Misery: There is a pawn shop here

Chapter 173 What is a Divine Artifact?
Five great artifacts...

The Sharpness Tassel can enhance the five senses—sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell—making thoughts and reasoning clearer. However, wearing it will greatly affect one's mental state.

The Key to Creation can release special energy, heal various injuries and poisons, and give new life to the dying, but it is useless to the dead.

The heavens can move as fast as the wind and as swift as a shooting star, but they will gradually become assimilated with human feet.

The power to shake the heavens can emit a bright light, enhance attack power, and easily parry, break, and seize weapons. However, its side effects are similar to the Heavenly Journey, except that it is a matter of hands and feet.

While the Unbreakable Protection is an excellent protective gear that can withstand swords and palm strikes, its strength actually has the greatest potential in actual combat.

If all five divine artifacts were possessed by one person, it would be enough to transform that person, allowing them to roam freely and achieve unparalleled glory in the martial world; even possessing only one of them would greatly enhance the wielder's strength. But ultimately, they are merely tools for enhancing the human body. Judging from their performance in the martial world, the five divine artifacts might add icing to the cake for the strong, but they are unlikely to enable the weak to turn the tide in dire straits or achieve a miracle of life-saving assistance.

As Li Xuanxiao said to Yan Qingcheng, "If it cannot enable an ordinary person to ascend to heaven in one step, what is the point of talking about the word 'divine artifact'?" The upper limit of the five divine artifacts should not be limited to this.
"Let's go back first." With that, Li Xuanxiao raised his hand and waved it, causing the space in front of him to distort and a mysterious passage to slowly open. He stood tall and straight, stepping into it first. Yan Qingcheng and Jueqing Shu exchanged a glance behind him and followed closely behind, their figures gradually disappearing at the end of the passage.

After the three left, the silence in the depths of the Ghost River was broken, and a voice full of fear and doubt came faintly: "How could this be? The master calculated that a person with both wisdom and courage, and benevolence and virtue, would start the Legend of Xuanyuan. How could it be such a person? And how could he be so familiar with the master and the Legend of Xuanyuan? How terrifying, how terrifying."

His voice trembled, as if gripped tightly by fear, "Master, oh Master, your prophecy has gone wrong! What will the bookworm grandson do? Ah!"

The sound echoed through the empty Ghost River, where no one was to be seen, adding to the eeriness.

……

Inside the pawnshop, an antique atmosphere permeates the air, and the flickering candlelight behind the counter illuminates the walls covered with rare and precious items.

The moment Yan Qingcheng stepped into the pawnshop, she paused slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes. Jueqing Shu, noticing the change in Yan Qingcheng's expression, asked with concern, "What happened?"

Yan Qingcheng frowned slightly, and after thinking for a moment, said, "I think I just heard something, maybe it was just my imagination."

Thinking of the terrifying environment of Ghost River, where few living beings could survive, she could only treat the voice as a hallucination. "It's alright, let's go first."

As she spoke, Yan Qingcheng gently took Jueqingshu's hand, and the two walked towards Li Xuanxiao.

Inside the pawnshop, Xiao Zheng was reporting the details of the previous transaction to Li Xuanxiao.

In fact, Li Xuanxiao had learned most of the details of the transaction through the pawnshop. After Xiao reported it, Li Xuanxiao said, "You handled it well this time. There are new tasks for you to complete later."

"Please give me your instructions, sir." Xiao nodded.

Xiao has no concept of good or evil, right or wrong. At least under Li Xuanxiao's guidance, Xiao has grown up in this way. Everything is based on Li Xuanxiao's orders and the pawnshop's interests. This is also why Li Xuanxiao thinks Xiao is the most suitable candidate for the next stage of preparation.

Although the others, under the pawnshop's influence, also couldn't disobey Li Xuanxiao's orders, their sense of right and wrong would inevitably lead them astray in their actions, making them less pure than Xiaolai. "For the five checkpoints, I will grant you the temporary authority to trade and pawn items. As the guide of each checkpoint, you will trade with those who wish to enter, allowing them to pawn their belongings in exchange for the qualification to enter the checkpoint and some conveniences. The prize for completing the checkpoints will be the five divine artifacts."

"The Five Divine Artifacts?" Xiao looked at the wooden box in Li Xuanxiao's hand.

"I will make them truly worthy of the name of divine artifacts, and you can use this time to consult with the rest of them and come up with a general strategy to hand over to me."

“This…” Upon receiving such a complex instruction for the first time, Xiao Wei tilted his head slightly, his eyes full of doubt. After staring at Li Xuanxiao for a moment, he nodded firmly and said, “I understand. Xiao will do his best to complete the task assigned by the manager.”

"Go ahead." Li Xuanxiao nodded and said, "You two should also go about your own business. I have some things to take care of."

Having said that, Li Xuanxiao turned and returned to his room, then began the Chronicles of Xuanyuan.

The instant the Chronicles of Xuanyuan began, a dazzling light flashed, and five rainbow-colored lights, like giant dragons, roared out from five directions. But this was a pawnshop, and Li Xuanxiao wouldn't let the five divine artifacts escape his control. The pawnshop owner, with a swift and lightning-fast movement, swept the five artifacts back into his hand. The light on the artifacts dissipated, revealing their true forms:
Gloves, crown, necklace, cloak, shoes...

Every single item exudes an extraordinary aura, and its power would make it a treasure that countless people would fight over if thrown into the martial arts world. However, Li Xuanxiao wanted to make them more than that.

"Let's start with you..."

The heavens can move as fast as the wind and as swift as a shooting star. Even the most inaccessible galaxy ladders can be traversed as if on flat ground.

"Since it is named after the heavens, it should be able to reach all the places under the heavens. How can mere speed be worthy of this name?"

As Li Xuanxiao spoke, he raised his hand and poured a ball of energy into the Azure Sky Journey. The Azure Sky Journey reacted immediately, flashing with intense blue light.

"Those who walk on the heavens can see the gaps between heaven and earth; wherever their thoughts reach, wherever their intentions extend, there is nothing they cannot touch."

"But after all this wandering, can the human heart still find its home?"

He muttered to himself, but no one answered. One stream of power after another was poured into the Heavenly Journey by Li Xuanxiao, constantly reshaping the Heavenly Journey itself. As for the trace of malice that could affect a person, Li Xuanxiao casually removed it.

It gradually merges with a person's feet, which is indeed chilling, but if used as a bargaining chip, countless people would still flock to it.

Overly explicit horror ultimately falls short of being a good choice.

"Only now do you deserve such a name, sir."

(End of this chapter)