The boundless expanse of the sea stretched beneath Lin Feng as he soared through the sky upon his flying sword. After using several islands as landmarks to confirm his position, he adjusted his course slightly, heading westward and putting the chaotic currents of the Dragon Flow Sea far behind him.
Perhaps every cultivator in the vicinity had flocked to the Blue Moon Sect ruins, for Lin Feng flew for the better part of a day without encountering a single soul. This solitude suited him perfectly. Once he was certain he was sufficiently safe, he selected an ordinary, spirit energy-sparse island and descended.
Night had long since fallen. A bright moon hung high, surrounded by a dense tapestry of stars. Following his customary practice, Lin Feng sought out a mountain peak. On its flank, he carved out a small cavern large enough to shelter within. He then deployed a third-grade concealment array outside before retreating into his temporary haven.
Despite the harrowing ordeals he had recently endured, Lin Feng's mental state was remarkably alert. During the journey, he had fully recovered his strength and expended energy. His physical wounds were healed; immediate cultivation or healing wasn't needed. Rest after such a fierce battle was wise, yes, but it could wait. Before resting, one crucial task demanded his attention: taking stock of his spoils.
With a casual flick of his wrist, several illuminating crystals scattered across the roughly four-meter-square cave, bathing it in light. Lin Feng settled onto a meditation cushion, sitting cross-legged. Gently, he retrieved Xiao Qiu from within his robes, cradling the small creature in his palms as he examined it closely, his expression troubled.
"It should be just excessive energy depletion… So why hasn't it woken up yet?" Lin Feng murmured, stroking Xiao Qiu's impossibly soft, fluffy fur. Worry gnawed at him. No matter how thoroughly he probed with his spiritual sense, the conclusion was always the same: normal. Xiao Qiu seemed merely deeply asleep. Yet, this was the first time exhaustion had plunged it into such a profound slumber. He couldn't shake the fear of potential aftereffects.
Since Xiao Qiu's last deep sleep, triggered by consuming the seed pod of a Seven-Color Immortal Lotus, Lin Feng had hoped for the emergence of some new ability. None had manifested. If comparing Xiao Qiu to a game pet, it was like it had gained a level—its base attributes had noticeably improved—but hadn't learned any new skills. Still, the attribute boost itself was significant. The fight within the Blue Moon Sect's Spirit Beast Garden proved Xiao Qiu could now continuously deploy numerous mid-grade spirit stone grenades without collapsing from fatigue. However, high-grade spirit stone grenades still pushed it to its limits. Against the Blood Octopus, it had detonated over a dozen high-grade grenades in rapid succession to buy Lin Feng time, resulting in this energy-draining coma.
Seeing no change, Lin Feng sighed and set Xiao Qiu down. He brushed his left hand over the stone floor nearby, summoning a pile of gleaming high-grade spirit stones. He arranged them into a small nest. Placing Xiao Qiu onto it, he was relieved to see the creature instinctively wriggle slightly, nestling deeper into the stones even in its sleep, a faint expression of contentment appearing on its furry face.
With Xiao Qiu settled, Lin Feng straightened his posture. He took a slow, deliberate breath. Then, his right hand turned over, retrieving a single object from his Spatial Ring.
The gains from the Blue Moon Sect ruins were monumental. Beyond the numerous Spatial Rings scavenged from Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators scattered throughout the initial exploration, there were rings belonging to formidable figures like Qin Gucang and his Soul Transformation companions. Most impressively, there was the Spatial Ring of Feng Liefeng, a Void Refining powerhouse. All awaited his inventory.
Yet, among this mountain of treasures, one item stood paramount – the primary objective of the entire venture itself, the very artifact that had doomed the Blue Moon Sect centuries ago: the Immortal Artifact.
Resting now in Lin Feng's palm was an object radiating a faint, ethereal glow. It was roughly rhombus-shaped, pale-gray, about three inches long, slightly wider than two fingers, and thinner than his little finger. It felt strange to the touch, neither metal, nor iron, nor jade, its composition a mystery. One face was smooth as a mirror; the other was densely inscribed with millet-sized, profoundly arcane runes. One edge was smooth, while the opposite edge showed a jagged, irregular fracture line – clear evidence it was merely a broken fragment.
It looked utterly unlike a complete artifact. An Earth observer might dismiss it as nothing more than a shard from a broken plate.
"This… this is the Immortal Artifact?!"
Although he had gleaned considerable information about it from Gu Lengyue's memories, holding it and scrutinizing it firsthand still evoked a profound sense of absurdity in Lin Feng. He stared at it, unconsciously muttering aloud.
—Yes. This object was the legendary 'Immortal Artifact' acquired by the Blue Moon Sect.
The world knew the Sect had obtained an Immortal Artifact. What no one knew was that this 'Immortal Artifact' was merely a fragment.
To be fair, the countless lives sacrificed and the sect destroyed in its pursuit weren't necessarily in vain. Even a fragment of an Immortal Artifact, especially one potentially retaining a sliver of its original power, held incalculable value. Gu Lengyue, the sect master, choosing annihilation and mutual destruction over surrendering this shard spoke volumes about its worth.
It was just that the reality clashed so violently with Lin Feng's imagined vision of a majestic Immortal Artifact that acceptance was difficult. Furthermore, deep disappointment washed over him. Gu Lengyue's memories had revealed the harsh truth: this fragment was unusable. At least, certainly not now. And there was no telling when, if ever, it might become usable…
"..." After studying the fragment for a while longer, Lin Feng inhaled deeply. He gathered his focus and cautiously extended the finest wisp of his spiritual sense towards it, probing its depths.
"Hmph!!" Instantly, his face contorted. His body swayed violently. A pained grunt escaped his lips. His complexion drained of color, becoming deathly pale, his eyes wide with sharp agony.
"It really is like this… sigh…" Lin Feng murmured, his voice thick with resignation. He showed no surprise, only profound disappointment deepening in his gaze.
The moment his spiritual sense touched the fragment, he'd felt an irresistible, overwhelming suction – as if it sought to devour his entire soul. Severing the connection to that wisp of sense instantly was the only thing that saved him; hesitation could have shattered his spirit core or killed him outright. This peril was known from Gu Lengyue's memories. Yet, not trying himself had been impossible.
Gu Lengyue himself had studied this fragment for fifty years after acquiring it. He achieved nothing. Even with his Void Refining cultivation, any spiritual sense sent into the fragment vanished without a trace. The artifact's interior remained a complete enigma. Decades of relentless soul-forging failed to leave even the faintest spiritual imprint upon it. Its powers were utterly unknown. Desperate, Gu Lengyue consulted a renowned Artifact Refining master. Not only did he fail to gain insight, but he also inadvertently leaked the secret of the Immortal Artifact, directly triggering the sect's catastrophic downfall.
Trapped underground for three millennia in a standoff with Feng Liefeng, Gu Lengyue naturally had no opportunity for further study. The fragment remained forgotten in his Spatial Ring. Inheriting the bulk of Gu Lengyue's memories, Lin Feng knew its location and claimed it along with the other rightful spoils during his inventory check.
The most ardently anticipated treasure, this supposed Immortal Artifact, had turned out to be an enigmatic, useless sliver. Lin Feng felt profoundly let down. The sacrifice of the entire Blue Moon Sect for this fragment now seemed tragically pointless.
...
"Structural Integrity: 17% (Damage Level: 83%)"
"Repair impossible."
In his disappointment, Lin Feng instinctively activated his Repair Technique on the fragment. The result was as expected. He merely received a numerical confirmation of the catastrophic damage – utterly meaningless information.
"Never mind… At least it is a fragment of an Immortal Artifact. Even if unusable now, I might understand it someday… Patience…" Lin Feng tried to console himself. With a resigned flip of his hand, he stored the inert fragment away.
Huu… "Indeed," he breathed out, speaking aloud to the empty cave, "Immortal Artifacts are still far beyond my reach. Even a fully intact one placed before me might be useless now – less practical than a Dao Artifact, truth be told... Better to focus on the more practical gains."
Resolving to move past the disappointment, Lin Feng turned his attention to more tangible rewards. His hand flicked again, retrieving Feng Liefeng's Spatial Ring. It was time to truly take stock of the treasures within…