Cultivation Through Artifacts

Khal listened to Jas' story in silence and couldn't help but feel awe the more he listened. 

He has already heard and read about the Moon Goddess's legend many times, but hearing the legends and seeing it in person were two different things. Listening to the legend while looking at the majestic palace gave Khal a unique and mysterious feeling that he was traveling back in time, where the Moon Goddess descended onto the First Realm.

'Such a powerful existence, yet was forced to descend from the Higher Realms... I wonder what the reason was.' Khal sighed inwardly.

Once Jas finished talking he looked around and walked up before the gate before he placed his palm atop its surface. 

Khal felt nervous upon seeing this, but Jas just smiled slightly and said, "I have already checked the surroundings. This door is safe to open."

With that, Jas took a deep breath and utilizing a little bit of his strength, pushed the door open.

However, even before they could have taken a single step forward, both Jas and Khal froze up on the spot while their eyes went round like saucers.

"T-This..."

Shining golds, jade scrolls, and numerous weapons way above the thousands. The palace was filled with treasures and gold almost to the brim, while the ridiculously dense amount of Essence Particles that accumulated inside the palace throughout the decades and centuries broke forth!

Khal took a deep breath only to watch as his units of Essence suddenly leaped from 293 units instantly to 304 and with each sniff, it increased non-stop!

"Just what is this outrageous thickness? Just inhaling the air here could make anyone become a cultivation genius!" Khal was left speechless.

Jas on his side nodded and said, "Not only that, but those weapons are no ordinary neither. Each one of them is emitting a powerful presence while also consuming the essence from the air! Those are all Spiritual Weapons!"

"What?" Khal snapped out of his daze and turned his head toward Jas. He knew what Spiritual Weapons were, thanks to his book, but according to it, no Spiritual Weapon should exist in the First Realm, much less this many.

However, after thinking back that the place they were currently standing before was in connection with an existence that came from a Higher Realm, it only made sense.

Spiritual Weapons were a type of weapons that had their own consciousness and instead of getting chosen by other cultivators, they were the ones that chose their masters. Once the link between the two had been successfully formed, the owners of the weapons will be able to utilize otherworldly powers that they would be incapable of doing with normal weapons!

However, if one tried to force their will on such a weapon and make their own, the weapon would not hesitate to kill it right on the spot! Such behavior was the Spiritual Weapons' nature and nothing could change it no matter what.

They would rather self-destruct than follow a master that forced their will on them!

The two entered the palace and inspected the treasures with keen eyes and excited expressions.

Khal picked up a white dagger that had small holes all over its blade. It also emitted a powerful aura and upon closer inspection, Khal recognized it was also a Spiritual Weapon.

'How do I know if it accepts me as its master? Is there a special method or technique that must be used if I wish to form a link?'

Although he knew about spiritual weapons he didn't know how to acquire their approval. That is why he decided to ask Nova instead of Jas, who was an expert from the Higher Realms and had more experience in the field of spiritual weapons.

[Just pour a little bit of your Essence inside. If the weapon accepts it, it means it acknowledges you as its master, but if not, it will simply repel it.]

[But make sure not try it a second time or attempt to use a lot of essences as it will only trigger its wrath and kill you right on the spot. Remember, these are weapons with consciousness and they originate not from this Realm.]

Khal nodded. He knew that Nova was right and it was indeed better to be safe than sorry. He will try to pour only a small fraction of his essence into the dagger and leave everything else to his luck.

Bam!

The results, however, were disappointing. The moment Khal fused a but of his essence into the weapon, the dagger shook gently before it pushed it out of itself. It was obvious he failed to form the link, thus why Khal just shook his head helplessly and placed the dagger back where it originally was.

Jas watched Khal from the side and noticed what he did, thus tried doing the same with a sword, but the results ended up the same as his. The sword abolished his essence in second and as a warning, it started to emit an aura that told Jas not to try again or the consequences will be severe.

Jas naturally understood the warning and didn't continue his attempt and decided to try his luck on other weapons while also checking out the many jade scrolls that seemed to be Secret Arts. However, because each of the scrolls was sealed down with some type of powerful power, the two decided to leave them there for the time being and continue their luck with the spiritual weapons.

The two wandered around in silence, trying to acquire spiritual weapons, but each of their attempts failed, leaving them helpless and with a foul taste in their mouth. It was like going up to your crush, telling her your feelings only to get rejected and left behind with depression.

Time flowed slowly, and after countless failed attempts Khal felt like punching someone in the face.

He wanted to obtain a spiritual weapon as they were a better version of Ember Cores. They were able to grow stronger just like any cultivators while also bestowing their masters with otherworldly strength, but so far this wish was pretty far and seemingly impossible to achieve.

'I can't believe there is not a single one that wishes to form a link with me!' Khal thought with slight anger and looked around to find another weapon.

And it was not even long before his eyes spotted one among the sea of gold. However, when he walked closer and got a better look, his brows lowered into a deep frown, seemingly in confusion about what the weapon truly was.