16. Acquiring the Magical Artifact

"I'm completely fine now; it's truly miraculous. Fengyun, how long have you studied qigong? You can actually use it to heal illness—it's unbelievable," said Teacher Chen, nodding.

"I've been practicing for two or three years. I didn't make much progress before, but only during the New Year did I improve. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to help," Chen Fengyun replied.

"Teacher Zhou, since there's still more than ten minutes left, could you please look after the classroom for me? I'll take Fengyun home to deal with that bronze mirror, so it doesn't harm anyone else next time," said Teacher Chen, asking the male teacher nearby to watch the class. She was ready to take Chen Fengyun to her house.

"I want to go too! I really want to see what that strange bronze mirror looks like," Zeng Yue followed them, curiously asking Chen Fengyun whether practicing qigong was easy and if he could teach her.

"Teacher Zeng, my qigong master always said that practicing qigong requires talent, and you have to start before you turn fifteen. If you're older, it's impossible," Fengyun replied evasively.

"Before fifteen? Does that mean you have to keep your body pure? I don't have a boyfriend yet, so I'm still pure. Can I practice?" she asked.

Chen Fengyun was speechless. He had often seen this Teacher Zeng pass by outside the classroom, always thinking she was beautiful with a sweet smile, but he never expected her to be such a whimsical young woman.

"Fengyun, how could a bronze mirror store so much cold energy? Is it really something supernatural?" At this point, Teacher Chen helped Fengyun out.

"Teacher, perhaps the bronze mirror was kept in a place with intense cold for a long time, so the chill seeped into it. I'll try to use my power to dissolve all the cold inside; then it can be used normally," Fengyun said.

"Fengyun, if you're not afraid of the cold, I'll give you the bronze mirror. After what happened today, I'm uneasy and don't dare keep it at home anymore," Teacher Chen said, still shaken, and after thinking for a moment, she felt embarrassed but spoke to Fengyun.

"Teacher Chen, didn't you say it was a gift from your grandfather? How can I take your possession?"

"Don't mention gifts. I'll settle accounts with him tonight. If he hadn't given me this, nothing would have happened today. Just do me a favor—throw it out or smash it, deal with it however you want, and I'll be grateful," Teacher Chen insisted.

Hearing this, Fengyun said nothing further. Soon they arrived at Teacher Chen's home. On her dressing table, he saw a palm-sized bronze mirror, shimmering with a bluish cold light. The surface was hazy, as if covered with a layer of frost.

"This bronze mirror is definitely strange. I can feel a chill just approaching it, without even touching," Zeng Yue stretched out her hand towards it, but pulled back immediately.

"Let me handle it," Fengyun said, inwardly delighted. He picked up the bronze mirror, and immediately his system vibrated, prompting him to absorb the mysterious yin energy within.

"Absorb," Fengyun thought, calmly drawing out all the yin energy from the mirror. At the same time, a wave of heat radiated from him, as if he were expelling the cold energy from the bronze mirror.

After a while, the heat faded, and the mirror returned to normal. What pleased Fengyun even more was that he gained four attribute points, now totaling seven.

"Artifact discovered: Mysterious Yin Mirror, Mortal-grade Sixth Tier. When activated with spiritual energy, it releases a wave of mysterious yin cold."

Fengyun was stunned. He never expected that this palm-sized bronze mirror was actually an artifact, and a weapon at that.

Now, even if Teacher Chen didn't give it to him, he would find a way to acquire it. He only had a flying sword and a formation banner, and the banner was only for support. With the bronze mirror, he gained another form of attack.

"Teacher Chen, how much did the bronze mirror cost? Let me buy it from you," Fengyun said, pretending to have finished dealing with it.

"My husband said he bought it at a night market in Xi'an. It wasn't expensive. I told you it's yours, no need for money. Besides, I should thank you for saving me. If I weren't your teacher, inviting a qigong master like you would cost a fortune, so please just accept it," Teacher Chen insisted, and Fengyun could not refuse.

"Chen Fengyun, are you sure I can't practice qigong? It's not easy to find a beautiful apprentice like me!" On the way back, Zeng Yue kept trying to persuade him, causing Fengyun a headache.

"Teacher Zeng, even though I've made some progress, I don't know how to teach apprentices, so I can't teach you," Fengyun declined decisively.

"I can improve my cultivation now," Fengyun thought, shaking off the eccentric teacher. On the way home, he raised his cultivation, instantly feeling spiritual energy flood his body, opening half his meridians. The spiritual energy running through his veins grew as fine as a little finger.

Advancing from the fourth to the fifth layer of qi practice cost five attribute points. After the breakthrough, Fengyun was left with two attribute points, which he decided to save.

At that moment, the attributes on Fengyun's cultivation system panel changed again:

Spiritual Root: Mortal-grade Tenth Tier
Spirit: Mortal-grade Tenth Tier
Cultivation: Qi Practice Fourth Layer
Techniques: Heaven and Earth Star-Burning Method (Mortal-grade Seventh Tier), Golden Bell Shield (Mortal-grade Seventh Tier)
Skills: Formation (Mortal-grade Seventh Tier)
Artifacts: Flying Sword (Mortal-grade Fifth Tier), Spirit-Gathering Banner (Mortal-grade Seventh Tier), Mysterious Yin Mirror (Mortal-grade Seventh Tier)
Attribute Points: None

After school, Fengyun didn't go home immediately. Instead, he rode his bike to a small grove in the park. Sensing that no one was around, he took out the Mysterious Yin Mirror to test its power.

"Whoosh..."

When Fengyun poured spiritual energy into it, the mirror emitted a white beam, shooting two meters ahead toward a tree. The white light instantly transformed into cold energy, frosting the trunk with a layer of white frost.

Fengyun touched it, feeling a biting chill—at least several degrees below freezing. If it struck a person, an ordinary person would be instantly frozen stiff.

Even a cultivator, if caught off guard, would be slowed by such a freezing attack. It was clearly a perfect tool for ambush, and Fengyun was overjoyed at his luck.

He experimented several more times and found that varying the amount of spiritual energy changed the mirror's range and chill. At its farthest, it could reach five or six meters, freezing four or five trees at once.

Through repeated tests, Fengyun mastered the mirror's usage. He was delighted; as a cultivator, having only a flying sword had been embarrassing. Now, with the Mysterious Yin Mirror, at least he could hold his own.

Of course, Fengyun had no idea if there were other cultivators in this world. He felt there must be, though very few, and meeting one would be unlikely.