The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 879 - 484: The End of Westward Journey
"Therefore, to open it, unless Lord Changtian’s Divine Skills are restored to their peak period, or if the Nanming Lihuo Sword is truly found."
The Grandmasters of Artifact Refining said this, and she suddenly felt dejected. Gongshu Zhao continued:
"Yin Jiu You also attaches great importance to this sword; however, since the loss of the God Demon Prison, he has had little time to find it; otherwise, the Nanming Lihuo Sword would not be left in the Great Snow Mountain for you to search for. It was crafted with the Vermilion Bird’s Residual Soul as the Artifact Spirit, and infused with the Geng Metal Power of the Western White Tiger; in terms of sharpness, it is unrivaled under Heaven. Using it to sever the Dragon Binding Rope has a success rate of about seventy percent."
Changtian shook his head and said: "As for the matter of the Nanming Lihuo Sword being hidden in Atalia, I also only heard about it back in the day, so whether this can be accomplished is hard to say. But after hearing that there is a volcano here, I understand why the original owner of the sword decided to hide it here. Even Divine Artifacts, after thousands of years away from their owners, inevitably lose their power, and if time is extended further, they will eventually disintegrate into ashes. There is only one way to resolve this issue, which is to find a way to replenish its Spiritual Power or Divine Power. For instance, the Dragon Binding Rope on me, we crafted it tens of thousands of years ago, and it has continuously drawn on my Divine Power as nourishment; even today, its power remains undiminished."
"The Nanming Lihuo Sword is the same. It possesses the Vermilion Bird’s Residual Soul as its Artifact Spirit, so it presumably requires Molten Fire Essence. The Sword Master probably discovered a volcano here back then and decided to hide the Nanming Lihuo Sword here. Ha, this is no snow burial; it’s clearly a nurturing process, allowing it to draw on the earth fire’s essence to nurture itself. And to sufficiently nurture a Divine Artifact like the Nanming Lihuo Sword, the scale of this volcano must be considerable."
He continued to deduce: "That’s why the Hidden Guards found traces of yellow pear wood and Willow Rong’s petrified wood nearby, because there was originally a large volcano there. However, after the Nanming Lihuo Sword absorbed the Molten Fire Essence, it forcibly decreased the temperature on the ground and stopped the volcano’s activity. These plants, which grew on the volcano’s edge, also vanished without a trace."
Dou Er suddenly interjected: "Then, why was Bixia Grass able to be harvested there five years ago?"
Neither Changtian nor Gongshu Zhao said anything.
Suddenly inspired, Ning Xiaoxian’s heart sank, as if falling into an icy pit. Yes, why? Back then, the volcano stopped, and the lava solidified because the Nanming Lihuo Sword absorbed the geothermal essence; so now that the lava is flowing again, and the geothermal heat is seeping out anew, could it be because...?
Perhaps her complexion suddenly turned unsightly, Changtian glanced at her with comfort: "Silly girl, there are many reasons for a volcano to become active again; it’s not necessarily as you think."
She smiled at Changtian, hiding the panic in her heart. He was the one most worried; there was no need to burden him further before the truth came to light. She then turned to Gongshu Zhao and said: "Mr. Gongshu, would you like to join us?"
Gongshu Zhao nodded: "My northward journey is to pursue you all. Having already negotiated with Lord Changtian, now free of any burdens, I might as well join the excitement with you. I also wish to witness the grandeur of the Nanming Lihuo Sword."
For some reason, she felt Gongshu’s words, paired with his smile, carried a hint of subtle sadness, as if something unfortunate was bound to happen to him.
Yet this was his business, and it was not her place to reveal it.
Over the following three days, the large entourage headed toward the northwest corner of Atalia. Though the scenery of the Great Snow Mountain was beautiful, she had gazed upon it for over a month—white snow, black mountain, perilous peaks and ravines—and while initially awe-inspiring in its grandeur, over time it grew monotonous. Hence, she mostly rested in the carriage. By the time they reached their destination, her injuries had healed to a noticeable degree, faster than Changtian anticipated.
Finding the two sellers of Dusk Grass from back then was no easy task, but locating the Wulu River was indeed simple. This river is a tributary of a major river, with a small water flow. In this season, it hasn’t thawed, so the entire river is frozen solid. The Hidden Guards stationed nearby have already begun searching, centering on the market Dou Er mentioned, expanding to a five-hundred-mile radius, starting to look for suitable mountains and tribes along the river’s upstream and downstream.
The volcano back then was extremely powerful, so the mouth of this mountain must be considerable. Additionally, there are precious geothermal resources nearby, satisfying those conditions, and such regions are few and far between. Two teams of Hidden Guards who arrived earlier have already identified one tribe after several rounds of selection.
