Chapter 39: The Mysterious Treasure

This blade was entirely pitch-black and gleaming; the hilt was carved with a coiling dragon motif, and at a glance, it seemed as if an invisible aura of slaughter reverberated around it.

Qiu Han gathered his focus, channeling all his spiritual power into the body of the blade. The Inkfeather Blade hovered before his eyes, remaining perfectly still, yet sweat began to bead on his forehead as if the effort was immense. Still, he did not relent; rather, he accelerated the flow of his spiritual energy as he manipulated the weapon.

At last, the Inkfeather Blade slowly rose into the air, flipping over and over. "I've done it!" Qiu Han’s heart surged with excitement, but he continued to pour in his energy, guiding the blade with his mind. After a while, he retrieved the Inkfeather Blade into his hand, wiping the sweat from his brow, and sighed inwardly, "As expected, this is a supreme spiritual artifact—just controlling it has consumed nearly half my strength. If I want to wield it in battle, with my current cultivation, I can unleash only a single attack, and even then, its power would be far from its peak."

"After one strike, I’d have less than a tenth of my spiritual energy left. If I failed to slay my foe, I would be in grave danger. Unless faced with dire peril, I must not employ this artifact. Perhaps once I ascend to the Foundation Establishment stage, I’ll be able to draw forth its full might. For now, with my current cultivation, the low-grade spiritual tool, the Icefeather Ring, is sufficient for me to wield to its utmost."

Thinking thus, Qiu Han sighed softly. It seemed his current strength still fell short of what was required to command a supreme spiritual weapon, but this trial gave him a clearer sense of his own abilities.

"Comparable to an early Foundation Establishment cultivator!"

This was the conclusion Qiu Han reached after wielding the Inkfeather Blade.

Since reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining and arriving at the Spiritshade Valley, he had endured life-and-death struggles, advancing to the eleventh level of Qi Refining. Then, after accidentally ingesting a strange yellow essence and nearly dying, he was blessed by misfortune, his cultivation leaping straight to the pinnacle of Qi Refining. Having survived such calamities, blessings were sure to follow—Qiu Han understood this deeply, having tasted all the bitterness and sweetness along the way.

In short, the events of these days could be summed up by an ancient saying: "Blessing hides in misfortune, misfortune lurks within blessing."

Clearing his mind, Qiu Han returned the Inkfeather Blade to his storage pouch. Glancing at the flower-browed marten not far away, he addressed it: "Thank you for guarding me during the days I was unconscious. The grudge between us is now settled, and since you’ve also helped me find so much yellow essence, I owe you a debt of gratitude. Let me heal the wounds on your body."

The flower-browed marten had noticed Qiu Han’s awakening from the start. Now, hearing his words, it opened its mouth and let out a joyful cry, walking over to him.

Qiu Han took out a collection of jars and bottles from his storage pouch—special healing medicines he had brought from his sect. Selecting a few ointments, he carefully applied them to the marten’s wounds, using up most of the salves in the process. When he was done, Qiu Han suddenly realized how ragged he looked, like a beggar. Without a second thought, he set off to find water and bathed.

After washing and changing into fresh clothes, Qiu Han returned to the valley, took out the trial jade slip from his pouch, and examined it with his spiritual sense. Now that his business in Spiritshade Valley was concluded, it was time to seek his next challenge, though he had not yet chosen a destination.

After a long deliberation, he put the jade slip away and sat cross-legged, preparing to rest and make plans later. Suddenly, the flower-browed marten approached, lightly patting Qiu Han with its right paw, then pointed outside the valley, calling out insistently.

"You want to take me somewhere?"

Qiu Han seemed to understand the marten’s intent and asked. At his words, the marten nodded its oversized head eagerly up and down.

After a moment’s thought, Qiu Han rose and left the valley, casting the Windriding Technique to soar through the air with the marten. With his current cultivation, bringing along such a giant beast was no burden. The flower-browed marten, evidently having never flown before, was so elated it danced and waved its limbs in midair.

After about an hour of flight, Qiu Han crossed the forests and returned to the plains where he had once fought the Direwolf Beast. Landing there, he watched as the marten bolted ahead, prompting him to follow, puzzled.

Thus, man and beast crossed the plain and arrived at the foot of a great mountain. There, a massive cave mouth lay hidden among dense branches. The marten entered without pause, and Qiu Han followed.

The cave was deep; after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they reached its depths. Qiu Han looked around and found, to his surprise, a hidden chamber within: the space was vast—nearly a hundred feet wide and thirty high. Such a place must have been carved out by some ancient cultivator, though now it clearly served as the marten’s dwelling.

Scattered bones and wild fruits littered the floor. Deeper in, there was a pool of water, neither large nor small, but bigger than the marten itself. The water was clear, with mist rising above it. Looking up, Qiu Han saw that the water flowed from a stone wall above, and embedded in the wall was a circular object.

Just then, the marten leapt into the pool with a splash, luxuriating in its bath. Qiu Han glanced back at the marten and was astonished to see its wounds healing before his eyes, forming scabs and shedding them in moments.

"This pool’s water has healing properties!"

Qiu Han held his breath, marveling inwardly. He looked up again at the object in the wall, a new suspicion forming in his mind. Suddenly, he leapt up, flying to the stone wall, and reached for the circular object.

A chill seeped into his palm as he grasped the edge and pulled—it came free in his hand. Back on the ground, Qiu Han examined it closely.

It was a flat disk about the size of a bowl, resembling a mundane platter, but etched on its surface was a Tai Chi Eight Trigrams diagram, black and white covering its entirety.

To test his theory, Qiu Han drew a shallow cut on his left arm, then took a scoop of water from the stone wall and poured it over the wound. Nothing happened. He then scooped another ladle, this time soaking the disk in the water for a moment before applying it to his arm. As he suspected, the wound quickly healed.

"This pool is just ordinary water, but after being infused with the power of this disk, it gained healing properties. Clearly, this item is a treasure!"