Hearing Jiang Yan's words, everyone immediately gave up the idea of trying to exchange for it.
The Tricolored Exquisite Pagoda, even as a half-step divine artifact, was certainly tempting.
But considering that even the weakest and most ordinary spirit tool cost over a million contribution points… this pagoda, conservatively estimated, would run in the tens of millions if not over a hundred million.
Even if they scraped together all their wealth, they couldn't come up with a fraction of the price.
Besides…
Treasures choose their own masters.
A half-step divine artifact wouldn't even acknowledge them.
Even Zhongli, already at the Nascent Soul stage, would find the Tricolored Exquisite Pagoda completely ignoring him.
Best they could do was broaden their horizons.
Lumine looked a bit regretful as she turned her gaze from the pagoda she was so reluctant to part with, and instead noticed a painting floating atop the pagoda's auspicious clouds.
"Master, that is…?"
"That is also one of my supreme spirit tools, the Twenty-four Shocking Spring Diagram."
Seeing that everyone was so curious about his treasures — perhaps because they had never seen so many before — Jiang Yan simply began introducing them one by one.
Might as well open their eyes now, so they wouldn't keep clinging to some entry-level artifact and treating it like a divine weapon.
Mount Shu was not lacking in treasures. Far from it.
Contribution points? They could be earned!
"This is the Heaven-turning Seal, a supreme-grade spirit tool."
"This, the Cloud-locking Pearl of Smoke, also supreme grade."
"The Nine Heavens Sword Box, same class as the Heaven-turning Seal."
"The Empty View Brush, the Heart-questioning Bell, the Brahma Eight Trigrams Formation…"
Each type more varied than the last. Not one fell below the supreme spirit grade.
Everyone looked on with envy and awe, sighing at the depth of Mount Shu's heritage.
These treasures were likely ones Jiang Yan had pulled out of the sect's vault earlier that afternoon.
It felt only natural. He was Mount Shu's sect master — the sect and everything in it belonged to him.
Of course he had the right to choose a few treasures to use.
Still, envy was envy.
What's more, everyone was learning a lot.
A little seal excelled at suppressing foes or area-wide attacks.
Sword-type treasures specialized in slaughter and battle.
Towers leaned toward sealing…
The range of treasures was dizzying. It felt like looking into a bottomless treasure chest.
After a long while, Jiang Yan finally gathered them all back into the Tricolored Exquisite Pagoda, then stored the pagoda itself into his dantian.
It still needed to be nurtured for some time before he could reforge the treasures within. By then, even if they didn't break into the divine artifact level, they would advance another step.
Under the disciples' reluctant gazes, only a few treasures remained in the hall.
Compared to the brilliance of those previously displayed on the pagoda, these ones looked dimmer — clearly not top-grade.
But…
That suited the disciples just fine. They couldn't afford top-grade spirit tools anyway, and most wouldn't be able to use them properly.
Take Zhongli's Profound One Sword, for example. It had been entrusted to him by Xuan Xing, sparing him the trouble of refining it. But to unleash its true power, mere Nascent Soul cultivation wasn't enough.
The treasures Jiang Yan left behind were clearly chosen to suit their current stage — and would remain useful for quite some time.
They guessed as much, and so everyone's eyes turned expectantly toward him.
Jiang Yan didn't keep them waiting.
"These are the ones I picked out — suitable for you at your present level, and even well into the future. They'll be placed in the Hall of Merits."
With a wave of his hand, ten spirit tools circled before their eyes, followed by hundreds of lesser artifacts.
Even the most basic entry-level tools looked sturdier than Ningguang's treasured Purple-gold Gourd. These were clearly crafted by Mount Shu's forebears — far more trustworthy than something bought from an Adeptus. (Not that Ningguang could ever say that aloud.)
The artifacts ranged from entry level to top-grade.
As for the ten spirit tools, the strongest among them was "merely" high-grade — but even so, already far beyond anything in the sect today.
Other than Zhongli's Profound One Sword, nothing else could compare.
Naturally, Jiang Yan's own treasures weren't in the same league.
But the contribution points required? Astronomical.
Close to ten million — far more than anyone could currently afford.
In fact, if you added up the entire sect's points, it wouldn't total more than a few million.
Clearly, the coming days would see everyone desperately scrambling to earn more.
"These will be in the Sutra Pavilion for now."
He paused, then smiled faintly.
"But besides these, I found a few… rather unusual treasures. Originally, I planned to keep them for study, but…"
Jiang Yan gave a wry smile, his gaze drifting over Hu Tao and the others.
"…I didn't expect you to end up choosing techniques that matched them so perfectly."
At this, everyone leaned in, curious.
Jiang Yan turned his hand, revealing several oddly shaped treasures exuding eerie auras.
The hall's solemn atmosphere instantly grew more sinister.
A pitch-black banner, ominous and chilling.
A weapon's hilt.
Two sharp blades, one red and one blue.
A cracked dagger.
And finally — a glowing golden scroll and a long whip.
The conflicting auras clashed and mingled, dazzling the eyes.
Each disciple instinctively felt a pull toward one of the treasures.
Hu Tao was the first to break. She shot to her feet, staring eagerly at the black banner.
"Master, that banner is…?"
Without answering, Jiang Yan gave it a light shake.
A moment later, ghostly wails filled the hall, black gales howled through the rafters, and endless vengeful spirits seemed to cry out from the void.
Everyone's skin crawled.
"The Soulflag of Ten Thousand Spirits…"
Jiang Yan's voice was calm and heavy.
"A top-grade spirit weapon — a ghost-banner. Once the prized possession of the Nether Capital. It's said to contain the souls of an entire small world."
"When raised, it unleashes ten thousand specters, endless night parades of demons. Ghostly realms tear heaven and earth apart, devouring every living soul to feed the banner's spirits."
Hu Tao froze.
The Soulflag of Ten Thousand Spirits…?
Wasn't this the perfect match for her Ten Thousand Ghosts Codex?
Even the names lined up!
This was more fitting than her Staff of Homa could ever be.
Until now she had fretted about where to store her summoned ghost generals. But this banner solved everything.
Not only could it store and nurture them, it would also strengthen them in battle.
This wasn't just a weapon.
It was her destined weapon!
Jiang Yan continued:
"The Soulflag does not merely empower and store ghosts. Against ghostly beings, it's their greatest bane. So long as they are not stronger than its wielder, no ghost can resist its command."
"It contains the Netherworld's divine wind. Once invoked, that wind strips away souls and grinds true spirits to dust. An extremely sinister yet terrifyingly powerful weapon."
Hu Tao bit her lip, desire blazing in her eyes.
This was hers — no one could convince her otherwise!
But… a top-grade spirit weapon of this caliber, with such horrifying effects, was far beyond what she could afford.
Jiang Yan caught the look on her face and chuckled. He picked up the hilt.
"The Bloodbane Blade…"
"Also top-grade. A demonic weapon seized when Mount Shu annihilated a demon sect."
"This blade has no edge. Its edge is formed from the wielder's blood."
"It grants ultimate attack power at the cost of your own life force. Of all spirit tools, its killing power is nearly unmatched."
"But every wielder in history has perished to it."
"The demon blade has its own spirit — it slays others, and it slays its master."
His gaze slid toward Tartaglia, who immediately understood.
This… this was his destined weapon.
Where others would fall to its backlash, his blood-devouring cultivation would harmonize with it perfectly.
The Bloodbane Blade lacked a physical edge — but his Blood-Reversing Demon Blade art could forge one from the blood of his foes.
Combined, the weapon would feed not on his own blood, but on his enemies'.
Tartaglia's conviction solidified: this was the only weapon for him.
His exclusive weapon.
And yet… his eyes dimmed.
A top-grade demonic blade like this was far beyond his means. Even if Snezhnaya emptied its entire treasury, it would never be enough.
In Mount Shu's eyes, the wealth of nations was nothing compared to contribution points.
For the first time, Tartaglia felt a burning hunger to earn.
Jiang Yan tossed the blade aside casually, making Tartaglia wince with pain.
"Twin Swords of Dragon and Phoenix."
His eyes shifted to Xingqiu and Chongyun. The two immediately stiffened.
"These are a pair — separately, high-grade spirit swords. Together, they reach top-grade."
"They specialize in dual cultivation techniques. If two people practicing such a method wield them, they can draw out the blades' full combined power."
"How strong? That remains unknown."
The disciples were puzzled. Dual cultivation techniques? Who even had that?
They looked around at each other, while Xingqiu and Chongyun hurriedly put on matching blank faces.
Their Peerless Romance technique was definitely not something they could admit to.
Not now.
If Shenhe found out about their bond, she might split them up for the sake of the Chong family bloodline. And then their technique would be ruined.
Jiang Yan glanced at them with a knowing smirk.
He had always taken a broad-minded view of such matters. He didn't necessarily understand, but he respected it.
So long as his disciples' tastes didn't involve him, he didn't care what they chose.
Whether Xingqiu and Chongyun leaned crooked or not… well, that was their secret.
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