Artifact Chapter 64: Please Enter the Urn

Chapter 64: Please Enter the Urn

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai 

 

It’s not surprising that others are so shocked by Lu Ming’s cultivation at the Nascent Soul stage. Ordinary cultivators rarely achieve such accomplishments in their entire lives. The Nascent Soul stage is not simply an advancement; besides possessing excellent physical aptitude and encountering rare opportunities, it also requires exceptional comprehension. All three must be present simultaneously to break through the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage and smoothly advance into the Dividing Soul stage. That the eldest son of the He family could grow to such an astonishing and even terrifying extent in just over a decade is unprecedented in the current era. Even if one were to look back hundreds or thousands of years, it would be difficult to find someone comparable in cultivation. Even the current Immortal Emperor, who has entered the Immortal realm, hasn’t reached such a level during the time of furnace overflowing.

If Lu Ming knew the thoughts of these people at this moment, he would probably feel quite embarrassed. He himself is a special case. Without the still space provided by “233” and the useful information occasionally revealed by “233,” which helped him avoid many detours, he probably wouldn’t have achieved the Dividing Soul stage in just over a decade. Sometimes Lu Ming even feels like self-mocking. This male protagonist’s golden finger is actually quite abnormal.

Almost everyone present was shocked by the pressure for several minutes. After a long time, they gradually regained their senses. Immediately, they felt a sense of relief and couldn’t help but rejoice in their choice. Their decision to follow the eldest son of the He family was undoubtedly the most correct decision they had made in their lives. Cultivators at the Dividing Soul stage are not easy to come by. Even throughout the entire Cultivation World, there are probably not many. Now, such a living Dividing Soul stage deity is standing in front of them. Moreover, just a few minutes ago, they chose to remain loyal to the He family in their time of peril. This loyalty would surely bring them endless rewards from that moment on. They believed that the eldest son of the He family would lead them to heights they had never dared to imagine, heights that would bring them countless glories.

He Qingqiu, who was standing aside, also realized how difficult it was for He Qingci to have reached such an unreachable level. He had always thought highly of He Qingci, but it was only a vague concept. After feeling the pressure exerted on everyone, he felt gratified, jealous, but more strongly, bitter. The brother he had once regarded as insignificant had grown into a towering tree that everyone looked up to, while he had endured humiliation and couldn’t even protect the He family. In the end, he had to rely on his brother’s strength to regain the glory of the He family. He felt utterly worthless, only able to stand behind and watch the back that he could never catch up to. This feeling of unwillingness and powerlessness, He Qingqiu only fully realized at this moment, feeling like a barren field after the wild grass had burned out, desolate and empty.

Lu Ming withdrew his oppressive force and looked at the various expressions of the people in front of him. He said, “Although the He family has reached such a state, it is not without hope. Qingci is grateful for your continued presence during the decline of the He family.”

Lu Ming paused and continued, “As everyone knows, every ten years, each major artifact refining sect will hold a sect-wide artifact refining competition. If the He family wants to regain its position among the top four artifact refining families in a short time, the artifact refining competition is undoubtedly the fastest shortcut.”

Everyone looked at each other, and one young man hesitated for a moment before speaking, “I heard that the participation method for this year’s artifact refining competition is different from previous years. The top fifty qualifying artifact refining sects were determined half a month ago. The He family is currently under oppression and doesn’t even have the qualifications to participate, let alone the fact that the spots are already filled. How can the He family participate in the artifact refining competition a month from now?”

Lu Ming smiled faintly and said, “The He family doesn’t need us to worry. They will actively invite the He family to participate in the competition. After all, there are still many things that the He family has that others cannot obtain.”

Confused, the crowd was about to ask, but Lu Ming waved his hand to signal them to leave, then turned to He Qingqiu and said, “Qingqiu, come with me.”

With a belly full of doubts, He Qingqiu followed Lu Ming, unable to figure out He Qingci’s intentions. Weren’t they gathered here today to find the mole? How could it end like this? But He Qingqiu didn’t dare to ask at this moment, silently following Lu Ming with a belly full of doubts.

After walking for a while, they arrived in front of a dilapidated hut and stopped.

Looking at the hut in front of him, He Qingqiu, probably because it had been uninhabited for years, saw weeds growing in the courtyard and cobwebs everywhere. His thoughts seemed to return to a dusk over a decade ago when he had flaunted his power in front of He Qingci, acting recklessly. But unexpectedly, he was thoroughly beaten by the latter. Since that day, his elder brother seemed to have changed completely, shedding his previous weakness and compromise overnight, replaced by a strong heart and calmness in the face of change. Perhaps many things had changed since then, as if at some sudden moment of opportunity, the established trajectory had deviated inexplicably.

Feeling inexplicably bewildered by his sudden thoughts, He Qingqiu rubbed his forehead and shook off the absurd ideas. Then, he asked in confusion, “Big Brother, why did you suddenly come here?”

Lu Ming looked around and said, “This should be the entrance to the He family’s treasure trove.”

Surprised, He Qingqiu asked, “How do you know?”

Lu Ming pointed to the dry well and said, “Focus your divine sense on your ears and listen carefully to the depths underground.”

Skeptical, He Qingqiu followed Lu Ming’s method and, after a moment, his face showed a hint of surprise as he said, “There’s running water tens of meters underground.”

Lu Ming nodded and said, “The He family’s treasure trove is full of exotic flowers and plants, so it must have abundant spiritual water to nourish them. Although the water in the well doesn’t come from underground spiritual water and doesn’t merge with it, the treasure trove has existed for a long time. Even if the spiritual water is dozens of meters underground, some spiritual energy still seeps into the well water through the soil. I lived here for a while many years ago, and I felt something unusual about this water back then. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now it saves us a lot of trouble. What lies buried underground should be the He family’s greatest treasure.”

He Qingqiu sighed and said, “So, for more than a decade, everyone has been trying to prevent the two of us from returning to the He mansion just to find these things?”

Lu Ming said solemnly, “The He family lacks someone to oversee the big picture and can only be at the mercy of others. Those who can be bought have been bought, and those who can’t have almost all been wiped out. Combined with the other major families’ joint suppression for their own interests, the He mansion has declined rapidly. However, they themselves never expected that the very thing they had been searching for so desperately was right under their noses.”

He Qingqiu asked in a low voice, “What should we do now?”

Lu Ming didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he recited a few words suddenly, reached out and grabbed He Qingqiu’s arm, then quickly led him into the small house.

He Qingqiu was suddenly pulled forward by Lu Ming, stunned for a few seconds. He didn’t resist, just let the other person pull him. However, for some reason, his heart started beating faster involuntarily, and his face became slightly flushed.

He Qingqiu lowered his voice, “Big brother, you…”

Lu Ming glanced out the window and chuckled softly, “Someone is getting anxious. It shouldn’t be long before those words spread to everyone’s ears.”

Surprised, He Qingqiu asked, “You mean…”

Lu Ming said, “I deliberately said those words at the Sect shrine, just to lure out the mole. When you and I ended the conversation and hurried here, someone must have followed us. Those words should have been heard by them.”

He Qingqiu’s face turned pale. “In that case, won’t the He family become a target? Before long, those people will probably come knocking on the door.”

Lu Ming smiled, “They wouldn’t dare to come rashly. After all, both you and I are at the He mansion now. Perhaps in a few days, they will find a reason to make the He mansion unable to refuse to open the doors for them.”

After thinking for a moment, He Qingqiu suddenly laughed, “I think I understand what they’re up to.”

Lu Ming also laughed, his eyes sparkling like stars.

The next few days passed peacefully. Lu Ming instructed his subordinates to buy some servants from the market. Although the He mansion was temporarily declining, its grandeur was still there. It didn’t take long for them to attract many people. Xiao Jun and Liu Lao led everyone to start repairing the He mansion. Everyone was busy, except for Lu Ming.

However, Lu Ming unexpectedly found that He Qingqiu was a typical Virgo personality, always pursuing perfection in everything. He commanded everyone to arrange the He mansion meticulously. If flowers, plants, or furniture weren’t placed according to his aesthetic sense, he would make everyone rearrange them, causing chaos. Everyone dared not to complain. Although the second young master obeyed the eldest young master’s orders unquestionably, almost to the point of being sycophantic, he was still the second young master of the He family. Although there were rumors in the market that the two young masters were extremely incompatible, it was obviously a misunderstanding judging from the current situation.

Lu Ming had a rare leisure for a few days, thinking about how to deal with the situation in a few days. After thinking it over, he couldn’t come up with the best solution, as there were too many unknown factors. Finally, he decided not to think about it for now and deal with it when the time came.

More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Lu Ming flipped through the account books handed over by Liu Lao, yawned tiredly, and glanced out the window. He saw the stars densely scattered, and the moon hanging on the branches. Only then did he realize that it was already late at night without him noticing.

Lu Ming felt a headache as he looked at the pile of untouched account books on the table. He made up his mind to postpone dealing with them for a few days. After He Qingqiu finished arranging his flowers and plants, he would hand over these things to him. There was no way around it. Mathematics had never been his strong suit from childhood to adulthood.

Lu Ming walked out of the study, feeling wide awake despite the late hour. So he decided to take a walk around to pass the time.

Lu Ming walked for a long time until he reached a bamboo forest and stopped. He stared at a strangely shaped stone in front of him, furrowing his brows. He felt that the stone was somewhat familiar. After thinking carefully, he suddenly realized that it was here where he first “picked up” Sang Wusheng.

At that time, he didn’t know that Sang Wusheng was Jing Mo. Although he was wary of the power of the male protagonist’s role, he couldn’t bring himself to ignore someone in need. Unexpectedly, things didn’t go as planned. He thought he could easily avoid Sang Wusheng, but he ended up being deceived by him. Moreover, the deception lasted for more than a decade. He was so attached to the false warmth injected into his lonely heart by Jing Mo that he repeatedly fell into the trap until he was utterly defeated. Although Sang Wusheng was at fault for the current situation, in the end, it was his own lack of vigilance.

Lu Ming’s thoughts drifted, and scenes of sadness or joy kept replaying in his mind. When the cool breeze blew, he felt even more desolate in his heart. People often reminisced about sweetness when they were sad, but when they came to their senses, they often felt even more heartbroken when looking at the present situation.

Suddenly, a slight sound came from behind him. Lu Ming suddenly snapped out of his daze and was about to turn around to see what was behind him, but in the next moment, he was tightly hugged from behind by someone. The other person’s strength was tremendous, and Lu Ming couldn’t break free for a moment.

The person’s body was warm as if it were a furnace, but for Lu Ming, this familiar warmth made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave in an instant, causing his whole body to tremble uncontrollably, and he reflexively raised his palm to strike back harshly.

Sang Wusheng took a solid blow to his abdomen, letting out a muffled groan and gasping for breath. His head heavily hit Lu Ming’s shoulder, but the hand around Lu Ming’s waist tightened even more.

Lu Ming gritted his teeth, his face turning pale with anger, but for a moment, he couldn’t come up with a response. He wanted to curse loudly, but it felt like something was blocking his throat, and he couldn’t make a sound for a long time. He just trembled with anger all over.

Sang Wusheng’s hot breath sprayed on the back of Lu Ming’s neck, ambiguous yet familiar. Lu Ming couldn’t help but clench his fist tightly and whispered a few words through his gritted teeth, “What do you want again?”

Sang Wusheng was silent for a moment before choking out, “Brother, I finally found you. If I couldn’t see you again, I wouldn’t know what I would do.”

 

 

 

 

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