112: Chapter 112 Pale Golden Light

Tuesday, 6:00 AM. Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

Thirteen points of light rotated slowly within his Dantian, forming a perfect circle.

With every rotation, vast Stellar Energy surged throughout his entire body.

That feeling of being filled with power had reached a point where he didn't need to consciously perceive it; it existed naturally.

He stood up and walked to the window.

The sun was shining brightly outside; it was an ordinary Tuesday morning.

Thirteen fragments were in hand. Five remained. Four of them were in the hands of the Neutrals, and one was on the other side of the Heavenly Road.

No rush.

He turned and walked over to the pots of spiritual plants.

Under the nourishment of the thirteen fragments, the six pots of spiritual plants had completely mutated.

The leaves of the four soul-calming grass plants had turned completely golden, and the flowers were as large as the mouth of a bowl, emitting an astonishing medicinal fragrance.

The Mint leaves were as thick as jade, glowing with a lustrous sheen. The seeds of the wild soul-calming grass had fallen everywhere, and new seedlings had already grown into a patch.

He plucked the flowers, collected the leaves, and gathered the seeds.

anshen flower powder stock: 6 kilograms.

Mint leaves: 15,000 pieces.

soul-calming grass seeds: 20 large bags.

Enough. Really enough.

He walked to the workbench and looked at the stack of blank Talisman paper.

There were now 6,000 Talismans in his Storage Space. 2,000 Attack Talismans, 1,500 Defense Talismans, 1,000 Binding Talismans, 1,000 Purification Talismans, 1,000 Suppression Talismans, and 500 Special Talismans.

He thought for a moment and drew 500 new Talismans—Teleportation Talismans, Invisibility Talismans, Sensing Talismans, and Tracking Talismans, with 100 of each function.

As he finished the last stroke, the door was knocked.

"Come in."

Zhou Rui pushed the door open and entered, holding a stack of Talismans in his hands.

"Master, these were drawn last night."

Chen Zhen took them and looked at them one by one.

Thirty Heart-Clearing Talismans, ten Spirit Gathering Talismans, and five Calming Talismans. Each one had reached the Mortal Grade · Top Quality, with stable spiritual power fluctuations and lines as smooth as flowing clouds and water.

[System prompt: Disciple Zhou Rui's Talisman Dao talent has advanced]

[Current Realm: Talisman Master · Beginner]

[Can independently draw Basic Talismans]

Chen Zhen nodded and returned the Talismans to him.

"You've made fast progress."

Zhou Rui smiled, a smile from the heart.

"I practice every day."

He walked over to the pots of spiritual plants and looked at his own pot of soul-calming grass. That plant had already grown taller than him, with golden edges on the leaves and three pale purple flowers blooming at the top.

"Master, it has bloomed three more flowers."

Chen Zhen walked over and took a look.

"They're yours, you collect them."

Zhou Rui carefully plucked the flowers and placed them into a jade box.

"Master, what can these flowers be used for?"

Chen Zhen thought for a moment.

"They can be used to make incense, brew tea, or as medicine. Research it yourself."

Zhou Rui paused.

"Myself?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

"You are a Talisman Master now. You should learn to handle spiritual plants yourself."

Zhou Rui was silent for a few seconds, then solemnly put the jade box away.

"I understand."

At 7:20, Chen Zhen stepped into the classroom.

Zhang Meng was in the back row catching up on homework. Seeing him enter, he shouted as usual: "Help! Lend me your English homework to copy!"

Chen Zhen threw his notebook over.

Zhang Meng caught it and buried his head, copying furiously.

Chen Zhen walked to his seat and sat down.

The girl in front, Su Xiaoya, turned around, her eyes bright.

"Chen Zhen, where did you go this weekend?"

"Taking care of business."

Su Xiaoya stared at him for a few seconds.

"You're different again."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

Su Xiaoya waited for two seconds, then pulled a small item from her pocket and handed it to him.

It was another Protective Talisman.

"My mom went to pray for this again," she said. "She said you must be busy with big things lately, so you need extra protection."

Chen Zhen took the Protective Talisman and put it in his pocket.

"Thank you."

Su Xiaoya smiled and turned back around.

In the last row, Zhou Rui looked up at him, then lowered his head to read.

Chen Hao turned his head from the front row and glanced at him.

"You're back?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Chen Hao nodded and turned back.

In the back row, Zhang Meng finished copying the homework and looked up at Chen Zhen.

"Chen Zhen, want to eat lunch together?"

"Sure."

After school at noon, Chen Zhen went to the cafeteria.

He got his food and found a seat.

He had only taken a few bites when three people walked over carrying their trays.

Zhou Rui, Zhang Meng, and Chen Hao.

Zhang Meng sat down heavily and started wolfing down his food.

Chen Hao sat opposite Chen Zhen and looked at him.

"Chen Zhen, are you very tired lately?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Why do you ask?"

Chen Hao was silent for two seconds.

"You look like... you're rushing against time."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

Chen Hao waited for two seconds, then sighed.

"Forget it, pretend I didn't ask."

He lowered his head and ate.

Halfway through the meal, someone walked over with a tray.

Yun Xi.

She sat down next to Chen Zhen and started eating.

Zhang Meng looked up at her.

"Why are you here again?"

Yun Xi ignored him and kept eating.

Zhang Meng scratched his head and didn't ask again.

After finishing the meal, Yun Xi looked at Chen Zhen.

"Free this afternoon?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Yun Xi stood up.

"The usual place."

She left.

Zhang Meng looked confused.

"Who exactly is she?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

3:00 PM, Secret Base.

Chen Zhen pushed open the door; Yun Xi was already inside.

She was standing in front of the map, pointing at the five yellow dots on it.

"These five are all Neutrals. I have contacted them; three are willing to talk, and two refuse to communicate."

She looked at Chen Zhen.

"What do you plan to do?"

Chen Zhen looked at the map.

"Talk first."

Yun Xi paused.

"What about the two who refused?"

Chen Zhen thought for a moment.

"We'll see if we can't come to an agreement."

Yun Xi was silent for a few seconds.

"Fine, I'll listen to you."

4:00 PM, the two set off.

First stop, southeast direction.

7:00 PM, Chen Zhen stood on the outskirts of a small city.

In his perception, that Qi Refining Stage 3 Neutral was in the residential building ahead.

He walked over and knocked on the door.

The door opened, and a young man in his twenties stood at the doorway, looking at him vigilantly.

"Who are you?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"I'm here to talk."

The young man stared at him for three seconds, and his expression changed.

"You... you are that..."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

The young man took a deep breath and stepped aside.

"Come in."

Twenty minutes later, Chen Zhen walked out.

There was no fragment in his hand.

The person had handed it over voluntarily.

"What did he say?" Yun Xi asked.

Chen Zhen thought for a moment.

"He said he had wanted to hand it over for a long time, but didn't know who to give it to."

Yun Xi was silent for a few seconds.

"Let's go, next one."

Second stop, due north.

10:00 PM, a small town.

A middle-aged man at Qi Refining Level 4 ran a grocery store in the town.

Chen Zhen walked in.

Half an hour later, he came out.

"He handed it over too?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

"He said keeping it was useless anyway. Better to give it to someone who can use it."

Yun Xi looked at him with a complicated expression.

"You are really lucky."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

Continued on the journey.

Third stop, southwest.

1:00 AM, a deep mountain.

An elderly man at Qi Refining Stage 3 lived in a hut in the mountains.

Chen Zhen went up the mountain.

Forty minutes later, he came down.

"He handed it over too?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

"He said he had been waiting for this day for thirty years."

Yun Xi was silent for a long time.

"Let's go."

3:00 AM, the two stood on the outskirts of a medium-sized city.

The fourth target—the one who refused to communicate.

Qi Refining Level 4, owned a company in an office building.

Chen Zhen stood downstairs and looked up at the top floor.

"I'll go alone."

Yun Xi paused.

"Are you sure?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer and walked straight in.

Ten minutes later.

Chen Zhen pushed open the door and walked into a luxurious office.

A middle-aged man in his forties sat behind the desk, dressed in a suit and tie, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking like a successful businessman.

When he saw Chen Zhen, his expression changed.

"You are that..."

Chen Zhen walked in front of him and sat down.

"Let's talk."

The middle-aged man stared at him, silent for five seconds.

Then he smiled.

The smile was cold.

"Talk about what? Talk about my fragment?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Is it yours, or did you snatch it?"

The middle-aged man's smile froze for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

Chen Zhen didn't speak, just raised his right hand.

A pale golden light shone in his palm.

The middle-aged man's face changed.

"You... how did you know?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"You killed people. Two of them. One at Qi Refining Stage 2, one at Qi Refining Stage 3. You snatched the fragments from their hands."

The middle-aged man stood up abruptly, his face livid.

"You investigated me?"

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

The middle-aged man stared at him for three seconds, then smiled.

The smile was ferocious.

"So what if you know? The item is in my hands, take it if you have the ability!"

He raised his hand, and a dark red light shone in his palm.

Qi Refining Level 4, but his aura was unstable—he had fused with someone else's fragment and hadn't fully refined it.

Chen Zhen looked at him, not moving.

The middle-aged man waited for two seconds; seeing him not speak, he thought he was afraid.

"What? Afraid to make a move? Then get lost—"

Before he could finish, his voice stuck in his throat.

Because he found that he couldn't move.

Dark golden light surged from all directions, pinning him in place. He wanted to struggle, but it was useless. Those lights seemed alive, drilling into his meridians and sealing his Dantian.

He looked at Chen Zhen, fear appearing in his eyes for the first time.

"You... who are you?"

Chen Zhen stood up and walked in front of him.

He reached out his hand.

The fragment was stripped from his body and fell into Chen Zhen's palm.

The middle-aged man slumped in his chair, gasping for breath, his face pale as paper.

"I'm crippling your Cultivation, sparing your life," Chen Zhen said, turning to walk out. "Don't touch these things again."

The middle-aged man opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But Chen Zhen had already left.

4:00 AM, Chen Zhen walked out of the office building.

Yun Xi came up to meet him.

"Did you get it?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Yun Xi looked at him, wanting to say something but stopping.

"He..."

"Crippled."

Yun Xi was silent for a few seconds.

"Let's go, the last one."

7:00 AM, the sun had just risen.

Fifth stop, east China direction.

The last one who refused to communicate.

Chen Zhen stood in front of a seaside villa.

In his perception, that Qi Refining Level 5 was inside.

He walked in.

Five minutes later, he came out.

He had one more fragment in his hand.

Yun Xi stood at the door, looking at him.

"What about him?"

"He left."

Yun Xi paused.

"Left?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

"He said he didn't want to fight. He left the fragment and left on his own."

Yun Xi was silent for a long time.

Then she smiled.

The smile was complicated.

"Do you know, I have been Cultivating for twenty years, and I have never seen anything like this."

Chen Zhen looked at her.

"Like what?"

Yun Xi thought for a moment.

"Making people voluntarily hand over the fragments."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

He looked at the fragment in his hand.

The eighteenth piece.

One more to go.

He looked up at the sky.

On the other side of the Heavenly Road, there is one more.

9:00 AM, Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Seven-Path Heavenly Star Formation, with the four newly acquired fragments in front of him.

Adding the original thirteen, there were seventeen in total.

One last piece missing.

He was not in a hurry to initiate the Fusion.

He just looked at them.

Eighteen points of light.

One more missing.

He stood up and walked to the window.

The sun was shining brightly outside.

Zhou Rui was drawing Talismans in the corner, Shen Nian was researching spiritual plants, and Yun Xi was sitting at the door, dazed.

Everything was the same as usual.

But everything was different.

He withdrew his gaze and looked at the four fragments.

No rush.

Take it slowly.