Chapter 529 - 512: Talisman Battle
"Yeah, they should just give up their spot in the Pure Land to the Holy Hall!"
"After this battle, I’d say it’s more than likely."
"What do you idiots know? This is just the round of sixteen. The real masters haven’t even used their full Mana yet. The Holy Hall looks fierce, but they’re just paper tigers. I predict they’ll all be eliminated in the next round!"
"Screw you! Who the hell do you think you are? You’re dressed all fancy, but you’re just a poser."
"How dare you insult me, you lowlife!"
"Brothers, get him!"
Amidst all the commotion, the battle between Longyue and Hengyu began.
As one of the most famous Cultivators, Longyue herself had never made any major waves. The few activities she did participate in were always alongside Jii Wanli, and she was largely overshadowed by his fame. But at the Battle of the Other Shore, no one could rely on or hide behind anyone else. If you had skill, you had to show it.
The moment the Magical Combat started, Hengyu stunned everyone—or more accurately, he stunned every Talisman Cultivator present.
The various Magic of Talisman Cultivators almost always followed the Endurance Mantra or the Attrition Mantra. Unless they had an absolute advantage in strength or had mastered a Secret Technique, they were considered the weakest attackers among all Cultivators. But Hengyu was an eye-opener for everyone.
’This’ was what it meant to be a Talisman Cultivator!
With a standard Talisman attack, Hengyu’s Talisman suddenly flickered, shot out like a bolt of lightning, and struck Longyue directly, making her whole body tremble.
A Lightning Talisman!
After the Talisman was launched, it unexpectedly unleashed a second, incredibly fast burst of attack that also had a paralyzing effect. It was simply unimaginable!
Next came a Bursting Fire Talisman, but this was no ordinary Bursting Fire Talisman. After the Fire Talisman detonated, it would set off a chain of explosions. Each Bursting Fire Talisman was a complete set in itself.
Then there was the Ice Talisman, which would create a powerful freezing effect upon impact—something Hu Jing understood better than anyone. But Hengyu’s Ice Talisman wasn’t just a simple manipulation of the Water of the Five Elements. When his Ice Talisman was launched, it would create an Ice Array over a considerable area.
This dazzling string of Talisman attacks left Princess Longyue completely stunned, utterly unable to fight back.
The quality was undeniable!
With just this opening move, Hengyu took complete control of the field. In terms of Elemental Power, as the lead disciple of the Ten Thousand Talisman Sect, Hengyu’s level was on par with Longyue’s. For geniuses like them, cultivating Elemental Power was just a matter of time. But this kind of Skill Technique was not something others could catch up to.
The Ten Thousand Talisman Sect Leader, Lei Zhengyuan, had a proud smile on his face. He had been waiting for this, for his disciple to take the stage. It wasn’t that traditional Sects didn’t change or progress; they simply held fast to the fundamentals of Talisman Cultivators, strengthening their power on that foundation.
Those with true strength naturally craved a stage like this—fair and a true showcase of power—and disdained the boring squabbles of daily life.
Strength was all that mattered.
Any other Talisman Cultivator was nothing before Hengyu. Longyue’s Talismans were striking back, but it had to be said, her attacks seemed somewhat pale in comparison to his.
Traditional Talismans, no matter how masterfully used, were simply full of openings in front of a Talisman prodigy like him.
He effortlessly dodged and countered, suppressing Longyue so completely that she was helpless.
His use of Combined Talismans, in particular, forced Longyue entirely onto the defensive, leaving her in a sorry state.
The Holy Light Sect was ranked fifth in the Star Alliance, yet their representative was being beaten this badly. It was a huge loss of face. The Cultivators who admired the Holy Light Sect suddenly felt their hearts sink.
In this Battle of the Other Shore, they might not achieve the highest rankings, but these specialized Cultivation Sects were certainly displaying an exceptionally high level of skill.
Quality over quantity!
Although Hengyu was facing a beauty, he showed no mercy. ’Besides,’ he thought, ’she hasn’t used her Holy Statue yet. It’s far too early to declare victory. I have to keep up the pressure.’
With his tremendous advantage, Hengyu had enough time and space to execute his techniques. His hands fluttered like butterflies, and one after another, silver Talismans flew out as if they had wings.
They weren’t very fast, and they flew about chaotically, surrounding Longyue.
Each of the silver, butterfly-like Talismans was a Lightning Talisman. Though they seemed chaotic, they actually moved with an orderly rhythm.
—The Butterfly Electric Dance Formation.
A single Talisman was just for harassment; a Talisman Cultivator’s greatest strength was undoubtedly an Array Technique attack.
Suddenly, the seemingly disordered silver Talismans froze in place—a characteristic of the Lightning Talisman. In the next moment, a bursting attack would follow. The sky full of electric light had Longyue completely surrounded. If all of them hit, even if she wasn’t injured, she likely wouldn’t be able to fight back.
But dodging was not a Talisman Cultivator’s specialty. More importantly, this was the first time the Lightning Talisman had ever appeared. Besides dodging, no one knew how to defend against it.
The most crucial part was, no one even knew *how* to dodge this kind of Lightning Talisman.
Perhaps only a Body Cultivator could react in time.
Wang Meng glanced at Hu Jing, who shook her head slightly. If it were her, she would have the same headache; there was no way to break it.
This Battle of the Other Shore had truly revealed many capable people. ’The world is vast; I really can’t underestimate it.’
Wang Meng could see the admiration in Hu Jing’s eyes. To earn such praise from her, Hengyu’s attainments in Talisman Cultivation had to be truly extraordinary.
In fact, it wasn’t just Hu Jing who thought so; the other Talisman Cultivators felt the same. Ever since Hengyu had brought out his Talismans, Longyue had been forced to do nothing but parry, unable to even counterattack. It seemed Princess Longyue was just looking for a decent opportunity to use her Holy Statue.
Some people’s talent and abilities were simply on another level. The moment they acted, they left others in the dust, completely outmatched.
Indeed, even the world-famous Longyue could only give up. But... she was only giving up on using Talismans, which didn’t mean the proud disciple of the Holy Light Sect was giving up the fight.
BUZZ...
A sonic boom erupted, and a ripple of tangible Elemental Power swept out, blowing all the lightning butterflies to pieces before they could form their array.
A Guqin had appeared in Longyue’s hands. She wore a gentle smile. "Brother Hengyu, please listen to a tune from Longyue: ’High Mountains, Flowing Water, Startling the Bright Moon’!"
DONG...
Her slender, jade-like fingers plucked a string, and immediately, an Elemental Power Vibration Wave swept out.
With elegance and grace, she held the world in her palm!
Hengyu didn’t dare to underestimate her. He formed a Spell with his hands, and a Heaven-shattering Defense Array rose up in a ten-foot radius around him.
Hengyu’s Defense Array was clearly extraordinary. For a Talisman Cultivator, the first priority was defense, followed by offense.
This was an orthodox Five Elements Defense Array.
The Holy Hall Beings were somewhat surprised, for this was the first time they had seen someone other than Wang Meng who possessed a Five Elements Body. Only someone with a Five Elements Body could achieve such perfect control.
Wang Meng could tell what they were thinking and shook his head slightly. "His Five Elements are primarily fire, water, and wood, but the other two are very well-balanced."
Hu Jing nodded. "To be able to adjust the Five Elements Power to such a balance, he is truly a rare genius. His Skill Technique with Talismans is probably the best in the world."
Although Longyue hadn’t used her Holy Statue, she had brought out her hidden ace. She had directly given up on using Talismans to fight Hengyu. To make a proud opponent like her give in so readily, one could only imagine the level of Hengyu’s skill with Talismans.
THWUM...
Her jade-like hand gently plucked a string, but in an instant, the sea’s waves surged to the heavens!
RUMBLE~~~~
It was real!
This was the Ancient Zither Sound! In a Cultivation Realm that had been dominated by Body Cultivators, Talisman Cultivators, Sword Cultivators, and Bow Cultivators for a thousand years, an Ancient Technique of the Ancient Cultivators had appeared!
Several thousand years ago, Human Cultivators had experienced a golden age of "a hundred schools of thought," blossoming with infinite possibilities. But in the end, due to the difficulty of passing down their arts, they gradually disappeared. That had been a high point in the history of Human Cultivators, after which they entered a slow recovery where the four major cultivation methods came to hold absolute dominance.
Now, with the four major cultivation methods stabilized, prodigious talents with Miao Jue would occasionally try to create new methods, including zither music, but it was always a botched imitation.
But was Longyue’s performance also just for show?
The very first wave of impact was a show of force against Hengyu.
He was extremely confident in his Five Elements Talisman Array. He had restored the strongest Defensive Array in Talisman Cultivation, completely different from ordinary, single-element Defensive Arrays.
But with this first exchange, he experienced the sheer power of the Sonic Attack.
Longyue, however, was as calm as a placid lake. Her slender, jade-like fingers began to pluck the strings continuously, and one after another, tangible sonic waves blasted out!
All attacks originated from Elemental Power, but truly powerful attacks transcended it. For a master, simply using raw Elemental Power produced negligible attack power. But once Elemental Power was combined with a Skill Technique, it could generate an attack of unimaginable force.
This was the root of a Human Cultivator’s strength.
This was the terrifying zither music from the golden age of Human Cultivators.
To the Cultivators outside the arena, it was a beautiful and moving melody. There were plenty of Cultivators present who enjoyed music and singing, but they had never imagined that zither music could produce such a terrifying attack.
As Longyue played, the guqin also emitted a brilliant white light, making her look just like a Fairy.
Her playing was as tranquil as water, but the sound of her guqin sought to dominate the world.
The situation reversed instantly. Even though Hengyu had resurrected the Five Elements Talisman Array and was skilled in all kinds of Talisman attacks, under the interference of the zither music, all his Talismans went awry. When he launched a Lightning Talisman, it had none of its previous draconic might; it was more like a mud loach, shooting out a few meters before falling to the ground.
And his powerful Five Elements Talisman Array was reduced to purely defensive measures.
In the face of the zither music, all other Magic was futile.
Vast Sea smiled faintly and looked at Extreme Dao Immortal Venerable. "I recall a Demon Emperor of peerless talent a thousand years ago who also used zither music. It seems today’s Longyue possesses a style that is in no way inferior to his."
Extreme Dao Immortal Venerable remained expressionless. "Mere zither music. How can she be compared to the Demon Emperor? However, it is indeed commendable."
"This music is quite wonderful," Tu Mu said with considerable approval. The Dragon Race was vast in their knowledge and experience; no one knew Tu Mu’s true age. Perhaps this legendary figure had even seen the original.
Among all living beings, the Dragon Race enjoyed the longest lifespans, much to the envy of Human Cultivators.
In their eyes, it was a beautiful art form, but for the other Cultivators, it was truly terrifying.
It was obvious that Longyue’s zither music not only possessed a powerful, indiscriminate, area-of-effect attack, but it could also interfere with the casting of Magic, leaving Hengyu with a full arsenal of skills that he was unable to use.
Suddenly, at its climax, the zither music stopped. By this point, Hengyu was being suppressed so heavily he could barely breathe.
Longyue raised her head and smiled faintly. "The climax is coming. Brother Hengyu, please be prepared."
No one expected that just when it seemed Hengyu was about to collapse, Longyue would pass up such a perfect opportunity to finish him in one blow. This was tantamount to giving the master from the Ten Thousand Talisman Sect another chance.
Hengyu nodded. Although the situation was dire, he remained composed. He could not miss this one and only chance.
’My Talismans, my world, and the expectations of my many fellow disciples from the Ten Thousand Talisman Sect... I can’t be defeated just like this.’
(End of the month, asking for monthly tickets, thank you.)
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