On the next day, which was exactly thirty days before the start of The Dark Sea Arena, Li Lang’s group set off to the venue located on Sword Saint Isle. All the students stayed within the realm. Only Li Lang, Long Yi, and Wei Ping exited. They were accompanied by Zhu Yi and Ma Kong, the couple from Nightmoon Valley.
Just as the sun rose, Li Lang could be seen standing before the four pillars that marked the entrance of the pocket realm. In fact, it could be said the four pillars were part of the realm itself. Placing a hand on the artifact, Li Lang was able to wordlessly convey his commands to his artifact spirits.
Under the eyes of his companions and the Nightmoon Valley members, the pillars rapidly began to shrink! The ground beneath erupted upward as the Crucible made its way out of the ground. Everything happened within an instant, so the onlookers were only able to get a good look at the mysterious Spirit-grade artifact when its movements ceased. It hovered right before Li Lang.
The artifact turned out to be one single object rather than four separate pillars. There was a circular disk at the bottom that connected it all into one piece. On the other side of the disk, three bright gems could be seen, each with a different color. It didn’t take a genius to realize the three gems represented the three artifact spirits, Orange, Green, and Blue.
Other than that, the material felt strangely light. It was almost weightless in Li Lang’s hand.
The only issue with it was that it couldn’t enter Li Lang’s space ring.
“Hmm, seems like it’s not possible, likely due to living people inside,” Li Lang muttered.
No one answered him as their eyes were glued to the precious artifact, each busy with their own thoughts.
Very soon, the group of five got over the spectacle and boarded Li Lang’s Skyrunner. They didn’t dawdle and got on their way.
“Is there really a need to leave so early?” Long Yi’s voice resounded within the interior of the vessel as it took to the skies. “There’s still an entire month before the start of this arena, right?”
“Our friends from Nightmoon Valley have informed us the journey could take anywhere from two weeks to a month,” Li Lang explained as he turned to the two guests in question. “They say it depends on what we encounter, but either way, it’s better to be early than having to rush.”
“Well, if we’re going to take our time, then can we stop somewhere that sells beast cores? I don’t know about you, but I could use more than just a Mortal-grade sword. Especially if I’m going to be facing off against other cultivators in the same realm.”
Long Yi was the only one of the two to have succeeded in creating an artifact. In contrast to Li Lang, he accomplished this by using the traditional method. While Li Lang had attempted to create weapons with more purpose to allow for an AI to take over the role of an artifact spirit, the results had been less than positive.
However, Li Lang did have a theory as to why.
He believed Qi to be psychoactive, responding to the thoughts of living beings. He attributed his previous instance where he was able to create the printer artifact to it. It was easy for him to imagine the mimeograph machine being controlled by an AI. It was a concept he easily accepted without question.
In the case of a cold weapon, the same couldn’t be said. There was just too little reason to fully believe in the conception of a sentient sword or spear without adding some circuitry to host the AI. It was just easier to imagine a drone wielding such a weapon instead.
These small subconscious doubts were what Li Lang believed to have foiled his attempts.
Still, he couldn’t prove it. He only had ten beast cores of each of the main elements. With each one being unique, repeated tests weren’t reliable either with all the variables. The challenge it posed had stumped Li Lang to the point that it made him want to rely on the traditional method.
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Research just took too long, and his entire group had a total of five cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm already. It was embarrassing to not even have a single Mortal-grade weapon artifact of any kind.
The problem was that the traditional method and his AI method opposed each other in their production. If it was creating a printer artifact like the Weave Press, it wouldn’t matter as he would be working with the same base. However, for weapons, the traditional method worked best with simple blades made of high-quality materials, without any waste. While his AI method had to make the weapon more sophisticated so it had a clear function.
It made it so that he couldn’t just attempt the traditional method first and then fall back on his AI method if it failed.
The plan was to procure even more beast cores and consult with the local Artificer Guild. Now that they had higher cultivation, it should be quite realistic to create Mortal-grade artifacts the traditional way. And if they could not, they were even planning to buy something suitable during their trip. The Dark Sea Arena, where numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered, was one of the best venues they could ask for with that purpose in mind.
As the young cultivators conversed merrily, their Skyrunner quickly made its way out of the barrier that surrounded the site where the pocket realm had been. The moment they went through the dark cover of the barrier, bright natural light shone on their vehicle.
Thankfully, these changes in luminosity couldn’t hinder cultivators of their rank. They picked up speed and headed north-east, aiming for the horizon.
The first leg of the journey passed by uneventfully. They were in the interior of the Luminescent Domain, so they came across few troublemakers. Even if they did chance upon them, they were too high in the sky and moving too quickly for them to intercept on such short notice.
It was only when they neared the border, with the towering mountain ranges that blocked the path out of the domain, that they were forced to lower their altitude. The Qi beasts in the area were still a threat. Beasts at the Peak of Energy Gathering level were just small fries compared to the ones that lurked deeper within. Flying too high would just attract their attention.
Just as they entered this dangerous area under the control of no human faction, Zhu Yi and Ma Kong of Nightmoon Valley exited the Skyrunner. They chose to perch themselves on top of the vehicle instead.
“You guys should prepare as well,” Li Lang said. “We’re traveling along a route that cuts across the territory of higher-level Qi beasts than the previous time we were here. There are real threats lurking about.”
“Why in the world did you select such a route, then?” Long Yi complained. “We could just use a similar route as last time. And how did you get those two to agree?”
“It’s to prepare ourselves. You said it yourself. We’re already lacking in equipment. Do you want us to be lacking in experience as well?”
“You want us to risk our lives fighting out in the wilderness?”
“It’s not that risky. Our friends from Nightmoon Valley are here to cover for us. From what I can tell, they’re at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. They’re more than capable enough to protect us.”
Before they could argue further, Long Yi’s fears came true. They all sensed a jolt of Qi from one of the mountains. They stuck their head out of the Skyrunner in time to witness Zhu Yi positioning herself between their vehicle and the source of the disturbance. A millisecond later, a sparkling translucent attack reached her. Just as it neared the woman, a sphere of darkness expanded with the Nightmoon Valley cultivator at the center, consuming everything, including the attack.
A second shot quickly came, and with all the cultivators on high alert, they soon were able to trace the trajectory all the way back to the source. What they found was a gigantic beetle standing on a thick tree branch. It sucked in the air around it and fired another shot toward Zhu Yi.
“Duck back into the Skyrunner!” Li Lang yelled. “That stuff could be acid. I’d rather not have any splash on me.”
“Relax. Isn’t that nice lady going to nullify it all?” Long Yi quipped.
As if having heard their conversation, Zhu Yi turned towards the two young men and smiled.
“I believe you wanted tempering, correct? One of you, take it from here.”
Right after she spoke, the second jet of liquid arrived near her and she once again used her technique that spread darkness all around her. However, this time, instead of consuming the attack, she deflected its trajectory right at Li Lang’s Skyrunner!
The Skyrunner jerked as Li Lang hurriedly got them out of the way. However, Li Lang instantly realized that was just a prelude to what was to come. That’s why he took the initiative. Without delay, he pushed Long Yi, who was still leaning out the window, out of the vehicle. Then he quickly retreated away as fast as the Skyrunner could go. As he did so, he yelled out to his friend.
“You broke through first among us, so naturally you would go first as well. Good luck!”