. Thus, to him, lending a Dao artifact to someone who hadn't even reached the Void Piercing realm was hardly strange. After all, everyone was a living entity; helping one another and walking hand in hand down the immortal path was only natural. It was precisely this sort of "naturalness" that caused artifact spirits to sometimes oppose their masters and plead with them to stop fighting when Void Refining or Void Shattering cultivators wielded Dao artifacts with spirits during life-or-death struggles. Therefore, unless for special purposes or research, very few Void Refining or Void Shattering cultivators would permit a Dao artifact to develop an artifact spirit. "Alright, the Master's task is done. When are we going back?" Zhi Tianming said, intending to clock out. Rather than spending time out here searching for people, wouldn't it be far more peaceful to return to the Master's side and drift through the boundless sea of the Great Dao? "North of the Sea of Chaos... that's too vague. How about we make a trip to the Sea of Chaos, and once there, ask you to perform another deduction?" Jiang Tianzun tentatively asked. "Even if we go there, I still won't be able to deduce it. There are two Dao artifacts around him causing interference," Zhi Tianming shook his head. For a moment, Xi Liu, Jiang Tianzun, and Mo Shan all frowned simultaneously. "That boy Yaoguang is hiding in the Sea of Chaos, surely knowing he has stirred up a catastrophe. If he wants to break through this predicament, there is only one way: to sit for the Heavenly Dao Sect's true disciple assessment, showcase his talent, and ultimately draw the attention of a Void Refining peak master or even a Void Shattering supreme elder." At this moment, Xi Liu spoke up: "As long as we place lookouts along the path from the Sea of Storms back to the Heavenly Dao Sect to intercept him, denying him any chance of returning to take the assessment, wouldn't we be waiting for the rabbit to drop into our lap?" "The area is too vast. Even knowing his general direction and destination, the probability of intercepting him remains low." Jiang Tianzun pondered, his expression turning cold. "To be safe, we must enlist the cooperation of elders from the Heavenly Dao Sect." "How do we enlist them?" "The Xi clan only wants Yaoguang dead, correct?" Jiang Tianzun looked at Xi Liu. The Void Piercing master hesitated. According to Zhi Tianming, Yaoguang had... Two Dao artifacts on him. Yet sensing Mo Shan's piercing gaze fixed on him, Xi Liu could only nod. "Correct. I only want Yaoguang dead." "Then that makes things simple." A gleam flashed in Jiang Tianzun's eyes. "A Dao artifact as a reward will be more than enough." Two Dao artifacts! How long had Su Yaoguang been on Beihai Star? These two Dao artifacts couldn't have been acquired on Beihai Star, which meant they could only have come from the Cangwu Great World—or even the Yaoguang Realm! No wonder he had grown so fast. Heaven only knew what fortune he had obtained when interacting with those beings from the Moon Demon Empire in the Yaoguang Realm. For a moment, Jiang Tianzun felt a wave of regret. Had he known back then, he would have fought tooth and nail against Wan Liugui and Li Hanqiu in the Cangwu Great World to slaughter Yaoguang right there and then. Fortunately... It was not too late. There was still time.