Chapter 153: If You Dare to Advance, Death is Certain

BOOM!

The colossal Golden Geng Spirit Sword hammered against the mirror’s surface with the weight of a falling mountain.

Dual-colored spiritual light exploded outward in a chaotic shockwave.

With a deafening crack, the golden sword shattered into motes of light. The mirror, however, remained intact.

“A Spirit Treasure. Impressive,” Li Meng mused, his eyes narrowing. “Let’s see how long a Foundation Establishment ant like you can keep it running.”

A Spirit Treasure was not something a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator could wield freely. Forcing it active through a blood sacrifice was a desperate measure—a candle burning at both ends.

Li Meng’s killing intent sharpened.

He didn’t bother with complex incantations. He simply flicked his sleeves.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

More than a dozen golden talismans shot out from his cuffs like a swarm of angry hornets.

The moment they hit the air, they ignited with blinding brilliance. In a breath, they transformed into over a dozen ten-zhang-long Golden Geng Spirit Swords.

“Those are High-Grade Rank 2 Spirit Sword Talismans!”

“Is he a Talisman Master?”

“You don’t need to be a master to use them—you just need to be obscenely rich!”

The onlookers gasped, eyes widening in disbelief. To throw away that much wealth in a single attack was unheard of.

Deng Wu and Gong Qi had already retreated to a safe distance. They exchanged looks, tacitly agreeing to stay out of it. The white-haired, youthful-faced Daoist—Li Meng—radiated the aura of a righteous senior. Based on that identity alone, no righteous cultivator would interfere, especially not when he was suppressing a demonic cultivator.

The barrage of golden swords tore through the air, aiming straight for Wen Yu.

Inside the blood cloud, Wen Yu’s face was as pale as paper. He frantically formed seals with one hand, manipulating the massive Blood Cloud Mirror to shield him.

He knew he was on borrowed time. The mirror could save his life, but it was draining his soul.

“Senior, save me!!”

Wen Yu screamed, his voice cracking with panic.

Key disciples of major sects always had a protector. As the Blood Son of the Blood Saber Sect, Wen Yu was no exception.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The golden swords slammed into the Blood Cloud Mirror in a relentless staccato. The mirror pulsed with bloody light, sending ripples of energy sweeping across the desert.

“Pfft!”

Wen Yu convulsed, vomiting a mouthful of essence blood.

The backlash was tearing him apart. He felt his vitality and Qi draining away like water through a sieve.

Li Meng frowned slightly at the shout.

“A guardian?”

A protector for a Foundation Establishment cultivator would undoubtedly be a Golden Core expert.

“Then you need to die faster.”

Li Meng’s hands blurred as he formed a new set of seals.

Rustle…

A torrent of paper flew from his Sword Nurturing Gourd. Dozens of golden talismans soared into the sky, hovering a thousand meters above the battlefield.

The air grew heavy. Static electricity prickled the skin of every cultivator within miles.

Rolling dark clouds manifested out of thin air, spreading rapidly until they choked the sky for several li.

“That Pressure… it’s the power of Heavenly Thunder!”

“Those are Lightning Attraction Talismans! Dozens of them!”

“Is he insane? Controlling that many at once? The backlash will fry his brain!”

“Forget the backlash—if he loses control, we’re all dead!”

Terrified by the apocalyptic pressure radiating from the storm clouds, the surrounding cultivators scrambled further back.

A trickle of blood leaked from the corner of Li Meng’s mouth.

Activating dozens of High-Grade Rank 2 talismans simultaneously was pushing his spirit to the breaking point. But to ensure a one-hit kill, he couldn’t afford to be stingy.

His gaze was icy as he locked onto the blood cloud cowering behind the mirror.

“You lunatic!” Wen Yu roared from within his shell. He frantically shifted the Blood Cloud Mirror to cover his head. “Just wait! When my Senior arrives, you’re dead!”

“You won’t live to see him,” Li Meng said indifferently. “Die.”

KRAKOOM!

A purple lightning bolt, thick as a tree trunk, tore through the heavens.

It slammed into the Blood Cloud Mirror with the wrath of a god.

The mirror wailed, its bloody light dimming instantly under the heavenly punishment. The protective blood cloud vaporized, exposing Wen Yu’s trembling, disheveled figure.

Desperate, Wen Yu spat another mouthful of essence blood onto the mirror, forcing it to reignite a faint glow.

“Senior! SAVE ME!”

He screamed towards the sky, his composure completely shattered. If his guardian didn’t appear now, he was ash.

The onlookers watched in stunned silence.

A cultivator at the Grand Perfection of Foundation Establishment—a prodigy—was being beaten like a dog by someone at the early stage.

It defied all logic.

This man’s techniques were heaven-defying. His wealth was bottomless.

Is this what it means to be invincible within the same realm?

Li Meng wiped the blood from his lips.

The lightning storm was teetering on the edge of chaos. His soul felt like it was being sanded down with grit. He had a few seconds left before he collapsed.

He formed the final seal.

The dark clouds churned violently. Lightning coiled and compressed, converging into a single, singularity of destruction.

CRACK!

A second bolt of purple lightning illuminated the world, blinding in its intensity.

“Senior!” Wen Yu shrieked, his eyes bulging with terror.

Meanwhile, high in the distant clouds.

Wu Han’s expression was ugly as he stared at the man and woman blocking his path.

Blocking him were none other than Wen Huanhuan and Han Li.

“Husband, look,” Wen Huanhuan purred, leaning languidly against Han Li’s chest. A wicked, teasing smile played on her lips as her body trembled with suppressed laughter. “He seems quite upset, doesn’t he?”

Anxiety flickered in Wu Han’s eyes. He suppressed his rage and cupped his hands.

“I ask you two Fellow Daoists to please make way.”

Han Li looked at the polite Wu Han with cold, dead eyes. A trace of mockery curled his lip.

“Wu Han. Our Joyous Union Sect has had plenty of dealings with your Blood Saber Sect. Today, your sect’s Blood Son is destined to Perish. You cannot save him.”

Internally, Han Li was shocked.

He had thought his Junior Nephew Li was merely a sheltered Alchemist, unsuited for combat. He never expected the boy to have such terrifying attainments in the Talisman path.

Throwing out High-Grade talismans like they were trash?

Junior Sister Ruoshui truly has profound fortune to have found such a disciple, he mused.

Wu Han glanced anxiously toward the southwest.

If the Blood Son died, it was a tragedy, yes. But if the Blood Cloud Mirror was lost…

That was a Low-Grade Spirit Treasure. A mountain-guarding treasure.

“Wu Han,” Han Li said softly, his voice dripping with threat. “If you have no other helpers… take one more step forward, and death is certain.”

Wu Han froze.

He was at the mid-stage of Golden Core. Both Han Li and the woman were at the late stage.

They weren’t bluffing. They could kill him.

Wu Han’s expression shifted rapidly as he weighed his life against his duty. Finally, reality won.

A dead genius could be replaced. The Blood Saber Sect had lost plenty of Blood Sons before.

He swept a hateful glare over the couple.

“I can choose not to save the person,” Wu Han hissed through gritted teeth. “But the Spirit Treasure, the Blood Cloud Mirror, cannot be lost. I cannot bear that responsibility.”

Han Li’s killing intent surged.

“It seems you really do want to die here.”

The Demonic Sects of the State of Yue were mortal enemies of the Righteous Sects of the State of Zhao. Why would he pass up a chance to weaken the Blood Saber Sect?

Just then, all three of them turned their heads toward the southwest.

Wen Huanhuan covered her mouth, her eyes crinkling with amusement.

“Oh my,” she giggled. “It looks like the show is over.”