Chapter 529: A Spiritual Treasure Fusing Technology and Cultivation
On the arena stage, over one hundred ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators stood facing each other, each holding spiritual treasures crafted by various artifact refiners.
Limited by both refining materials and the cultivators’ Foundation Establishment level, these spiritual treasures were the lowest grade magical artifacts, just barely suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators to use.
The cultivator representing the Luban Sect Master faced off against the cultivator representing the Luban Sect Elder.
“Sect Master, what exactly have you crafted? It looks remarkably like a gun,” the Luban Sect Master and Elder conversed from below the stage.
The Luban Sect Master nodded. “These are twin pistols I designed based on references from the Mingzhong World. They use spiritual energy as propulsion, with far greater power than gunpowder weapons.”
The Foundation Establishment cultivator wielded the twin pistols with somewhat awkward movements, unfamiliar with this hybrid product combining technology and cultivation.
Bang, bang, bang, bang—
Four spiritual energy bullets struck the cultivator representing the Luban Sect Elder, who wore armor that only dented under the bullet impacts.
As the two Foundation Establishment cultivators battled, the one representing the Luban Sect Master found himself at a disadvantage, unable to pose any real threat to his opponent.
“Haha, Sect Master, your weapons just don’t cut it! They can’t even penetrate my defense—the bullet power is too weak,” the Luban Sect Elder chuckled with amusement. “If you’d crafted a high-power weapon, my armor definitely couldn’t withstand it. Pity you didn’t.”
Just as the Luban Sect Elder was reveling in schadenfreude, the battle situation suddenly shifted.
The two pistols disassembled, transformed, and merged into a small rocket launcher.
Pouring spiritual energy into it—BOOM!
A spiritual energy shell launched forth, causing the Luban Sect Elder’s expression to drastically change as he swiftly intervened to block the projectile.
The power of this shell absolutely exceeded what his crafted armor could withstand.
“Elder Sun, I told you before—you shouldn’t speak so absolutely.”
“Before the battle began, I instructed this young cultivator to fire a few test shots first to check accuracy, then identify weak points based on where the bullets hit the armor, and finally merge the twin pistols to fire the small shell.”
The Luban Sect Master spoke with a cheerful laugh.
The Elder shook his head helplessly. “After all, I still can’t match the Sect Master.”
The Luban Sect Master emerged victorious.
……
“Peak Master Tang Ben, that small shield you crafted may be sturdy, but this young cultivator clearly isn’t skilled with shield use. The slightest mistake will mean defeat against the sword I crafted.”
“As if the cultivator representing you knows how to use a sword either,” Tang Ben retorted with an eye roll.
“Whether he can use it or not, I don’t know. I only know offense definitely has higher winning odds than defense.”
Tang Ben conversed with an artifact refining master.
Just as this refining master predicted, the cultivator representing Tang Ben dodged with desperate urgency, coming within a hair’s breadth of being slashed several times.
The refining master felt victory was within grasp when he saw his opponent stumble and fall—impossible to avoid this sword strike.
Unexpectedly, the small shield transformed into particles that adhered to the skin, precisely appearing where the sword thrust was aimed.
The small shield moved as if possessing life itself, continuously shifting positions as the cultivator representing the refining master thrust several times, all strikes being blocked.
“What… what is this?” The refining master had never seen such a spiritual treasure.
“A product combining nanotechnology with spiritual treasures. It can detect enemy movements and activate automatic defense.”
As the small shield revealed its true capabilities, the battle situation transformed. The shield adhered to the cultivator’s palm, who then clapped both hands together, trapping the striking sword between them before wresting it away.
With both sword and shield in hand, continuing the fight became unnecessary.
Tang Ben emerged victorious.
Before leaving, Tang Ben patted the refining master’s shoulder. “If you’re feeling discouraged, you might visit the Mingzhong World. You could gain unexpected insights there.”
……
“Here, just follow my instructions.” Ji Zhi handed an ordinary iron rod to the young cultivator representing him, then offered additional guidance.
The young cultivator looked utterly bewildered but still followed Ji Zhi’s arrangements.
“Let me think—first, crouch down immediately after the match begins.”
The opponent threw a punch that missed as the young cultivator crouched.
“Then sweep the iron rod against his calves, and roll backward twice.”
The opponent tripped over the iron rod, stumbling forward while spitting two iron needles from his mouth.
The young cultivator dodged this hidden weapon attack, continuing to murmur: “Rise up while turning sideways, throw a punch forward.”
“After two breaths, jump upward.”
“Rotate the iron rod four times at maximum speed.”
The young cultivator spun the iron rod, deflecting several hidden weapons.
“After four breaths, take five steps to the left.”
The opponent opened his palm, revealing iron filings that he scattered toward the young cultivator, who had foreseen this and already moved away, leaving the swirling iron filings to fall on empty air.
The artifact master who crafted the hidden weapons grew furious and exasperated. His concealed weapons had never failed him, having injured countless opponents—he never imagined failing here.
The young cultivator subdued his opponent using the iron rod. Ji Zhi emerged victorious.
……
“You crafted a simple rod?” A young artifact refiner saw nothing remarkable about Bai Hongtu’s weapon and couldn’t understand his opponent’s intentions.
Once the two young cultivators engaged on the arena, the young artifact refiner immediately sensed something amiss.
As the opponent’s rod swung down, the cultivator representing him blocked the strike, causing the arena platform to crack.
Another rod strike followed, smashing the cultivator representing him feet-first into the arena surface.
“This is impossible! Their strength should be roughly equal—there shouldn’t be such a huge difference right from the first exchange.”
The young artifact refiner watched the battle intently, quickly discerning the reason.
“It’s the weight! This rod weighs a thousand jun!”
The iron rod possessed no fancy functions—its sole purpose was being incredibly heavy.
Yet the young artifact refiner still couldn’t comprehend how a rod weighing a thousand jun could be wielded as a weapon by a young cultivator.
“Deploy the secret weapon!” the young artifact refiner shouted. The cultivator representing him produced a powerful magnet.
Since he couldn’t win through combat, he would seize the weapon!
Once the weapon came to his side, victory would be assured however he wanted it.
The iron rod flew uncontrollably toward the opposite side.
A thousand-jun iron rod flying at high speed toward the opponent—the result was predictable. The opponent was directly sent flying.
Without the magnet serving as a buffer, this impact would have kept the opponent bedridden for six months.
Of course, Yu Yin wouldn’t allow such things to occur. If anyone truly got injured during competitions, there would naturally be remedies and compensation methods.
“My Thousand-Jun Rod isn’t just about weight. When the weapon’s wielder holds it, it becomes extremely light, but if anyone else holds it, or when it strikes others, it reverts to its original weight.”
Bai Hongtu’s status as the Nine Provinces’ second greatest artifact refiner wasn’t an empty boast.
“Fortunately, I didn’t use Jiang Li’s statue—otherwise the opponent’s magnet would have attracted both statue and person, ultimately defeating the cultivator representing me.” Bai Hongtu felt relieved he’d changed strategies, drawing inspiration from Jiang Li’s telling of “Journey to the West” to craft this miraculous rod.
Jiang Li hadn’t memorized the complete “Journey to the West,” but he had recounted the stories to Bai Hongtu.
“See? I’ve always said my luck remains excellent.”
As long as he didn’t encounter Jiang Li, everything in Bai Hongtu’s life proceeded smoothly with favorable winds.
When encountering Jiang Li, Bai Hongtu found himself advancing against contrary winds.