After returning to his residence, Song Changsheng immediately entered seclusion to refine the Slayer Daggers. These weapons were steeped in a heavy, baleful aura, and taming them proved to be no small challenge.
Fortunately, his soul was powerful and resistant to external interference. In just half a month, he had refined all three daggers, and he could now clearly sense the devastating power coiled within them, ready to be unleashed.
"As expected of spirit weapons personally refined by Ancestor Yun Gui," Song Changsheng murmured, gazing at the three daggers with visible fondness.
"Even stronger than the Soul-Slaying Blade… now I have another life-saving trump card."
The rarity of spirit weapons was self-evident. They required not only a great deal of time to nurture but also consumed massive resources. Throughout the generations of Song clan's Foundation Establishment cultivators, they had only managed to preserve a little over ten such weapons.
Even more shocking was that these daggers originally intended as disposable weapons had been refined into spirit artifacts, a notion most wouldn't even dare to dream of, let alone attempt. Especially for a mid-tier clan like the Song family, doing something so extravagant was almost synonymous with lunacy.
But Yun Gui did exactly that. And not only that he broke convention further by using baleful energy to temper them, forging a set of terrifying killing tools.
To date, Slayer Daggers have claimed the lives of four Foundation Establishment cultivators and left lasting trauma on two late-stage cultivators who barely survived their assault.
The results spoke for themselves. Battle after battle had vindicated Yun Gui's bold and unconventional methods.
Song Changsheng didn't place the Slayer Daggers inside his dantian for nurturing his dantian was already at its limit.
On his Yin-Yang Dao Foundation, spirit artifacts floated in formation: the Lu Wu Bell, Yin-Yang Soul-Slaying Gourd, Xuantian Battle Armor, Ink Jade Lotus Platform, and the Water-Cleaving Spear each drawing spiritual energy to strengthen itself.
Nurturing five artifacts simultaneously wasn't the limit of his dantian, but it was the limit of his endurance.
Most Foundation Establishment cultivators could only handle nurturing one or two artifacts at a time. Those who could manage three were already rare. As for five? Not just in Lingzhou even in the entire Great Qi cultivation realm, Song Changsheng was likely one of a kind.
This was because nurturing spiritual tools directly slowed one's cultivation speed the more tools you nurtured, the more your progress was hindered.
But Song Changsheng had a special advantage his cultivation method primarily relied on absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, while the spiritual energy he absorbed during normal practice could be redirected to nurturing his artifacts. Without this technique, he wouldn't have dared to spread himself so thin.
"Right I still haven't looked at the invitation," he muttered.
He'd been so focused on refining the Slayer Daggers that he'd almost forgotten about it.
Retrieving the bright red invitation, he immediately noticed how unusual it felt in his hand. It wasn't paper, nor was it beast hide. He tried to tear it gently, but it didn't budge an inch.
"With my current physique, even without exerting myself, I can casually apply a few hundred jin of force yet this thing didn't react at all. No wonder they say Luoxia City is powerful even their invitations are made from extraordinary materials."
Musing to himself, he slowly opened the card. As he did, a hazy spiritual glow burst forth.
In the same instant, a haunting melody drifted into his ears sometimes like the tinkling of spring water, soothing and clear; sometimes like the thunder of war drums and galloping horses, stirring one's blood; sometimes mournful and desolate, stirring tears from the soul.
Before he realized it, a tear had silently traced down his cheek and splashed onto the floor, shattering like crystal.
Startled, Song Changsheng snapped out of it. He looked down at the card in his hands, heart pounding in shock.
"Just a trace of sound sealed within this invitation was enough to shake my spirit… How terrifying must the person who played this melody be?"
He had a distinct feeling that if the music had contained killing intent instead of mere emotion he might've been dead on the spot.
And Song Changsheng wasn't boasting his soul strength surpassed that of even many mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Yet he had still been utterly overwhelmed.
Such a display of power was chilling to the core.
Song Changsheng had only ever encountered one musician Zhuang Yuechan. Her zither music was formidable and could kill without a trace, but compared to the melody contained in this invitation, it was like comparing clouds to mud utterly incomparable.
"Daoist Friend Zhuang is the direct disciple of the Grand City Lord… this melody must be his work. No wonder he's said to be the number one expert below the Golden Core stage. Such a technique is truly terrifying," Song Changsheng muttered, still feeling a lingering unease.
He centered his mind once more and looked back at the invitation. The melody and the spiritual radiance were gone, leaving the card looking utterly ordinary just like any regular invitation.
However, the date written on it surprised him. There was still over a year to go, which meant he would likely have to stay in Luoxia City for at least that long.
"I'm going to be gone that long? Grandpa didn't even bother to give me a heads-up," Song Changsheng grumbled.
But soon, a more pressing question came to mind. Since he was going to a birthday celebration, he obviously couldn't go empty-handed. So what about the gift?
"This is too important to be overlooked. I'll ask the Grand Elder about it before we depart."
Song Changsheng left the seclusion chamber and picked up his communication jade. To his surprise, there was a lingering spiritual message. He activated it with a surge of spiritual energy, and Song Luhuai's voice emerged:
"Come see me immediately after your seclusion ends."
"Did something happen?" Song Changsheng frowned slightly and quickly made his way to Song Luhuai's residence.
When Song Luhuai saw him arrive, a smile appeared on his face.
"You've come at just the right time. There's something we can't decide on, and we'd like to hear your opinion."
"Something even the Elder Council can't resolve?" Song Changsheng was intrigued.
Song Luhuai sighed.
"It's about Qingxing."
"Qingxing? What happened to him?" A twinge of unease flickered through Song Changsheng's chest. It had been years since he last saw Song Qingxing. Had something happened on Mount Qing?
"No need to worry. Qingxing is fine so is Qingxi. Recently, Qingxing sent me a message requesting permission to leave the mountain and travel for training. Qingxi wants to go with him."
"This has caused quite a stir among the elders. Some believe that Qingxing's talent is extraordinary and that we should keep him hidden away until he can make a grand entrance in the future.
"Others argue that uncut jade cannot be shaped into treasure. A sword that never tastes blood can never become a true weapon. They believe we should let him go and temper himself."
"Neither side can convince the other, so we've all agreed to let you weigh in. After all, you've spent the most time with those two siblings."
Song Changsheng frowned, a crease forming between his brows. After a brief moment of thought, he said:
"Qingxing is already seventeen it's about the right time for him to go down the mountain. He's training in the way of the sword, and a sword that never drinks blood can never become a true blade.
Sheltering him too much won't do him any good. So I believe we should let him go. However, we must pay serious attention to his safety he's a genius we simply can't afford to lose."
Song Luhuai's furrowed brow slowly relaxed as he nodded in agreement.
"You make a valid point. We'll proceed as you suggest. But… Qingxi also wants to go."
"Then I'll head over and talk to them myself," Song Changsheng said at once. "We still have time, after all."
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