The Rise of the Divine Oracle

Chapter 164 - Shoucang Zhe

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Mainmian crossed the gates of Cloud Recesses after staying in Jin Sect for almost three weeks. She has been updating Zewu Jun on her progress and she finally found the answers she needed. It was not easy. She almost read every book in Carp Tower to finally be able to connect the dots and figure out this puzzling spirit pouch. She had answers, but she didn't know what to do with them.

She walked briskly towards the Treasure Room to greet Wuxian first. She didn't have to go far before she was almost killed by a strong energy wave. Her fast reflexes kicked in and she used her sword to block it then screamed: "WHAT THE HELL?"

Wuxian drops in front of her with a guilty look: "Sorry.. Sorry.. Sorry.."

He looks worriedly at her as she dusts her robes and he asks timidly: "Did I hurt you?"

She looks suspiciously at him: "What are you doing in the middle of the Cloud Recesses?"

Lan Ran came rushing in, holding her robes up to run faster: "Mianmian! You're here!"

Mianmian sighs in frustration: "Well.. I was almost not. What are you guys doing?"

Liwei caught up to them with a wide smile: "Did it work?"

Wuxian: "We almost killed Mianmian."

Liwei scratches his head and bows to Mianmian: "Sorry. We were testing out a new talisman that detects non-Lan Clan members for extra protection."

Mianmian narrows her eyes at him: "What does it do?"

Wuxian's eyes sparkles and his hands move excessively while he explains how he came up with the idea. It was a simple protection ward that will cover the sect. It should attack anyone not cleared at the gate by the keepers and send energy waves to incapacitate the intruders until they are caught.

Mianmian was impressed: "But.. I just passed by the gate. How am I an intruder?"

Wuxian rubs his head, laughing awkwardly: "We didn't tell the gatekeepers yet. We were just testing it out on Wen Ning to see if it actually works."

Mianmian places her sword in her belt and sighs loudly: "Well.. It definitely works."

She then bows to Wuxian and says: "Divine Oracle, I have returned after completing my task."

Wuxian frowns at her: "Why are you being weird?"

Mianmian stands up straight and throws her hands in the air in frustration: "I'm being cordial! It's such a waste on you!"

Wuxian throws his arm around her shoulders and smiles mischievously at her: "Did you eat yet?"

She whispers: "Can I have some of the special meat they smuggle in just for you?"

Wuxian leads the way as the rest follows: "You will have to negotiate with Jingyi. He called eternal dibs on most of my food."

After having a nice meal, Mianmian found herself sitting in front of Grandmaster Qiren, Zewu Jun, Wangji and Wuxian as they discussed what she uncovered.

She gently takes out the spirit pouch and places it at the table between them: "I found several books that talk about this type of spirit pouches. Apparently it's called: Shoucang Zhe (the collector). It's used to trap the energy of spirits right after death, preventing them from passing on to the afterlife and reincarnation. It is not used to create evil spirits or resurrection of any kind."

Zewu Jun frowns: "What is it used for?"

Mianmian pats the Shoucang Zhe pouch before them and says sadly: "From the books I read, there are two possible uses for it: to collect enough energy to harness for a grand spell or to turn a normal weapon into a first-class weapon."

Wuxian rubs his nose: "First-class weapon.."

Wangji turns to his soul-bond and asks: "Wei Ying, do you know something?"

Wuxian: "Biming's black sword was powerful but not a first-class weapon. He's just like Jinhai. They both are superior in technique and energy level but not with their tools."

Zewu Jun: "He's your opposite. You have many weapons but lack a golden core while he has a lot of energy but no significant weapons."

Wuxian nods: "The spirits of the rogue faction told me that Biming knows where to find the shaman who has the answers."

He points at the Shoucang Zhe set between them: "He will not give up easily. He made it clear that he worked hard to collect these spirits and he wants them back. We need to figure out how to break them out before he comes for it."

Mianmian nods: "I found the answer to that but I don't understand what it means.."

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