Chapter 2293: Master Above_5

Seeing Sheng Yanlin’s emotions somewhat low, perhaps thinking about the bits and pieces of his past relationship with his own brother Sheng Jingxuan, Yang Xiao immediately changed the topic:

“Elder Sheng, how do you plan to deal with those people from Gu Ji?” These are the elite of the Bone Painting Tower, especially the Thousand Bone Hand Gu Ji, who is a notable expert among them and has a distinguished status. Their handling must be careful.

“First, we will detain them for a while. I think soon the Bone Painting Tower will send someone to negotiate, but when the time comes, I’ll make sure to give them a good hit. Besides…” Sheng Yanlin paused, “You killed the Master of Ruyi Sect, that man was the adopted son of the Big House Master. This matter can be either big or small; I must ensure they agree, so that this matter ends here without any further repercussions.”

“I’m with the Patrol Defense Office, would they dare to trouble me?” Yang Xiao asked.

“Officially, certainly not, but privately it’s hard to say. The Bone Painting Tower itself is restless, halfway between dark and light, closely associated with both the Union and Chamber of Commerce, not an easy entity to relate to.” Sheng Yanlin, an old hand in the world of martial arts, sees things more comprehensively.

Sheng Yanlin then asked Yang Xiao to recount the process of his confrontation with the Master of Ruyi Sect, even making Sheng Yanlin sigh repeatedly upon hearing the opponent’s numerous tricks.

Sheng Yanlin knew the Master of Ruyi Sect would be hard to deal with from the start, but he didn’t expect it to be so troublesome. If it were a typical Peak of Ghost Level, he wouldn’t have the qualification to entangle with Yang Xiao; lasting ten rounds would already be considered absolute mastery.

Currently, besides Yang Xiao’s own good fortune, he has both a samurai puppet and a Mirror Ghost assisting him. With Yang Xiao’s power rising, the power of these two also witnessed an explosive growth.

Upon hearing the opponent actually had a strange hourglass capable of boosting power significantly, Sheng Yanlin became even more interested, urging Yang Xiao to take out the treasure for him to see.

In the next moment, Yang Xiao controlled the samurai puppet to take out the hourglass and the Jade Ruyi.

The Master of Ruyi Sect was indeed very strong, carrying as many as four Magic Artifacts, which is more than the Great Protector of Withered Bone Pavilion at Half-step Nether Realm.

The hourglass, Jade Ruyi, a piece of clothing, and a surgical knife—the surgical knife was a space-type Magical Artifact; unfortunately, in the end, Yang Xiao couldn’t control the Ring-Headed Saber in his hand, leading to the loss of this treasure.

Every time he thought of this, Yang Xiao’s heart ached, like losing a billion.

Taking up the hourglass, Sheng Yanlin inspected it repeatedly—it’s a semi-transparent glass hourglass, elegant and intricately designed, not of domestic style, seemingly a product from Western Europe.

The surface of the glass cover gleamed with a dull yellow, like it’s plated with a layer of copper film. Upon closer look, engravings can be seen on it.

But due to the passage of time, the engravings have already become blurry.

Nevertheless, the well-traveled Sheng Yanlin still recognized the extraordinary nature of this item, “This is the Western European Church Court’s object; it bears their distinctive mark.”

Sheng Yanlin pointed it out to Yang Xiao, who used a magnifying glass and faintly noticed an almost flattened cross engraving at the bottom.

“This thing is indeed exceptional; it’s the Church’s cursed object, typically a very dangerous Resentful Eye. This imprint is to warn future generations not to rashly control it.” Sheng Yanlin frowned.

“How did the Church’s cursed object end up on him?” Yang Xiao questioned curiously.

“It’s the Bone Painting Tower.” Sheng Yanlin put down the magnifying glass and, after some thought, said, “This item is very difficult for the Master of Ruyi Sect to obtain alone; it’s given to him by the Bone Painting Tower.”

“Bone Painting Tower specializes in Corpse Refining and Corpse Control. They not only gather bodies domestically but also abroad. I think they must have used the Chamber of Commerce’s channels to smuggle it from Western Europe.”

Yang Xiao found this increasingly familiar; suddenly, he remembered that it was just like what Tong Han had told him before, that ring was also smuggled by the Chamber of Commerce from Western Europe.

After hearing Yang Xiao’s description of the Master of Ruyi Sect, Sheng Yanlin boldly deduced that the object could cause an explosive increase in the controller’s strength because the hourglass sealed a ghost within.

Once the hourglass is turned, it’s akin to making a pact with the ghost, borrowing the ghost’s power temporarily, similar to inviting a ghost to possess one’s body.

This also explained why the Master of Ruyi Sect’s appearance became so horrifying at the time.

Domestically, there are similar methods, but such items are always considered taboo, as it’s easy to invite the deity but hard to send them away. Once out of control, it could lead to a counterattack by the ghost within the Resentful Eye.

This type of backlash is distinct from ordinary Resentful Eye’s backlash; it’s more direct and intense, possibly erasing one’s sanity in an instant, turning them into a mindless killing machine.

Through the fighting style of the Master of Ruyi Sect, Sheng Yanlin also speculated that this item was highly unstable, needing to be hidden well before a battle; otherwise, its techniques are vulnerable to being broken by the opponent.

The breaking method is quite simple too; as long as the hourglass is touched, the original black sand inside would leak at a rapid pace.

Back then, Yang Xiao used this trick to break the opponent’s technique.

However, Sheng Yanlin offered a different insight, telling Yang Xiao he was too soft-hearted; had he instantly overturned the hourglass, letting the sand flow backwards, it could have been much more than merely breaking the technique; the opponent might have been instantly counterattacked by the ghost within the hourglass.

What consequences it may lead to Sheng Yanlin could not say for sure, but in any case, death might be the lightest punishment.

Yang Xiao also understood; this thing is very useful for boosting strength, capable of unleashing surprising combat power in desperate situations, but its shortcomings are also apparent. First, it’s extremely dangerous and hard to control; secondly, once targeted, the outcome would be very miserable.