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Chapter 502: Unveiling the True Might of the Shadowfiend Lance
Chapter 502: Unveiling the True Might of the Shadowfiend Lance
Chu Ning began his examination with the two ancient treasures he had acquired.
Although he possessed numerous valuables, the only bona fide ancient treasures he had obtained were the Yellow Courtyard Seal acquired during the Golden Core stage and an unnamed ancient treasure dagger.
As for the Yellow Wind Banner, it had been damaged when he obtained it, and he had restored it himself.
The Five Elements Spirit Sword and the Seven Spirit Drills, while equally powerful as ancient treasures, were forged by his own hands.
Among the previously acquired ancient treasures, the ancient treasure dagger had usage limitations. It required the infusion of essence blood and could only store up to three drops, making it impractical for frequent use in the Nascent Soul stage, where battles between cultivators were more frequent and intense. Consequently, Chu Ning rarely used this treasure, which offered limited utility with its single-use restriction and unremarkable might. Eventually, he gave it to Cen Zikin.
As for the Yellow Courtyard Seal, he had used it more frequently during the Golden Core stage and shortly after advancing to the Nascent Soul stage. However, as the Five Elements Spirit Sword's power surpassed it, and with the restoration of the Yellow Wind Banner, the seal saw less use. Particularly now, with his diverse array of spells and supernatural powers that rivaled the might of such treasures, the seal had become even more redundant.
However, the two ancient treasures before him were renowned throughout the Western Alliance Continent and had always been in the possession of late Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
Having witnessed their extraordinary power before, Chu Ning was naturally intrigued.
Chu Ning picked up the Icy Soul Mirror first. It had been refined by Yan Qichang as his signature treasure, and despite his death, his imprint remained on it.
For a while, Chu Ning struggled to activate and control it.
Thus, he began the tedious task of erasing Yan Qichang's imprint with his spiritual sense and magical power.
It was no easy feat, even for a cultivator of Chu Ning's caliber, and it took him half a day to completely obliterate the remnant will.
With the mirror now fully under his control, Chu Ning immediately channeled his magic power into it. The ancient treasure transformed from its small size into a majestic mirror nearly three feet in height, comparable to the size of a cauldron used in alchemy.
However, the icy blue radiance it emanated seemed somewhat lacking in power compared to when Yan Qichang had wielded it.
Chu Ning shook his head.
"Unbelievable. This treasure requires ice-attributed magic power to unleash its full potential. While I possess the Five Elements Chaos Formula and an ice spirit root, allowing me to cultivate ice-based spells without issue, my magic power itself isn't ice-attributed, which results in a significant reduction in its might."
As he pondered, a hint of disappointment crept into his tone.
Neither he nor Cen Zikin possessed ice-attributed magic power, which meant that the treasure would fall short of its true potential in their hands.
"Hmm?"
Just then, Chu Ning recalled that he had an ice-attributed companion.
He tapped his spirit beast pouch and summoned Bailing.
After briefly explaining the situation with the Icy Soul Mirror, Chu Ning asked, "Can you wield this type of human cultivator treasure?"
Bailing laughed upon hearing his question.
"If it were another treasure, I might struggle to wield it, but this is an ice-attributed ancient treasure, and I can indeed use it. Spirit beasts and demons are almost always single-attributed, similar to your heaven spirit root. Unless it's a spiritual treasure like the bracelet you gave me, which amplifies our innate abilities, we typically can't use treasures of other attributes. But since this treasure is ice-attributed, I should be able to give it a try."
Hearing Bailing's response, Chu Ning promptly handed over the Icy Soul Mirror.
Bailing grasped the mirror and immediately infused it with her spiritual power.
The mirror radiated strands of azure light, and while its might was slightly weaker than when Chu Ning had activated it earlier, the difference wasn't substantial.
Witnessing this, Chu Ning nodded, and Bailing's face lit up with delight.
It was remarkable that Bailing, who had not yet reached the eighth-stage Transformation, could elicit such power from the mirror, especially when compared to Chu Ning, whose magic power far surpassed the mid-Nascent Soul stage and even approached the late Nascent Soul stage.
"Indeed, this treasure is well-suited for those who cultivate ice-attributed power," Chu Ning remarked.
"Why don't you keep it and study it? Once you truly advance to the eighth stage and achieve Transformation, I'm sure you'll be able to unleash its full potential," he suggested.
"Thank you, Master!" Bailing eagerly accepted the mirror, her face beaming with joy.
She then immersed herself in exploring the capabilities of the new treasure.
Seeing this, Chu Ning turned his attention back to the other treasure in his possession—the Shadowfiend Lance.
Like the mirror, it had been refined by Gao Tianyi and bore his imprint.
Following the same process, Chu Ning spent half a day erasing the residual will.
He then channeled his magic power directly into the lance.
The Shadowfiend Lance erupted with black radiance, and Chu Ning faced no obstacles in wielding it.
As he continued to infuse it with magic power, the lance gradually transformed into a shadowy apparition.
Although the black radiance was not as dazzling as before, Chu Ning sensed that its might had increased.
It even seemed to possess the ability to tear through space and strike its target.
However, something felt slightly amiss, as if a crucial element was missing.
"It's not that my magic power is insufficient; I still have ample reserves and haven't exerted my full strength. It's more like something else is needed," Chu Ning mused.
He recalled that on the two occasions when Gao Tianyi had transformed the lance into a shadowy apparition, there had been something distinct about those instances.
It seemed that it hadn't unleashed an attack akin to shattering the void either.
"Does this mean that even Gao Tianyi couldn't fully unleash the true power of this weapon?"
Chu Ning retracted his magical power and carefully examined the nearly foot-long spear before him, his eyes narrowing with intrigue.
After pondering for a moment, Chu Ning confirmed that his initial impression was correct.
Indeed, this weapon possessed even greater potential.
However, Gao Tianyi was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, and he had obtained this treasure many years ago.
Logic dictated that if he could truly unleash its greater power, he would have found a way by now.
If someone of his caliber hadn't been able to unravel its mysteries, it must not be simple.
Holding the spear, Chu Ning inspected it closely, his gaze eventually settling on the end of the handle.
He reached out and carefully felt around that area before pulling out a grayish-black spherical object the size of a bead.
"This should be a Yin Demon Stone," Chu Ning mused as he examined it, sensing the dense demonic energy emanating from it.
He had come across it before in some artifact refinement manuals, especially when he was crafting the Seven Spirit Drills, and had perused many demonic artifact refinement techniques used by the demonic path.
He also knew that this item was a necessity for many demonic path cultivators when refining high-grade artifacts, often enhancing their power.
Another function of this stone was to allow cultivators who hadn't cultivated specific demonic arts to still wield demonic artifacts with the aid of the demonic energy provided by the stone.
"Could it be that the demonic energy of this Yin Demon Stone isn't sufficient?" Chu Ning pondered, his eyes narrowing.
"It's probably not just because of the Yin Demon Stone, though. If a higher-grade Yin Demon Stone could unleash the full power of this weapon, then Gao Tianyi, as a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from the Demon Path Alliance, would surely have obtained one.
As for me, if I want to use this Demon Shadow Lance in the future, I'll probably need to get my hands on a few more Yin Demon Stones."
As Chu Ning thought this through, he was about to put the stone back when an idea suddenly occurred to him.
He reached into his storage bag and took out a jade box.
After unsealing it layer by layer, he opened the box and took out a pitch-black bead that emanated a formidable demonic aura.
Holding the bead in one hand and looking at the Demon Shadow Lance before him, Chu Ning placed the demonic bead into the now-empty recess where the Yin Demon Stone had been.
"This item was formed from the remains of an extradimensional demon, and later, in the deep abyss at the back of the Everlasting Sect, it absorbed a vast amount of demonic energy.
In terms of the abundance of demonic energy, few items in this world can surpass it.
I wonder if it can help unleash the power of the Demon Shadow Lance."
And the next moment, Chu Ning's eyes lit up.
As he embedded the demonic bead into the Demon Shadow Lance, its black radiance surged, emanating a formidable aura.
To Chu Ning's surprise, the ancient treasure seemed to have increased in power by an entire level.
"So this thing really is useful?" Chu Ning wondered, his heart stirring with excitement. He held the Demon Shadow Lance but didn't dare to immediately channel his magic power into it.
The fact that this demonic bead actually had an effect on the lance made him wary, and he couldn't help but suspect that it might be related to the extradimensional demon.
Naturally, he had to exercise caution.
However, after carefully sensing it for a while, Chu Ning could discern nothing amiss aside from the formidable power it exuded.
Without further ado, Chu Ning began to cautiously channel his magic power into the Demon Shadow Lance.
As his magic power flowed into the lance, the black radiance intensified.
Gradually, the lance once again transformed into a shadowy apparition.
But the next moment took Chu Ning by surprise. A powerful devouring force erupted from the Demon Shadow Lance, and to his alarm, his magic power was completely beyond his control.
Chu Ning's expression turned grim as he frantically circulated the Five Elements Chaos Formula in an attempt to regain control over his magic power.
However, to his dismay, all his efforts were in vain.
His magic power was relentlessly devoured by the lance, as if the demonic artifact intended to absorb every last bit of it.
Fifty percent... sixty percent... seventy percent... eighty percent... ninety percent...
The Demon Shadow Lance devoured a full ninety percent of Chu Ning's magic power, transforming into an ethereal shadow that seemed to have merged with the void.
But to Chu Ning's delight, he regained control over his magic power.
The lance seemed to have absorbed enough power, and Chu Ning could sense that it was ready to unleash a strike capable of shattering the void.
With a thought, Chu Ning propelled the Demon Shadow Lance forward.
In that instant, the lance vanished from sight.
Then, in the blink of an eye, it reappeared several yards away.
It even gave Chu Ning the impression that given enough space, this treasure could traverse a hundred yards in an instant.
"There's absolutely no fluctuation of magical power like that of a treasure attack. It's somewhat similar to when I use spatial secret techniques.
This treasure can truly shatter the void!"
Chu Ning's eyes widened in astonishment and joy as he looked at the Demon Shadow Lance, which had reappeared.
"Slash!"
In the next moment, Chu Ning's thoughts stirred, and he slashed downward.
Instantly, the Demon Shadow Lance transformed from its ethereal state back into a solid form, becoming a black beam of light that cleaved downward.
As the black radiance fell, the spiritual energy in the entire space violently fluctuated, and the very fabric of space seemed on the verge of being torn apart.
Its might was even three points stronger than when Gao Tianyi, the late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, had wielded it!
"Perhaps, this is the true form of the Demon Shadow Lance!" Chu Ning muttered in a soft voice.
(End of Chapter)
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