*PING!!*
Pillars after pillars of golden light shoot out of the tomb and display Wang Ji's name.
"..."
No one can comment on it. It is miraculous.
At this rate, Wang Ji will be hoarding every single artifact of the tomb and nothing will be left behind.
Tian Long becomes increasingly frustrated as he clenched his fist.
The gap in cultivation is too wide. Tian Long is at the peak of Core Formation while Wang Ji is at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Yet the difference in performance between the two is heaven and earth.
"I am supposed to be the star of this event!!" Tian Long mumbles. "Unacceptable! Unacceptable!!"
Xie Mo is still roaming around the edges of the maze, confused about the directions. "Where did I put that weapon? Damn it! I know it's somewhere here but... How is Wang Ji getting everything?"
Xie Mo's memory is failing him, it has been 10,000 years since he built this tomb.
-----------------
2 days later
-----------------
I place the red crimson dagger into my dimensional pouch.
Phew... This should be every artifact I can get in this tomb.
But the tomb is still intact. The artifacts fuel the tomb and the flow of Qi here is thinner but there is still one more source of Qi.
All routes on the map have turned green. But...
Qi is seeping into the room from my northeast.
...
I scroll the map to the upper right and spot an unusual route that is black.
A singular route that leads out of the maze.
...
I decided to check it out.
Upon digging diagonally, it took me 5 hours to reach the edge.
Another corridor is extended into unknown territory.
...
Signs of people? The dirt has been shoved aside to form a clear trail There shouldn't be anyone else in here except...Xie Mo.
I walk through the corridor.
----------------
Xie Mo walks into a dark room and snaps. The torches surrounding the room light up. At the end of the room, a sword is obliquely plunged into the ground, held down by layers of chains.
The sword is ragged and rusty, and parts of the blade are chipped out. Yet Xie Mo is starting at it with gleaming relief.
"Finally!"
Xie Mo was lost in the maze, sometimes mistaking dead ends for the edge of the maze.
Xie Mo walks to it.
Ahead of me are lights shining into the corridor, I take a peek over a corner and see Xie Mo's back.
There he is!
!?
I drop a kick on Xie Mo's back to launch him beyond the sword.
He collides with the wall and plummets limp on the ground.
*BLARGH!*
He spits out blood as he grasps his body in pain.
"Fuck...The wound..."
Xie Mo tried to turn his head and look at who attacked him. His body isn't listening.
Splashes of Pain occur throughout his body and his spine is fractured. He can only stay in that position but he doesn't need to move to know who attacked him.
"Wang Ji... How are you here...Weren't you at the blood whirl dagger chamber... 5 hours ago..."
I walk towards the sword. "Is there something special about this sword?"
!
"Don't touch that! ARGH!"
An agitated Xie Mo deepen the severity of his wound but Xie Mo don't back off.
"Stop... Don't touch that! Stay away from that!"
He managed to turn his body around and slowly crawl to the sword.
I smirk.
"Go...away...huff huff..."
He is losing consciousness. Part of his left eyelid has already slid down and his right eye is closed.
I walk to Xie Mo and step on his chest.
"ACK!"
Blood spits from his mouth. His body stops moving.
Xie Mo disappears into blue particles.
Phew. What's the fuss about that sword?
(!)
I can sense Azrim's thrilling excitement.
?
(That sword... Go to it. I want to devour it.)
Devour it?
(Don't worry. The properties of her will be integrated into me.)
Her?
The sword trembles upon approach. Azrim's blade turns into a giant red mist aura that engulfs the sword. A few seconds later, the aura dissipates and leaves behind only chains and an engraved ground.
----------------
Azrim has consumed a fragment of a divine entity.
Azrim's strength has been enhanced and he can now shapeshift into:
-Spear
-Daggers
-Halberd
-Rapier
-----------------
Azrim licks his lips.
(Haha... To think I would find a fragment of that bitch here. I've had my fill, the rest is yours since master recovered his meridians.)
!!!
A rush of Qi invades my Dantian and I was forced to sit and focus on absorbing every bit.
"Huff..."
One breath out and my body glows. I've reached the bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment.
Only at that instance do I realise bones under the original position of that sword. Is that emperor Hua?
Regardless, the tomb starts to tremble as my body fades away.
-------------------
*grrrr*
The next thing I know, I am in the crater. The tomb behind me breaks apart into countless pieces.
But this awkward silence...
Crowds of people stare at me.
In the crater, only the disciple of the Red Fire God sect remains with disciples of my sect tied up. Xiang Hou has his arm twisted and broken, Li Xing is lying on the floor, grasping her stomach.
...
"Still acting so indifferent huh..." Tian Long says. "I told you! He doesn't care about any of you!"
...
That Tian Long is annoying.
I look around and realise the sect Patriarchs and disciples are merely spectating. Are they afraid of the Red Fire God's influence? Interesting. These weapons have no purpose to me if they only attract dangers.
I take out the spear I first found.
"That's..."
"This is one of the artifacts I found! I will now start an auction to sell all of the relics."
!!!!!!!!!!!
Tian Long widens his eye. "W-What are you doing?"
I ignore him and take a vertical swing at the nearest mountain.
*BOOOM!!*
The first form of the Sword of Reign exaggerated the effect, the spear carved a deep icy trench to the mountain and punctured a hole through. The ice exploded into glaciers near me that gradually flattens as it goes.
"T-That is an ice artifact! The Spear of Winter!"
"Isn't that a counter against the Red Fire God sect martial arts?"
Everyone gulps. They now view this as an opportunity to overtake Red Fire God sect and are not afraid.
"Impudent bastards! Do all of you not show any respect against elders!" The elder of the Red Fire God sect attempts to speak.
The Jade emperor smiles. The servant noticed it and her jaws drop.
Despite the elder's speech, one man dressed in long green robes with a Taoist hat steps forward. He has a long black beard and thick eyebrows.
"We will buy it for 1 gold coin."
!!
1 gold coin is ridiculously cheap and unreasonable for the spear.
Others who refused to accept that such an important artifact fall into the hands of another sect for 1 gold coin starts to place their bids as well.
In end, the bids came up as high as 2 gold ingots.
It is tempting but they resisted.
I sigh and throw the spear at the buyer when he tosses a small container with two gold ingots.
Afterwards, I take out a dagger that emits a spine-chilling aura.
"This will be the next item."
!!!
"You are crazy! You want to sell everything?!" Tian Long exclaims.
Of course not, I kept the important artifacts to myself.
"What are we going to do? At this rate, every sect here will be almost or on par with us." Says the elder of Red Fire God sect.
"D-Damn it."
What the elder meant wasn't sect strength. In terms of techniques, Red Fire God are dominant. But if we take into account ancient artifacts, the chances of winning diminishes drastically; Red Fire God sect might lose its throne as the second-best in the Tiansu sect tournament when they repeatedly face people with artifacts.
After 3 more artifacts are sold, Tian Long finally bids. "Three gold ingots and your disciples."
?!
"Tian Long!" The elder says. "If you do this, what about our reputation?"
"What reputation will we have if another sect overshadows us."
"I will return them and-"
"You want to 'return' them when you've crippled them?"
"... Give the elixir to them."
"That's..."
The elder sighs and twists Xiang Hou's arm back to its original position.
"ARG-"
He pops a pill inside Xiang Hou's mouth and the pain is instantly relieved.
The disciples gave each of my disciples an elixir pill.
"Satisfied?" Tian Long asks.
I smile. "Sure."
The weapon he bid on is the weakest out of them all anyways.
The Jade Emperor's grin stays unfazed. He is enjoying the show. "An interesting lad. Looks like the rumours are true, he is from the upper realms."
"Apologies, your majesty, how can you be so sure?"
"Explain this." The emperor says.
...
"It's a miracle if even one is found in that giant labyrinth of confusion and traps. Yet he hoarded all of it and is selling them as if those are mere trash."