Chapter 289: Green Dragon Scale Armor

Wang Yu saw the thirteen skeletal human demons and immediately recognized their origin; he bowed respectfully and replied, "Teacher, these skeletal human demons were obtained by me when I killed a disciple of the Black Soul Sect during my evacuation from Tongzhou."

"That was years ago—what did that disciple look like, and what demonic cultivation techniques did he use?" Master Tianchan continued.

Wang Yu promptly described the cold-faced young man and explained the "Skeletal Demon Body" technique the man had employed.

Finally, he picked up the broken skeletal statue from the ground and presented it with both hands to Master Tianchan, explaining:

"This object was the strange artifact the man used to activate the Skeletal Demon Body."

Master Tianchan took the broken skeletal statue, scanned it briefly with his spiritual sense, then handed it back to Wang Yu with a dismissive tone:

"Skeletal Demon Body? That's just a cheap trick mimicking the True Skeletal Demon Body. This thing is single-use—once used, it's ruined."

The blue statue turned its head and gave an order to the red-haired man beside it:

"Gu Fei, did you hear that? Even though this Black Soul Sect disciple is dead, send someone to investigate his background thoroughly—especially whether he had contact with anyone from the Tianming Sect in recent years."

"Disciple obeys. I will immediately dispatch a specialist to handle this matter," the red-haired man replied with a bow.

"How did these two end up in your hands? Were they also your spoils of battle?"

At that moment, Silver Cloud Ancestor held two green armor pieces—one a half-plate, the other a helmet bearing a grotesque ghostly face.

Wang Yu quickly turned to look—it was the set of suspected full-armor Green Light Armor—and immediately replied respectfully:

"Respected Ancestor, I obtained this from a disciple of the Mara Sect whom I slew within a secret realm."

"You really have some luck, young man. This Green Light Armor is one of the few surviving replicas of the third-rank 'Green Dragon Scale Armor.' Though the armorer failed to forge an identical third-rank artifact, he did succeed in crafting a complete set of second-rank artifacts."

"The Green Light Armor consists of six pieces; each can be used individually, but you need at least four pieces to activate the full second-rank artifact power. If you gather all six, even a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator won't be able to harm you easily," Silver Cloud Ancestor murmured, then waved his sleeve and tossed the two pieces back to Wang Yu.

"Thank you for your guidance, Ancestor."

Wang Yu caught the two Green Light Armor pieces and stowed them away, his heart filled with both shock and joy.

He was joyful because the Green Light Armor was a second-rank artifact.

He was shocked because it had six pieces—where on earth would he find the other four?

In Master Tianchan's hand, a bag had appeared—clearly the spirit beast bag embroidered with the characters "Zixia."

Seeing this, Wang Yu's heart leapt.

Master Tianchan merely weighed the bag in his hand, gave Wang Yu a sly, half-smiling glance, then tossed the bag to him as well.

Wang Yu eagerly caught it, overjoyed.

As for the remaining artifacts and the vials and jars containing pills and spiritual materials, the several Jin Dan Ancestors showed little interest—even the two talisman treasures received no more than a cursory spiritual scan before they ordered Wang Yu to collect everything on the ground.

Silver Cloud Ancestor flicked his sleeve, and a vast expanse of white light surged forth, enveloping Wang Yu and the red-haired man, isolating them from the stone chamber.

Wang Yu tensed at first, but seeing the red-haired man standing calmly beside him, he relaxed.

Outside the light barrier:

"Tianchan, what do you make of everything this young man said?" Silver Cloud Ancestor asked the golden-robed elder.

"He's not hiding much—at least, what he said about the Ling Yue Mirror's spirit is likely true; otherwise, Tianchan would have warned me already," Tianchan Ancestor replied calmly. A faint golden glow shimmered on his shoulder, and a miniature golden toad appeared, perched there.

"What about you, Lihuo? Did your soul technique detect anything unusual?" Silver Cloud Ancestor asked the blue statue.

"No. My technique detected no abnormality in this disciple's soul. He's clean," the blue statue replied briefly.

"Hmm. While he spoke, I also activated the Wenxin Lock. You know its power—since it showed no reaction, his account is almost certainly truthful. We can end our questioning here," Silver Cloud Ancestor declared.

"This concerns a Nascent Soul opportunity—really just let it go?" A hesitant voice emerged from the blue statue—Master Lihuo.

"Heh. The three of us have already used our methods. If we want to go further, only soul-searching remains."

"But soul-searching can damage a disciple's memory and soul—or even kill them outright. This disciple of mine just delivered a great service to our sect—Lihuo, are you truly prepared to do this?" Tianchan Ancestor glanced at the blue statue and chuckled.

"Brother Ximen, you jest. How could I ever do such a thing? That would turn our disciples against us. Since both elder brothers wish to stop here, I have no objection. But how do we respond to the Ling Yue Mirror and the Palace Moon matter?" The blue statue's voice grew thoughtful.

At these words, both Silver Cloud Ancestor and Tianchan Ancestor fell silent.

After a long pause, Silver Cloud Ancestor spoke softly: "A fourth-rank artifact is valuable, but its spirit is no easy foe. Mishandle it, and we may bring disaster upon our sect."

"Besides, the Golden Vajra Temple already knows. If both of us know, the Qianzhu Sect and the Setting Sun Valley will likely find out too."

"Moreover, the Ling Yue Mirror was the life-spirit treasure of Master Jialan. Its spirit still exists—who can say whether Jialan truly reincarnated?"

"You mean Master Jialan might still be alive?" A startled voice came from the blue statue—Master Lihuo.

"The power of a Nascent Soul is beyond our comprehension. We seek a Nascent Soul opportunity, not to provoke a Nascent Soul enemy. Let this matter end here," Silver Cloud Ancestor declared firmly.

The blue statue and Tianchan Ancestor exchanged a glance, then nodded silently.

"Since matters here are settled, I'll return to my cave," Silver Cloud Ancestor said without ceremony. Clad in thick silver armor, he stomped heavily out of the stone chamber.

Instantly, only the two Jin Dan Ancestors remained inside the chamber, the two men within the light barrier now entirely cut off.

"Brother Ximen, are you truly planning to take this young man as your direct disciple?" The blue statue looked from Tianchan Ancestor to Wang Yu within the light barrier, then asked suddenly.