On the vast expanse of the Heiyan Grassland, a caravan slowly made its way, stirring up clouds of dust along the road. Whether it was the packs of wild wolves on the grassland or the small groups of bandits, they all let out strange cries upon seeing this group and then quickly dispersed like a whirlwind. Near Yunshui City, there were no large bandit gangs or swarms of magical beasts. If these things appeared occasionally, they were nipped in the bud by the Nalan family. With the Nalan family's monopoly over Yunshui City, they would not allow any significant power to emerge near them. Thus, the magical beasts and bandits on the Heiyan Grassland usually operated in small groups, preying on small merchant caravans or lone travelers, but they would do nothing more than observe when encountering a large caravan.
Inside the slightly jolting carriage, Li Yi and Gong Wushuang sat opposite each other, both immersed in quiet cultivation. A thin layer of ice crystals enveloped Gong Wushuang, indicating that she had entered some peculiar state. Li Yi exhaled slowly, squinting at Gong Wushuang, then sighed internally, "Old Coot, I've stimulated so much Yuanqi to nourish you, you should be able to recover to your peak state, right?"
The voice of The Serpent Venerable sounded faintly, "How can it be so easy? I've expended too much this time. It's estimated that it will take ten days or half a month to recover to the peak state..."
Li Yi frowned and said, "Doesn't that mean, in this situation, to trouble the Nalan family, we have to wait until Gong Wushuang recovers her strength?"
"If that little girl is willing to listen, with her strength as a Warrior, she can certainly suppress the people of the Nalan family easily, but well... Kid, your own strength is also extremely important," The Serpent Venerable stated lightly.
Li Yi nodded slightly, "I know my strength is important, but under the current circumstances, is it even possible to quickly enhance my strength? Even if I continue to cultivate in seclusion, when can I advance to a Fighter is still a big question. I estimate that if I don't participate in the God Worship Ceremony, it won't be easy for me to advance."
The Serpent Venerable chuckled, "Kid, who said it's not easy for you to advance... There is an opportunity right now for you to easily advance to a Fighter..."
"Old Coot, what do you mean?" Li Yi inquired.
This time, The Serpent Venerable did not tease Li Yi further and said faintly, "Do you still remember the small orb you obtained in the Warrior Tomb? Take it out..."
Li Yi slightly frowned but still took out the small orb from the Storage Ring as instructed. The ordinary-looking orb emitted a faint halo, and no matter how one looked at it, it seemed unremarkable. Li Yi examined it carefully again before sighing internally, "Old Coot, no matter how I look at it, I can't see how this thing can help me advance to a Fighter. Is this some kind of magical beast's core? Although consuming a magical core can allow one to advance to the level of that beast, one's cultivation will stop there for life... If it's really this thing, I'm not interested..."
"Do you think if it were a magical beast's core, would it be worthy for a King to keep it along with a Baihu-level technique?" The Serpent Venerable chuckled coldly, "But I can't blame you, this thing hasn't appeared on the Martial Deity Continent for many years. It's surprising that it appeared in a small Tianfeng Empire. Not to mention its appearance, even if only its name is mentioned, it would cause a storm of bloodshed... However, not many have seen this thing, and those who have seen it but don't recognize it are probably even more..."
The serious tone of The Serpent Venerable made Li Yi shudder inwardly and ask, "Old Coot, this thing isn't one of the nineteen divine weapons, is it?"
The Serpent Venerable sneered, "Ignorant kid, when you go out, don't say you are a disciple of The Serpent Venerable! The so-called nineteen divine weapons are naturally nineteen types of weapons. How can you see this as a weapon?"
"So, what exactly is it..." Li Yi smiled ingratiatingly.
The Serpent Venerable chuckled, "Kid, do you know that besides the nineteen divine weapons, there are thirty-three demon weapons on the Martial Deity Continent?"
"Thirty-three demon weapons? Could this small orb be..." Li Yi's expression became extremely peculiar.
The Serpent Venerable did not answer directly, but said faintly, "The thirty-three demon weapons and the nineteen divine weapons are both unique items above ninth-grade on the Martial Deity Continent. These items are said to be relics from ancient times, and no one knows when their rankings came to be... But whenever a divine weapon or demon weapon appears, it always stirs up a bloodbath... In the past, I saw five Venerable fighters fighting over a demon weapon. One of them got the weapon first and was able to withstand the other four great Venerables with one person and one weapon, then left leisurely! Later, he even reached a very high level on the Martial Deity Continent with that weapon. Although I haven't seen him for many years, if I'm not wrong, he's probably at the very top of the Martial Deity Continent now... And the demon weapon he got at that time was only ranked thirteenth..."
Listening, Li Yi was captivated and couldn't help asking, "What was the name of the demon weapon that the high-ranking person got?"
"Does it matter to you?" The Serpent Venerable chuckled, "Kid, it's not that I don't want to tell you, but you haven't reached that level yet... Knowing these things is meaningless."
Li Yi couldn't help but roll his eyes. Damn it, Old Coot! If you won't tell me, just say so. Why tantalize me like this!
Seemingly perceiving Li Yi's thoughts, The Serpent Venerable chuckled, "Kid, I tell you these not to tantalize your curiosity, but to make you understand the magical powers of these divine weapons and demon artifacts, and the heights they can help one reach..." Li Yi curled his lips and said, "What you mean is, this small orb is also one of the thirty-three demon artifacts... I understand what you mean, Old Coot. Just tell me what exactly this thing is."
The Serpent Venerable seemed to sigh faintly before speaking lightly, "This object is called the Tiankun Diqian Orb... Among the thirty-three demon artifacts, it ranks thirty-second..."
"Thi... Thirty-second..." Li Yi's mouth twitched slightly, not sure how to feel. Generally speaking, getting an item from the list of divine weapons and demon artifacts would be a great opportunity for anyone. But to hear that the item in one's possession is ranked so low, anyone would feel a bit peculiar.
"Damn! There are only thirty-three demon artifacts, and this thing ranks thirty-second... It's almost at the bottom!"
"What? You're dissatisfied because it ranks low?" The Serpent Venerable asked with a light smile, "Greedy kid, even if it were the thirty-third, if you dared to let out a hint that it's in your possession, I guarantee by tomorrow your Li family would be wiped out, and the powerhouses around Tianfeng Empire would see you as a mortal enemy. Believe it or not?"
Li Yi exhaled lightly, feeling oddly calm. An ordinary person hearing about such an item might faint from excitement, but he was unusually composed...
"Alright," Li Yi took another careful look at Gong Wushuang, who was still in a state of cultivation, oblivious to the outside world, and then continued in his mind, "Old Coot, since this thing is the thirty-second ranked demon artifact, what benefits does it have? Go ahead and tell me."
The Serpent Venerable spoke gravely, "Among the thirty-three demon artifacts, only five are not for protection or combat... And this Tiankun Diqian Orb, among these five, is the lowest ranked. However, its low rank is not because it's not good, but rather because compared to other demon artifacts, its usefulness is not valued by those extraordinary powerhouses. For example, the one ranked nineteenth can create infinite clones, each only as strong as one-tenth of the master's strength. But the person who gets a demon artifact, who would be simple? Even with only one-tenth strength, the power it can exert is... Heh heh..."
"As for this Tiankun Diqian Orb, while it might be a 'chicken rib' (useless) for others, its function is excellent for you at this moment..." Li Yi curled his lips and said, "Enough with the nonsense, you've been talking for so long, and I still haven't heard what this thing does..."
The Serpent Venerable laughed heartily, "Such an impatient kid. I was going to teach you more, but since you're not willing to listen, fine. Pay attention, the first function of this Tiankun Diqian Orb is to condense Yuanqi... Kid, as you know, ordinary cultivation involves absorbing Yuanqi from the world and then slowly refining it into source Fighter Qi. But Yuanqi can be either thin or rich. In places where Yuanqi is rich, people of the same talent cultivate faster, and where Yuanqi is sparse, cultivation is naturally slower... The function of the Tiankun Diqian Orb is to greatly reduce your speed in condensing Yuanqi during cultivation. That is, in the same place, if it took you an hour to condense a strand of Fighter Qi before, then with this Tiankun Diqian Orb, perhaps it wouldn't even take half an hour... Therefore, this Tiankun Diqian Orb has another name, called the 'Cultivation Accelerator'..."
Li Yi took a deep breath. The function of the Tiankun Diqian Orb was indeed significant for him at this moment, truly worthy of the name of a demon artifact... But if that's its only function, isn't it a bit too wasteful?
"Of course, if the Tiankun Diqian Orb only had this function, then there would be nothing extraordinary about it," The Serpent Venerable continued, "Apart from accelerating cultivation, if you can refine this Tiankun Diqian Orb into your body, then when needed, you can instantly increase your strength by one level... Although this increase has a time limit, it will absolutely not cause any side effects to your body, unlike when I help you increase your strength... Kid, think about it, now you are at the Fighter level, using it to elevate to Warrior might not be very impressive... But what if you cultivate to the Warrior level? Or the King level?"
Li Yi was genuinely shocked. The difficulty of each advancement in cultivation, especially at later stages, was unimaginable to ordinary people. Particularly after reaching the Emperor level, one couldn't advance merely through diligent cultivation; it depended on the understanding of the principles of Fighter Qi and comprehension... But at that time, if one could use the Tiankun Diqian Orb to advance to the Venerable level and comprehend the power of the Venerable level, the benefits for breaking through would be indescribable... Not to mention the utility of advancing one level in combat, just these two benefits for cultivation alone were incredibly significant...
Sensing Li Yi's shock, The Serpent Venerable chuckled and continued, "Moreover, the benefits of this thing are not limited to just these two. After refining it, you'll not only be immune to all poisons, but also, if you suffer any difficult-to-heal injuries, they will heal at the fastest rate. Especially when breaking through to the next level, the kind of indelible damage left behind, there are only three things in the world that can heal it, and this Tiankun Diqian Orb... is the most effective of them..."
"Kid, now you should know why two Emperors and seven Kings would make such a big move for this item, right? I think, if it weren't for fear of being known by others, Beidou Sect and Martial Deity Hall would have long since come out in full force!"