The three blades of small golden swords before him had been molded by Lü Chuyi using powder and some other materials. Her Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboos were very young ones and were entirely golden. This meant that they were only considered semi-manufactured fairy artifacts.
Su Yu had provided top-grade Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo which had aged for more than a thousand years. It was entirely silver and had even developed a weak magical power of lightning.
Even without the intervention of equipment-crafting masters, the impregnable materials alone were capable of being crafted into top-grade spiritual artifacts. Combined with the small kylin’s mysterious flames and its mysterious crafting experience, the grade of the swords certainly surpassed top-grade spiritual artifacts.
The small kylin hovered in the Void with exhausted eyes, and languidly flew onto Su Yu’s shoulder. Its former pink-colored scales had lost their luster. They were now dull and no longer shone.
“Sorry for the trouble.” Su Yu caressed its head. Through the connection between them, Su Yu could feel that the small kylin was now very weak. Continuously crafting three blades of the Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo Swords for half a year had consumed the small kylin’s energy.
“I’m fine. I just need to sleep deeply for a while,” the small kylin replied. This was the second mention of deep sleep. The voice inside its head was going to impart new knowledge to it.
Su Yu asked gently, “How long will your deep sleep take this time?”
The small kylin thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know, but I have a very strong desire for deep sleep. It won’t be just for a short time. It will be a few years at the very least; at the most, infinitely.” If it was for infinity, the small kylin would return to its beginning state whereby it was sealed within a skeleton, perhaps unable to awake for hundreds of thousands of years.
The small kylin hesitated for a moment as it looked at Su Yu. “Master, if you don’t want me to sleep, I can keep going. After some time, the desire for sleep will diminish.”
Su Yu frowned a little, but did not say anything. To the small kylin, the deep sleep this time was considered a great fortune, and he had no reason to stop it.
“I’ll wait for you to awake,” Su Yu replied concisely. The small kylin looked grateful. Su Yu’s brief words showed his support for it.
The small kylin snuggled up to Su Yu’s head intimately and weariness filled its eyes, as if it was about to fall into a deep sleep.
It forced itself to stay awake a little longer and stood up like a human. It extended both its hooves and pointed at the large patch of silver light that was suspended in the air.
The three blades of long swords gleaming with silver light descended at the same time. They remained suspended thirty feet above Su Yu. Despite the distance between them, Su Yu could detect the astonishing spiritual pressure hidden in the swords. He shuddered slightly, and a bone-chilling fright arose in his heart.
The doppelganger which he created from a whiff of Soul Energy was flickering unsteadily, showing signs of vanishing under such spiritual pressure. The whiff of Soul Energy was very likely to extinguish it if it came within just thirty feet of it. If the three longswords were enveloped by the Soul Energy, it certainly would be.
What level of treasure is this? Excitement shone in the depths of Su Yu’s pupils. He had seen many top-grade spiritual artifacts before, and many semi-manufactured fairy artifacts, but none of them were like the one before his eyes now, with spiritual pressure that could tremble his Soul Energy by itself.
The answer was about to be revealed.
“It’s a fairy artifact.” The small kylin blinked its gemstone eyes, as if recounting an ordinary matter. “The Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo has aged a thousand years. Crafting fairy artifacts with such nature-defying materials is very normal. It’s a pity that I wasn’t skilled enough. These are only low-grade fairy artifacts.”
Su Yu was surprised and delighted when he heard this. As long as they were fairy artifacts, even low-grade ones would suffice. He had trained for a long time and had seen countless treasures, but none of the offensive treasures had exceeded the fairy artifact level.
The three blades of Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo Swords of the fairy artifact level were the strongest offensive treasures that Su Yu had ever seen! Moreover, he had gotten altogether three blades in one shot!
The effect of three blades combined with the power exhibited by the “Nine Suns Cosmos Sword Formation” would be phenomenally astounding! Su Yu even had the urge to initiate a fight with the All Creations Old Monsters. What kind of power would the combination of fairy artifacts and the Nine Suns Cosmos Sword Formation be able to accomplish?
“The three swords contain overly shocking spiritual pressure. Besides your Nine Jade Spiritual Pearl, I’m afraid hardly any storage spaces could accommodate them. Therefore master, you’d better carry them with you!” the small kylin said. As it spoke, it opened its mouth and spat out large masses of flames. Amidst the flames were three silver-white sword sheaths.
“These sheaths were crafted using the roots and tendrils of the Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo. They had cultivated the Bamboos, so by nature they could contain them. It’s the best materials for the sword sheaths.”
The three blades of fairy artifact long swords seemed to have detected the three sword sheaths and flew into the sheaths on their own. All of a sudden, the shocking spiritual pressure dissipated, leaving behind three seemingly delicate and exquisite silver swords.
“As long as the swords are kept in their sheaths, no one will recognize the fairy artifacts hidden in the sword bodies,” the small kylin said. It had thought of everything.
Su Yu seemed very pleased as he embraced the swords. He suddenly noticed some of the remnant flames in the sky were still burning and that something was visible in them.
“30 percent of the main trunk of the Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo has been refined. There’s 70 percent left. When I wake, I’ll carry on refining them,” the small kylin said.
Silver light flashed across the sky, and a mass of silver liquid wrapped in violet flames descended by flight. It was swallowed by the small kylin.
The Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo could only be maintained in its liquid state when perpetually encased in purple flames. Otherwise, once cooled, it would return to its solid-state. A huge price would need to be expended to melt the Bamboo again.
“I’ll help you keep the main trunk. These are the leaves of the Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo,” the small kylin said, as another vast mass of purple-colored light descended. It was composed of countless purple flames the size of water droplets, and inside every one of them was a drop of silver liquid.
“Every drop contains the sap of a leaf. They can’t be compared to the main trunk in terms of hardness and aren’t suitable for crafting the sword body. Master, whatever you want to be crafted, I can craft in a simple way,” the small kylin said.
Su Yu’s eyes shone as he stared at the sap of the silver leaves. “Two things. First, a mask suitable for me, and then see if the remnants could be refined into four round ball-like bodies.” The former was to conceal his appearance to prevent him being recognized on the Fengyun Great Assembly. The latter was for the “Meteor Light Stream Great Formation”, which at the most, could be performed with nine round pearls.
The four formation pearls from the Dry Cloud Five Elemental Formation had been destroyed in the process of killing Jinmu. The extra materials before him were most suitable to be refined into formation pearls.
The small kylin nodded. “Normal treasures require time and effort to be refined continuously. But for masks and round ball-like objects, it’s very simple. There’s no need for refinement, the existing liquid could just be solidified into the shapes accordingly.”
Su Yu looked delighted.
Shortly after, the small kylin gestured in the air with its hooves. Drop after drop of purple flames containing the silver liquid coalesced quickly, forming a round mass of liquid the size of a palm. This was the liquid obtained after all the bamboo leaves had been melted.
Under the small kylin’s manipulation, the liquid was split into nine drops, one of which was the size of a thumb. Amidst the fluctuation of the purple flames, it spread out ceaselessly, forming a thin layer.
Apertures of appropriate sizes were artificially chiseled at the regions of the eyes and the nostrils. The spread-out area was similar to the size of Su Yu’s face. The small kylin kept withdrawing the purple flames. The spread-out silver liquid began cooling down and gradually solidified.
After all the flames had been withdrawn, the layer of liquid cooled and after half an hour had solidified into a fixed shape.
Su Yu took hold of it. A mask with the thinness of a cicada’s wing, which emitted tenderness and warmth, was lying quietly on Su Yu’s palm. It wasn’t exactly delicate but was very suitable. With the sturdiness of the Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo, it couldn’t be pried open by external forces.
Su Yu put it on the small kylin’s head, and tried to inspect it with his Soul Eye. Much to his surprise, he found only emptiness. It was as if a layer of the space energy was blocking off his inspection.
Something similar had happened to Jinmu: his soul had been hidden in a confined space within his body and therefore went unnoticed. However, the Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo possessed the intrinsic element of space. Thus after being refined into a mask, it still retained the effect of insulating space. If not even the Transparent Eye could penetrate it, Su Yu doubted that the All Creations Old Monsters would be able to observe the real appearance beneath the mask. Su Yu was delighted.
Upon seeing its master’s joy, the small kylin went the extra mile and mustered all its strength, continuing to refine the eight remaining sets of the liquid.
Due to the limited amount of the liquid, these materials could only be refined into a hollowed state. As a matter of fact, the round balls which appeared to have a diameter of five feet only consisted of a flimsy layer of skin on their surfaces. Nonetheless, with the sturdiness of the Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo, there were only a few who could manage to force it open, despite the single layer of skin.
An hour later, eight hollowed round balls shimmering with silver light had been successfully crafted. The Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo possessed a lightness and a lithe property due to its wooden nature. Despite seeming enormous, the balls felt light and airy as they fell onto your palm. It was as if they were insubstantial. This made them even more convenient to be used for the Meteor Light Stream Formation.
The small kylin had been sleepy and drowsy all the while. After going the extra mile to craft the last round ball, it couldn’t stand it any longer. It fell into Su Yu’s arms, closed its eyes and lapsed into a state of deep sleep.
Affectionately, Su Yu placed it inside the thatched cottage beside the nursery, and let it sleep in peace.
As he caressed its head, Su Yu’s heart was full of gratitude. Ever since the small kylin had begun to follow him, it had never asked for anything. Instead, it had helped Su Yu time and time again. Even his most important treasure had been crafted with the aid of the small kylin.
“Little fellow, I hope there comes a day when you need me too. Otherwise, how am I ever going to repay you?” Su Yu muttered to himself with a smile.
After leaving the cottage, Su Yu saw Shengge, who was quietly training at the foot of the valley. She opened her eyes when she sensed Su Yu’s gaze. Her left eye was swirling with turbulent ghostly energy, whereas her right eye was filled with the divine light of buddha. Two completely opposite vibes flashed in her eyes at the same time.
“Master.” Shengge stood up.
Su Yu nodded. “How’s your training going with the Ghost Prison Token?”
Shengge looked remorseful. “I have let you down because of my stupidity. I have only refined the Ghost Prison Tokens ranked ten-thousandth, and comprehended a large portion of the other one. Only a small part is yet to be achieved.”
“Nevermind. You cannot rush enlightenment. The more you try to quicken it, the more likely you’ll fail. You can put aside comprehending for now, and place some importance on your cultivation,” Su Yu said. He thought for a moment, before taking out a speck of golden dust. It contained one-tenth of the Mortal Fairy’s Strength of the Central Prefecture’s King. Su Yu had only absorbed a tiny wisp, and his cultivation had broken through to the ninth-grade fairy from the sixth-grade. The difficulty in breaking through to the ninth-grade fairy was also higher than normal for him. The wisp of energy could have enabled an average person to break through the Almighty level. Su Yu decided to lend it to Shengge. He wasn’t worried that she would take away all of the energy in it. As for what kind of level she would be able to reach, it depended on her own luck.
Shengge was startled for a moment. She stared at the dust, and let out a shriek of astonishment. “Pure essence of mortal fairy! My lord, where did you get this?” In the world of ghosts, the mortal fairies were well-renowned, significant figures as well.
They hadn’t been apart for long, but Su Yu had managed to obtain the mortal fairy’s essence.
Shengge knew that outsiders stood no chance of despoiling the essence unless the mortal fairies voluntarily shared it. What stunned Shengge even more was that Su Yu was willingly allowing her to absorb the essence.
“Take it. Your current cultivation is still too low to be useful for me. This speck of dust will be yours temporarily for training purposes. How much to absorb is up to you,” Su Yu said. With Su Yu’s current capacity, Shengge’s cultivation wouldn’t be of much use. If she strived hard enough, this speck of dust would enable Shengge to experience a thorough, life-changing transformation.
Shengge was extremely excited. Her big eyes were as bright as two miniature suns. “My lord, Shengge will always remember this immense kindness!” Shengge was full of gratitude as well as excitement.
Shengge had felt extremely ashamed when Su Yu first held her captive. She thought that she succumbed to an insignificant figure as petty as an insect who was far inferior to her. But it wasn’t too long before she was reliant on him. She had also received such a great endowment from him. Shengge marveled at the wonders of destiny.
“Alright, train well and without any accidents. I’ll need you very soon,” Su Yu said.
Shengge was full of confidence as she held the dust tightly. “Please rest assured, My Lord. With this speck of dust, I know how to greatly improve my cultivation within a short period of time!”
Su Yu was surprised. He had never really expected that Shengge’s cultivation would be greatly improved in a short period of time. She was only a third-grade fairy now. Despite having a large amount of the mortal fairy’s essence, she wouldn’t be able to boost her cultivation without any hindrance. It would be futile if the essence was absorbed excessively, and the body failed to assimilate them in a short period of time. Although her cultivation needed to be strengthened, continuously breaking through in one shot would only bring more harm than advantage. If this was not the case, Su Yu would have begun attempting a breakthrough into the Almighty level with the aid of the Mortal Fairy’s Strength already.
“Hehe, my body quality is a little unique. The difficulties commonly encountered by the normal creatures won’t necessarily be a problem to me,” Shengge said mischievously.
Su Yu raised his brows…Unique body quality? Is it the kind that could accommodate two types of special energies, the ghostly energy and buddha’s properties simultaneously?
“As long as you know your capabilities and your limits.” Su Yu intended to query further. But with a crease of his brows, he withdrew his Soul Energy immediately and returned to his body.
Dong!
A far-reaching, mellifluous sound of a bell ringing floated from the endless skyline, and reverberated through the nine heavens, long and never-ending. It was the congregation order from the inner sanctum, a command released by Mo Tianxuan herself. She had returned to the faction already! Could it possibly be a sign for preparation to set off, and compete for the qualifications to enter the Glittering Jewel Wonderland?
Su Yu caught the three silver-white swords before him and stood up slowly.
He tried to retrieve a space ring to place the three swords inside. It turned out that the space ring exploded before the swords were even put inside.
Su Yu checked several times before he felt certain that even with the sword sheaths, the Heavenly Orchid Silver Bamboo Swords couldn’t be contained in ordinary spaces. The only option was as the small kylin had mentioned, to bring them with him everywhere. Helpless, Su Yu found a sword box, and carried it on his back.
The three silver swords were shining brightly. Accompanied by his old, fairy-like, transcendental appearance, he almost seemed like a sword fairy.
All geared up, Su Yu’s eyes shone as he looked in the direction of the inner palace.
