Chapter 501 - 290: Old Acquaintance, True Core Talisman Treasure
Chapter 501: Chapter 290: Old Acquaintance, True Core Talisman Treasure
Instead of attacking, the two of them turned around once more without the slightest hesitation. They poured their remaining Magical Power into their Escape Lights and, like two startled hawks, fled for their lives in the opposite direction of their pursuers, moving a good deal faster than before!
The turn of events was so abrupt that by the time the scar-faced man and his two companions recovered from their fury at being toyed with, the pair had already flown several hundred zhang away!
They also flew directly over Lin Changheng.
"Chase! After them! I’m going to perform Soul Extraction and Refining on these two wretches!" The scar-faced man was so furious he almost coughed up blood. He roared and took the lead in the pursuit, and the other two men hurried to follow.
However, that momentary delay allowed the distance between them to widen once more.
"Where do you think you’re going!"
The scar-faced man flew into a rage. Holding nothing back, he poured on his Magical Power and rapidly closed the gap, getting far closer and faster than his two companions! Then, a Nine-Ringed Saber materialized in his hand, its blade wreathed in pitch-black Evil Qi. He slashed out viciously!
A ten-zhang-long arc of black blade energy, like a sharpened blade swung by a Hell Demon God, tore through the air with a piercing, ghostly shriek as it slashed fiercely toward the backs of the two fugitives! Its power was far greater than anything before.
This strike was clearly intended to finish them both off for good!
’This is truly dangerous...’
Lin Changheng, hidden in the forest like a piece of dead wood, watched the scene unfold. He knew the best-case scenario was that only one of them would be killed. The worst-case was that they would both be sliced in half by the attack, their bodies turning into four separate pieces.
But he remained completely unmoved.
By now, he had recognized the White Robe Female Cultivator who was disguised as a man.
It was Mr. Yun, the one who had approached him back in Floating Immortal City with a fifty-year-old Nine-leaf Purple Ginseng, seeking a Foundation Establishment Pill.
He never thought that after not seeing her for several decades, their reunion would be at the precipice of life and death.
But... so what?
Lin Changheng had lived for over a century and had met far too many Fellow Daoists for a fleeting moment. The number of Cultivators who had sought Pills from him was countless. If he had to feel sorrow, lament their fate, and even intervene every time one of them died, he would be far too busy.
Therefore, he wouldn’t stick his neck out or force a move. He would simply observe with a cool head.
Still, given their past acquaintance, if they truly ended up dead and their bodies left in the wilderness, Lin Changheng would at least collect their remains and see to their burial. He wasn’t that cold-hearted.
But in the next moment, a flicker of Divine Light crossed Lin Changheng’s eyes as he sensed that something was amiss.
That trace of golden light...
...that restrained golden light that had flashed for an instant at the core of the Talisman Treasure before being forcefully suppressed...
’Hiss! So that’s what’s going on... Things are about to take a turn.’
A realization dawned on Lin Changheng. The woman wasn’t unable to activate the Talisman Treasure; she was waiting for the perfect opportunity! Her earlier display of weakness and her pretended activation were all a ruse to lure her enemy closer and deliver a true killing blow!
The moment that thought solidified in his mind, things took a sudden turn in the very next instant, just as Lin Changheng had predicted!
The White Robe Female Cultivator, whose aura had seemed "feeble" and who had been "fleeing" for her life, abruptly halted her Escape Light and spun around!
Gone was any trace of panic or despair from her face, replaced by a bone-chilling killing intent. Her hand, which had been tightly gripping the Talisman Treasure as if to suppress its fluctuations, did not withdraw her Magical Power. Instead, she unhesitatingly and ferociously poured the last of her refined Magical Power into it, along with a mouthful of her Lifebound Essence Blood!
"VMMM—BOOM!!!"
This time, it was no empty bluff!
With a sharp cry from her, the Golden Brick Talisman Treasure erupted in a brilliant golden radiance that seemed poised to swallow the sky and devour the earth. Within the light, the phantom of a Golden Brick materialized—it was palm-sized, perfectly square, and engraved with profound cauldron-like patterns. Though only a phantom, it radiated a terrifying pressure that could suppress all creation and shatter any technique!
The Golden Brick phantom spun once. It seemed slow, but in truth, it was faster than lightning. It instantly crossed several hundred zhang, effortlessly shattering the vicious black blade energy before appearing right in front of the scar-faced man!
"What? How is that possible?" The scar-faced man’s pupils contracted. His forward momentum was unstoppable, and he only had time to let out half a terrified scream before the Golden Brick phantom crashed into him with the force of a falling mountain!
"BANG!!!"
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a dull thud as loud as the beat of a giant war drum!
Under the impact of the Golden Brick, the protective Evil Qi around the scar-faced man, the Nine-Ringed Saber he raised to block, the defensive Inner Armor he wore, and the glow of his Defense Talisman all shattered inch by inch as if they were made of paper!
His body was smashed to a pulp, bones broken and tendons torn. He plummeted from the sky like a broken sack, carving a deep crater in the ground below. He was reduced to a mangled mess of flesh and blood, his aura completely extinguished!
Then, a gentle breeze blew, and his body turned to ash.
The Peak Foundation Establishment Cultivator, who had been so overwhelmingly menacing just moments before, had the tables turned on him in the blink of an eye, dying like a stray dog.
"What?"
The other two pursuers, both Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators, were stunned. They stared at the Golden Brick phantom, which had flown back to hover above the White Robe Female Cultivator’s head. They couldn’t help but gulp, their throats suddenly dry.
A True Core Talisman Treasure was just too terrifying!
The scar-faced man had been incredibly powerful, his methods profound. He had once been besieged by two other Peak Cultivators of the same realm, yet he had managed to wound one and escape with ease.
And yet, this time, he had been felled by a simple trick from a mere Late Stage Foundation Establishment Female Cultivator, killed by a direct hit from her Talisman Treasure.
If they hadn’t known that the two female Cultivators were at the end of their Magical Power, they would have turned and fled without a second thought. But the might the Talisman Treasure had just displayed made their hearts pound, and they dared not make a rash move.
The four people from the two sides fell into a bizarre, silent stalemate, facing each other from a distance.
The two female Cultivators were forced to stand still due to their depleted Magical Power and utter exhaustion.
Meanwhile, the two pursuing Male Cultivators had plenty of Magical Power in their Dantians and were in good physical condition, yet while they wanted to move, they did not dare...
It was a curious sight, how different reasons had led to the exact same outcome.
The standoff lasted for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. Finally, the Talisman Treasure above the White Robe Female Cultivator’s head could no longer be sustained. With a VMM, its radiance receded, and it reverted to a simple Talisman, fluttering down into her palm.
The meager amount of Magical Power she had painstakingly recovered during that time was instantly roused. She knew there was no escape; it was time for a battle to the death.