Chapter 188
Just when everyone was at a loss, an aged voice drifted down from above.
The crowd looked up to see an old man with a mix of black and white hair, his face gaunt and sallow, hovering above them. His expression was dark, as if he were displeased. “The sect has ordered you to attack the Jiu Shan Sect. Why are you still hesitating?”
“Master Chi!”
Lin Yangtian and his companion hurriedly bowed, clearly recognizing that this man was a Yuan Ying (Nascent Soul) master, someone of higher cultivation than themselves.
They exchanged worried glances and explained their current predicament.
“Jiu Shan Sect…” Master Chi murmured, a mysterious glint flashing in his eyes as he gazed outside. “How bold! A group of Foundation Establishment cultivators dares to bully my Holy Sect like this!”
The others nodded in agreement.
If it were the Xuan Wei Five Sects, they could simply block them. But what was the Jiu Shan Sect?
“Send someone out again! I want to see what they’re relying on!” Master Chi suddenly declared.
Lin Yangtian and his companion exchanged looks, then glanced at the nearby subordinates, all of whom wore expressions of fear.
“What’s wrong? Don’t want to go? How about you two?”
Lin Yangtian felt a chill run down his spine and pointed to two disciples, signaling them to go.
The two disciples looked pale but dared not disobey the order, trembling as they stepped out of the secret realm’s door.
As soon as they crossed the threshold, a storm of thunder talismans rained down like a deluge.
The two were obliterated instantly, their deaths almost possessing a certain humanitarian beauty.
“Soul Piercing Talismans, Soul Shocking Talismans, Soul Extinguishing Talismans…” Master Chi muttered to himself, his brow furrowed. “Each of them must have been hit by at least thirty or forty talismans, and they’re all high-grade talismans. Is the Jiu Shan Sect really this wealthy?”
Lin Yangtian and his companion exchanged puzzled glances.
They understood the market value; this barrage of talismans was worth at least dozens of spirit stones.
It was pure money burning.
…
Zheng Fa watched the two corpses lying at the entrance of the secret realm. Noticing that no one else had emerged, he signaled to two senior brothers nearby to drag the bodies away and send them to the “Weapon Manufacturing Factory” behind.
“Zheng Shidi, I didn’t expect the talisman technique to be so effective here!” Sun Daoyu exclaimed.
“We can only make three to five high-grade talismans a day, and it consumes a lot of spiritual energy and mental power,” one senior brother nodded. “Buying them isn’t cheap either.”
“Right, one spirit stone only gets you three or five talismans,” Sun Daoyu sighed, then calculated the cost of talisman production in his mind. “But making high-grade talismans is faster and cheaper—just the cost of talisman paper and spiritual ink! When you think about it, it’s even cheaper than low-grade talismans!”
Zheng Fa shook his head gently.
It wasn’t that simple—
At least, the lives of the disciples of the Great Freedom Demon Sect were part of the cost.
But it was indeed effective here.
Sending out thirty or fifty high-grade talismans could yield a disciple of the Great Freedom Demon Sect willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause of talisman production.
You could say it was practically free.
Moreover, this production process didn’t drain the spiritual energy and mental power of these senior brothers, making it extremely practical on the battlefield.
It could be called the nemesis of the Great Freedom Demon Sect.
…
“They’re actually using my Holy Sect’s disciples to make talismans?” Inside, Master Chi’s eyes flared with rage as he seemed to grasp Zheng Fa and the others’ actions.
Lin Yangtian suddenly realized, “So that’s why the Thunder Pool market was buying the blood of our Holy Sect’s disciples?”
“…”
The others exchanged glances, their faces showing signs of discomfort.
“This Jiu Shan Sect… their methods are a bit too similar to ours, aren’t they?”
Lin Yangtian heard one subordinate mumble, and he couldn’t help but agree in his heart.
They were experts at playing with corpses and blood to refine magical treasures!
Now, they were being blocked at the door by this group of imitators from the Jiu Shan Sect.
“Master, if we send people out now, not only will we fail to kill these thieves, but we’ll also give them more talismans,” Master Chi fell silent.
After a long pause, he suddenly exploded with anger. “Damn it, why is the Jiu Shan Sect so disgusting!”
“…”
“I finally understand why everyone wants to hunt down my Holy Sect!”
Lin Yangtian was taken aback, unable to help but nod in agreement.
Thinking back, when he had been so repulsive to those righteous cultivators, they hadn’t seemed to mind much.
Now that the roles had reversed…
Even they felt they had been a bit excessive in the past.
…
Zheng Fa looked at the Great Freedom Demon Sect’s secret realm door, noticing that they seemed to have realized what was happening with the talismans, and no one dared to show their face anymore.
It appeared they had truly trapped the Great Freedom Demon Sect inside the secret realm.
“Zheng Shidi, we’ve really offended the Great Freedom Demon Sect this time,” Sun Daoyu said, looking worried.
“Senior Brother, whether we’ve offended them or not, we… have no choice,” Zheng Fa replied.
He understood that once the talisman production was exposed, the Jiu Shan Sect and the Great Freedom Demon Sect would be locked in a death struggle.
But the problem was—they were already sharpening their knives.
Currently, the talisman production was only targeting the Great Freedom Demon Sect. Although the methods were a bit strange, others wouldn’t pay too much attention—at most, they’d just want to open a source.
As for digging the Great Freedom Demon Sect’s grave…
It was still the same old story: unless the Jiu Shan Sect was willing to give up the Thunder Pool, relinquish the spiritual veins of the Jiu Shan Sect, and sacrifice Sister Zhang’s life, there would be no path to reconciliation.
Seeing Sun Daoyu still frowning, Zheng Fa shook his head.
“Senior Brother Sun, the talisman technique is a good thing. If it weren’t for this, we wouldn’t be able to stop those demon sect disciples.”
“Right! What are you worried about?”
An excited voice chimed in.
Zheng Fa turned to see Yan Wushuang and his companions.
“Brother Yan?”
Yan Wushuang cupped his hands toward Zheng Fa, but his gaze was fixed on Li Nuo and the others as he spoke, “So this is why your market is buying demon blood?”
“Yes.”
Since they had been seen, Zheng Fa didn’t hide it.
“No wonder… no wonder…” Yan Wushuang sighed. “You Jiu Shan Sect are quite wealthy!”
“Brother Li Nuo is indeed clever.”
“No, no, no, I mean wealth in terms of resources!”
Yan Wushuang’s eyes sparkled, his tone filled with excitement. “Zheng Brother, can I get a piece of this action?”
Zheng Fa suddenly remembered that this person had mentioned being quite poor…
“Well…”
The talisman production was a secret of the Jiu Shan Sect.
Moreover, Yan Wushuang wouldn’t be able to contribute much.
Although Zheng Fa didn’t have a bad impression of him, he felt it wasn’t necessary.
Sensing Zheng Fa’s hesitation, Yan Wushuang added, “I won’t take advantage of you. First, I can provide you with talisman paper and spiritual ink.”
Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa swallowed his refusal.
Talisman paper and spiritual ink were currently the biggest costs in talisman production—though not worth much, they were becoming scarce given the production capacity.
But to be honest, this was a minor detail.
After a long silence, Zheng Fa finally spoke, “Brother Yan, it’s not that I’m unwilling to cooperate with you, but—this alone isn’t enough.”
Yan Wushuang had an impressive background, even somewhat mysterious.
But after all, he was just a true disciple of the Tianhe Sect.
He seemed to be merely a Jindan (Golden Core) cultivator.
It was hard to see any future in collaborating with him.
Yan Wushuang seemed to sense Zheng Fa’s reluctance. He looked at Zheng Fa and said, “You want to stop the Great Freedom Demon Sect from leaving, ensuring that Zhang Wuyi can successfully conceive?”
“...Yes.”
“Then you’re already too late.”
Zheng Fa was taken aback, suddenly looking toward the direction of the Wulong Heavenly Palace.
“Correct. Several Yuan Ying masters from the Great Freedom Demon Sect left the Thunder Pool a few days ago, planning to take action against your master.”
“…”
Zheng Fa furrowed his brow, but he wasn’t surprised.
Sister Zhang’s conception phenomenon had lasted for several days; the Great Freedom Demon Sect wouldn’t have remained idle—
They were indeed a bit late in blocking the door.
The Wulong Heavenly Palace was already dangerous, and Zheng Fa could only bring out these lower-level disciples to reduce the burden on Master Pang.
But he couldn’t think of a way to ensure Master Pang’s safety.
After all, Yuan Ying cultivators in the Thunder Pool were even more dangerous, and he couldn’t intervene in battles at that level.
“Brother Yan, are you suggesting…”
“I’ll save your master’s life, and this business… will count as my share.”
Zheng Fa turned to see Sun Daoyu opening his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.
Half of the disciples here were Master Pang’s people, all looking at Zheng Fa, waiting for his decision.
“Brother Yan, if my master is safe, I’ll agree to your request.”
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 184: Taking a Stand
Zheng Fa was witnessing a large-scale Yuan Ying conflict for the first time.
Even standing in the Thunder Pool, with the thunder roaring in his ears, he could hear the sounds of battle raging above.
Zheng Fa raised his eyes, activating his Dongxu Spiritual Eye to look out into the sky beyond the Thunder Pool.
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