Chapter 178: 5th Grade Soul Shock Talisman
After entering the spiritual sea, the soul infant instantly jumped to him. Xiang Yu caught it, noting that its physical appearance seemed to have reached a limit as it wasn’t growing in size anymore. Well, it didn’t matter to him as long as the experience points kept accumulating.
"Don’t start cultivating yet," Xiang Yu instructed, and the infant nodded in understanding.
He decided to deviate from his usual routine today. Still, he wanted to gauge his power, so he resolved to run a few quick simulations. Settling into a comfortable position, he began running simulations against peak Golden Core Meiling. Surprisingly, this time he wasn’t losing ground and could easily overwhelm her. His strength had become so overwhelming that even the skill difference barely mattered. After running the simulation several more times, he found himself able to defeat her instantly.
He felt deeply satisfied with this result. Having peak Golden Core strength could at least be considered somewhat passable in his estimation. The success left him feeling a touch overconfident, prompting an absurd idea. In the simulation, he selected Li Yao as his opponent.
The result... didn’t go well, to put it mildly.
Xiang Yu opened his eyes from the simulation, not disappointed but simply accepting the reality. It was to be expected of the main character. And she wasn’t even in her final form yet—truly a monster among monsters.
"I want you to help me with something," Xiang Yu spoke as he left the spiritual sea. Instantly, the soul infant materialized beside him in the physical world.
"What do you think?" he asked the infant, which seemed mesmerized by the world outside. Xiang Yu recalled seeing Li Yao interact with the Empress this way; he hadn’t imagined it would work so effectively for him too.
"I want you to help me make talismans," he explained. The infant seemed excited as it settled atop his head.
Though Xiang Yu would have preferred creating a formation first, he decided crafting talismans was the better choice. Despite his faith in his junior sister, concern lingered, prompting him to craft talismans for them both. After his recent upgrade, he had obtained blueprints for an improved fifth-grade soul shock talisman capable of affecting an adult soul or Soul Formation realm cultivator.
Since he couldn’t precisely determine the soul energy required, he planned to create two: one for Li Yao, which might allow her to catch the enemy off guard and secure victory, and one for himself as a precaution. He understood that leaders of evil organizations rarely followed the rules—he wouldn’t be surprised if the cult leader targeted him to manipulate Li Yao. His junior sister was simultaneously his protector and the source of his predicaments.
"Let’s begin," he announced, taking out a blank talisman paper. Holding it in his hand, he concentrated on the new soul shock blueprint, etching every detail into his mind. Then, he summoned energy from his spiritual sea.
Immediately, energy flowed into the paper as intricate patterns began etching themselves onto its surface. The infant on his head stretched out its tiny arms, guiding its soul energy to merge with the talisman. Both Xiang Yu and the infant displayed strained expressions as they struggled with the complex fifth-rank blueprint.
They maintained this intensive process for nearly thirty minutes straight. Finally, the first talisman was complete. Xiang Yu wondered if he’d been overly ambitious in thinking he could craft two. Suddenly, he felt the infant still tugging at his hair.
"Are you tired?" he asked with concern.
The infant shook its head defiantly.
"You want to continue?" Xiang Yu inquired, to which it nodded enthusiastically.
"Okay, let’s make another one," he agreed, and they began crafting the second talisman.
Although the process should have been easier with their recent experience, it proved even more challenging. Their energies had grown sluggish from exertion, making precise manipulation difficult. Nevertheless, despite their struggle, they eventually succeeded in crafting a second fifth-grade soul shock talisman.
The infant immediately passed out atop his head, and Xiang Yu gently caught it before it could fall. He released the summoning, returning it to his spiritual sea.
"You can rest for now. No need to practice today," he told it softly, though the infant was already unconscious. After checking to ensure it was recovering properly, he left the spiritual sea, proudly holding two talismans in his hands.
...
Xiang Yu inspected the last soul shock talisman with meticulous care. Since it was crafted in haste, he worried it might have suffered some degradation in quality. After a thorough examination, he was able to confirm that it was still in excellent condition. He rested for several minutes to restore his depleted energy before rising to depart.
At that moment, he sensed energy beginning to gather in his spiritual sea and smiled. That little soul infant was almost as hardworking as he was. Xiang Yu thought to himself that he should redouble his efforts not to be outdone by a week-old entity.
He left the spirit vein and emerged into the night. Despite the late hour, the sect bustled with activity as disciples and elders alike prepared for the impending battle. As he arrived at the main peak, he observed reinforcements beginning to arrive one by one. It seemed everyone was finally ready to eliminate the cult leader. Although many had their own motivations for wanting to destroy this enemy, Xiang Yu didn’t particularly care about their reasons—he was simply grateful they shared the same objective.
At the entrance, he encountered two Soul Formation experts who had just concluded their discussions with Li Yao. After exchanging brief, respectful greetings, he proceeded inside.
Li Yao sat within, clearly bored with having to maintain her formal sect master demeanor while dealing with endless strategic matters. When she detected someone approaching, she quickly composed herself, straightening her posture and adopting a dignified expression befitting her position. However, upon recognizing Xiang Yu, she immediately dropped the pretense.
In a flash, she teleported directly to his side, startling him slightly with her sudden proximity.
"Senior brother, why are you here?" she asked, her eyes bright with curiosity. She wondered if perhaps he was too anxious about tomorrow’s battle to sleep. The thought that her senior brother might be seeking comfort made her smile inwardly—her senior brother was quite cute sometimes.
This presented the perfect opportunity she’d been waiting for. Since he was scared, she would propose they sleep together tonight. And when that happened...
"Senior brother, if..."
But Xiang Yu, oblivious to her intentions, interrupted her mid-sentence. "Here," he said simply, extending his hand to present the meticulously crafted talisman. [That is...]