41: Weapon Choice

Although the Li family's treasure vault was not comparable to that of the Bixiao Sect.

The moment it opened,

A dense wave of Spiritual Qi rushed out, followed by an aura of battle!

The clang of weapons and the neighing of horses seemed to echo in their ears, making their hair stand on end.

Jiang Ning's eyes lit up.

There are good things in here!

Anything with such a battle aura must be a battle-hardened Spiritual Artifact!

Li Tingyue, with a hint of pride, smiled and said, "My Li family governs Spirit Martial City, so we still have some foundation. Brother Jiang, come with me and see if my Li family's Spiritual Artifacts can catch your eye?"

Jiang Ning gave a wry smile.

He didn't say anything.

The group entered the treasure vault. The Spiritual Artifacts used for lighting inside emitted a soft white glow, arranged in rows, illuminating the vault as if it were daytime.

Although Li Yunxi was a member of the Li family, she had never entered her family's treasure vault because she had not yet reached the Qi Refining Realm.

Now, looking at the neatly arranged swords, spears, and halberds, her heart yearned.

She asked Shen Jinhuan, who was beside her.

"Huanhuan, what weapon do you like? A sword? Cultivators all seem to use swords. Using a sword seems to naturally exude a sense of unrestrained freedom and chivalry."

"Eh?" Li Yunxi saw a long red silk ribbon, similar to a cosmic-silk ribbon, and smiled, "There's even such a Spiritual Artifact?"

Li Tingyue smiled.

He explained.

"This is a high-grade second-rank Spiritual Artifact, named Sun-Burning Silk.

When Spiritual Qi is infused into it and it is wielded, it can draw upon solar flames. If it ensnares someone, it's not impossible to directly refine them."

Li Yunxi and Shen Jinhuan's eyes showed surprise.

Such unconventional Spiritual Artifacts were quite rare.

Li Yunxi winked at Shen Jinhuan, "How about this one?"

Shen Jinhuan shook her head.

"What about the Sky-Shattering Halberd?"

Shen Jinhuan shook her head.

"The Mountain-Breaking Blade?"

Shen Jinhuan shook her head.

"The Soul-Guiding Bell?"

"The Bright King Peacock Feather Fan?"

"The Dragon Tooth Spear?"

...After a dozen or so suggestions, Shen Jinhuan shook her head at all of them.

None of these weapons truly moved her.

Li Tingyue gave Jiang Ning a wry smile, "Huanhuan's standards are too high. She doesn't even fancy high-grade fourth-rank Spiritual Artifacts. If she wants anything better, she'll have to go rob my Old Ancestor's weapons."

Jiang Ning patted Shen Jinhuan's head.

"It's alright, let's look elsewhere."

Shen Jinhuan hummed in response.

She was a little disappointed.

She had come with anticipation, but hadn't found anything she liked.

It wasn't that the Li family's treasure vault was bad, but rather that there wasn't a single item that resonated with her, which was a type of intuition and emotional connection for a Cultivator.

If she forced herself to choose one, her thoughts would not be clear, and she wouldn't be able to unleash the weapon's full potential.

As they were about to leave,

Shen Jinhuan looked to the side, and her eyes lit up.

"This sword is coiled up!"

Jiang Ning and Li Tingyue exchanged glances, nodding secretly.

This was a natural "preference" belonging to Cultivators.

Li Tingyue took the coiled sword in his hand, gave it a gentle shake, and the soft sword unfurled, swaying from side to side, its true form unclear.

"This sword is called the Spirit Snake Wandering Void Sword, it's a soft sword.

It can be coiled around the waist, making it hard to detect. Once wielded, the sword moves like a wandering Dragon, its trajectory unpredictable.

Although it's a high-grade second-rank item, it's extremely difficult to forge. Spiritual Artifacts are not like ordinary soft weapons that can be refined through countless tempering. After adding spiritual materials,

They must be fused in a way that provides a beneficial effect to the wielder.

And they must maintain the toughness and flexibility that a soft sword should possess.

It's very, very difficult."

Li Tingyue sighed, "Among all the items in this treasure vault, the Spirit Snake Wandering Void Sword, though not the highest in rank, is the most difficult to refine.

It places extremely high demands on an Artifact Refiner's skill."

Jiang Ning, however, frowned.

He asked, "Huanhuan, are you sure you want to choose a soft sword? Or this type of waist-coiling soft sword?"

Jiang Ning explained to Shen Jinhuan.

"Do not underestimate this type of soft sword. To Revered Master it is far more difficult than mastering ordinary heavy swords, long swords, or single-edged swords. It requires constant, intense focus of one's essence, Qi, and spirit."

"The trajectory of a soft sword is hard to trace, but due to its characteristics, if it's not enveloped in Spiritual Qi, it cannot effectively perform stabbing, slashing, or parrying techniques."

"It primarily relies on cutting, requiring a thorough understanding of the human body's Acupoints, joints, ligaments, and arteries.

Used well, it's an unexpected trump card, but used poorly, it can easily injure oneself."

Mainly, Shen Jinhuan was not from Earth.

If she were,

Jiang Ning could summarize the difficulty of mastering this sword in one sentence:

Dugu Qiubai only dared to touch this type of sword after achieving Major Achievement in the Dao of the Sword at forty years old.

After listening to Jiang Ning's explanation, Shen Jinhuan nodded.

She took the Spirit Snake Wandering Void Sword from Li Tingyue's hand.

The hilt of this sword was snow-white like a snake's body, and very cold. A white snake's head with red eyes opened its mouth, spitting out the soft sword, which was like a belt.

Shen Jinhuan grew to love it more and more as she looked at it.

With a gentle flick to the left,

The body of the Spirit Snake Wandering Void Sword moved to the left, then rebounded to the right.

At its highest point, the tip of the sword even turned back like a Dragon, aiming for the outside of Shen Jinhuan's right arm, which held the sword.

Jiang Ning's brow furrowed slightly, ready to intervene at any moment.

However, just as it was about to reach her arm, Shen Jinhuan flicked it again, and the sword's body changed once more.

The advantages of the soft sword were fully displayed!

With force, it curved like a hook, sweeping and slashing, with a resounding clang!

Seeing this, Jiang Ning relaxed.

Indeed, being able to choose such a weapon meant having a unique talent and preference for it.

Li Tingyue clapped his hands twice.

He took the sword's scabbard from the rack.

"Good! This Spirit Snake Wandering Void Sword has been in this treasure vault for decades, and finally someone has taken it. Niece, take good care of the scabbard too!"

"Thank you, Uncle."

Shen Jinhuan smiled, her eyes filled with joy.

She took the scabbard.

Rather than a scabbard, it was more like a white belt, slightly wider than the Spirit Snake Wandering Void Sword's three-centimeter width.

It had openings at both ends, with extremely thin Spirit Beast leather sewn inside to prevent damaging clothing or the body when sheathed.

Shen Jinhuan wrapped the scabbard around her waist. A white belt now adorned her pink long dress, not at all out of place.

With a flick of the soft sword, it coiled itself into the scabbard like a snake.

The short hanging part on her right side looked like an ornament hanging from a belt.

Looking at the happy young girl, Jiang Ning carefully recalled the novel's content. It seemed that in the description, Shen Jinhuan didn't have such a soft sword by her side.

Could it be that because he influenced Shen Jinhuan's life trajectory, the Spiritual Artifact she chose also changed?

Never mind, he wouldn't think about it.

Now that a Spiritual Artifact had been chosen,

Jiang Ning took Shen Jinhuan to bid farewell to Li Tingyue and his daughter.

At the entrance,

Li Tingyue took out a jade box and handed it to Jiang Ning.

"I originally said I'd give this to Brother Jiang after Xi'er's internal toxins were completely cleared, but now, it seems there's nothing to worry about by giving it to you early."

Jiang Ning's heart swelled with joy.

He wasn't pretentious.

He directly put the jade box containing the Qian Yuan Stabilizing Core Pill into his Storage Pouch.

Li Tingyue and Li Yunxi had mentioned not to tell Shen Jinhuan about the Medicinal Pill. The fact that Jiang Ning chose to transmit his voice in secret to tell him about this matter surely had Jiang Ning's reasons.

Everyone had secrets; they, father and daughter, should not meddle and cause displeasure.

After completely bidding farewell to Li Tingyue and his daughter,

On the way,

Shen Jinhuan held Jiang Ning's hand, patted the Spirit Snake Wandering Void Sword on her waist, and looked up to ask:

"Revered Master, Yun Qingyao must have also entered Qi Refining, right?"

"Yes."

Jiang Ning nodded, "But we've also been chasing for several days."

Shen Jinhuan was puzzled.

Jiang Ning explained, "You used the Human Pill method, directly tempering to perfect Body Tempering with fire, allowing you to directly draw Qi into your body in your peak state.

But as far as I know, the Bixiao Sect's method of perfect Body Tempering involves bathing in Spirit Medicine, requiring the person to absorb the medicinal effects to achieve the goal.

After Yun Qingyao's medicinal bath, although she achieved perfect Body Tempering, she still needs a day or two to digest the medicinal properties.

The day or two you gained by refining Qi faster than her is the time you've caught up."

Saying this, Jiang Ning smiled reassuringly at the little girl.

"Don't worry. You are now in the Early Stage of Qi Refining, and you will further refine this strange and unpredictable Spirit Snake Wandering Void Sword technique, and later learn the form of a Spirit Beast.

Yun Qingyao's Spiritual Qi density might be higher than yours, but her methods will certainly not be more numerous than yours!"

"Mhm mhm! Huanhuan understands!"

Shen Jinhuan smiled contentedly.

The Sect Competition?

She was becoming more and more confident.