Chapter 125: The Spirit of the Artifact and the Thread of Sorrow

Chapter 125: The Artifact Spirit and the Sorrow-Silk Awl

Ye Hua hesitated for a moment, sensing that the stone chamber was filled with an unsettling mystery, and concluded it would be best to leave. Stepping out of the inner room, he cast a sidelong glance at the furnace he had overlooked. His heart skipped a beat: "How could I have forgotten this? I don’t even know what might be inside! I was so focused on entering the room that I completely neglected to inspect the furnace."

"What if there are miraculous elixirs hidden within? That would be wonderful! But... would I dare to consume them? They have likely lost their potency or, worse, turned toxic over the ages. If they were harmless, that would be one thing, but if they had become lethal, that would be a catastrophe. I’d be hoping for immortality only to drop dead on the spot!"

Lost in these chaotic thoughts, he reached the furnace and pushed. The lid, made of an unknown, heavy material, refused to budge. Ye Hua was startled; though he hadn't exerted his full strength, his push should have carried the weight of several hundred pounds. A flicker of excitement replaced his shock: "There’s something strange here! Haha!" A golden light shimmered in his palm as he channeled his internal energy, though a sudden, inexplicable pain flared in his abdomen.

Ye Hua furrowed his brow, intending to inspect his internal state with his spiritual sense, but his hands had already shoved the furnace lid. With a thunderous clang, it clattered to the floor, sending dust billowing into the air. Ye Hua let out a sharp cry of surprise—not for the furnace, which was completely empty, but for himself.

"I didn't expect... so that's it... the furnace is empty, but my dantian is not! The furnace holds nothing, but my dantian has gained something! Where can I even go to make sense of this?" Ye Hua stood dazed, sensing a massive object within his dantian’s sea of qi—could it be anything other than the giant bronze tripod from the stone pedestal?

"Old friend, wasn't that pedestal perfectly fine? Why have you come to my dantian? It’s cramped and stuffy here; it’s terribly boring. I advise you to... to get out immediately!" Ye Hua whispered urgently at his own stomach. "So that stomach pain in my dream was you knocking at the door? You didn't even wait for the owner's permission before breaking in... that... that seems rather impolite!"

He waited for a long time, hoping the tripod would fly out on its own, but the massive bronze vessel remained as still as stone. Frustrated, Ye Hua snapped, "Are you asleep, old friend? Wake up! If you don't come out, don't blame me for forcing you!"

The tripod pulsed with a faint green light, seemingly indifferent to the noisy human boy. Ye Hua, seeing the light, grew hopeful, but after a long wait, the tripod remained motionless. Irritated, he growled, "Fine! Don't blame me for being rude!"

He formed a seal with his fingers, and his internal energy swirled, transforming into hundreds of beams of light that coiled around the tripod. He intended to lead them out of his chest, follow his Conception Vessel, and force the object out through his mouth. His plan seemed sound, but as the green light on the tripod flickered and its runes shifted, the beams of light simply slid off and dissipated.

Ye Hua was stunned. He formed another seal, and the beams of light wove together into a giant sword, slashing toward the tripod. Yet, the sword passed straight through as if the tripod were nothing but an illusion. Ye Hua laughed in dismay: "Old friend, what kind of technique is this? It’s truly formidable! The ability to isolate space like this is quite hard to master."

"If that doesn't work, I'll try something else!" He flipped his hands, forming strange, complex seals. His internal energy shifted, morphing into a sea of flames that licked at the tripod. But the tripod simply absorbed the heat, and the green glow even dimmed, as if it weren't even bothering to resist.

Seeing this, Ye Hua realized his small flames meant nothing to it. He tried everything—floods, stone spikes, lightning and thunder—but the tripod countered or endured it all with ease.

The tripod’s power was daunting, but Ye Hua’s stubbornness was equally surprising. He kept at it, driven by a desperate logic: "This bronze tripod is monstrous. If I had seen it outside, I would have fled immediately. But now that it’s nested inside me, it’s a death sentence! Who knows when it might act up and take my life? I can’t allow this! Besides, I’m still young; I’m not ready to die." He formed another seal, thinking, "If you won't come out, I'll grind you out. Let’s see who has more patience!"

Just then, an ancient voice echoed in his ears: "Boy, you could try ten thousand methods, and it would only be a waste of breath. Best you rest!"

Startled by the sudden voice, Ye Hua looked around, shouting, "Who's there?"

"Heh, I’m residing in your body, and you don't even know who I am? You just woke me up! Haha, I am quite annoyed!" the ancient voice replied.

Ye Hua’s face paled, and he stammered, "You... you are the giant tripod? No... you are one of the Nine Tripods of Ancient Xia!"

"Oh? You know of the Nine Tripods of Ancient Xia? I didn't think a mere child would have such knowledge! Heh, indeed, I am one of them," the voice answered. "Sigh, I wonder how long I have been sleeping."

Ye Hua listened intently, confirming the voice originated from his dantian. He mused, "How long has this giant existed? Surely it wouldn't make things difficult for a descendant, but... one can never be sure." He asked aloud, "Senior... since you are residing in this junior's dantian... I humbly request that you come out so we may speak."

"Heh, the internal energy here is extremely thin, but it will suffice for a while. For a disciple of the Seven Treasures Realm, you have a surprising amount of energy. It’s quite comfortable in this dantian, and I intend to stay for a while. Had you not been so noisy, I wouldn't have bothered with you at all! Sigh, forget it. I am old, and I need to sleep. Do as you please, but do not disturb me!"

Ye Hua froze, then grew frantic. "You absolutely cannot sleep! You might be able to sleep, but I’m afraid I’ll never be able to sleep again!" He began to plead, "Senior, Senior, please come out. Outside... wuwuwu..." He couldn't finish his sentence, as a burst of green mist shot from the tripod, wrapping around his throat and silencing him.

After a long time, the green mist dissipated. Ye Hua let out a long sigh, not daring to speak another word for fear of angering the tripod. He reflected on the misery of the past few days: "A blood curse from a Western Region cultivator in my sea of consciousness, falling into the Abyss of No Return, and now this! Misfortunes never come singly, but mine have doubled and tripled! Having this tripod inside me makes every moment a nightmare."

He waited, but the tripod remained silent, leaving him unsure if it had truly fallen asleep. With no heart left for treasure hunting, he smashed the remaining furnaces, finding them all empty.

Turning back to the room, he looked at the withered corpse and thought, "It is said that the dead should be laid to rest. Your current state is hardly dignified. Let me help you." He pointed a finger, and a serpent of fire shot out, wrapping around the corpse until it was reduced to a pile of ash.

Ye Hua prayed, "Kind sir, though I do not know your name, I have sent you to the afterlife. May you rest in peace." He bowed, noticing a small, unremarkable black awl in the ashes—the very one that had been embedded in the corpse's chest. "Kind sir, surely you are grateful. No need to thank me! I shall take this awl as a token of your gratitude. Don't tell me you think the gift is too small! Forget it, I'm not that petty. I'll take it reluctantly."

He muttered to himself, reaching out to summon the awl. It flew into his hand as a streak of dark light. It was five or six inches long, about the thickness of a hairpin, and charcoal-black. Faint patterns were etched upon it, and at one end, ancient seal script read: "Sorrow-Silk Awl."

"The Sorrow-Silk Awl?" Ye Hua repeated softly. "The name is elegant enough—'People say willow leaves resemble sorrowful brows, but sorrows of the heart are like willow silk.' How can such a poetic name belong to such an ugly awl? Oh well!"