Chapter 2: The Bracelet
The old man was a Qi Refining Stage 2 cultivator. In his youth, he had studied under the Mengxuan Sect, but by the age of thirty, he remained stuck at Qi Refining Stage 2. Knowing he had no future in immortality cultivation, he left the sect and used his savings to open this small general store in the market. "You impudent boy—do you want to get fired?" the old man snapped after probing the bracelet with a strand of spiritual energy. "Bringing me a plain stone to ask its worth? Do this again, and you're out on your ear!" Li Shun cowered, daring not to argue. He took the bracelet back and said to Lin Yi, "Brother Yi, you really got me in trouble. The boss chewed me out again. You'd better try selling this bracelet somewhere else." Lin Yi looked apologetic as he took the bracelet from Li Shun. "Sorry about that. It really did come from a cave's altar, but whether it's a treasure… I have no idea." "It's fine, I'm used to it," Li Shun said with a careless smile. But a flicker of bitterness in the corner of his eye didn't escape Lin Yi's notice. Soon, Li Shun finished inspecting the rest of the items and calculated on his abacus. "Total is ninety-three low-grade spirit stones." "Good," Lin Yi nodded. "Brother Yi, wait a sec," Li Shun said, taking the items and storage bag to the boss. When he returned, the bag held ninety-three low-grade spirit stones. "Shunzi, tomorrow night—we drink till we drop," Lin Yi said, clapping Li Shun's shoulder as he took the bag. "Heh! Brother Yi, with your tolerance, I'll be carrying you back," Li Shun joked. "What's wrong with my tolerance? We'll see who carries whom!" Lin Yi scoffed, dismissive. ... Lin Yi tried a few other shops next, but each time, the bracelet was deemed a worthless stone. With no luck selling it and dusk approaching—returning to the mountain would mean arriving after dark—Lin Yi stashed the bracelet in his shoddiest storage bag and headed back to the Dianxuan Sect. From the ninety-three low-grade spirit stones, Lin Yi kept nine for himself and gave the remaining eighty-four to Luo Huapeng. Back at his quarters, he ate a little, took a shower, and prepared to rest. But on second thought, he pulled out the bracelet and twirled it in his fingers. "Even if it's stone, being on a cave altar means it's not ordinary," he mused, frowning. "But why no reaction when spiritual energy flows in? What's the catch?" "And why is it so light? It feels like holding nothing at all." "Luo must have tried every trick. Guess I'll never figure it out. Wonder if something this light would shatter if dropped?" He let go. The bracelet hit the floor silently, unharmed—like a weightless speck of dust, leaving no sound or damage. Lin Yi picked it up, his expression odd, brows furrowed in confusion. Abruptly— He slammed the bracelet down hard on the bluestone floor. Same result: no sound, no cracks, no dents, no deformation. "What the hell!" Lin Yi yelped. "It won't break? What *are* you?" "If dropping won't work, I'll try my palm strike. I refuse to believe it'll survive that." Before joining the Dianxuan Sect, Lin Yi had learned Iron Sand Palm. After cultivating immortal techniques, his mastery had soared to grandmaster level, with inner strength enough to split boulders. He didn't care about damaging the bracelet—otherwise, he'd never treat it so roughly. With a roar, he lashed out, his palm wind sending ripples of air hissing backward. The full force of his strike landed on the bracelet. Seconds later. Lin Yi stared, dumbfounded. "Dammit… it *ate* my palm strike? What kind of freak thing is this? It ate my power? Fine! You want more? I'll give you more. Let's see how much you can take." He went berserk, slamming palm after palm down, relentless. The bracelet swallowed every strike, greedy as parched earth drinking rain, or a starving infant guzzling nourishment. As it absorbed more power, faint five-colored glows seeped from the bracelet. Lin Yi, oblivious, kept striking, locked in a stubborn duel with the object. Even with deep inner strength, such exertion couldn't last. After an hour, his face paled, inner strength depleted, leaving him虚脱. Only then did he glance at the bracelet, still intact on the floor. The five-colored light had brightened, now visible to the eye. "Could it only feed on inner strength?" Lin Yi wondered, startled. He'd never heard of inner strength activating immortal artifacts, but the evidence stared him in the face. His heart raced. Suppressing his excitement, he bent to pick up the bracelet and channeled the last dregs of his inner strength into it. "Boom!" Lin Yi's body jolted. His face drained of color. A远古 (ancient) roar erupted in his ears, buzzing so violently his eardrums stung—blood oozed from his ear canal. Cold fear doused his earlier thrill. In all his years cultivating, he'd never seen anything like this. Panic clawed at him. His first instinct: cut off the inner strength flow. But his inner strength had gone rogue, beyond his control. Stranger still—he felt it *rejoicing* as it surged into the bracelet, like a child rushing into its mother's arms. Lin Yi was baffled. That inner strength was hard-earned—why would it treat a bracelet like family? He wracked his brain, but no answers came. Blood streamed from his ear, staining his robes, but he barely noticed. Survival mattered more. At this rate, he'd be drained dry. The bracelet's five-colored light blazed brighter, soon too刺眼 to look at. Luckily, Lin Yi's quarters were in a remote part of the mountain; the commotion went unnoticed. Or perhaps the bracelet reacted only to inner strength, not spiritual energy—so even the Dianxuan Sect's Core Formation masters detected nothing. ... Night deepened. Moonlight hid behind clouds, cloaking everything in dimness. In Lin Yi's room, the oil lamp had long gone out. He lay motionless on the bluestone floor, the bracelet clutched in his palm. After a long time. "Hmm…" Lin Yi mumbled, slowly opening his eyes. By faint moonlight, he scanned the room—relieved to be alive. Then he felt the bracelet in his hand, and nearly hurled it away, as if it were a gaping python ready to strike. He trembled, still shaken. Suddenly! The bracelet flared with five-colored light. A "ding" echoed—a jade slip (jade token) fell from it, clattering to the floor. Lin Yi's eyes widened. He stared at the slip, suspicious. He was jumpy now, terrified of anything related to the bracelet. He looked away, closed his eyes, and lay there, too exhausted to move. Every muscle ached. His inner strength was gone, his meridians bone-dry—drained to the last drop. He stayed like that till dawn. Lin Yi felt slightly better by morning, his stomach growling with hunger. He forced himself up to find food, but after a few steps, hesitated—then went back, stashing the bracelet and jade slip in his storage bag. After a meager meal, he returned to meditate. He needed to recover his inner strength to heal, and he'd promised Shunzi a drink that night—so he had to regain enough strength to walk. The day slipped by. Before sunset, Lin Yi opened his eyes, looking somewhat refreshed. He stretched,确认 (confirmed) he was fit enough, then hurried downhill to the market. The Dianxuan Sect, as the top sect, hosted the market within its territory. Even at Lin Yi's fastest pace, the trip took an hour. He left his quarters at a run, no stops. By full dark, he'd entered the market.