“Brilliant. Yes, you’re right,” BloodShade confirmed, chuckling at the boy’s deduction. “Soulforged artifacts are like cultivators themselves and are often more powerful than their users since ownership of the artifact is not dependent on a person’s strength but on whether they meet the hidden requirement to be its owner,” she stated, nodding her head as she envisioned a certain scenario. “Just imagine a fight between two peak expert cultivators. Who do you think would win if one has a soulforged artifact and can use its abilities without using his own energy?”
“Are you saying I can use your abilities without using my aura?” Elysian asked for confirmation, his mind immediately pondering the implications of that revelation.
“Yes, I’m saying that. You can use my aura to power the abilities of the knife,” BloodShade confirmed, smiling at the shocked expression of the boy. “You already know the energy in a cultivator can only replenish through their regeneration. There are no potions or artifacts that I know of that can increase or aid in the replenishment of someone's aura.”
‘She is correct. Currently, there are no known alchemical creations or artifacts that increase a person’s aura capacity and regeneration. Even in my previous life, this problem has never been solved. This is the reason why many cultivators prefer to choose the middle dantian as their primary core because it greatly boosts a person’s energy and regeneration. In a fight, this greatly increases their chances of victory and the plethora of abilities they can use.
Also, I believe that she must have more energy than me, and even her regeneration should be better. If that’s the case, can I use her aura to power my own abilities?’
“Yes, I know that. Hey, can I use your energy to enhance myself?” Elysian asked, looking at her expectantly. “If I can do that…”
“Sadly, no,” BloodShade immediately interjected, shaking her head. “My aura cannot enter your body because you are a step higher in the hierarchy of our relationship as the owner of the artifact. This means that if I use up all my energy, you can use your own to power my abilities; however, the reverse isn’t possible.”
‘Hmm… That makes sense. Just as I expected, if it could do that, I would truly be a formidable cultivator. The things I could do with it would be terrifying.’
Noticing the dismay on his face, BloodShade said, “You should be happy about that since you don’t want a foreign aura to enter your body, even someone like me whom you trust the most,” she said, grinning widely, showing her fangs. When the boy swallowed hard, she chuckled and continued, “I’m just messing with you, but I think you understand the gist of what I’m trying to say.”
‘She’s right, it could be very dangerous letting someone’s aura enter my body even though I trust that someone wholeheartedly. Like what BloodShade did in the past; she was able to control my body.’
“I can see your disappointment. This is the reason why I warned you earlier. Even though gaining a soulforged artifact will give you a great advantage in a fight, it will not make you invincible. You will not just suddenly defeat a peak cultivator in a face-to-face duel. Like in all battles, gaining powerful artifacts, powerful abilities, or even superior cultivation will not guarantee a victory,” she stated, staring at the boy seriously. “With your prior experience, I know you already know this. This was proven with your fight with that vile thug, Grimscar.”
“Don’t worry, I know that too well,” Elysian responded, smiling at her sincerely. “Even though I’m often arrogant, I'm not a fool. I know full well that even a normal mortal could defeat a cultivator if he knows how to exploit his weakness.”
“Good,” BloodShade said, nodding at him approvingly. “Having an extra aura to use for the knife is just one of the advantages. The other one is no less prized by cultivators, and that is the abilities a soulforged provides. True, you couldn’t pick which abilities you get, and maybe they might be less useful to you than the others but rest assured all of them are powerful. Some might need some creativity to be effective, while others may be situational but with your ingenuity, I know you will use them to their fullest potential.”
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Out of nowhere, the traits and abilities of the knife suddenly appeared before Elysian’s eyes.
image [https://i.imgur.com/HFUBLak.png]
‘Crimson Blood? This is an epic passive ability. The effect seems to be quite simple, a status effect—bleeding. This might appear to be unimpressive at first look, but if you think carefully a ‘severe’ bleeding? Isn’t this a death sentence to the unlucky ones wounded by BloodShade? This will dictate life and death in a fight, simple but extremely deadly.
Damn, I like this. Not to mention this is a passive ability, meaning I don’t need aura to use this.’
image [https://i.imgur.com/DvmAe4Q.png]
‘This is what BloodShade had told me earlier, so a Soulforged is a passive ability also. Hmm, interesting.’
image [https://i.imgur.com/M3Nbejd.png]
‘Blodwyn’s Heritage? Hmm… Let’s see. It seems this ability gives me an element. Is it even possible? An element is inherent in a person itself. It’s like changing the nature of an individual. I didn’t know you could just acquire one. In my past life, even after a century of existence, I haven’t been able to get a single element. This just shows how difficult it is to get one. Well, I did get time, but it’s already after I regressed to this life. Even now, I don’t know where I got that element. Is it from Eye or it was caused by my regression?
Well, if I’m given a new element, I won’t refuse such a blessing even though blood as an element is pretty ominous.’
image [https://i.imgur.com/OhCsFTN.png]
‘Well, well, another element. I have three now. When it rains, it really pours, it seems. This time it’s the shadow element—a true reflection of the elements that the twin serpent represents.
Good, I’ll gladly accept this. Thank you, Tenebris!
Wait, Tenebris? Is that the name of the black serpent? Then, the name of the crimson one is Blodwyn. Their name suits them well.
Thank you both of you. These two elements are quite nice. Now, I have plenty of options on the abilities I’m able to use. This will open up many opportunities for me.’
image [https://i.imgur.com/qa2RSPf.png]
‘Twin Serpent’s Sacred Rite? Hmm… an epic. This seems to have a higher rating than the previous two. This passive ability seems to increase my Ritual Mastery to superior. An ability to increase mastery is good since mastery is extremely hard to increase, but Ritual Mastery? Damn, I don’t know anything about rituals? This area of knowledge is often left to those who are involved in religion and esoteric stuff not to a commerce person like me.
Well, it is free, so beggars can’t be choosers, right? In time I might be able to find uses for this ability. My only worry is that the wording of the description of this skill is worrying. ‘Brandish your voice and spill the blood of many as a herald of the coming chaos,’ damn, that’s pretty ominous. I’ve heard that abilities from the Abyss often have scary descriptions since the source of such abilities came from some cosmic horrors, but that is just it, descriptions. That’s the reason why the use of such abilities isn’t banned, though using them is highly frowned upon in some places.’
image [https://i.imgur.com/Zcu6vl6.png]
‘A rare ability, Mark of the Chosen. This might appear to be a downgrade from an epic rating, but this is more useful. I know full well from experience how terrifying and dangerous creatures from the Abyss are. These entities are mysterious and powerful. It’s no wonder that many religions and cults worship some of the terrifying entities in that accursed realm.
Having a rank of a Greater Terror? Hmm…. Isn’t this one of the eldritch commanders? Does this mean I can command Lesser Abominations just as the ability says? If this is the case, good, good this will be extremely helpful for me since I just started my first step into cultivation.
That’s the last of the passive abilities I’ve gotten. Did I just get lucky? All of these are very good. It seems fate is smiling at me today, and she should be since she threw me into some terrifying situation. This is just payment for all the suffering I experience, right? But why am I feeling worried? There shouldn’t be a catch for this wonderful stuff, right?’
Swallowing hard, Elysian reluctantly accessed the trait ‘Xipilcoatl’s Chosen.’
image [https://i.imgur.com/6YEAdyu.png]
‘Sh*! A curse. Yup, it seems fate hasn’t grown tired of screwing me over.’