Inside the Armory Pavilion stood a statue towering over the hall.
It was neither of Immortal Emperor Mingren, the sect's patron founder, nor any great ancestor — but a massive crow.
Its wings spread as though to stir the nine heavens, each claw gripping a short blade.
The blades were common Qimen knives — not divine weapons but plain iron, their edges long since rusted, their surfaces mottled and ancient, as if ready to crumble to dust.
Li Qiye stilled, a distant glint in his eyes.
Memories he had buried for centuries rose again — that shape, that gesture … even he had forgotten, yet Mingren Immortal Emperor had not.
Seeing his senior lost in thought, Nan Huairen spoke softly:
"Senior Brother, this is the legendary Divine Crow. Stories say that when our ancestor was young, a Divine Crow descended on this very peak and instructed him. After bearing the Heaven's Will and becoming Immortal Emperor, he raised this statue to commemorate the crow."
Li Qiye smiled slightly.
Divine Crow — indeed, the very self he had once been.
As for that romanticized tale of a crow descending and inspiring the sect's foundation — nonsense.
He had chosen this site for reasons that belonged to him alone.
What was true was the pose: when he first met that hot‑blooded Mingren boy, he had snatched away the Qimen dagger from his hands with one claw.
Who would have thought the kid would remember that moment after becoming an Immortal Emperor?
"Let's go in."
He spoke lightly and stepped past the statue into the depths of the pavilion.
### The Armory's First Chamber
Rows of weapons and treasures lined the walls — thousands of swords, axes, halberds, rings, and seals glimmered in the dim light.
Most were low‑tier objects, forged from refined iron and trace divine metals — fine in mortal eyes, but trivial to true cultivators.
Weapons were divided into four grades:
1. Ordinary Weapons — for novices, formed from treasured iron and spirit metals, yet unable to channel the laws of the Dao.
2. Longevity Treasures (Shou Bao) — not weapons but artefacts that extend life and replenish vital blood during battle.
3. Life Weapons (Bao Qi) — tools of battle bound to the user's fate.
4. True Life Weapons (Zhen Qi) — each cultivator could ever forge only one, linked to their True Life and inheritable by none.
A True Weapon of equal realm could easily overwhelm a Life Weapon; its power was unsurpassed.
Even so, the first floor held only the lowest ranks: Black‑Iron Sword, Cold‑Moon Blade, Flying‑Star Claw; and among the better — Mountain‑River Pagoda, Demon‑Suppressing Wheel, River‑Flood Ruler, or the True Artifacts like Azure‑Treasure Stone and Blood‑Chain of Heaven.
Li Qiye walked through them silently, feeling their aura —the faint intent of metal and the echo of the laws within.
He moved on from the first floor to the second.
### The Second and Third Floors
The second floor held no common weapons; all were treasures and true implements, their grade clearly higher.
Yet none drew his eye.
At last he and Nan Huairen ascended to the third level.
A stir rose among disciples there.
"I slew a Longevity Spirit just to earn access to the second floor — how does that trash walk straight to the third?"
"He has the elders' token," replied the guard flatly.
Li Qiye turned his head and said calmly, > "If you have guts, question the Elders—not me."
Faces flushed red with anger.
"Arrogant fool! We'll see how long that tone lasts."
He ignored them and stepped inside; Nan Huairen only shook his head.
They truly have no idea whom they mock.
### Treasures of Higher Realm
The air of the third floor pulsed with light and sound — the hum of arming souls, the roar of Dao powdered force.
Here every artifact was alive in its own way.
"Senior Brother," Nan explained excitedly, "the lowest here are of Stout Longevity grade, the highest reach the Origin of Spirit. Some are even of Divine Nurturing level."
The rank of a weapon matched its creator's realm: a Stout‑Longevity cultivator forged Stout‑Longevity treasures; a Heaven‑Origin master forged Heaven‑Origin ones.
He pointed to a wheel emanating silver light:
"This is the Nine Deer Longevity Wheel, refined from the millennial essence of an Iron Deer spirit. Used to nurture one's own Life Wheel, it renders the life‑blood pure and dense."
Then he moved to a coiled chain gleaming azure:
"This is the Flying‑Flood Sky Chain, made from the Dao bones of a beast equal to the Canopy Realm. When mastered, it can awaken the law of a two‑headed winged flood dragon."
And onward: the Earth‑Splitting Axe, smelted from Meteor‑Iron, and many more.
Nan Huairen spoke with enthusiasm; Li Qiye watched him, smiling faintly.
"You seem very familiar with this place."
Nan scratched his head.
"My master let me tag along whenever he came, so I learned a bit. I've only seen the fourth floor once — Grandmaster Sun took me."
Unlike his stern Master Mo, Nan had a lively nature that won the elders' favor.
"And above that? What lies higher?"
"I've only been to the fourth. At best the weapons there are Prince grade. No idea about the rest."
"Then what of the ninth floor — does it still hold the Immortal Emperor's Treasure?" Li Qiye asked quietly.
Mingren Immortal Emperor had forged many such implements; he had left several behind to guard the sect.
Nan glanced around before lowering his voice.
"They say we have none left — not even a single Immortal Emperor artifact."
"None left?" Li Qiye lifted a brow. He knew Mingren had bequeathed more than one; even the most wasteful descendants could hardly lose them all.
Nan shook his head.
"No one knows for sure. Even my master doesn't. They say thirty thousand years ago, in the war against the Holy Heaven Cult, our sect lost not only its ancient kingdom but its final Immortal Emperor treasure too."
Li Qiye fell silent for a moment, eyes tracing the runes that floated in the air around those forgotten instruments.
The weight of millennia rested there — history he himself had written and now come to revisit.