Shankui dared to come alone to seize the Celestial Extinction Ruins and snatch treasures from the jaws of Divine Extinction Thousand Peaks; he had his reasons.
"At this moment, letting people move closer probably means theyâre going to use a trump card." Wen Jiu speculated that it should be a defensive trump card, rather than an offensive one; otherwise, sending Fang Xiaolin and the others closer would be like sending them to their deaths.
At this time, Fang Xiaolin dashed ahead like grabbing onto a lifeline. Although his strength had diminished by half, his speed was even faster than his peak state. Feng Jue pursued with the Eight Sword Control again, but when he caught up to Fang Xiaolin, several people from Ye Men had already voluntarily moved to Fang Xiaolinâs side.
In the next moment.
A jade talisman the size of Ye Menâs palm activated in response, and a massive golden bell suddenly formed, covering the area around them in a ten-zhang radius, protecting Fang Xiaolin and the others within. Even the soul-devouring ghost qi and the eight swords falling could not harm them in the slightest, and the golden bell didnât even tremble.
"Tier Two Top Grade Defense Treasure Talisman!" Shankui, who had thought victory was assured, was momentarily speechless. The treasure talisman is more precious than regular talismans and requires cultivators to nurture the talisman over long years to obtain a treasure talisman.
Thus, not many cultivators have them. After all, who would spend ten or twenty yearsâ worth of resources to nurture a single talisman? These resources, if used for enhancing oneâs cultivation, could elevate one to the next realm.
Although nurturing defense talismans requires fewer resources, there are indeed people willing to spend ten or twenty years investing in talisman nurturing.
"Stop wasting efforts; this is a Tier Two Top Grade Celestial Grain Golden Bell Treasure Talisman, nurtured over eighteen years, and even late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot break it. Even if you use the Soul-devouring Lifeless Array, itâs absolutely impossible." Ye Men taunted lightly.
In truth, he originally did not want to use this treasure talisman, but with Chen Yi dead, if he let Fang Xiaolin die in the Celestial Extinction Yin Vein, how could he explain himself upon returning?
Hearing Ye Menâs words, Fang Xiaolin also felt relieved. His formerly embarrassing and pale complexion also eased somewhat, and an expression of slight smugness appeared, "Feng Jue, I told you that youâll die, and you will die. Iâve already crushed a Signal Talisman, and soon a nearby Divine Extinction Thousand Peaks Foundation Establishment cultivator will come to assist. Within three to five days, theyâll arrive and youâll wait within this barrier to meet your end!"
After Fang Xiaolin finished speaking, the eight swords fell on the golden bell again, even shattering the eight swords, but the golden bell remained unmoved.
"Letâs join forces; Iâll exert my full strength to use the Soul-devouring Lifeless Array. I donât believe that we cannot break this talisman treasure." Shankui nodded, emanating the Ten Thousand Ghosts Totem, with ghost qi surging around him. The previously rampant ghosts returned to their nest, and one after another, the eerie ghost eyes within the Totem abruptly opened.
"Ghosts return, the nether eyes open!" As soon as the words fell, an invisible and terrifying oppression of ghost qi suddenly descended.
It was like a great mountain crashing down, causing the ground to collapse, giant rocks to shatter, and even made Fang Xiaolinâs expression tense again.
Following this, the Foundation Establishment cultivators surnamed Yang and Wang behind Shankui also began to unleash their hidden techniques. The four joined forces, combined with the endless soul-devouring ghost qi from the Soul-devouring Lifeless Array, crashing down.
Even though Wen Jiu was a hundred miles away, he saw the terrifying strike that altered the color of the heavens and earth.
Boomâ
After a loud explosion, ghost qi spread everywhere, and everything within a thousand-zhang radius turned to nothingness. The ghost qiâs shockwave spread so far that even those a hundred miles away could feel it clearly, but as the ghost qi gradually dissipated, when Divine Sense probed again, the golden bell stood firmly and undisturbed.
Upon witnessing this scene, Wen Jiu frowned slightly, while Fang Xiaolinâs previously serious demeanor dissipated completely at this moment.
"Is this all your combined full-powered strike amounts to?" The weight on Fang Xiaolinâs heart completely lifted.
Ye Men couldnât help but feel delighted, despite still feeling a sting of remorse; after all, nurturing this talisman cost him years of resources, but remembering that the Eastern Celestial City possessed a Golden Core Technique reassured him.
"Shankui, although I canât beat you, this is Divine Extinction Thousand Peaksâ territory, trapped by the barrier, youâre just waiting to die!" Ye Men couldnât help but scoff, his mood lifted.
Heâs not one to indulge in words often, but getting suppressed by Shankui even when two-on-one previously was really suffocating.
At this moment, Shankui, Feng Jue, and others had retreated a hundred-zhang back, hovering in the air, looking at each other with concerned expressions, for none had anticipated the treasure talismanâs defensive capabilities would be so formidable.
The four, plus the full-powered strike of the Soul-devouring Lifeless Array, not only failed to crack the golden bell, but their full-powered strike was completely absorbed by it, leaving Fang Xiaolin and the others within unharmed.
"Fellow Daoist Shan, is there any way?" The Foundation Establishment cultivator surnamed Yang quickly asked.
Female Cultivator Wang couldnât maintain her calm anymore either, "Fellow Daoist Shan, if weâre truly trapped like this, Divine Extinction Thousand Peaksâ support will arrive in three to five days... Itâll be even harder for us to escape then."
Shankui responded promptly, "The treasure talisman canât be broken; it contains over a decadeâs worth of magical power and spiritual qi accumulation, which probably isnât something we can deplete in a few days. As it stands, perhaps the only option is to break the Twelve Spirit Control Array."
Female Cultivator Wang interjected again, "But the Twelve Spirit Control Array is a Tier One High-grade Array, exclusive to Divine Extinction Thousand Peaks, and we donât have a Tier Two Spirit Array Master among us; how can we break it within three or five days?"
"Do you have a better idea?" Shankui retorted coldly, as if he was unaware of these challenges himself.
Female Cultivator Wang was silent, remorse showing gradually in her eyes, and the male cultivator surnamed Yang was similarly affected.
"Fellow Daoist Shan, if nothing works, then send out the message; the Golden Core Technique will certainly attract late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators." While Feng Jue appeared calm, he was indeed quite anxious deep down.
Shankui shook his head and transmitted, "Fang Xiaolin and the others wish to monopolize the Golden Core and Fake Pill Methods without reporting to Divine Extinction Thousand Peaks. If we invite a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, Divine Extinction Thousand Peaks cultivators will certainly come upon hearing, and things will get even more complicated."
Upon hearing this.
Feng Jue fell silent once more.
The array disc in his hand activated again, the Soul-devouring Lifeless Array started attacking the golden bell ceaselessly, resonating with the sound of the bell throughout the Celestial Extinction Yin Vein. Though it shook the earth to the point of cracking, the golden bell remained unmoved.
Witnessing this scene, after meticulously examining the Demon Soulâs soul memory, he couldnât help but be amazed, "Worth a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Divine Extinction Thousand Peaks, so wealthy, even willing to spend hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones to nurture a treasure talisman."
After mentally sighing, Wen Jiu searched the Demon Soulâs soul memory for more information about treasure talismans.
Though Shankui and Feng Jue didnât have a method to break it, Demon Soulâs soul memory from over two hundred years ago contained no less than five breakthrough methods. For a Tier Two Top Grade Treasure Talisman, only a Tier Two Lower Grade Spirit-Breaking Yin Talisman could break it.
Spirit-Breaking Yin Talisman is a talisman specifically researched by Demon Path Yin Talisman Masters for breaking enchantments; although it canât destroy a treasure talisman completely, it can temporarily render the treasure talisman ineffective. Yet, it was lost over a thousand years ago.
Luckily, the Demon Soulâs soul memory contained the talisman method, but during the Demon Soulâs life, he had no talent in talisman crafting, and even with accumulated time, he couldnât become a Tier Two Yin Talisman Master, so this talisman method exists only in the soul memory.
"Even with talent, creating a Tier Two Lower Grade Spirit-Breaking Yin Talisman within a few days is clearly unrealistic." Wen Jiu immediately focused on the other four ways to break it.
Exhausting the talismanâs spirit.
Attacking, devouring, can deplete the spiritual qi and magical artifact within the treasure talisman; as long as you consume it quickly enough, you can render the treasure talisman ineffective. For this, his Spirit-Extinguishing Corpse Qi could just be used.
But the Spirit-Extinguishing Corpse Qi is not trivial; if it boldly consumes spiritual qi and magical power, it will definitely be exposed.
Once exposed.
Endless troubles.
To be honest, Wen Jiu doesnât want to become the vilified evil demon, even if thereâs this risk.
But right at this moment, a Sound Transmission Talisman in his storage bag suddenly moved, specifically the one linking to Feng Jue.
Using Divine Sense to probe, Feng Jueâs voice instantly sounded, "Fellow Daoist Han, donât hide any longer. The Eastern Celestial City possesses the Golden Core Technique; even if itâs handed over, it will surely follow in Moon Extreme Sectâs footsteps.
Divine Extinction Thousand Peaks absolutely wonât allow the Golden Core Technique to spread outside, let alone fall to mere vassals. The Wind and Cloud Immortal Cityâs City Lord was an exception back then; they wonât allow a second exception.
If Daoist has a way to break the stalemate, Ye Menâs bodies and the Tier Two Demon Corpse in their storage bags will all belong to you. If Daoist feels itâs insufficient, Yang and Wangâs bodies will also belong to you."
[Second update at midnight.
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