Chapter 82: Picked Up an Extra Spirit Artifact [Third Update, Seeking Monthly Votes!]
Author: Kindergarten Master
Date: 2025-08-18
“Bang—!”
When Chu Huaixu pulled at the black bead, he had used his full strength, and the force was a bit too much.
Unexpectedly, the black beaded pendant didn’t come off the sealed sword sheath. Instead, it pulled the sword sheath down with it, causing the entire force to hit his chest, and he was violently bumped by the sword sheath.
If nothing else, he was probably injured.
Fortunately, Chu Huaixu wasn’t afraid of pain.
At this moment, he was also stunned.
Because he knew very well that this black bead must be a Spirit Artifact! And it had some connection to the “Dao Canon”!
But how did he manage to get the sword sheath off too?
According to the rules of Hidden Spirit Mountain, each person could only take one Spirit Artifact.
He could feel that they were independent entities; the black bead was not part of the sword sheath.
“Is this a buy one get one free deal?”
Chu Huaixu couldn’t care about anything else right now.
All the Spiritual Power in his body had been absorbed by the bead.
He crushed the scorched black pass token at the first opportunity.
The teleportation Magic Array was thus activated.
The next moment, the floating bronze sword seemed to become enraged again.
Its disgust and hostility towards Chu Huaixu reached their peak in an instant!
Spiritual Pressure surged, causing Chu Huaixu to cough up a mouthful of fresh blood.
Because the black bead had not only drained the Spiritual Power stored in his Spiritual Embryo Treasury but had also completely consumed the Spiritual Power in his physical body.
Without the support of Spiritual Power, his physical body’s strength naturally decreased.
What was even more terrifying was that this Spiritual Pressure was also pressing down on the teleportation Magic Array!
The bronze sword was attempting to disrupt the teleportation effect of the Magic Array.
It wanted to keep Chu Huaixu on the mountain.
“If the teleportation Magic Array really fails, and I’m trapped by this Spiritual Pressure, I’ll eventually be unable to bear it and explode!” He understood this point very well.
Whether it was his physical body or his sea of consciousness, he was approaching his limit.
He didn’t need to stay on the mountain for too long; perhaps only the time it took for a cup of tea, and he would die!
“Still not giving up, still want to kill me!”
“Evil Sword!!!”
Therefore, a fierce glint began to flash in his bloodshot eyes as he looked at the bronze sword!
The sword was furious, and so was he!
Fortunately, the teleportation Magic Array activated very quickly, and Chu Huaixu’s figure disappeared from the mountain peak.
The next moment, he appeared at the foot of the mountain.
However, it seemed there was indeed a problem with the teleportation Magic Array; he wasn’t teleported safely to the foot of the mountain but was airborne.
“Bang—!” Chu Huaixu fell heavily to the ground, kicking up large clouds of dust.
At this moment, his black robe was particularly dirty, covered in dust and mud, and his sleeves were stained with blood, making him look extremely disheveled.
However, the dark sword sheath and the black beaded pendant had both been brought down the mountain by him!
“It seems like a bone is broken.”
Chu Huaixu got up from the ground and assessed his current condition.
It could be described as very bad!
Various parts of his body were overloaded, and if not for the protection of the small black sword in his sea of consciousness, it would have been shattered and collapsed by now.
Yet, even so, his head felt heavy, and his consciousness was blurred.
When he opened his eyes to look at things now, he saw many afterimages, as if all things in the world could perform the Shadow Clone Technique.
Chu Huaixu looked down at his chest. He saw three sword sheaths and three beads.
He shook his head forcefully and then looked at Hidden Spirit Mountain with a dazed expression.
“Is the restriction on the mountain malfunctioning?” he thought.
Before Chu Huaixu went up the mountain, his senior brothers and sisters in the Hidden Spirit Courtyard had patiently told him the rules.
“Disciples going up the mountain can only take one Spirit Artifact; otherwise, even if they crush the wooden token, they cannot be teleported to the foot of the mountain by the Magic Array and will be blocked on the mountain by the restriction.”
This bead was clearly an independent Spirit Artifact.
This sword sheath was also an independent Spirit Artifact.
“The restriction didn’t detect anything?”
“Logically, every Spirit Artifact on the mountain has an aura connection with the restriction.”
“Unless… one of them is not among them!”
Chu Huaixu’s gaze sharpened; he felt the problem lay with this bead.
If it weren’t for the pull of the Spiritual Power within him and that faint, mysterious call, he would have thought this bead was just a pendant on the sword sheath.
Or rather, it was just a part of the sword sheath.
His taut nerves relaxed, and the burden on his physical body lessened. Chu Huaixu began to cough violently, spitting blood continuously.
In the Daoist Sect’s grand hall, silence reigned once more.
The scene before them had completely deviated from their previous speculations.
Or rather, from the moment the Spiritual Pressure appeared, the development of the plot had been nothing like they had imagined!
Only Li Chunsong looked dumbfounded, saying in disbelief, “I won?”
“Hahahaha! I won?”
“I actually won!” The gambling addict fell into a state of semi-madness.
He had forgotten all about the great calamity of heaven and earth, the sword to save the world, and the Dao Ancestor’s prophecy.
This King of Charity only knew that he had won, and it was… another win!
Ever since he brought Chu Huaixu up the mountain, his winning streak was a terrifying one hundred percent; every bet he made was a win!
The atmosphere in the entire hall was somewhat oppressive, with only Li Chunsong’s hearty laughter echoing within.
After laughing for a while, he transitioned his identity from “gambling addict” to “Sixth Elder of the Daoist Sect.”
Although his right hand was still trembling with excitement, he quietly tucked it into his sleeve, mumbling to himself as he tried to rationalize his win:
“Cough, cough, cough!”
“Hiss—the Sword Attendant mentioned in the Dao Ancestor’s prophecy didn’t take this sword but took the sword sheath?”
“Could the Dao Ancestor’s prophecy be wrong?”
“Or perhaps Junior Uncle chose the wrong person.”
Clearly, this sixth-ranked fellow had never considered that the problem might be with him.
Everyone’s gaze turned towards Sect Master Xiang Yan, and even Chu Yinyin, who was usually the most lively, wasn’t jumping up and shouting now.
After all, it involved the great calamity of heaven and earth, and the Primeval Spirit Realm!
The First Realm competition of the Profound Yellow Realm was about to begin.
If he could obtain that sword, he would surely win the competition.
It would be the most stable approach for him to enter the Primeval Spirit Realm holding that sword.
Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable!
But why didn’t he take the sword?
Why did he specifically take the sword sheath?
Furthermore, how did he remove the seal on the sword sheath?
When Xiang Yan saw everyone looking at him, he even felt like raising his hand to touch his bald head; he was also somewhat perplexed.
“Since things have come to this, we can only make long-term plans.”
“Sixth Junior Brother, you go down to the foot of the mountain to check on him first. Chu Huaixu looks to be in poor condition; don’t let any accidents happen.”
“After you return, we will all go to the Purple Bamboo Forest to discuss this with Seventh Junior Sister.”
The Dao Ancestor’s inheritance was obtained by Shen Man, and she was also the one who discovered the Dao Ancestor’s prophecy.
For such a major event, it was naturally necessary to include her in the discussion, even though she might not say much.
“Understood!” Li Chunsong immediately left the hall and flew towards the foot of Hidden Spirit Mountain.
When he arrived, he saw Chu Huaixu already sitting cross-legged.
Chu Huaixu had no intention of returning because the Big Ice Block was still on the mountain.
—He was waiting for her.
Therefore, it was only now that he “carved out time” from his busy schedule to check his quest interface and see his rewards.
“Received 30,000 experience points and 1 [Random Attribute Point].” Chu Huaixu was satisfied.
It was obvious that the main reward was the attribute points, with the 30,000 experience points being secondary.
Moreover, he knew the system’s quirks like the back of his hand.
“Even though this passive quest is related to this number one sword in the world, based on the player’s own level, there is an upper limit to the experience point reward for quests.”
“No matter how high the quest’s difficulty coefficient is, the experience points will not be excessively exaggerated; however, other rewards besides experience points will increase.”
“30,000 might be the maximum.”
Since Chu Huaixu’s physical condition was very poor, his Spiritual Power was drained, and his sea of consciousness was chaotic, he decided to level up.
To eliminate these negative states by leveling up!
“《Sword Borrowing Art》 is different from some games; leveling up doesn’t directly restore full health, but it does restore full mana!”
“In the sea of consciousness, Divine Sense will also increase with the improvement of one’s cultivation realm.”
“Moreover, the ‘Dao Canon’ cultivates both internally and externally, so the physical body should also be able to heal partially; perhaps I can even reach full health!”
Therefore, just before Li Chunsong flew over, Chu Huaixu directly issued a command in his mind.
“System, level me up!”
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged towards him madly, and the brand-new pain, spreading from the inside out, made him suffer immensely.
Coupled with his already battered body, it was even more tormenting.
Lumps appeared on Chu Huaixu’s body, as if Spiritual Power was trying to drill out of his flesh, and his skin also began to crack.
This scene was witnessed entirely by Li Chunsong.
The ordinary-looking Sixth Elder of the Daoist Sect frowned deeply, raised his hand, and waved his sleeve, sending a stream of pale blue airflow to envelop Chu Huaixu, beginning to examine his condition.
Since he was undergoing a breakthrough, he dared not interfere too much, lest he suffer from qi deviation.
“How can it be so strange?”
“Hasn’t he stopped practicing that evil cultivation technique, the ‘Sword Refining Art’?” Li Chunsong muttered to himself.
With his discerning eyes, he could naturally see the sinister nature of this cultivation technique, which was different from the “Sword Refining Art.”
It was somewhat like the reverse.
After confirming that he was at least not in mortal danger, Li Chunsong breathed a sigh of relief.
He also quickly discovered that Chu Huaixu’s wounds were healing rapidly.
“What kind of evil cultivation technique is this! When did our Daoist Sect ever have such a technique?” His brow furrowed, and his tone sank as he began to criticize this cultivation method that treated people as less than human.
“Our Daoist Sect is a righteous sect, a lineage of the Dao Ancestor; there are still such insidious and ruthless mental cultivation methods on the mountain that I don’t even know about!”
“Hiss—cracking open and then healing, then cracking open again, and these red swellings…” He felt pain just looking at it.
In the Daoist Sect’s grand hall, the Daoist high-ranking officials also marveled.
Enforcement Elder Lu Pan spoke first.
“Does our sect have such a torturous cultivation technique? How come I don’t know about it?”
Chu Yinyin’s cute little face began to grimace, she felt pain just looking at it and started to shiver.
She suddenly felt that her own cultivation technique, though unpleasant, seemed acceptable compared to Chu Huaixu’s.
After a while, Chu Huaixu, who had been sitting cross-legged, finally opened his eyes.
Having been tormented by the bronze sword on the mountain, the fierceness in his heart had been completely ignited, and the anger had not yet subsided, so he didn’t even grit his teeth and scream, forcefully enduring the pain of the breakthrough.
The Spiritual Power within him became full again, the Divine Sense power in his sea of consciousness increased, the chaotic feeling finally dissipated, and his physical body also recovered considerably.
He could clearly feel that he had become stronger again.
The Spiritual Power within him was more surging, and the strength of his physical body had also increased significantly.
If he were to go up the mountain again now, he felt he would definitely perform better and be able to withstand the Spiritual Pressure for longer.
Upon opening his eyes and seeing Li Chunsong, he picked up the ancient sword sheath placed on his knees, stood up, and bowed: “Sixth Elder.”
The other party nodded, his eyes scanning the Daoist disciple before him.
Finally, he asked in a very serious tone:
“Chu Huaixu, what is this strange cultivation technique you are practicing?”
(Ps: Third update, still a ten-thousand-word update, seeking monthly votes!!)
I saw someone comment that I changed it to taking the bead because someone guessed I would take the sword sheath, but that’s not the case.
In Chapter 64, when the sword sheath was described for the first time, the bead was described in detail, and the foreshadowing was laid. There are other foreshadowing that will be filled in bit by bit later.
This book has a complete setting and outline, and I am not someone who will go against the grain just because readers guess it correctly, messing up my own settings and then being unable to round them out, which would be too unnecessary.
(End of this chapter)
