Chapter 786: Talisman
On the outskirts of the Dragon Pool Mountain ruins.
After Shen Yu explained everything to the Profound Origin Sect Disciples one by one, he began to arrange the personnel assignments.
But before he could speak, Zhou Liu turned and walked away on his own.
Shen Yu frowned slightly, saying nothing, but Xi Shuyan spoke up and asked, "Zhou Liu, where are you going?"
Zhou Liu didn’t even turn his head, his tone arrogant.
"I have no obligation to carry dead weight..."
"Why do I need to be accompanied by others to hunt down a few stray dogs?"
The imposing Aura emanating from him was enough to make even ordinary Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators feel timid.
Fan Dongchen looked at him and sighed in his heart.
They were both at the Early Stage Foundation Establishment Realm, yet he felt a sense of fear when facing him.
Perhaps it was a great sorrow to be born in the same era as such a person.
However, he quickly adjusted his mood.
It was the same for everyone else.
There was nothing they could do, who made him Zhou Liu...
...
Shen Yu frowned, glanced at him, and said nothing.
Indeed, Zhou Liu’s talent and strength were the most top-tier among all the Cultivators he had ever seen in the entire Chu Kingdom.
Such talent made him arrogant enough to look down on his peers.
Perhaps in a small place like the Chu Kingdom, he was fully qualified to be arrogant.
But such a temperament was very difficult to change; if he were to leave the Chu Kingdom in the future and go to a wider world... he would easily suffer a great loss.
However, Shen Yu naturally knew that such a thing could not be reversed by a heartfelt lecture.
Some ideas only truly sink in after experiencing hardship, only then will changes be made.
At this moment, anything said would be futile.
He waved his hand, "Let him go."
At least here, nothing major could happen.
At this moment, Zhou Liu’s heart was filled only with impatience from being persuaded by Shen Yu and the others.
And an intensely strong rage.
He should have crushed all his peers in this year’s Dragon Pool Mountain grand event!
He should have become famous throughout the world!
He should have told all those who called themselves Geniuses what a peerless Prodigy was, what it meant to dominate the current era!
But these damned Demonic Cultivators had completely ruined it.
Damn it!
"A bunch of useless people, only getting in the way."
Arrogant as he was, he completely trusted his Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation and the overbearing Spells he Cultivated.
No Cultivator of the same Realm would be his match for even a single move.
Fighting multiple opponents was also not an issue.
Did these people not see the current situation?
The two Golden Core Realm Demonic Cultivators had already fled, and there were two Righteous Path Golden Core Cultivators guarding the Great Ji ruins.
How could these Demonic Cultivators who had infiltrated Dragon Pool Mountain still harbor any thoughts of resistance?
Those who hadn’t immediately fled were already very brave.
The so-called pursuit of Demonic Cultivators was just for show.
Just as he sneered in his heart, he suddenly felt an undisguised sinister Devilish Qi, along with cries of agony.
Its source was the Yang Family’s ancestral land in Immortal Valley.
Zhou Liu’s eyes narrowed, and a cruel smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Found them!"
His figure transformed into a blue lightning bolt, piercing through the smoke and dust, carrying a surge of Spiritual Power fluctuations that had not yet fully subsided, and haughtily hovered in mid-air.
He coldly overlooked this living hell.
Corpses lay everywhere, depraved and suffocating with despair.
The Yang Family had been completely destroyed, and Zhou Liu could no longer feel any signs of life.
However, for him, the fate of the Yang Family had nothing to do with him.
There was no trace of pity in his eyes.
He only cared whether those few Demonic Cultivators were still there.
The answer was affirmative.
Feeling the strange Spiritual Power fluctuations, Zhou Liu’s heart arrived at the answer.
"Two people..."
Just as he wished.
What came into view were two people with their backs to him, standing on the ruins of the collapsed Yang Family ancestral hall.
One of them was manipulating a wisp of sticky black Demonic Flame, slowly burning a Yang Family female Cultivator who had not yet died.
Under Ke Huai’s control, the Demonic Flame did not instantly incinerate the body, but slowly tortured her.
The female Cultivator let out intermittent whimpers from her throat.
"Uh... Young Master..."
At this moment, the Young Master she spoke of, Yang Kaijun, was playing with a simple Jade Slip he had dug out of the ruins, with great interest.
He heard the painful pleas, but he was unmoved.
Under the dual torment of body and spirit, the female Cultivator finally died, her life extinguished.
"Hmph! Filthy creatures playing tricks!"
Zhou Liu hovered in mid-air, speaking coldly.
At the same time, a Sword Light, carrying immense Spiritual Pressure, crashed down.
"What are you doing here... aren’t you going to escape?"
Zhou Liu did not summon his Flying Sword, but stood with his hands behind his back.
Golden light swirled around his Daoist robe, and three golden Talismans flickered in the Void Realm, emitting a sharp Aura.
"Kneel and commit suicide, and I’ll leave your bodies intact."
The two people on the ruins slowly turned around.
Their faces wore a puzzled expression.
"Who is this person?" Ke Huai asked.
Yang Kaijun shook his head, his attention entirely on the Jade Slip in his hand.
"Don’t know him."
The eyes of the two were hollow and indifferent, without any of the expressions or spirit belonging to ’Yang Kaijun’ or ’Ke Huai’.
Facing this sudden, arrogant young Cultivator, the two of them did not take his words to heart at all.
"Oh?" Ke Huai licked his lips, looking at Zhou Liu as if he were a rare delicacy: "I remember now."
"He seems to be called Zhou Liu, that golden boy from the Profound Origin Sect."
Yang Kaijun tilted his head slightly, emitting a grating sound of bone friction, and said calmly, "Should we kill him? Or leave now?"
"It will be troublesome when those two Golden Core Cultivators are free."
"Kill him."
However, in Zhou Liu’s heart, the actions of the two opponents were truly arrogant.
He was accustomed to being self-important; in the Profound Origin Sect, and even in the entire Chu Kingdom, when had he ever been so disdained?
Especially from two Demonic Cultivators whom he regarded as prey.
Without further ado, he abruptly formed a hand seal, and the air around him vibrated.
As soon as he made his move, it was one of his strongest killing moves.
Immense Spiritual Power surged and gathered above the three of them, and a giant Dharma Seal appeared out of thin air, with overwhelming power.
The Dharma Seal was ancient in form, surrounded by golden lightning, carrying a majestic Aura, and smashed down fiercely towards the two people.
Zhou Liu’s lips had already curled into a cold sneer; this seal had a very strong restraining effect on Devilish Qi.
The opponents were just two Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Realm Demonic Cultivators; with his own strength, he could completely eradicate them!
Yang Kaijun slowly raised his right hand, and a mass of black ghostly Qi instantly condensed at his fingertips, extremely solid.
The ghostly Qi took form, gradually solidifying into a giant ghostly Qi phantom behind him, raising its arms to hold up the Dharma Seal.
Zhou Liu sneered, but a hint of boredom appeared in his expression.
"Idiot."
He pressed his finger down.
The Spiritual Light on the golden Dharma Seal suddenly flared, and immense power crashed down!
The ghostly Qi phantom’s hands were destroyed by the golden light, dissipating inch by inch.
Boom—
The Dharma Seal crashed down, sending up grey clouds, shattered earth, and scattered Demonic Flames, rising into the sky!
Zhou Liu’s expression, however, did not relax.
The opponents were two Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Realm Demonic Cultivators; of course, it was impossible for them to be killed by him just like that... otherwise, it would be too boring.
A cold voice sounded behind Zhou Liu.
"A bit interesting."
Yang Kaijun’s Demonic Cultivator figure, like smoke and dust, gathered from all directions, converging on the ruins behind Zhou Liu.
"Unfortunately, too slow."
Bang!
Zhou Liu suddenly turned sideways, throwing out a palm strike casually.
The condensed Protective Aura was instantly launched with his palm, colliding fiercely with a black bone whip covered in thorny barbs.
The deafening explosion sounded like shattering bones.
The one who attacked was Ke Huai.
At the moment of contact, Zhou Liu frowned slightly.
The immense Spiritual Power backlash made his arm ache faintly, and his Qi and blood surged.
The golden palm print was struck by the eerie bone whip, its light dimmed, and wisps of black Devilish Qi spread up along the palm print, tearing apart and disintegrating the Protective Aura.
"My favorite thing to do is kill you so-called Genius Righteous Path Disciples."
That voice, like a broken bellows, sounded from another direction, and over a dozen black spikes, without warning, pierced through the air towards Zhou Liu’s vital points!
Zhou Liu roared, and the golden light on his body surged, transforming into a light shield that instantly covered his entire body.
The spikes crashed against the golden light, producing dense explosions, and the light shield vibrated violently.
At the same time, Devilish Qi surged around Yang Kaijun’s palms, and a larger, more condensed phantom of a Devil Head condensed behind him.
A pair of large hands reached out to grab Zhou Liu.
"Whether in the Demon Ruins or the Central Region, your level is nothing more than a stepping stone for others."
Ke Huai’s icy sneer entered his ears.
Zhou Liu’s forehead veins bulged, and he immediately activated all his Spiritual Power.
The golden Spiritual Light quickly fused with the three golden Talismans beside him, transforming into a sharp Spiritual Qi that condensed on his chest.
Zhou Liu grasped the golden light, and with a sweep of his hand.
From the golden light, a golden Flying Sword emerged, hovering before him.
The next moment, he pointed his sword finger.
"Slay."
Hum—
Sword Light streaked across, and countless golden phantoms, following the strike of this sword, suddenly shot out.
The eerie bone whip failed to dodge and shattered instantly upon contact.
Yang Kaijun had already sensed the power of this sword; the massive Demonic Shadow behind him enveloped him, but it was instantly cut apart by the Sword Qi.
The two leaped up, barely dodging the chaotic Sword Qi that scattered.
Ke Huai made a decisive move, leaping up and arriving beside Yang Kaijun; the two stood side by side, their gazes fixed on Zhou Liu.
"Lifebound Treasure?"
No... Lifebound Treasures can only be refined by Golden Core Realm Cultivators for themselves; this person, with his Early Stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation, how could he possibly have the ability to refine and wield one?
"A Talisman Seed?" Yang Kaijun slowly spoke, his expression largely unchanged.
Ke Huai raised an eyebrow: "I didn’t expect to see such a thing in a desolate place like the Chu Kingdom."
Only when a Cultivator advances to the Golden Core Realm and Cultivates inner Dan Fire can they refine a Lifebound Treasure.
Lifebound Treasures are not only powerful but can also be stored within the body for nurturing, just like a Sword Cultivator’s Lifebound Flying Sword kept in their sword manor.
In the Cultivation World, many Golden Core Realm Cultivators who have no hope of reaching the Nascent Soul Realm will, before their Lifespan limit approaches, use their Spiritual Treasures, or even their Lifebound Treasures, to create Talisman Treasures as much as possible for their descendants and kin.
True Spiritual Treasures cannot be controlled by Cultivators below the Golden Core Realm.
Lifebound Treasures are even more so, having been nurtured and refined by Golden Core Cultivators over many years; if left to descendants, even if there are Golden Core Cultivators, they cannot achieve perfect synchronization of mind and spirit, and thus cannot unleash their full potential.
However, Talisman Treasures are, of course, far inferior to true Spiritual Treasures.
Their power is not as great, and if the Family no longer has Golden Core Cultivators in the future, these Talisman Treasures will become like water without a source, eventually depleting.
It is for this reason that the Talisman Seed exists.
Compared to Talisman Treasures, this item is even rarer, and the reason is simple.
It can only be created by a Golden Core Cultivator, using the spiritual root of their own Lifebound Treasure, and planted within the body of a Mortal descendant who has not yet entered the Dao.
Once completed, this Golden Core Cultivator will suffer severe Origin Qi damage, their spiritual root severed, and if not properly recuperated, it could even accelerate the loss of their Lifespan.
It is truly harming oneself to benefit others.
This situation usually only occurs in a Family with a single heir, or when a Disciple of unparalleled talent is born in the clan, and the Golden Core Old Ancestor’s Lifespan is nearing its end; only then is there a relatively small possibility that this path will be chosen.
And its effect is extremely powerful; when the person with the Talisman Seed enters the Dao and Cultivates, with this Talisman Seed as a medium, the speed of absorbing and transforming Spiritual Power will be superior to others.
Not to mention, the Talisman Seed itself can be used as a means of attack.
And like a true Spiritual Treasure, as the Cultivator’s cultivation improves and it is nurtured by Spiritual Power, its power will become stronger and stronger.
If the Cultivator eventually successfully forms a Golden Core, the power of the Talisman Seed may even reach its Peak state, restoring its full power.
At present, Zhou Liu’s Lifebound Talisman Seed has a power roughly comparable to Low Grade and Medium Grade Spiritual Artifacts.
Zhou Liu’s eyes narrowed, his face like ice: "Prepare to die."
Summoning this Flying Sword meant that someone had to die.
Both of them had to die!
However, on Yang Kaijun’s and Ke Huai’s faces, besides surprise, there was no sign of panic.
The two looked at each other and suddenly smiled.
"Hehe, old friend. Today’s luck..."
"Is really not bad."
To Zhou Liu’s complete surprise, after witnessing the power of his Talisman Seed, the two opponents actually charged directly at him.
Their faces wore excited and cruel smiles.
"Half for each of us."
A rare flicker of emotion appeared on Yang Kaijun’s indifferent face: "Deal."
Something like a Talisman Seed might be recognized by few in a place like the Chu Kingdom, but for Cultivators from the Demon Ruins like them, they were aware of it.
A Talisman Seed is connected to a Cultivator’s Spiritual Power, life force, and Lifespan.
For a Demonic Cultivator, what could be more enticing than this?
No matter how complex the Talisman Seed, as long as they seized it, once they returned to the Demon Ruins, there were a myriad of ways to utilize all of its spiritual essence completely.
Not even dregs would remain.
Before Zhou Liu could react, Ke Huai’s attack had already arrived.
Another bone whip appeared in his hand, twisting and coiling like a venomous snake.
"Seeking death."
Zhou Liu flashed and dodged the attack, then once again activated his Spiritual Power, unleashing a powerful sword strike, as fast as lightning, towards Yang Kaijun.
He hadn’t been completely blinded by arrogance; this Cultivator, sitting cross-legged and brewing a Demonic Technique, posed the greatest threat to him.
However, Ke Huai’s body surged with Devilish Qi, and the sharp tip of the bone whip suddenly swept across the Sword Qi.
Between Yang Kaijun and Zhou Liu, it tore open a pale purple crack.
The Sword Qi plunged into it, surprisingly flying out from behind Yang Kaijun and dissipating in the distant sky.
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