Archfiend

Chapter 260: The Ketu-Rahu Sword (4)

Xu Yangyi stubbornly roused his mind and immediately looked at his left arm in shock. However, he actually discovered that the arm bone was already growing from where his arm had been severed!

At this moment, the severed black arm… truly seemed like a living organism! No… right now, it WAS a living organism! This was because his stunned eyes saw that in the place his wound and the arm bone interfaced, the arm bone seemed to be creeping in sliver by sliver. It didn’t require Gao Muya to take action. To his surprise, the arm was joining completely together with him!

“Alive… Alive… It’s alive! IT’S ALIVE!!!” Gao Muya was even more shocked than Xu Yangyi, the grand artificer’s entire body quivering. He pointed at the arm bone and cried out in surprise. In the sky, the forty Foundation Establishment cultivators looked on together with wide eyes, yet they didn’t even voice a single cry of alarm.

The scene before them was too strange. This remnant from the end of the Han dynasty over 2,000 years ago was actually alive! Like a plant in a false-death state, it completely covered Xu Yangyi’s left arm!

A heavenly treasure that could survive for so long… had never been heard of! Yet it had also never been heard… that a demon’s arm bone was actually a living organism!

Xu Yangyi took a deep breath. Compared to Gao Muya, he took hold of himself and calmed down much faster. Although he didn’t want to admit some things, he knew these facts existed.

Such as… when his entire body sprouted tree leaves when he was at the Four Great Joint Pools.

And at the time he stuffed Wei Zhongxian’s mouth… a vine had shot out from his hand.

He’d never investigated what these things really were. Perhaps the answer was obvious, or maybe it wasn’t like what Li Zongyuan had said. He was unwilling to look into it. He couldn’t look into it.

If he truly was like that, then what was he considered?

Xu Yangyi had buried these questions in the deepest abyss at the bottom of his heart. He never touched upon these matters and avoided doing so. His thoughts that involved these things were subconsciously by-passed at once.

But now, he simply couldn’t twist around them. Yes, Gao Muya didn’t have any reaction towards the arm, but he had resonated with it. There was a chance… Only this reason!

Two demons who had achieved essence from plants… didn’t mutually reject each other!

Xu Yangyi didn’t speak, his face heavy like water. He tried moving his left arm yet discovered that it was perfectly effortless, like how the arm moved the finger. There wasn’t a shred of unnaturalness.

“Branchmaster… Xu?” Gao Muya forced himself to calm down and asked shakily. Indeed, he dared not confirm who the person in front of him was at this moment.

In that instant moments ago, Xu Yangyi’s reaction was like he’d suffered a forced possession. It wasn’t a question… that the person before him could exterminate him ten thousand times!

“Senior.” Xu Yangyi stowed his gaze. “It’s me.”

Gao Muya made a long sigh in relief. He studied Xu Yangyi’s arm in disbelief. “Why… This is impossible… I’ve refined artifacts all my life. There’s no demonbeast or demon-cultivator bone that I haven’t encountered, but I’ve never seen such a weird object…”

Xu Yangyi gazed deeply at his left arm. After a brief moment, he said lowly, “Senior, this… is the Ketu-Rahu Sword?”

He didn’t feel a scrap of might. Presently, it only allowed him to form seals again and nothing more.

Gao Muya looked at him in astonishment. “Don’t tell me… you’re not worried?”

“Things have already come this far, what’s the point in worrying?” Xu Yangyi laughed wryly as he looked at the black arm. “What Junior is more worried about… is what will happen once I take it.”

Gao Muya stared blankly, and his expression immediately became respectful. He unexpectedly cupped hands towards Xu Yangyi. “If young friend says so, then this old man is the same.”

“This actually isn’t the Ketu-Rahu Sword.” As Gao Muya finished speaking these words, his expression was already towering like a high mountain, free and at ease. “The so-called Ketu-Rahu Sword uses this object as the framework. With the addition of artificing and talismans, these two Daos harmonize and form a supreme magik artifact. There’s only one method of offense, and that’s the shortsword hidden in the arm bone.”

“But… while it may seem to only be this sword, its might far transcends other sword arts! According to the blueprint, all the nodes on the arm bone create a resonance with the sword. Once it’s unsheathed… Forget it, even if you listened to these specialist matters, you still wouldn’t understand. You only need to remember that this treasure contains a sword, a shield, and wings. This trio of arcane efforts: attack, defense, and speed unite as one. Each one’s might is leagues beyond any Qi Condensation magik artifact! It could even be called… a Qi Condensation magik treasure!”

“Qi Condensation magik treasure?” Xu Yangyi’s gaze brightened, and he looked at his black arm and asked.

“That’s right. Although it’s a magik artifact… its level of durability, arcane-effort capability, and function are enough to match a late-stage Foundation Establishment magik treasure! It can be said to be the greatest killing tool in the Qi Condensation realm! There’s nothing like it! Originally, its selection conditions were quite harsh. I had already drawn up for you a set of screening procedures ranging from the physical body to spiritual sense, but now I see…”

He eyed Xu Yangyi’s left arm complicatedly and sighed. He spoke no further.

Disaster and fortune relied upon each other. Disaster and fortune could mutually shelter each other… Such weird circumstances that not even he had seen. He truly didn’t know… whether this was fortune or disaster… 

Xu Yangyi nodded, but didn’t think himself to be unrivaled in the Qi Condensation realm because of this. An even better sword could only become famous if placed in the hands of a supreme swordsman. There were never sayings heard about some cultivator becoming unchallenged in the world after gaining some strange treasure. Things weren’t so simple as having a bladed weapon to reign absolute.

All living things in the world were relative to each other. The Ketu-Rahu Sword’s might was so powerful. A corresponding mobilization of qi would attain a horrific numeric value. 

Or perhaps… he only had the chance for one attack. Furthermore, this blow had to be selected from among the three forms of sword, shield, and wings. If the slightest error occurred in situational judgement, it would lead to a terrible aftermath. 

“What’s required?” Xu Yangyi settled his mind and continued to ask.

“First of all… the Ketu-Rahu Sword is a magik treasure. Only because you haven’t stepped into late-stage Foundation Establishment is it only a magik artifact. This is considering that you aren’t capable of mobilizing a magik treasure’s spiritual force.” Speaking about his speciality, the passion in Gao Muya’s eyes roiled and heated up a little bit more. “So if you want to forge this treasure, you must have a magik treasure embryo. Greater durability is better. This is for making upgrade preparations later on. As of now, you can’t obtain this kind of item. The Featherwood Guard’s merit system also doesn’t have real good magik treasures. In order to pair up with this thousand-year-old bone, you can go ask Daomaster Ancient… Young friend, do you have something you want to say?”

Xu Yangyi nodded and said with a smile yet not a smile, “But I want to keep a few things secrets.”

“Sure.” Gao Muya waved his hand. In the blink of an eye, the sky screen disappeared from view. All that was seen was the room’s roof. 

Xu Yangyi laughed, “A magik treasure embryo? The harder, the better?”

“That’s right.” Gao Muya sat in his chair with a loud whoosh and his eyes also started to curve. With a snap, a red jade chest appeared out of nowhere. “You can’t get an item like that with your status, but after that girl Quan told me on the phone, I’ve got a collection here… W-W-What is that?! How could you have something like THAT?!”

In the next second, multicolored brilliance illuminated the room. Before Gao Muya’s voice even fell, he’d already charged over a step and wrested away the fist-sized, five-colored stone that appeared in Xu Yangyi’s hand. The wrinkles on his face were shaking in turmoil, and his beard was disheveled as if it was in the wind. He wanted to toss and turn the stone over, yet he simply dared not use a great margin of strength, fearing that the beautiful dream before his eyes would crumble!

“Heavenmend Stone… Heavenmend Stone?! There’s actually a piece THIS big in the world?! I can’t even buy a gram for 100,000 spirit stones! Y-You actually have such a large piece!!! Impossible… This is a dream… This has to be a dream!!!”

Even the faint trace of a grand master’s aura had entirely disappeared from Gao Muya’s body. He himself wasn’t a grand master that placed a lot of importance in style, but this Heavenmend Stone in front of him caused him to completely forget himself!

A grand artificer’s ultimate dream wasn’t to be wealthy or have a great realm. Instead, it was to create a divine artifact that had never existed! To touch the myriad precious materials in the world! And the Heavenmend Stone was absolutely considered a precious object among precious objects! It was no exaggeration to say that it was supreme, like the best scholars who passed the imperial examination!

“Senior.” Xu Yangyi’s voice dragged Gao Muya out from his extreme excitement. “This Heavenmend Stone will be my magik treasure embryo, how about it?”

“AN EXTRAVAGANT WASTE!!!” Just as Xu Yangyi’s voice fell, he was interrupted by Gao Muya’s furious howl. “A gram of Heavenmend Stone can upgrade a magik treasure by one level! 100% success!!! How many artificers have only heard of this name?! I originally didn’t even think that this object existed! But my master saw it somewhere once! But that time… it was only the size of a fingernail! Besides that one time, I’ve never seen it in my 170+ years of cultivation to this day! How many people haven’t heard of it?! You actually want to use all of it to forge a prime magik treasure?!”

“This item… how about selling it to this old man?” Finished bellowing, he immediately switched over to a grin, actually sitting in front of Xu Yangyi with a smile on his face. Like an elderly neighbor, he tugged at Xu Yangyi’s hand, his words meaningful and heartfelt. “As long as you sell it to me, I won’t take a cent this time! And, I’ll promise you three conditions! As long as you say something, I’ll do it!”

“Senior…”

“Plus! I’ll defend you until half-step Core Formation! No one will risk acting against you! As long as you nod, I’ll immediately call a reporters’ conference! What do you think?!”

“Senior, I’ve already made up my mind.” Xu Yangyi shook his head. “The Heavenmend Stone will be my prime magik treasure.”

Xu Yangyi’s expression was staunch. Gao Muya took a long sigh, but just as he was about to open his mouth, Xu Yangyi followed and said, “But, after the forging is done, I can give Senior the rest of the Heavenmend Stone.”

What?!

Having already just fallen to the valley floor, Gao Muya began to laugh again very soon and said quickly, “Then it would be impolite for old me to refuse.”

There wasn’t even a form of rejection! Gao Muya was afraid that Xu Yangyi would change his tune!

“I can handle business and give you a 50% discount this time.” In a flash, the Heavenmend Stone ignited all of Gao Muya’s fighting spirit. He clasped his tea cup and laughed, “Not to speak of me digging out my sect, the Ketu-Rahu Sword can be said to be the most powerful bodily magik treasure since the Nation’s Founding. How can it just stop at one required material? The Heavenmend Stone will be used to thoroughly transform this arm bone into a magik treasure. I guarantee that after the Heavenmend Stone and this arm bone is fused, its durability… might directly pressure a Core Formation master’s magik treasure!”

“But, this is only the ‘bone’ material. An arm just can’t be the framework alone. Next, we’ll have to talk about ‘flesh’.” He laughed as he set down the tea cup. “This requires spirit plants, the higher the grade, the better. Plants that can act as skin for a magik prosthesis. No limit on the more perfect it is. Little girl Quan’s skin is almost all A-rank spirit plants. Right now, you still can’t obtain these spirit plants.”

Xu Yangyi nodded. “Is there a requirement on size?”