Chapter 96: Discussing Xuancang Outside the Xuancang Cave

Within the Xuancang Cave of Yucang Peak, which has always been the place where the Yuanqing Sect stores its Dharma artifacts and divine weapons, several Elders arrived today with their newly inducted Inner Sect Disciples and their own personally accepted disciples to select weapons.

However, calling it a "selection" is not actually as simple as the words suggest. People are born with Spirit Roots, and while weapons may appear to be inanimate objects, they are carriers capable of gathering Spirit Qi.

Weapons forged by different craftsmen, at different times, using different materials, often become implements capable of gathering Spirit Qi of different natures. And what is known as a Spirit Artifact is born from within this Spirit Qi.

Admittedly, if a practitioner with profound cultivation uses a divine weapon for a long time, the Spirit Artifact can take shape as the holder's cultivation advances, appearing as either a beast or a human form. Such a Spirit Artifact becomes one with the divine weapon, just as a person's Three Souls and Seven Spirits reside within their physical body.

Therefore, even if a practitioner dies and their spirit is extinguished, a weapon that already possesses a spirit will retain it for a long time, much like the Prisoner Ox Ancient Zither that Lingxiang obtained on the night of the Upper Origin Festival; they will continue to reside within the weapon until the spirit is extinguished or it is taken by the next holder.

But the Five Elements inherently have their cycles of generation and restriction, and the same applies to the Spirit Artifact and its holder. If the nature of the Spirit Artifact conflicts with the holder's Spirit Root, the holder will not only be unable to defend against enemies but will instead injure themselves.

Thus, while it is called selecting a weapon, in reality, it is the weapon selecting the person.

Most of the items in Xuancang Cave are sentient. Outside the cave, a Strange Scripture Array is laid out; one purpose is to prevent unscrupulous people from stealing divine weapons, and the second is to nourish the spirits of the divine weapons within, preventing these Dharma artifacts and divine weapons from having their spirits extinguished.

If the spirit is extinguished, the vessel that held it will become a dead object, either corroding or becoming a useless scrap. Once the spirit is extinguished, it will no longer have the ability to hold a spirit.

Of course, some divine artifacts are exceptions, but that is a story for another time and need not be mentioned for now.

Though they say they are here to choose weapons, every Elder knows clearly as a burning fire which disciple is suited to use a divine weapon, which disciple can use a Dharma artifact, and what kind of divine weapon or Dharma artifact each can use.

However, sometimes, certain fates come suddenly and unpredictably. If a disciple has a spiritual resonance with a certain divine weapon or Dharma artifact, that is naturally the most suitable outcome.

This time, Lingxiang only brought Xin Yi with her. Long Qi already has the most suitable Seven-Star Dragon Abyss in his hands, so there is no need for such a superfluous act, and Rendong remains unconscious; furthermore, due to his Spirit Root aptitude, she naturally has other plans for how to arrange things for him.

Xin Yi, however, seemed indifferent; to him, all weapons are the same. As long as it is handy, he could even use a stone from the side of the road.

Yet Lingxiang did not bring him here for nothing; it is only because there is definitely something in this Xuancang Cave that he must have—the Deer Horn Twin Blades.

Speaking of these Deer Horn Blades, they were the weapons of the Lu Family, a family of demon hunters in the past. After the Lu Family was slaughtered, through a twist of fate, they fell into the hands of Fuyin Zhenren, who was traveling abroad, and he brought them back to the Yuanqing Sect, where they have been stored in Xuancang Cave ever since.

The thirteen disciples wandered for a long time, but only three selected weapons, and one selected a Dharma artifact.

Seeing that Xin Yi had nothing in his hands, Lingxiang felt extremely surprised—could it be that he did not see the Deer Horn Twin Blades? But after she went in to look for herself, she became absolutely furious, and as soon as she came out, she aggressively shouted at Zhaoming Zhenren.

"What is the meaning of this, Fifth Senior Brother?"

Zhaoming Zhenren was left looking baffled by her words, yet he truly did not know where he had offended this little ancestor.

Seeing him like this, Lingxiang's inner fire flared even higher: "To be so greedy for wealth, it is a pity you aren't an accountant or a manager. You say it nicely, that it is for the disciples to select handy items, and I thought I would be able to see all the treasures in Xuancang Cave, but I never imagined it was just for show. What is the point of this? You might as well have just found any blacksmith down the mountain to forge some edged weapon to fool them; why go through the trouble of running to this Xuancang Cave?"

Zhao Wuyang took a quiet breath upon hearing this; this Fucang Elder has not been seen for a long time, yet she has become increasingly fierce, actually daring to speak to the Elder in Charge like this in front of all the disciples. Banxia, however, felt a sense of admiration; no wonder she hadn't seen any Dharma artifacts that caught her eye—it turns out there were other caves. Fucang Elder is truly the woman she admires; to live as a person, one should be like Lingxiang.

When Zhaoming Zhenren heard this, he knew she must have had something specific in mind.

This Xuancang Cave has two chambers. One stores relatively ordinary divine weapons and Dharma artifacts, while the other is a place for storing strange weapons. Generally speaking, it is not easily opened to sect disciples, so it is sealed with a Dharma Array, which is why these disciples who do not yet understand much witchcraft cannot see it.

"Junior Sister, oh Junior Sister, it is not that I, your Senior Brother, am hiding things, but that the items in this Second Cave are extraordinary. Some weapons are extremely dangerous, and I fear that with these disciples' cultivation, they would be unable to control them. If something were to go wrong, would the loss not outweigh the gain?"

What Zhaoming Zhenren said was not false. Weapons like the Deer Horn Blades have been passed down since ancient times and have slaughtered many demons that plagued the land. Although most of the demons removed by common folk were of ordinary ability, after killing so many, a great deal of resentment gathered within them. Calling them the Slaughtering Demon Blade is perhaps less fitting than calling them Demon Blades.

When Fuyin Zhenren brought the Deer Horn Twin Blades back all those years ago, the sect Elders spent a long time suppressing the resentment within the blades before they could relegate them to the Second Cave. But the Lu Family bloodline is naturally able to suppress demons and can use them for their own purposes, and because they possess special techniques, the path the Lu Family followed was mostly one of assassination, coming and going without a trace.

Seeing this, Chengxin Elder also spoke up to persuade her: "Junior Sister, do not be like this. Fifth Junior Brother speaks the truth. If they encounter dangerous items and these disciples cannot suppress the evil nature of the strange weapons, leading to self-injury, would that not be ruining them?"

Lingxiang was unwilling to hear this: "The path of cultivation is always half joy and half sorrow. If one fears these things, then one might as well go down the mountain and be a farmer; why bother coming here to suffer through cultivation? Furthermore, why are we, a group of Elders, here? Isn't it to keep watch for them? Being this timid and cautious, it would be better not to select anything at all." As she spoke, she walked up to the group of disciples. "These disciples are not like those of the past; their Spirit Root aptitudes are quite outstanding. Who is to say that the Spirit Artifact that suits their hearts isn't something in that Second Cave? If they miss it like this, that would truly be ruining the disciples."

Donghui Zhenren felt that what Lingxiang said made sense and hurriedly said to Qianyuan Zhenren, who was standing to the side looking as if it were none of his business: "Junior Sister's words are not without reason. Those with Heterogeneous Spirit Roots are naturally able to wield strange weapons. Who is to say she isn't right? It would be better to open the array and let them try. If something really happens, we are here to suppress and save them in time."

Qianyuan Zhenren had originally wanted to stay out of it—this little demoness had finally been quiet for a few days without bothering him, yet this Junior Brother Donghui had to drag him into this mess. But upon seeing that his own disciple had also not selected a handy item, he couldn't help but feel that this was indeed the right thing to do.

This matter really could not be blamed on Donghui Zhenren; Shangqing Zhenren had handed over the full authority of taking these disciples to select weapons to Qianyuan Zhenren, so who told him to be the one with the most authority among the Elders present?

"Ahem!" Qianyuan Zhenren cleared his throat, stroked his beard, and said: "Why not follow what Junior Sister said and let these disciples go and try again."

"Wait!"

Just at this moment, Lingxiang suddenly spoke up again, startling Qianyuan Zhenren so much that his whole body jolted.