1823

1825 Shannu’s conditions

Half a day later.

Inside an abandoned room at the top of the Tie Wei mountain.

Fei Yue took off her mask and asked: “Is it done?”

“Hmph, the seven rulers of the Kingdoms of Lull have established a connection with the Hall of Reincarnation. The automatic machines of Huang Quan have also been modified. From now onwards, they will be sent directly to the battlefields and earn their Merits through war” Gu Qing Shan replied.

“What do you intend to do from this point?” Fei Yue asked.

“I’ll head into the battlefield to examine the situation, I want to know what exactly is the issue with the monsters from this Boundless Void” Gu Qing Shan said.

Whenever I think back to the nebula monster I met from before as well as the copycat dragon, I keep feeling a smoldering sense of worry.

“Oh right, where are Xiao Die and the others?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

“They’re all on the battlefield, but we aren’t part of the same Department. We decided to split up to make it easier to collect information throughout the Huang Quan world as a whole” Fei Yue answered.

“The High Deity—— what’s the problem with her?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

After staying silent for a few moments, Fei Yue slowly explained: “When I examined the past records of Huang Quan, I learnt that Huang Quan was the most unique realm among the six worlds of the Samsara. The High Deity of Huang Quan is a position that doesn’t pale in comparison to the Heavenly Emperor, but since they are the ruler of the nether realm, their image doesn’t carry the same sense of legitimacy and renown as the Heaven realm, making it so that her name can’t be publicized or even be exposed to other worlds”

“There was also one other point of interest——– there had been several people with the title of Heavenly Emperor, but only a single Huang Quan High Deity”

Gu Qing Shan silently nodded.

He drew the Chao Yin sword out from the void of space and glanced at it.

A few lines of text appeared:

[Hibernating]

[This sword’s evolution is about to complete, about half a day remaining]

Half a day isn’t a lot of time, there’s no need to be in too much hurry either.

Then, now——

Gu Qing Shan asked: “Did you keep an eye out for information regarding my other swords?”

“Of course, my Fate-type abilities are very convenient for investigating secrets, so I occasionally perform divination whenever I am free” Fei Yue replied.

She raised her hand to show a series of entangled black threads, which then manifested a vision.

“The Deities of Huang Quan were all automatically granted their original Divine Artifacts. Only the Divine Artifacts of those who represented two Samsara realms, like you, would fly back by itself and become sealed”

The vision began to expand.

Within a divine and solemn palace hall, the Six Paths Great Mountain sword was hovering over a pedestal with various overlapping visions surrounding it.

This sword wasn’t the only one either.

In that same hall, there were a total of 9 pedestals, each of which were engraved with innumerable sealing runes and housed a single Divine Artifact.

“The Divine Artifacts of the other realms were also sealed away at the depths of the Hall of Reincarnation” Fei Yue explained.

Closely observing the Six Paths Great Mountain sword, Gu Qing Shan’s breathing slightly paused.

Shannu.

She’s still waiting for me.

“How can I retrieve my sword?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

Fei Yue hesitantly replied: “In truth, there’s an issue with that, we still haven’t understood it very well either…”

Gu Qing Shan said: “What’s the issue?”

Fei Yue changed to using her voice transmission to answer him: “Ever since I arrived in Huang Quan, I have tried staying close to lady High Deity and finally managed to establish an amicable relationship with lady High Deity…”

“During the Samsara Clash for Supremacy, we’ve always assumed that it was part of the rules for the Divine Artifacts of other Samsara realms to be sealed away, but one day, lady High Deity had said a certain thing with me being the only one who heard it”

“What did she say?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

Fei Yue took a deep breath and sent her voice again: “—–how strange, how can this be?”

Gu Qing Shan was shocked.

For the High Deity to say such a thing, something must be missing.

Could it be that not even she knew that the weapons of the other realms’ Chosen Saints would be sealed away?

…It can’t be.

Something is definitely wrong.

If even the Divine Artifacts of the Samsara need to compete for 1 of the 6 positions of Prime Divine Artifacts, then——-

Why have all of them been sealed here?

Gu Qing Shan turned to look at Fei Yue again and sent his voice: “Were none of the Huang Quan Deities’ Divine Artifacts sealed?”

“Yeah” Fei Yue replied.

Gu Qing Shan pondered for a few more moments.

Huang Quan has been isolated from the other 5 Samsara realms.

And the Divine Artifacts of all the other realms had returned to Huang Quan.

Could it be…

Gu Qing Shan’s eyes became sharp and said: “I’m now a Virtuous Deity of Huang Quan, one who possesses an uncountable value of Merits, I assume that no one would stop me if I wanted to take a weapon for myself?”

Fei Yue replied: “But you’ve already gotten a weapon”

Gu Qing Shan grasped the Chao Yin sword: “But this sword of mine isn’t a Samsara Divine Artifact”

Fei Yue shook her head: “Regardless of that, you’ve already obtained a sword; even if it doesn’t fit your Virtuous Deity authority of Death God, the sword was still personally tempered by lady High Deity using Huang Quan Nether Arts. For that reason, if you wish to obtain a second Divine Artifact, whether it’s a weapon, armor, or treasure tool, you must follow the rules of Huang Quan”

“What kind of rules?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

“You must first receive permission from the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation, and then—-”

“Regardless of the type of Divine Artifact, you must fulfill the conditions established by the artifact spirit when it was sealed in order to obtain it” Fei Yue replied.

Gu Qing Shan sighed in relief.

“My sword… what kind of conditions did it set when it was sealed?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

Fei Yue raised her hand to release the entangled threads into the void of space.

“I could have investigated it, but there are simply too many sealed Samsara treasures, while I am the Virtuous Deity of the Tie Wei mountain; it would have been inappropriate for me to enter the Hall of Reincarnation personally to investigate a single sword as that would have drawn unnecessary attention——- so I don’t know exactly what kind of conditions your sword had set, you’ll need to take a look yourself” Fei Yue told him.

“I understand, then I’ll move right away” Gu Qing Shan replied.

He disappeared in a flash.

The only one left in the room was Fei Yue.

She picked up the cold tea on the table and slowly took a sip.

“So hurried and impatient, all for a weapon…”

Fei Yue muttered under her breath.

…

『 Pardon me? You’ve come to choose another sword? 』the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation exclaimed in surprise.

“I’m a dual-sword user, so I need another sword” Gu Qing Shan replied.

Dual-sword…

The Death God was indeed a swordsman.

The Master of the Hall of Reincarnation slowly digested this information and fell into thought.

The Death God is currently the Virtuous Deity of Hell, having just released a nearly infinite number of dead beings to enter the war.

If that wasn’t the case, as the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation, I would still be fighting on the frontlines; not only would I not have a single moment of rest, I’d also face a great deal of danger.

Fine, I’ll do him a favor just this once.

The Master of the Hall of Reincarnation smiled: 『 That makes sense, even though you’ve obtained a sword, it isn’t a Samsara Divine Artifact, nor does it contain any Huang Quan divine powers, you can certainly request a true Huang Quan Divine Artifact 』

『 ——Which sword do you want? 』

“The Six Paths Great Mountain sword” Gu Qing Shan replied.

The Master of the Hall of Reincarnation appeared surprised: 『 That one huh… It was the manifestation of the Grand Tie Wei Mountain. Even among the weapons of Huang Quan, it could be considered one of the most powerful 』

“Will it be possible?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

『 Are you sure about this? If it’s this sword, I trust that almost everybody would be willing to give up on their original Deific Authority as well as Divine Artifact in order to obtain it 』the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation replied.

“You mean to say, my competition will be extremely fierce?” Gu Qing Shan said.

『 Indeed, you will have to win against countless Deities of Huang Quan and become a supreme Combatant of Huang Quan, ensuring that no one would dare to question your legitimacy. Would you be able to become its wielder?——- Otherwise, all the Deities of Huang Quan would not be willing to accept it 』the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation explained.

Then it’s the same as what Shannu had said.

Gu Qing Shan grinned and replied: “Great”

『 What do you mean by ‘great’? 』the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation asked.

“It’s simple, I’ll prove myself” Gu Qing Shan answered.

The Master of the Hall of Reincarnation nodded and spoke to the people behind her: 『 Men, bring the Death God to take a look 』

She then lowered her voice: 『 Venerable Death God, you can take a look at the conditions established by the sword’s artifact spirit first to at least have some ideas——- this doesn’t exactly adhere to be rules, but you’ve helped us greatly, so just looking isn’t an issue 』

“Thank you very much”

Gu Qing Shan clasped his fist to bow, then followed an official of the Hall of Reincarnation.

The official led him through a series of maze-like palaces, with countless balconies both looking up and down, as well as various lock seals that emanated dangerous auras before they finally reached an isolated hall.

Gu Qing Shan’s gaze scanned around the hall.

Only to see that the hall seemed to have tens of thousands of overlapping shadows.

A few lines of bloody red text appeared:

[Thousand Layered Shadow World]

[There are 1000 temporary miniature Phase Realms here, each containing its own countless sets of treasure vaults. Must be entered through a unique sequence of steps, taking one wrong step will result in immediately expulsion into the Huang Quan realm’s eradication array]

Gu Qing Shan skimmed through the text without saying anything.

The official turned around and respectfully spoke: 「 Venerable Death God, do you have other swords that you wish to obtain? If not, I can introduce all the swords of Huang Quan to you one by one 」

Gu Qing Shan glanced at him.

And noticed that he also had a sword hanging at his waist.

So this guy doesn’t want me to obtain the sword either.

He casually replied: “No need, take me straight to the Six Paths Great Mountain sword”

The official sighed: 「 Very well 」

He then brought Gu Qing Shan into the hall and explained: 「 Please follow me closely, do not take even a single step off my path or there might be issues, sir 」

“Then I’ll be troubling you” Gu Qing Shan replied.

The two of them then proceeded step by step one after another, walking for about 5 whole minutes through the Thousand Layered Hall before they finally stopped.

The official wiped the perspirations off his forehead and explained: 「 This is already very deep, it could be said to be one of the deepest chambers 」

He then put his hands together and chanted an incantation.

Rumble rumble———

The void of space began to split apart.

A palace hall appeared in front of the two of them.

There were a total of 9 pedestals within this hall, each of which was engraved with countless sealing runes, respectively housing a single Divine Artifact.

Gu Qing Shan saw the Six Paths Great Mountain sword right away.

With a flash, his figure flew up to the pedestal and gazed endearingly at the sword.

Defeat all the competition, complete Shannu’s conditions——

And awaken her once more!

“How can I see the conditions established by the divine sword’s artifact spirit?” he asked.

The official was still standing at the opening of the hall, so he called out in reply:

「 Venerable Death God, you only need to put your hand on the pedestal to learn of the artifact spirit’s conditions 」

“I understand, thank you” Gu Qing Shan said as his expression became tense.

—–Shannu must have already had a plan before she was sealed, being able to let Chao Yin escape on its own.

She wouldn’t reject me coming to find her.

So the conditions she set must be to stop others from being able to take the sword.

She must have set up conditions that nobody would be able to fulfill.

——aside from me.

So what kind of conditions did she actually set up?

Gu Qing Shan placed his hands on the pedestal.

Instantly, some thoughts flowed into his mind, manifesting as a female voice:

“Anyone who wishes to become my wielder must fulfill the conditions below”

“Firstly, as a human, be of pristine body”

“Secondly, as a cat, be able to consume an infinite number of salted fish without bursting”

“Thirdly, as a dragon, be able to engage in crosstalk[1]”

Gu Qing Shan was stunned.

Crosstalk?

Why crosstalk?

He pondered for a while and quickly realized.

Once, when I was a dragon, I pulled a stunt to deceive the enemy.

What a silly girl, that’s called rapping…

Gu Qing Shan silently shook his head.

When I rapped, she was probably laughing herself silly in the background, thinking that it was funny, so she considered it crosstalk.

Alright.

Now I need to beat everybody.

And then learn how to crosstalk…

[1] Crosstalk is a type of traditional Chinese comedy act that features fast talking, satire, singing, and puns

1825 Shannu’s conditions

Half a day later.

Inside an abandoned room at the top of the Tie Wei mountain.

Fei Yue took off her mask and asked: “Is it done?”

“Hmph, the seven rulers of the Kingdoms of Lull have established a connection with the Hall of Reincarnation. The automatic machines of Huang Quan have also been modified. From now onwards, they will be sent directly to the battlefields and earn their Merits through war” Gu Qing Shan replied.

“What do you intend to do from this point?” Fei Yue asked.

“I’ll head into the battlefield to examine the situation, I want to know what exactly is the issue with the monsters from this Boundless Void” Gu Qing Shan said.

Whenever I think back to the nebula monster I met from before as well as the copycat dragon, I keep feeling a smoldering sense of worry.

“Oh right, where are Xiao Die and the others?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

“They’re all on the battlefield, but we aren’t part of the same Department. We decided to split up to make it easier to collect information throughout the Huang Quan world as a whole” Fei Yue answered.

“The High Deity—— what’s the problem with her?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

After staying silent for a few moments, Fei Yue slowly explained: “When I examined the past records of Huang Quan, I learnt that Huang Quan was the most unique realm among the six worlds of the Samsara. The High Deity of Huang Quan is a position that doesn’t pale in comparison to the Heavenly Emperor, but since they are the ruler of the nether realm, their image doesn’t carry the same sense of legitimacy and renown as the Heaven realm, making it so that her name can’t be publicized or even be exposed to other worlds”

“There was also one other point of interest——– there had been several people with the title of Heavenly Emperor, but only a single Huang Quan High Deity”

Gu Qing Shan silently nodded.

He drew the Chao Yin sword out from the void of space and glanced at it.

A few lines of text appeared:

[Hibernating]

[This sword’s evolution is about to complete, about half a day remaining]

Half a day isn’t a lot of time, there’s no need to be in too much hurry either.

Then, now——

Gu Qing Shan asked: “Did you keep an eye out for information regarding my other swords?”

“Of course, my Fate-type abilities are very convenient for investigating secrets, so I occasionally perform divination whenever I am free” Fei Yue replied.

She raised her hand to show a series of entangled black threads, which then manifested a vision.

“The Deities of Huang Quan were all automatically granted their original Divine Artifacts. Only the Divine Artifacts of those who represented two Samsara realms, like you, would fly back by itself and become sealed”

The vision began to expand.

Within a divine and solemn palace hall, the Six Paths Great Mountain sword was hovering over a pedestal with various overlapping visions surrounding it.

This sword wasn’t the only one either.

In that same hall, there were a total of 9 pedestals, each of which were engraved with innumerable sealing runes and housed a single Divine Artifact.

“The Divine Artifacts of the other realms were also sealed away at the depths of the Hall of Reincarnation” Fei Yue explained.

Closely observing the Six Paths Great Mountain sword, Gu Qing Shan’s breathing slightly paused.

Shannu.

She’s still waiting for me.

“How can I retrieve my sword?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

Fei Yue hesitantly replied: “In truth, there’s an issue with that, we still haven’t understood it very well either…”

Gu Qing Shan said: “What’s the issue?”

Fei Yue changed to using her voice transmission to answer him: “Ever since I arrived in Huang Quan, I have tried staying close to lady High Deity and finally managed to establish an amicable relationship with lady High Deity…”

“During the Samsara Clash for Supremacy, we’ve always assumed that it was part of the rules for the Divine Artifacts of other Samsara realms to be sealed away, but one day, lady High Deity had said a certain thing with me being the only one who heard it”

“What did she say?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

Fei Yue took a deep breath and sent her voice again: “—–how strange, how can this be?”

Gu Qing Shan was shocked.

For the High Deity to say such a thing, something must be missing.

Could it be that not even she knew that the weapons of the other realms’ Chosen Saints would be sealed away?

…It can’t be.

Something is definitely wrong.

If even the Divine Artifacts of the Samsara need to compete for 1 of the 6 positions of Prime Divine Artifacts, then——-

Why have all of them been sealed here?

Gu Qing Shan turned to look at Fei Yue again and sent his voice: “Were none of the Huang Quan Deities’ Divine Artifacts sealed?”

“Yeah” Fei Yue replied.

Gu Qing Shan pondered for a few more moments.

Huang Quan has been isolated from the other 5 Samsara realms.

And the Divine Artifacts of all the other realms had returned to Huang Quan.

Could it be…

Gu Qing Shan’s eyes became sharp and said: “I’m now a Virtuous Deity of Huang Quan, one who possesses an uncountable value of Merits, I assume that no one would stop me if I wanted to take a weapon for myself?”

Fei Yue replied: “But you’ve already gotten a weapon”

Gu Qing Shan grasped the Chao Yin sword: “But this sword of mine isn’t a Samsara Divine Artifact”

Fei Yue shook her head: “Regardless of that, you’ve already obtained a sword; even if it doesn’t fit your Virtuous Deity authority of Death God, the sword was still personally tempered by lady High Deity using Huang Quan Nether Arts. For that reason, if you wish to obtain a second Divine Artifact, whether it’s a weapon, armor, or treasure tool, you must follow the rules of Huang Quan”

“What kind of rules?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

“You must first receive permission from the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation, and then—-”

“Regardless of the type of Divine Artifact, you must fulfill the conditions established by the artifact spirit when it was sealed in order to obtain it” Fei Yue replied.

Gu Qing Shan sighed in relief.

“My sword… what kind of conditions did it set when it was sealed?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

Fei Yue raised her hand to release the entangled threads into the void of space.

“I could have investigated it, but there are simply too many sealed Samsara treasures, while I am the Virtuous Deity of the Tie Wei mountain; it would have been inappropriate for me to enter the Hall of Reincarnation personally to investigate a single sword as that would have drawn unnecessary attention——- so I don’t know exactly what kind of conditions your sword had set, you’ll need to take a look yourself” Fei Yue told him.

“I understand, then I’ll move right away” Gu Qing Shan replied.

He disappeared in a flash.

The only one left in the room was Fei Yue.

She picked up the cold tea on the table and slowly took a sip.

“So hurried and impatient, all for a weapon…”

Fei Yue muttered under her breath.

…

『 Pardon me? You’ve come to choose another sword? 』the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation exclaimed in surprise.

“I’m a dual-sword user, so I need another sword” Gu Qing Shan replied.

Dual-sword…

The Death God was indeed a swordsman.

The Master of the Hall of Reincarnation slowly digested this information and fell into thought.

The Death God is currently the Virtuous Deity of Hell, having just released a nearly infinite number of dead beings to enter the war.

If that wasn’t the case, as the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation, I would still be fighting on the frontlines; not only would I not have a single moment of rest, I’d also face a great deal of danger.

Fine, I’ll do him a favor just this once.

The Master of the Hall of Reincarnation smiled: 『 That makes sense, even though you’ve obtained a sword, it isn’t a Samsara Divine Artifact, nor does it contain any Huang Quan divine powers, you can certainly request a true Huang Quan Divine Artifact 』

『 ——Which sword do you want? 』

“The Six Paths Great Mountain sword” Gu Qing Shan replied.

The Master of the Hall of Reincarnation appeared surprised: 『 That one huh… It was the manifestation of the Grand Tie Wei Mountain. Even among the weapons of Huang Quan, it could be considered one of the most powerful 』

“Will it be possible?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

『 Are you sure about this? If it’s this sword, I trust that almost everybody would be willing to give up on their original Deific Authority as well as Divine Artifact in order to obtain it 』the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation replied.

“You mean to say, my competition will be extremely fierce?” Gu Qing Shan said.

『 Indeed, you will have to win against countless Deities of Huang Quan and become a supreme Combatant of Huang Quan, ensuring that no one would dare to question your legitimacy. Would you be able to become its wielder?——- Otherwise, all the Deities of Huang Quan would not be willing to accept it 』the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation explained.

Then it’s the same as what Shannu had said.

Gu Qing Shan grinned and replied: “Great”

『 What do you mean by ‘great’? 』the Master of the Hall of Reincarnation asked.

“It’s simple, I’ll prove myself” Gu Qing Shan answered.

The Master of the Hall of Reincarnation nodded and spoke to the people behind her: 『 Men, bring the Death God to take a look 』

She then lowered her voice: 『 Venerable Death God, you can take a look at the conditions established by the sword’s artifact spirit first to at least have some ideas——- this doesn’t exactly adhere to be rules, but you’ve helped us greatly, so just looking isn’t an issue 』

“Thank you very much”

Gu Qing Shan clasped his fist to bow, then followed an official of the Hall of Reincarnation.

The official led him through a series of maze-like palaces, with countless balconies both looking up and down, as well as various lock seals that emanated dangerous auras before they finally reached an isolated hall.

Gu Qing Shan’s gaze scanned around the hall.

Only to see that the hall seemed to have tens of thousands of overlapping shadows.

A few lines of bloody red text appeared:

[Thousand Layered Shadow World]

[There are 1000 temporary miniature Phase Realms here, each containing its own countless sets of treasure vaults. Must be entered through a unique sequence of steps, taking one wrong step will result in immediately expulsion into the Huang Quan realm’s eradication array]

Gu Qing Shan skimmed through the text without saying anything.

The official turned around and respectfully spoke: 「 Venerable Death God, do you have other swords that you wish to obtain? If not, I can introduce all the swords of Huang Quan to you one by one 」

Gu Qing Shan glanced at him.

And noticed that he also had a sword hanging at his waist.

So this guy doesn’t want me to obtain the sword either.

He casually replied: “No need, take me straight to the Six Paths Great Mountain sword”

The official sighed: 「 Very well 」

He then brought Gu Qing Shan into the hall and explained: 「 Please follow me closely, do not take even a single step off my path or there might be issues, sir 」

“Then I’ll be troubling you” Gu Qing Shan replied.

The two of them then proceeded step by step one after another, walking for about 5 whole minutes through the Thousand Layered Hall before they finally stopped.

The official wiped the perspirations off his forehead and explained: 「 This is already very deep, it could be said to be one of the deepest chambers 」

He then put his hands together and chanted an incantation.

Rumble rumble———

The void of space began to split apart.

A palace hall appeared in front of the two of them.

There were a total of 9 pedestals within this hall, each of which was engraved with countless sealing runes, respectively housing a single Divine Artifact.

Gu Qing Shan saw the Six Paths Great Mountain sword right away.

With a flash, his figure flew up to the pedestal and gazed endearingly at the sword.

Defeat all the competition, complete Shannu’s conditions——

And awaken her once more!

“How can I see the conditions established by the divine sword’s artifact spirit?” he asked.

The official was still standing at the opening of the hall, so he called out in reply:

「 Venerable Death God, you only need to put your hand on the pedestal to learn of the artifact spirit’s conditions 」

“I understand, thank you” Gu Qing Shan said as his expression became tense.

—–Shannu must have already had a plan before she was sealed, being able to let Chao Yin escape on its own.

She wouldn’t reject me coming to find her.

So the conditions she set must be to stop others from being able to take the sword.

She must have set up conditions that nobody would be able to fulfill.

——aside from me.

So what kind of conditions did she actually set up?

Gu Qing Shan placed his hands on the pedestal.

Instantly, some thoughts flowed into his mind, manifesting as a female voice:

“Anyone who wishes to become my wielder must fulfill the conditions below”

“Firstly, as a human, be of pristine body”

“Secondly, as a cat, be able to consume an infinite number of salted fish without bursting”

“Thirdly, as a dragon, be able to engage in crosstalk[1]”

Gu Qing Shan was stunned.

Crosstalk?

Why crosstalk?

He pondered for a while and quickly realized.

Once, when I was a dragon, I pulled a stunt to deceive the enemy.

What a silly girl, that’s called rapping…

Gu Qing Shan silently shook his head.

When I rapped, she was probably laughing herself silly in the background, thinking that it was funny, so she considered it crosstalk.

Alright.

Now I need to beat everybody.

And then learn how to crosstalk…

[1] Crosstalk is a type of traditional Chinese comedy act that features fast talking, satire, singing, and puns