Unreliable Sword Immortal.

Chapter 197 Nine-Scaled Tribulation Mirror

In just a short while, Lu Chaoding had collected over a thousand fragments of the Nine Scales Tribulation Mirror.

Then he began to piece it together.

The assembly is actually quite simple; it's just a matter of putting the nine pieces together in a specific order, and then they will automatically become a whole.

"Ding! Congratulations on successfully combining the special item Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror. This item is now bound and set as a weapon-like special treasure. Please check the item information for details."

Before Lu Chao appeared a round mirror about thirty centimeters in diameter. The mirror surface was as smooth as gold and shone with brilliance. On the back was carved a nine-headed Qilin. The nine-headed Qilin looked like living creatures, with light shining in their eyes. If you looked closely, you would find that they were moving slowly.

[Nine-Scale Calamity Mirror: Special item, secondary weapon, weapon-like, bound, no star rating, cannot be refined. Equipped in the weapon slot, it can unleash the power of the Mirror of Calamity to lock onto a target's location and unleash a Qilin Calamity upon them. Description: The Nine-Scale Calamity Mirror is a treasure from the Qilin Cliff beyond the realm, said to have been forged from a nine-headed Qilin beast, possessing boundless power. Please explore for details.]

"That's it? You think you can defeat Yan Shangjing with just this mirror?"

Lu Chao frowned. Judging from the Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror's attribute information alone, he couldn't understand what this treasure's function was. What he could confirm was that this mirror was a "weapon-like" item, which needed to be equipped in the weapon slot to be used.

If you're a regular player, you only have one weapon slot, so obviously you can't equip any more weapons after equipping the Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror.

However, Lu Chao's maximum attribute is that of the Multi-Sword Immortal. After reaching level 71, he will have an additional 7 weapon slots.

Therefore, he can equip both the longsword and the Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror at the same time.

"Let's equip one and try it out!"

With a thought, Lu Chaoding saw the name Nine Scales Calamity Mirror appear in the second weapon slot of the attribute panel.

At the same time, the Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror in his hand flew up automatically and hovered above his head.

"Ding! Equipping the Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror grants you the special attack technique [Nine-Scaled Grand Formation], the special combat skill [Nine-Scaled Divine Light], and the special ultimate skill [Qilin Calamity]. These skills can be unleashed through the Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror. Please explore the details yourself."

Lu Chao quickly opened the attribute panel and found that he had indeed gained three new skills.

[Nine-Headed Qilin Formation: A special secret technique that releases the phantoms of nine Qilin divine beasts from the Nine-Headed Qilin Mirror to set up the Nine-Headed Qilin Formation. The power of the formation is determined by the player's level; the higher the player's level, the larger the coverage area of ​​the Nine-Headed Qilin Formation, and the stronger the combat power of the Qilin divine beast phantoms. When all the Qilin divine beast phantoms are shattered, the Nine-Headed Qilin Formation is considered broken. The formation can only be set up again after 24 hours.]

[Nine-Scale Divine Light: Special combat skill, consumes 5 points of Battle Spirit, releases a beam of nine-scale divine light from the Nine-Scale Calamity Mirror to attack the target. The power of the Nine-Scale Divine Light is determined by the player's level; the higher the player's level, the stronger the power of the Nine-Scale Divine Light. The Nine-Scale Divine Light ignores the target's defense and resilience, deals true damage, and marks the target. Targets marked by the Nine-Scale Divine Light are vulnerable to damage by 50% if they are within the Nine-Scale Formation or are under the Qilin Calamity.]

[Qilin Calamity: Special ultimate skill, consumes 30 Battle Spirit points. Uses the Nine-Scale Calamity Mirror to unleash the Qilin Calamity on the target, causing the target to be locked onto and relentlessly pursued by the Qilin divine beast! Note: The Nine-Scale Calamity Mirror will be damaged after using the Qilin Calamity.]

"These three skills..." Lu Chao rubbed his chin, thinking, "Without a doubt, [Qilin Calamity] is the key to killing Yan Shangjing. This ultimate skill requires 30 points of battle spirit to release. My current base battle spirit is already as high as 45 points. If I encounter Yan Shangjing and my Azure Lotus Sword Immortal trait takes effect, I can definitely release Qilin Calamity at the start. Hmm, I'll give her a Qilin Divine Light first, and then release Qilin Calamity."

Lu Chaoding felt confident and now wanted to advance the storyline quest "Legend of the Nine Scales". That quest had already been altered by the occasionally unreliable system. The quest required collecting the fragments of the Nine Scales Tribulation Mirror and killing Yan Shangjing. Lu Chaoding felt that as long as he encountered Yan Shangjing, the quest could probably be completed.

"It's time to keep an eye on Yan Shangjing's whereabouts. This NPC has probably awakened as well, and she's a potential threat. Apart from me, probably no one can control her..."

Lu Chaoding smiled slightly and continued to piece together the Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror, piecing together more than three hundred of them in one go.

"More than three hundred should be enough!"

Lu Chao stopped what he was doing. With a thought, he equipped all seven extra equipment slots with the Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror. Instantly, seven golden round mirrors floated in a fan shape above his head.

A moment later, Lu Chao went to the Nut Secret Realm to test the power of the [Nine-Scale Calamity Mirror]. He discovered that the special secret technique [Nine-Scale Grand Array] could not be stacked. Equipping one or more [Nine-Scale Calamity Mirrors] had no effect on it.

This [Nine Qilin Formation] is quite powerful. Once deployed, nine phantom images of level 71 Qilin divine beasts will appear. They will automatically protect the setter, and their activity range is a circular area with a diameter of 800 meters. Within the formation, whether the phantom images of the Qilin divine beasts are attacking others or being attacked by others, they will not allow the setter to enter the combat space.

Unfortunately, the phantom of the Qilin divine beast is not invincible. It has attribute data, and at level 71, its health is 710 million, which is actually considered a powerful BOSS.

To Lu Chaoding's surprise, after equipping seven [Nine-Scale Calamity Mirrors] and entering the battle space, he could control all seven [Nine-Scale Calamity Mirrors] to release [Nine-Scale Divine Light] simultaneously in a single action.

The power of [Nine-Scale Divine Light] is also not weak. Its actual power is not related to Lu Chaoding's attribute data, but only to his level. Lu Chaoding is currently level 71. One [Nine-Scale Divine Light] can deal 710 million true damage. If all seven mirrors are used at the same time, it can deal an extremely high damage of 4970 million.

"The Multi-Treasure Sword Immortal's special ability is indeed powerful, but unfortunately, it's unreliable on my own. I hope it doesn't fail me at crucial moments!"

Lu Chao muttered something to himself. He then tested the power of the [Qilin Calamity] and discovered that, like combat skills, the ultimate technique could release all the [Nine Qilin Calamity Mirrors] in one action, but only one target could be selected.

Of course, after using the [Qilin Calamity], the [Nine Qilin Calamity Mirror] will shatter and then disappear in a flash of light.

Lu Chao wasted seven [Nine-Scale Tribulation Mirrors] for this, but fortunately he had many of them, so he didn't mind wasting a few.

After leaving the cultivation cave, Lu Chaoding found Dugu Tian and the others who were on a mission.

"Very good, you have completed this mission well. I am very pleased. Those of you who already have elder status, continue to be elders. Those of you who do not have elder status, I will promote you all to true disciples. In addition, I will treat you to a feast of spiritual energy and give you Treasure Dragon Pills and Treasure Dragon Profound Heaven Trial Tokens to help you quickly break through your bottlenecks..."

Lu Chao praised the 24 players from the eight teams, then used the [Great Universe Void-Breaking Divine Sword] to lead them into his cultivation cave, where Niu Daren prepared a spiritual feast for them.

Half a day later, thanks to the auspicious influence of the level-five cave, all the other players except Zhao Weike, who was stuck at level 30 and unable to participate in the trial, reached level 31 or higher.

Upgrading from level 30 to level 31 already requires a massive amount of cultivation. Nowadays, there are very few players who can pass the trial and reach or exceed level 31.

Lu Chaoding originally planned to give each of these players a set of fragments of the [Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror], so that they could assemble them themselves to obtain the bound [Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror]. This item is definitely a super weapon at present.

However, after much deliberation, Lu Chaoding ultimately decided not to deprive other players of the fun of the game.

It's one thing to secretly use cheats, but it's better to pretend you don't know and play dumb. It's better not to make it public. There's no need to serve the public; just take care of the sect's disciples appropriately.

The next day, Lu Chaoding found Xiang Ruyan, the Peach Blossom Sword God, recuperating at the top of Hongchen Seven Realms Mountain. The Peach Blossom Sword God was stunned to see that Lu Chaoding had seven Nine-Scale Tribulation Mirrors on his head.

"This, this... Sect Leader, these are all Nine-Scaled Tribulation Mirrors? How come there are seven of them?"

The Peach Blossom Sword God's eyes widened like copper bells.

Lu Chao retorted, "We can have as much of this as we need."

The Peach Blossom Sword God remained silent for a long while, then suddenly sighed and said, "Now that the sect leader has obtained the Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror, it becomes possible to kill the demoness Yan Shangqing, so..."

His gaze fell upon the sea urchins cooking over a fire in the distance.

Lu Chao's mind stirred, realizing that a plot was about to be triggered. It seemed that the Peach Blossom Sword God would at least provide some plot information.

As expected, after a moment of silence, the Peach Blossom Sword God said, "Once, I desperately wanted to kill Yan Shangjing, but now, seeing the Sect Leader obtain the Nine-Scaled Calamity Mirror, I feel apprehensive and ashamed..."

He looked up at the sky and said, "I, Xiang Ruyan, believe myself to be upright and honest, with a clear conscience. However, those past events ultimately arose because of [the previous one]. Would the sect leader be willing to hear the story of Qilin Cliff..."

"You've arrived!" Lu Chao bowed and said, "Elder Peach Blossom, please speak."

Peach Blossom Sword God Xiang Ruyan looked up at the sky with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Qilin Cliff is a secluded paradise, a true grotto-heaven. Every thousand years, a Qilin Child will emerge. The number of Qilin Children is nine, and they can obtain the true teachings of the Qilin and be awarded the title of Nine Qilin. I, Xiang Ruyan, have been the leader of the Nine Qilin since childhood. My swordsmanship and martial arts are all superior to my eight junior brothers. The elders of the clan said that I am a genius that is only seen once every five thousand years. I once considered myself a prodigy of heaven and regarded myself as the number one Qilin of Qilin Cliff in this generation, until I met Yan Shangjing."

He paused, then gestured with his finger to move the peach blossom petals, outlining the silhouette of a woman.

"Yan Shangjing's real name is Yu Xiaojing. She is also a disciple of Qilin Cliff, but she comes from a humble background and is a woman, so she is not among the Nine Qilin. Her clansmen are unaware of her talent, but she is naturally intelligent and has extraordinary talent. When I first met her, her strength was already remarkable, far surpassing that of her peers. I was amazed by her talent and carefully taught her. Her growth rate surprised me. Three years later, she was already on par with my eight junior brothers. So I brought her to the Qilin headquarters and introduced her to the elders..."

"The elders all cherish talent. They are kind and open-minded. After some discussion, they changed the number of Qilin from nine to ten, and Yu Xiaojing became the tenth Qilin, the first female Qilin in our clan's history. Afterwards, with the support of the clan's resources, Yan Shangjing's strength improved even faster. I was once very proud of this, but unfortunately..."

The Peach Blossom Sword God shook his head, his face somewhat bitter.

"It's a pity I didn't see her ambition. Yu Xiaoqing wasn't satisfied with being the last of the Ten Qilin. She used many dirty tricks to murder several elders and junior brothers. In three years, she became the second of the Ten Qilin and held great power in the clan. I was deceived by her until that day when she attacked me... She misjudged my strength and failed. After the truth came out, she confessed to many crimes. In the end, her Qilin bones were removed, her scales were peeled off, and she was expelled from Qilin Cliff. From then on, the Ten Qilin were reduced to Nine Qilin once again."

"At that time, I thought she would die in despair. After all, how could she survive without the Qilin bone? But I never expected that she would not only survive, but also change her appearance and name..."

Peach Blossom Sword God clenched his fist and said, "It's hateful that I was deceived by her twice! Fifty years ago, she disguised herself as Yan Shangjing and met us. I failed to recognize her. After that, I was bewitched by her and did many wrong things, which indirectly harmed eight junior brothers... I have been blind all my life. The most absurd thing is that I have a son with Yan Shangjing, namely Sea Urchin."

"Yan Shangjing used the sea urchin as a tool to blackmail me. I once yielded, foolishly harboring a sliver of hope for her, and was tainted with sin. It wasn't until she stole the sea urchin's Qilin bone that I realized this woman was utterly inhuman! Later, my eight junior brothers and I joined forces to seal her away. My eight junior brothers died from their injuries, which were actually caused by me. In my entire life, I have failed my clan, my junior brothers, my young son, and the world..."

The Peach Blossom Sword God suddenly knelt down before Lu Chao and said, "Xiang Ruyan earnestly requests the Sect Leader's request!"

Lu Chaoding quickly helped him up, saying, "Elder Peach Blossom, what are you doing? Get up quickly, just say what you need to say."

The Peach Blossom Sword God looked at Sea Urchin, a hint of tenderness in his eyes, and said, "Sea Urchin is kind by nature, he is innocent. In fact, his talent is extremely high. If he were to cultivate, his future achievements would definitely surpass mine. After the sect leader kills Yan Shangjing, could you take Sea Urchin to Qilin Cliff? Let him recognize his ancestors and return to his clan!"

"Couldn't Elder Peach Blossom escort him there himself?"

The Peach Blossom Sword God smiled and shook his head. He bowed to Lu Chao again and said, "I have too many sins on my body, which cannot be washed away or erased... When the sea urchin arrives at Qilin Cliff, please tell him, Sect Leader, that his name is Xiang Rudan!"

"Ding! Receive the opportunity quest. After the [Legend of Nine Qilin] storyline ends, escort Xiang Rudan to Qilin Cliff Cave. Upon completion of the quest, you will receive a Qilin Treasure."

"Ding! The occasionally unreliable system has activated, updating the tracking mission with altered content: After the [Legend of Nine Qilin] storyline ends, escort Xiang Rudan to Qilin Cliff Cave. Completing the mission will reward you with ten Qilin Treasures."

"This mission..."

Lu Chao frowned as he looked at Xiang Ruyan, the Peach Blossom Sword God. He had a bad feeling, wondering if this NPC would do something ridiculous, like suddenly committing suicide to atone for his sins.

"Elder Peach Blossom, don't be upset. What's past is past, no one cares. From now on, you'll follow me, the sect leader, and I guarantee you won't encounter such humiliation again. Happiness and beauty await you tomorrow."

Lu Chaoding tried to persuade Xiang Ruhai, the Peach Blossom Sword God, and at that moment, outside Hongchen Seven Realms Mountain, in the sea, a flash of light appeared and two figures appeared.

The two figures were Yan Shangjing and Dao Cangkong.

(End of this chapter)