Chapter 80: Took an Extra Spiritual Artifact

“Boom——!”

When Chu Huaixu had just yanked at the Black Bead, he had used all his strength, so much so that the force was a bit too much.

Now, instead of just pulling the Black Bead pendant off the sealed Sword Scabbard, he had actually dragged the entire scabbard down with it. As a result, the momentum slammed into his chest, the scabbard smashing into him heavily.

Unsurprisingly, he was most likely injured.

Fortunately, Chu Huaixu was not afraid of pain.

At this moment, he was also stunned.

Because he knew very well that this Black Bead must be a Spiritual Artifact! And it had a certain connection with the 《Dao Canon》!

But how did the Sword Scabbard also get taken down?

According to the rules of Hidden Spirit Mountain, each person could only take one Spiritual Artifact.

He could clearly feel that the two were independent entities, that the Black Bead was not part of the Sword Scabbard.

“How is this buy-one-get-one-free?”

Chu Huaixu couldn’t be bothered with such thoughts now.

The spiritual energy in his body had already been completely drained by the bead.

He immediately crushed the Charred-black Wooden Token.

The Teleportation Formation thus activated.

In the next instant, that Bronze Sword floating in the air seemed to grow enraged once again.

Its loathing and hatred for Chu Huaixu reached a peak in but an instant!

Spiritual Pressure swept over, causing Chu Huaixu to suddenly cough up a mouthful of blood.

For the Black Bead had not only drained all the spiritual energy stored within his Spirit Embryo Secret Store, but had also devoured every last bit within his fleshly body.

Without the support of spiritual energy, his Physique naturally weakened.

Even worse, this wave of Spiritual Pressure was pressing down upon the Teleportation Formation itself!

The Bronze Sword was attempting to disrupt the teleportation effect.

It wanted to trap Chu Huaixu on the mountain.

“If the Teleportation Formation really fails, if I remain trapped within this Spiritual Pressure, sooner or later I’ll collapse and die!” He was perfectly aware of this.

Whether his body or his Sea of Consciousness, both were nearing their limits.

He didn’t even need to stay on the mountain long—within the time it took to burn a stick of incense, he would be dead!

“Still not giving up, still wanting to kill me!”

“Evil Sword!!!”

Thus, the bloodshot eyes of Chu Huaixu also flashed with a fierce glint as he stared at the Bronze Sword.

The sword was furious, and so was he!

Fortunately, the Teleportation Formation activated extremely quickly, and Chu Huaixu’s figure vanished from the mountain peak.

In the next moment, he appeared at the foot of the mountain.

However, it seemed the Teleportation Formation had indeed malfunctioned, for he was not safely placed on the ground, but instead in midair.

“Boom——!” Chu Huaixu crashed heavily into the ground, sending up a large cloud of dust.

At this moment, his black robe was especially filthy, covered in dust and mud, with bloodstains smeared across his sleeves. He looked utterly wretched.

And yet, the completely black Sword Scabbard and the Black Bead pendant had actually been brought down the mountain with him!

“Feels like a bone’s broken.”

Chu Huaixu stood up from the ground, assessing his current state.

It was truly terrible!

His body was burdened to the extreme. If not for the Black Small Sword guarding his Sea of Consciousness, it would already have shattered and collapsed.

Even so, his head felt heavy, his consciousness clouded.

When he opened his eyes now, he saw countless double images, as if all things in heaven and earth had mastered the Shadow Clone Technique.

Chu Huaixu lowered his head and glanced at his arms—he saw three Sword Scabbards and three Beads.

He shook his head hard, then looked in a daze toward Hidden Spirit Mountain.

“Has the Restriction on the mountain malfunctioned?” he thought.

Before ascending the mountain, the senior brothers and sisters of Hidden Spirit Courtyard had carefully explained the rules to him.

“A disciple ascending the mountain may only take one Spiritual Artifact. Otherwise, even if the Wooden Token is crushed, the formation will not teleport them down. The Restriction will block them on the mountain.”

This bead was clearly an independent Spiritual Artifact.

This Sword Scabbard was also an independent Spiritual Artifact.

“And yet the Restriction failed to detect it?”

“By reason, every Spiritual Artifact on the mountain should have its aura linked with the Restriction.”

“Unless… one of them is not on that list!”

Chu Huaixu’s eyes narrowed. He felt the problem lay with this bead.

If not for the pull of spiritual energy within his body, and that faint call from the void, he too would have thought this bead was merely a pendant on the Sword Scabbard.

Or rather, just a part of the Sword Scabbard.

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His taut nerves finally relaxed, the burden on his body lessened, and Chu Huaixu began coughing violently, blood spilling from his mouth.

Within the Dao Gate Grand Hall, silence reigned once more.

The scene before them had entirely departed from their earlier expectations.

Or rather, from the moment the Spiritual Pressure had appeared, the course of events had been completely different from what they had imagined!

Only Li Chunsong stared blankly, speaking in disbelief: “I won?”

“Hahahahaha! I won?”

“I actually won!” The gambling addict fell into a half-mad state.

All talk of Heaven’s Great Calamity, of the Sword of Salvation, of the Dao Ancestor’s Maxim—he forgot them all.

The so-called Benevolent Gambling King only knew that he had won, and moreover… won again!

Ever since he had taken Chu Huaixu up the mountain, his winning rate had been a terrifying one hundred percent—never losing a single bet!

Within the great hall, the atmosphere was heavy, yet only Li Chunsong’s hearty laughter echoed throughout.

After laughing for quite some time, he finally shifted his identity back from 【Gambling Addict】 to 【Sixth Elder of Dao Gate】.

Although his right hand still trembled uncontrollably with excitement, he quietly tucked it back into his sleeve, still desperately justifying himself:

“Cough, cough, cough!”

“Hiss——, the Dao Ancestor’s Maxim said the Sword Attendant should have taken the sword, yet he took the Sword Scabbard instead?”

“Could it be that the Dao Ancestor’s Maxim was wrong?”

“Or perhaps Little Martial Uncle really found the wrong person.”

Clearly, this fellow ranked sixth had never once considered the possibility that the problem might be with himself.

Everyone’s gaze simultaneously turned to the Sect Master, Xiang Yan. Even Chu Yinyin, who had the most lively and restless temperament, did not stand up and shout this time.

There was no helping it—this concerned the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth, it concerned the Origin Spirit Realm!

The First Level Grand Competition of the Xuanhuang Realm was about to begin.

If he could obtain that sword, he would surely be able to claim victory in the competition.

If he entered the Origin Spirit Realm with the sword in hand, that would be the most reliable way.

Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable!

But how could it be that he had not taken the sword?

Why had he instead taken the sword scabbard?

Moreover, there was also a seal upon the sword scabbard—how had he managed to remove it!

When Xiang Yan noticed everyone looking at him, he even felt the urge to raise his hand and touch his bald head. He was also a little confused.

“Since matters have come to this point, we can only make long-term plans.”

“Sixth Junior Brother, go down to the foot of the mountain and check on him first. Chu Huaixu’s condition seems rather poor—make sure nothing goes wrong.”

“When you return, we will go together to the Purple Bamboo Forest and discuss with Seventh Junior Sister.”

The Dao Ancestor’s Inheritance had been obtained by Shen Man, and the Dao Ancestor’s Maxim was also discovered by her.

For such a major matter, she naturally had to be brought along in the discussion, even though she might not say much.

“Alright!” Li Chunsong immediately left the grand hall and flew toward the foot of Hidden Spirit Mountain.

When he arrived there, he saw that Chu Huaixu was already seated cross-legged.

Chu Huaixu had no intention of returning, because the Big Ice Block was still on the mountain.

—He had to wait for her.

Thus, it was only now, in his “busy schedule,” that he found the time to inspect his mission interface and check the mission rewards here.

“Obtained 30,000 Experience Points and 1 point of 【Random Attribute Points】.” Chu Huaixu felt satisfied.

It was obvious that the main reward of the mission was the attribute point, and the 30,000 Experience Points were just an additional bonus.

What’s more, he knew very well the system’s quirks.

“Even if this passive mission is tied to the world’s number one sword, based on the player’s own level, there’s always a cap on the mission’s Experience Points reward.”

“No matter how high the difficulty coefficient of the mission, the Experience Points will never be overly exaggerated, but rewards outside of Experience Points would instead increase.”

“30,000 should already be the cap.”

Since Chu Huaixu’s condition was currently poor, his spiritual energy was drained, and his Sea of Consciousness was in chaos, he simply chose to level up.

He would rely on leveling up to eliminate these negative states!

“‘Borrowed Sword’ is different from some games—after leveling up, one’s health does not fully recover, but the mana does!”

“Within the Sea of Consciousness, divine sense will also grow as the realm increases.”

“Furthermore, the Dao Canon cultivates both internally and externally—the body should also be able to self-heal to a certain extent. Perhaps I might even recover to full health!”

Thus, before Li Chunsong arrived, Chu Huaixu directly gave the command in his heart.

“System, level me up!”

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged madly toward him. That brand-new sensation of pain spread outward from within, making him wish for death.

On top of that, since he was already covered in wounds, it became all the more torturous.

Swellings appeared on Chu Huaixu’s body, as if spiritual energy was about to burst out of his flesh, and his skin began to crack open.

This scene was witnessed entirely by Li Chunsong.

The Sixth Elder of Dao Gate, whose appearance was utterly ordinary, suddenly furrowed his brows. With a sweep of his sleeve, a faint blue airflow wrapped around Chu Huaixu, probing into his condition.

Since he was undergoing a breakthrough, Li Chunsong dared not interfere too much, lest he fall into Qi Deviation.

“How could it be so strange?”

“Did he not already stop practicing that heretical art, the ‘Sword Refining Art’?” Li Chunsong muttered to himself.

With his sharp eyes, he could naturally discern that the sinister aspect of this cultivation method was somewhat different from that ‘Sword Refining Art.’

It was almost like the reverse of it.

Once he confirmed that Chu Huaixu’s life was not in danger, he let out a sigh of relief.

He quickly discovered that Chu Huaixu’s wounds were all rapidly healing.

“What kind of heretical cultivation is this again! Since when did my Dao Gate have such a cruel method!” His brows furrowed tightly, his tone sinking as he criticized this inhuman cultivation.

“My Dao Gate is an orthodox sect, the lineage of the Dao Ancestor. How could there still be such a ruthless mental art on the mountain that even I know nothing of?”

“Hiss—his body cracks open, then heals, and cracks again, with swellings all over…” Just looking at it made him feel pained.

Inside the Dao Gate Grand Hall, the Dao Gate’s high-ranking members also clicked their tongues in amazement.

The Enforcement Elder, Lu Pan, was the first to speak.

“Our sect has such a torturous cultivation method? Why have I never heard of it?”

Chu Yinyin’s cute little face scrunched up as she bared her teeth, shivering as she watched.

She suddenly felt that the disgusting cultivation method she practiced herself seemed tolerable compared to Chu Huaixu’s.

After quite some time, Chu Huaixu, still seated cross-legged, finally opened his eyes.

Having been tormented by that Bronze Sword on the mountain, the ruthless determination in his heart had been completely stirred up, and his anger had not yet subsided. As a result, he gritted his teeth and endured the agony of his breakthrough without making a single cry of pain.

His spiritual energy was once again abundant, the power of his divine sense within his Sea of Consciousness had increased, the chaotic feeling had at last dissipated, and his physical body had also recovered significantly.

He could clearly feel that he had become stronger once more.

His spiritual energy surged more violently, and his physical strength rose greatly.

Now, if he were to ascend the mountain again, he believed he would surely perform better, able to endure longer under the oppression of the Spiritual Pressure.

When his eyes met Li Chunsong’s, he immediately picked up the ancient sword scabbard resting on his knees, stood up, and bowed: “Sixth Elder.”

The other nodded slightly, his eyes scanning up and down the Dao Gate disciple before him.

Finally, he asked in a solemn voice:

“Chu Huaixu, this strange cultivation method you practice—what is it?”