Chapter 385 - 384: The Sun Shooting Bow

Bai Qingyue raised the bow, allowing the dark star-iron grip to settle comfortably against her palm. She closed her eyes and began channeling the fortune of her Yunqi Realm into the weapon, carefully guiding the pure spiritual Qi of her Middle Stage Core Formation foundation through its ancient runes.She intended to draw the string of solar plasma and test the terrifying power.

The moment her spiritual Qi touched the bow, the archaic runes glimmered faintly. A trace of golden light traveled along the dark metal before disappearing into its depths, giving Bai Qingyue the impression that the weapon was silently examining her. She could sense its immense power, but that power remained strangely distant, as though separated from her by an invisible barrier.

She placed her fingers against the string of concentrated solar plasma and began to pull.

Nothing happened.

The bowstring did not yield even a fraction of an inch. It remained as firm and absolute as the Golden Gate from which they had just been violently expelled, completely unmoved by the spiritual Qi flowing through Bai Qingyue’s meridians.

Her brows gradually knitted together. She adjusted her grip, strengthened the circulation of her spiritual Qi, and attempted to draw the string again. The result remained unchanged, and the weapon showed no indication that it had even noticed her effort.

Bai Qingyue opened her eyes and examined the bow with a puzzled expression. She had never considered herself particularly knowledgeable about weapons, but she understood that an artifact of this level should not be so difficult to activate after accepting its master’s binding.

She was not an ordinary Core Formation cultivator, either. Her cultivation had been restored, and her entry into the Yunqi Realm had granted her extraordinary control over fortune and probability. Even if the bow possessed an unusual activation method, she should have been able to discover some indication of it.

Yet the Sun Shooting Bow remained completely silent.

Unwilling to give up so easily, Bai Qingyue invoked the Heavenly Fortune Binding Seal. A faint blue radiance spread from her palm, and strands of fortune intertwined with the weapon’s ancient runes as she attempted to influence its internal formation.

Her spiritual Qi surged.

The dark star-iron absorbed the energy, but the plasma string remained perfectly still.

Bai Qingyue finally lowered the bow and released a quiet sigh. There was no embarrassment in her expression, only the frustration of someone who had discovered a problem that could not be solved through greater effort alone.

"It rejects my spiritual Qi," she explained, studying the weapon carefully. "It has acknowledged my fortune and bound itself to my soul, but it refuses to respond when I attempt to draw the string. It feels as though the weapon is asleep, waiting for something that I cannot provide."

Ku Ming, who had been observing the entire process while maintaining a Buddhist shield around their group, stepped closer. The monk’s golden eyes examined the Sun Shooting Bow, and his expression gradually became more serious.

The shield surrounding them flickered beneath the freezing winds sweeping across the sky. Far below, the merging of the Nine Provinces and the Hollow Beyond continued to distort the landscape, while distant flashes of demonic light illuminated the horizon.

Despite the catastrophic situation, Ku Ming could not bring himself to ignore the artifact in Bai Qingyue’s hands. Its aura was extraordinary, and even in its dormant state, the weapon carried a faint pressure that made him instinctively cautious.

"It may not be rejecting you, Lady Bai," he said after a moment. "An artifact of this magnitude possesses characteristics far beyond those of ordinary spiritual weapons. Its power may be too concentrated for a cultivator to control through spiritual Qi alone."

Bai Qingyue turned toward him. "What do you mean?"

"A weapon of this level may possess a will of its own," Ku Ming explained. "It is not merely a vessel that stores energy and releases it when its wielder provides sufficient power. It may require an intermediary capable of translating your intentions into commands the artifact can understand."

His gaze settled upon the plasma string.

"In other words, it may require a Weapon Spirit."

"A Weapon Spirit?" Bai Qingyue repeated, running her fingers along the archaic runes engraved into the star-iron.

"Indeed." Ku Ming nodded. "A Weapon Spirit can communicate with its artifact, regulate the circulation of its power, and assist its master in controlling abilities that would otherwise be difficult to activate. However, finding a suitable spirit for a weapon forged from stellar power is no simple matter."

He paused, considering the implications.

"An ordinary beast soul would probably be incinerated the moment it came into contact with the solar plasma. Even a powerful spirit beast might struggle to withstand the weapon’s internal heat. To refine a suitable spirit from a living cultivator would be equally dangerous, and forcing a sentient soul into an artifact without its willingness could create a corrupted weapon that eventually turns against its master."

Ku Ming’s expression grew solemn.

"At the very least, one would need a spirit with extraordinary strength and an exceptionally compatible soul. Perhaps the Primordial Spirit of a Peak Soul Transformation cultivator could endure the process, although even that would not guarantee success."

Bai Qingyue glanced at the bow again. "Then I cannot use it until we find a suitable spirit?"

"That would be the safest conclusion," Ku Ming replied. "However, I would not recommend attempting to force it open. An artifact of this magnitude might react unpredictably if its internal power is disturbed."

Lin Yuan had remained silent throughout their conversation.

His deep purple eyes were fixed on the Sun Shooting Bow, but his thoughts had already moved elsewhere. He examined the weapon’s dormant aura, considered Ku Ming’s explanation, and then recalled the countless treasures stored within his system inventory.

A Weapon Spirit.

The monk’s words would have presented a significant obstacle to an ordinary cultivator. Finding a suitable spirit, persuading it to cooperate, and successfully integrating it into an ancient Divine-grade artifact could require years of preparation, if not decades.

For Lin Yuan, however, the problem had a remarkably simple solution.

He already possessed the perfect candidate.

Moreover, that candidate had been complaining about her lack of opportunities to fight for quite some time.

A faint smile appeared on his face.