You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?

The first eight trials were not difficult for him.

At most, they were a bit troublesome, but he passed all eight trials.

After all, his Dao Heart was perfect now, and he had grasped the rudiments of the Ultimate Path. His realm was on par with those top-tier Heavenly Reversal Paths, and his breadth was even more terrifying, not to mention having a Divine Artifact and numerous Semi-Divine Artifacts.

The first eight trials could be passed by any prince or princess in the state of Harmonization with a perfect Dao Heart.

But the ninth trial was to pull out the broken sword in the center of the Heavenly Weapon Pool, and that was troublesome.

...

The Heavenly Weapon Pool.

It was a treasure trove for storing divine weapons and was not a magic treasure but a divine weapon.

Magic treasures appeared following the appearance of the Qi Refining Stream in the Three Religions, containing various peculiar abilities or techniques.

But divine weapons, they were purely weapons used by martial cultivators or the Body Refining Sect.

They had no flashy functions, only pure might.

Simply put, they were weapons used for killing.

Aside from being sturdy and having explosive power, they had no other advantages.

Each divine weapon in the Heavenly Weapon Pool was comparable to a True Treasure level, sufficient to be used against a Great Cultivator.

As long as a descendant of Xiahong reached the level of a Great Cultivator in the Body Refining Sect, they could select a divine weapon. If the divine weapon was willing to follow them, they could take it away.

But as a price, they must compensate for a divine weapon in the future.

Xiahong had been collecting divine weapons, and after some Great Cultivators from Xiahong passed away, they would also be returned.

This had led to the number of divine weapons in the Heavenly Weapon Pool gradually increasing.

Countless divine weapons had gathered in the Heavenly Weapon Pool, and the murderous intent and hostility emitted were so intense that even those below a Great Cultivator dared not set foot there.

Otherwise, they might inadvertently harm their mind and essence.

"Greetings, Prince Xia."

As soon as the guard at the entrance of the Heavenly Weapon Pool saw Lin Yue, they immediately clasped their hands and saluted.

"Open the barrier, I want to enter the Heavenly Weapon Pool," Lin Yue casually instructed.

"Yes."

As a prince who had been coronated as a king, though unable to casually take divine weapons from the Heavenly Weapon Pool, he could still enter freely.

Once the barrier entrance opened, a strong wave of murderous intent and hostility rushed forward, emanating from countless cold and sharp weapons.

Lin Yue's expression remained unchanged as he stepped forward into the sea of hostility and murderous intent.

The Heavenly Weapon Pool was indeed a rather expansive pool.

Within it, a faint azure translucent liquid flowed gently, with divine weapons soaking in it, casually placed.

Lin Yue stepped into the pool, treading through the water.

The liquid was a treasure meant to preserve divine weapons, preventing them from decaying over time, and could also nurture the divine weapons' power.

The deeper he went into the Heavenly Weapon Pool, the more intense the hostility and murderous intent became.

The outermost region was merely divine weapons used by Great Cultivators, on the same level as True Treasures.

But inside, divine weapons appeared that could be used by those who had become Saints, comparable to Spiritual Treasures or even top-grade Spiritual Treasures.

"Quite a few good weapons..."

Lin Yue casually glanced around, showing no interest.

What he carried was far better than these divine weapons, with several Semi-Divine Artifacts, not to mention the Divine Artifact Infinite Starry Sky.

Gradually, Lin Yue reached the core of the Heavenly Weapon Pool.

Crimson, incandescent white, pitch-black... three kinds of substantively condensed hostility were completely covering this area, intertwining chaotically, making it impossible to see the situation within.

"Such intense hostility..."

Lin Yue slightly raised his eyebrows but did not pause his steps and continued towards the depths of the hostility.

Under the impact of this near-substantive hostility, his expression did not change.

For an ordinary Saint's Dao Heart, eight times out of ten, they couldn't withstand it, but for his already perfected Dao Heart, it had no effect.

Passing through the intertwined, intense hostility, Lin Yue finally saw the source of these three kinds of hostility—

A blue wooden bow.

An iron-gray long spear.

A dagger made from a material that looked like it was crafted from some kind of fang.

Lin Yue immediately understood... these three divine weapons were of the Semi-Divine Artifact level, definitely containing some kind of Dao marked by a Proving expert, which made them so terrifying.

"Not bad."

Lin Yue showed a slight smile, "Didn't expect an extra surprise."

Given his status as a coronated prince, if a divine weapon was willing to allow him to use it and he could indeed use it, he could take one of the three, but he had to return it after proving himself.

Actually, he was not impressed by these three Semi-Divine Artifacts.

But he wanted to take these three Semi-Divine Artifacts as teachers, using the Dao within to allow his own Ultimate Path to develop similar traits.

This would be more helpful to him than the Semi-Divine Artifacts.

Moreover, he didn't need to take the divine weapon away; as long as he imprinted it with his Divine Thought here and initiated a preliminary recognition, he could stay and contemplate it.

"Let's not rush."

Lin Yue glanced at the three Semi-Divine Artifacts, then swiftly withdrew his gaze and continued toward the center of the Heavenly Weapon Pool.

In the center of the Heavenly Weapon Pool was a stone platform nearly knee-high.

And on the stone platform, an ancient, simplistic stone sword was inserted.

Unexpectedly, within three zhang of the stone sword, there was no hostility at all; rather, it was unexpectedly serene.

It was as if amidst the center of an endless tidal wave, there existed a tranquil harbor.

But when Lin Yue stepped into the three zhang range of the stone sword, he was mildly startled.

Because...

He felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Just like the first time he set foot on the Inheritance Altar that guided the Ultimate Path in the Inheritance Land at Beiyuan Mountain, that warm and intimate aura, was it similar?

"This..."

Lin Yue squinted at the stone sword, a suspicion rising in his heart.

Was this stone sword... related to the Ultimate Path, or to Primordial?

He took a deep breath and approached the stone platform.

"Pull it out, and the ninth trial is passed?"

Lin Yue immediately extended his hand, attempting to grasp the sword hilt of the stone sword.

However—

"Buzz."

An invisible ripple suddenly spread from the stone sword's surface, and a formless power instantly bounced his hand back.

"Hmm?" Lin Yue was slightly taken aback.

Was he actually unable to approach?

It was then that—

"Stop trying."

A cold female voice suddenly echoed from all directions, "You, a little one who hasn't even opened an Inner Heaven and Earth, why are you trying? Leave at once."

Lin Yue was mildly startled.

Then he couldn't help but stare in astonishment at the stone sword embedded in the stone platform, incredulity in his voice, "You are... this sword's Artifact Spirit? An Artifact Spirit actually exists?"

As far as he knew, Artifact Spirits were only legendary.

In the Ancient Era, Semi-Divine Artifacts and Divine Artifacts certainly had to have Artifact Spirits, but for some reason, any Artifact Spirits of Semi-Divine Artifacts and Divine Artifacts suddenly vanished.

Whether it was his Infinite Starry Sky Divine Artifact or those newly crafted Semi-Divine Artifacts, without exception, either the Artifact Spirits disappeared, or they couldn't generate any Artifact Spirits at all.

No matter how much they nurtured their spirituality, they couldn't give birth to Artifact Spirits.

However—

Did this stone sword before him actually have an Artifact Spirit?

"You, with such a level, actually saw through it?"

The cold woman's voice gave a mild exclamation, "The previous ones all thought I was a hidden Guardian, yet you saw it?"

Lin Yue remained silent.

Indeed.

According to common sense, Artifact Spirits were just legends, and the voice of this Artifact Spirit also came from all directions; typically, people wouldn't think it was an Artifact Spirit.

But with his Ultimate Path's perception, he captured the subtle fluctuations contained in the voice, originating from this stone sword.

Naturally, he could guess that it was this stone sword's voice.

"It is my first time seeing an Artifact Spirit, why does this sword alone possess an Artifact Spirit?" Lin Yue asked.

"Such a secret, how can a little one like you know about it?"

The cold woman's voice sounded again, "Are you a prince of Xiahong? Your Dao Heart is nice, but your realm is too low. Come back when you have proven yourself."