Chapter 130, Pseudo Instrument and Ascension Order

Translator: Raznick

 

“Hurry, hurry!”

 

High in the clouds, the two Green Lotus Monastery Violet Palace cultivators, Ming Jian and Ming Xia, raced through the sky, having exerted all of their strength.

 

Yet, the two still felt it was too slow; they were squeezing every ounce of energy from themselves, doing everything possible to increase speed.

 

Since receiving the message and learning that the group from the Dragonized Sect had been discovered by Zhou Mingde and Wang Guangping, the two had rushed to the scene at the fastest speed.

 

But at that time, they were already a hundred miles away from the scene, and some time had passed since they received the message.

 

This made them worry that when the two of them arrived at the scene, they would once again find nothing, not even a trace of the enemy, just like in the previous few times.

 

If that were the case, it would be infuriating.

 

So the two were rushing as fast as they could, directly using the energy one would use to escape for their lives.

 

As the saying goes, you don’t know your own strength until pushed against the wall.

 

Since opening his Violet Palace, Ming Jian had never tried to push himself to the point he was at today.

 

He had never realized that he could move this fast!

 

The distance of a hundred miles was finally covered in just over an hour.

 

When the two of them arrived at the scene, they saw Zhou Mingde and Wang Guangping struggling against the Black Dragon Guardian.

 

“Whew, we made it!”

 

Seeing the enemy was still there, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Without Zhou Mingde’s prompting, they quickly charged toward the battlefield.

 

The Black Dragon Guardian, upon seeing the two Green Lotus Monastery Violet Palace cultivators, felt his heart sink and his face changed wildly.

 

Not only was the power of the Spirit Dragon Possession Talisman already nearing depletion, but even if everything had been intact, even if a true Flood Dragon were here, facing four cultivators of the same rank, victory would have been impossible.

 

“Damn it! I won’t forget this. You haven’t seen the last of me!”

 

He glared at Zhou Mingde and Wang Guangping with an expression of frustration and let out a growl filled with hatred.

 

Then, twisting his body, he quickly turned and fled toward the river below.

 

At this point, the potency of Zhou Mingde’s azure mirror instrumental implement had been greatly diminished by repeated use. The azure light it emitted landed on the Black Dragon Guardian, failing to restrain his form.

 

The effects of the Spirit Dragon Possession Talisman still sustained the Black Dragon Guardian, significantly increasing his resistance to instrumental implement power.

 

His other attack skills, along with Wang Guangping’s, proved useless against the Black Dragon Guardian, who was now focused solely on escape, and could not restrain him.

 

Seeing that the Black Dragon Guardian’s escape was unstoppable, and when Zhou Mingde was prepared to abandon the pursuit,

 

A beam of white icy light suddenly pierced the air from a distance, striking the Black Dragon Guardian squarely in the back.

 

To Zhou Mingde’s astonishment, the dragon scales of the Black Dragon Guardian, which were typically difficult to break even with a third-grade artifact, were torn and shattered on the spot, as if they were made of paper.

 

Then a surge of white frost erupted from within, instantly encasing the Black Dragon Guardian’s body in a block of white ice, which plummeted towards the ground.

 

Boom!

 

A tremendous noise echoed as the white ice landed, instantly creating a large pit in the ground.

 

The ice, which should have been brittle, was undamaged.

 

This scene stunned not only Zhou Mingde but also Wang Guangping.

 

The two instinctively turned their heads to look in the direction from which the white light had come.

 

They saw that the Daoist Ming Xia held a white ice bow shimmering with icy light, flying toward them along with Ming Jian.

 

“What is that? An instrument?”

 

Zhou Mingde’s eyes were fixed on the white ice bow held by Daoist Ming Xia, his expression full of disbelief as he muttered to himself.

 

Although his voice was not loud, Wang Guangping heard it.

 

Immediately, he said with a tone full of surprised meaning, “No, that’s not an instrument; that’s a pseudo instrument!”

 

The words pseudo instrument caused Zhou Mingde to suddenly understand.

 

He quickly nodded in agreement. “Yes, an instrument can only be activated by a Golden Core cultivator; it can only be a pseudo-instrument!”

 

A so-called pseudo instrument was actually a treasure that had degraded from an instrument!

 

A true instrument could only be activated by a Golden Core cultivator.

 

Therefore, after a Golden Core cultivator perished, any instrument they left behind, no matter how formidable, could not be utilized by future generations lacking Golden Core Stage cultivation.

 

An instrument unusable by anyone, regardless of its value, was of little use to future generations and could even become a source of disaster.

 

Consequently, some Golden Core cultivators, before their demise, would erase the instrument’s spirit and place it in a special spirit liquid to diminish the instrument’s power, causing it to drop in grade, to leave behind powerful defensive and life-saving treasures for future generations.

 

These instruments no longer possessed the true power of an instrument but could be activated without Golden Core Stage cultivation.

 

Because they remained fundamentally instruments, their power greatly surpassed that of an instrumental implement, and they were therefore called pseudo instruments by cultivators.

 

The number of these pseudo instruments was far fewer than that of genuine instruments, making them exceptionally rare.

 

Moreover, unlike instrumental implements that could be activated upon acquisition, some pseudo instrument required specific cultivation methods to activate and demanded unique arts binding to command.

 

Some extremely special pseudo instrument could only be commanded by those possessing a particular bloodline.

 

Consequently, many cultivators were entirely unaware of their existence.

 

Many cultivators, even upon encountering them, easily mistook them for something else, just as Zhou Mingde had done earlier.

 

Ming Xia possessed a pseudo instrument, and that made Zhou Mingde and Wang Guangping reassess the Daoist’s status within Green Lotus Monastery.

 

Possessing a pseudo instrument enabled even a mid Violet Palace cultivator to challenge a late Violet Palace cultivator.

 

This was a truly valuable treasure capable of boosting a cultivator’s strength by a whole stage!

 

At this moment, the Black Dragon Guardian was shot down, sustaining a severe wound.

 

When he finally broke free from the white ice that had encased him, both Ming Xia and Ming Jian had already arrived nearby.

 

He saw the pseudo instrument held by Ming Xia; his face turned pale, and his eyes instantly filled with despair.

 

Even if he were not severely injured now, even if he were back to the moment he first used the Spirit Dragon Possession Talisman, he would not be able to withstand the attack of the pseudo instrument; at most, he would have a chance to escape.

 

“I have heard that the deeper one cultivates the Dragonized Sutra, the less control one has over their own life, so even when Dragonized Sect leaders have been captured in the past, they will be killed from afar through arts, and no useful information will be obtained!

 

“So, will you end your own life, or shall I do it for you?”

 

In mid-air, Ming Xia held a white ice bow, her soft hand tightly grasping the bowstring, her face as cold as frost, looking down at the Black Dragon Guardian, her tone equally cold as ice.

 

Hearing his words, Ming Jian, Zhou Mingde, and Wang Guangping’s gazes all fell on the Black Dragon Guardian, their expressions equally cold.

 

The Dragonized Sect guardian had no value to be captured alive; this was a fact that had long been confirmed.

 

Therefore, even though the Black Dragon Guardian was injured and surrounded now, none of them wanted to capture him alive.

 

And considering his current state, he didn’t even possess the strength to struggle.

 

There were only two paths before the Black Dragon Guardian.

 

Either commit suicide and leave some dignity for himself.

 

Or be shot and killed by an arrow from Ming Xia!

 

Being stared at like a lamb being led to slaughter, the Black Dragon Guardian felt utterly frozen and tasted true despair.

 

He was silent for a moment, still thinking about ways to escape.

 

But before he could think of a method to try, a frosty arrow had already formed on Ming Xia’s ice bow.

 

This made him instinctively close his eyes, then open them, and say in a desolate tone, “To the victor all the power.” I accept my fate!”

 

After he spoke, his eyes widened, filled with resentment, and he roared, “But don’t get cocky! The Dragonized Sect has lain dormant for eight centuries before resurfacing, and we will reclaim what we’re missing!”

 

Swish!

 

Almost as soon as his roar faded, Ming Xia released the fingers holding the bowstring.

 

Then, a flash of cold light pierced the air, instantly striking the Black Dragon Guardina’s head.

 

“Just a pack of stray dogs!

 

“We drove you out of the Jing Kingdom once, and we can certainly break your errand claws again!”

 

Looking at the broken headless corpse on the ground, Ming Xia responded dismissively to what he said, then casually put the white ice bow back into her storage bag.

 

A true instrument could be refined and stored within a Golden Core cultivator’s body.

 

However, a pseudo instrument had lost that ability.

 

Having easily killed the Black Dragon Guardian, Ming Xia turned to look at Zhou Mingde and Wang Guangping, saying, “For being able to slay this beast, you two Fellow Daoists have made great contributions. Please each take one artifact from this beast’s remains.”

 

“Moreover, I will report your accomplishments to the sect, and when the sect discusses merits and rewards, benefits will surely be bestowed upon you both!”

 

She was clear in her mind that, although she killed the Black Dragon Guardian, Zhou Mingde and the others were just as instrumental in the victory.

 

Therefore, the spoils must be split between the two.

 

For Zhou Mingde and Wang Guangping, in order to hold back the Black Dragon Guardian, the two had nearly exhausted the power of an instrumental implement, and the loss was substantial.

 

Therefore, when Fellow Daoist Ming Xia mentioned it, they didn’t decline.

 

They immediately exchanged glances and responded in unison, “Thank you, Fellow Daoist Ming Xia!”

 

Then they searched the Black Dragon Guardian for artifacts, with Zhou Mingde choosing the most valuable artifact, the patterned Dragon Banner.

 

This was a reciprocation from Wang Guangping for his willingness to share the profits from the Fire Spirit Jackal’s attack on the Dragonized Sect Envoy.

 

In this battle, the Dragonized Sect lost a Black Dragon Guardian, five Envoys, and 23 ordinary followers, a significant loss.

 

After this battle, the turbulent cultivation world of Mist Province finally settled.

 

Because he didn’t want to reveal that she had a pseudo instrument, Ming Xia specially instructed Zhou Mingde and Wang Guangping to keep this matter confidential.

 

Therefore, when announcing the battle results, only Zhou Mingde and Wang Guangping knew the process of killing the Black Dragon Guardian, which mentioned they discovered and restrained the Black Dragon Guardian before Ming Xia took the kill.

 

Only those four people present and the elders of Green Lotus Monastery knew how the Black Dragon Guardian actually died.

 

Zhou Mingde and Wang Guangping, who exerted considerable effort in this battle, also gained the gratitude and respect of many cultivators in Mist Province with the announcement of the results.

 

The reputation of Red Herb Valley’s Wang Clan and Nine Peaks’ Zhou Clan was unmatched in Mist Province, gaining significant attention.

 

Perhaps to encourage the major clans of Mist Province.

 

Seven days after killing the Black Dragon Guardian, Green Lotus Monastery announced the reward for Zhou Clan and Wang Clan’s contributions to the elimination of the Dragonized Sect’s partial forces.

 

The reward appeared quite generous.

 

The Zhou Clan received a Foundation Establishment Pill and an Ascension Order, while the Wang Clan received a Foundation Establishment Pill.

 

At the same time, if there were any further conscriptions in the future, both clans could be exempted from one.

 

The rental fees for the shops of the two clans in Red Cliff Market would also be waived for thirty years.

 

“A Foundation Establishment Pill is easy enough to arrange; it was something they were owed anyway. It’s this Ascension Order that’s truly unexpected—clearly Ming Xia put in a good word!”

 

Within Central Palace, after seeing off the Green Lotus Monastery disciples who had come to bestow the rewards, Zhou Mingde and Zhou Chun and the others returned to the hall and began to discuss the matter of the reward.

 

The focus of their discussion was the silver-white token held in Zhou Mingde’s hand.

 

The token was carved with the word  ascension on one side and a green lotus pattern on the other.

 

This item, known as an Ascension Order, was a precious treasure used by a large sect like Green Lotus Monastery to reward its subordinate cultivating clans.

 

Anyone holding this Ascension Order, regardless of cultivation, aptitude, or age, could seek entry into Green Lotus Monastery and, upon reaching the Twelfth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage, enjoy the right to take one Foundation Establishment Pill.

 

It could be said that the importance of this item was greater than that of a single Foundation Establishment Pill.

 

If the Zhou Clan were willing now, they could use this Ascension Order, sending a clan member with cultivation at the Twelfth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage into Green Lotus Monastery, allowing them to take a Foundation Establishment Pill.

 

Once successful, the Zhou Clan would have a Foundation Establishment Stage inner sect disciple in Green Lotus Monastery.

 

Therefore, under normal circumstances, Green Lotus Monastery would prefer to bestow a Foundation Establishment Pill rather than this Ascension Order.

 

That was why Zhou Mingde believed that Ming Xia had put in a good word for it, which led Green Lotus Monastery to bestow such a treasure.

 

At this time, after playing with the token in his hand, Zhou Mingde put the item away and said in a deep voice, “I will keep this for now. How to use it is something we’ll discuss with Zhou Daoyi when he returns.”

 

He was the Grand Elder, and this item was entirely earned by his own merit, so others naturally wouldn’t dare object.

 

“As for this Foundation Establishment Pill…”

 

Zhou Mingde’s gaze shifted, involuntarily falling on Zhou Chun.