Chapter 423: The Grand Prize Winner
Ning Tian carefully examined the radiant pagoda cap in her hands for a long time. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She extended her left hand, and with a dazzling burst of colorful light, a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda appeared before her.
The moment her martial soul materialized, Ning Tian felt an indescribable connection a strange resonance.
She could sense that the pagoda cap in her hand wasn't just an inanimate object.
It felt… alive.
It pulsed faintly, brimming with a mysterious vitality.
This discovery shocked her to the core.
By all logic, it was nothing more than a lifeless fragment, yet it felt more alive than anything she had ever touched before.
"Could… artifacts truly be this miraculous?" she murmured in disbelief, feeling her entire worldview being overturned.
Driven by curiosity, she instinctively infused soul power into the fragment.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion erupted inside her mind.
It was as if a fog of energy had detonated within her consciousness, sending a powerful wave of clarity through her very being.
Ning Tian's beautiful blue eyes widened in astonishment.
Her thoughts had never felt so clear before.
And in that moment, she saw them
Countless shimmering light dots, scattered in all directions.
Each one resonated with the pagoda cap in her hands.
One of these light dots…
Was very close.
Only a few hundred meters away.
But before she could process the vision further, the mysterious state faded as quickly as it had come.
She stood there, momentarily stunned, feeling an odd sense of loss.
Yet as she recalled the countless shimmering points of light she had just perceived, and considered the broken state of the artifact fragment in her hand, a sharp realization struck her
Those lights must be the locations of the other missing pieces!
It was a pity that this wasn't a fragment of the legendary Feihong Sword, but rather a different deity's artifact.
However, for Ning Tian, this was still a heaven sent miracle.
If she could restore this artifact to its full form…
She didn't dare to dream of godhood she knew her own limits.
But if it could complete her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and allow it to evolve into the mythical Nine Treasure Pagoda…
Then she would already be satisfied beyond imagination!
For generations, every Seven Treasure Pagoda soul master had yearned for their martial soul to break past its inherent flaw and become a true Nine Treasure Pagoda.
As the young mistress of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Tian craved this more than anyone.
Without wasting another second, she secured the pagoda fragment in her chest and dashed out of her room, running straight toward the location of the nearest light dot she had sensed.
The Hidden Fragment
The fragment's location was still within the sect's estate only a few hundred meters away.
It was inside the sect's garden, near a small artificial pond, surrounded by neatly cultivated flowers and plants.
Ning Tian carefully retraced the image from her vision.
The fragment… seemed to be buried deep underground?
Walking slowly, she scanned the area, until
Her eyes locked onto a tiny, almost unnoticeable hole in the ground.
A small, faint depression in the soil so small that it could have easily been overlooked.
Ning Tian's mind immediately painted a mental image of how this happened:
A shard had fallen from the sky, piercing the earth with great force.
It had left only a small hole, so insignificant that no one paid any attention.
Over time, rain and wind had further eroded the mark, making it almost undetectable.
If she hadn't been specifically looking for it, she never would have noticed.
She stepped forward and crouched down, examining the hole.
It looked deep.
Without hesitation, she drew a dagger from her soul tool storage and began digging.
The sharp blade easily pierced through the soil, peeling away the layers of dirt.
She dug rapidly, her excitement growing.
Minutes later, she had created a half meter deep pit, and now, she could clearly see the entry point of the buried object.
Fueled by determination, she pushed deeper, even channeling her soul power into her hands to dig faster.
Finally
A glimmer.
A small, dirt covered fragment emerged.
Ning Tian didn't even pause to examine it she immediately stored it away in her soul tool.
She quickly filled the hole back up, smoothing out the surface to erase any trace of disturbance.
Then, acting as casual as possible, she walked back to her room as if nothing had happened.
A Treasure Too Great to Expose
Someone might wonder why was she being so cautious in her own sect?
The answer was simple:
Artifacts of this level were too important.
If word got out that she possessed a divine artifact fragment, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might not be strong enough to protect it.
And if certain people discovered this secret…
They would not hesitate to exterminate the entire sect to ensure the artifact was theirs alone.
So no matter how paranoid she seemed, Ning Tian felt that no amount of caution was too much.
Once she was safely back in her room, she bolted the door and exhaled deeply, finally allowing herself to relax.
She felt like she had just narrowly escaped death.
Without wasting time, she retrieved the fragment from her soul tool.
As she brushed off the dirt and saw what it actually looked like…
She froze.
This was not a pagoda fragment.
It was a shimmering, crystal like sword shard.
"Feihong Sword…?!"
Her mind went blank for a moment.
She had expected this to be a part of her pagoda artifact, but…
This was the legendary artifact everyone on the continent was searching for!
Why?
Why had she been able to sense this with her pagoda?
Were the two somehow connected?!
Overcome with curiosity, she quickly unwrapped the silk cloth holding her pagoda fragment and brought the two pieces together.
"Ding!"
A clear, resonant chime echoed through the air.
In that instant
A distant, ancient breath seemed to awaken in the void.
The dust covered sword fragment instantly shook off all dirt, revealing its dazzling, radiant brilliance.
At the same time
A voice rang out in Ning Tian's mind.
"…I never expected to be awakened like this. Little girl… how is this possible?!"
The once calm, composed voice suddenly turned frantic.
Ning Tian barely had time to react before
A blinding light burst forth, and in front of her, a phantasmal figure emerged.
The two artifact fragments in her hands flew into the specter's grasp as if drawn by an invisible force.
The figure stared at them in shock.
"The Ten Directions Heavenly Pagoda!"
"How could this be here? And in such a broken state?!"
The phantom's voice trembled with disbelief.
"Does this mean… they truly couldn't escape their fate?"
Ning Tian had absolutely no idea what was happening.
She could only stare blankly, her mind in a state of complete shock.
Yet deep inside, one thought echoed
Did I… just win the grand prize?!
(End of Chapter)
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