Subterranean tunneling was a largely novel experience to Yao Shen, as he found himself rather intrigued by the mechanism. Wenjun Long led the way, using Earth Qi to part the tightly packed earth before him. It was Yao Shen’s turn after, as he directed the displaced soil to fill the space left behind in their egress.
They couldn’t destabilize the earth beneath the Earth Division as they made their way forward and when they reached their destination, there would be no traces of the path they took left behind. The method had fantastic stealth applications, if it did not require two powerful Nascent Soul Cultivators to work in tandem and there naturally could not be any mortals accompanying them, as the lack of air would result in their demise.
All the parties present had agreed that it was too ostentatious for all three Patriarchs of the Azlak Plains’ hegemonic sects to move openly within the Earth Division, before heading for the largely cut off sealed cave systems.
It took them two hours to cover a distance that would normally have been a matter of minutes, but the end result had been worth it. Wenjun Long’s experience and skill meant that they resurfaced comfortably within the sealed cave systems, bypassing the guards blocking the route entirely.
Safely deactivating the Greater Concealment rune without damaging it took another few minutes, before Wenjun Long strode forward and placed his right palm on the alcove’s surface. A rectangular block of land collapsed inwards at his touch, causing a burst of aquamarine light to spill out.
It was with trembling hands that Lei Weiyuan gingerly stepped forward, no longer letting Yongliang Luo take the lead.
“This cannot be,” Lei Weiyuan whispered under the echo of his own footsteps, as he entered the lumenite man. The expression on his face was a melange of stupefaction and horror as he took in the deadly beauty of the crystal ore.
The sheer thrum of Qi radiating from the mine was so overwhelming that it bordered on intoxicating, the sensation of being in the presence of seemingly limitless power given form enough to make Lei Weiyuan’s hair stand on end.
“The Origin Treasures,” he continued, no longer interested in concealing such a paltry secret in front of the treasure trove that had just been revealed to them. “In the event that the Amadori discovered that I was holding onto possession of them, all I had to do was claim that I had stumbled upon them recently and offer it to them. They might not have bought the explanation, but as long as they received their due, the consequences would have been very limited.”
“The Flame Division has been secretly hoarding Origin Treasures?” Wenjun Long asked. “To what end?”
“In the hopes that one day, we would find a way to unlock it,” Lei Weiyuan muttered under his breath, as he angled his gaze towards Yao Shen.
“You unlocked it,” Kang Long’s statement had been instinctive, the words leaving his mouth before he could even finish considering the situation. In Yao Shen’s presence, miracles seemed to lose their scarcity.
“Only the weakest one,” Yao Shen admitted. “The other mechanisms are far too complex for me to overcome as I am now.”
“Breaking the monopoly of the Amadori was a risk I was willing to bear,” Lei Weiyuan cut in before Kang Long had the chance to ask another question. “But this… Why would you show me this? I am a mere Nascent Soul Cultivator and whilst my ambitions are broad, they are not all-encompassing. I do not wish to wage a war with the Dwarves, a war that we cannot possibly win!”
“You know why,” Wenjun Long calmly replied, unmoved by the display of emotion.
Lei Weiyuan’s expression was grim as his gaze swept over the mine, still trying to come to terms with what he was seeing. Inwards, he was almost wishing that it wasn’t real.
Almost.
“This artifact has two functions,” Yao Shen answered Lei Weiyuan’s unasked question. “The greater runescript on the hammer roughly translates to— ‘seal and unchange’. Inorganic matter that is struck, along the path that I designate with my divine sense, shall have it’s properties sealed within and become resistant to change.”
Wenjun Long’s eyes lit up with interest as he listened to Yao Shen’s explanation, no doubt searching for the aspect of earth contained within that explanation.
“The Baton serves an almost opposing function, serving as an answer to the age-old secret of the Dwarves. How could they forge an ore as volatile as Lumenite? The answer is to ‘sever and change’. The ingenuity of this artifact allows me to alternate between the concepts of ‘sever and change’ or use them in unison if I so wish to do so. To mine the ore, I must use the concept of severance while the ore is sealed and resistant to change.”
“Then you use the concept of change to shape the ore into the desired form,” Wenjun Long deduced, his experience with the Earth element showing.
Yao Shen gave him a nod, before continuing, “And when it is in the shape I desire, I strike it with the hammer, making its shape unchanging. That way it will adhere to the form I have shaped it into.”
“Do you understand what this means, Patriarch Lei?” Kang Long asked, his own expression tense as he studied Yao Shen’s newly acquired artifact.
“Lumenite Armor,” Lei Weiyuan muttered softly, the disbelief in his own tone unconcealable. “Why tell me this, Yao Shen?” he asked again, even though he knew the answer. But he had to hear it from the cultivator that had the audacity to make such a daring proposal, not even realizing that he had forgotten to use the honorifics.
“I will forge six sets of Lumenite Armor. Each division shall receive two.”
Everyone present except Yao Shen inhaled sharp breaths of air.
“In exchange for?” Lei Weiyuan warily asked, even though the suspicions in his heart were all but confirmed.
“The Gorge of Death, a remnant of the Era of Turmoil. Even I am hesitant to explore that area alone, for there are plenty of forgotten methods that even I may be vulnerable to. For a Nascent Soul Cultivator, exploring it is unthinkable. But, what if you were armored in full-plate Lumenite Armor? What then?”
“Even the Dwarves do not hand out full-plate Lumenite Armor to any but the strongest among them. The six of us….,” Wenjun Long trailed off as he visualized the sight, a squad of powerful human cultivators clad in the mighty armor.
“You wish us to accompany you on these excursions, then? What else?” Lei Weiyuan tentatively asked, waiting for the trap to spring itself.
“The reason why I didn’t use the secret of unlocking Origin Treasures as a springboard for cementing our alliance into a pact was because it fell short of my requirements. Any attempt to acquire more Origin Treasures would inevitably be tracked down by the Amadori, after all. But this? This is a stroke of good fortune that exceeds that criteria. I am fundamental to this plan, a key piece that is as inviolable as it is irreplaceable. To betray me is to betray a future where your sect could supersede even the accomplishments of its past. With that in mind, all I ask for is your unshakable loyalty to the Modern Sect.”
‘There it is,’ Lei Weiyuan thought to himself. ‘The bitter taste of defeat.’