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Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The fact that nearly every sect from the Core Circle was visiting was great news for the Crimson Blood Sect. It was because every group was led by a Legate or a prolegate. Duan Yi had already formed an alliance pact with every sect in the past few days.
From now on, any Crimson Blood Sect disciple who ventured to the Core Circle to cultivate would find themselves overwhelmed with choices. They could join almost any sect they liked.
Everyone here was a member of the Grand Sky Coalition and a guest, so of course the Crimson Blood Sect disciples did their best to accommodate them. This was the first time in decades their Outpost was this lively.
While the people were mingling with one another, Lu Ye teleported back to the headquarters using the Divine Opportunity Column. As it turned out, the headquarters were bustling with activity as well, although they were all Crimson Blood Sect disciples. They saluted him the moment they saw him.
Shui Yuan was busy when Lu Ye sought her out. He waited until she was finished before he asked, “Sister Shui, I’m just ascending to the Cloud River Realm. Why is everyone acting like it’s a grand event or something?”
Shui Yuan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before asking, “Have you ever heard of the Gift of Providence?”
Lu Ye shook his head.
“The Gift of Providence is kind of a myth. The last time it appeared was decades ago.” Shui Yuan paused for a good while as if she was reminiscing about the past before continuing, “It is incredibly difficult to obtain the Gift of Providence. First, the cultivator must slay enemies above his cultivation level repeatedly to garner the Heavens’ attention. If they accrued enough attention, they will be granted the Gift of Providence when they ascend to the next Major Realm.
“It’s not difficult for some major sect disciples to slay enemies above their cultivation levels—ghost cultivators specialize in this area after all—but to display the same level of prowess against any opponent one faces? That is far, far more difficult. Out of everyone in this generation, you are the only one who meets this requirement.”
Lu Ye had been battling enemies above his cultivation level since the day he embarked on his cultivation journey.
It might not have been obvious before he was in the Fifth-Order, but that became clear after the Battle of Goldentip.
During the Battle of Goldentip, everyone he fought except his first opponent was a Sixth-Order cultivator.
At the time, Li Baxian and the other Grand Sky Coalition cultivators already noticed that Lu Ye could be a candidate to receive the Gift of Providence. However, it wasn’t a sure thing yet. He was still a long way away from the Cloud River Realm after all.
Be it in the Outer Circle, Inner Circle or Core Circle, almost everyone Lu Ye fought since were stronger than him in terms of cultivation level. However, he had defeated them all.
As if that wasn’t clear enough, he was the first ever Heaven Eight cultivator to become the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy. After he reached Heaven Nine, he was practically invincible in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield. Only Tyrant-level existences could give him a run for his money.
If he didn’t qualify to receive the Gift of Providence, then no one did.
“Accrue enough attention?” Lu Ye said out loud. “Sister Shui, are you saying that the Heavens…”
“I shouldn’t need to tell you this, but the omnipresent Heavens are more profound than you think. You may not feel it right now, but you will when your cultivation level increases.”
Lu Ye nodded. “What’s so amazing about this Gift of Providence?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure about the details myself. For one, only a handful of people has ever received the Gift of Providence. Two, all information regarding the Gift of Providence was considered top secret and locked behind closed doors. What I can tell you is that the last person to receive the Gift of Providence is our first senior brother, though he obtained it when he was ascending to the Real Lake Realm, not the Cloud River Realm. Since then, his cultivation grew faster than ever before, and he led our sect to our Golden Age. But of course, you already know what happened next. He was the reason we rose to the greatest heights, and the reason we fell from grace as well.”
“First senior brother…” Lu Ye murmured. Already, he could not count the times he had heard of the achievements of his first senior brother.
“You don’t need to think too much. In the end, it’s up to the Heavens whether you obtain the Gift of Providence or not. Anyway, that is why so many people have come to witness your ascension.”
Lu Ye nodded in agreement.
“Have you decided when you are going to ascend?” Shui Yuan asked.
“No, but anytime is fine, honestly.”
“Then let us set it three days later.”
“As you wish, senior sister.”
For a time, Shui Yuan watched him with a fond expression not unlike a mother watching her son grow up. She suddenly cracked a smile and said, “Time flies, doesn’t it? To think you’re ready to ascend to the Cloud River Realm already.”
She paused for a second before continuing, “That said, you’re going to have to change your Spirit Artifact.”
“That is exactly what I wish to speak to you about.” Lu Ye was having a headache regarding this problem as well. Right now, everything he owned be it the Inviolable, the flying weapons in his Weapon Holder or even his flying Spirit Artifact were just nonuple enchantment Low-Grade Spirit Artifacts.
Generally speaking, only Spirit Creek Realm cultivators would use Low-Grade Spirit Artifacts. When a cultivator ascended to the Cloud River Realm, they should consider switching to Middle-Grade Spirit Artifacts right away.
Replacing flying weapons and flying Spirit Artifact wasn’t a problem. The resources he had extorted from the Thousand Demon Ridge contained a lot of spirit Artifacts, and there were Middle-Grade and even High-Grade Spirit Artifacts among them. He could replace them anytime he wanted to.
The Inviolable though…
The Inviolable had accompanied him for two years. He had achieved Blade Communion with the saber as well. Even if he found another blade that was exactly identical to the Inviolable but stronger, he couldn’t be sure that it would fit him. He would have to restart his Blade Communion from zero as well. It would not be worth it.
However, the Inviolable was already falling behind his cultivation level. Two years of near non-stop fighting had damaged it pretty badly as well. It wouldn’t be long before it was completely unusable.
After Lu Ye had told Shui Yuan his worries, she said smilingly, “I’m aware that your personal Spirit Artifact holds a special place in your heart just like swords to a sword cultivator like your fourth senior brother. The solution is simple. You simply need to upgrade your weapon.”
“Upgrade my weapon?”
“You can pay an artificer to upgrade your saber from Low-Grade to Mid-Grade, though I must warn you that the fee will be more expensive than if you just buy a new saber. It is because the artificer must be a master in the art at least to upgrade a Spirit Artifact. The benefits are worth the price though. For starters, the saber can be tailor-made to fit your needs exactly!”
Lu Ye perked up. “Really? That’s incredible! Do you know any master artificer, senior sister?”
“I do, but they do not live in Bing Zhou.”
“It’s okay…”
“You don’t need to travel all the way to find them though. Just enter the Vault of Providence and post a request to upgrade your Spirit Artifact. Someone will accept it eventually.”
“The Vault of Providence can do this?” Lu Ye was surprised. For the longest time, he thought that the Vault of Providence was just a place to buy or sell items.
“You’ll know once you give it a try. But remember, all transactions carried out in the Vault of Providence are paid in Contribution Points.”
“Got it,” Lu Ye replied before hurrying to the Sanctum of Providence. He then connected to the Divine Opportunity Column and entered the Vault of Providence.
As usual, the giant vault was filled to the brim with goods. Lu Ye was completely overwhelmed the first time he saw it. However, one could filter out the items they didn’t need by inputting the right keywords. The more keywords one inputted, the more items would be filtered out of the search until finally, the cultivator found exactly what they were looking for.
Of course, they still needed to pay Contribution Points to purchase the item. Contribution Points were the one and only currency that was accepted by the Vault of Providence.
“I would like to post a request to upgrade my Spirit Artifact!” Lu Ye declared.
The giant vault distorted. A while later, Lu Ye discovered that he was standing in a small room. There was a table in front of him and nothing else.
Realizing what was asked of him, Lu Ye placed the Inviolable on the table.
He did not know how long it would take before someone would accept his request, and he wasn’t going to waste his time waiting. He was just about to leave when suddenly, the space opposite him distorted, and a blurry figure appeared.
This was the first time he saw another person in the Vault of Providence. He could not help but examine them for a moment, though the Heavens made it so that it was impossible to distinguish even their gender, much less their cultivation level.
The person grabbed the Inviolable and gave it a look. They then said in a disappointed tone, “Just a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact…”
It was clear that the person did not think that this would be a massively profitable transaction for them.
“Do you have any demands?”
Despite their disappointment, the person didn’t turn around and leave. Requests like this were pretty rare, and some Contribution Points were still better than no Contribution Points at all.
“While retaining its shape and length, I’d like to increase its number of enhancements to eighteen. I also want it to be as tough as possible and three times heavier than it currently is.”
“You’re a pretty demanding person, aren’t you? What’s your offer?”
Lu Ye thought for a moment before answering, “Eight hundred.”
Low-Grade Spirit Artifacts were generally priced between thirty to one hundred and fifty Contribution Points in the Vault of Providence. Middle-Grade Spirit Artifacts were around two to five hundred Contribution Points.
Lu Ye’s offer was enough to buy the best available Middle-Grade Spirit Artifact.
“It’s not enough. It will cost at least six hundred Contribution Points just to purchase the materials necessary to meet your requirements.” The person harrumphed. “Upgrades are not the same as purchases.”
“How much do you want then?”
“I won’t accept anything less than two thousand Contribution Points.”
“Deal!”
What was two thousand when Lu Ye had over a hundred thousand Contribution Points right now? If the Inviolable could be upgraded, he could bear to pay even more than that—within reason, of course.
His swift answer surprised the artificer. They wondered if Lu Ye was a disciple of a major sect and regretted not upping the price.
There was no use crying over spilled milk though. The artificer declared, “Let us forge the Sacred Pact then.”
The Sacred Pact was forged a moment later. It listed the price, Lu Ye’s requirements, and the time limit. The two cultivators also exchanged imprints with each other.
The time limit was very important because he was temporarily giving up the Inviolable to the artificer. If no time limit was specified, the artificer could hold on to his weapon forever.
The time limit was set to three days. Lu Ye could not help but think that artificing was a wonderfully profitable business. Using his case as an example, a master artificer could earn two thousand Contribution Points in just three days.
Lu Ye went back to his second senior sister after exiting the Vault of Providence.
Now that the problem regarding the Inviolable was solved, he only needed to replace his flying weapons and flying Spirit Artifact.
Last time, he had given up all the goods to Shui Yuan. They were stored in the Crimson Blood Sect’s vault.
He took the key from his second senior sister and went to the vault to make his pick.
