Chapter 132: The Vessel of Sorrowful Parting

Madam Wang’s method was extremely simple: to increase their fame further so that all cultivators near Deyang City, and indeed throughout the entire Yunshan Realm, would know of them.

Such a method was fraught with danger. Li Mu had not known of it before, but now that Madam Wang had seen through it and she, as the temporary Prefect, was also scheming, there was nothing that could not be done.

How to make everyone in the Yunshan Realm know?

Since it was a treasure-crafting shop, they simply needed to display a divine artifact that would shock the entire Yunshan Realm.

A third-grade top-tier treasure: the Mourning Separation Artifact.

A fourth-grade would not do; fourth-grade top-tier treasures were truly too astonishing and shook the world. A treasure comparable to a fifth-grade artifact would likely draw even Pill Formation stage experts to come and fight for it, making the situation uncontrollable. Furthermore, fourth-grade treasures already transcended ordinary low-grade treasures, especially fourth-grade top-tier ones. If Li Tian crafted such an item, the prestige of the craftsman would be unprecedented, surely worthy of a whole sect fighting over it.

Li Mu had no desire for such things. The sole reason he did this was to make the name of the Forty-Second Pavilion resound throughout the entire Yunshan Realm, not to provoke enemies he could not handle. First and second-grade dissemination was insufficient, making the third-grade top-tier the absolute best choice.

The Mourning Separation Artifact was displayed brightly inside the Forty-Second Pavilion, accompanied by continuously shifting projected text and images beside it.

"Third-grade top-tier, Mourning Separation Artifact, up for auction in ten days."

What auction of a top-tier treasure could fail to stir the hearts of cultivators?

Every sale of a top-tier treasure, even a first-grade one, could cause a momentary shock. This was because few could forge top-tier treasures, and those who did usually kept them as personal collections, rarely selling them. Moreover, the item Li Mu brought out was a third-grade top-tier treasure.

The entire city was shaken.

Especially Madam Wang, the Prefect of Deyang City. After demonstrating that treasure on the spot, very few cultivators near Deyang City remained unaware of it, and countless cultivators poured in from outside the city, creating an imposing momentum that rivaled the Yutie Assembly of past years.

Li Tian had also become universally recognized as the most capable treasure craftsman in the Yunshan Realm.

Every day, hordes of cultivators arrived outside the Forty-Second Pavilion, all desperate to get close and inspect the Mourning Separation Artifact.

Leaving aside the materials used for the treasure, it could actually rival upper fourth-grade artifacts. Moreover, possessing three distinct arts, it shocked the senses to the extreme.

The Qi Dragon Ring and the Water Ring Technique were both Pulse Condensation stage arts, with quite decent power. Yet the third art, "Mourning Separation," was a bizarre and mysterious technique unknown to anyone.

Everyone who witnessed its manifestation on the spot felt their minds waver, especially the female cultivators, whose hearts were left fluttering intensely.

"Magnificent! I have never witnessed such a technique."

"Indeed, rosy clouds filled the sky, red leaves flew about, and a pure fragrance spread far and wide, intoxicating people to the point of utter captivation."

"It is both breathtakingly beautiful and hides a terrifying doom. At that time, the released third-grade spirit beasts, regardless of whether they tried to flee or fly away, were utterly incapable of resisting within those red leaves. They simply collapsed like that, without even a drop of blood spilling, and no one knew how they were destroyed."

"To perish beneath this art, I would feel it's worth it."

***

Mourning Separation was a remarkably peculiar area-of-effect technique, somewhat similar to the Lightning Explosion Spell. Based on the true Qi channeled by the user, it designated a specific Mourning Separation Zone.

Within this zone, the Mourning Separation Artifact transformed the surrounding mist and vapor into hallucinatory rosy clouds, intoxicating fragrances, and invisible red leaves that killed without a trace. The red leaves were thin slices of ice, comparable to the sharpest blades, capable of piercing straight through the physical body, dissolving within, and severing life entirely without leaving a single trace behind.

Where the red leaves filled the air, survival was absolute zero; they were like executioner's talismans.

On that day, Madam Wang exerted her utmost to display it, and within nearly a hundred meters, red leaves swirled everywhere, chilling the heart and evoking profound terror.

Inside the Forty-Second Pavilion, the Mourning Separation Artifact rested upon a tall elevated platform, visible without even entering. The surrounding light flickered, clearly protected by an exceptionally powerful restriction array.

"Very well, Manager Li, please put it away now. Today's viewing time has ended."

Mu Tongfeng, standing beside the Mourning Separation Artifact, nervously eyed the crowded throng outside the doors.

Li Mu nodded, stowed the Mourning Separation Artifact away, and with a smile, opened the shop doors.

Swish!

The moment the shop opened, a chilling green flying sword shot directly forward, aiming straight for the storage ring in Li Mu's hand.

Everyone scattered, letting out piercing screams, "Who dares to make a move within Deyang City?"

The flying sword was about to sever Li Mu's hand, yet Li Mu seemed completely oblivious, still smiling as he turned his head to glance at Mu Tongfeng, saying, "They're at it again."

Mu Tongfeng merely shook his head, waving his hand in a gesture of helplessness.

As the flying sword reached the shop entrance, it seemed to strike a layer of invisible ripples.

Boom!

As if the ripples shattered, numerous distortions suddenly erupted in the space pierced by the flying sword. The ripples surged, and several close cultivators were knocked flying by the shockwave.

The flying sword clattered straight to the ground.

Mu Tongfeng glanced at the fallen sword and shouted coldly, "It is Wang Xiaowu. Having just reached the Pulse Condensation stage, he dares to come and snatch treasures. Go confess your crimes to Madam Wang yourself; perhaps your punishment will be lighter."

Among the crowd, a very short elderly man raised his hand to recall the flying sword, rose apathetically, and fled outward.

The moment he soared into the air, he was struck by a crushing gravity barrier. His body shuddered violently, and his expression twisted hideously.

The heavy pressure grew increasingly oppressive. Unable to resist, he plummeted from the sky like a wounded bird.

Before he even hit the ground, several blue-robed cultivators approached, intercepted him mid-air, and carried him away toward the inner city.

***

Everyone immediately burst into heated discussions.

"Wang Xiaowu has also reached Pulse Condensation? Since when? It is no easy feat to cultivate to the Pulse Condensation stage, and he should have had a bright future. Yet he came here to Deyang City to court death. Now that the Forty-Second Pavilion is as impregnable as a fortress of gold, who could possibly rob it?"

"Did he really think the Pulse Condensation stage makes one unbridled? Within Deyang City, even a few Spirit Building stage Yutie Sect cultivators would have no trouble capturing him."

"How tragic. He will likely spend a good long while serving as an immortal slave for the Yutie Sect, and might even be cast out beyond the Yunshan Realm."

Hearing the discussion, several other cultivators who had harbored similar designs toward the Mourning Separation Artifact suppressed the restless impulses in their hearts and said no more.

Li Mu opened the shop doors wider and said slowly, "Today's viewing time has ended. However, projected images remain, allowing you to view the detailed appearance of the Mourning Separation Artifact. If you wish to see it, or purchase other treasures, please step inside the shop. But harbor no malicious intentions—you must be careful."

Everyone knew his words were true; the method used just moments ago to repel the flying sword was formidable indeed. Many had recognized it as the Divine Jade Barrier, a restriction array extremely difficult to breach even for Pulse Condensation stage cultivators.

Mu Tongfeng walked up to the grand entrance, standing before the doors with gaze sharp as lightning, scrutinizing the surrounding crowd.

The people filed into the building, and given the prior warning, they appeared somewhat more restrained.

Most of them were simply there to view the projected images; very few intended to buy treasures. Naturally, compared to mid-grade second-tier treasures and third-grade top-tier ones, the former appeared so dim that virtually no one bothered to look at them.

Li Mu passed the time with a somewhat absent-minded expression.

At that moment, a cultivator slowly approached. "Manager, might I try out the Mourning Separation Artifact?"

Li Mu furrowed his brows. Who was coming here to cause trouble? Raising his eyes to look, he was slightly stunned.

He recognized this cultivator, as the man had helped him once before—albeit perhaps unintentionally, Li Mu still held gratitude in his heart.

"I am Li Tian. Greetings, Senior Jiufeng."

This person was Jiufeng. He still maintained his unkempt appearance, looking much older than before, while a strange glint flickered deep within his eyes.

Jiufeng nodded, his tone carrying a hint of entreaty. "Manager, may I have a try?"

Li Mu pondered for a moment. "To look is no problem, but if you wish to test it here, I'm afraid that won't do. Let's go to the arena grounds."

Mu Tongfeng had already approached the entrance, his face filled with astonishment. Standing right at the doorway, he had not even sensed how Jiufeng had managed to enter.

"Very well, let's test it at the arena."

Jiufeng nodded and strode off toward the arena grounds in the city.