Cultivation: I Have a Golden Talisman

The celestial radiance in the sky dissipated. Sun Fugai, his wide sleeves fluttering, descended from the heavens and landed upon the Yinluo Flying Ship.

Fang Cheng offered his congratulations. "Congratulations on defeating a great enemy, Master."

Sun Fugai’s expression was calm. With a flick of his wide sleeve, a storage bag flew before Fang Cheng. "Xu Tianci’s body is inside this storage bag," he said.

He paused, then looked at Fang Cheng and added, "That sword strike of yours just now was quite good."

Fang Cheng took the storage bag, offered his thanks, and asked, "Master, are we going to continue?"

Sun Fugai glanced at him. "I was only able to win this time thanks to that Fourth-rank Buddhist Talisman. Now that the talisman has been used, I no longer have absolute certainty of victory if we were to fight again."

Fang Cheng asked curiously, "Master, where did you obtain such a talisman? Why not purchase a few more?"

Sun Fugai let out a wry laugh. "Easier said than done. This talisman was refined by a Dharma Realm master from Lankao Temple in the Mingxiao Domain. Your grandmaster had to forcefully trade the Divine Punishment Banner for it at the Ten Thousand Treasures Studio."

Fang Cheng understood.

Sun Fugai said nonchalantly, "In a few more years, once I find a similar treasure, I will return."

With that, he faced the Flame God Palace and announced in a clear voice, "Fellow Daoist Ye, I shall return in three years to seek your guidance again."

His voice wasn’t loud, yet it spread throughout the Flame God Palace, both inside and out.

From within the Flame God Palace, an ancient voice replied, "This old man will await Fellow Daoist Sun’s esteemed arrival."

Sun Fugai smiled indifferently, activated the Yinluo Magical Ship, and vanished over the horizon in the blink of an eye.

...

「Three days later.」

At the peak of the central mountain among the five magnificent mountains of the Flame God Palace, within a resplendent, golden palace.

Ye Tianlan, Ye Lingxiu, and over a dozen other Flame God Palace "Earth" Elders were gathered, all wearing grave expressions.

Among those present, besides Ye Tianlan, everyone else possessed a Late-stage Life Talisman Cultivation. They held great power in the Flame God Palace and occupied high and influential positions.

A few of them had personally witnessed the scene of Sun Fugai cutting down Xu Tianci with his sword three days prior.

The others had just been summoned back to the sect.

One of the elders spoke respectfully, "Elder Ye, Palace Master, we have finished investigating the cultivator who came with Sun Fugai that day."

Ye Tianlan sat at the head seat, as still as an old monk in deep meditation.

The Flame God Palace’s Palace Master, Ye Lingxiu, said solemnly, "Elder Bai, please report."

The elder, surnamed Bai, spoke in a low voice, "This man is named Fang Cheng. He is the seventh disciple Sun Fugai has taken. In his early years, he was a mere Loose Cultivator. Later, due to his expertise in Gu refinement, he was accepted into the Yinluo Sect’s outer sect as a Servant Disciple. Afterward, he married into the Xiaocang Ye Family and used their influence to rise quickly. In just over twenty years, he went from a Servant Disciple to the Peak Master of Demon Lion Peak."

Upon hearing this, some people’s faces showed shock, while others remained unperturbed, having clearly heard of Fang Cheng before.

In over twenty years, to grow from a Sensing Realm cultivator to a Peak Master at the Late-Life Talisman Stage... his cultivation speed could be described as world-shaking.

Elder Bai continued, "Not only is his cultivation speed astonishingly fast, but his Sword Technique is also superb, having truly inherited Sun Fugai’s skills. Furthermore, he possesses many profound and mysterious magical artifacts. Back then, Elder Yuan fell at his hands."

Elder Yuan’s cultivation and strength had ranked among the top three of the Flame God Palace’s many "Earth" Elders.

"Regarding this man, there are four points that cannot be ignored." Elder Bai swept his gaze across the crowd and said slowly, "First, he once entered the ruins of the Myriad Phenomena Immortal Sect and used high-grade Myriad Manifestations Celestial Dew to condense his Life Talisman. His chances of breaking through to the Life Soul realm in the future are much greater than others."

"Second, he has a Golden Rope Magical Artifact in his possession, suspected to be the legendary Immortal Binding Rope. It makes him nearly invincible against those at the same cultivation level."

"Third, he carries some kind of ultimate weapon which he once used to slay a Tier Three Celestial Demon. It’s suspected to be a Fourth-rank Talisman. This time, Sun Fugai also produced a similar talisman..."

"Fourth, he has a suit of Tier Three Battle Armor that can cause his Magical Power and Divine Sense to surge to the Life Soul Level. Three days ago, it was he who, wearing that battle armor, drew his sword and blocked Elder Ye."

After Elder Bai finished speaking, everyone in the hall fell silent.

After a moment, a burly, bald-headed man shouted gruffly, "This man is a great enemy of our Flame God Palace! He has yet to break through to the Life Soul realm. We should muster the full strength of the sect to kill him, or he will surely become an endless source of trouble in the future."

Another elder agreed, "That’s right. The Yinluo Sect already has one Sun Fugai. This Fang Cheng seems even more formidable. We absolutely cannot allow him to mature."

Elder Bai shook his head. "Setting aside whether we can even kill him, what if we further enrage the Yinluo Sect? Right now, their strength is growing while ours is waning. Can you imagine the consequences?"

The bald-headed man sneered and asked, "Then what do you suggest we do? The Yinluo Sect and our Flame God Palace are already like fire and water. Are we supposed to wait until his cultivation is complete for him to come and repeat what happened to Elder Xu Tianci?"

Elder Bai looked toward Ye Tianlan and Ye Lingxiu and cupped his hands. "I believe there are no eternal enemies in this world, only eternal interests. This Fang Cheng is not without his flaws. He can be tempted with profit, tempted with beauty. Given his talent, once he reaches the Life Soul realm, he will inevitably leave a remote place like Yun Country and head for Jin Country. At that time, our sect’s problem will resolve itself."

He pondered for a moment, looked around at the other Earth Elders, and said slowly, "In the future, if the Palace Master or any one of you present can break through to the Life Soul realm, our sect will be able to recover its vitality."

The bald-headed man and several other Earth Elders exchanged glances, then looked at the expressions on Ye Lingxiu and Ye Tianlan’s faces, and all fell silent.

The two factions within the Flame God Palace had never been on good terms. The radical faction, led by Xu Tianci, had long been dissatisfied with Ye Tianlan. Now that Xu Tianci had been slain by Sun Fugai, they had lost their backer and, with it, the confidence to speak their minds.

At this moment, Palace Master Ye Lingxiu said slowly, "If we can win over Fang Cheng and persuade him to convince Sun Fugai to give up on his duel with our sect in three years, it would be worth paying a certain price. What do you all think?"

The elders thought for a moment, then all nodded in agreement.

Someone asked, "Who will go to persuade this Fang Cheng?"

No one spoke.

Ye Lingxiu’s phoenix eyes swept across the crowd, finally landing on Elder Bai. "Elder Bai, who do you think is suitable for the task?"

Elder Bai hesitated for a moment, then sighed deeply. "There is a woman in the Bai Family who once had a brief affair with that Fang Cheng. I am willing to give it a try, but I cannot say for certain whether it will succeed."

Ye Lingxiu nodded. "Elder Bai, first go and prepare a list of gifts. Then, on a chosen day, take the woman from the Bai Family and make a trip to the Yinluo Sect."

...

After Fang Cheng and Sun Fugai returned to the Yinluo Sect, they each went back to their own residences.

This time at the Flame God Palace, although he had only been an observer for the most part and only struck once at the critical moment, he had successfully secured the fruits of their battle, allowing Sun Fugai to achieve a resounding victory.

After the two returned, only Su Miao and Xun Yuanchu in the entire Yinluo Sect knew what had happened.

The day of the Yinluo Sect’s revival seemed to have quietly arrived.

In Canglan Cave’s Quiet Chamber.

Fang Cheng sat cross-legged on the Jade Couch. Before him, a mass of pitch-black Demonic Light blazed like a flame, slowly refining Xu Tianci’s body.

Meanwhile, he leisurely inspected the storage bag of this Celestial Elder from the Flame God Palace.

’This Elder Xu was quite wealthy...’

He mused to himself as he looked through it.

The Flame God Palace was an Artifact Refining Sect, so how could a Tier Three Artifact Refiner like Xu Tianci be lacking in Spirit Stones and Magical Artifacts?

A quick glance revealed over eight hundred Upper-Grade Spirit Stones and four Third-tier Magical Artifacts, all of which were of exquisite quality.

In addition, there were numerous precious materials and rare treasures, a dazzling collection that overwhelmed Fang Cheng’s senses.

Suddenly, an object caught Fang Cheng’s eye.

He let out a soft sound of surprise and took it out.

A massive Cold Ice Coffin appeared in the Quiet Chamber.

The coffin was crystalline and translucent, exquisitely beautiful. Inside it slept a peerless woman dressed in a dark gold long-sleeved gown. Her face was breathtakingly beautiful and her demeanor was dignified; her beauty was unlike anything Fang Cheng had ever seen in his life.

The first time he laid eyes on her, he had the strange illusion that all the light in the world had gathered upon her. The entire world seemed to lose its color, leaving only this brilliant woman, whose beauty was beyond human.

...