Chapter 212: Talisman Treasure · Blood Fiend Sword
“Daoist Lin, please come in, my husband just happens to be away.”
Arriving outside Madam Wen’s cave abode, the voice that came out immediately made Lin Chang’an pause.
He raised his head to look at the scorching sun high in the sky. This wasn’t nighttime, so why did he feel that this Madam Wen was acting strangely?
A flash of Spirit Eye flickered within his gaze. Standing at the entrance, Lin Chang’an curved his lips slightly, then stepped into the cave abode with a smile.
“Madam Wen.”
Outside the elegant cave abode, Madam Wen sat gracefully at a stone table beneath a peach tree, as if she had been waiting for some time.
She wore a palace-style gauze dress. Her delicate collarbones were visible, and the slit in her skirt revealed a pair of bare jade-like feet.
This isn’t right!
The moment Lin Chang’an entered, this pleasant scene was laid out before him.
“Madam Wen, this…”
Yet when Madam Wen saw Lin Chang’an’s hesitant expression, her originally dignified face suddenly revealed a charming allure.
Smiling, she slowly rose to her feet, still holding a wine cup between her jade-like fingers, and walked toward him.
“Daoist Lin, why don’t we talk inside instead?”
As she leaned against him, the cup touched his lips, and a restless desire stirred within him.
Lin Chang’an first carefully glanced around, and upon seeing no one, said in a low voice:
“Madam Wen, weren’t you going to speak of clues to a Core Formation spirit item?”
Though tempted, Lin Chang’an still wore the look of a cultivator who placed the immortal path above all else.
“Daoist Lin, am I not worth more than some clue to a Core Formation spirit item?”
Madam Wen’s voice was filled with grievance. Before Lin Chang’an could reply, she continued softly:
“Ever since we came here, that man with the surname Wen has been fooling around outside. Isn’t it simply because I broke through to the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, while he remained stuck at a bottleneck…”
“Daoist Lin, why don’t you help me back inside? I will not only share with you the clues to that Core Formation spirit item, but also myself in full.”
“I even invited Fellow Daoist Hu, but he will only be here three hours later.”
Her alluring words reverberated, and Lin Chang’an’s heart stirred. His palm instantly wrapped around her slender waist.
Madam Wen clearly felt the boldness of his hand, and a seductive smile spread across her lips.
“Didn’t think Daoist Lin was such a pretender. You’re just like that dead ghost. If he can play around, why can’t I…”
Her voice was soul-stirring, intoxicating to the ears.
The wine cup pressed to his lips, Lin Chang’an accepted without refusal, drinking it all in one gulp.
In the next instant, amid Madam Wen’s cry of surprise, she was lifted into his arms.
“Daoist Lin, why so impatient?”
“Madam Wen, I fear three hours won’t be enough.”
Lin Chang’an narrowed his eyes with a smile, making Madam Wen blink in astonishment before bursting into coquettish laughter.
“Three hours? Daoist Lin dares boast. I, this concubine, must have a proper taste of it then.”
There wasn’t a man alive who would admit to being inadequate in such matters.
But Lin Chang’an arched his brow, smiling strangely as he teased:
“Is that so? Could it be that Fellow Daoist Fang, a Late Second-rank body cultivator, wasn’t enough for Madam Wen’s taste? Or perhaps the Fellow Daoist Wen hiding in this cave abode must join in as well?”
At these words, Madam Wen’s expression drastically changed. The next moment, sharp pain shot through her chest. Terror filled her delicate face.
“……”
Her mouth opened, but no words came. Panic filled her eyes as she discovered her mana was completely unresponsive.
“Madam Wen, don’t waste my good intentions.”
Lin Chang’an’s voice echoed in her ears. She could not move a muscle, only stare in horror as he manipulated her body at will.
His palm loosened from her chest, revealing a thin, emerald-green needle embedded in her vital acupoint.
A terrifying venom spread directly into her lifeline. Madam Wen’s frightened gaze was laced with despair as she felt her life slipping away.
Had she not granted him such close proximity, he could never have so easily subdued a Late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Within the cave abode, two hidden figures revealed themselves. One of them, watching Lin Chang’an embrace Madam Wen beneath the peach tree, fumed in anger.
“Damn it, big brother, that bastard Lin sure knows how to play. Acts so proper on the surface, yet he’s worse than us. And second sister too—why is she dawdling so much?”
The cultivator surnamed Wen hid inside the cave abode, and instead of anger at his wife’s flirtations, he even addressed her as “second sister.”
But Fang Tie, standing at the front, frowned as if realizing something. His face suddenly changed.
“Not good! Second sister has been restrained!”
At that instant, two flashes of cold light shot straight toward the cave abode. Lin Chang’an sneered:
“Fellow Daoists, have you watched enough?”
The cold gleams clashed against steel, ringing through the cave as two figures rushed out.
Especially the cultivator surnamed Wen, who roared furiously:
“Lin, even if you scream yourself hoarse inside this cave abode, no one outside will hear a thing.”
At the front, Fang Tie’s expression grew solemn as he watched the cave’s formation activate. He secretly let out a sigh of relief.
“Daoist Lin, quite impressive—you already knew of us. It seems everyone outside has underestimated you.”
His cold voice echoed, but Lin Chang’an only looked at them calmly, with two flying needles circling around his body.
“Fellow Daoist Wen, Fellow Daoist Fang—or should I say, the three of you—your concealment runs deep.”
Ever since the Lu Clan banquet, he had suspected something.
According to the Wen Couple’s information, they were supposed to be a loving pair who endured hardships together. How could such a couple suddenly begin fooling around with outsiders?
When Madam Wen invited him today, he already knew something was off. And indeed, from the moment he entered, her seduction, the peach-blossom fragrance in the air, and that cup of wine—it was all poison.
Not to mention, he clearly sensed both Wen and Fang Tie hidden inside the cave.
He would never believe they had some strange fetish.
Obviously, the three of them were plotting something.
“Second sister!”
As Lin Chang’an released Madam Wen, black veins spread from her chest throughout her body.
“Courting death!”
In that instant, golden light flared.
The Wind-Chirp Bird transformed into a streak of golden lightning, striking the two. They hurriedly tried to activate the formation—yet it was as if sunk in mud, utterly unresponsive.
When he first approached the cave, Lin Chang’an had already tampered with their formation plate.
With his ability as a Second-rank Formation Master, subtly sabotaging a formation plate that wasn’t running at full power was child’s play.
“Big brother, the formation’s broken!”
The cultivator surnamed Wen shouted, while Fang Tie wasted no time, summoning a massive halberd and charging forward.
Facing two Foundation Establishment cultivators, one of whom was a body cultivator, Lin Chang’an dared not be careless.
He raised his hand, and the golden bell at his waist turned into a shimmering phantom, enveloping him.
At the same time, a sword shadow radiating terrifying aura slashed toward Fang Tie.
His flying needles turned into cold gleams, and the Wind-Chirp Bird struck swiftly alongside them.
“Didn’t expect Talisman Master Lin to be so well hidden—you’re a formation master as well!”
During the battle, Fang Tie’s face darkened. Their formation was useless.
“Third brother, take second sister and flee! We can’t stay here!”
But Lin Chang’an pinched a hand seal, instantly locking the cave’s formation barrier.
“Leaving so soon? The three of you deceived me with clues to a Core Formation spirit item—today, none of you are leaving.”
Lin Chang’an’s cold voice rang out. He would not let such threats remain alive.
“Haha, the clue to the Core Formation spirit item is real, but we lack certain resources. Daoist Lin, since you refuse to let us leave… then hand over your years of accumulation and pave the road for us three!”
Fang Tie’s vicious voice cut through, the last shred of pretense shattered.
For a Late Foundation Establishment cultivator, preparing a Core Formation spirit item was unimaginably difficult.
Among them, some would take shortcuts—by targeting the lifelong accumulation of others at the same stage.
“Moo!”
From within the golden bell phantom came an enraged bellow, making Fang Tie’s expression change drastically.
The next moment, an Azure-Horned Bull, nostrils puffing out white air, charged forth furiously.
“Two Second-rank spirit pets, hidden so deeply!”
Amid the battle, Madam Wen, who had been tossed aside beneath the peach tree, now wore a look of agony. Several Second-rank Exploding Talismans were stuck at her waist.
Any slight movement would blow her to pieces. Yet at this moment, her pupils widened as though witnessing something unbelievable.
Madam Wen forcefully circulated her mana, spitting a mouthful of blood, and cried out:
“Big brother, third brother—run! A talisman treasure! It’s a talisman treasure…”
Her hoarse, desperate cry echoed, and behind the cover of the golden bell’s defense, Lin Chang’an arched a brow.
“Didn’t expect you three to be so deeply bonded.”
Inside the golden bell, a talisman in Lin Chang’an’s fingers shone with terrifying might. A talisman treasure in the shape of a sword radiating blood fiend aura was fully formed.
Against a Late Foundation Establishment body cultivator and a Mid Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had no intention of wasting time.
He would rather expend a talisman treasure than drag things out.
After all, the temporary formation here wasn’t particularly strong.
“Second sister!” the cultivator surnamed Wen shouted in fury. After her warning, she coughed blood, her face breaking into a tragic smile.
It was clear she had reached the point of no return.
“Lin Chang’an, show mercy! We carry a great secret. I can tell you the clue to the Core Formation spirit item…”
The eldest, Fang Tie, turned pale the moment he realized the talisman treasure. He retreated quickly, pulling out a Quasi–third-rank Restriction-Breaking Talisman from his storage pouch.
But Lin Chang’an remained unmoved. With a cold sneer, he pinched a seal, sending the Talisman Treasure · Blood Fiend Sword piercing the heavens, striking straight toward Fang Tie.
“No! Daoist Lin, we of the Zhong Clan’s Three Fiends carry a great secret…”
The strength of a Late Second-rank body cultivator was undeniable—Lin Chang’an had already witnessed it.
Fang Tie had taken a strike from the Azure-Horned Bull without flinching.
But before the talisman treasure, despair filled his eyes. Though unwilling, he roared out one last resistance.
The Blood Fiend Sword, once a peak-grade magical artifact, even now retained the might of a mid-grade artifact. Refined into a talisman treasure, its power far surpassed that of Huang Shaohai’s talisman crafted from a low-grade magical artifact.
Talisman Treasure · Blood Fiend Sword.
Its strike carried the force of a full-powered attack by a Core Formation cultivator wielding a low-grade artifact.
The defensive shield tore like paper.
Even the supreme defensive spirit artifact lasted less than three breaths before shattering in Fang Tie’s hopeless roar.
A streak of bloody sword light flashed—this body cultivator was pierced through.
Seeing his elder brother and second sister die tragically, the cultivator surnamed Wen howled in madness and lunged.
“I’ll die with you!”
Yet the blood-red talisman sword was faster, piercing straight through his chest.
The cultivator surnamed Wen glared venomously at Lin Chang’an as his life faded away.
From the beginning, Lin Chang’an had never intended to drag the fight.
The longer it went, the greater the risk. He would never allow his secrets to leak.
Every attack from the start had been cover for unleashing his talisman treasure.
…
“A great secret? Don’t worry—after killing you, that secret won’t escape.”
Since arriving here, Lin Chang’an had known he would eventually be targeted.
Back when he ran a black market in Tianxuan City, and now that he sought Core Formation, it was inevitable that robber cultivators would set their sights on him.
Indeed, any Foundation Establishment cultivator preparing for Core Formation could be targeted.
After all, why spend decades accumulating painstakingly, when a robber cultivator could seize everything in a single night?
Three corpses lay outside the cave abode. Lin Chang’an commanded his flying needles to stab their chests and skulls once more. Confirming they were truly dead, he began probing their memories.
Moments later, he opened his eyes in realization.
“So it was the Zhong Clan’s Three Fiends!”
He remembered them clearly. When investigating Fang Tie and the Wen couple, there had only been so many Foundation Establishment cultivators among Shayun Kingdom’s drifters.
The notorious Zhong Clan’s Three Fiends had once been wanted in Shayun Kingdom, then disappeared. Everyone thought they were dead. Who would’ve guessed they had disguised themselves and lived on.
They had long resided on Yuling Island under false identities. Their plan from the start was to fatten others before slaughtering them.
Even back then, when Fang Tie pretended to discover a demon beast and cooperated with the Wen couple to stage a play, it was all to lower vigilance later.
Step by step, trap within trap—if not for Lin Chang’an’s heightened senses, he might never have uncovered it.
“But the clue to the Core Formation spirit item is real!”
From memory probing, he understood. No wonder they had targeted him—and even Hu Jin.
The three had indeed discovered a Core Formation spirit item, but lacked certain treasures to claim it. Thus, they set their sights on him.
Even the Lu Clan had secret designs to profit from it.
“Truly bandits at heart.”
Though their brotherhood was genuine, Lin Chang’an felt no pity for those who preyed upon him.
They had regarded him as material for Core Formation, just as he had resolved to eliminate them swiftly with his talisman treasure.
“Though two spirit artifacts are destroyed, the rest remains. And the Zhong Clan’s Three Fiends left behind decades of accumulation—quite a fortune.”
“Over two thousand mid-grade spirit stones alone, not to mention magical artifacts prepared for Core Formation…”
Sorting through their storage pouches, Lin Chang’an beamed.
The Zhong Clan’s Three Fiends, who had roamed free for decades, had their entire wealth become his dowry.
He especially liked cultivators who carried their entire fortune on them.
Yet the greatest gain was the Core Formation spirit item clue within their memories.
“Were it not for this scheme over the Core Formation spirit item, these three might never have exposed themselves.”
Afterward, Lin Chang’an swept through the cave abode, taking everything of value.
He even erased traces of the battle. After stripping the corpses of spirit stones, he fed them to his Bloodthirsty Poison Vine, then followed up with three Fireballs.
Finally, restoring the formation to its original state, he left quietly, even raiding Fang Tie’s cave abode before returning unseen to his own.
Three hours later, Hu Jin stood outside the Wen couple’s cave abode, calling several times in puzzlement, but received no response. At last, he left.
It wasn’t that Hu Jin was careless—on Yuling Island, everyone was familiar. Besides, with a talisman treasure as his fallback, he had confidence.