âWhoâs that!â Every hair on Situ Yunâs body stood up at the sound.
This safe spot was the handiwork of a Star Demon Sect dao immortal. Without the sectâs specialized techniques, outsiders wouldnât even notice this placeâs existence, much less be able to enter. And without that assurance of security, he wouldnât have spoken his sectâs secrets so plainly. An unwelcome guest was unfathomable and most alarming!
Turning, Situ Yun caught sight of a deathly pale man in a black robe. The stranger stalked toward him with a deliberate, malicious smile.
Blood immediately drained from Situ Yunâs face, and he extended his arms protectively, standing in front of Lu Yun and Qing Han. The man in black was an aether dao immortal, but even that was more than enough to overwhelm him.
âDonât worry.â Lu Yun patted Situ Yun lightly on the shoulder.
Fire flashed across his palm, accompanied by somethingâs pained shriek. Situ Yun felt a great weight lift from his body, like a sinister cloud had departed from him. He recovered his composure in the next instant and looked inquisitively at his savior.
âDonât worry, heâs already dead. No living person can cross that barrier,â Lu Yun intoned calmly.
âWhat did you say?!â The black-robed dao immortal blinked in surprise, then snorted. âAre you mad, Lu Yun? Have you started raving in your delirium?â
âSome people have a hard time realizing theyâre dead⊠somehow, theyâve fooled themselves into thinking theyâre still alive.â
Gazing thoughtfully at the dao immortal, Lu Yun exhaled wistfully. A tiny, pitch-black dragon whelp lay upon black-robeâs back. Even as he spoke, it was sucking the dao immortalâs soul and spirit out of his body, little by little.
Although a dao immortal had a refined true spirit that could persist beyond the disintegration of his soul, the black dragon whelpâs unchecked consumption of the entire essence of his being was going completely unnoticed. Much like a greedy parasite, its work would cease only when its host had nothing left to offer.
A personâs entire existence hinged on the persistence of their true spirit, along with their three ethereal and seven corporal soul-parts. What would happen once those were gone?
A similar whelp had been latched onto Situ Yun earlier, but the attachment had clearly been rather recent: only one ethereal and two corporal soul-parts had been affected. After Lu Yun burned the parasite away, the soul-parts had returned to their rightful owner.
The remaining whelp glared at Lu Yun through its blood-red eyes, clearly wary of the human youth. It had seen the death of its comrade beneath his fingers all too clearly.
Two black embers flared from Lu Yunâs eyes, eliciting a violent tremor from the whelp. With a meal-finishing slurp and a flick of its tail, it vanished into the void.
âYouâŠ.â The dao immortal was interrupted mid-sentence as he felt his consciousness sink into an endless darkness.
Thump!
The man keeled over to the ground, unmoving and unbreathing.
Situ Yunâs eyes widened. An aether dao immortal had died without so much as a whimper⊠and he had no idea how!
Qing Han glanced at his friend.
âTake this talisman.â Lu Yun handed over a crystal talisman. âIt involves my greatest secret,â he transmitted. âIf anyone else gets their hands on it, I wonât have a single safe place left in the world.â
His Spectral Eye could see through life and death; no ghost or specter in the world could hide their existence or identities from him. If anyone at all knew about his power, heâd become the target of countless immortals from all over the world of immortals.
Qing Han faltered a moment, then crumbled the talisman in his hand.
âWhen we both have enough strength⊠then, and only then, should you tell me everything. For now, you just need to protect me!â he replied with equal gravity.
Chuckling helplessly, Lu Yun could only nod.
The young governorâs ability to revive dead immortals was already placing tremendous pressure on Qing Hanâs mind. Accidentally leaking that detail alone would be enough to put Lu Yunâs life in danger. And now his friend wanted to give him a talisman with an even greater mystery? There was no way heâd take that!
Lu Yunâs secrets were best kept to himself.
âŠâŠ
âWhat⊠what in the world happened here?â Situ Yun asked incredulously.
âItâd be easier for you to understand that he was possessed by a special kind of immortal ghost,â explained Lu Yun. âThe same happened to you as well, just now.â
Situ Yun shuddered involuntarily.
It wasnât his first time inside an ancient tomb, so he knew what immortal ghosts were capable of. They could cling to the living undetected, affect their actions, and sometimes, even devour their soul and spirit.
As such, habitual tomb explorers often carried treasures meant to counteract their influence. This was especially true for immortals from large factions like himself. He hurriedly pulled out a jade talisman from his clothes.
Craaack!
The jade talisman fissured as he held it, its power dissipating.
âYouâre right⊠what a terrifying ghost that was!â Situ Yun gasped. âMy Principal Nineheavens Talisman should be able to fend off peerless immortal ghosts⊠but it was demolished in that encounter.â
âPrincipal Nineheavens Talisman?â Lu Yun took the broken talisman to examine it. âWhat an interesting talisman! It does have the power to ward off ghosts. I guess it makes sense. A hundred thousand years is a long time, after all, so weird gadgets like this are bound to have turned up.â
He studied it further before drawing a copy of the talisman in the void.
âYour Principal Nineheavens Talisman was created by a dao immortal and his dao fruit. The talisman I drew just now only resembles the real thing⊠it might do the job, alright, but itâs a lot weaker.â Lu Yun shook his head in mild displeasure and Situ Yunâs jaw dropped even further.
The talisman he had was a find from an ancient tomb, not a seniorâs handiwork. The method to draw it shouldâve been lost! Yet Lu Yun had transcribed one right before his eyes!
âThis is a real Principal Nineheavens Talisman!â Situ Yun received the new talisman with trembling fingers and wide eyes, still incredulous of what heâd just witnessed. âAs expected, drawing a lost talisman is no problem for our young lord!â
The connection seemed to assure and inspire him, and his expression changed to one of obvious confidence. Lu Yun was the true master of the Skandha Range. For the great demon sovereign to speak personally on his behalf⊠of course there had to be something more to this young man!
âYoung lord!â The Star Demon member abruptly sobered up. âYou canât tell anyone about your ability to draw the Principal Nineheavens Talisman. Its ability to restrain ghosts, combined with its present extinctionâŠ.â
âWhy canât I?â Lu Yun raised a puzzled eyebrow. âIf the technique for it is extinct, doesnât that mean thereâs a business opportunity here?â
If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.