Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Chapter 84 The Giant Face and the Blood Refining Talisman



When he had tracked the target to an altitude of thirty miles, Zhao Sheng's steps halted abruptly, and he stopped in his tracks.

His facial expressions shifted rapidly, and a sense of ominous foreboding instantly sprang up in his heart.

"I can't go any further!"

Gazing at the Cloud Sea Sky Gang in front of him, which resembled a wall of clouds that covered the sky, Zhao Sheng hesitated repeatedly but finally gave up on continuing the pursuit.

The vast area above the third layer of the Cloud Sea of Heavenly Pillar Mountain mainly serves as the activity zone for Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and occasionally Golden Core practitioners appear as well.

Although Zhao Sheng had recently advanced to Foundation Establishment, he ultimately decided not to risk his life in the face of such a strange blood stain.

It wasn't that he didn't dare; it was that he had more important things yet to accomplish.

Zhao Sheng turned around and rode the clouds, rapidly descending towards the mountain below.

However, he was completely unaware that the moment he turned around to leave, a giant face abruptly emerged above the cloud wall.

With no nose, ears, or eyebrows, all that could be seen were a pair of cold and indifferent blood-colored eyes and a dark red mouth that seemed to surge with lava, covering dozens of miles of the Cloud Sea. It looked down upon the sea of mist below like a merciless Divine Mansion, as well as the tiny human figure that seemed as insignificant as dust.

...

Two days later, in Pocket World City

In an elegant room on the third floor of Ten Thousand Treasure Pavilion, Zhao Sheng sat opposite a mild-mannered middle-aged man dressed in a plain silk robe.

Currently on the table between the two men, there were seven or eight Middle-Upper Grade magical artifacts such as swords, towers, and badges, all glinting with spirit light.

Zhao Sheng was sipping his Spiritual Tea carefully while the middle-aged man picked up each magical artifact, meticulously inspecting them.

After a moment, the middle-aged man put down the last item, a Purple Gold Coin, and said with a smile, "I hope Senior Zhao wasn't kept waiting too long. These magical artifacts are in good condition and their protections are intact. Ten Thousand Treasure Pavilion will purchase them all."

"How many Spirit Stones is the pavilion willing to offer?" asked Zhao Sheng, setting down his teacup.

The middle-aged man immediately replied, "How about a total of eight thousand Spirit Stones for the lot?"

"Agreed, let's proceed at that price," Zhao Sheng readily accepted.

These artifacts were just a small part of his unexpected gains from last time, and selling them for so many Spirit Stones had exceeded his expectations.

The middle-aged man was slightly surprised to hear this, having thought the other would bargain, but then...

"Please wait a moment, Senior Zhao. I will return shortly," he said.

"Hold on," Zhao Sheng called out to him.

"Senior Zhao, may I assist you with something else?" the middle-aged man turned around and asked.

Zhao Sheng spoke, "I need a set of Second-Order Defensive Formation. Does your pavilion currently have it in stock?"

With a smile, the middle-aged man replied, "Our Ten Thousand Treasure Pavilion is backed by the Hundred Refinement Sect, so we are never short of Second-Order Formations. Please wait a moment, I'll bring a few sets for Senior Zhao to review."

A short while later, the middle-aged man returned to the elegant room holding two Storage Bags.

"Please have a look, Senior. I have here three sets of Second-Order Defensive Formations. This first set is the Yimu Array. This array can produce countless iron woods, and as long as the energy of Yimu doesn't dissipate, it can be restored numerous times. It is extremely resilient."

Zhao Sheng was noncommittal.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man took out several dozen golden Array Bases and stated, "This is the Gold Dripping Array, which excels in offense as a form of defense. Once it is attacked, it will generate countless Golden Arrows to retaliate against the enemies."

"Next!"

"This one is the Second-Order Stone Wall Array, capable of raising a hundred stone walls as hard as metal. If used in conjunction with Earth Element Spiritual Veins, the defensive power of this array could at least double."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng's eyes lit up and he quickly inquired, "How many Spirit Stones for this array?"

The middle-aged man saw this and said with a smiling eye, "Not expensive at all, just ten thousand Spirit Stones."

Zhao Sheng bargained with him for a while and eventually got it for nine thousand four hundred Spirit Stones.

After leaving the Ten Thousand Treasure Pavilion, Zhao Sheng changed into a set of talisman robes, passed through two workshops, and arrived at the Treasure Talisman Pavilion.

The yard was still the same, but the owner had changed.

The beautiful female servant guarding the gate saw Zhao Sheng coming and quickly greeted him with a smile, "Senior Zhao, peace be upon you. You've come at just the right time, the gathering has just begun."

Zhao Sheng nodded to her and then walked into the yard.

There were countless Loose Cultivators in Pocket World City, with various circles of exchanges flourishing. The Talisman Tao Association was a gathering circle where Talisman Masters exchanged ideas.

For the past twenty years or so, whenever Zhao Sheng came to Pocket World City, he would pay a visit here.

On one hand, it was for the exchange of experience in talisman painting, and on the other hand, it was to collect various unique and rare talismans. After all, the art of talismans is profound and extensive, and working in isolation is absolutely inadvisable.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The furniture in the main hall of the gathering had not changed much compared to decades ago, but the host had changed to a Second Order Talisman Master, the former host, Elder Wei, had already passed away thirteen years ago.

Over the years, Zhao Sheng had become somewhat of a celebrity in the Talisman Cultivator Enthusiasts Association, not only for his generous contributions but also for the wide variety of talismans he possessed. Many Talisman Masters in financial need often took the initiative to trade with him.

After chatting with a group of acquaintances for a while, Zhao Sheng skillfully entered a private room next to the main hall to await Talisman Masters seeking trade.

It wasn't long before the door was knocked on.

"Come in!" Zhao Sheng said aloud.

As soon as he finished speaking, a skinny old man with a long face and thick eyebrows entered with a grin on his face and a fawning smile, "Senior Zhao, I've come to bother you."

Zhao Sheng raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw the visitor, but still responded with a smile, "It turns out to be Mr. Wei, please take a seat."

The visitor was named Wei Youquan, a Sixth Level of Qi Refining Cultivator.

After Elder Wei died, this fellow claimed to be related to Elder Wei and, under the pretense of offering condolences, suddenly barged into the Wei Family home. Afterwards, he forcibly took over the Wei Family's property.

Luckily for him, he was shrewd enough to promptly find a powerful patron, offering most of his family's wealth, and only then was he barely able to keep a small portion for himself.

Wei Youquan was cunning and ignorant; over the years, he had squandered much of the Wei Family's property.

In recent years, Zhao Sheng had traded for many rare talismans from him, the majority being First-Order Talismans, and even three or four kinds of Second Order True Talismans.

Despite being a regular customer, Zhao Sheng still did not look favorably upon him.

Wei Youquan quickly took a seat in front of him.

Zhao Sheng asked, "Mr. Wei, have you come with new talismans to trade today, or will it be the usual deal?"

Wei Youquan nodded his head obsequiously and said with a sycophantic smile, "The usual Spirit Stones exchange will do, as I cannot paint talismans anyway."

As he spoke, he took out a blood-red, palm-sized Paper Talisman from his chest and placed it in front of Zhao Sheng.

Along with it, he also handed over a sheet of paper filled with writing.

Zhao Sheng, smelling the strong scent of blood on the talisman, focused his gaze and asked sternly without taking it, "What kind of talisman is this? Demon Path or Evil Path?"

Wei Youquan was startled by the question, but hurriedly replied, "Senior Zhao, please don't misunderstand. This talisman is called the Blood Refining Talisman, which has the function of condensing essence blood. It's not a dangerous talisman from the Evil Demon Path. You will see once you take a look."

With that, he pushed the sheet detailing the refining method a little further forward.

Zhao Sheng thought for a moment, then took it and read it carefully.

The sheet only outlined half of the refining method, but there was nothing unusual about it. Instead, it followed the typical Taoist style, not resembling the style of the Evil Demon Path at all.

Most importantly, drawing this talisman only required the blood of the talisman painter, with no need to collect the fresh blood of others.


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