Chapter 383 - 382: The Ray Bow

Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed as he considered the implications.

The Demon Lords invading the Nine Provinces relied upon the laws of the Hollow Beyond, the power of their bloodlines, and the corrosive miasma that accompanied their existence.

Although their techniques could overwhelm ordinary cultivators through sheer force, they still operated through principles that had been derived from the broader structure of the universe.

Origin Energy occupied a more fundamental position.

If the Rain Dragon could truly exert its authority over secondary manifestations of the Great Dao, it might be capable of suppressing attacks that ordinary defensive techniques could not withstand.

The spell would not make Lin Yuan invincible, but it could provide him with a decisive advantage against enemies who relied entirely upon conventional spiritual Qi, Void Refinement techniques, or demonic miasma.

The distinction was important.

A powerful attack could be resisted by greater force, redirected through spatial manipulation, or neutralized by a technique with a more favorable elemental relationship. However, an attack that possessed superior conceptual authority could bypass many of those conventional defenses, directly interfering with the principles that sustained the opposing technique.

The Rain Dragon appeared to have been designed for precisely that purpose.

Lin Yuan studied the spell further, as he noticed it demanded an extraordinary degree of control, because the user needed to maintain the connection between Origin Energy and the Rain Dao without allowing the two to destabilize one another.

Fortunately, Lin Yuan ’s Dao Fruit of Three Rebirths already contained the principles of rain and the deeper cycle of rebirth.

A cold, confident satisfaction settled into his Dao Heart.

He had gained a weapon capable of challenging the abyss.

Lin Yuan then turned his attention to the final reward.

The Ray Bow.

With a subtle movement of his consciousness, he bypassed his spatial ring and retrieved the item directly from the system inventory. A magnificent weapon materialized in his grasp, its appearance immediately drawing Bai Qingyue’s attention away from the devastated horizon.

The bow had been crafted from an unknown translucent crystal that pulsed with a warm, ambient light. Its elegant frame curved with an almost organic perfection, and faint symbols moved beneath its surface whenever the surrounding spiritual Qi touched it. The bowstring was impossibly thin, yet it hummed with a frequency that resonated with the laws of the universe.

Even before its full power had been revealed, the weapon was clearly extraordinary.

It was a Divine-grade artifact, a treasure capable of provoking conflict between powerful provinces and attracting the attention of cultivators who had spent centuries searching for a weapon of comparable quality.

Lin Yuan examined it briefly before turning toward his wife.

"Qingyue."

Bai Qingyue shifted her attention from the ruined world and looked at him. Her black hair drifted around her shoulders, and the golden radiance of the Yunqi Realm remained faintly visible along the edges of her figure. Although the sight of the merging realms had left her expression solemn, she softened slightly when she saw the weapon in Lin Yuan’s hand.

He extended the bow toward her.

"Take this," Lin Yuan said, his voice softening with the gentle warmth he reserved exclusively for her. He held out the Ray Bow, a faint smile touching his lips. "Now that your cultivation has been restored, this weapon should prove far more useful in your hands."

Bai Qingyue looked at the magnificent weapon, and her eyes widened slightly as she sensed the density of the aura radiating from its crystalline frame. She reached out, wrapping her fingers around the grip, and immediately discovered that the bow was much lighter than its appearance suggested.

It rested naturally in her hand, its balance almost perfect.

A faint vibration passed through the weapon, as though it were responding to the presence of its new owner. Bai Qingyue could sense a dormant power within the crystal, but the aura was restrained and difficult to interpret. The bow did not behave like an ordinary artifact, and its internal structure appeared to contain principles that she had never encountered in her previous cultivation.

She accepted it reverently, but a faint crease appeared on her forehead as she looked from the bow to the apocalyptic sky.

"It is beautiful, Yuan," she said softly. "A Divine-grade weapon is an absolute treasure, and I can tell that its potential is extraordinary. However, I have to ask something before I bind it to myself."

She raised her gaze toward the distant horizon, where several Demon Lords were tearing through the remains of the Nine Provinces’ defensive formations.

"Against Demon Emperors, and with an entire realm physically merging with our own, I am still a Core Formation cultivator, even with the Yunqi Realm’s amplification. How does gifting me this bow change anything at this exact moment?"

It was a perfectly reasonable tactical question.

Bai Qingyue was not the sort of cultivator who would blindly trust a weapon simply because it possessed a powerful aura. She understood the difference between possessing a treasure and being able to use it effectively, and she knew that a single bow, regardless of its grade, could not shoot down an entire dimension.

Lin Yuan regarded her calmly, and he then reached out and gently tucked a stray strand of her black hair behind her ear, and smiled at her.

"Imbue it with your divine sense and claim it. A weapon only reveals its true weight when it recognizes its master."

Bai Qingyue studied his expression for several moments. From the restoration of her cultivation to their journey through the Sacred Grounds, his decisions had repeatedly opened paths that she believed she would never have discovered alone.

He had given her the Fortune Banner when their life was in danger, and its power had allowed her to enter the Yunqi Realm. He had never treated her as someone who needed to be protected from every danger, nor had he attempted to restrict her growth out of concern that she might be injured.

Instead, he had consistently provided her with the means to become stronger.

Bai Qingyue lowered her gaze toward the Ray Bow, and her expression gradually softened.

"I understand," she whispered.

A/N: Thanks for Reading!