Chapter 1378: Seclusion (I)

Moongaze Lake.

The sky was dim and hazy. Radiant Fire surged around the Viewing Pavilion, its blazing light shooting into the heavens and illuminating the surroundings in brilliance. Li Ximing strode past on a trail of light and glanced toward the pavilion. The progress of the Ruler of Manifested Mountains and Rivers above it was going well, and Chu Minglian was carefully adjusting the fire.

In high spirits, he nodded to himself and stepped into Zhijing Mountain, taking a seat by the table. A flicker of heavenly light stirred between his brows, and he summoned the Brilliant Yang King's Axe.

"A Bright Yang spirit artifact."

Although both spirit artifacts and spirit embryos were Purple Mansion Realm weapons, they were worlds apart. They could not be compared in combat. Moreover, spirit artifacts were heirlooms passed down through generations. As Li Ximing refined the Brilliant Yang King's Axe, he discovered that it was indeed somewhat different.

Compared to the Mountain-Charging Sea-Pacing Tiger with its monotonous three divine functions, the Brilliant Yang King's Axe possessed a full five divine functions in his hands.

Two of them had been mentioned by Tian Sanglin. The primary function of the Brilliant Yang King's Axe was Light Splitting, reputed to break corruption, punish the disloyal, never lend lightly, and strike with lethal force once set in motion.

Light Splitting was also the axe's only offensive method. It carried the enemy-breaking might of Bright Yang, yet it descended exceedingly slowly. If it missed, then even if the same amount of divine ability and mana were used the next time, its power would greatly decline.

According to Tian Sanglin, Light Splitting originated from the Bright Yang divine ability Crimson Severing Cluster, and its limitations likely stemmed from that source.

The second was Bright Light, embodying radiant mountains and rivers that illuminated the people. Once the spirit artifact was suspended aloft, it could grant augmentation to allies.

Li Ximing examined it briefly. This divine function was fairly standard for a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator. When attached to the Dharma Body, it was equivalent to a slightly weaker Stable Earth Spirit Containment, though its restrictions were far fewer.

The key lies in the fact that Stable Earth does not conflict with Bright Yang. In other words, these two augmentations can be used simultaneously, making it easier to deal with The Merciful One.

After all, Stable Earth Spirit Containment could not withstand the Twelve Essences or Fire Virtue, which imposed severe limitations. It would likely offer little advantage against immortal cultivators, and Li Ximing's instinctive imagined opponent was naturally a Buddhist cultivator.

Aside from these two combat functions, the remaining three were more intriguing. Tian Sanglin had not mentioned them. They required catalysis through Bright Yang divine abilities to be activated. Among them, the one Li Ximing valued most was Command Axe.

"Dominates the world when strong, and invites calamity when weak; able to bear the weight of ten thousand chariots, sweeping away every calamity. Those were not empty words. The power of the Brilliant Yang King's Axe is indeed influenced by Bright Yang divine abilities. At present it can only be considered average, but the more Bright Yang divine abilities one cultivates, the greater its might. Taking the Purple Mansion Threshold as the boundary, anything below three divine abilities has already been weakened. Once Bright Yang reaches great completion with all five gathered, this weapon will likely be no inferior to an ancient spirit artifact."

Li Ximing felt both envy and bitterness. He had yet to cross the Purple Mansion Threshold, and achieving great completion in Bright Yang felt like a distant dream. For now, he placed his hopes on Li Zhouwei and quietly found comfort in that.

The remaining were minor divine functions, namely Flame Exhalation and Misplaced Entrustment. Flame Exhalation was clearly just a small bonus. Once the Brilliant Yang King's Axe was summoned, it would add a mouthful of Radiant Fire to Li Ximing's breath, somewhat stronger than that within the Juque acupoint, though the effect was not especially remarkable.

"So exhaling the Profound Fire of the Three Phases' Guard counts as icing on the cake."

By this point, Li Ximing was undoubtedly satisfied. Only Misplaced Entrustment left him unsure whether to laugh or sigh.

"The Command Axe must not be wrongly entrusted. Once granted to another, it signifies inability to control it."

This divine function, Misplaced Entrustment, had only one effect. The Brilliant Yang King's Axe could not be casually lent to others.

Whether a dharma artifact or a spirit artifact, as long as the owner consented and opened their mind, it could be temporarily lent to another. When Li Ximing used Kuiqi's Surging Yang Star Command Treasure Disk, it had been exactly so. The spirit artifact still belonged to Kuiqi, but it had been entrusted to Li Ximing for temporary use.

In this way, although Li Ximing would not wield it as smoothly and each divine function would consume more mana, there was no need to transfer ownership of the spirit artifact. This not only avoided the trouble of divine ability imprinting, but also reduced many hidden risks. If Kuiqi truly needed it, he could summon the Surging Yang Star Command Treasure Disk back through the great void. If Li Ximing refused to return it, the time required for refinement would be greatly prolonged, and Kuiqi could still trace it through their connection.

But the divine function of the Brilliant Yang King's Axe cut off any possibility of casual lending. Once this item was transferred, it had to be returned voluntarily by the other party. Otherwise, the spirit artifact would be as good as lost to the depths.

So there is such a divine function. No wonder Tian Sanglin said it should never be lent out...

He weighed the handy spirit artifact in his palm and was naturally very satisfied. In both divine functions and sheer strength, the Brilliant Yang King's Axe surpassed the Mountain-Charging Sea-Pacing Tiger by an entire tier.

Although the Stable Tiger escape spell of the Mountain-Charging Sea-Pacing Tiger had played a significant role when Li Ximing was fleeing for his life, it felt rather useless in ordinary times. He thought to himself,

It is not just the difference between spirit artifacts. It is likely also because I am not a Stable Earth cultivator.

As for the Brilliant Yang King's Axe ability to be stored within heavenly light or to release Radiant Light and similar methods, those were miscellaneous divine functions tied to divine abilities, merely embellishments on top of its main strengths.

He withdrew the spirit artifact into the heavenly light between his brows and carefully nurtured and cleansed it once with his divine ability. Once light and shadow had finished interweaving, he rose and summoned Li Jiangqian.

Soon Li Jiangqian entered the mountain holding a jade box and bowed. "Greetings, Daoist Master."

Li Ximing briefly mentioned the matter of the Brilliant Yang King's Axe with a smile, prompting Li Jiangqian to look up in delight and offer repeated congratulations. Li Ximing waved his hand and said no more, signaling him to begin his report.

Li Jiangqian opened the long jade box, revealing a pure black dharma sword within. Li Ximing glanced at it. Upon seeing the sword's form, his expression shifted slightly and he immediately stood up.

He first used the Immortal Mirror to ensure no one was present. Only then did he take up the dharma sword and examine it carefully, his eyes narrowing as he said, "It truly is extremely similar!"

Li Jiangqian nodded deeply and reported all the details from beginning to end before continuing, "From the moment the lord has left... I issued orders for investigation. Of the four dharma swords, aside from Black Stream, the remaining three, Falling Laurel, Sea Sundering, and Piercing Heart, are in the hands of Master Baiyin, Han Li, and Song Yunbai.

"The sword of Converging Water is in the hands of a cultivator named Han Li. No one knows where he emerged from. We have only heard his name mentioned by the lord. There is not a single other piece of information about him. It will likely be difficult to obtain.

"One of Radiant Fire, Piercing Heart, is in Song Yunbai's possession. This one is the easiest to seize. Although Song Yunbai is not in the capital, the Song Family is within the territory of the Locust Soul Hall. We have already obtained a portrait."

He withdrew a scroll from his sleeve and gently unfurled it. Upon it, rendered in exquisite brushwork, was a crimson dharma sword. Its patterns were somewhat more intricate than those of Black Stream, and it was slightly longer as well.

Not only was the color different, but there was no ornament hanging from the pommel. Clearly, this Piercing Heart could be ruled out.

"Master Baiyin's Falling Laurel belongs to the Supreme Yin. After parting from the lord, he once appeared in the great desert. We sent people to inquire twice and obtained information from the Zhuang Family that he traveled northward, heading toward the river.

"As for his sword, according to Zhuang Cheng, the blade was concealed within its sheath and its form could not be seen. However, a corner of the hilt was exposed, and it was gray. Unfortunately, he said he saw no hanging ornament."