That scoundrel saw that Tie Dan neither drew his sword nor dodged, and he looked so thin and dark that he didnāt seem to possess any righteous methods. The sword energy was dim and lackluster, seemingly just at the Foundation Establishment stage and a Mixed Cultivator that could be easily slain. Thus, he didnāt dodge either, relying on his Core Formation Realm cultivation, gathering palm strength and Qi power to shield himself, intending to split this sword energy with one strike! And then kill this person with the same momentum... huh?
The sword energy flashed, and the sword wind True Qi was shattered by a single sword strike, causing the scoundrelās shoulder to skew, unbelievably resulting in a swing to the face! It was the Heavenly Ruin Sword Qi, refined again, cutting him in two!
Die!
Tie Dan had no expression on his face.
For this kind of opponent, thereās really no need to draw the sword.
"...Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for your help! Eliminating this scoundrel! I will surely repay your great kindness another day!"
That member of the Demon Sect had just drawn his sword when it was all over, glanced at the scoundrelās corpse, and without a word, turned and ran.
Tie Dan glanced at him, raised his index and middle fingers, and with a flick, that black sword energy folded in mid-air, catching up and slicing him in two at the waist from behind, resulting in an untimely death.
Then Tie Dan looked at the old Daoist,
"This is a Yizhuang, right? How do you usually handle these kinds of street deaths?"
The old Daoist was also dumbfounded, finally reacting,
"No need to worry, Immortal. If thereās anything good, just keep it. I only sweep up, and people from the mountains will come periodically to claim the bodies."
After all, there are so many cultivators in Qianzhou. Itās common for someone to die in a fight, but since weāre all in the same trade, we canāt just leave bodies exposed to be gnawed by wolves, so there are specialists like this old Daoist for corpse collection.
So Tie Dan went to finish off and loot the bodies, pulling out a bunch of jade pendants, talismans, and whatnotāuseless junk anyway.
And the old Daoist fetched the Soul Summoning Banner, shook it, and zombies from the Yizhuang sprang out with coffins to collect the bodies and clean the ground.
Then Tie Dan walked over to look at Wu Di.
This guy got caught off guard, taking a hit from a Thunder Talisman, bleeding from seven orifices, and smoke coming out of his nose and mouth. However, being a cultivator, a lightning strike shouldnāt be fatal.
"...Canāt get up?"
Wu Di mumbled, pointing at himself.
"Gurgle..."
Tie Dan, "What are you saying? I canāt hear you clearly."
Wu Di coughed up blood.
The old Daoist, likely accustomed to seeing dead people, translated,
"He wants you to extract the talisman."
Tie Dan looked at Wu Diās chest, which was charred black with a hint of red, and curiously asked,
"Extract what talisman?"
The old Daoist also asked curiously,
"Didnāt he get hit by a talisman? Extract it then."
Oh, talisman removal, is it?
Well, so-called talisman removal originally refers to a specialized magic tool, divided into three main categories, generally made into the shapes of the divine beasts for Evil Exorcism, Tianlu, and Peach Charm to distinguish, used respectively to ward off evil, enhance longevity, and eliminate ailments, removing evil and lingering curse remains attached to the body.
Now that Wu Di was injured by a charm talisman, he needed a Peach Charm to neutralize the talisman power within his body to recover.
Of course, these three are all magic treasure level items, and Tie Dan didnāt have any, but he had the Daoist Collection, so he knew the principles behind it.
Simply put, when a person is hit by a talisman, the talisman seal embeds itself like a brand within the body, deeply engraving into the meridians, causing interference when circulating Qi. Severe cases activate the seal with every Qi circulation, effectively rendering oneās cultivation useless.
So when treating with talisman removal, outsiders might think itās to send the Peach Charm spirit beast to extract the talisman.
But in truth, it involves redrawingāwith specific counteracting Dao Power to fill in the imprint marks of the talisman, neutralizing the lingering talisman power within the victimās meridians to break the charm talisman.
This provided Tie Dan a chance to practice, as up until now, he hadnāt really been hit by a talisman since leaving the mountain...
Thus, he asked a zombie to help carry Wu Di onto a coffin board into the Yizhuang, and Tie Dan fetched a Wolf Brush and cinnabar from the old Daoist, beginning Wu Diās talisman removal.
The Thunder Talisman Wu Di got hit by was actually common on the marketāa Five Thunder Talisman, driven by Yimu Zhenglei in Purple Mist. Moreover, it wasnāt cast by a Thunder Doctrine master from the Shenxiao Sect, lacking complexity, and could be neutralized using Divine Gang Sword Power. The difficulty lay only in controlling the amount of sword energy inputātoo little and itās insufficient, too much and he might be dismembered.
Although Tie Danās theoretical level was just entry-level, his application level of Daoist energy was indeed masterful. The sword in his hand was as steady as a scalpel, with sword energy gathered at the pen tip, like ink painting. As the pen passed, it traced and neutralized the residual power of the Thunder Talisman.
Then Wu Di shakily sat up,
"Thank, thank you..."
Well, it was really nothing hard. Tie Danās extraction was so clean and smooth that the old Daoist, who wanted to learn a trick or two, learned nothing. All he saw was Tie Dan doing some brushwork, and it was over. He couldnāt help but question,
"Doesnāt seem right, does it? Iāve seen others draw talismans and have to give a palm hit and spit blood before itās extracted?"
Thatās because they drew it too shallowly, or unlike Tie Dan, didnāt store enough energy in drawing. The pen strength lacked Spiritual Qi, requiring palm strength to activate it. But if you insist on doing it like that, itās simple...
So Tie Dan swung a palm, making Wu Di spit blood, fly away, and faint.
The old Daoist clapped his hands,
"Yes, yes, exactly like that, Immortal Master truly has the magic touch."
Then the zombie tossed the unconscious Wu Di into the coffin to rest.
Tie Dan said,
"Then, Iāll ask Fellow Daoist to take care of this useless person for a few days. Iāll be going ahead."
"Of course, of course, rest assured, Immortal Master."
Hmm, this Senior Brother Wu is too useless, with no Jianghu experience at all, getting struck by lightning right after leaving the mountain, needing breaks for Qi circulation, and worse, not having the luck required to stay with Tie Dan. If he stays with Tie Dan, he might not last a single day without encountering lethal disasters. At this rate, he wonāt make it out of Qianzhou alive, so itās better to act separately.
Thus, shirking the burden, Tie Dan traveled lightly, making haste through the night. Sure enough, that very night, he triggered another lethal disaster.
It was a monster, so dark he couldnāt tell what it was, but the meat was tough and tasted bad.
Nothing much to say, Tie Dan hurriedly swallowed the Demon Core, drank the blood, ate half the internal organs to pad his stomach, and continued rushing north, killing his way through.