Because he could finally obtain a Hidden Weapon ranked in the top ten of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record's Hundred Hidden Weapons Manual. Moreover, the quality was exceptionally high. Even back in the Tang Sect, no one had possessed Slab Crystal of such fine quality to craft this particular weapon.
"Xiao Wu, hurry, help me collect all these golden grains together. Don't miss a single one. I'll explain everything to you in a moment."
Speaking as he acted, Tang San took the lead. With internal energy driving his movements, he used Crane Control Dragon Catch, sweeping across the floor of the room. Wherever it passed, the golden grains were drawn one by one onto his palm. He then placed them into an empty compartment within his Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night.
It wasn't long before a knock suddenly sounded from outside.
"Esteemed guests, pardon the interruption."
Tang San knew this was the effect of his earlier hammer strike. Fortunately, he had applied vibrational force to the Slab Crystal, so no damage had been done to the floor.
"What is it?"
The attendant outside said, "There was a strange noise just now inside the hotel. Esteemed guests, did you hear it?"
The attendant had been sent by Manager Wang to inquire, as that commotion wasn't something an ordinary person could produce.
Tang San replied calmly, "We heard it, but we don't know what it was." For the sake of the treasure in hand, he had to tell a small lie.
The attendant said nothing more. He couldn't very well enter and inspect without permission.
The number of golden grains that appeared exceeded Tang San's expectations. He carefully checked every corner, doing his best not to miss a single one, and painstakingly collected them all into his Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night. By his own conservative estimate, this harvest consisted of at least over twenty thousand golden grains.
"Brother, what exactly is this stuff that has you so tense?" Xiao Wu held the last golden grain in her palm, watching Tang San.
Having secured all the treasures, Tang San finally felt able to breathe a sigh of relief. He plucked the golden grain from Xiao Wu's hand. "Remember the Hidden Weapons I told you about? The hair gold inside Hair Crystal can be used to craft an incredibly potent Hidden Weapon, one that forms naturally. The sheer quantity of hair gold in this Slab Crystal has made this particular weapon a worthy addition to my collection. Look."
Opening his palm, Tang San placed the golden grain at its center. Mysterious Heaven Skill surged within him, and a milky-white glow appeared on the surface of his hand. A wondrous sight occurred. Under the infusion of Mysterious Heaven Skill, the golden grain slowly extended, and in a short moment, it had transformed into a gold thread as fine as a hair. It appeared several times thinner than a strand of hair and was a full three inches long. Fortunately, its golden color made it easy to distinguish against Tang San's palm.
"So this is the hair gold you mentioned," Xiao Wu said, surprised.
Tang San nodded. "That's right, this is hair gold. Once removed from the protective crystal, it automatically curls up into a grain. Only when infused with Soul Power does it revert to its hair gold form. If the Soul Power infusion ceases, it curls up again."
Xiao Wu asked in puzzlement, "But what's the point of that?"
Tang San smiled slightly, continuously channeling his internal energy. He picked up the hair gold and lightly pricked his own finger. Instantly, a bead of blood slowly welled up.
"Hair Crystal is so slender, and its tip is naturally sharper than any needle. Once infused with Soul Power, its piercing power becomes tremendous. Its size is minuscule. Imagine the effect if it were to pierce a person's body."
As he spoke, Tang San withdrew his internal energy, allowing the hair gold to return to its grain form. Then, with a flip of his palm, the golden grain simply vanished into thin air.
"Where did it go?" Xiao Wu, who had been watching from so close, hadn't seen how Tang San made the hair gold disappear.
Tang San smiled faintly. He raised his right hand, and his middle finger suddenly flicked. A faint streak of golden light flashed silently, embedding itself without a sound into the quilt on the bed.
A bizarre scene unfolded. As the gold thread shot in, the quilt rapidly twisted. In the blink of an eye, a protruding bulge had formed.
"Hair gold is extraordinarily tough and possesses astonishing elasticity. Once it loses the support of Soul Power, it will curl back up on its own."
Xiao Wu suddenly understood. She pounced onto the bed, grabbed the twisted bulge in the quilt, and squeezed hard. A glint of gold light appeared. Using her fingernails, she pinched the gold light, carefully infused it with Soul Power, and slowly pulled it out. With a soft *ding*, the golden grain reappeared in her palm.
"If this... if this were shot into a person..."
Tang San said calmly, "You can imagine. Moreover, I can assure you, once it pierced a body, you would never be able to find the source to pull it out. To remove it, you would have no choice but to cut out the entire section of curled muscle along with it."
Xiao Wu finally understood why Tang San desired this Slab Crystal so intensely. Such a vicious and terrifying Hidden Weapon—she had never even heard of it before, let alone seen one.
"Brother, this Hidden Weapon is just too vile," Xiao Wu discovered, her voice trembling slightly. Her mind was already imagining the horrific effect it would have once embedded in a human body.
Tang San picked up the golden grain from Xiao Wu's hand. "I call it the Dragon Whisker Needle. In this world, whether a weapon is vile isn't determined by the weapon itself, but by the person who wields it. Used for good, it is good; used for evil, it is evil. If it's used to punish evildoers, wouldn't that be fitting?"
What he didn't mention was that the Dragon Whisker Needle ranked eighth in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record's Hundred Hidden Weapons Manual, and it wasn't even the most vicious among needle-type Hidden Weapons. After all, unless the Dragon Whisker Needle struck a vital point, it wouldn't kill its target.
(End of Chapter)