Chapter 159: Soul Shock Talismans
"Distribute these to the elders," Xiang Yu instructed, resting the freshly-forged spiritual weapons in his martial aunt’s grip. With Xiang Yu included, the Azure Cloud Sect had nine elders in total. Since he had already selected one weapon for himself, he provided eight for the remaining elders, including his master and martial aunt.
From her seat at the table, Meiling observed the exchange while savoring her meal. Her eyes widened slightly as she recognized the quality of the craftsmanship. "It really is a spiritual weapon, and exceptionally high quality too," she thought.
"Senior," she called out to Xiang Yu.
Xiang Yu smiled at her, understanding her intention without requiring elaboration. "We can discuss it after completing the deal," he replied.
Meiling nodded. "I understand."
Xiang Yu retrieved a small vial containing five dark pills and extended it toward her. "These are the qi absorption pills I crafted," he explained.
She accepted them with a formal bow, genuine appreciation evident in her gesture. "Thank you, Senior."
After the meal concluded, Meiling waited patiently for Xiuying to finish eating. Once the girl had consumed her last bite, Meiling gently took her by the arm. She bowed respectfully to the three sect members. "Thanks for your care. We’ll take our leave now," she announced before launching into the air, Xiuying in tow.
Elder Huang departed shortly afterward to distribute the weapons, Elder Guo following close behind her with.
Left alone, Xiang Yu gathered the dishes, his hands working automatically while his mind wandered. After his enlightenment had advanced to the Sacred grade, he had discovered the profound meaning of truly thinking—not that he hadn’t been thinking before, but now he understood the necessity of research.
While his current skills served him adequately for now, he recognized the need to develop higher-level techniques to meet future challenges. This required dedicated time for brainstorming and creating new methods, like the soul technique he’d been attempting to formulate. Though he understood the talisman’s basic workings, he needed to conduct further independent research to successfully implement it.
Yet all his current activities remained crucial, and abandoning any seemed unwise. He sighed heavily at the realization that twenty-four hours simply weren’t enough. With reluctant acceptance of his time limitations, he decided to return to the spirit vein to refine talismans.
Within the spirit vein, Xiang Yu began crafting the sixth-grade soul shock talisman. Despite his earlier resolution to avoid making more, he had reconsidered after realizing they provided excellent practice for his soul infant. With intense concentration, he formed the intricate blueprint using spiritual energy while his soul infant contributed the necessary soul energy to complete the talisman.
The soul infant performed noticeably better than before, supplying more soul energy. This was to be expected though given its experience had doubled since the previous day. Xiang Yu successfully refined two soul shock talismans before the tiny being exhausted itself and collapsed into unconsciousness.
After carefully checking its condition, Xiang Yu stored the precious talismans with satisfaction. He now possessed three high-level trump cards, their presence bringing some reassurance to his perpetually anxious heart. After putting them away, he continued refining the usual talismans until his allocated time expired.
Moving to formation making, he decided to craft a sixth-grade attacking formation. Since he’d already made a turtle shell, he decided to make a canon. The process flowed more smoothly than his previous attempt.
Upon completion, he examined his work with pride. Like the defensive formation, this offensive counterpart demonstrated formidable capabilities as well. The attacking formation could deliver up to ten strikes equivalent to a peak Nascent Soul realm expert’s full power.
Most impressively, the formation was designed with expansion capacity—with the addition of soul crystals, it could unleash ten additional Nascent Soul soul attacks. Unfortunately, Xiang Yu lacked these rare treasures. Soul crystals functioned similarly to spirit crystals, but stored soul energy rather than spiritual power. These exceptionally rare items were typically reserved for Nascent Soul experts and above who sought to enhance their soul energy.
...
The massive gate of the Lotus Jade Palace exploded in a shower of splinters as Tiangang’s axe tore through the ancient wood.
Before him stood hundreds of female cultivators, their diverse weapons raised in perfect unison, faces set with unwavering determination to protect their sanctuary.
"If you make another step, we’ll be forced to attack," declared the First Elder. Her silver-streaked hair fluttered in the wind as she stepped forward, placing herself at the front of the defensive line.
"First Elder, please let us through. We have to save the Sect Master," Binghe pleaded, desperation evident in her normally composed features.
The First Elder’s gaze softened momentarily upon seeing her. "Xiao Lin, you shouldn’t have come back," she said, regret coloring her tone.
"What do you mean? We must save—" Binghe’s words were abruptly cut short as Tiangang strode forward, his patience exhausted.
"Fuck this," he growled, swinging his massive axe downward with explosive force. The ground split apart beneath the tremendous impact, fissures radiating outward like lightning bolts across the courtyard. Both defenders and intruders struggled to maintain their balance as the earth heaved beneath them. The weaker cultivators toppled completely, unable to withstand the shockwave.
Without hesitation, Tiangang pressed his palm against the trembling ground. The earth around him responded instantly, rising like a living entity to form an elevated platform. With a powerful flex of his legs, he launched himself upward, landing momentarily on a nearby rooftop before catapulting forward again. His massive frame soared through the air, touching down behind the assembled female cultivators before sprinting deeper into the palace complex.
The First Elder turned sharply to pursue him. But her pursuit halted abruptly as her senses alerted her to an incoming attack. She whirled around, her hand shooting out to catch the descending blade. At the point of contact, frost immediately spread across the sword’s surface, crackling as it encased the metal.
"Don’t interfere with the boss," Disheng warned, his grip tightening on his weapon despite the spreading ice.
With a dismissive flex of her fingers, the First Elder exerted greater pressure, overwhelming Disheng’s stance and forcing him to his knees. She then encased his legs in thick ice before turning to chase after Tiangang.
But her path was suddenly blocked by another figure who stepped between her. "First Elder, I apologize," Binghe said with a respectful bow before launching herself forward, blade extended.
"It’s okay," the First Elder responded, deflecting Binghe’s attack and sending her flying toward Disheng. Binghe twisted mid-air, landing gracefully beside her companion. Without hesitation, she placed her hand on his frozen legs, the ice shattering instantly under her touch.
The two rose together, facing the First Elder with absolute resolve. An ice sword crystallized in Binghe’s grip. Simultaneously, earth gathered around Disheng’s fists, forming gauntlets of compressed stone.
The First Elder’s lips curved into a smile as twin ice swords formed in her hands. "Looks like I’m getting old," she remarked, sliding into a battle stance. "Come at me."
With a shared battle cry, Binghe and Disheng charged forward.
...
Author’s Corner
Yes, nascent soul soul attack. (I could say soul attack but eh...)
First Elder is so me fr