033: The Signal
Next is the small Bell Artifact that was made into a bracelet pendant. The bell was so small that Zemirah could hold it in her palm without hindrance. It was colored gold with many silver clouds as a design.
[Ding!]
[Name]: [Silver Cloud Golden Bell] | Common-Quality Mid-Stage Grade 1
[Introduction]: A bell artifact that has slight healing effects through sounds. It can relieve, headaches, nausea, and other small negative buff.
"This bell artifact is like a small medicine," Zemirah said in wonder as she shook the bell on the bracelet.
A pleasant tinkling sounded that slightly eased her expression.
Satisfied, she put down the [Silver Cloud Golden Bell] and took the flute artifact that she had anticipated long ago.
[Ding!]
[Name]: [Cold Jade Flute] | Common-Quality Low-Stage Grade 1
[Introduction]: A flute artifact that has a slight blessing to Ice-Type skills. Made from common forging materials, Cold Jade. Holding the artifact can make the user feel cool, best effect in summer.
Zemirah admired the beautiful patterns hidden in the flute and thought that this cold and cool-looking flute must be suitable for a person like Roch. He gave people around him the feeling of cool bamboo standing straight above the snow mountains and cold ruthlessness to his enemies.
However, the flute artifact was low-quality and the grade made her quite shy to give it to the man. She has the intuition that Roch must be someone who never lacks treasures and what he has in hand are all high-quality ones.
The only good thing about this flute artifact is its outside appearance which is pleasant to the eye.
"Whatever, just give it to him. If he dislikes it, then I will just take it back." Zemirah murmured to herself.
She was curious how the System would label Roch when she gave this artifact. A person she barely knows for a day, are they considered as friends?
"It must be friends, time is not a measurement for friendship." She said to herself, seemingly trying to convince someone.
Putting aside her random thoughts and the flute artifact, Zemirah took the last artifact. It was the brush artifact that was added by the old man after she bargained when buying his items.
The brush was not as eye-catching as the other artifacts, its beauty was deeply hidden on the wood handle where miniature and almost untraceable carvings of dragons can be seen.
"A dragon again? That old man must like dragons very much." She just doesn't know if true dragons really look like the ones in the carving.
"Sia." She whispered in her heart.
[Ding!]
[Name]: [Wooden Dragons Calligraphy Brush] | Common-Quality Low-Stage Grade 1
[Introduction]: A calligraphy brush artifact that is carved with dragon patterns. Has a very low probability of helping the user when writing a character related to a dragon. Made from common materials such as Black Scale Wood and Dark Haired Wolf.
Zemirah saw the introduction and her attention stopped at the second sentence. She knew that there are many types of cultivators and Bright Light Dynasty is known for being the center of Art Cultivators and has the famous Four Divine Arts.
There is the Painter Cultivator who is rumored to be able to draw a separate world in one painting at its peak. A Chess Cultivator that can make the battlefield his chessboard and manipulate every being. A Music Cultivator that uses music to attack, defend, heal, and support. And then the Calligraphy Cultivator uses a brush to write words that can manifest in different forms.
Zemirah only met Roch, a music cultivator who is also a sword cultivator. She saw the horror of his music that seemed to freeze all beings from the body to the soul.
She wondered how the other three arts fare in real life.
"Let's see if Roch also does calligraphy, this brush artifact is also good-looking." Zemirah kept all the artifacts in her space ring and started to think of how to give her a gift.
"I don't think a gift box is a good idea, maybe I should buy a wooden box or jade box to place the gifts." Zemirah nodded to herself. "I should probably have a stock so that I can have a container when giving gifts next time."
She recalled her way of gifting before, just handing over the item and that's it.
"A container is a good way to let the gift have a surprise effect. How could I forget this." Patting her head in annoyance, Zemirah talked to Sia, her System, in her mind.
"Sia, when do you think the attack would start?"
[Ding! I don't know the Host, but I suggest you prepare yourself just in case.]
"Oh, you're right."
Zemirah stopped wasting time and took out the items she needed. From her artifacts like her sword as her weapon, some artifacts for protection, and her jade pendant that always warned her of danger. Then there is the talisman that she relied on before and even more now. Then some pills to replenish her energy, heal wounds, and detoxify in case of accidental poisoning.
Seeing her preparation, Sia suggested. [Ding! Host, why don't you take out the poisons you got from Verona]
Zemirah was hesitant, "This... I don't think it's good?"
Thinking of the poisons that she never touched in her last life and present life, Zemirah can't imagine herself using poisons to harm others in such a disgusting way.
Her impression of poisons was at rock bottom, just thinking of their effect on a person.
[Ding! Remind the Host that your enemies won't hesitate in the way they kill you. They won't care if you end up dead beautifully or ugly.]
Sia's words touched Zemirah's heart, making her instantly clear her mind. The hesitation in her heart was gone and she readily took out the poisons.
"I'm quite afraid that I may use the poison in the wrong way. I don't want to accidentally poison myself because of my stupidity." Zemirah shared with Sia her worries.
[Ding! Don't worry Host, even if you are poisoned, I guarantee that the detoxifying pills in your body will be effective.]
Zemirah did not know whether to be grateful or not for Sia's words.
"Why do I feel like you're mocking me?"
[Ding! Host is just imagining things.]
The cute system in Zemirah's cognition was broken. This is not a cute system, this is a bully system, Zemirah muttered to herself, forgetting about the fact that Sia could read her mind.
[Ding! Host-]
Zemirah gritted her teeth as she interrupted Sia's words with the premonition that she would not like what she would hear if she allowed Sia to finish.
"Shut up, Sia. Don't distract me, I'm focusing." She did not shout at Sia but said in a low and serious voice in her mind.
She did not know if Sia believed her words but her System turned quiet, giving Zemirah her peace of mind.
Just as she sighed in relief, the peace she just acquired was suddenly broken when a sharp sword intent whistled followed by a loud explosion outside. She did not know if it was the signal Roch was talking about but she was sure that something was happening outside.
Zemirah kept her tent inside her space ring with a thought, closely followed by a loud painful roar.
"AH!" It was a male voice sounding like a beast howl.
Zemirah saw Roch and Martin confronting a man whose body was full of burnt marks. She forgot the man's appearance as she was shocked to see the man's burnt face that almost erased his facial features. His eyes were blood red, not something a human would have.
"This?!" She exclaimed and hurriedly moved away from the battlefield. She remembered Roch's instruction of keeping herself safe from a distance while looking for an opportunity to finish the enemy.
Roch was holding a sword that looked like made from ice from the depths of the ocean. Snow swirled around him and cold wind blew his hair, emphasizing his handsome but cold countenance.
Zemirah ignored her distracting thoughts as she unsheathed her [Purple Heaven Butterfly Sword] with one move and her other hand was holding a Supreme-Quality Late-Stage Grade 2 [Ice Sword Hail Talisman].
It was the highest talisman she had in her inventory, she did not hesitate to take it out in such a dangerous situation.
Roch was facing the Jade Teal Town Lord with Martin assisting on the side. Martin is also a weapon cultivator, holding a dagger in each hand.
She has the illusion that the foodie man often used his dagger not for killing enemies but for killing ingredients for his food.
The Jade Teal Town Lord saw the precarious situation and knew he was completely exposed the moment the Whitelock Young Master attacked him with his sword.
He did not try to beg for mercy but used everything he had to keep his life. Maybe, even try to kill the young man, though he knew it was unlikely.
Purplish Green energy gathered in his hand, deflecting the young man's sword attack and sometimes using some hidden means to sneak attack. It was unsuccessful though as the annoying subordinate of the young man kept a close eye on his actions.
Thoughts flooded his mind as the sense of crisis hovered on his when his eyes inadvertently caught a figure. It was the lady that the young man had been taking care all the way since yesterday.
Cruel light flashed on his blood-red eyes.
A bold idea formed in his heart, making him use his life as a bet just to look for a chance to survive the current situation.
'I don't believe you'll ignore this little girl.' He thought in his heart as he took out a set of needle artifacts from his space bag. The needle artifact is a Rare-Quality Mid-Stage Grade 2 weapon artifact he spent a huge fortune to obtain.
It was his most precious weapon that he only used at critical moments. The needle was concealed deeply and was nourished with different poisons.
He killed so many cultivators and even a cultivator at Late-Stage of the Foundation Building Realm relying on this needle artifact coupled with a sneak attack.
Roch saw the change in his opponent's eyes and immediately knew something was up. He did not dare hold back anymore and urged his spiritual power, the killing intent in his sword reached its peak. Just as he slashed his sword at the enemy, a bad premonition surged in his heart.
The premonition did not stop when his attack landed on the enemy's chest, seriously injuring the man with a huge sword wound that one could even see his bones and some sharp ice even formed.
Zemirah saw Roch seriously injuring the Teal Jade Town Lord, she was overjoyed. However, the smile on her lips did not last long when the jade pendant on her waist suddenly sent an urgent alarm.
The signal was so sudden that she did not have the time to process what was happening. She only did what was left of her instinct. At that moment, Zemirah realized her lack of fighting experience that led her to not have a strong battle intuition.
All she relied on was her jade pendant that gave her warning.
She used the spiritual energy she could muster to activate the talisman and the protective artifacts she had on her body.
A Grade 2 artifact took more than half of her spiritual energy while the defensive talisman only needed little spiritual energy to be activated.
A silent and deadly voice seemed to have whispered to her as a small hidden weapon passed through the talisman she activated. The Grade 2 defensive artifact was not fully activated, Zemirah watched in horror as the protective wall around her slowly broke. She can see a small needle glinting dangerously.
The Teal Jade Town Lord actually has the time to deal with her!
Angry at the enemy and ashamed of herself for being complacent, Zemirah felt the needle artifact pierced her arm as she tried to protect her vital parts.
The pain almost made her faint, she could not describe the feeling of being pierced through by a needle filled with poisons.
She could feel the poison spreading on her arm but she gritted her teeth to keep her mum.
With all her last strength, she took out a pile of Grade 2 talismans she could muster and activated them all against the person who just sneak-attacked her.