Chapter 91

Chapter 91: Chaos Golden Cauldron

Lou Yun took out the Stone Sword and caressed it in his hand for a long time. Honestly speaking, even though he had made up his mind, he still felt reluctant. After all, this sword had accompanied him for quite a long time.

Though he was unwilling, for the sake of his future, Lou Yun had to sacrifice the Stone Sword!

Placing the Stone Sword flat on his knees, Lou Yun then brought forth the Dream Emperor Sword into his right hand. Concentrating his spiritual energy throughout his body, he slowly pressed the Dream Emperor Sword toward the Stone Sword!

During Lou Yun’s Devour Weapons process, Chang Xiang watched with unblinking attention. Although he had great confidence in Lou Yun, he couldn’t help feeling slightly uneasy. Moreover, in the last half month, Lou Yun’s advancement speed in the magical weapon realm had been incredibly rapid. Fortunately, Lou Yun was absorbing spiritual energy from spiritual crystals, not from beast souls, so at least there was no worry about any adverse effects.

Chang Xiang still felt deeply moved that Lou Yun had become Mr. Commoner’s disciple. When Lou Yun had earlier asked if Mr. Commoner possessed the ability of foreknowledge, Chang Xiang hadn’t spoken the truth. It wasn’t that he had intended to deceive Lou Yun; he genuinely didn’t know. But now, thinking more calmly, it seemed Mr. Commoner really had made plans long ago, even going to great lengths to set up mechanisms in this place—just to take Lou Yun as his disciple.

“Sigh, first you had my help, then you encountered Xiao Huo, then the Chaos Golden Cauldron, and now even Mr. Commoner has appeared. Ah, Lou Yun, Lou Yun, your luck is truly astonishing!”

Though the Stone Sword was fundamentally different from other common weapons, perhaps because Lou Yun’s current magical weapon was too powerful, the entire Devour Weapons process went very smoothly, except for taking longer. After Chang Xiang kept watch for five days, Lou Yun opened his eyes.

The moment Lou Yun’s eyes opened, Chang Xiang clearly saw two brilliant beams like starlight flash within them. Though the light vanished instantly, it sent a wave of shock through Chang Xiang’s heart!

After completing the advancement of a major rank, Lou Yun’s entire being had undergone an unmistakable transformation!

This transformation wasn’t about his physical appearance, but rather, Lou Yun himself began to exude a sharp, almost overwhelming edge from within!

Chang Xiang thought, I’d better conceal this edge of his usually. If the Nine Clans detect it, he’d probably live in constant danger!

“How are you feeling?”

Lou Yun looked at the Dream Emperor Sword in his hand, now visibly several inches longer than before yet almost identical in shape to the Stone Sword. “Very good! But the sword feels so much larger now!”

Chang Xiang chuckled. “Naturally so. Whenever a magical weapon advances a major rank in realm, its appearance will see notable changes. Some people even purposely form symbols like stars on their magical weapon to mark its rank."

Lou Yun was aware of this, as his own grandfather’s magical weapon was like that.

“Right, Brother Chang!” Lou Yun suddenly thought of a question. “Besides changes in appearance, a magical weapon gains a new ability when advancing a major rank. I’m not clear—exactly what abilities are these?”

Chang Xiang nodded. “That’s something I’ve long meant to discuss with you, because this is also closely related to your forging of common weapons! You must understand, none of the common weapons you’ve successfully forged besides the lowest rank were actually qualified!”

“Ah!” Lou Yun’s mouth fell open in surprise. “Why? How could they not be qualified?”

“It’s exactly the question you just asked! When a magical weapon’s realm advances a major rank, it gains a new ability. That means for the common weapons you forge to be truly qualified, they must likewise possess that particular ability!”

Lou Yun blinked. “But… the people buying common weapons never made such a request!”

“That’s because, at the Primary, Middle, and High rank realms, the abilities possessed by magical weapons aren’t very significant. Whether they have them or not doesn’t really matter!”

“Then just what are those abilities?”

“The Middle rank’s ability—Internal Sight—we needn’t discuss. You achieved that long ago. For the High rank magical weapon, the ability is Armor Manifestation, meaning the weapon can transform into armor to protect its user. But frankly, this ability is more or less completely useless and impractical. Because once the magical weapon transforms into armor, it is armor—it can no longer simultaneously function as a weapon. How many people, while facing an enemy, would willingly turn their weapon into armor and fight barehanded instead? So, people won’t have strong requirements for the abilities of common weapons marked High rank or below.”

“However, once a magical weapon reaches the Mystery Rank, its ability becomes absolutely crucial! At that point, any common weapon you forge must possess that ability embedded within it. Otherwise, no one will buy your common weapons!”

Lou Yun nodded. “The Mystery Rank magical weapon’s ability is flight—I know that. But how do I incorporate the flight ability into a common weapon?”

“Actually, you don’t need to ask me this anymore. Don’t forget who you are now. You are no longer the Lou Yun of the past—you are the disciple of the Divine Forger, Mr. Commoner!”

“Heh heh!” Lou Yun scratched his head, a little embarrassed. Indeed, he was used to seeking advice from Chang Xiang on everything and had genuinely forgotten that his mind now held vast amounts of knowledge and experience regarding forging weapons.

“By the way, kid,” Chang Xiang couldn’t forget the Chaos Golden Cauldron any longer, “Did you bring that Chaos Golden Cauldron back?”

Lou Yun flicked his wrist, and the small Chaos Golden Cauldron appeared in his palm.

As soon as Chang Xiang saw it, his eyes literally lit up with greed. He rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Yes, yes! That’s it! That’s the one! Why haven’t you infused your essence blood into it yet?”

Lou Yun couldn’t help glaring at him. “And when exactly was I supposed to have the time for that?!”

"Alright, no worries. Not a problem. Since you’ve got the time now, why wait? Hurry up and fuse your vital blood essence!"

Honestly, Lou Yun was extremely curious about the power of the Chaos Golden Cauldron too. Of course, the most crucial point was his desire to learn that set of Chaos Seals. So this time, he didn’t waste words with Chang Xiang. He pricked his finger, squeezed out a drop of blood, and dripped it onto the Chaos Golden Cauldron.

Just like back then with the Azure Cloud Cauldron, the blood instantly vanished upon touching the cauldron. Immediately after, a golden light shone forth. The small Chaos Golden Cauldron slowly lifted into the air, detached from Lou Yun’s palm, floated upwards, and hovered there silently, perfectly still.

Lou Yun remembered that after absorbing his blood, the Azure Cloud Cauldron had also first floated into the air before starting to spin. This Chaos Golden Cauldron simply floated, radiating a faint golden light, without any other reaction.

However, before Lou Yun could finish that thought, he saw the Chaos Golden Cauldron suddenly move. It shot forward with incredible speed, tracing a golden line through the air. With a "whoosh," it flew straight towards Lou Yun.

Lou Yun instinctively raised a hand to block it, but the cauldron was far too fast. There was simply no time. "Swish!" The Chaos Golden Cauldron struck Lou Yun’s body and then vanished completely!

To Lou Yun, the impact didn’t cause any physical sensation. But in his mind, a sudden "Buzz!" shuddered, forcing his eyes shut involuntarily.

A moment later, Lou Yun opened his eyes. Chang Xiang, beside him, immediately pressed urgently, "Well? How was it?"

Lou Yun smiled slightly, pointed a finger, and with a tremendous "Boom!", a massive Chaos Golden Cauldron, five meters tall, appeared on the open ground beside them.

The Chaos Golden Cauldron was indeed different from the Azure Cloud Cauldron. As if possessing its own spirit, the instant it collided with Lou Yun’s body, it actually fused within him. In that brief moment, it transmitted its unique characteristics, along with the Chaos Seals Lou Yun was most eager to learn, directly into his mind. That’s why Lou Yun could now summon and control the Chaos Golden Cauldron with such confident ease.

Though Chang Xiang had seen the Chaos Golden Cauldron before, seeing it again now still stirred profound excitement in him. He walked around it, back and forth.

For Lou Yun, this was also the first time he truly saw the cauldron clearly, so he examined it carefully too.

The Chaos Golden Cauldron was entirely gold, its shape unique. It had just one leg supporting its massive body, with four ‘ears’ or handles positioned symmetrically: one on the top, one on the right, one on the left, and one assumed on the implied side. Dragons soared and phoenixes danced on its surface amidst swirling auspicious clouds and ethereal immortal weapons, creating a dazzling spectacle. Lou Yun knew, however, that these decorative designs weren’t merely ornamentation. Like the patterns on the Azure Cloud Cauldron, they resonated meaningfully with the Chaos Seals.

"Truly! Truly!" Chang Xiang murmured appreciatively as he looked. "Now this is a cauldron! Common Weapons forged with this will be excellent weapons!"

Lou Yun joked playfully, "Well then, Brother Chang, shall I forge a Common Weapon right now? Let you enjoy the show?"

"Piss off!" Chang Xiang glared at him. "I was forging weapons before you even existed! What enjoyment do I need? Put it away. Take it out when you truly need to forge."

Lou Yun chuckled and waved his hand. The Chaos Golden Cauldron vanished, returning inside his body.

Chang Xiang walked back to stand right in front of Lou Yun, looking squarely at him. "Kid, tell me this. How long do you plan to cultivate here?"

Lou Yun indicated the walled valley around them. "Brother Chang, look around! There are absolutely no exits. Unless we climb the sheer cliffs on all four sides, but that’s far too dangerous. So I have to double down on my cultivation, reach the Mystery Rank level! Only then can I command a Magical Weapon to fly out of here!"

After hearing Lou Yun’s words, Chang Xiang didn’t answer. He just stared at him. After a moment, loud laughter suddenly burst forth.

Lou Yun was baffled. "What’s so funny? Do you have a good way to leave here?"

Chang Xiang laughed until he could barely catch his breath. "Your brain, really, doesn’t know how to bend! Fly out? Is flying the only way to get out of here?"

"Well then, tell me what other way!" Lou Yun retorted irritably.

"Didn’t you just say Mr. Commoner taught you many cultivation methods and weapon techniques? Dig through them carefully! Among them should be methods focusing on Movement Techniques! A measly ten-thousand-ren sheer cliff? With a decent Movement Technique, you could leave easily!"

"Movement Techniques?" In Lou Yun’s understanding, movement techniques basically meant agility during combat, or simply moving or running faster.

Without bothering with words, Chang Xiang pointed casually at a section of the sheer cliff wall. Then, his figure blurred as he launched himself into a tremendous leap. His body stuck to the cliff face. With a few swift, blurred movements – as agile as a nimble flood dragon – he had scaled hundreds of meters upward in the blink of an eye. Finally, he pushed off against the cliff with both feet, executed a graceful backflip in mid-air, and landed steadily on the ground right before Lou Yun.

"See that? That is a Movement Technique! It can vastly increase the flexibility and agility of your body! Cultivated to its peak, you could cover long distances in an instant, make the far corners seem like mere inches away – no need to rely on Magical Weapons just to fly! This kind of technique is essential to learn, whether you’re a Magical Weapons Master or a Common Weapons Master. I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t think you needed it… but looking at it now, you seriously need it!"

Chang Xiang’s fluid sequence had left Lou Yun dazzled and filled with intense envy. "Magical Weapons Masters also learn Movement Techniques?"

"Hmm, they probably should. But those who learn them, or truly master them to the point they can fly without Magical Weapons? Not many. Think about it: if you’re commanding your Magical Weapon in the sky and encounter an enemy, what do you do? Fight them barehanded?"

"Oh!" Lou Yun nodded in understanding. Suddenly, he remembered the speed he witnessed when Huangfu En departed. "Was Huangfu En using a Movement Technique?"

"Yep. He’s reached the level of covering long distances in an instant. But that’s not the pinnacle. Anyway, telling you too many details now is useless. You’ll learn its benefits once you start training yourself!"

Finished speaking, Chang Xiang waited, but heard no response from Lou Yun. He turned his head. Lou Yun, at some point, had closed his eyes! Clearly, he’d already started searching his mind for a suitable technique!

Chang Xiang shook his head, smiling wryly. Laughingly, he scolded, "Well, you little rascal! Quick to act, aren’t you!"