“An artifact?” Song Shuhang clasped the metal fan with both hands. “For me?”

“You wish! This Three Star Imperial Fire Fan is an experimental product that Medicine Master and another great alchemist jointly created not too long ago. It’s been lent to you for a while after which it has to be returned to that other alchemist,” Jiang Ziyan chuckled.

Nothing in this world was for free, especially within the Nine Provinces (1) Group. It’s always been you get what you give.

“Hehe,” Song Shuhang was slightly embarrassed. The moment he heard the word “artifact”, he no longer wanted to let go. After all, an artifact was a piece of equipment practically every cultivator possessed. As a cultivator himself, how could he have neither an artifact nor a treasure!

“Miss Ziyan, how do I use this Three Star Imperial Fire Fan?” Song Shuhang asked, hugging the metal fan. He wondered if he should find a suitable spot to get Ziyan to teach him.

“Here, this is the instruction manual!” Jiang Ziyang pulled out a sheet of A4 paper and passed it to Song Shuhang. “Go find a place by yourself and gather some flames. Follow the manual and give it a shot. It’s very simple, you’ll probably get it once you look at it.”

Instruction… ma…manual…

When Song Shuhang took the instruction manual, he didn’t know why he felt an illusion slip over him– that the object he had received from Jiang Ziyan wasn’t an artifact but some merchandise bought over the Internet inclusive of shipping costs.

Just as a wave of emotion surged within Song Shuhang, he heard Jiang Ziyan remind him, “Oh right, remember to recharge it every time you’re done with it. Charging takes about three hours, then you can use it for about twenty-four hours. The runtime is a little short but it’s more than enough for a refining newbie like you.”

“Yeah, I got it,” Song Shuhang nodded from force of habit.

Eh? Wait what, did I hear wrongly?

“Charge?! I need to charge this artifact?” Song Shuhang’s jaw dropped.

He raised this “Three Star Imperial Fire Fan” and closely examined it. Indeed, there was a charging port on the shaft of the fan!

Instantly, he felt quite faint from head to toe.

“What a strange question! Where did you expect to get energy if you don’t charge it? Haven’t you learned the Law of Conservation of Energy?” Jiang Ziyan rebutted him.

“No… what I mean is, you’re saying artifacts don’t require “spiritual energy of heaven and earth”, “immortal might”, “spirit rocks” or stuff along that line as sources of energy? The kind of spirit rocks or crystals where just one can last a few hundred years.” Song Shuhang stuttered hastily.

“Spirit rocks?” Jiang Ziyan giggled and replied, “Spirit rocks are considered a non-renewable resource. They’re extremely rare and rising in value all the time. Right now, just a single low-quality spirit rock costs the same as ten bottles of Qi and Blood Pill. The word “wastage” won’t be enough to describe using a spirit rock on this kind of low-level artifact. Also, why would you want to use spirit rocks over such a handy omnipresent energy source like electricity?”

Song Shuhang grasped the “Three Star Imperial Fire Fan” with a marvelous expression on his face. “I understand. I’ll remember to charge it.”

A rare treasured artifact that needed to be charged, have you seen one? If you haven’t, then I’ll show you one right now!

“Since you’re pretty free recently, take this chance to study this fire-controlling fan. I’ll report back to Medicine Master now. If there are any questions, contact Medicine Master or any of the other seniors via the chat group,” Jiang Ziyan chuckled.

As Song Shuhang grasped the fan artifact, he suddenly asked, “Right, Miss Ziyan, will the other alchemy master ever sell this kind of ‘Three Star Imperial Fire Fan’?”

“Of course it’ll be put on sale afterwards, probably not too expensive either. Purchasable with three spirit rocks or less. If you really can’t master the secrets of controlling fire after this, you can consider buying one.” Jiang Ziyan waved a hand, “Any other questions? If there’s none, I’m leaving, yes?”

Recently Medicine Master has been employing all kinds of excuses to send her away but she was certainly not someone who gave up easily. There will definitely come a day where she would convert Medicine Master from a teacher-in-name-only to a cultivation partner.

Song Shuhang blurted out again, “What’s Senior Medicine Master gone to do?”

“I’ve also only heard him say over the phone that he’s gone to check on some little problems for some cultivator friends. Those friends recently found a secret exploration site and got into some trouble upon exiting. I’m not too clear on what happened. Yesterday, I was retrieving that fire fan for you from the alchemy master. If you want to know the details, you can ask Medicine Master directly,” Jiang Ziyan replied.

Song Shuhang nodded silently.

……

……

After Jiang Ziyan left, Song Shuhang put away the Three Star Imperial Fire Fan and its instruction manual with a sober expression.

A good while later when he gathered his wits, he called up his three roommates and invited them out for dinner.

Since the abandoned school building had been discovered by the foreigner, there were temporarily no other places in school that were suitable for cultivation. He would stop training for the moment and resume at Medicine Master’s place that evening.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

Present time, a thousand miles away, within a Daoist Temple in a small town of J City.

Medicine Master furrowed his brows as he examined the bodies of his four cultivator friends.

Those four cultivators were a taoist priest, a female principle and their corresponding male and female disciples.

When he had completed his examination, Medicine Master doubtfully said, “There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual about your physiques. Why don’t you start by telling me when you lost your memories?”

“The last memory this priest has terminates at the time I entered that “mysterious island” with Priestess Xuanxuan,” The taoist priest frowned as he replied. “The next thing this priest remembers is being on a small island off the East China Sea with Priestess Xuanxuan and our two disciples, who’ve similarly lost their memories. How we entered the mysterious island, what happened there — I’ve no impression at all.”

The female principle, Priestess Xuanxuan, took over, “The memory loss this priestess lost experienced was somewhat more severe… I only remember arranging our journey to that mysterious island with Priest Kunyi. I’ve can’t remember anything from the time we set out… I also came to my senses on that island in the East China Sea. I remember nothing about how we arrived on the island or what we did there.”

The mysterious island they were referring to was the “mysterious island floating above the East China Sea” that the Daily Cultivators’ News had recorded not long ago. One could faintly see the natural beauty, abundant spiritual energy and various extinct organisms that existed within the island.

Because of this report, there were many cultivators who ventured forth to explore the East China Sea. At that time, the Nine Provinces (1) Group had also discussed the formation of an exploration group.

However, there was barely anyone who managed to find the mysterious island.

These two priests were among the luckier cultivators who had entered the mysterious island. But… to have actually lost all memories of the island!

“How about you two disciples?” Medicine Master queried.

The male disciple shook his head. “Senior, I remember a little more. The moment we entered the mysterious island with our master and Master Xuanxuan, we encountered an anti-flight displacement technique. We had no choice but to descend into the jungle along the borders of the island, where all kinds of precious herbs grew. The four of us gathered some medicinal ingredients before heading further into the island. I don’t remember most of what happened in the middle but later, I vaguely recall being chased for a long time by a frightening monster and losing many materials. After that, it’s another blank in my memory. My last impression is of us finally finding the skywards stairway leading out of the island. That last memory is the same as master’s — we bizarrely appeared on a small island in the East China Sea. Of all the items we gathered from the mysterious island, only a few stalks of herbs remain.”

“This disciple somehow remembers more than the two of you do? Don’t tell me that on that small island, the stronger you are, the heavier your memory impairment?” Medicine Master wondered.

“If that’s the case… Priest Kunyi’s memory loss should be more severe than mine. Moreover, my disciple remembers even less than I do. She’s lost an entire month’s worth of memories!” Priestess Xuanxuan replied, shaking her head.

IMPORTANT! Please read about the announcement regarding the future of CCG here