Chapter 1957

The more divine a weapon, the more it needs careful maintenance; otherwise, not only will it fail to exert its proper efficacy, but it will also gradually lose its vitality and degenerate into ordinary iron. Though the ancient sects that have survived clearly possess powerful magical artifacts, over these two thousand years they have been vanishing one after another, left to gather dust in corners, simply because their energy consumption is too great and their upkeep unaffordable.

As for those like True Person Qianhuan who directly refined their own bodies into divine weapons, He Lingchuan had to abandon them after their deaths—no one could sustain such a thing.

That is why, upon hearing the word "vitality," he felt particularly surprised.

Yes, he had once seen the great sword of True Person Shou'an at the entrance of the Ghost King's Underground Palace, thrust straight from beyond the heavens into the palace—what a magnificent sight at first glance! But upon inspection, he found that divine sword had completely faded, leaving only its frame.

Yet this broken halberd is entirely different: under the glow of the luminous spores, its tip still flashes with cold light, and anyone who gazes at it twice feels as if their eyes might be sliced.

It is also a weapon wielded by one whose body is crippled but whose will remains firm.

Fang Chanran added: "This is probably because the halberd's tip happened to pierce into a vein of black crystal ore, receiving nourishment all these two thousand plus years. It even passively benefited from two corpses; otherwise, they would have long since decayed into white bones."

Ah, now I understand. That is why the corpses of the Yaksha King and the Azure Dragon remain so well-preserved—not only due to their formidable cultivation in life, but also because of the nourishment from the earth's black crystal veins.

He Lingchuan reached out and pressed the halberd's tip.

It was merely an unconscious gesture, yet a sensation of burning fire surged from his fingertips, making him jerk his hand back abruptly.

As if he had been scalded by fire.

Since obtaining the Divine Bone Necklace, how long has it been since he last felt the sensation of a burn?

At the same moment, the Jinglong Battle Armor emerged, automatically protecting its master.

Fang Chanran exclaimed in surprise: "How?"

Does this weapon still have some trick up its sleeve?

Indeed, after all, this is also the weapon of the Sea Yaksha; its retained vitality means its ferocity remains undiminished—cannot be taken lightly.

He Lingchuan shook his head: "No problem, I'll try again."

He lowered his gaze to examine his own arm guards.

Wearing the Jinglong Battle Armor, he became the Great Emperor of the Nine Abysses.

He once again pressed his hand against the halberd's tip, still scorching hot. But this time he was prepared, and simultaneously, the heart-scale on his chest armor flashed a faint crimson light.

Then, the burning sensation instantly halved.

He Lingchuan had already confirmed: the artifact spirit within the broken halberd not only exists, but is unusually active—it longs to slaughter again, to gorge on fresh blood, even to clash with formidable foes once more!

Yet it is trapped here, day after day, year after year, without end.

Unable to obtain what it seeks, unable to escape its predicament, it grows ever more irritable.

Upon first contact, He Lingchuan found its reaction exceptionally intense.

A crippled artifact spirit, yet still possessing such lofty fighting spirit—truly rare.

He Lingchuan thus settled his heart to communicate with it, and only then learned that it has endured to this day not only due to the spiritual power supplied by the black crystal vein, but also because it drew nourishment in the form of flesh and blood and dragon power from the Azure Dragon's remains!

Fang Chanran was correct: though it is a broken halberd, having slain the Azure Dragon and been nourished by its flesh and blood for over two thousand years, it truly qualifies as a remarkable artifact.

He Lingchuan then expressed to the artifact spirit that he could take it away, bring it out of this sunless underground prison, continue to maintain it, and even possibly reforge it—but could not guarantee when it might return to the battlefield.

After all, he himself was uncertain whether this thing could even be repaired.

Such communication is profound and mysterious—a tacit understanding between himself and a non-human spirituality. Long ago, when the Flashing Gold Emperor accepted the Robe of Born-from-Suffering, he too had promised it: he would take it to war in all directions, treat it as a national treasure. Only then did the robe consent to follow him and exert its efficacy.

He Lingchuan obtained the Life-Giving Blade, and it too took a long time before they achieved synchronized resonance and mutual understanding of intent.

Fortunately, this broken halberd had already grown weary of staying in the Underground Palace, and without further ado, it agreed.

It does not fully trust He Lingchuan's persuasion; mainly, it senses the surging dragon god power within him.

That should be an existence even stronger than the Azure Dragon at its peak, and moreover, of the same dragon lineage. How many years has it been since the broken halberd last felt such an aura?

As a pure artifact spirit, the broken halberd is willing to submit to it.

Seeing He Lingchuan's expression unchanged, Fang Chanran felt reassured and asked: "Can you pull it out?"

"No need to pull. I'll try."

The two first leapt back to the dragon's head; He Lingchuan jumped into the eye socket of the Azure Dragon and firmly grasped the broken halberd:

"Accept!"

No mistake, no omission, no single character missed—everything is present and correct!

The next second, this giant broken halberd, still several zhang in length, vanished into thin air!

Weng Xing looked up and witnessed this scene, so startled he opened his mouth wide and could not close it.

The Dragon God is the Dragon God—such a massive object can be taken away!

Fang Chanran and Luo Xie, however, were not surprised; especially Luo Xie, who had seen how He Lingchuan collected the wealth of the Illusory Sect when he overturned the sea, knew just how astonishing his methods were.

But this time, He Lingchuan did not use a large storage space; instead, he used the Divine Bone Necklace.

After his repeated pleas, the Divine Bone Necklace finally managed to take in the broken halberd—barely, with great effort.

"Go back now, find someone to seal the entrance, and do not disturb their eternal rest." He Lingchuan leapt back to the surface, and at that moment, the Earth Essence also returned, leaping directly onto Luo Xie's shoulder.

How should this broken halberd be utilized?

Weapons usually gain fame either because their wielder is renowned, or because their victim is famous.

The Sea Yaksha clan lived in the ocean depths, a rather mysterious marine people, yet perished very early. In the long river of history, this halberd appears mighty, but in fact never left behind its own name.

A blade with sentience should also feel regret, shouldn't it?

The crowd turned and departed; Fang Chanran cast one last glance back: though He Lingchuan had taken the halberd, the Azure Dragon's body had remained rigid for over two thousand years, now not collapsed but still holding its original posture.

The final silhouette it leaves for history remains fierce and stubborn.

"What a pity the dragon race is." Fang Chanran could not help but sigh: "The Dragon God sacrificed himself by colliding with the Tianluo Star, ending the Immortal-Demon War and protecting all beings under heaven—this is immense merit. After his passing, his descendants have declined generation after generation, with both the Immortal Sect and demon tribes coming to scheme against them. When a person departs, the tea grows cold—alas, lamentable indeed."

For nearly a thousand years, no true dragon has been seen in the world. Such a divine beast, born of heaven and earth's spiritual energy, ultimately returns to that same spiritual energy.

Weng Xing blinked, then suddenly said: "Mr. Fang, when did the Dragon God's collision with the Tianluo Star occur?"

"About three thousand years ago."

"Then these flood dragons and the Yaksha King perishing together occurred six or seven hundred years after the Dragon God's collision with the Tianluo Star—time is not short either." Weng Xing muttered, "If I had done a great deed, and others repaid my kindness, treating my descendants well for several hundred years, I would be grateful to death!"

"……" Fang Chanran laughed helplessly, "Is that what you call kindness?"

"Wow, this isn't treating you well? Look at the quality of these mystic crystal spirit ores on the wall!" Weng Xing reached out to touch the crystals on the wall. "Didn't you just say that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is declining, and Danxia Palace itself can't even sustain itself, yet the old nest of the dragon clan is still a blessed land of caverns? Spiritual energy in the world is scarce to begin with—you few green dragons occupy such a rich vein of ore, can you blame others for being envious?"