Cultivation: I Have a Golden Talisman

Chapter 330: Chapter 83: The Eve of Slaughter

The next day, the fourth day of the ninth month.

Shopkeeper Tang left the Immortal Pavilion in Divine Pillar Immortal City and went to the Tang Family’s encampment.

That day, private trade fairs and auctions were in full swing, and the atmosphere in the main hall grew increasingly lively.

Outside the Dragon Spine Archipelago, Magical Boats and Immortal Residences of all kinds drifted with the currents, forming temporary markets for "stall" trading. Streaks of Escape Light rose and fell, showcasing the hustle and bustle of the Yun Country’s Cultivation Realm.

Many Loose Cultivators and Noble Family Cultivators who had not yet received invitations also gathered here to participate in the grand event, trade with one another, purchase necessities, or hunt for treasures and fortuitous immortal encounters.

As the Tang Family Elder in charge of the family’s business, Tang Mengru naturally couldn’t miss such a grand occasion.

This also left the Third Young Master and the Fierce Tiger Taoist some time to themselves...

The trading event continued until the morning of the fifth day of the ninth month, when the trade fairs and auctions organized by the Yinluo Sect finally concluded.

However, the temporary market on the surface of Daze Lake in the Abyssal Marsh, below Yingxian Hall, was still bustling with trade.

On the fifth day, an Inner Sect Elder of the Yinluo Sect appeared in the empty space at the center of the Immortal Pavilion. He used his Magical Power to draw a halo of light in the sky, a hundred zhang across.

He then summoned a Treasure Cauldron, suspending it outside the halo of light.

Any Sensing Realm cultivators attending the ceremony could enter the halo to spar with others.

The winner could then use their Magical Power to randomly "fish" an item out of the Treasure Cauldron.

The Yinluo Sect had filled the Treasure Cauldron with various Magical Artifacts, Talismans, pills, puppets, Secret Techniques, Spirit Beasts, and strange objects... What a cultivator received depended entirely on the depth of their own fortune.

An Inner Sect Elder of the Yinluo Sect oversaw the cauldron, eliminating any possibility of cheating.

This competition was a prime opportunity for the young cultivators of the major factions to make a name for themselves.

It was a showcase of their talent, Magical Power, Divine Techniques, and fortune.

The Yinluo Sect could also use this event to identify promising Immortal Seeds among the noble families and Loose Cultivators, and recruit them into the sect when the opportunity arose.

Many noble families would also use it to scout for potential marriage alliances...

Therefore, as soon as the Dharma assembly began, it attracted the attention of numerous guests and the Loose Cultivators of the Abyssal Marsh.

The Sensing Cultivators who were able to attend the ceremony this time were all individuals of extraordinary status. Even those from a Loose Cultivator background had a powerful master with them; otherwise, they never would have made it here.

Moreover, aside from Yun Country, many cultivators from Jin Country had also come. There was much suspense over who would be the strongest in the Sensing Realm.

The competition continued until dusk.

But the person who ultimately held the arena undefeated was a complete surprise to everyone!

Everyone had assumed the final victor would emerge from among the Inner Disciples of Yinluo Sect, Taihao Mountain, or the geniuses from Jin Country. Who would have thought it would end up being a Loose Cultivator from Divine Pillar Mountain Immortal City?

News about this Loose Cultivator quickly spread among the guests.

His name was Li Chan, and he came from Divine Pillar Mountain Immortal City. Although he only had a cultivation at the Perfection of Sensing, he was already a Tier Two Talisman Master of some renown in the Immortal City, capable of crafting Second-grade Lower Grade Talismans.

He had come to observe the ceremony as an Honored Guest Elder for a shop in the Immortal City, accompanying the Third Young Master’s group of guests. In a place so full of prodigies, he initially went unnoticed. But as he fought and defeated one young talent after another, his fame soared in a single day.

He was skilled in a Secret Technique called "Talisman Wheel," which allowed him to simultaneously summon nine Talismans that formed a wheel orbiting his body.

These nine Talismans were all different, yet intricately connected.

Among the nine were Talismans for attack, Talismans for defense, Talismans for trapping enemies, and support-type Talismans that enhanced Magical Power and Divine Sense.

As the Talisman Wheel spun, he could effortlessly unleash a stream of Divine Techniques. No matter the opponent, he could always defeat them with his kaleidoscopic array of Talisman abilities.

The defeated cultivators were all wholeheartedly convinced of his superiority.

In the end, he won thirty-nine consecutive matches, earning the title of "Number One in the Sensing Realm" in Yun Country.

His fortune was also quite good; he drew from the Treasure Cauldron thirty-nine times in a row, obtaining many enviable treasures.

Among them was a Trial Talisman from the Yinluo Sect. By passing the sect’s Earth Abyss trial with this talisman, he could become an Inner Sect Disciple.

After the Sensing Realm competition ended, Li Chan was taken away by a Yinluo Sect Elder and settled on Yinluo Island.

As for factions like Taihao Mountain and the many others who coveted this genius Talisman Master, they could only watch with envy.

As night approached, the Life Talisman Realm competition began.

This time, the participants were all Early-stage Life Talisman Cultivators. Mid- and late-stage cultivators were rare to begin with, and they were all prominent figures who would naturally not deign to compete.

The Life Talisman competition was even more spectacular.

Especially under the night sky, surrounded by the Immortal Platform Pavilions, the radiant light was as brilliant as day, vividly showcasing the spiritual glow of the competing cultivators’ Divine Techniques.

Toward the end of the competition, the Noble Family Cultivators and Loose Cultivators no longer dared to enter the arena.

Only the Life Talisman Cultivators from the Yinluo Sect, Taihao Mountain, and the major sects of Jin Country remained, pitting their cultivation and Divine Techniques against one another.

Cultivators who could remain undefeated for more than five matches were already exceedingly rare.

In the end, the top spot was still claimed by a True Disciple of the Yinluo Sect.

The victor was Fang Cheng’s fourth senior martial sister, Master Wanqing.

She appeared to be around ten years old, a pretty and adorable girl with delicate features. But her Swordsmanship was incomparably sharp, her sword light piercing. With a sword that could break ten thousand techniques, she successively defeated several of her own sect’s True Disciples, then went on to defeat the cultivators from Taihao Mountain and Jin Country one by one.

Master Wanqing was a disciple of Sun Fuguo and had long since mastered the true essence of the Netherworld Sword Technique. Furthermore, the Shi Family was a famous Life Soul-level noble family in Jin Country, with a deep and rich heritage.

In her youth, she had mistakenly eaten an exotic fruit, causing her body to remain forever in its childhood state. But this also allowed her to focus more on the path of the Sword Technique, cutting away many temptations and worries.

Among Sun Fuguo’s disciples, apart from Fang Cheng and Cai Li, her mastery of Swordsmanship was the highest.

Of course, the Cultivation Realm wasn’t just about fighting and killing; there was also the matter of social etiquette and relationships.

This was the Yinluo Sect’s home ground, so the other factions had to give the host some face.

And within the Yinluo Sect, the various peaks had to give Demon Lion Peak some face.

At Master Sun’s Life Soul Ceremony, it was only natural that Master Sun’s own disciple would take the crown!

Perhaps some people, because of this, deliberately held back their true strength or simply chose not to compete at all.

Fang Cheng had spent two straight days with Cen San Niang and had not made an appearance.

It wasn’t until late on the night of the fifth that he quietly left the Immortal Pavilion and returned to Demon Lion Peak on Yinluo Island, completely unnoticed.

...

「The sixth day of the ninth month.」

The Life Soul Ceremony officially began.

High above Yinluo Island, beneath the azure sky, a colossal palace stood motionless.

The entire palace was constructed from white bones, crystalline and snow-white. It glowed with a divine light under the sun, and set against the leisurely white clouds, it presented a magnificent sight.

This was the Yinluo Sect’s signature magical artifact, the Bone Daoist Palace.

A long bridge of Demonic Light emerged from the Fourth-rank Magical Artifact, stretching a hundred li across the void to land before Yingxian Hall, high above the Dragon Spine Archipelago.

The guests who had come to observe the ceremony walked onto the bridge of Demonic Light. After just a few steps, they felt the ground shrink beneath them, and found themselves before the jade steps of the Bone Daoist Palace.

Led by Cai Li, the Yinluo Sect’s Guest Reception Disciples were waiting there.

The guests presented their congratulatory gifts, which Cai Li accepted on behalf of her master. Behind her, other Yinluo Sect disciples were responsible for registering the guests and their gifts, while another announced them in a loud voice.

The depth of each family’s resources was on full display at this moment.

After presenting their gifts, the guests ascended the steps to the platform in front of the Daoist Palace. Jade tables and mats had been prepared, both inside and outside the hall.

The Yinluo Sect’s Guest Reception Disciples led the guests to their seats one by one.

Fang Cheng was no longer busy by this point. He sat with the four women—Ye Yan, Lu Wei, Mu Xuanyu, and Dong Qing—at the most honored position in the Bone Daoist Palace. Across from them was Master Cui from Taihao Mountain, and behind him were several Life Soul Realm cultivators from Jin Country.

Further back were the Life Talisman Cultivators from the other major factions.

On Fang Cheng’s side were the other cultivators from the Yinluo Sect’s Nine Peaks. Judging by the seating arrangement, the entire Yinluo Sect had clearly elevated him to the rank of a Peak Master!

Moreover, he was seated ahead of the other seven Peak Masters. The Sect Leader, Xun Yuanchu, was not seated as he was presiding over the ceremony.

Behind Fang Cheng were the other Elders and True Disciples from Demon Lion Peak.

Many people were curiously observing this "young master" who had risen through the ranks of the Yinluo Sect over the past two decades.

They saw him surrounded by beautiful wives and concubines, each a peerless beauty who outshone all others. People couldn’t help but marvel at his good fortune with women.

At the back of the hall, Madam Ye, representing the Ye Family, watched her daughter and son-in-law sitting in such a prominent position, her heart filled with a storm of emotions.

There was a time when this son-in-law was just a Sensing Loose Cultivator who had been so respectful before her.

Who could have predicted that he would now become an existence she had to look up to...

’I used to be able to scold him for being too promiscuous and taking concubines so casually,’ she thought. ’But now? Now I’m the one who needs to feel a sense of awe in his presence.’

Before long, the guests had all arrived.

When the auspicious time arrived, the ceremony officially began.

The Yinluo Sect’s Sect Leader, Xun Yuanchu, dressed in magnificent robes, walked slowly into the hall. He came to the head of the hall and began to preside over the ceremony.

He first recited a complex and ornate prose-poem, then invited the man of the hour, Sun Fuguo, to the front of the hall to pay respects to the founding patriarch and all the past Life Soul Masters of the Yinluo Sect.

Afterward, he had the Yinluo Sect’s Supreme Elder Token, Magical Robe, and Magic Sword brought out. In front of all the guests, he solemnly presented them to Sun Fuguo.

With that, the ceremony concluded. Sun Fuguo had officially become the second contemporary Supreme Elder of the Yinluo Sect.

All the guests and fellow members of the Yinluo Sect rose to their feet and congratulated Sun Fuguo in unison on his great achievement on the path of the Dao.

Sun Fuguo smiled and returned the courtesy, inviting everyone to be seated.

He sat cross-legged on the Jade Platform at the front of the hall and began to slowly recount some of the insights he had gained from his years of cultivation.

For many cultivators, the chance to listen to a Life Soul Cultivator expound upon the Dao at such close range was an incredibly precious experience, and they all listened with rapt attention.

Even the other few Life Soul Realm cultivators looked thoughtful as they listened to Sun Fuguo’s words.

An hour later, Sun Fuguo concluded his lecture. He smiled and said, "Everyone, the Immortal Road is long and the Celestial Dao is boundless. Only by firming one’s Dao Heart and striving against the current can one achieve anything. I offer these words as encouragement to you all, and to myself."

As his voice fell, numerous maids came forward carrying trays of delicacies, Exotic Fruits, and Spirit Wine Nectar, serving them to the guests.

The final part of the ceremony was a banquet hosted by Sun Fuguo, where he personally greeted and spoke with his many guests.

After a lively celebration, the guests began to depart one after another. At Fang Cheng’s instruction, Ye Yan and the other three women also returned to Demon Lion Peak.

Finally, only three people remained in the Bone Daoist Palace: Sun Fuguo, Fang Cheng, and Xun Yuanchu.

Sun Fuguo sat upon the Jade Platform, his gaze fixed to the south. He spoke slowly, "Master Su had people secretly investigate. The Demon Path Nun who attacked our sect alongside the Flame God Palace that day had deep ties with the Southern Mang Demon King. Since my breakthrough, I have yet to draw my sword. Today, I will use the blood of the Southern Mang Demon King to commemorate our sect members who died in that battle."

For him, a true ceremony required his sword to taste the blood of his enemies. Only then could his heart be at ease.

Fang Cheng pondered for a moment before rising to his feet. "Master," he said, "this disciple is willing to go with you."

...