Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 231
Chapter 231: The Prowess of the Pinnacle Purple Lightning Talisman
Fang Chen stood quietly at the port as the boat departed.
The local fishermen appeared to be accustomed to this sight. They merely spared a few glances at him before getting busy.
Liu Mu stood quietly behind Fang Chen, not making the slightest noise.
Fang Chen’s soul had already risen above the island to survey the area. It was slightly larger than Great Xia’s capital, and there appeared to be dozens of villages residing here. All in all, it had a population of around 30,000 to 50,000.
There were quite a few little daoists in the Cloudless Monastery. Some were practicing their breathing techniques to the morning sun, whereas others were cleaning the entrance. There were around a hundred people residing in the monastery.
These little daoists weren’t cultivators but martial artists, and most had reached Earth Profound realm. Some of the older daoists were even at Heaven Profound realm.
Of the entire monastery, there were only five individuals that emanated a cultivator’s aura. Needless to say, the strongest one belonged to the Cloudless Monastery’s reverend.
The other four ranged between third stage to sixth stage Ki Refinement.
There was a mansion deep in the Cloudless Monastery, with a faint medicinal fragrance wafting from it. There was a spirit field and spirit spring inside.
The spirit spring was rich in spirit ki, comparable to the one in the Fang Manor, just that it was much smaller in size, being only around the size of a fist.
Dozens of herbs were being grown on the spirit field. They weren’t on the level of the 100-year-old Scarlet Fruit or 100-year-old Blood Ginseng, but they were potent enough to even allow a mortal corpse to regrow its flesh.
“A place where a cultivator dwells is bound to have some spirit entities. While this island looks ordinary on the surface, it has a natural spirit field and spirit spring,” Fang Chen thought.
This was likely one of the key differences between an unaffiliated cultivator and a sect.
Stronger sects were bound to have more potent spirit fields and spirit springs, or maybe even spirit entities beyond Fang Chen’s imagination.
All of a sudden, a fragrance wafted from one of the rooms.
An old daoist opened the door with a silver tray in hand. Placed on the silver tray were ten pills around the size of a longan. These pills were pristine white, and they let out a rich fragrance.
Four daoists entered the room with Li Huafeng. They walked up to the old daoist and respectfully greeted him with a bow, “Master.”
They were the four other cultivators in the Cloudless Monastery aside from the old daoist.
“Master, I was wrong. I was wrong!” Li Huafeng’s face warped in fright upon seeing the pills, and he desperately pleaded for mercy.
The old daoist was unfazed. Paying no heed to Li Huafeng’s cries, he had one of his disciples stuff one of the pills into the latter’s mouth.
Li Huafeng didn’t want to swallow it, but the pill dissolved as soon as it entered his mouth, and it flowed down his esophagus into his stomach.
The crowd quietly waited.
Seconds later, Li Huafeng suddenly spat out blood. His hair turned white at a visibly pace, and he could feel himself swiftly weakening. His eyes were filled with despair.
He truly wished that he had never embarked on this path. If only he was still in Great Xia, he could have continued to enjoy a comfortable life.
“Another batch of failed pills,” the old daoist said with a sigh as he destroyed the remaining pills on the silver tray.
A white eagle suddenly descended from the sky and landed on one of the cultivators’ shoulders. The cultivator glanced at it before reporting to the old daoist, “Master, a cultivator has landed on the island.”
“Let’s take a look. Follow me,” the old daoist said.
Fang Chen looked at the white eagle before returning his soul to his body. He began making his way toward the Cloudless Monastery with Liu Mu.
By the time they arrived at the Cloudless Monastery, there were already dozens of ordinary daoists standing at the entrance, coldly eyeing the two of them. A middle-aged daoist placidly asked, “Report your name.”
“Tell your reverend Great Xia’s Fang Chen is here,” Fang Chen said.
The middle-aged daoist frowned. He had heard of Great Xia, but to him, a grade-9 state was no different from an ant. It was unthinkable that someone from there would come to this island.
“Do you know where you are?” the middle-aged daoist bellowed. “Cloudless Monastery is not a place anyone can enter.”
“A mere Heaven Profound realm martial artist thinks he’s qualified to guard the entrance? Reverend of the Cloudless Monastery, don’t you think you’re insulting me too much by having him face me?” Fang Chen remarked with a chuckle.
The middle-aged daoist was stunned. He thought about what Fang Chen said earlier, and his heart jolted. He’s able to see through my martial cultivation?
Is he a cultivator?
But how can a grade-9 state like Great Xia have an immortal?
He was from a grade-7 state, but even so, it hadn’t been easy for him to find an immortal to serve. It took a lot of effort before he was accepted as a disciple of the Cloudless Monastery. Naturally, he knew how difficult it was to become an immortal.
Just then, a young daoist walked out. The daoists at the entrance respectfully bowed to him.
“Our master invites you in,” the young daoist placidly informed Fang Chen.
Fang Chen smiled. He entered the monastery together with Liu Mu. Soon, he came face to face with the old daoist and his three other disciples.
“Daoist Fang, what brings you here?” the old daoist calmly asked.
“Daoist, it was not long ago that you barged into Great Xia’s capital and killed many of my people. Have you forgotten about that?” Fang Chen asked.
The old daoist was stunned. He took a few looks at Fang Chen before smirking in disdain. “Daoist Fang, you dared not make a move on me earlier, yet you marched into the Cloudless Monastery on your own accord. Did you get braver in a matter of days?”
“A clash between cultivators is bound to cause a huge commotion. I didn’t want to involve innocent Great Xia civilians,” Fang Chen replied.
The old daoist’s disciples were startled to hear that.
Is this lad a Foundation Establishment cultivator? No, that’s impossible. But no one beneath Foundation Establishment would dare to utter such words to our master.
“Daoist Fang, let’s not beat around the bush. Why are you here?” the old daoist coldly asked once more.
“You don’t believe me?” Fang Chen replied.
The old daoist laughed. “A couple of measly mortal lives would prompt you to spend ki stones to travel here?”
“What a pity. That’s exactly the reason why I’m here.” Fang Chen smiled.
The next instant, a water dragon of over a hundred meters long suddenly assaulted Fang Chen.
“You’re also afraid of wrecking your turf with your earth elemental arts?” Fang Chen scoffed.
He tossed out a Purple Lightning Talisman, and purple lightning blinded everyone’s eyes.
The terrifying lightning energy instantaneously engulfed the old daoist and the others behind the water dragon. The ground, the ceiling, and everything else that had been struck by the lightning were reduced to cinders.
As soon as he threw the talisman, Fang Chen had already made sure to retreat a distance away with Liu Mu.
By the time the lightning dissipated, everything had been reduced to ruins.
The old daoist’s four disciples were reduced to charred corpses, looking as if they would disperse at the gentlest blow of a wind. As for the old daoist, he remained standing.
The spirit ki barrier around him had greatly thinned, and his complexion was ghastly white. He seemed to have expended 80% to 90% of his spirit ki to survive this attack.
The ordinary daoists who were alarmed by the commotion rushed over and were shocked speechless.
“I can be certain now it’s a pinnacle Purple Lightning Talisman,” Fang Chen murmured.
That much was clear from the devastation caused by the lightning. High-grade Purple Lightning Talismans couldn’t have been this much stronger than a mid-grade Purple Lightning Talisman.
