Chapter 11: Magical Instruments

After a brief explanation to her parents, Ou Zhiqin pulled me into her room, using the excuse of needing to do homework, and immediately closed the door.
I hadn’t been to her room in a long time.
It still largely maintained its previous style: pink curtains and a small bed, with dolls on the bed and many photos hanging on the walls—a very girlish room.
However, there were also some things that clearly didn’t belong in a girl’s room, which I hadn’t noticed before, such as a bronze mirror on the dressing table and a jade ruyi on the desk.
Furthermore, Xiao Qing’s room was connected to a balcony, and even the balcony door had couplets and door gods pasted on it.

As I got closer, I could also see a faint spiritual light on these objects.
I asked in surprise, “These all have spiritual light.
Can they protect me?”

“These items with spiritual light are called Dharma artifacts.
Don’t expect these lowest-grade Dharma artifacts to protect you from the Painted Skin Ghost.
These things aren’t even as useful as your jade pendant,” Ou Zhiqin said, shaking her head.

“So these are Dharma artifacts.
Do Dharma artifacts also have different grades?” I took out my jade pendant to compare.
Indeed, although the range of the jade pendant’s spiritual light was slightly smaller than the bronze mirror and jade ruyi, it was much more solid and bright.
To put it in perspective, the spiritual light of those two Dharma artifacts was like the flickering flame of a candle, while the jade pendant my grandmother left me was at least the brightness of a desk lamp, with a very stable light source.

“Of course, there are.
These so-called Dharma artifacts of mine are just mass-produced items made according to fixed forms.
They’ve just condensed a faint spiritual light, and their effect is, at most, to stabilize the household’s aura.
Since your jade pendant can truly repel demons, it should have been consecrated by a high monk or Daoist priest.” Ou Zhiqin said.

“How do you know?” I inquired.
When my grandmother left me the jade pendant, she did tell me that this jade pendant had been consecrated by a master from Wulun Temple.
At the time, I thought it was just a meaningless symbolic procedure, never imagining it was actually effective.

“A guess.
A Dharma artifact that can repel demons must at least be made of precious materials, or it must have been consecrated by a master, or it’s an item they used for a long time.
I see that the material of your jade pendant is just ordinary jade, so consecration is the most likely explanation,” Ou Zhiqin said.

So, there was such a specific process for Dharma artifacts.
This was my first time stepping into this world, and all this knowledge was incredibly new to me, something I had never understood before.

“Can Dharma artifacts be mass-produced?” I seized the opportunity to ask.
In my understanding, Dharma artifacts were those all-powerful treasures in xianxia novels that could destroy the world, or take an enemy’s head from a thousand miles away, or capture demons and monsters, reducing them to pus and blood in an instant.
And they were always unique magical treasures, each with a resounding name, so mass production simply didn’t fit.

“Of course they can.
From ancient times to the present, predecessors have summarized many symbols or patterns with mystical symbolic meanings.
For example, the jade ruyi is a symbol of good fortune, and this bronze mirror is carved with ‘dragon and phoenix bringing prosperity.’
As long as they are custom-made according to the summarized standards, it’s easy to condense spiritual light and form a Dharma artifact,” Ou Zhiqin explained.

She picked up the bronze mirror and showed it to me.
Indeed, it had carvings of dragons and phoenixes.
I could vaguely see the spiritual light also circling around the carvings, but it never solidified into a shape, unlike my jade pendant, which was dense and unbroken.

“Currently, these mass-produced Dharma artifacts can only serve a little to calm the mind and purify.
Beyond that, when combined, they can increase the house’s aura.
But if I use them for a long time, or keep them with me to nourish them, they also have the potential to become Dharma artifacts of the same grade as your jade pendant, or even stronger,” Ou Zhiqin added.

“Nourishing?” That was another word I hadn’t heard of.
It sounded like Dharma artifacts could get stronger?

“Yes, the more a Dharma artifact is used, the more spiritual light it gathers.
While efficiency is related to the environment, material, and the user’s strength, it’s generally true that the older a Dharma artifact, the more powerful it is,” Ou Zhiqin said, nodding.

No wonder, I thought to myself, why those antique transactions were so popular, with auction prices often reaching tens of millions or even hundreds of millions.
It turned out they were actually buying and selling Dharma artifacts?

“Actually, your jade pendant should have also been nourished by one or two generations of people.
I took a look, and it completely matches your aura, gentle and harmonious.
It should have some of your grandmother’s residual aura, which is why it’s so close to you, and why it automatically protected its owner when the demon attacked you,” Ou Zhiqin said, observing the jade pendant.

When I was attacked and the jade pendant burst with spiritual light, I indeed felt as if I was being affectionately embraced by my grandmother, and I even thought I smelled her scent.
It turned out to be because it was imbued with her aura.
If it hadn’t been for the jade pendant my grandmother left me, I might have died on the rooftop.
Thinking of this, I yearned for my grandmother’s kind face again, and my eyes welled up with tears.

Xiao Qing seemed to be speaking enthusiastically.
When she used to tell me these things, I was never interested.
She probably didn’t have many people listening to her usually, so once she started, she spoke nonstop: “Actually, there are many more powerful Dharma artifacts, with all sorts of functions.
The Supernatural Events Department has quite a few formidable Dharma artifacts.
If the senior student agrees, I’ll take you to see them.”

When Xiao Qing mentioned tomorrow, I suddenly remembered the most important purpose of being at her house.
I said with a bitter smile, “Then I need to be alive to see tomorrow.
If your Dharma artifacts are even less effective than this jade pendant, what will we use to resist the Painted Skin Ghost?”

“With this whole house!
My house has been specially arranged by me.
By using these Dharma artifacts to enhance the overall aura, even though I just copied from books and the Dharma artifacts are just mass-produced low-grade stuff, the aura is still stronger than other residences.
Ordinary spirits and demons probably can’t get in,” Xiao Qing said with a hint of confidence.

According to her, ever since she joined the Supernatural Events Department in high school and saw a new world with the help of the senior student, she had been adding Dharma artifacts to her home under the guise of collecting crafts.
These Dharma artifacts were placed according to directions in a book, such as the calligraphy and paintings in the living room, the ornaments in the study, and so on, all being Dharma artifacts.
She even secretly hid a Dharma artifact under the bed in her parents’ bedroom.
Although these Dharma artifacts were low-grade, placed together, they should enhance the house’s aura, preventing spirits and monsters from entering.
Although she couldn’t see it herself, ever since she arranged them, her parents’ health had improved significantly, their work had become smoother, and their spirits were good.

I, however, could see that the spiritual light in Xiao Qing’s house was indeed more solid than in other homes.
However, I still didn’t know the specific causes and effects, so I asked again, “What is an aura?”

“An aura is where human energy gathers.
There are many causes for an aura.
For example, in places with strong human activity, or in harmonious family homes, an aura will naturally form.
Additionally, there are artificially generated auras, which can keep spirits and monsters away from people, making it difficult for them to harm humans.”