Yao Jun felt as if he stepped through a screen of water, a flash of light overtaking his vision for a split second before he reached the other side. His feet landed on a patch of soft earth, lush grass spreading out for as far as the eye could see. The boundless plain that stretched out around Yao Jun and the others was lush and fresh, but the breeze that caressed his skin was incredibly dry, it was almost like having sand brush against you.

None of the information he had acquired contained anything about the inside of the sanctum so this was the first time Yao Jun was actually seeing it, and it looked quite different from what he had expected. There was only a single visible building on the vast plain, an almost disappointingly simple stone mausoleum that stood a few kilometres to their left.

Other than that lone building, various weapons occupied the rest of the plain. Spears, bows, axes, glaives, hammers, shields, even simple nails, they were all scattered around the plain, standing on their lonesome as they waited for someone to wield them once more. The Thousand Arms Master swept his gaze across the myriad of weapons, his shoulders slumping slightly as if he was wearing a heavy weight. But he eventually turned to Zhuan Yi and plucked off one of his fingers, the small limb turning into a transparent drop filled with hazy gas.

"Take this, it's counted as a small piece of my soul so it will allow you to pluck one of my armaments, you'll find the set about 10 kilometres to the southeast. You'll want the right armguard, trying to take any other item or trying to take more of them will result in your death so temper your greed. You, come with me."

Zhuan Yi gulped slightly as she caught the small drop, holding it as if she was carrying the most valuable thing in existence. She dutifully began to head in the direction that the Thousand Arms Master had indicated, but the Thousand Arms Master himself started walking towards the stone mausoleum. He didn't turn back to check if Yao Jun was following him, speaking up as if he was talking to empty air.

"Tell me, do you know what a Sphere of Existence is?"

The Thousand Arms Master's words carried a certain weight and solemnity with them, but sadly, that particular phrase was one Yao Jun had never heard before. The Thousand Arms Master didn't even turn his head, just the short moment of silence seemed to be enough for him to tell what Yao Jun's answer was.

"Well, maybe that's for the best. If you don't know, you don't know, it means that it's not my place to talk about it. Should you reach a higher stage in the future then you will naturally learn."

He didn't go into more details about it, but just the way he spoke about it was enough to tell Yao Jun that this thing known as a Sphere of Existence was far from simple. But he didn't seem like he was going to say anything else so the two made the rest of the walk in silence, quickly reaching the mausoleum.

Peering through the open entrance revealed that the only thing present inside the four-metre wide building was a single ornate pillar, a perfectly transparent orb hovering above it. The orb quivered slightly as Yao Jun and the Thousand Arms Master stood there, seemingly trying to stretch towards them. The Thousand Arms Master looked at that slight quivering with a heavy heart, his gaze moving sideways as he glanced at the myriad of weapons that were scattered about.

"The weapons entombed here, every single one of them is one of my descendants. All of them fought alongside me in the previous Sphere War, and every single one of them perished there so that we could ensure victory. Their souls have already gone to rest, but their form remains behind, waiting for a future user that can wield them once more. Even without their souls, their personality is so deeply ingrained in their form that they will resonate with people similar to them. In truth, it is they who choose their wielder, I only provide a testing ground for possible candidates to show off their skills to the deceased, if they are accepted then they will receive a reward."

This was a piece of information that had never been divulged, perhaps not even the people who had come here in the past and acquired a weapon knew it. He also once again mentioned the words Sphere War, which Yao Jun now guessed were likely tied to the term Sphere of Existence. But the Thousand Arms Master wasn't talking about that particular phrase right now, his gaze returning to the perfectly transparent orb as his voice grew even heavier.

"But this one is different. This orb was once one of us, but he betrayed our race and our Sphere of Existence and went over to the enemy. He became the weapon of the enemy's leader, I don't even know if there exists a number that can be used to count just how many living beings met their end on his edge."

Another fact that wasn't common knowledge, but this one made Yao Jun's eyebrow rise. If this orb used to be the weapon of their enemy's leader then it really must have some special origin to be entombed here, it even had the sole mausoleum to itself. It was a traitor, and while it had long since died already, cultivators were people who remembered things for untold ages. There were probably still more than a handful of people alive who remembered this orb's betrayal so it was a touch surprising that none of them had destroyed it yet. Those were Yao Jun's thoughts, but the Thousand Arms Master either didn't notice them or didn't care about them, seemingly changing the topic entirely.

"Did you see the orb I tossed to my descendant earlier? That little piece of my soul? Do you know why it looked like that?"

It had happened just a few minutes ago so there was no way Yao Jun would forget it, that small and transparent orb filled with hazy gas. The Thousand Arms Master's smile twisted when he saw Yao Jun nod his head, his lips curving into a bitter curve.

"It's belief. For my race, our belief is symbolized by our very souls. The hazier they are, the murkier our belief in ourself and our cause is. Should it ever become pitch black, then we will have lost all faith in ourselves and what we fight for."

It was a bit of a strange concept, but Yao Jun had seen enough strange things to believe in it. And since he believed in it, he could understand why the Thousand Arms Master seemed so bitter, especially when he compared the transparent orb in front of him with the one he had seen earlier.

"Look at it, not even a speck of dust tainting it, not a single impurity. Up until the very end, my brother believed that what he was doing was right. He betrayed our creators and even fought against them, but he truly believed that it was the correct thing to do, the only way to ensure continued prosperity for our Sphere of Existence. I should have dissipated him all those years ago when they lost the war, but I couldn't bring myself to erase that purity, that sincere belief and desire."

The Thousand Arms Master didn't need Yao Jun to say anything, he was keenly aware of the difference. He didn't step into the mausoleum as he spoke, seemingly unable to raise his leg and enter the final resting place he had prepared for his race's greatest traitor, his own brother.

Yao Jun didn't have any siblings, so he couldn't comment on the Thousand Arms Master's actions, he simply had no idea what he would do if he was in that sort of situation. The Thousand Arms Master also didn't seem to be looking for any sort of reaction from Yao Jun, he simply spoke to finally get the truth off of his chest. It was also this truth that made him slightly happy that Yao Jun didn't know about the gravity behind the term Sphere of Existence. After all, how many people would be willing to use a weapon that could be considered such a grand traitor?

"And now he has chosen you. I don't know whether it's his lingering belief, his lingering desire, or perhaps just the innate bloodlust that ingrained itself in him, but he chose you as his next wielder. I couldn't follow him back then, but just this once I wish to trust in his sincerity, just this once I will let his desire unfold."

They were created at the same time and had lived together for several thousands of years, there was barely a moment where they hadn't been at each others side. But in the end, life brought them to a crossroad where they had to choose. And the choices they made forced them apart for the rest of time. But the past was already nothing more than dust on the wind, so the Thousand Arms Master gestured towards the orb.

"Take it, it will form itself into your desired weapon and accompany you wherever you go. But be warned, no matter what is said and done, it has already become a weapon of slaughter, a weapon that drove countless races to extinction. That bloodlust and sheer ferocity have already ingrained themselves into the very core, a weapon forged in the heart of a calamity, a weapon for a slaughterer. I've placed three seals on it to subdue the intensity of the bloodlust, but some will inevitably seep out. A good deal of its strength is lost thanks to these seals, but if you become stronger in the future and feel confident that you can resist that bloodlust then you can release the seals one at a time."

Bloodlust wasn't just a term that people liked to toss around, it could become a tangible thing you could see and feel. And if it became strong enough then it could even overwhelm the minds of people, either turning them into bubbling fools or mindless killing machines who only sought to expel the intense desire for death.

"Perhaps, one day in the far off future, he will get to show his magnificent splendour once more. Hopefully, this time I won't be forced to extinguish it once more."

Yao Jun ignored the Thousand Arms Master's mutter as he stepped past him and into the mausoleum, stopping in front of the orb. A weapon forged in a calamity? A weapon that had driven countless races to extinction? A weapon so soaked in blood that its bloodlust might drive people insane? None of it mattered to Yao Jun.

He had come here for a weapon, one he could drag with him all the way to the peak of creation, one that would carve a path through all opposition. And now that weapon was resting right in front of him, and he refused to even entertain the notion that the bloodlust it contained could shake his determination, his sheer drive and fear. So he stretched out his hand and grabbed the orb.