Chapter 175 - 170: Innate Divine Weapon

Chapter 175: Chapter 170: Innate Divine Weapon

Shen Dujiang stood in place, his gaze fixed on the courtyard gate.

He then turned and walked toward Chen Yue.

His steps were still unsteady, but he held his back ramrod straight. Shen Dujiang walked up to Chen Yue, stopped, and took a deep breath. Then, he bent at the waist, about to perform a deep bow.

This was a gesture of profound respect.

But before he could bend any further, a pair of hands firmly stopped him.

"There’s no need for that."

Chen Yue’s voice was soft. "In all of Youlin County, only the four of us remain. There’s no need for such formalities between us!"

Shen Dujiang raised his head and looked at Chen Yue. His mouth moved, as if he wanted to say something, but it felt like something was caught in his throat, and no sound came out.

A moment later, they each returned to their rooms.

The night grew deeper. The moon had already shifted to the western horizon, casting its last silvery glow on the courtyard’s bluestone floor.

A few dogs barked in the distance, but the sound quickly faded back into silence.

Chen Yue sat on the edge of his bed, laying out the night’s spoils on the table.

The first item was a ring.

Its silvery-white band, etched with intricate patterns, held a faint luster under the candlelight.

Chen Yue extended his Heart Spirit into it, sensing the space within. It was about the same size as the one he already possessed—not very large, and it couldn’t hold much.

Inside the ring were some miscellaneous items: a few pill vials containing Nourishing Spirit Pills.

There were also several dozen taels of Broken Silver and a few gold leaves scattered in a small pile.

Chen Yue knew that small Storage Spirit Soldiers like this could be exchanged for at the Panshi Sect.

It seemed the Major Sects had all mastered the method for creating these small Storage Spirit Soldiers. While not every disciple could afford one, it wasn’t difficult to obtain one with enough Contribution Points.

Chen Yue planned to sell this Storage Spirit Soldier to the Sect in exchange for Contribution Points.

’I already have one, anyway. Better to exchange it for cultivation resources.’

He could also take the Broken Silver and gold leaves to Jishi Hall tomorrow and buy a large quantity of elixirs, which would solve his immediate predicament.

Chen Yue’s gaze shifted from the Storage Ring to the second item on the table.

The long saber.

The spine was thick and the edge was sharp. Faint, fiery red patterns seemed to flow across the blade’s surface, glowing softly in the candlelight, as if a layer of molten lava surged within.

Moonlight spilled in through the window, illuminating the blade. The fiery red patterns and the silvery moonlight complemented each other, creating an almost unnerving, yet captivating, beauty.

Compared to the high-carbon steel long saber Chen Yue had brought from Youlin County, this Spirit Soldier Long Saber was unquestionably far superior.

During his fight with Xu Jichuan, Chen Yue had sensed that as his Furious Wave Saber Intent cut into Xu Jichuan’s Sea of Consciousness, a portion of its power had been neutralized by this blade.

The fiery red patterns on the blade seemed to naturally possess a slight resistance to spiritual attacks.

In a duel between masters, this trait—even if it only negated ten or twenty percent of an attack—could alter the entire course of the battle.

Chen Yue reached out and picked up the long saber.

The first thing he noticed upon grasping it was its weight; it was much heavier than an ordinary long saber.

The silk-wrapped hilt provided an excellent grip, and the blade’s balance was superb. Its center of gravity was just ahead of the handguard, allowing for smooth and natural swings.

He turned the blade over, and by the candlelight, he saw a name etched onto its side.

Jinghong!

Chen Yue held the saber horizontally before him, closed his eyes, and slowly extended his Heart Spirit and Saber Intent into the blade.

The moment of contact, it felt as though something had been stirred within Chen Yue’s Sea of Consciousness.

Something within the Jinghong Saber, something related to Saber Intent, seemed to have been awakened.

The two resonated, and in the next instant, Chen Yue’s Saber Intent surged.

Chen Yue’s eyes snapped open, a flicker of astonishment in their depths. He looked down at the Jinghong Saber in his hand, his gaze filled with an unprecedented gravity.

’The Jinghong Saber actually increased my Saber Intent by a full twenty percent.’

’Xu Jichuan must have just used this as a decent Spirit Soldier, never truly discovering its secret.’

’Or perhaps he knew about it, but since he hadn’t yet formed his own Saber Intent, he couldn’t unleash this miraculous effect.’

Chen Yue’s fingers slowly traced the body of the Jinghong Saber, feeling the warmth emanating from the fiery red patterns. He suddenly recalled how Xu Jichuan had materialized the saber...

Chen Yue closed his eyes again, sending his Heart Spirit and Inner Strength deep into the blade, layer by layer.

His Inner Strength followed the blade’s texture, coursing through every channel of the fiery red patterns and navigating every minute structure within.

Chen Yue’s Heart Spirit roamed inside the blade for an unknown length of time—perhaps a quarter of an hour, perhaps half an hour.

At that moment, his Sea of Consciousness and the space within the blade seemed to merge into one. The boundary between them grew soft and indistinct, like two rivers converging.

Then, he felt it.

In the deepest part of the blade, there was a tiny, seed-like presence.

It was the core of the Jinghong Saber, the very foundation of this Spirit Soldier.

Chen Yue’s Heart Spirit touched the core.

In that instant, a faint throb emanated from the core, like a heart taking its first beat in the darkness.

Without hesitation, Chen Yue sent a wisp of his Power of Heart and Spirit into the core.

"HUMMM!"

A hum, audible only to the Heart Spirit, echoed through Chen Yue’s Sea of Consciousness.

A moment later, Chen Yue’s brow twitched.

The Jinghong Saber in his hand vanished.

The Jinghong Saber dissolved from a physical object into a faint shadow, then silently sank into the back of his hand.

Chen Yue opened his eyes and looked at the back of his right hand.

Under the candlelight, a new mark had appeared on the back of his hand—a line thin and sharp, as if drawn with the finest pen nib.

Chen Yue’s Heart Spirit gently touched the blade mark on the back of his hand.

In that instant, he felt the skin on the back of his hand grow warm. The next moment, the Jinghong Saber materialized.

The Jinghong Saber spun once in Chen Yue’s hand, its blade tracing a graceful arc in the candlelight and emitting a low, soft hum.

A smile touched Chen Yue’s eyes.

’The Jinghong Saber can be stored in the back of my hand. In a fight, all I have to do is reach out, and it’s there. With a single thought, it returns to my body.’

’No scabbard or strap could ever compare to this level of convenience.’

But more importantly, while residing in the back of his hand, the Jinghong Saber could be constantly nourished by his Saber Intent.

Saber Intent was a spiritual power, born from the fusion of a Martial Artist’s Heart Spirit and Saber Technique. It was not a physical thing, but it was undeniably real.

By constantly nourishing the Jinghong Saber with his Saber Intent, Chen Yue could continuously improve its quality.

Over time, the Jinghong Saber might even evolve into an Innate Spirit Soldier.

An Innate Spirit Soldier was a Divine Weapon fit for an expert of the Innate Acupoint Refining Realm, and each one possessed incredible power and unique abilities.