Martial Arts Longevity Begins with the Equipment Slot

Chapter 61, Five Spiritual Secrets, Directly Reaching Bone Refinement

[Oddities Section (Tier 1, 80%)]

Number: 1 grid

[Rare Item]: Statue of Ahura (incomplete)

[Quality]: Mid-grade, Level 10

[Status]: Not equipped

[Description]: Derived from the ruins of the Temple of Boris, this statue depicts Ahura Hamiki, the god of light and wisdom, wearing a sun crown, carrying the wings of a sacred eagle, holding the eternal sacred fire, and standing on a lotus throne.

【Equipment Requirements】: 1. Basic knowledge of Old Sasanian; 2. Seven days of morning prayers in Old Sasanian before the idol, with no restrictions on the content of the prayers.

【Equipment Effects】: 1. Benevolent Judgment; 2. Holy Fire Purification; 3. Three Benevolent Aura; 4. Doomsday Rebirth.

【Wise Judgment】: Designate a target and judge whether their current statement is true. If the target is lying, a red "Druger" mark will appear above their head.

【Sacred Flame Purification】: 1. The wearer's resistance to all demons, ghosts, and sealed objects increases by 30%; 2. For every 1000 prayers to the idol, the wearer will receive a wisp of "Sacred Flame". Consuming "Sacred Flame" can resist one instance of erosion of one's soul by demons or ancient god projections. The number of Sacred Flames consumed varies depending on the target; the stronger the target, the more Sacred Flames are consumed.

【三善光环】：1.装备者常驻半径10米内，形成一个「三善光环」；2.「善思光环」，使装备者自身的学习能力＋25%；3.「善言光环」，使装备者的话术成功率+30%；4.「善行光环」，使装备者的恶念-40％。

【Doomsday Rebirth】: When the apocalypse prophesied by the gods arrives, Ahura has a 3% chance to protect the wearer, preserve their complete soul information, and allow them to be reborn from the ashes 100,000 years later.

[Evaluation]: It was not wisdom that created me, but I that nurtured wisdom.

Choose one: Asa (Truth) or Druger (Lies). There is no neutral option.

"Wow, that's really something!"

After reading the entire content, Chen Yu could barely contain his excitement.

"The equipment effects of this idol are too powerful, and every single effect is exactly what I need."

"Leaving aside everything else, the purification effect of this sacred fire alone is extremely rare."

"This is a method to ward off evil spirits! I searched high and low but couldn't find it, and now I've obtained it without any effort!"

After calming down for a while, Chen Yu decided to make a move as soon as possible and bid on the statue.

But there's really no need to rush, because nobody's going to take it from him.

These bidders, lacking equipment slots and unable to see the hidden value behind the statue, were too lazy to place bids.

"One hundred taels of silver, one hundred taels of silver."

This is the lowest starting price since the auction began.

Even at the lowest possible price, no one made a move.

There was even a chorus of boos from the crowd.

"I think the Night Owl Society is really out of ideas. They've got some worthless rock from who-knows-where, and they dare to sell it for a hundred taels!"

"You don't understand. It's not that the goods are bad, it's that that woman doesn't know how to sell. If I were in charge, everyone would be scrambling to buy them for a thousand taels!"

"How can she compare to Brother Huang? Even if Brother Huang sells for ten thousand taels, everyone will scramble to buy him. Who would dare disrespect the Huang family!"

Hearing these harsh words, the woman in the red dress couldn't help but feel a little wronged.

Not being able to sell the goods was secondary; what was really embarrassing was the awkward silence that had ensued.

"Young Master An, Master Xing, Daoist Wuchen, distinguished guests in the front row, please give this young lady some face and name your price. No extra money is necessary!"

The woman in the red dress winked and pleaded.

An Yanshi took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and shook his head.

He appears to be warm and generous, but in reality, he loves to see people make fools of themselves, especially beautiful women.

The woman in the red dress was embarrassed, and he was overjoyed; he had no intention of helping her out.

Xing Liwei's eyelids lifted slightly, then drooped again.

As the third manager of the rice gang, he certainly wasn't short of a mere hundred taels of silver.

But he didn't want to lose face in the inner circle. If word got out that he spent a hundred taels of silver to buy a piece of junk, where would he put his face?

Elder Wuchen blushed; the alluring gaze of the woman in the red dress made his heart itch.

If it weren't for the reputation of Qingfeng Temple, he would have already stepped in to help the beautiful woman out of consideration for her feelings.

Unfortunately, those were statues of foreign religions, not statues of Taoist patriarchs.

Although he was attracted to beautiful women, he never dared to buy anything from heretical merchants.

The hourglass, with its limited time limit, had run halfway through, and still no one had placed a bid.

The woman in the red dress looked unusually forlorn.

"If no bids are received, the auction is cancelled and the item is reclaimed."

"One hundred taels."

Chen Yu's voice wasn't loud, but everyone's eyes turned to him.

Chen Yu maintained that same mysterious posture.

He wore a black robe and tucked his hands into his sleeves.

He sat motionless, exuding the air of a hermit sage.

The woman in the red dress glanced at him in surprise, then her expression quickly turned to delight.

"One hundred taels, any higher bids?"

An Yanshi scoffed and whispered to the guard beside him.

"A hundred taels to buy a broken stone? This person must be out of his mind."

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for Chen Yu to hear.

Xing Liwei didn't even lift his eyelids.

Master Wuchen marveled.

Unexpectedly, someone was even more lecherous than him, willing to buy any junk just to win a smile from a beautiful woman.

In fact, he himself had considered making such an offer, but his identity as a Taoist priest ultimately constrained him.

No one raised the price further, and the hourglass quickly ran out.

"Thump!"

The woman in the red dress excitedly tapped the table.

"One hundred taels, deal! The nameless statue belongs to this distinguished guest!"

She picked up the statue from the jade plate, walked to Chen Yu, and respectfully handed it over.

Chen Yu reached out and took the statue.

Then he took out a hundred-tael silver note from his sleeve and slapped it on the table.

The transaction is complete.

An Yanshi sneered again: "What a fool, spending a hundred taels of silver to learn a lesson."

Xing Liwei finally spoke, his voice high-pitched like a eunuch's: "Perhaps people think that thing is worth it."

"What's it worth? A hundred taels? Better to spend a night of pleasure at the Desire Dream Pavilion!"

Master Wuchen laughed loudly, the sound echoing in the hall, sounding particularly jarring.

Chen Yu completely ignored the mocking laughter.

Because the moment the statue was in hand, lines of information appeared before my eyes.

[Hint]: 1. The current statue is incomplete, missing the Nebula Pupil, the Sacred Eagle Left Wing, and the Golden Thread Robe. You can collect these parts to repair the artifact; 2. After repairing the Nebula Pupil, you will gain the "Son of Asha" effect; after repairing the Sacred Eagle Left Wing, you will gain the "Wings of Faravah" effect; after repairing the Golden Thread Robe, you will gain the "Star Priest Robe" effect; 3. After the statue is fully restored, the hidden effect "Shadow of Ahura" will be unlocked.

【Son of Asha】: 1. Passive effect: To all Zoroastrian believers, the wearer has a ring of golden flames above their head and a trailing flame effect when moving; 2. When communicating with any loyal Zoroastrian believer, the other party will have 50% more trust in the wearer's words; 3. Immune to all "unclean" negative effects (such as contact with corpses, blood contamination, curses, etc.), and will not be damaged when near the sacred fire; 4. Angra Mambo's followers have 200% more hatred towards the wearer and have a certain probability of initiating an attack.

【Faravaha Wings】: 1. When equipped, grants flight, with a base flight speed increase of 50%, gradually accelerating to +200% during straight-line flight (requires 50 seconds of charging); 2. A "golden light trail" remains in the flight path for 30 seconds, granting allies a 20% speed boost when passing through it; 3. Active skill "Holy Flame Dash" consumes 30% of stamina, propelling the user forward with a burst of flames, instantly teleporting 500 meters and dealing 200% burn damage to enemies in its path; 4. When flying above 1000 meters, grants immunity to ranged attacks from ground units, but becomes a priority target for all flying units, taking +100% damage in the air.

【Star Priest Robe】: 1. Comes with a "Star Map Navigation" effect. The star map on the robe changes with real time, automatically marking the location of the nearest Zoroastrian temple and altar at night; 2. Can actively activate the "Starfire Cloak" effect. When moving, the end of the cloak generates "spark particles", which deal 10% fire damage to non-Zoroastrian believers within 3 meters. When standing still, the sparks gather into a small sacred fire, which restores 1% of the health of all loyal Zoroastrian believers within a 1-meter radius. The "Starfire Cloak" lasts for a maximum of 60 seconds and can be used once per day; 3. When participating in any Zoroastrian ritual, there is a chance to communicate directly with Ahura himself. The base probability is 1%. Each time a "Sacred Fire Ritual" is performed on a statue, the probability permanently increases by 0.001%, up to a maximum of 9%.

After seeing the effects of these three pieces of equipment, Chen Yu was overjoyed once again.

The surrounding laughter, however, suddenly sounded more and more pleasant, like blessings.

"These three effects are ridiculously powerful, and they can even be used to display supernatural abilities in front of Zoroastrian believers. If I were to develop my career in Zoroastrianism in the future, my future would be limitless and bright."

"The most crucial thing is the ability to fly. If we could fly, it would be much more convenient to travel to various places. Even the emperor's forbidden palace wouldn't be impossible to enter!"

"However, the function of the final hidden effect, 'Shadow of Ahura,' is still unknown."

"No matter what, just go for it!"

"As for equipment requirements... morning prayers aren't a problem, but where can we learn the Sassanid script?"

Chen Yu pondered for a long time.

When he was a guard at the Song residence, he studied literacy with Gao Youde, the head of the night patrol, for a period of time.

Since arriving at the Sword Casting Manor, he has been working hard to learn cultural knowledge. Now his Liangwen (a type of classical Chinese writing) level has reached a certain level, and he also has some understanding of the Weiwen and Wuwen (another type of classical Chinese writing) of neighboring countries.

However, he had never come into contact with the script of the Western Continent.

"Next, perhaps we should go to Zoroastrianism, partly to find someone who speaks Sassanid, and partly to gather clues about the missing parts."

Before Chen Yu could finish his thought, the voice of the woman in the red dress on stage interrupted his contemplation.

"Next up is a health-preserving exercise manual that is known to everyone in the martial arts world."

"But to be honest, even we're not entirely sure if it's true or not."

Chen Yu felt he could understand what was going on.

After all, health preservation exercises require time and experience to prove their effectiveness. If you only practice for a short time, how can you tell if they are genuine?

Not everyone is like me, able to see their cultivation progress through the equipment menu.

The woman in the red dress continued, "However, there's one thing we can confidently guarantee!"

"After careful examination by experts within the association, the silk cloth containing this secret manual is at least three hundred years old! Therefore, it is highly likely to be a rare and genuine copy!"

She chuckled as she said this.

Seeing that all eyes in the audience were drawn to him, craning their necks to stare at the stage, he slowly continued speaking:

"The name of this secret manual is—Five Elements Nourishing Life Exercise!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two maids carried a white jade tray and stepped onto the stage from behind the stage.

A bright yellow satin was laid out on a jade plate, and a scroll of silk lay on the satin.

The silk book is old and yellowed, with insect damage and water stains on the edges.

But in that small section, five human figures are drawn with extremely fine ink lines.

The human figures have strange postures; some resemble tigers, some deer, some bears, some apes, and some birds. Every line is as smooth as if they were alive.

Chen Yu was just watching from a distance, but he felt as if the five shadows were actually moving slowly on the paper.

The woman in the red dress stood on the stage, her hands tucked into her sleeves.

Instead of stating the bottom price as usual, she said something more.

"It is said that at the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Liang Dynasty, the martial arts world was in turmoil. Amidst the clash of swords, many heroes and valiant men were afflicted with internal injuries and died young."

"The legendary physician Hua Sijing was not only a surgical master, but also, by observing the forms of all beasts atop Mount Kui, he comprehended a profound truth about the universe!"

The original text in the book says: "Beasts are ignorant, yet they can live out their natural lifespan. Humans have seven emotions and six desires, which harm their vital energy. If one could emulate the beasts and guide one's energy through physical form, why worry about not living long?"

"Hua Sijing secluded himself for ten years, observing the ferocity of tigers, the comfort of deer, the composure of bears, the agility of monkeys, and the lightness of birds, and transformed the instincts of all beasts into five styles of kung fu."

"The essence of this Five Elements Health Preservation Exercise lies in guiding Qi with form, nourishing blood with Qi, nourishing tendons with blood, and strengthening bones with tendons. The five movements are practiced in a continuous cycle, like the five elements generating each other. With daily accumulation, one can unknowingly break through to the Bone Refinement Realm!"

"Moreover, this technique not only has the effect of body tempering, but it can also be described as a unique longevity manual in the martial arts world!"

"It is said that Hua Sijing himself lived to be two hundred years old thanks to this skill, and was still able to travel around the country. His complexion was rosy like that of a middle-aged man until he was killed by the Emperor of Wei. His disciple Huo Ji practiced it according to the same method and was over a hundred years old, still with sharp hearing and eyesight, and strong teeth..."

Before he could finish speaking, a commotion erupted from the audience.

"Wow, it's the legendary Five Elements Health Preservation Technique! That's amazing! Absolutely incredible!"

An Yanshi exclaimed excitedly, his expression still that strange and sarcastic look.

"Master Wuchen, is this Five Elements Nourishing Life Technique truly that powerful?"

Xing Liwei opened his eyes and turned to ask.

"I have heard of the Five Spirits Nourishing Life Exercise at Qingfeng Temple. It is indeed a closely guarded secret among health practitioners, and its effects may be even more astonishing than she claims!"

"The Spirit Deer Stance Technique, a blood refining cultivation method currently popular on the market, is a simplified version of its incomplete version. If a simplified version of an incomplete technique is so effective, do I need to elaborate on how powerful the complete manual is?"

"need."

Xing Liwei persisted in asking.

He's the kind of person who likes to get to the bottom of things when asking questions.