"Your artifacts look majestic," Bai Yichen commented.
After the three of them decided to give it a try, Lily opened her spatial pouch and poured everything onto the ground. The contents quickly formed a small mountain.
Lily sat on the ground, carefully examining the artifacts one by one.
"They're imbued with magic," Lu Jingxuan said, slightly startled that a family of warriors possessed magical artifacts that weren't swords.
Most of them were items commonly used by mages.
"Where did you get all of these?" Bai Yichen asked curiously as he picked up one of the artifacts.
"From my mother," Lily answered without taking her eyes off the pile.
"You have a mother?!" Bai Yichen looked surprised.
Even Lu Jingxuan wore a look of surprise.
"Of course," Lily said, finding the question confusing. "How else was I supposed to be born?"
"No, I thought..." Bai Yichen scratched the back of his head. "...your mother's dead."
Ever since they met Lily, they had never seen her mother. Her siblings always said she didn't have one, so they naturally assumed her mother had died after giving birth to her.
Mind you, they had met Lily when she was only a year old!
Perhaps these artifacts had been left behind as her inheritance.
"Oh, she's alive and kicking."
"..." Lu Jingxuan and Bai Yichen fell silent.
Then where was her mother?
Their eyes were filled with questions as they looked at her.
Oblivious to what they wanted to ask, Lily simply continued sorting through the artifacts, setting aside the ones they could use.
"Here's a ring that can transform into a shield. I was told it could withstand any kind of attack... but only once."
She placed it aside.
"Here's a talisman that can amplify a mage's magic tenfold. It can also only be used once. But I have ten of these."
She placed another pile to the side.
"This potion heals your wounds instantly. This one does the same, but it takes a little longer to take effect."
"Then..."
She picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows.
It would have been useful for long-range attacks.
Unfortunately, she didn't know how to use it.
For some reason, she suddenly missed Elder Jingyi.
Bai Yichen looked at the mountain of artifacts before turning to Lily.
"Does your mother need a son?" he asked earnestly. "I can be adopted."
Looking at Bai Yichen, Lily sighed.
"It would've been better if you knew formations." She clicked her tongue and shook her head.
If they had a Formation Master, they could temporarily seal the High Spirit Beast or trap it within a formation, preventing it from moving.
But even if Bai Yichen knew formations, Lily found it difficult to believe he could create one powerful enough to restrain such a formidable beast.
"Hey, stop complaining about me." Bai Yichen rolled his eyes. "We're both useless here, you know."
Lily silently pointed at the pile of artifacts.
Bai Yichen harrumphed and crossed his arms.
She just had a rich mother, so what?
Lu Jingxuan took the talismans and the potions before handing the ring and several potions to Bai Yichen.
"Do you have anything for warriors?" he asked Lily, gesturing toward Bai Yichen.
"I do, but he is not cultivating the Martial Path." Lily shook her head. "To someone who isn't a warrior, they'd just be ordinary artifacts."
In short, useless.
Lu Jingxuan frowned. He thought for a moment before asking, "Do you have anything that can enhance the body?"
Lily rummaged through the pile of artifacts once more before pulling out five more potions.
"These can increase your speed and temporarily strengthen your body. Since Yichen already has a Soul Core, they'll enhance his physical abilities. But because he isn't a warrior, they'll leave side effects."
"What kind of side effects?"
"He'll be left weak and in pain for weeks. Recovery could even take months."
Lu Jingxuan frowned.
He couldn't take such a risk for Bai Yichen, so he asked again, "Do you have anything else—"
"Why bother looking for more?" Bai Yichen snatched the potions from Lily's hands. "The side effects aren't permanent, so what's there to worry about?"
"It'll be very painful," Lily warned.
Bai Yichen waved a hand dismissively.
"Don't underestimate me. I'm stronger than I look."
Oh well.
She had already warned him.
"Are you three ready?" the lizard asked from atop a rock, facing the direction where the High Spirit Beast was.
"We're not, but this will do," Lily replied. She then ordered Bai Yichen to put everything back into the spatial pouch.
Hearing her speak, Lu Jingxuan assumed she was talking to her secret informant.
"Let's go," the lizard said before leaping toward the direction of the High Spirit Beast.
Lily immediately followed, with Lu Jingxuan and Bai Yichen close behind.
Eek!
A series of loud bangs and pained screeches echoed throughout the mountain as a massive beast repeatedly rammed itself against nearby trees and rocks.
It had a pair of giant wings covered in fine, glowing spirit scales.
"It looks like a moth," Bai Yichen whispered.
The three of them remained hidden as they watched the beast thrash about, crashing into everything in its path.
It looked as though it had gone mad.
Even so, the pressure it emitted was suffocating. If not for the potion and Silas' help, the three of them would have fallen asleep long ago.
"Can we really defeat that?" Bai Yichen asked doubtfully.
"Every beast has a core," the lizard said. "A Dreamweaver Moth keeps its core hidden beneath the spirit scales at the base of its wings. Normally, those scales never part. But because it suffered a backlash during its breakthrough, the pain causes them to open from time to time. The moment they do, its core will be exposed. That's our only chance."
Lily listened, but her gaze remained fixed on the monstrous moth.
Isn't that...
The beast that killed me in my previous life?
"Are you even listening?" the lizard poked her cheek. "Tell your companions what I just said!"
Lily swatted it away, tore her gaze from the moth, and relayed the lizard's explanation to the two.
Then, she took out her bow and arrow before adding, "I'll try to aim for its core while the two of you fight it."
Bai Yichen looked at her. "Can you shoot accurately?"
He had never seen her use any weapon before—other than her fists.
"No," Lily answered honestly, blinking.
"Then what's the point of you doing that?!"
"I can't just sit here and do nothing, can I?" Lily blinked innocently.
Meanwhile, Lu Jingxuan drank the potion that enhanced his magic. As soon as he finished it, an abundance of spiritual essence surged into his body, which his body immediately converted into mana.
Feeling invigorated and brimming with power, he said, "We just have to make it feel more pain, right?"
Lily glanced at him and nodded. "Until its scales open."
Bai Yichen drank the potion as well and felt equally invigorated. "Hah! I feel like I can destroy a mountain!"
"Use your energy properly," Lily advised. "It will be depleted immediately if you release it all at once. The goal is to make it feel pain, so keep dodging to avoid getting hit. Once you're hit, it'll become a disaster."
Lily paused.
Those were the lizard's exact words.
Then, she added, "I don't have enough potions to heal you."
"Yes, ma'am!" said Bai Yichen.