Chapter 509: Opening Another Enchanted Tool

After a while, Jiang Yuebai sent a message to Chu Liang through the United Hearts Jade, telling him that it was fine for him to meet back up with them.

Chu Liang returned to the top of the glacier and saw the father and daughter standing together. They indeed looked quite alike.

The Jiang Family's genes were pretty good. Among the three major aristocratic families, the Jiang Family had the highest proportion of people who were born without any birth deformities. It was just that the total number was a bit low compared to the Xia and Ji Families.

The father and daughter both had calm expressions, and it was unclear what they had just talked about. When Chu Liang arrived, the father and daughter exchanged glances, still a bit awkward with each other.

The beautiful scene that the Whale-Riding Immortal had interrupted was still fresh in their minds, so they probably remembered it the moment they saw Chu Liang.

Guessing that was the case, Chu Liang quickly said, "I just discovered the corpse of the Violet Gold Marquess over there."

However, he didn't mention that the Violet Gold Marquess's soul had invaded his Sea of Consciousness. It was rather strange and might involve his greatest secret, so he had to think it over carefully before revealing it to anyone.

"

Ah...

" the Whale-Riding Immortal replied, "you mean the one I killed with a flick of my finger?"

The Whale-Riding Immortal roughly explained what had happened earlier, and Chu Liang finally realized who the culprit behind the Violet Gold Marquess's peaceful demise was. He couldn't help but be amazed.

Sure enough, at the higher cultivation realms, the gaps tended to be greater between cultivators of the same realm.

Most cultivators saw a seventh-realm Eminent One as a mighty and unreachable existence. Yet, to the eighth-realm Whale-Riding Immortal, such a mighty existence was a mere ant that could be killed with just a flick of his finger.

After hearing the Whale-Riding Immortal's explanation, Jiang Yuebai's expression suddenly turned rather grim.

Chu Liang noticed it and quickly figured out what she was thinking.

The Violet Gold Marquess was undoubtedly considered a powerful figure among the seventh-realm Eminent Ones. His swift demise showed just how difficult it was for a seventh-realm Eminent One to contend with an eighth-realm Eminent One.

In fact, the current leader of the Dark King Sect had to rely on the True Form of Ksitigarbha to take over the sect. It was with the blessing of that legendary artifact, which was ranked among the top ten in the mortal realm, that he managed to seize control of the Great Dao of Profound Darkness from the previous leader.

If Daoist Yan wanted to seize control of the Great Dao of Swordsmanship, it would probably be a feat as difficult as ascending to the heavens. So, Jiang Yuebai was likely worrying about her teacher.

Chu Liang thought of his own teacher acquiring control over a Great Dao, and he wasn't worried for her. Other cultivators had to rely on legendary artifacts to contend for the Great Dao, but his teacher only needed a heart full of filial piety. After all, others were fighting for the control of a Great Dao, but his teacher was fighting for her inheritance.

The Whale-Riding Immortal suddenly placed a hand on Chu Liang's shoulder and said with a smile, "Treat my daughter well. Otherwise, I can't guarantee that my finger won't get itchy again someday."

Chu Liang broke out in goosebumps and nodded repeatedly. "Uncle Jiang, please rest assured that I will!"

Jiang Yuebai looked at her father in annoyance. "What are you even saying?"

She turned around and left, flying off in the direction of Mount Shu.

"All right. You should go back as well." The Whale-Riding Immortal finally released his grip on Chu Liang. "We'll meet again if fate allows."

After bidding the Whale-Riding Immortal farewell, Chu Liang quickly flew off to catch up with Jiang Yuebai. The pair rode the wind side by side, flying at a leisurely pace.

Chu Liang asked, "What did you talk about earlier?"

"Not much..." Jiang Yuebai gently shook her head. "He just told me what he's been up to all these years."

Chu Liang looked at her expression. It seemed as calm and detached from the world as before, without any significant difference. However, he could faintly sense that something had changed. He just couldn't quite pinpoint what it was and why it had occurred.

Nevertheless, since Jiang Yuebai didn't want to say more, Chu Liang didn't press further. He believed in Jiang Yuebai's wisdom and abilities, confident that she could handle any problem on her own. She wasn't someone who needed others to worry about her.

...

Chu Liang headed down to the Hall of Weapons bright and early at dawn the next morning.

He had an appointment with Wen Yulong. They were going to open and inspect the Violet Gold Marquess' storage enchanted tool. It wouldn't just be Wen Yulong this time though; Chu Liang had invited the Weapons Master to join them.

After all, the items of diabolical cultivators were strange. There might even be some dangerous items, so someone had to be there to keep things under control.

"

Hahaha...

" The Weapons Master laughed heartily, his blue-gold eyes shining brightly. "Who would've thought... There were so many of us, but we didn't achieve much in that battle. Yet, you managed to pick up the Violet Gold Marquess."

"I was just lucky," Chu Liang replied with a smile.

"This time, the credit goes to you. If it weren't for your undercover work in the diabolical sect, we couldn't have thwarted their schemes twice in a row," the Weapons Master praised. "The Violet Gold Marquess' belongings are well-deserved rewards for you."

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Let's hurry and open it up!" Wen Yulong exclaimed eagerly.

"Okay." Chu Liang nodded. "As usual, one hand per person."

This wasn't their first time opening a storage enchanted tool together, so the two of them already had a routine.

The Violet Gold Marquess' storage jade pendant didn't have any strict access restrictions, but it made sense. Anyone who could snatch away his storage tool would need to be extremely powerful, so it would be pointless for him to set any access restrictions.

Chu Liang smiled and used his divine sense to probe into the storage jade pendant. Then he randomly pulled out an item and placed it on the table. It was a black iron box. When he opened it, he found two neat rows of a dozen or so black spikes inside, each about the thickness of a finger.

Chu Liang immediately recognized the spikes. They were the Soul-Piercing Nails that Soul Subjugators often used.

"Soul-Piercing Nails..." The Weapons Master frowned. "These are the Dark King Sect's evil enchanted tools, and they're extremely malevolent. These things must be destroyed."

Chu Liang asked, "Can't we use these?"

The Weapons Master shook his head, "Each Soul-Piercing Nail is forged with a conscious soul that has been refined to be controlled by a diabolical cultivator. The nail drives the refined soul into a person's body, instantly occupying it and in turn immobilizing the person's body and soul. It is too malicious; the souls inside the nails must be released and purified."

So, that's how it is...

This was the first time Chu Liang learned how the Soul-Piercing Nails worked.

It was normal for the exclusive enchanted tools of the Dark King Sect disciples to be strange, but the frequent use of such things was bound to attract divine retribution. Even someone as powerful as the Violet Gold Marquess had not been able to escape a tragic end.

It was Wen Yulong's turn. He rubbed his hands together in preparation for a while. Then he reached in and pulled out a jade slip.

After examining it, the Weapons Master said, "This is the Dark King Sect's orthodox cultivation arts manual. It is quite detailed and contains a few secret techniques that we have not seized before. It can be stored in the Hall of Conservation."

Chu Liang had learned about the history of the Dark King Sect early on during his undercover mission.

In the early days of the Dark King Sect, the sect consisted of just Xuan Yinzi and his guardians: the White Silver King and the Violet Gold Marquess. The Soul Subjugators were disciples who cultivated the orthodox cultivation arts of the Dark King Sect.

After the current sect leader defeated the previous sect leader and took over, he expanded the Four Halls of Darkness, recruiting people from various diabolical sects. While this greatly strengthened his power, it placed the Left and Right Guardians—the White Silver King and the Violet Gold Marquess—in an extremely awkward position.

Consequently, the orthodox disciples were ostracized and suppressed by the new members. Ultimately, it was because they used to be under the direct command of the previous sect leader.

The Left and Right Guardians initially held great power within the sect, on par with that of the current sect leader. However, after the White Silver King died and the Violet Gold Marquess was severely injured, the Four Halls openly suppressed the forces of the Left and Right Guardians. The Dark King Sect's current leader ignored this situation since things were playing out in his favor.

The Dark King Sect's line of orthodox disciples had since been completely severed, so this issue no longer existed.

In any case, the first two items were basically useless to Chu Liang. Even if he handed over the diabolical cultivation arts manual and the Soul-Piercing Nails, the little bit of compensation he would receive in exchange was nothing to him. He hoped to find something he could actually use.

So, after quietly gathering his energy, he reached out to pull out the third item.

Whoosh.

There was a flash of light, and in his hand was a black iron token engraved with some strange patterns and four words,

Dream of Souls Airship.

"What is this?" Chu Liang asked curiously. "An airship?"

The Weapons Master answered, "It should be. You can try to activate it, but you'll need to do it outside."

The three of them—the elder and the two youths—walked out of the Hall of Weapons to a clearing at the back of the mountain.

Chu Liang then used his foundational qi to activate the token.

Boom!

There was a howl of wind, and suddenly, a massive airship appeared before them!

The airship seemed like it had been cast in black meteoric iron. It was a deep dark gold, carrying a great sense of mysteriousness. It was about ten zhang in length and five or six zhang in height, with a large flag at the top bearing the words "Violet Gold Marquess."

As they expected, it was the Violet Gold Marquess's airship.

"

Haaa...

" The Weapons Master sighed. "Back in the day, my ride was even more majestic than this..."

"Why don't you start a business on Red Cotton Peak? You'll make enough money to buy it back in no time," Chu Liang quickly consoled him.

To help the Mount Shu Sect retrieve its lost treasure, the Weapons Master had sold off nearly all of his belongings, keeping only a few essential treasures that he depended on. Nowadays, he mentioned this to everyone he met, clearly showing his regret.

The three of them leaped onto the airship.

As soon as the Weapons Master landed, he said, "The material used for this airship is not ordinary black meteoric iron. It's actually black meteroic iron mixed with gold—Crow Gold Iron. And so much of it was used... This guy must have been really was rich."

Chu Liang smiled.

Why would people engage in shady dealings if they weren't profitable?

While they were exploring the upper level of the airship, they saw a blue figure float out of the cabin and softly say, "Have you returned, Master?"

The three of them looked over and saw a tall woman draped in a veil, wearing only a bustier and a short skirt. Her skin was so fair that it almost seemed translucent. She had a pair of deep eyes with an exotic charm. Her gaze was gentle like calm waters, naturally alluring.

She was a remarkably beautiful woman dressed in revealing clothes.

Chu Liang was quite surprised.

She seems to be a living person... But how is she living inside this airship that's inside a storage enchanted tool?

While Chu Liang was still puzzled, the woman asked in surprise, "Are you... Master's friends?"

Instead of answering, the Weapons Master said, "Is the master you speak of the Violet Gold Marquess?"

The woman nodded. "Yes."

"The Violet Gold Marquess was filled with evil and guilty of monstrous crimes. He has already been executed by a righteous cultivator," the Weapons Master replied sternly. "You were his servant. Are you also a diabolical disciple?"

"

Eh?

" The woman staggered back several steps, falling to her knees. "Not at all. He trapped me on this airship."

The Weapons Master ordered her to rise. "Stand up and speak... Tell us about how you got here."

"All right," the woman replied. She slowly got up and then said, "My name is Hun Mengji."