121: Chapter 121 Five Years

From the moment they stepped into the territory of Yuanze County, this Seawater Gang team had entered a death trap.

Li Xuanji walked slowly across the ground covered in corpses and pools of blood, his expression as indifferent as usual. With a wave of his hand, a gentle Spiritual Qi swept across the scene, erasing his own aura and smoothing out the residual Spiritual Qi fluctuations from the battle.

The entire mountain forest returned to a deathly silence, with only the blood, corpses, discarded weapons, and ten carts of undamaged Sea Rock Ore silently witnessing this one-sided, absolute crushing defeat.

The stench of blood had not yet ceased; thick, viscous blood flowed slowly along the rugged rock crevices, staining the withered yellow grass by the roadside.

The entire interception was clean and efficient, lasting no more than a few breaths from start to finish.

The chasm in Realm between a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator and the newly broken-through Foundation Establishment Initial Stage wild wolves, Qi Refining Cultivators, and ordinary Martial Artists was vividly demonstrated at this moment.

The Seawater Gang's entire elite transport team had been buried in this border mountain forest without even getting a chance to send a distress signal; the entire group was annihilated, with not a single piece of armor returning.

Li Xuanji tapped his feet lightly, avoiding the bloodstains scattered everywhere, and strolled leisurely to the center of the convoy.

His gaze swept calmly over the surrounding wreckage, not a ripple of emotion in his eyes.

This place was at the border between Yuanze County and Sifang County, where Loose Cultivators and merchants occasionally passed by. Since the Seawater Gang had not returned for a long time, it would not be long before someone came to investigate.

In his line of work, he either did nothing, or he cut weeds and dug up the roots, leaving no traces behind.

Li Xuanji raised his palm to gather Spiritual Qi. A thick, warm Wood-element Spiritual Qi flowed from his palm, transforming into a faint cyan-green spiritual light that gently enveloped the entire mountain path.

Unlike the violent and ferocious killing vines from earlier, the Spiritual Qi now was restrained and steady, possessing immense power of purification and dissolution.

The scarlet blood covering the ground dried and faded at a speed visible to the naked eye, thoroughly seeping into the soil until not a hint of the bloody stench could be smelled.

The broken weapons, shattered bones, remains, and Black Wave Gang tokens scattered on the ground were weathered, crumbled, and annihilated bit by bit under the cleansing of the Spiritual Qi, eventually turning into the finest dust, which was swept away by the forest breeze and vanished without a trace.

The corpses that had been torn apart and crushed by the vines were completely dissolved, leaving not a trace of flesh or blood.

The methods of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator were far beyond the imagination of the mundane; mere worldly corpses and iron weapons could not withstand such a thorough cleansing by Spiritual Qi.

Immediately following this, he flicked his fingertips to cast several subtle spiritual incantations.

Several wisps of fine spiritual light fell into the surrounding mountain forest, smoothing out all the residual Spiritual Qi fluctuations and Void Realm tremors from his previous Wood-element spell. The mountain forest returned to its original tranquility, the rustling sound of wind blowing through leaves resumed as usual, and there was no longer any lingering hostility or Spiritual Qi left after the fierce battle.

Even if a Foundation Establishment Cultivator were to pass through here, they would find it impossible to tell that a bloody ambush resulting in total annihilation had taken place just moments before.

Traces erased, future troubles cut off.

Having done all this, Li Xuanji finally turned his head, his gaze falling upon the ten beast carts.

He walked forward slowly, raised his hand to stroke the solid wood carriage of a beast cart, and with a slight sweep of spiritual light from his fingertips, easily shook open the tight wooden bolt of the carriage.

The carriage opened, and deep cyan-colored Ore, packed to the brim, came into view.

Rectangular and hard pieces of Sea Rock Ore were stacked neatly. The surface of the Ore shimmered with the dull luster unique to the deep sea; its texture was dense and hard, with a faint Water-element spiritual aura lingering around it.

This Ore grew on deep-sea reefs, having been washed by seawater and permeated by Spiritual Qi for a hundred years. Its hardness far exceeded that of ordinary iron, making it an excellent basic material for low-level Cultivators to refine Low Grade Magical Artifacts, protective weapons, and Formation Plate bases. It was also a scarce commodity in the market that was in short supply all year round.

Li Xuanji's Divine Sense swept across every beast cart; the ten Elephant Armor Beast carts were all fully loaded, with no empty spots, and there were no fake or inferior Ore Materials mixed in.

Unfortunately, even though he had brought two large Storage Pouches and five or six medium Storage Pouches before leaving, he could only fit two carts of Sea Rock Ore at most at this moment.

He waved his sleeve, and the vast Spiritual Qi of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator swept out, forming an invisible air shield that steadily supported two of the heavy beast carts, quickly loading the two carts with the best quality Sea Rock Ore into several Storage Pouches.

Afterwards, Li Xuanji quickly finished cleaning up the battlefield, took out the only large Spirit Beast bag he had brought from his Family, and forcibly took in two Elephant Armor Beasts—one male and one female, both of better quality and at the First-Stage Early Stage—into the Spirit Beast bag.

These Elephant Armor Beasts were a full two zhang long and one and a half zhang high, and they did not possess the ability to shrink their size; being able to take away two was already the limit of the Spirit Beast bag.

The remaining eight terrified and shivering Elephant Armor Beasts were also soothed by a gentle Spiritual Qi, calmed down, and then instantly ran off in all directions.

This place was not suitable for a long stay.

Li Xuanji stood with his hands behind his back, stepping through the air. His cyan robe fluttered in the wind as he swept toward the mountain forest deep in Yuanze County.

The setting sun disappeared, and the twilight deepened.

The desolate border mountain path returned to its former silence; the vegetation remained as usual, and the breeze continued to blow.

Only the merciless Dao remained; the strong and the weak were distinct. The winner takes the resources, and the loser loses their life—this was the immutable iron law of the Cultivation World.

...

Time flies like a shuttle; five years passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside Changsheng Garden, spiritual mist swirled, and exotic flowers and herbs bloomed everywhere with fragrance. The warm and lingering Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi circled around his body like flowing water. Compared to the outside world, the concentration of Spiritual Qi here was several times higher—it was the perfect place for devoted Talisman Making.

Li Changqing brushed his fingertips across the desk surface, laying out the Materials he had prepared in advance one by one.

Several sheets of Mysterious Pattern Talisman Paper were laid flat on the desk. The surface of the paper emitted a faint, pearly white luster, and the paper was tough; its speed of absorbing Spiritual Qi was far superior to ordinary Talisman paper, making it the Foundation for refining Second-Stage Talismans.

Placed to the side were finely ground Red Iron Sand, beast blood ink tempered with spiritual spring water, and a newly purchased Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact Talisman brush. The tip of the brush was stained with fine spiritual silk, capable of inducing the flow of Spiritual Qi the moment it touched the paper.

He cast aside all distracting thoughts, closed his eyes slightly, and let his mind settle completely.

Wisps of Spiritual Qi drifting in the space seeped into his body through the pores all over his body, flowing slowly through his Meridians, then passing through his Dantian, and finally converging between the index and middle fingers of his right hand.

Making an Armor-Piercing Talisman relies on sharpness and momentum; the Talisman pattern demands rigidity and ferocity, allowing for not even a hint of hesitation. If the mind wavers even slightly, the Talisman will be ruined on the spot.

A moment later, Li Changqing opened his eyes, a concentrated divine light in his gaze. He picked up the Spirit Bamboo Talisman brush, dipped the tip into a little beast blood ink, and then lightly touched the Red Iron Sand. The two Materials merged, condensing a dull, reddish-gold luster at the tip of the brush.

He raised his wrist slightly, and the Talisman brush fell onto the Mysterious Pattern Talisman Paper. As the first stroke landed, a faint humming sound of Spiritual Qi resonated.

The brush moved like a Dragon and snake, with the momentum of a thunderbolt. The lines of ordinary Talismans are winding and soft, but the pattern of this Armor-Piercing Talisman was completely different; every horizontal, vertical, and turn carried the sharp edge capable of splitting mountains and breaking stones.

With one stroke, he drew the Mysterious Iron Armor-Splitting Pattern, the lines straight and powerful, like a sharp blade slicing through thick armor; then he added three sharp twisting silk patterns, the lines intertwined and entangled, concealing the power to shred defenses.

The Spirit Bamboo brush tip moved continuously across the paper, the marks of the ink and Red Iron Sand merging and layering, and one ancient, profound Talisman rune after another took shape. Every line corresponded precisely to the Talisman eyes of the Armor-Piercing Talisman pattern, without a single deviation.