Chapter 131: Talisman Dragon and True Dragon, Each a Fated Encounter

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Among the group besieging Zhang Kuang, the strongest cultivator had already reached the Twentieth-Leaf, the absolute limit of power that could exist within the Aqueous Manor.

The weakest among them was still a cultivator at the Tenth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm.

These individuals used all of their skills and abilities. Some controlled Talisman Beasts, others cast spiritual arts, and those with deep pockets frequently attacked with spiritual talismans, all hoping to eliminate this fellow disciple who would rob you on sight and kill you if you refused.

“Rats!” Zhang Kuang stood at the center, an innately domineering aura radiating from him, viewing the crowd as if they were ants. He raised his hand, and a “Talisman Dragon” soared into the air from within his wide sleeves. Its deafening roar made the surrounding structures tremble slightly. At that moment, the various Talisman Beasts instinctively showed a trace of fear, their fierce assault faltering for an instant. Several of the attacking disciples had to hastily urge them forward again.

Several Talisman Beasts slammed violently into the body of the Talisman Dragon. The force, which was enough to easily crush a stone house into powder, struck the Talisman Dragon like an ant trying to shake a great tree; it was more like a tickle. The massive creature didn’t even budge from the impact. With a single whip of its tail, it shattered the attacking Talisman Beasts to pieces.

More than a dozen cultivators, all at the tenth-plus-leaf or even twentieth-leaf level, were attacking simultaneously, yet they could not take down a single Tenth-Leaf Zhang Kuang. From time to time, one of them would even be killed by his Talisman Dragon.

Ye Yiming was also captivated by the scene in the Thousand-Mile Mirror. When he saw the Talisman Dragon that Zhang Kuang was controlling, his expression froze in a stunned daze. “That Talisman Dragon of his!” he stammered. “Although it isn’t a real dragon, its soul must be from a flood dragon at the very least. Even the weakest newborn flood dragon possesses the power of the Spirit Tree Realm! Where did he get the soul of a flood dragon to create a Talisman Dragon? And to be able to control a creature of such power… what a profound level of beast-taming arts that must require!”

The image from the mirror was extremely clear. The aura of each person was transmitted vividly; they could even see Zhang Kuang’s blood-red eyes.

“Look at his eyes. They’re such a demonic blood-red color. And his every move is filled with a murderous air. He kills without the slightest hesitation. He doesn’t look like a Tenth-Leaf disciple at all,” Ye Yiming said in astonishment. He watched, his mouth agape, as Zhang Kuang wielded the Talisman Dragon, cutting down his dozen or so attackers as if he were chopping vegetables.

“Is Zhang Kuang really at the Tenth-Leaf?” Ye Yiming asked. “Looking at him now, I suspect he’s been possessed by a demon, or is being controlled by a demonic cultivator!”

Before Ye Yiming had even finished speaking, Zhang Kuang, having slaughtered all dozen of his assailants, suddenly spread his arms wide. He tilted his head to the sky, embracing the rain of blood as he declared, “You thought you could kill me and take my treasure? I, Zhang Kuang, am a chosen son of heaven, an Unsurpassed Purple Seed! You lot disregarded the rules of Taichu and the bonds of fellowship! You deserved to be executed!”

After he shouted, a heaven-shaking aura erupted from his body. It was an aura that both Qin Haoxuan and Ye Yiming were familiar with—Zhang Kuang was sprouting a new leaf in the middle of combat!

“Sprouting a leaf in battle? That’s truly terrifying…” Ye Yiming and Qin Haoxuan looked at each other, staring in disbelief at Zhang Kuang, who had just grown a new leaf after slaughtering more than ten people.

Not only had they never seen such a thing, but no one in the entire Taichu Sect, including the Sect Master, had ever seen or even heard of someone advancing a level during a fight.

After advancing to the Eleventh-Leaf, Zhang Kuang continued on his way through the manor. Qin Haoxuan used the Thousand-Mile Mirror to search for others and, after a long while, another familiar figure appeared: the Purple Seed, Li Jing.

Li Jing was in an exquisitely decorated room. There, he had discovered a ward floating in mid-air. Protected within it were a dark-red, dragon’s-eye-sized pill and an ancient, yellowed scroll.

After discovering the pill and the scroll, Li Jing immediately sensed they were extraordinary. The pill was wreathed in a medicinal mist, and the faint wisps of fragrance that escaped the ward were enough to refresh the mind and invigorate the spirit. The ancient scroll was even more unusual; a vast and righteous aura radiated from it, and strands of yellow light formed into tiny golden dragons that coiled and danced around the book.

After studying under Shi Junjie for three months, Li Jing’s knowledge of alchemy had greatly improved. He could tell at a glance that this unknown pill, protected by a man-made ward, was immensely valuable.

And that ancient scroll was even more incredible.

One of his followers, skilled at reading expressions, saw the glint in Li Jing’s eyes and immediately volunteered to attack the ward. He struck it with all his might, but he couldn’t even make the light barrier tremble.

Seeing this, the other followers took turns attacking, but they all failed.

Just then, a follower took out a Tenth-Leaf spiritual talisman. It was a life-saving item he had spent a great sum to purchase. If I can just break this ward and get that pill for him, he thought, I can win Li Jing’s favor, and my future will be limitless!

He activated the talisman, and a surge of spiritual power slammed into the ward. The light barrier, struck by the power of a Tenth-Leaf talisman, only trembled slightly before returning to normal.

Seeing this, Qin Haoxuan was slightly surprised. While this ward wasn’t as strong as the one that had protected the Spirit Liquid, it was clearly not something that could be broken by ordinary means. He was quite curious to see how Li Jing would handle it.

Li Jing took out an exquisite compass from his robes and, after a series of careful calculations, called his followers together and arranged them in a strange formation. He then quickly laid out a dozen spirit stones and a handful of yellow talismans in a specific pattern on the floor, double-checking their positions with the compass.

“Remember, sit still and do not move!” After setting up the array, Li Jing began to circulate his energy and activate it.

As he formed hand seals, streams of pure, potent spiritual energy flowed from his body.

Qin Haoxuan noted that the formation seemed somewhat similar to the Force-Gathering Array that Wu Yi had used. Ye Yiming, who was watching alongside him, recognized it. “That’s a Technique-Gathering Array,” he said in a surprised tone. “It’s similar to the Force-Gathering Array, but much more advanced. It gathers everyone’s spiritual energy and amplifies it. But Li Jing’s current strength is too weak to set up the complete version; this must be a simplified one.”

Qin Haoxuan was inwardly impressed. Li Jing had clearly not wasted his three months; he had learned the complex art of arrays.

Li Jing skillfully activated the simplified array. Arcane characters floated up from the ground, drawing out the spiritual energy of the cultivators within. Amplified by the spirit stones and talismans, the energy condensed into a giant spiritual hammer.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Li Jing let out a sharp cry and swung the hammer, slamming it into the pale-red light barrier. The ward flashed and trembled, nearly breaking, but it ultimately held. Undeterred, Li Jing tried three more times, finally shattering the ward just as his followers were on the brink of exhaustion.

“Incredible! As expected of an Unsurpassed Purple Seed!” Ye Yiming couldn’t help but exclaim. “He even dared to modify the array while it was running to strengthen it. That requires immense courage, confidence, and a good deal of luck.”

With the ward broken, the pill’s fragrance filled the room, revitalizing the exhausted disciples. The ancient scroll, now free, radiated a powerful, imperial aura that made even the royal-born Li Jing feel an urge to prostrate himself.

He carefully placed the pill in his finest jade vial. As his hand touched the ancient scroll, his entire body trembled.

Written on it were five gilded words: Tyrannical True Dragon Art.

Li Jing’s heart pounded. He had heard stories of a minor immortal who had found this very art before the great immortal-demon war and had become the nearly invincible Dragon-Taming Perfected Man.

Watching this through the mirror, Ye Yiming clicked his tongue in admiration. “He is truly fortunate. The previous owner of this scroll even left behind a strand of True Dragon Wild Qi.”

“Those nine golden dragons, that’s the True Dragon Wild Qi?” Qin Haoxuan asked.

“Mm,” Ye Yiming nodded. “As long as he absorbs those nine golden dragons into his body, he will possess a trace of the True Dragon Wild Qi and can begin practicing the Tyrannical True Dragon Art.”

After obtaining the art, Li Jing sent his followers out to stand guard. He then slowly unfurled the ancient scroll.

As he did, the nine golden dragons that had been coiling around it stopped their dance and, in a single stream, surged into Li Jing’s body.