The world condensed by the talisman path was vast and boundless, filling Zhang Ruochen’s entire field of vision. Its terrifying might seemed intent on crushing him and burying him beneath thick layers of earth.
Before crushing him, it sought to seize his spirit.
Zhang Ruochen’s protective holy aura was distorted by the talisman world’s pressure, his body uncontrollably sliding backward.
*Bang!*
His feet sank into the ground, rooting him in place. A hundred-zhang-wide spatial true domain materialised invisibly around him.
With hands spread wide, forming a basket-like shape, he swiftly brought them together, creating two palm seals.
*Roar!*
The sound of dragon roars and elephant trumpets echoed through the heavens.
Three dragon souls and three elephant souls flew out, merging with the palm force surging from the seals, colliding with the talisman world.
A deafening explosion erupted from Zhang Ruochen’s palms, spreading outward.
The talisman world shattered under the palm force, collapsing into ruins.
But in the instant it broke, the resulting shockwave sent Zhang Ruochen’s body flying back dozens of miles.
Protected by his spatial true domain, Zhang Ruochen landed lightly, untainted by dust, gazing at Yan Zhexian, who stood suspended in the sky, as beautiful as a celestial fairy. He thought to himself, “What formidable talisman techniques. A single talisman surpasses the power of a ninth-grade formation. In the Hell Realm, in the last millennium, is there a talisman master stronger than her?”
Even Emperor Yu, a master of the talisman path, paled in comparison to her skills.
Of course, no matter how powerful Yan Zhexian’s talisman techniques were, Zhang Ruochen felt no fear, only a surge of intense curiosity.
After all, a formation master setting up a ninth-grade array requires significant time to complete. Yet Yan Zhexian, as a talisman master, could draw a “Realm” talisman in an instant, achieving the power of a ninth-grade formation.
Any Great Sage witnessing such a feat would be astonished.
There were only two explanations:
First, Yan Zhexian’s spiritual power far exceeded the sixty-fifth tier, allowing her to draw a grand talisman in moments, capable of contending with a top-tier powerhouse like Zhang Ruochen, comparable to a Thousand-Question Realm Great Sage.
Second, Yan Zhexian had spent considerable time preparing talismans in advance, storing them on her person, and was now merely activating them.
Talismans are far easier to preserve than formations.
Zhang Ruochen believed the second explanation was more likely.
For someone of Yan Zhexian’s age to have cultivated her spiritual power to the sixty-fifth tier was already world-shocking. After all, many gods’ spiritual power didn’t even reach the seventieth tier.
If her spiritual power had reached a god’s level, how humiliated would those gods with spiritual power still in the sixties feel?
Zhang Ruochen had reached the sixty-fifth tier in a short time, but that was due to extraordinary opportunities like the Sundial, the Extreme Burial Gold Qi, the Heart of the Divine Tree, and other rare treasures coveted even by gods.
Yan Zhexian’s achievements in spiritual power and the talisman path were astounding, even to Zhang Ruochen.
However, even in the second scenario, it was no easy feat.
The more powerful the talisman, the rarer the materials needed to craft the paper capable of bearing it. Not only is the paper difficult to create, but the ink required for drawing the talisman also has stringent demands.
In the Hunting Heaven Battlefield, solving these challenges would be no small task for Yan Zhexian.
Talisman and formation masters can be both incredibly powerful and remarkably weak. Given enough time and materials, their combat power has almost no limit.
Conversely, with insufficient time or materials, their strength is greatly diminished.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh…*
As the talisman world shattered, Yan Zhexian’s expression remained unchanged, steady as a mountain. She launched her second wave of attacks, her graceful figure dancing as her brush moved like a dragonfly skimming water, conjuring one Heavenly Halberd talisman after another.
Each talisman became a Heavenly Halberd.
The halberds, like a rain of arrows piercing the heart, transformed into countless black dots, striking at Zhang Ruochen on the ground.
Zhang Ruochen did not dodge. His ten golden wings unfurled, turning into a streak of golden light, charging toward the rain of halberds.
A flicker of surprise crossed Yan Zhexian’s face. She hadn’t expected Zhang Ruochen to be so bold and formidable, treating her Heavenly Halberd talismans as if they were nothing.
*Bang! Bang!*
On his ten golden wings, ancestral blood patterns emitted a crimson glow, like sky-cleaving golden blades, shattering the halberds one by one.
The Heavenly Halberd talismans weren’t pre-prepared, yet with Yan Zhexian’s mastery, each one posed a threat to a Great Sage.
Zhang Ruochen cut through them like paper butterflies, closing in on Yan Zhexian.
“Take my fist.”
He threw a punch, countless fist-path rules surging along his arm to his fingers.
A phantom of a heavenly river appeared behind him, exuding a majestic aura.
With Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation, unleashing the Luoshui Fist Technique at full force was something even powerhouses like Xu and Yanhong Great Sages might not withstand.
Yan Zhexian dared not meet it head-on. For a spiritual-power Great Sage specialising in talismans, such a close-range, powerful attack was a lethal threat.
Yet her mental resilience was remarkable. Unfazed, she extended her brush, drawing a massive circle 120 zhang in diameter, imbued with a devouring force.
The Luoshui Fist Technique seemed gentle but was overwhelmingly dominant, with an unstoppable momentum.
Yet, as Zhang Ruochen aimed to shatter all of Yan Zhexian’s defences with one punch, his body was pulled into the circle. His vision darkened, and when it cleared, he found himself back on the ground where he started.
*Boom!*
His punch struck the earth, sending sand and stone flying, kicking up a cloud of black dust.
Zhang Ruochen understood what had happened. The circle Yan Zhexian drew was akin to a spatial wormhole mirror, teleporting him from one coordinate to another, effortlessly neutralising his fist technique.
It was a spatial wormhole mirror created through talisman techniques, executed with supreme skill.
Zhang Ruochen finally saw clearly that Yan Zhexian’s talismans were stored in the emerald holy brush she wielded, a remarkable artifact containing boundless mysteries.
Who knew how many talismans she still had stored in that brush?
“Playing with spatial power? I’ll indulge you.”
Zhang Ruochen’s tone was cold as he looked up to see Yan Zhexian dancing with her emerald brush, like a celestial maiden.
The ink from her brush tip scattered, turning into a rain of flowers.
Influenced by her talisman techniques, the sky turned a dark red.
A vibrant, exquisite flower descended from the dark red clouds.
It resembled the legendary Moon Crimson Divine Flower, its petals like silk, with countless fine threads.
Yan Zhexian stood at the centre of the Moon Crimson Divine Flower, continuing to inscribe talisman patterns. Instantly, more flowers bloomed in the sky, transforming the hundreds of miles around into a sea of flowers.
The flower sea sank downward, the atmospheric pressure intensifying, pressing toward Zhang Ruochen from all directions.
“What kind of technique is this?”
Zhang Ruochen propped up his hundred-zhang spatial true domain to resist the atmospheric pressure, gazing at the magnificent, enchanting flower sea in the sky—a scene of earthly beauty.
Yet, the more beautiful it was, the deadlier it became, hiding boundless killing intent.
“Flower Dance of the Mortal Realm, Burial of All Beings.”
“If this talisman technique were used elsewhere, the Moon Crimson Divine Flower would shine like a moon, its radiance reaching 100,000 miles, its flower sea stretching 30,000 miles. But here, constrained by dao locks, you see only an 800-mile flower sea.”
Yan Zhexian’s voice was ethereal, like a song.
“A woman as beautiful as you should stick to dancing flowers in the mortal realm, not burying all beings.”
Zhang Ruochen erupted with earth-shaking holy might, millions of spatial rules surging wildly. In an instant, his spatial true domain expanded from a hundred zhang to a thousand zhang.
The Moon Crimson Divine Flower and Yan Zhexian within it were both enveloped within the spatial true domain.
To reach a thousand-zhang true domain, the spatial holy aspect had to be integrated. Such a domain was highly unstable and could collapse at any moment.
In the past, Zhang Ruochen only used this move in life-or-death situations.
But now, with his growing mastery of space, he controlled the thousand-zhang true domain with increasing finesse, making it a regular technique.
“Flower Dance of the Mortal Realm is beautiful. Now, Miss Yan, witness my sword dance.”
“Spatial Sword Dance.”
Within the true domain, invisible swords appeared, perceptible only to spiritual-power Great Sages. These swords, formed from space, numbered exactly thirty-six.
The swords in space were like wind blades in the air or ice blades in water.
The moment Yan Zhexian fell into the spatial true domain, her face paled slightly. She bit her arm, letting her holy blood stain the white bristles of her brush.
*Whoosh!*
The thirty-six spatial swords wove into a sword net, slashing toward her.
*Bang! Bang!*
Yan Zhexian drew a blood talisman, fending off the spatial swords while steering the Moon Crimson Divine Flower to escape the spatial true domain.
Zhang Ruochen’s five fingers clenched sharply.
The thirty-six spatial swords merged into one, piercing through the blood talisman and the Moon Crimson Divine Flower, grazing past Yan Zhexian’s neck.
The sharp sword qi tore through space and her skin.
Yan Zhexian flew diagonally, crashing to the ground in disarray, her neck bleeding profusely, staining her white robes red. The flower sea in the sky, struck by spatial forces, withered entirely, dissolving into specks of light.
The spatial swords reverted to thirty-six, returning to the thousand-zhang spatial true domain, hovering around Zhang Ruochen.
He advanced, the swords following like shadows.
“The truth is, you’re no match for me. But you are indeed strong, surviving my spatial swords. Your strength surpasses Xu and Yanhong Great Sages without supreme holy artifacts by at least two measures.”
Yan Zhexian stood tall and proud, staring coldly at Zhang Ruochen. “Don’t speak to me as a victor. This battle has only just begun. Soon, you’ll fall at my feet.”
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Figures appeared from all directions around Zhang Ruochen, each holding white talisman seals.
Sixty-one Great Sages, all with spiritual power exceeding the sixtieth tier, and all versed in the talisman path.
Yan Zhexian’s valiant presence grew even stronger. Her emerald brush elongated to nine feet, like a spear, striking the ground forcefully. The earth trembled violently, and space quaked.
*Boom!*
Seven mountain peaks burst through the soil, rising from the ground.
Yan Zhexian’s red lips, bright as gems, declared, “The Yanluo clan’s talisman practitioners are all here, having prepared a grand talisman to crush you.”
“Earth Treasury Seven Evils.”
Including Yan Zhexian, sixty-two Great Sage talisman masters inscribed talisman patterns ceaselessly.
Some patterns flew to the sky, others sank into the earth.
The seven peaks that emerged took on menacing, ghostly forms, growing taller and more imposing, compressing Zhang Ruochen’s spatial true domain to just a hundred zhang.
It was still shrinking.
Clearly, the Yanluo clan’s talisman masters had tampered with this region, integrating it with their talisman techniques.
Zhang Ruochen wasn’t arrogant enough to face dozens of Great Sage talisman masters alone, especially with Yan Zhexian leading the formation.
The Earth Treasury Seven Evils sealed seven directions.
Each evil exuded overwhelming spiritual pressure, looming over Zhang Ruochen.
“I must not let the Earth Treasury Seven Evils talisman take shape, or I’ll surely die today.”
Zhang Ruochen commanded the thirty-six spatial swords, transforming into a golden streak, charging toward the formation’s strongest—and most vulnerable—point: Yan Zhexian’s position.
“How does Zhang Ruochen know my position is both the strongest and weakest point of the Earth Treasury Seven Evils?”
As Yan Zhexian prepared to harness the talisman’s power, she was shocked to see Zhang Ruochen perform a spatial leap, instantly appearing before her, his spatial sword aimed at her brow.
“It’s over!”
Having witnessed the spatial sword’s might, Yan Zhexian knew she couldn’t block it. She sighed inwardly, acknowledging Zhang Ruochen as a peerless figure like Yan Wushen. Dying by his sword was no injustice.
The spatial sword pierced through her talisman patterns, passing through her brow.
Yet, she didn’t die or even sustain injury, feeling only a cool sensation at her brow. The spatial sword was like a breeze brushing her pale forehead, devoid of killing intent.
Yan Zhexian touched her brow, filled with disbelief.
Zhang Ruochen had spared her?
He could have killed her with one strike but, at the last moment, let the spatial sword dissolve back into space.
Zhang Ruochen had already flown over her, like a dragon, a swan, or a cloud, heading toward the sleeping Buddha mountain, becoming a blood-red dot on the radiant golden land.
“Zhang Ruochen, this place is guarded by 270 Great Sages of the Yanluo clan. No matter your world-turning power, you’ll meet your end here.” Yan Zhexian shouted at the distant blood-red dot.
“Thanks for the warning.”
Zhang Ruochen’s indifferent voice drifted back on the wind.
The blood-red dot vanished into the air, as if swept away by the breeze.
A Great Sage talisman master approached Yan Zhexian and said, “Zhang Ruochen is too terrifying. The Earth Treasury Seven Evils wasn’t fully formed, yet it’s not something a Hundred-Shackle Realm Great Sage should break with one sword. But he did.”
“What now?” another Great Sage talisman master asked.
Yan Zhexian’s gaze was icy as she tucked the shrunken emerald brush into her silk waistband. “The path to Dragon Multitude Copper Temple isn’t easy. We pursue him and must stop him at all costs.”
She looked up at the golden Buddhist light swallowed by black clouds. “The sky has changed. Has Yan Wushen already claimed the opportunity?”
A flash of lightning streaked across, and the sky turned completely dark, the Buddhist light engulfed by darkness.
*Boom!*
A deafening thunderclap followed, its source unclear—whether from the sky or beneath the earth.
