Chapter 10: Bloody Battle on Hanxiu Peak (Part 3)
"Oh, old man, you're not running? Staying here, do you think you can stop us by yourself?"
Chen Shidi, with his raspy voice, curiously sized up the Grand Elder. His Hundred Ghost Banner was already fully unfurled, surrounding the entire Hanxiu Peak, ensuring not even a bird could escape.
"Stop you? Of course not. I'm staying here... to kill you and avenge my fallen Family!"
The Grand Elder swallowed a blood-red, strange Medicinal Pill. His entire body glowed with an eerie red light, and his Aura continuously soared. Despite being at Qi Refining Completion, a Realm where further progress seemed impossible, he was advancing and growing stronger every moment, already infinitely close to the pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"Blood Burning Pill? Your Bai Family really has some hidden stock. You keep surprising me."
Senior Brother Shen's face darkened. He was initially surprised, but a sinister grin soon spread across his face.
"Don't tell me the Blood Burning Pill can only temporarily give you the magical power of the Foundation Establishment Stage, and only for the duration of one incense stick. Once the time is up, your Qi and blood will flow backward, and you'll die without a corpse remaining. Even if you were a true Foundation Establishment cultivator, do you, a Family Cultivator, think you can compete with us, Sect Disciples?"
"Senior Brother Shen, let me handle this person. An incense stick's time will pass quickly. Junior Brother is just missing a Flying Sword, and while the old man's gear isn't top-tier, it can still be used for now."
"Alright, but then you won't get a share of the other things we find in this Family treasury!"
The two Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators exchanged words, casually deciding the fate of the Grand Elder and the Bai Family, yet they didn't relax in the slightest. The Hundred Ghost Banner obscured their figures, hiding them within a black cloud, and they maintained a distance of several tens of feet, showing none of the arrogance they displayed in their words.
The Blood Burning Pill is a very special second-tier Medicinal Pill, with its main ingredient coming from the inner core of a second-tier Yao Beast, refined with the essence blood of several other Yao Beasts.
Its effect is simple: a Qi Refining Completion Cultivator who takes it can instantly possess the magical power of an Early Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator for the duration of one incense stick, at the cost of their life.
The Alchemist who created this Pill Formula originally intended to research a Medicinal Pill that would forcefully raise one's Realm by overdrawing Qi and blood. The envisioned cost was only a few months of weakness, and it would also allow the user to experience the circulation of a Foundation Establishment cultivator's magical power, which would be beneficial for Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.
However, after successful refinement, the side effects were too great, and the cost of refinement was high. That Alchemist gave up on this Pill Formula after several attempts to improve it failed to yield results, which is why the Blood Burning Pill is rarely found on the market.
"Just one Blood Burning Pill is indeed not enough to harm you... But if the Family is going to be destroyed, what good is keeping a trump card hidden?"
The Grand Elder murmured to himself, as if making a firm decision.
"Thousand Bamboo Grand Array, rise for me!"
On Hanxiu Peak, countless dark bamboo trees grew lushly, forming an undulating bamboo sea.
At this moment, with a roar from the Grand Elder, endless emerald light surged from beneath the ground, causing the dark bamboo to rustle and grow, forming an array that stood its ground against the Hundred Ghost Banner without falling behind.
"This is... an amplified version of the Yi Wood Azure God Art?" Bai Zichen watched in stunned silence from the storeroom. The emerald light felt very familiar to him; it was the Yi Wood Azure God Art he practiced daily, only hundreds of times larger in scale.
As the dark bamboo grew wildly, countless roots rapidly grew and intertwined beneath the ground, ensnaring the two Ghost Spirit Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Although they were protected by the Hundred Ghost Banner and suffered no harm, they were indirectly trapped within an extremely small area, unable to break through the root cage.
The Grand Elder pulled out a green Talisman from his chest, bowed solemnly, and with a swipe of his wrist across the blade of his sword, fresh blood sprayed directly onto the Talisman, instantly transforming it into a jade green Flying Sword.
"Sword Talisman! It's a Talisman Treasure! Where did your Bai Family get a Talisman Treasure?"
Chen Shidi, with his raspy voice, looked as if he had seen a ghost. He instantly conjured five Magical Artifacts to block himself, and at the same time, he took out a dagger and decisively chopped off his own wrist, throwing it to the evil spirit on the main banner of the Hundred Ghost Banner. The evil spirit chewed and swallowed the wrist in two bites, then climbed directly off the banner and attached itself to him, forming a fierce black armor.
"Impossible! The highest cultivation of the Bai Family's ancestors was barely Late Stage Foundation Establishment, and I've never heard of them having a close relationship with any Core Formation True Person Old Ancestor. How could they hide a Talisman Treasure!"
Senior Brother Shen likewise couldn't believe it. He slapped three defensive Talismans onto himself and then conjured a large bell, covering his head with it.
A Talisman Treasure is still something a Core Formation Immortal Master creates by sacrificing a portion of their Lifebound Treasure's power, sealing it within a Talisman. This is usually only done by Core Formation Immortal Masters who are nearing their end, so they can pass the Talisman Treasure to their closest descendants and Disciples.
Possessing the might of a Magic Treasure, the power of a Talisman Treasure is self-evident, especially a Sword Talisman, which is known as the most lethal of all Talisman Treasures.
The Grand Elder gripped the jade green Flying Sword, controlling the sword with his body. With just a thought, it transformed into a streak of green light, circling the Cultivator surnamed Shen three times.
No matter what body-protecting Spells or Talismans were used, they were like paper, utterly irresistible.
Even the bronze bell Magical Artifact clanged and fell to the ground on the third pass, splitting neatly into two halves, smooth and even.
"Fellow Daoist, hold your hand! I am from the Ghost Spirit Sect's Soul Hall..."
Before the Cultivator surnamed Shen could finish his words, his body was separated from his head, and his Divine Soul was Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.
The green light dispersed, and the Grand Elder reappeared, spitting out another mouthful of blood, his entire body swaying precariously. Even with a miraculous Medicinal Pill like the Blood Burning Pill that forcibly boosted his power, the Grand Elder found it somewhat strenuous to activate the Sword Talisman. Moreover, he pushed the Sword Talisman to its limit, merging his body with the azure sky, to be able to cut down the Cultivator surnamed Shen in just three breaths.
"Not much time left. I'll kill a few more!"
The Grand Elder glanced at Chen Shidi, the raspy-voiced one, causing him to break out in a cold sweat. He then transformed into a green light again, slashing with his sword, shattering a pair of bells, a flying knife, and then with another sword strike, he severed two sea-splitting forks, which were blocked by the black armor.
With this brief reprieve, Chen Shidi took out a grim green treasure bead, urged it forward, and added another barrier in front of him.
The green light shifted, heading directly towards the surrounding Ghost Spirit Sect Qi Refinement Stage Disciples.
This Sword Talisman was passed down from the Bai Family ancestors and had only been used once in several hundred years, but it had massacred all onlookers, so naturally, no news of the Bai Family's Talisman Treasure had spread. However, by the time the Sword Talisman reached the Bai Family ancestor, it had already been used many times, and after that, only one final use remained.
Today, as the Sword Talisman was activated, the Grand Elder, as the wielder, clearly felt that the Sword Talisman's power could be exhausted at any moment, so he had no time to waste on the troublesome Chen Shidi.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three Late Stage Qi Refinement Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators were targeted by the Grand Elder. Regardless of whether they had defensive Magical Artifacts, a swirl of green light would result in their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.
The green light receded, and the jade green Flying Sword reverted to a green Talisman, which spontaneously ignited without wind. The Sword Talisman's full power was exhausted, completing its mission.
"Haha, what a pleasure! Before I die, I've taken down a Ghost Spirit Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator. When I reach the underworld, the ancestors won't blame me for wasting the Sword Talisman!"
The Grand Elder slumped to the ground, laughing uproariously towards the sky. Then, he painstakingly turned his stiff head, his gaze sweeping around, as if to take in Hanxiu Peak.
Bang!
The Blood Burning Pill's effect wore off. The Grand Elder's entire body swelled and exploded into a mist of blood, leaving no corpse behind.
"Damn Bai Family Cultivators! I'll collect all your souls, slowly boil them with demonic fire for forty-nine days, and then send them to the Hundred Ghost Banner, never to reincarnate!"
Chen Shidi finally broke through the root cage, looking at the scattered corpses, he raged, blood still dripping from his severed wrist.