The statue inside the Weapon Armory wasn't Immortal Emperor Min Ren or an Elder that had magnificent contributions to the sect, but it was made to the shape of a gigantic black crow.
The crow statue spread its wings as if it wanted to fly through the nine skies. Its claws were gripping two dual blades made out of mortal steel. These blades were the same type used to practice "Invisible Dual Blade".
No one knew how long these dual blades had been here for. They did not survive the torture of time; rust covered the blades' edges, and it looked like both blades were on the verge of breaking at any moment.
Li Qiye stared at the statue in a daze. Maybe he had forgotten this pose, but Immortal Emperor Min Ren never had. Nan Huairen, seeing Li Qiye's solemn moment, he whispered: "Senior, this is the statue of the Crow God in the legends. When our patriarch was young, the Crow God had taught him on this peak. This is why our sect was established here; this statue was erected after our patriarch's ascension as a memorial."
Li Qiye smiled at the story. Of course, he knew this because the Crow God and he were one in the same. He also knew that the whole story was a lie; the real reason why the sect was established here was a secret that only he was aware of.
However, the action depicted by this statue was not false. The first time he met the courageous little boy that loved martial arts, he used his claws to steal the blades from the boy's hands.
Even though he had became an Immortal Emperor, Min Ren had never forgotten their first meeting.
"Let us go inside." Li Qiye regained his composure and went inside the Weapon Armory.
Inside the armory, there were all types of different Life Treasures and Longevity Treasures. The first level had ten thousand different weapons, but these were only made from steel mixed with low level metals. These were treasures with relatively low grades.
A cultivator's weapon was divided into four types: first, the common weapons; second, Longevity weapons; third, Life weapons; and lastly, True weapons.
The common weapons were meant for new disciples. These weapons were extremely common because they were made from mortal steel mixed with magical metals; they were not made from any excessively rare material. Even though these weapons, in the eyes of mortals, would be considered to be heavenly weapons that could cut through steel like mud, cultivators did not think highly of them. They couldn't fully utilize the power of the mysterious truths coming from the Grand Dao.
Technically, Longevity weapons were not considered to be traditional weapons. They were rather, treasures, instead; even if they took the shape of a weapon. They were meant to prolong one's lifespan and feed the blood energy of the user. One could say, every cultivator would have at least one Longevity Treasure because it would feed their Life Wheel. It could also have a pivotal support role in combat since it could quickly replenish the Life Wheel that was depleted during battle.
Life and True weapons were the real force of cultivators. They have great usage in both defensive and offensive means.
Within the lifespan of a cultivator, they could possess many different Life Treasures and even inherit a Life Treasure from someone else. However, they could only have one True Treasure because this treasure was directly connected to their True Soul; the True Treasure and True Soul directly reinforced and supported each other, and the True Treasure, once linked to a cultivator, couldn't be inherited by another cultivator.
Even though a cultivator had to create his own True Treasure and use it for the rest of his life, the power of a True Treasure greatly exceeded a regular Life Treasure. Even if it was the same grade, a True Treasure would annihilate a Life Treasure in the blink of an eye.
Some of the weapons from the first level were common weapons such as the Profound Steel Sword, the Icy Crescent Saber, and the Meteoric Claws while the Life weapons ranged from the Shan He Pagoda and the Demon Slaying Circle, to the Jiang Jiao Staff.
There were also a few True weapons such as the Heavenly God Stone, the Bloody Sky Rope, and the Fierce Sun Calligraphy Pen.
All of these Life and True Treasures had a very low grade; thus, any third generation disciple was able to pick from them. The disciples with contributions were able to pick from the second level instead.
While strolling in the first level, Li Qiye noticed the killing aura from these treasures and their ability to absorb the energy of the Grand Dao.
He took his time looking at each one, and he then casually went to the second level. The second level only contained Life and True weapons with a higher ranking than the first level.
However, Li Qiye also only looked at each weapon once. He did not select any of them, and they went on to level three.
Seeing Li Qiye entering the third level, many disciples who were choosing their weapons were jealous. One couldn't help but say: "I went to South mountain and decapitated a Longevity Spirit and made many contributions to the sect, and I only got to pick a level two True Treasure. Why does he get to go to level three?"
Level three of the Weapon Armory was reserved for disciples with great contributions to the sect. Li Qiye's ability to enter it made the other disciples feel cheated. "He has the order from the Elders."
Li Qiye turned around toward the angry disciples and slowly said: "If you have the ability to question the Elders, go and do it. Chirping here is only a waste of time."
Li Qiye's words enraged the third generation students. Many of them here had a high status within their own peer group, but they were looked down on by a piece of trash.
"Let us see how long you can be arrogant for! One day, I will teach you a lesson!" A disciple angrily yelled.
Li Qiye ignored him and kept on walking to the third level. Nan Huairen lamented the fact that these disciples could only see an outside appearance. Do they actually think that Li Qiye was an idiot?
Once they stepped inside the third level of the Weapon Armory, there was a blinding light enumerated from the many dazzling auras. The Life and True weapons surrounded by the rotation lights of their own auras made heavenly noises and exerted the energy of the Grand Dao like an unstoppable tsunami; it was as if all of these treasures were alive.
Without a doubt, these weapons, here, had a higher grade and status than the ones in the second level.
"Senior, all the Life and True weapons here are exceptional versus the ones below. The lowest grade here is Inner Longevity and the highest is Heaven's Primal. There is even a True Deity True Treasure here in the Weapon Armory." Nan Huairen explained to Li Qiye.
Life weapons and True weapons were connected to the cultivators using them. It was better for an Inner Longevity cultivator to pick an Inner Longevity weapon.
"Look, this is Jiu Lu Longevity Wheel!" Nan Huairen introduced: "Senior, this wheel was made from the life rings of a Jiu Lu Longevity beast, and it inherited the strength of this beast; if you use this wheel to feed your life essence, it will purify your blood force."
"And this is Jiang Fei Heavenly Rope."
Nan Huairen explained in a way that showed Li Qiye that he completely memorized the details on the contents of this third level treasure room.
"This treasure was created from the bones of a Heavenly beast in the Warrior Canopy rank. I believe that this beast was a Twin Headed Half-Dragon. Once you are connected to this treasure, you could use it to activate the original truths of the dragon bones."
"Over there is the Hell Breaker Axe, it was forged from a piece of Star Spirit Immortal Steel…"
Nan Huairen seemed as if he knew all of the Life and True weapons on this third level; he couldn't stop introducing all of them to Li Qiye.
Li Qiye glanced at him and praised: "It seems like you are really familiar with this place."
Nan Huairen blushed and replied to Li Qiye's remark: "I always ask to tag along each time my master had to go to the Weapon Armory, so I know a little bit about this place. The fourth level, however, I only went up there once with my ancestor."
Because Nan Huairen was amicable and social, unlike his master, Elder Sun liked him a lot.
"The floor above… what Life and True Treasures does it have?" Li Qiye casually asked.
The Weapon Armory has nine levels, but he was only, currently, at the third floor.
"I've only been in the fourth level once; the treasures there were of the Royal Nobles level. As for the above floors, I do not know the exact details for each." Nan Huairen shook his head.
"Would level nine contain an Immortal Emperor True Weapon?" Li Qiye voiced his question. Min Ren had created many True Weapons throughout his life, and Li Qiye knew that Min Ren had left a few behind to protect the sect.
Nan Huairen looked around and whispered: "I heard that we no longer have any Immortal Emperor Life Treasures. So naturally, we also don't have any Immortal Emperor True Treasures either."
"There is nothing left?" Li Qiye found that hard to believe because Min Ren didn't just leave one. No matter how unfilial his descendants might be, they couldn't just throw them all away.
Nan Huairen shook his head and softly answered: "I don't know the exact details, not even my master knows. Like I told you before, thirty thousand years ago, we fought the Heavenly God Sect. In that battle, we lost the right to our Ancient Kingdom that we had been reigning for hundred thousands of years as well as our last Immortal Emperor True Treasure."