“I’ll take a look at the Magic Artifacts before I begin my recovery process.” Re’Kha arrived at the corner, noticing numerous Magic Artifacts placed atop a table. They were covered in a soft cloth each, numbering 16 in total.

Re’Kha took in a sharp breath of air, wondering the identity of the household she had taken refugee within. She had contributed a lot to her Clan, and in acknowledgement of that and her talents, she was given a Magic Artifact by her Clan.

Every Magic Artifact was a precious treasure that many treated with value greater than their own lives. After all, the core of a Magic Artifact was Elemental Qi Essence. The raw material alone was expensive, not to mention the cost required to use them and manufacture a robust Magic Artifact that wouldn’t break in battle. One must also be a master craftsman and would have to spend at least a year to create one.

Such strenuous process and steep material cost made them precious goods that acted as each Clan’s foundation. But here, there was not one, not two, but 16 Magic Artifacts. This wasn’t even the Burkurel Ju Clan, but just one of the settlements under it.

So, it made no sense. What this household possessed rivalled a Clan’s foundation. Re’Kha was just about to inspect them individually when her cultivation technique made her feel strange. She was drawn towards something, feeling a sort of affinity towards an item amongst them.

Re’Kha stretched her hand, guided by her instincts, and grabbed hold of a ring. It was a plain ring, lacking any inscriptions or designs on it. But in her perception, it was a sharp blank space. The quality of the Elemental Qi Essence in it could be determined by the sharpness of its blank space. And out of everything she had witnessed, this was the sharpest of them all.

Spurred by her cultivation technique, Wood Qi gushed out of her fingertips and seeped into the ring, making it shine with resplendent hue. It was initially a dull shade of white, somewhat murky. Now, it became a dull shade of emerald, still murky.

“Re’Kha, my child. I am glad this ended up safely in your hands. I used the machinations of fate to place this ring in a bandit a day before I was poisoned.” Her master’s voice resounded in her mind. Re’Kha was shocked as she stared at the ring, finding the blank space flicker while increasing its size.

“Master!” Re’Kha shouted, hoping she would hear a reply.

As if it hadn’t heard her shout, the voice continued to speak in a calm tone, “This ring is named Budding Dew. It is a Magic Artifact the 3rd Celestial Emperor Kalki had personally crafted to gift the 7th princess from the land of the Bisheen that arrived as an envoy for a peace treaty. Many decades later, the ring was lost when she died in battle. After that, it ended up in my hands. As it was crafted for her to use, only Wood Qi can operate it.”

“There are places where I made arrangements for your betterment. Even I cannot guarantee they would remain until you stumble upon them. I only hope you find them as you develop further. The place you are currently in is one of the branches of a secret organisation that plans to uproot our country. This organisation was created by the people that poisoned me; they are enemies. Loot them dry. Take care, my disciple.” Her master’s voice disappeared as Re’Kha teared up.

“Using the machinations of fate to my advantage, huh,” She muttered, “Just like I had thought.”

She felt a connection form with the ring, like it could be operated with her mental strength. She Activated her Wood Qi perception, noticing the ring emit a dull lustre as her perception was sucked inside.

A Storage Ring!

The space within wasn’t big, its length, breadth, and height spanning her arm. Still, it was a treasure a Harmoniser couldn’t ever hope to come into contact with. Re’Kha beamed, now understanding part of the situation thanks to her master’s inputs.

“So, he made arrangements in one of the bases of his enemies. Master is amazing. Just how far into the future could he plan?” She then frowned, “To be able to kill such a being, just how frightening are his enemies?”

…

In a desolate land where poisonous mist swirled about, a palace stood tall atop a mountain. It was a palace lacking any walls. Poisonous mist gushed in without end, condensing before dissipating over on the other side. Cackling sounds occasionally resounded amidst the swirling mist while beings of large statures flew within.

The throne room extended for a very long distance, beyond what one could see in the mist-covered area. Prostrated on the floor were beings that breathed in the poisonous mist like it was normal air. The wings on their backs trembled while occasionally flapping, pulling in more poisonous mist from the outside.

Each being was at least 1.5 times taller than Re’Kha. They were part of a race that dominated a massive segment of the continent all life resided on.

Seated on the throne was a being that was ten times their size, a hulking figure with tremendous presence. Even though he sat in the open, his body was concealed under the mist, the flapping of his wings causing them to form mini twisters.

It was a male, sporting a massive pair of horns on his head that extended until aligning with the edges of his jaw. Similar horns grew from his elbow and ended below his wrist. Finally, a pair of horns extended from his ankle and dug into the floor, acting as a natural heel of sorts.

His two eyes were like the moon but purple in colour, with hints of red and black. He extended his left hand forward, tilting it to gaze at the underside, noticing 12 stars line from the wrist to the elbow. Each star shone with resplendent splendour, akin to a real star.

Among them, the third star that had been dull all along dimmed until losing its splendour, soon sporting a crack. Seeing the change, the being was stunned for a second before bursting into laughter, “Finally, after 20 long years, the Third Calamity has croaked.”