Outside the great hall, Sikong Lun felt as if his brain had turned into mush.
He was still in shock from his recent encounter with the Holy Heart Mirror shard and its desperate escape attempt.
But then he saw a massive hand, black and white, reach out as if grabbing a chicken and pull the Holy Heart Mirror back inside the hall.
Sikong Lun distinctly noticed that when the black and white giant hand emerged, the Holy Heart Mirror shard emitted a profound black glow, its aura shaking the heavens and earth.
However, in the presence of the immense black and white hand, that glow dissolved almost instantly, like fire meeting water.
"What... what is this?" Sikong Lun trembled with fear.
This was a cursed weapon, a true fragment of a divine weapon.
Such fragments were said to be unbeatable without the complete divine weapon, a law that was unshakeable.
Yet now, Sikong Lun realized the divine weapon shard wasn't as powerful as he had thought.
At least, it appeared exceedingly fragile before that black and white giant hand.
No, that was not right.
He was struck by a revelation—it wasn't that the divine weapon shard was weak, but that the black and white giant hand was way too strong.
"How... how could such power exist in the world?" he thought, his mind reeling as he recalled Lin Yuan, whom he had met not long ago.
Surely, that black and white hand had belonged to Lin Yuan.
Yet, how could this be? Lin Yuan wasn't a divine weapon, nor a weapon master.
How could he have such strength to crush a divine weapon shard? According to years of intelligence gathered by the Godslayer Society, all weapon masters were heavily influenced by their divine weapons, exuding an aura that was cold, aloof, and superior.
Clearly, Lin Yuan did not fit that mold.
Inside the great hall, Lin Yuan casually sat behind a desk.
Before him floated a shard resembling a mirror.
"Are you human? No, how could a human cultivate to your level?" came the frightened mental wave from the Holy Heart Mirror shard.
Compared to sensing from outside the hall, being in Lin Yuan's presence was vastly different.
The shard was deeply awed by Lin Yuan's immense aura, like an ocean.
Though still not as powerful as a fully awakened divine weapon, he far surpassed the likes of the divine weapon shard.
To the Holy Heart Mirror shard, Lin Yuan's power was unfathomable, incredibly mysterious.
The cultivation paths in this world reached their limit at the Martial Saint stage; beyond that, it was said to be a dead end, impossible to progress further.
But Lin Yuan...
"This is the essence of divine weapons..."
Lin Yuan's face lit up with curiosity as he observed the Holy Heart Mirror shard.
On the surface, it looked like any other shard, but to Lin Yuan, it appeared as the most perfect object.
Observing it was like witnessing a part of the world itself.
No, it was like looking at a world whose surface had been peeled back to reveal its essence.
"Is a divine weapon the external manifestation of a world's rules?" Lin Yuan pondered.
As his strength grew steadily stronger, reaching further into the third tier of power, Lin Yuan had begun to sense the essence of the rules that sustain and operate this world.
Even in the main world, he felt this, though the essence there was overpoweringly dominant.
Despite trying his best to understand, he gained little insight—as if trying to comprehend the mysteries of the starry sky was an unending task that could take millions of years without success.
In comparison, comprehending the rules of this world was not easy, but it was simpler than understanding those of the main world.
After all, every world, no matter how small or weak, forms a perfect cycle.
Its essence is focused inward, rendering it complex to comprehend.
Now, Lin Yuan looked at the Holy Heart Mirror shard before him, his eyes burning with excitement.
Divine weapons like the Holy Heart Mirror were manifestations of the rules' essence in this world, thus giving birth to intelligence and innate strength.
Therefore, due to being the external manifestation of the world's rules, observing such divine weapons was much easier than directly comprehending a world's essence.
Especially since the Holy Heart Mirror was shattered, its inner essence was clearly exposed.
Just a brief observation had already allowed Lin Yuan to improve his martial cultivation system slightly, saving a day or two's worth of effort.
"What... what do you intend to do?"
"No one can destroy me. I am a divine weapon of the world," the Holy Heart Mirror shard spoke, feeling uneasy under Lin Yuan's fervent gaze.
"With your strength, you are undoubtedly the most delicious dish the Thirty-Six Old Ones have seen in thousands of years. If you let me go, I can teach you a secret technique to escape their detection. How about it?" The shard tried to negotiate.
It referred to the 'Thirty-Six Old Ones', naturally meaning the thirty-six complete nation-guarding divine weapons.
"Indestructible?" Lin Yuan divided his focus, examining the Holy Heart Mirror shard.
Its claim seemed accurate—being the manifestation of the rules, it could not be completely destroyed in this world.
Of course, complete destruction meant nothing would be left, not even bits.
However, going from a complete weapon to a broken one was possible.
"True, the divine weapon itself cannot be destroyed, but its consciousness can be erased, right?" Lin Yuan's words carried a hint of amusement.
This caused the Holy Heart Mirror shard to jolt in shock.
"How... how could you know?"
When the full Holy Heart Mirror was shattered, its original consciousness vanished.
The current consciousness was a new one that had formed over a long time on the shard itself.
Not only this shard, but other Holy Heart Mirror shards also birthed new consciousnesses.
This is why shards like the Holy Heart Mirror fear truly complete divine weapons—they dread being captured and having their consciousnesses erased.
Yet, such matters are closely kept secrets among divine weapons, information never shared with mortals.
"As for the secret technique... there's no need for you to tell me. I can retrieve it myself," Lin Yuan's eyes formed a mysterious vortex, a black and white Taiji emblem spreading as unfathomable spiritual power and soul power pressed down upon the Holy Heart Mirror shard.
Lin Yuan intended to perform a soul search on the shard.
Since it had developed its own consciousness, it was akin to a living being and could have its memories forcibly browsed.
This soul search technique was Lin Yuan's creation after studying several evolution paths involving 'soul', 'spiritual', and other elements.
The main world also had similar secret techniques, though differing slightly in purpose.
"What... what are you doing?" the Holy Heart Mirror shard shrieked, panic seizing it.
Its surface lit up again with profound glow.
Unfortunately, under Lin Yuan's Taiji Domain, all glow swiftly dissipated, and a massive, invisible force delved into the depths of the shard.
Through the soul search technique, Lin Yuan reviewed the shard's memories as if leafing through a book.
Although much was fragmented due to the Holy Heart Mirror's broken state, Lin Yuan still unearthed the information he desired.
According to the memories, these events unfolded eight thousand years ago.
Above the Ninefold Heaven, strong winds howled, winds capable of tearing even a Martial Saint apart.
It was a forbidden zone for life.
Yet, hundreds of terrifying auras stood there, each emanating from a different weapon—swords, spears, blades, halberds, bells, cauldrons, and many others.
"What is that?" Within the memory scenes, Lin Yuan saw a spear that seemed to gather all the light of the heavens and earth upon it.
Engraved with the sun and moon on its surface, it embodied the utmost piercing power.
The Sun and Moon Spear.
This was the nation-guarding divine weapon of the Great Yan Dynasty, one of the thirty-six complete divine weapons of its time.
(End of Chapter)