My Artifacts Can Upgrade Infinitely

Last night had been truly perilous. He had been a hair’s breadth away from being killed by Zhou Wushuang.

But he couldn’t blame anyone for what had happened. When they planned their attack, they’d completely overlooked the possibility of their target calling for backup. Or more accurately... the possibility that he could call for backup they couldn’t handle.

Zhao Zuo sighed inwardly. ’I wasn’t careful enough, in the end.’

"So... Younger Brother Zhao, was the poison effective?" Liu Heng asked tentatively.

"All I can say is that it wasn’t very useful."

During the initial phase of the fight, Zhao Zuo and Shen Yunjiao never even had a chance to poison their enemies. By the time they managed to, the effect was underwhelming. It was better than nothing, I suppose.

For one, Wu Fadu himself had high resistance to poison. For another, most of the poison had evaporated over the course of the fight, losing its potency.

"I see. In that case..." Liu Heng began, probing cautiously.

"I’ll pay you back the Spirit Stones for the poison," Zhao Zuo said, cutting straight to the point of Liu Heng’s unsubtle probing. Though the mission had been dangerous, the items he’d acquired were worth at least fifteen thousand Spirit Stones. Besides... he wasn’t about to go back on his word over a mere two thousand five hundred Spirit Stones.

"Haha, that’s not what I meant," Liu Heng said with an awkward laugh.

"Let’s just leave it at that." Zhao Zuo didn’t press the issue. He didn’t have many expectations or demands for Liu Heng. As long as he completed his assigned tasks, that was enough.

There was no need to be too demanding about other things. After all, it wasn’t like he was paying the man a salary.

Zhao Zuo got up, went to the kitchen to make a simple breakfast, then changed into a clean, gray Taoist Robe and left his residence. He planned to head to the Market to purchase advancement materials for his Source Water Pearl.

As for the Spirit Stones he owed Liu Heng, he’d deal with that after his custom Magical Artifact was successfully forged.

Some time ago, Zhao Zuo had submitted a request to the Inner Sect’s Earth Fire Hall to purchase an Upper Grade Magical Artifact. He only had to wait another three months before it would be his.

After leaving his home, Mana surged through Zhao Zuo’s body, and the Hundred-Change Mask immediately shifted his features into a new face.

The Moyun Market was as bustling as ever, with a constant stream of Cultivators coming and going. Today, the hot topic was last night’s battle: Chen Xiaorong had killed one of the Blood Stream Sect’s only two True Disciples, putting a definitive end to the chaos brought on by the Demon Cultivators.

Zhao Zuo listened for a moment and realized he was part of the story being told. In this version, he played a crucial role—disregarding his own safety, he had acted as bait to lure out the Blood Stream Sect’s True Disciple.

"A True Disciple of the Blood Stream Sect was killed by the Chief Venerate of the Punishment Hall, who fought across a whole Great Realm to do it. This isn’t over by a long shot."

Zhao Zuo suddenly stopped in his tracks, having overheard something that piqued his interest.

The two people talking were elderly men in the Late Period of Qi Cultivation, both appearing to be around seventy years old. Cultivation is like rowing a boat against the current; when the body’s Qi and Blood begin to decay with age and the Meridians start to atrophy, one’s Cultivation naturally begins to regress.

The two of them were clearly not as powerful as they had been in their youth. Coupled with their long absence from battle, they had lost some of their environmental awareness, which was why they failed to sense someone eavesdropping nearby.

"The death of the Blood Stream Sect’s True Disciple gives the Demon Path a legitimate reason to openly move against Chief Venerate Chen," the shorter of the two elders said with a sigh. "They’ll certainly use revenge as a pretext to send a Foundation Establishment Middle-Period expert to challenge her to a duel."

"Indeed. Something like this... happens every few decades. A promising talent on the verge of reaching the Golden Core Realm was destroyed by their schemes," the other man lamented, though he didn’t elaborate on the old affair.

"The Righteous Path is weakening. I don’t think this peace will last much longer."

Listening to the two elders’ conversation, Zhao Zuo connected it to what Chen Xiaorong had said about not staying in the Yunlan Mountain Range for the foreseeable future. He was beginning to understand everything.

Chen Xiaorong was planning to accept the duel and fight an enemy with a higher Cultivation... She must have foreseen this consequence before she killed Zhou Wushuang, yet she chose to act anyway.

She was willing to risk her own life to uphold her principles.

A pang of guilt struck Zhao Zuo. He was the one who had used the Communication Jade to call her for help, dragging her into this mess and burdening her with a fate that could lead to her death.

In truth, when he had called for help, he hadn’t considered the trouble it might cause for Chen Xiaorong at all. At that moment, his only thought had been survival.

’Is there anything I can do?’

’No.’

The guilt in his heart crashed against his state of Constant Calm like a roiling tide against a towering cliff, sending thunderous echoes through his mind.

But the cliff was an unshakeable bulwark. Before long... Zhao Zuo had regained his composure, dissolving all the negative emotions in his heart.

Since there was very little he could do right now, the only path left was to focus on getting stronger.

Zhao Zuo walked briskly into the Spirit Treasure Pavilion. Qing Ci, who happened to be free of customers, immediately came forward to greet him.

"I need to purchase five Lower-Grade Water Attribute Spiritual Objects. They need to be able to nourish the body, heal injuries, or nurture one’s Meridians and Dantian," Zhao Zuo quickly stated his needs.

"For healing injuries, I’d recommend Water Source Stone, Spring Crystal..."

About twenty minutes later, Zhao Zuo had completed his purchase. He spent three thousand seven hundred Spirit Stones on five types of Lower-Grade Water Attribute Spiritual Objects. Three of them had healing properties, while the other two were for Nourishing the Body. He didn’t find any that could nurture his Meridians or Dantian.

Qing Ci told Zhao Zuo that most Spiritual Objects for nurturing one’s Meridians were Wood Attribute, and their effects were quite weak—not even as good as a Lower-Grade Supporting Magical Artifact like a Clear Heart Jade Pendant...

Zhao Zuo already possessed an Upper-Grade Magical Artifact-level Clear Heart Jade Pendant, so he naturally had no need to buy another.

The rest of his journey was uneventful. Zhao Zuo passed through the Mist Array and entered the forest, where sunlight fell like a tapestry of interwoven light and shadow. Golden rays pierced through the gaps in the leaves, dappling the path.

Carved into the Black Stones lining the road were the teachings of the Moyun Sect’s ancestors.

After leaving the main road of the Outer Sect, Zhao Zuo came upon the winding paths of the Inner Sect. There, beneath a massive Black Stone inscribed with the teachings of a predecessor, he saw Chen Xiaorong.

She had her head tilted back, carefully observing the will contained within the sword marks on the Black Stone. Her eyes were strikingly clear, and under the sunlight, her snow-white skin seemed to glow with a golden light, making her look like a celestial maiden who had descended from the Immortal Realm.

Though she stood right there, she seemed a world away. He couldn’t sense any of the sharp aura of a Sword Cultivator from her; instead, she looked as pure and sweet as the girl next door.

For some reason, Zhao Zuo had a gut feeling that Chen Xiaorong was waiting for him.

"These Black Stones aren’t just carved with the teachings of our predecessors," Chen Xiaorong explained softly. "They also contain their proudest techniques and True Inheritances."

Zhao Zuo looked up at the Black Stone and saw that the writing on it was very simple.

"Supreme Justice Under Heaven."

The characters were comprised of just a few strokes, scattered as if hacked by an axe, yet they possessed a perfect harmony. A powerful aura washed over him from their surface, but unfortunately... Zhao Zuo couldn’t perceive the True Inheritance hidden within that aura.

"There are three Sword Moves hidden within it," Chen Xiaorong said. "I’ve studied them for a long time but have failed to learn them..."

"Then it must be an incredibly profound Swordsmanship to stump you," Zhao Zuo said, his tone light as he pulled his gaze away from the Black Stone.

"Not exactly... The three Sword Moves are very simple. The difficult part is the will they contain."

Sword Intent is a special kind of Energy born from the spirit. It’s like a variation of Divine Thought that has taken on a certain attribute, making it more offensive and sharp.

Unfortunately, this transformation cannot be taught; one can only comprehend it on their own. Therefore... no two Sword Intents in this world are exactly the same, just as no two snowflakes are identical.

Chen Xiaorong had spoken at length. It was the most she had ever said to him since they’d met, and it was all just to comfort him.

"I was waiting for you here because I wanted to tell you... I intended to kill the leader of this Demon Cultivator incident from the very beginning. The Demon Path set up this whole plot to kill me. Even if you hadn’t contacted me, the outcome would have been no different."

"Therefore, you don’t need to feel guilty or blame yourself."

.......