Chapter 286 - A Divine Object Difficult to Handle
With the stone bead in hand, s.h.i.+ Hao couldn’t calm down for a long time. It was cold and heavy, giving him a chilly feeling. Now was not the time for him to examine it carefully, so he quickly put it away.
The auction came to its climax with a final glamorous divine treasure, but s.h.i.+ Hao paid it no attention, for his mind had already wandered away. He only knew that the Heavenly Fox girl and the veiled woman competed with each other up to the last moment, and did not bother to follow on who won the final bid.
As soon as the auction was over, he stood up to leave. He had obtained quite a lot of good things this time and would need time to slowly use them.
“Young brother, please wait a moment.” Prince Nineteen spoke. He was still tactfully expressing his interest in purchasing that black figurine. His eyes were attentively fixed on s.h.i.+ Hao.
“I’m sorry, but this object really is not for sale. I need to study it myself.” s.h.i.+ Hao shook his head and refused.
Beside him, the veiled woman was giving off a pleasant scent. Mist covered her eyes, giving them a blurred attractiveness. Her cherry lips moved slightly. “That’s all right. A n.o.bleman does not seize others’ favorites.”
She smiled. Even though there was a thin veil separating them, her bright and beautiful charm seemed to have pa.s.sed right through. Her eyes were incredibly intelligent as she looked at s.h.i.+ Hao. She invited him to a party.
s.h.i.+ Hao did not want to go at first, but upon hearing that it was a gathering that elites and talented people from all clans would attend, he became tempted. He wanted to find out what sort of people he would see there.
“Everyone has been studying abroad for so many years. Even those remaining in the capital have remained in seclusion. This is a rare opportunity,” added Prince Nineteen.
Needless to say, it was not an ordinary meeting. The partic.i.p.ants were either offsprings of n.o.ble families or elites from all forces. Even some formidable creatures of Archaic Divine Mountains would be there.
“You have to come! At that time, this sister will go as well. How about we go together?” A wave of fragrance followed the entrance of the Fox Clan girl. Her vivd eyes were so enticing that they seemed as if they could steal one’s soul.
Prince Nineteen stopped talking at once, for he held great fear towards the Heavenly Fox girl. He knew very well that how terrifying her organization was. Her background was like a torrent that could easily swamp the wastelands.
The veiled woman nodded at the Fox Clan girl and was about to leave.
“Elder sister, why do you cover your face up all the time? Are we so vulgar that we are not qualified to see you?” The Fox Clan girl smiled. Her appearance was stunning, and her skin was incredibly white.
She blew out a breath towards the veil as she moved deftly forward to remove the veil. With a wave of her pretty hand, symbols circled about.
The veiled woman lifted her right hand, and resplendent symbols appeared like spiritual lights. They collided with that pretty hand, creating an effect that was like shattering crystals as thousands of glittering pieces flew out.
“You are so fierce, my elder sister. Why do you distance yourself from everyone? Would you not even spare me a greeting?” The Heavenly Fox girl giggled.
Her pretty fingers did not stop as she spoke. Multicolored symbols blossomed one after another like divine flowers and constantly brushed past the veiled woman’s fingers, creating a blindingly splendid light.
There were no striking explosions or terrifying fluctuations, only the rippling of a beautiful sound. It was as if a stone was released into a divine lake, forming small ripples.
s.h.i.+ Hao watched in surprise. The power of these two women was beyond his comprehension. The brief hand-to-hand fight and the silent collision were more formidable than anything he had witnessed. He realized how critical the situation had been just now, and life or death could have been decided in the blink of an eye.
“Don’t call me ‘elder sister’, I may not be older than you.” The veiled woman said as she made her last strike. She then backed away like a breeze, as swift as glistening petals dancing in the wind.
“Is that so? Why do I feel like I’m the younger one here? I’m still rather young.” The Heavenly Fox girl stopped moving her pretty hands and drifted away as well.
In the final strike, the collision between the two created such a billowy movement thatwas strong enough to crush treasured artifacts. The veil was eventually lifted, revealing half of a fair and glistening face. The beauty was so stunning that young cultivators nearby all stared with dumbstruck faces.
“She’s truly a fairy!” Exclaimed someone.
The contrast between the two was stark. One was as charming as a fox, while the other one was deft and otherworldly.
“Elder sister, you are so serious and not fun at all. I’ll see you at the gathering and help you find a husband, xixi.” The foxy girl backed off swiftly. She leered at s.h.i.+ Hao on her way out and asked, “Little brother, what about taking her as your wife?”
s.h.i.+ Hao scratched his head and made an innocent face. “You two were both good. Why did you have to fight?”
“What a bad boy! I’m trying to introduce a wife to you, not telling you to hit on me.” The Heavenly Fox girl laughed lightly and left like a streak of light.
“What did I say? She misunderstood me.” s.h.i.+ Hao mumbled and shook his head. He then started to walk out of the hall as well.
Prince Nineteen was soon surrounded by the crowd. A prince powerful enough to go after the throne was bound to have a splendid future. No one dared to ignore him.
However, Prince Nineteen kept to himself and soon left the hall. He walked in front and led the veiled woman onto the golden chariot.
“Wu, that woman could be from beyond the wastelands. I heard that she was in court to see the Emperor not long ago, and that they talked for quite some time.”
“The background of the Heavenly Fox girl is also exceptional. She represents an extremely powerful organization and has also met with the Emperor, during which some heavenly secrets were revealed.”
Some n.o.bilities murmured among themselves with grave expressions. They realized that it would soon become chaotic and that something big was happening.
s.h.i.+ Hao returned to where he lived, which was a well known inn. It was a s.p.a.cious dwelling with a garden in the deepest corner that could provide some peace to its most important guests.
s.h.i.+ Hao’s room was set in a nice spot. He had a separate courtyard to himself, which contained little bridges and flowing water, as well as rockery and fountains. The surroundings were very appealing.
He sat down and meditated for a bit after he got back. He carefully observed the surrounding movements carefully. Nothing happened that night, but he kept his vigilance.
He was not too worried, though. Should the worst ever happen, he would summon the little paG.o.da and allow it to unleash its murderous power. He would not let anything happen to what he gained from the auction, for they were way too important.
In reality, his anxiety was unnecessary. What he obtained were not divine treasures to other people. Aside from the last pieces in the auction, other items were not valued much in the Capital.
“Luckily, they know nothing about the Imperishable Gilded Body, and even less about the value of this stone bead,” s.h.i.+ Hao said to himself and breathed a sigh of relief.
After the people of the auction house rea.s.sured him that no one would dare to make trouble in the Capital, he became a bit more relieved and started to go through his inventory and prepare the refinement process.
The translucent white bone piece was tiny and incomplete, and part of it was definitely missing. s.h.i.+ Hao made every effort to study it thoroughly, but he still couldn’t find any connection with the True Primordial Record. There were no texts on it at all.
He could not help but turn to the little paG.o.da, who then told him that it was not an entire piece. He would need all the pieces to reveal the secret.
“Sigh, I’ll have to put it away for now. Sooner or later, I’ll discover that great secret. It seems like there are more than one True Primordial Records.” s.h.i.+ Hao resigned himself to the current situation.
He then took out the Withdrawal Symbol and studied it carefully. This ancient magical artifact was intact and could be used at least ten times.
“Can this Imperishable Gilded Body be as mysterious and powerful as in the legends?” He took out the fist-sized black figurine and knocked at it, producing e a clear and piercing metallic sound.
The black figurine was cracked in many places and looked like a ragged doll. However, after a closer look, he noticed that some parts were of a different material, which was mended onto it at a later time.
s.h.i.+ Hao started to peel them off carefully. The process was obviously an incredibly difficult one. He ended up using the broken sword, which still did not make it any easier. The refinement technique of the ancient times was just too powerful.
In the end, the little paG.o.da gave him a hand and shook off the external layer of the black figurine, revealing its true form.
After getting rid of the redundant material, the color the black figurine turned deeper and gloomier. It now looked more damaged than ever. Some parts of it were falling off, making it hardly a complete one.
s.h.i.+ Hao calmed his mind,and his consciousness entered the black figurine. With a weng sound, the figurine illuminated at once and floated in mid-air. A divine energy began to spread out from it.
Before long, it began to radiate like a little black sun. Precious halos emanated from it, rising up in streaks before fusing into s.h.i.+ Hao.
The black figurine enlarged and combined with the blood and flesh of s.h.i.+ Hao. It seemed as if he was wearing a golden black armor, giving him the mightiest look and a tremendous aura.
“I’ve directly surpa.s.sed the Spirit Transformation Realm, this is just… too terrifying!” s.h.i.+ Hao was astonished. In a split second, his fighting capability exceeded his original level and was significantly improved.
It was safe to say that the ability of the Imperishable Gilded Body was so unbelievable that after combining with one’s physical body, it could make one’s fighting capability soar and break through one’s limits. The transformation was like turning a mortal man into that of a deity!
Following the advice of the little paG.o.da, he did not make any further attempts and stopped raising his fighting capability to a higher level. He was afraid of bringing more damage to the already broken Imperishable Gilded Body.
“Wait until a material that is truly compatible with it is found. Only then can it undergo another stage of restoration and display an even greater power.”
Of course, this type of restoration was a complete and true refinement, not the creation of a battle figure like those in the ancient era.
Covered by the black golden armour from head to toe, s.h.i.+ Hao drew out the black broken sword with a qiang sound. He looked incredibly valiant, and as waves of oppressive energy were released about him, he seemed like a supreme demonic G.o.d.
“This is the same as giving me another ident.i.ty, allowing me to do some other things,” s.h.i.+ Hao said to himself. The light around him receded, and the black golden clothes disappeared. It once again formed the small figure in his hand.
It was definitely a trump card. s.h.i.+ Hao felt that if he truly had to fight to the death, this figurine would surely make him incredibly powerful.
He then took out the stone bead stained by blackened blood, which had coagulated and dried up countless of years ago. According to the little paG.o.da, the blood came from a demonic G.o.d.
s.h.i.+ Hao cleft and cut with the broken sword. Metallic sounds rank out, and sparks were sent flying. He managed to remove the sc.r.a.pes one bit after another with great difficulty.
The spirituality of the demonic G.o.d’s blood had long faded, and there was no medical effects left once it coagulated. It was still very hard, however, which shocked s.h.i.+ Hao greatly. How terrifying then was the actual demonic G.o.d?
As the stone filings were continuously removed, it began to gradually decrease in size.
“That was close. A bit further and it would have been destroyed.” s.h.i.+ Hao was surprised to find a rotten bronze arrow head wrapped inside the stone bead. It almost penetrated into the deepest part of the bead.
The bronze arrowhead seemed to be in rather poor condition, but it used to be a divine artifact. Based on the little paG.o.da’s suspicions, it had not completely penetrated through the eyeball, and instead had been dissolved by it.
“So terrifying!” s.h.i.+ Hao was utterly shocked. Even a divine instrument could not hurt the eyeball of a dual-pupiled man and was destroyed instead.
However, what on earth had happened? He still lost the eyeball in the end, and it was sealed inside of a stone.
As the stone chipped away, its original form was revealed. It was about the same size a human eyeball. It lacked l.u.s.ter and looked quite dim.
“Dual-pupil!”
He held it in his hand and studied it carefully. It contained two closely connected pupils that were almost joined together. It seemed to hold some deep and profound power within. Now that the demonic G.o.d blood and stone skin were peeled off, the cold aura around it had disappeared.
“This ancient double-pupil has lost its life force a long time ago. Does it still have any uses?” While holding it in his palm, s.h.i.+ Hao tried to activate it with symbols.
Hong!
Suddenly, when he started to refine it attentively, the eyeball illuminated and shot out streaks of ripples from its pupils. They were light golden in color and incredibly astonis.h.i.+ng!
“Si!” s.h.i.+ Hao sucked in a breath of cold air. He was firstly shocked, but then he became overwhelmed by happiness. The eyeball was still alive! This was something left over by a naturally born divine being who had reached the absolute peak!