Volume Two: The Weapons Register Chapter 120: First Encounter with the Shangguan Family
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“Who... are you?”
He Qingyan could feel the vitality draining from his body. With the horsetail whisk having pierced his vitals, there was no hope of saving him.
After struggling to turn around, he saw that the one who had ambushed him was a strange man wearing a mask. When the latter had fought the Ninth Elder earlier, he had silently hidden in a corner without making a sound. Though both sides had sensed a trace of his presence, neither had paid it any attention.
There were countless swordsmen inside the Azure Dragon Tower, and this man was hardly the only one. Since he showed no intention of attacking, He Qingyan had thought nothing of him. Who could have imagined that the stranger would be able to control the horsetail whisk and turn it against him?
The mask bore the image of a mountain deer. This species, which lived among rugged belts of broken stone, possessed distinctive angular antlers. Hardy and fierce by nature, it was one of the exceedingly rare aggressive herbivores.
“Who I am is unimportant. I’m here to collect the Carefree Horsetail Whisk.” Mountain Deer slowly approached. With every step he took, another strand of blue silk from the whisk drove deeper into He Qingyan’s body. Some had already pierced through his back, sending fresh blood spraying into the air.
Knowing he would not survive, He Qingyan laboriously raised his right hand and clenched it with all his remaining strength toward the three cocoons suspended in midair. The Ninth Elder inside let out a shriek before transforming into a torrential rain of blood.
Mountain Deer applauded approvingly. “Your great vengeance has been avenged. Congratulations.”
“Cough... Take the whisk and go. Spare me your insincere remarks.”
He Qingyan sank to his knees and collapsed face-first onto the ground, unable to rise again. Though he still gasped for breath, he was merely hanging on by a thread. Mountain Deer moved a finger, and a hundred strands of blue silk tore out through He Qingyan’s chest. His eyes rolled back, and he died instantly.
“Little sister? He’s dead already, so hurry up and seal the whisk. I need to change clothes. You’ve gotten blood all over me!”
The gray robe Mountain Deer wore had been dyed red with blood. He was somewhat fastidious, so he took a clean gray robe from his cosmos pouch. Its material and workmanship were identical to those of the one he wore.
At the sound of his voice, a young girl came running out from behind the door. She was Shangguan Baozi, who had been on her way to report to the Weapon Tomb outpost in Earthen Mound City. She had just been about to hand over the Treasure Basin when she unexpectedly encountered her cousin from the Shangguan family, who had brought her to the Heaven-Gazing Court without giving her a choice.
Her stomach rumbled loudly. As she took out a fresh talisman and pasted it onto the horsetail whisk, Shangguan Baozi’s body swayed, and her expression immediately grew troubled.
“Cousin, the whisk is too powerful. I don’t have enough magic power to seal it.”
She had come along without eating or drinking, so her magic power was naturally running low. The Carefree Horsetail Whisk was considerably stronger than the Treasure Basin, and she could not seal it by herself.
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After losing its master and sensing danger approaching, the horsetail whisk swiftly regained its ability to move. Its blue strands shuddered, easily tearing through the talisman as it attempted to flee.
Mountain Deer had just changed into his gray robe. He turned and pointed at the whisk. “Get down here! You think you can escape right under my nose? Little sister, what are you doing? You can’t even deal with an ownerless weapon? You should never have become a spirit-binding master!”
“I only haven’t eaten, so my magic power is a little low. Once I’ve had a proper meal, I’ll definitely be able to seal it...” Shangguan Baozi spoke timidly. She was frightened of her family from the bottom of her heart. Having been bullied throughout her childhood, she did not dare resist any of her peers.
She had been adopted and had neither father nor mother to rely on. She had struggled to survive in the cracks between others, and whenever she thought of it, tears would fill her eyes in the dead of night.
Her cousin flung a bright red pill at her. “Eat this and continue sealing the whisk. Stop wasting time!”
“But this pill has side effects. If you let me rest for a while, my magic power will recover.” Shangguan Baozi dared not eat it. The pill increased one’s magic power for a short time by squeezing one’s latent potential, but the damage it inflicted on one’s spiritual roots was considerable.
Pills that increased one’s strength were ultimately external aids. If a cultivator relied too heavily on such methods, advancing to a higher realm afterward would become as difficult as climbing to heaven.
Seeing that Shangguan Baozi was unwilling to eat it, her cousin’s temper flared. “I told you to eat it, so eat it. Why are you spouting so much nonsense? If you didn’t bear the Weapon Tomb’s mark, I’d crush you along with it! Hurry up and seal the whisk!”
“The girl said she doesn’t want to eat it, yet you’re forcing the pill down her throat. Are you really her cousin?”
A questioning voice came from the passageway, drawing nearer.
Under Little Gold’s guidance, Liu Xiaoyi had finally reached the chamber where the formation spirit resided without taking too many wrong turns. He had heard the sound of an argument before entering. When he stepped inside, he discovered that it was Shangguan Baozi, accompanied by a mountain-deer spirit-binding master.
“This is a family matter. It’s none of an outsider’s concern!”
“An outsider? We’re her friends. Besides, she has neither father nor mother, so what relatives could she have? Did this wild cousin spring from a crack in a stone?”
Meng Qiaoqiao waved repeatedly to Shangguan Baozi. The latter burst into tears and threw herself into Meng Qiaoqiao’s arms, tossing the pill onto the ground. Meng Qiaoqiao crushed it beneath her foot.
“Oh? So today you truly intend to oppose me, Shangguan Qian?”
The Shangguan family was a formidable clan within the Weapon Tomb, blessed with abundant descendants and a steady stream of outstanding talents. Over time, this had caused the younger members of the family to grow arrogant, unruly, and overbearing.
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Shangguan Qian relied on his status and was accustomed to acting domineeringly. He did not regard Liu Xiaoyi in the slightest. An Earth Soul cultivator at the sixth level—what was there to fear?
“Then let our hands decide the truth! Be careful!”
Liu Xiaoyi drew his sword with his left hand. The black scabbard, transformed from a divine weapon, released a mysterious fluctuation. Shangguan Qian did not know what it meant, but the magic power throughout his body suddenly tightened, and he immediately realized that something was wrong.
A golden edge traced the outer layer of the Green Radiance Sword’s brilliance. With a single thrust, it easily pierced through Shangguan Qian’s defenses and advanced to within inches of his face.
Shangguan Qian spread both arms to either side and condensed a long whip. It wrapped around the Green Radiance Sword, and while the blade was momentarily restrained, Shangguan Qian pointed at it.
“All weapons return to their source. Precious sword, heed my command. Strike down the enemy!”
The Green Radiance Sword immediately broke free of Liu Xiaoyi’s control. It tore itself from his hand and instead swung toward his head.
“Be careful! My cousin can control other people’s weapons!” Shangguan Baozi cried out when she saw this.
Such an ability was truly rare. Not only had Liu Xiaoyi never encountered it, no one present had ever heard of a person capable of controlling a weapon in someone else’s hand.
Had He Qingyan known about this ability, he would not have died such a miserable death.
The Green Radiance Sword trembled, only to be blocked by the flying scabbard. Shangguan Qian crooked his finger again, then discovered that the Green Radiance Sword had actually been drawn back into its scabbard and no longer obeyed his command.
How was that possible? He could even control spirit weapons listed in the Weapon Register, yet he could do nothing against this Green Radiance Sword?
“Now let’s see what other tricks you have!”
Liu Xiaoyi did not draw the sword. Taking the scabbard and sword together, he wielded them like a club and swung them at Shangguan Qian once more.
The scabbard was even stronger than the sword! Even when Shangguan Qian condensed other weapons to block it, he was still beaten backward step by step.
“Don’t hit my face! Ow!”
Shangguan Qian’s face was battered and swollen as he was smashed from midair onto the ground. Liu Xiaoyi raised both arms, swung the scabbard overhead, and brought it down with all his strength upon Shangguan Qian’s head.
A pillar of light burst from the scabbard, flashed briefly, pierced through the roof of the Azure Dragon Tower, and shot straight into the heavens.
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