novelraw Chapter 46 Spiritual Tool Lu Wu Bell
Chapter 46 Spiritual Tool Lu Wu Bell
Chapter 46: Spiritual Tool Lu Wu Bell
Taking advantage of the lull, Song Changsheng returned once more to the formation’s core. With a wave of his hand, a set of formation flags and a dark yellow bronze bell floated up from beneath the ground.
After putting away the formation flags, he finally had the chance to examine the high-grade spiritual tool that had served as the array’s core.
Now shrunken, it resembled more of a small handbell. Etched on its surface was the image of a strange beast, with a human face and tiger claws, shaped like a fierce tiger, nine tails trailing behind it, radiating a majestic presence.
It was the image of the ancient divine beast, Lu Wu.
“Lu Wu Bell... from now on, you’ll follow me, alright?”
Song Changsheng gently caressed the bronze bell and murmured softly.
A faint glow emerged on the surface of the Lu Wu Bell, and the carved image of Lu Wu seemed to come to life, radiating a joyful energy.
“Seems like you’ve agreed. I swear I’ll be worthy of you,” Song Changsheng smiled slightly and stored the bell in his Qiankun pouch. The value of a high-grade spiritual tool was by no means inferior to the inheritance of the cave’s master.
Yet what puzzled him was that all indications suggested the cave’s owner had been a sword cultivator skilled in both arrays and refining tools. The three types of inheritance within the pouch supported this conclusion.
But would a sword cultivator’s life-bound spiritual tool be a bronze bell? Clearly impossible. This Lu Wu Bell seemed more like a formation tool he had refined for array use.
Which raised a question, where was this sword cultivator’s life-bound spirit sword? Or rather... who had it now?
Suddenly, Song Changsheng recalled the stone chamber he hadn’t entered. His eyes instinctively drifted to Xu Yunhe, who stood not far away. Could it have ended up in his hands?
That seemed quite likely.
But in the end, this would remain buried in his heart. If that stone chamber truly housed a spiritual tool even stronger than the Lu Wu Bell, then it only proved that fate had not destined it for him.
While he was deep in thought, Zhu Yiqun came walking over, cursing under his breath. “These blood demons were something else. I searched them all over, their Qiankun pouches are cleaner than my cooking pots. Apart from a bunch of demonic artifacts, there’s nothing.”
“That Foundation Establishment cultivator didn’t seem to be carrying a Qiankun pouch either. No idea if he didn’t bring one, or if that senior Niu took it.”
“You sure you’re not pocketing everything for yourself?” Song Changsheng teased with a grin.
“How could you slander me like that out of nowhere? Do I look like that kind of person?” Zhu Yiqun immediately put on an exaggerated expression of indignation, drawing hearty laughter from the two of them.
After the laughter, Zhu Yiqun tossed a pile of bloodstained demonic artifacts onto the ground and said, “Thirty-one pieces in total. Let’s divide them up.”
“These demonic artifacts aren’t exactly easy to offload,” Song Changsheng frowned. Though all were low-grade first-rank items, they could still fetch a decent number of spirit stones.
The real issue was disposal. Demonic artifacts were hard to get rid of. The few he’d seized previously were still lying around unused. If all else failed, he might have to melt them down.
Hearing this, Zhu Yiqun puffed his chest and said proudly, “That’s a minor issue, I’ve got channels. Look, if you trust me, I’ll handle it and we’ll split the proceeds evenly.”
“I trust Fellow Daoist Zhu’s character,” Xu Yunhe was the first to speak.
Song Changsheng nodded. “That works out perfectly. With such a large batch, we’d have trouble dealing with it ourselves anyway.”
“Don’t worry, old Zhu here will handle it cleanly and efficiently,” Zhu Yiqun grinned and packed up the artifacts.
“These blood demons were organized, there’s no way they were this impoverished. Their base of operations must be nearby. It’s just a shame we didn’t leave a single one alive,” Song Changsheng said, a bit regretfully.
The surrounding area was full of hills and dense forest. Trying to find a deliberately hidden demonic stronghold here was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
“Fate brings what it must. We’ve already gained enough,” Zhu Yiqun replied philosophically.
Song Changsheng nodded in acceptance. Then, a sudden thought struck him. “Right, we can’t just leave that senior’s remains here, can we?”
“We’ve received his legacy, so we must see that his remains are properly taken care of, lest they be desecrated by evil forces. And the remains and belongings of our fellow cultivators who perished alongside us must be taken care of as well.”
Zhu Yiqun, for once, grew solemn. Speaking of the fallen, his eyes even turned slightly red.
“Leave the senior’s remains to me,” Xu Yunhe, who had been silent until now, suddenly said.
Song Changsheng and Zhu Yiqun exchanged glances, then both nodded in agreement.
Xu Yunhe entered the cave to collect the remains. Watching his retreating figure, Zhu Yiqun sighed enviously. “This trip, Xu truly reaped the greatest rewards.
Though he lost an arm, his whole body radiates sword energy, sharp and restrained. Once he reaches Foundation Establishment, he’ll surely become a name known far and wide.”
“Each has their own fate. We’ve all gained a lot, shouldn’t be too greedy.”
“True enough. Eh? Someone else is coming?” Zhu Yiqun pointed toward the distant horizon.
Song Changsheng followed his gaze and saw a small black dot gradually growing larger. Focusing his eyes, he recognized Wang Wanzhou approaching on his flying sword.
Wang Wanzhou took in the battlefield’s aftermath with a heavy heart. He could sense that two cultivators on par with himself had fought fiercely here. He’d likely arrived a step too late.
His aged eyes swept the surroundings until they landed on Song Changsheng amidst the wreckage. He finally relaxed, flying over and stopping before him.
“I came a step late, but thank the heavens you’re unharmed. Otherwise, your grandfather might’ve stormed my command post in person,” Wang Wanzhou said.
Song Changsheng quickly bowed. “Great Uncle, your words are too weighty. Your arrival is more than I could ask for. I’ll be sure to report this to my grandfather and remember your timely assistance.”
“Hahaha, no need to be so formal. So, you ran into demonic cultivators, didn’t you? I can still sense blood demon energy lingering,” Wang Wanzhou’s gaze swept around, his tone grave.
Song Changsheng recounted the entire sequence of events in detail, everything except the cave’s treasures.
“I see. As the saying goes, fortune favors the virtuous, how fitting for you lot,” Wang Wanzhou said with emotion.
Song Changsheng hesitated slightly, then finally steeled himself to ask, “Great Uncle, since you’re a lifelong friend of my grandfather, might I ask, does our family have any sort of grudge with Falling Sunset City?”
Wang Wanzhou stared at him for a moment, then sighed. “I knew you’d ask that. But it’s really not my place to tell you. Ask your grandfather yourself, when the time comes.”
“It concerns Grandfather?” Song Changsheng frowned. Why had it never been mentioned before?
“Ah, no more about that. If your business here is finished, return to the market city with me. The Earthfire Sect was stirring up trouble when I left.”
Wang Wanzhou clearly had no intention of continuing that subject. After glancing at the setting sun, he turned to Song Changsheng and said.
Song Changsheng looked toward Zhu Yiqun. “Brother Zhu, are you coming with us, or…?”
Zhu Yiqun shrugged. “I’ve already sent word to my old man, he’s on his way to pick me up. If I don’t show, he’ll raise hell. You and the senior head back first. Yunhe and I will leave together.”
Seeing this, Song Changsheng didn’t insist. With a clasped-fist salute, he leapt onto Wang Wanzhou’s flying sword and began the return journey…
(Chapter End)