Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Buzz!

Jiang Yi had just walked into the stone door, and there was an immediate flash of white light. The scenery had changed drastically as the sky was dusky with only hazy traces of light. There was a meandering small path which extended towards the distance. The surroundings were nothing but overgrown mountains, which were eerie and would cause hair to stand.

"Yellow Springs Path?"

Jiang Yi noticed a small stone tablet on the left of the path. On it were three ancient-looking words which caused his scalp to go numb. Was this the Netherworld? Otherwise, why would there be a Yellow Springs Path?

Chi! Chi!

Just as Jiang Yi was observing the situation, there was a sudden flash of white light in the sky. It was as though a lightning bolt had pierced through the sky and ripped out a hole in the sky. A mirror descended from the hole and towards him.

"Eh?"

Jiang Yi curiously grabbed onto this green mirror while that hole in the sky quickly vanished. Jiang Yi"s mind floated with a message: "Congratulations on becoming the first to obtain three acc.u.mulation points. You are rewarded with the Everlasting Mirror."

"Everlasting Mirror!"

Jiang Yi faintly remembered the time when Qi Lao was telling him about the ten treasures, and one of them was the Everlasting Mirror. He had this delighted expression as he actually lucked out. He entered this place to flee for his life and had actually obtained a treasure.

Humans had a natural liking for treasures, especially for martial artists. Despite knowing that there were plenty of treasures in this place and that he was possibly going to be pursued after he exited from this place, he was still very happy to actually obtain one of the treasures.

Treasures had many mystical functions and might be able to save a life during a crucial moment. For example this time… if he didn"t have the Fire Spirit Pearl, he would already be turned into sc.r.a.ps by the lava.

He didn"t expect that after falling into the lava, there wasn"t any hint of oppressive pressure. If he had known about it, he wouldn"t have to suffer and simply jumped into the ravine and making it across the Bridge of Helplessness in a few blinks of the eye.

When he thought about it, he felt that it was very normal. Would any random individual have a cardinal artifact like the Fire Spirit Pearl? Not even a Heaven Monarch"s Divine Shield would be able to prevent the Earth Fire from incinerating them instantly. Making it normal for there to be none of those horrific pressure and restriction under the Bridge of Helplessness.

"Hehe, it is worth it to cross the Bridge of Helplessness; at least, my Union of Heaven and Man had a leap in proficiency."

Jiang Yi recalled the time when he was walking on the Bridge of Helplessness and suddenly entering the Union of Heaven and Man state. He revealed another splendid smile as he felt that he had increased comprehension of that strange state. He didn"t know if proficiency in that state would bring any great benefits, but it was definitely a great ability.

"Don"t bother so much. I will first refine this Everlasting Mirror. The sinister Yellow Springs Path is definitely much more dangerous, and every additional treasure gives me another chance to survive."

Jiang Yi withdrew his thoughts. He sat cross-legged and placed that palm-sized bronze mirror in his hand. He then circulated his essence force to begin refining it.

This Everlasting Mirror was obviously an artifact without an owner as the refinement process was very smooth. Jiang Yi took just one hour to refine a third of it while a third of the Everlasting Mirror was releasing a white light. Once the entire mirror was releasing the radiance, it would be completely refined.

"En?"

Right at this moment, Jiang Yi suddenly felt an a.s.sault of cold air. It made him shiver even though it wasn"t extremely cold, and his soul spirit felt an alert—as though a fatal danger was approaching.

Jiang Yi"s eyes suddenly opened while he swept across with blade-like eyes. The Fire Dragon Sword appeared in his hand while bundles of Earth Fire, which he had just absorbed, enveloped his entire body.

But…

He glanced with his eyes and saw nothing but void. His divine senses scanned the area while he couldn"t find anything. The tension in his heart was getting more intense as even his hair was standing on its ends.

Chi! Chi!

He randomly cleaved a few times which launched out the Earth Fire which covered everything. His eyes were wide open with fury as he roared, "Where are you, demon?! Hurry up and show yourself!"

Boom!

A few fire dragons whizzed out and crashed on the wilderness on both sides. Giant pits were blasted on the surface of the ground, which gave rise to dust and splattering mud and stones.

Swish!

The demon finally appeared and echoed with a sharp piercing voice. The spatial zone in the air shuddered as a white figure appeared and flashed towards Jiang Yi.

"What is that sick thing?"

Seeing the strange creature, Jiang Yi"s entire body was shuddering while his scalp went numb. His eyes contracted as he had seen the most terrifying creature that he had ever seen in his life.

This creature didn"t have a physical body as it was translucent and like a spirit. The body was very small with the thickness of a finger. It had a head of a crocodile but the legless body of a maggot. Its entire body was white while the eyes were red. The sharp teeth in the mouth sent a chill down the spine, and the speed was comparable to a peak stage Vajra Realm expert. It took just a blink of the eye to reach in between Jiang Yi"s eyebrows as it penetrated the Earth Fire protection and entered his head.

Buzz!

At this moment, Jiang Yi"s Fire Spirit Pearl lit up and transferred mysterious energy, which caused his sword-shaped soul spirit to flourish with golden light. Jiang Yi had awakened from fear and felt relief when he noticed that his brain didn"t get pierced through as that ghostly thing simply went through his soul spirit. Jiang Yi quickly took a scan of his soul spirit with his divine senses.

Chi! Chi!

The crocodile-headed creature flashed around in Jiang Yi"s consciousness like a spirit and constantly attacked his sword-shaped soul spirit. Had it not been for the energy from the Fire Spirit Pearl that protected him, his soul spirit would have already been destroyed.

"What is this ghostly thing that could actually disregard the Earth Fire? It could directly enter my soul spirit? Is it trying to consume my soul spirit?"

Jiang Yi was panic-stricken as this crocodile-headed creature was attacking his soul spirit inside his mind. He was utterly helpless and could only look on.

Chi! Chi!

The crocodile-headed creature pounded on his sword-shaped soul spirit again and again, causing Jiang Yi"s soul spirit to shake repeatedly while his body staggered at the same time. It was so painful that Jiang Yi"s forehead was sweating profusely with cold sweat. He was pleasantly surprised when he noticed that… this crocodile-headed creature would shrink after each attack. It was originally the size of a thumb but had shrunk to the size of a pinky finger. He reckoned that after a few more attacks, it would probably vanish.

Pong, Pong, Pong…!

The crocodile-headed creature flew around in Jiang Yi"s soul spirit sea and clashed against his sword-shaped soul spirit continuously, which caused Jiang Yi"s mouth to twitch from pain. After attacking consecutively for three times, the crocodile-headed creature finally vanished. The golden light in Jiang Yi"s soul spirit had vanished, and his soul spirit sea had regained its serenity.

"What a close call!"

Jiang Yi opened his eyes and wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. He then gently touched the Fire Spirit Pearl. Had it not been for the Fire Spirit Pearl, he was probably dead. With the toughness of his soul spirit, it would at least suffer grave damage or simply collapsed.

"What artifact grade is this Fire Spirit Pearl? Why does it have such powerful abilities? Not only can it grant immunity to fire, but it can also protect the soul spirit. There is also this Fire Dragon Sword, which only has half of the restrictions working fine. If the restrictions were fully repaired, how powerful would this Fire Dragon Sword be? Could the Fire Dragon Sword also be a transcending saint artifact? Or a perhaps a pseudo-divine artifact?"

Jiang Yi looked at the Fire Dragon Sword and the Fire Spirit Pearl while silently bewildered. Qi Lao had already introduced to him the artifact grades of the outside world where saint artifacts were common, and all Vajra Realm martial artists at the higher stages would possess them.

Beyond the saint artifact was the transcending saint artifact which was much more valuable. Jiang Yi"s Thearch Palace was a transcending saint artifact which Zhu Sui wanted to plunder once he saw it.

Beyond the transcending saint artifact was the pseudo-divine artifact, which was extremely rare and had powerful abilities. Every piece would invite the struggle between great clans. Such artifacts were only in the possession of the Nine Thearchs" clans or the ancient aristocratic clans.

Of course…

In the legends, there were the divine artifacts which surpa.s.sed the pseudo-divine artifact. Examples were the Mystic Divine Saber and the Mystic Divine Armor, but it was all legends, and no one had ever seen them. Not even the Nine Thearchs who ruled supreme in the Stellarsky Domain possessed them.

The Fire Dragon Sword was obviously much stronger than a saint artifact and was probably a transcending saint artifact. Jiang Yi didn"t even dare to imagine that it was a pseudo-divine artifact. How could the tiny Stellarsky Continent possibly have a pseudo-divine artifact?