After stabilizing her cultivation at the Early Stage of Golden Core and tasting the thrill of soaring through the sky and looking down on the mortal world, Hinata didn't rush into the next phase of cultivation.
A craftsman must first sharpen his tools if he wants to do good work. At the Golden Core Stage, she wanted something every Cultivator absolutely had to own—a Magical Artifact.
'It's time to properly stock up my arsenal.'
She sat cross-legged, mind sinking into the kaleidoscopic System Mall. The points balance glowed clearly: 88,050. A tidy fortune, enough to let her splurge freely in the artifact section.
The artifact area of the mall was dazzling, filled with wonders—from the lowest-grade standard Flying Swords to legendary Innate Spirit Treasures capable of moving mountains and filling seas.
Hinata filtered out the low-tier junk at once, focusing on mid- to High Grade Magical Artifacts suitable for a Golden Core Cultivator and offering varied functions.
A quick browse turned up quite a few "interesting" items.
The first thing to "catch her eye" was a black banner wreathed in surging Evil Qi and howling yin wind.
[Imperial Sovereign Banner]
Grade: Top-grade Magical Artifact (growable)
Description: Created by a (so-called) Righteous Path titan. Must be refined with living souls; contains 9,999 primary vengeful soul slots and 100,000 auxiliary slots. When the banner unfurls, myriad souls surge forth, blotting out sky and sun, devouring life, fouling enemy Magical Artifacts, and corroding Divine Souls. Refined to Major Achievement, it can trap and slay Nascent Soul Cultivators.
Exchange cost: 1,000,000 points. Collect living souls for refinement on your own.
[System friendly reminder: Dear~ this artifact harms the harmony of Heaven, use with caution~ lest Heavenly Daddy invite you for tea~ you might get interrogated, and it's super expensive! (～￣▽￣)～]
Looking at the million-point price tag followed by a line of zeroes, plus the System's cheeky warning,
Hinata twitched her lips. Wasn't this just a Myriad Soul Banner…? Powerful, sure, but so pricey… where on earth could she scrounge up that many zeroes?
Head to Chengdu, maybe?
Besides, she walked the Righteous Path! (Definitely not because she couldn't afford it.)
Next, she spotted an artifact that left her speechless.
[Love's Magical Spin-Spin Seven-Colored Glazed Fairy Dress]
Grade: High Grade Magical Artifact (special)
Description: Forged by an unknown love-addled Artifact Refining Great Master, imbued with wondrous "Love and Peace" Laws (self-proclaimed). When worn, it radiates seven-colored glazed immortal light; petals and starlight accompany every step, while the BGM auto-plays "Love Circulation." Defense is decent, able to block a full-force strike from an Early Stage Golden Core Cultivator. Special effect: greatly amplifies charm (especially effective against those with weak wills), with a small chance of putting enemies into a "moved by love" state, making them abandon attacks.
Exchange cost: 25,000 points.
[host, darling! Put this on and you'll be the cutest kid in the Ninja World! Let enemies bask in love's radiance and repent! It looks a bit embarrassing… but it really works! (✧ω✧)]
Hinata stared at the virtual image of the dress, the bubble-gum-pink background and twinkling stars the System had added, her brows knitting into a "river" character.
The style was completely off, wasn't it? She couldn't picture herself in that outfit; the mental image was too beautiful to endure.
PASS! Firmly PASS!
Shaking her head, she continued browsing.
[brick · Pseudo-Fan Tian Seal]
Grade: Medium Grade Magical Artifact
Description: After glimpsing the Chan Sect's supreme Fan Tian Seal, a refining apprentice was deeply moved. He picked up a brick from the roadside and poured his heart into this replica. Though it captures only one ten-thousandth of the original's form, once Spiritual Energy is poured in, a single brick strike is overwhelmingly heavy, Specializes in treating all kinds of fancy tricks (specializes in curing all flashy tricks), Attached "dizziness","Break defense" Effect (adds "stun" and "armor-break" effects). A must-have for murder, robbery, sneak attacks, and back-alley ambushes!
Exchange cost: 8,000 points.
[System hawking: Step right up! With a brick in hand, the world is yours! Honest price, fair to old and young! host, darling, want one? (?▽?)]
Hinata: "…"
The thing sounded ridiculous, but the description made it seem… surprisingly practical? Simple and brutal.
But was she that sort of person? She was a Cultivator! She walked… the Righteous Path!
(Hinata silently added it to her shortlist…)
[heaven and earth primordial qi pot]
Grade: High Grade Magical Artifact (special)
Description: After a failed Ascension, a gluttonous Cultivator poured his lifelong obsession with cuisine into his life-bound artifact. This pot can expand or shrink, contains a world within, and can cook anything automatically (ingredients and energy required). It adjusts heat perfectly, locking in Spiritual Energy and flavor. Dishes produced are not only incomparably delicious but, over time, slightly improve Physique and purify Spiritual Energy Impurities. Attached skill: "Aroma Domain"—when deployed, causes enemies within range to lose focus, drool, and suffer reduced combat strength.
Exchange Requirement: 18,000 points.
[Gurgle… (¯﹃¯) Esteemed host! With this you can Cultivate and feast at the same time! Imagine: you're above the clouds, gazing down on all beings, singing while hot-potting, when—bam—bandits… ahem, anyway, how cozy is that!]
Hinata stared at the phantom of the ancient-looking cauldron that radiated tantalizing food aroma and went silent for a moment.
Purify Spiritual Energy and enhance Physique? The effects are actually useful—and it really is convenient.
(Truth be told, she's a bit of a glutton… she always needs an extra helping at every meal.)
Added to the shortlist again.
Putting aside those "rare curios," she began earnestly searching for Magical Artifacts that better fit her style and real needs.
Soon, several items caught her eye.
[big dipper seven stars sword]
Grade: top-tier Magical Artifact
Description: forged from essence gold of the Big Dipper, supplemented by star sand. A set of seven blades normally stored within the body to be nourished; with a single thought they burst out, forming a sword array like the falling Plough, integrating offense and defense with endless variations.
Exchange Requirement: 45,000 points.
[Cool! Strong! Expensive! But worth every point—what Cultivator wouldn't want to ride swords and slay foes?]
"Feasible, but let's keep looking."
[Grand Void Escape Talisman]
Grade: fourth-rank Spirit Talisman (one-time)
Description: contains a sliver of spatial Law. When triggered, instantly random-teleports up to fifty kilometers, ignoring most barriers (except very high-tier ones). Perfect for fleeing danger or executing strategic withdrawals.
Exchange Requirement: 12,000 points per talisman.
[Cultivation isn't just hack-n-slash; it's about relationships—bah, it's about staying alive to deal damage later! Stock a few for peace of mind!]
"…Feels inferior to Flying Thunder God."
[Ninth Heaven Thunder Seal]
Grade: High Grade Magical Artifact (growable)
Description: fashioned from Ninth Heaven lightning-struck wood and engraved with thunder runes. When hurled at foes, summons Ninth Heaven divine lightning—immense might, especially lethal to evil and wraiths. Can absorb sky-lightning or thunder-type energy to evolve.
Exchange Requirement: 30,000 points.
[Perfect partner for thunder arts! Complements host's Ninth Heaven Thunder Art as a unified set.]
"…Average."
After carefully weighing her points and needs, Hinata made her choices.
Exchange [big dipper seven stars sword]: –45,000 points. Main weapon for offense and defense, perfectly matching her Cultivation Technique—must have.
Exchange [brick · Pseudo-Fan Tian Seal]: –8,000 points. Cheap, practical, and capable of unexpected results at crucial moments.
Exchange [heaven and earth primordial qi pot]: –18,000 points. Satisfies her appetite while offering real benefits—great value.
[Exchange successful! Total cost: 45,000 + 8,000 + 18,000 = 71,000 points!]
[Current balance: 88,050 − 71,000 = 17,050 points!]
In a flash of light, the newly exchanged artifacts appeared before her.
Seven blades shimmering with cold starlight hovered around her, slowly orbiting as if alive.
An unremarkable yet astonishingly heavy bluish-black brick.
An ancient-looking cauldron faintly exuding food aroma and spiritual light.
First Hinata drew the big dipper seven stars sword into her Dantian to be nurtured by her Golden Core's Spiritual Energy, then picked up the "brick," weighing it in hand—surprisingly solid.
Finally she turned to the heaven and earth primordial qi pot.
With a thought the pot rose and hovered in mid-air.
She casually gathered some vegetables from the clan grounds, tossed in stored meat, and fed a thread of stellar Spiritual Energy as fuel.
The pot's runes lit; clear water appeared inside, temperature rising rapidly as the ingredients tumbled. An enticing aroma spread, and moments later a steaming, spirit-rich stew was done.
Hinata tasted a bite—delicious beyond compare—and the food turned into gentle energy that nourished her body with almost no Impurities.
"Feast time!"
She nodded contentedly, downed several more pots, then stowed her rice bowl—er, artifact—away.
Gear upgrade complete. Though her points were once again nearly gone, Hinata felt her hidden aces had grown markedly stronger.
Next: get familiar with these new artifacts and continue Cultivating.
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