Chapter 327

Chapter 327: Facing the Four Nine Calamity

"The Mirror Lake faction’s Li Maocai is facing tribulation."

How many people mistakenly regarded the sky-high monster tribulation as a heavenly tribulation? Even though the main lineage of the Haotu Sect recognized that this kind of calamity was not caused by Li Maocai, they still found it peculiar.

How could it not be peculiar? Li Hui made bold preparations for the monster-conjuring talismans, exhausting all the fragments of treasures and broken artifacts available in the markets of the Dalong, Daqi, and Dafeng kingdoms. If it weren’t for the profound heritage of the Mirror Lake faction, they wouldn’t withstand such expenses!

The key was to leverage the resources and business channels of the Haotu Sect; just one merchant passing through the sect’s marketplace held significant influence. They knew where to seek advantage, otherwise, even if they were willing to spend, they couldn’t reach this level.

That said, investment needs to yield returns. If there’s no profit, it becomes pure wastefulness. Who would engage in a benefit-less endeavor?

The calamity thundered down, lasting for a stick of incense, suddenly producing numerous anomalies, rendering the Water Moon Mirror Sky formation useless. It rippled and vanished, reappearing above the spiritual fields at the lake’s bottom.

Guang Jin shouted, "Damn it! This is the power of time’s void! Don’t expect the defenses of the Water Moon Mirror Sky anymore; it means the heavens want to destroy this place and eliminate all chances for the spiritual plants to become demons."

"I knew it wouldn’t be that simple." Li Hui rapidly fingered through the air, launching clusters of mysterious light and quickly activating the pre-buried talisman formation. Hundreds of thousands of spirit talismans soared into the sky with the formation’s encouragement.

The Water Moon Palace had accumulated a large amount of low-grade talisman paper. After the sect banned the buying and selling of spirit talismans, Huo Qiniang began selling talisman paper directly. Even if it wasn’t as profitable as before, it was still a considerable business.

In the past month and a half, Li Hui had been creating talismans, but not a single sheet had been leaked; he hoarded them all for today’s calamity.

As the overwhelming calamity descended, all spirit talismans instantly shattered, emitting waves of light.

"How powerful! Stand strong for me!"

The light swayed as over a million spirit talismans rose into the air; though low in quality due to material constraints, their sheer number was overwhelming.

"Boom, boom, boom…" The roars echoed in his mind.

Fortunately, Li Hui was willing to invest; the million talismans blocked the first wave of the calamity. Though most turned to ashes, they served their purpose at a critical moment, averting disaster.

The second wave of calamity quickly followed, mainly consisting of thunder and lightning.

Ao Chonglin opened its mouth to attract lightning, appearing ecstatic. Li Hui had already mapped out its acupoints, burying many thunder talismans that formed a lightning trap inside it; compared to before, its cultivation speed surged dramatically.

"Go!" Several storage talismans floated up, and upon encountering lightning, they shattered immediately, causing a shower of tribulation soil to fall, perfectly outlining a hexagram.

“Crack, crack…” Lightning spun around the tribulation soil, and numerous talisman flags stabbed into the ground, suddenly pulling the fierce electric light away, extinguishing the second wave of calamity.

By the time the third wave struck, Li Hui deployed even more spirit talismans.

That night, the Haotu Sect was sleepless.

Energy converged from all directions, resembling a performance; while one side resolved, another appeared. The elders from various factions trembled, becoming increasingly baffled. The momentum was indeed vast, but it was too scattered; the calamity lacked purity and thus didn’t wield the power they expected.

Although the elders perceived the calamity as scattered, it was no simple matter for Li Hui; he used countless spirit talismans. By the nineteenth wave of calamity, his expression became grim.

"Not enough! After such thorough preparations, this is still insufficient to face the calamity."

With no other option, he had to sit down and furiously create talismans. Even without artifact fragments to enhance the success rate, employing the incredible Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw technique allowed him to simultaneously draw five or six thousand talismans.

Of course, the success rate was low.

In this rushed mass talisman-making, if he could achieve half the success, he would be content, resulting in two thousand talismans.

The booming explosions sounded as if the heavens were collapsing. Li Hui widened his eyes and shouted loudly, "Er Yi Bing Fire Urgent Wind Calamity? Quickly, all talisman formations, spray out the spirit talismans and block it!"

The talisman formations spewed forth talismans, stacking into the sky.

At this moment, the mountains surrounding the Mirror Lake had already changed color, and all vegetation burst into flames. Then a terrifying force surged through the Mirror Lake, directly pressing against those daring to defy heaven and nurture demons.

Li Hui was taken aback, reaching out to slap the ground.

Instantly, green light patterns spread out, and the previously extinguished talisman flags activated to resist the calamity. The Er Yi Bing Fire Urgent Wind Calamity was extremely formidable; only those who advanced from Condense Essence to Bosa would encounter such a calamity.

The scene left the elders from various factions even more confused. How could there be an Er Yi Bing Fire Urgent Wind Calamity? It made no sense! What on earth was happening beneath the Mirror Lake?

The Bing Fire was yang fire; fire rode on the winds, and wind arose from fire, gradually forming a yang fire tornado so powerful that it was chaotic. The talisman flags Li Hui had set up rustled and suddenly ignited.

He lost count of how many talismans were consumed, nor how many flags shattered, but after enduring the yang fire tornado storm, many talisman formations malfunctioned, resulting in severe losses.

It wasn’t over yet! The heavens were still brewing calamity.

Li Hui became frantic, taking out high-quality talisman ink and talisman paper, regardless of cost, drawing the Golden Bell Talisman, Thunder Shield Talisman, Lava Talisman, and Green Scale Talisman—these were worlds apart from before, as he aimed for five-patterns, and six-patterns and seven-patterns were also not rare.

After about a tea’s time, a new wave of calamity descended.

“Bang, bang, bang…” As the sounds erupted, insect demons emerged from the ground around Li Hui, stretching their bodies and howling at the sky, their voices echoing for miles.

Having experienced the calamity alongside many spiritual plants, they qualified as accompanying insect demons and hurriedly sought out the demon trees they felt closest to for protection. It wasn’t long before the place was filled with demonic energy, radiant and luminous.

Guang Jin expressed some regret, saying, “Out of three thousand spiritual insects, only a thousand transformed, and fewer than fifty have reproductive capacities. The rest are all males.”

Li Hui continued drawing talismans and replied, “This is already good enough. If all of them transformed, a single heavenly divine thunder would strike me dead.”

After the Er Yi Bing Fire Urgent Wind Calamity, the ensuing calamities weren’t as intense, though still coming in wave after wave, their power more balanced.

With the stock of spirit talismans depleted, Li Hui created talismans on the spot, using whatever he had on hand, while also producing three exotic treasures: a cauldron, a stone, and a book.

The Avoid Calamity Sacrificial Cauldron, acquired from an ancient tribe, was filled with beast blood and demon blood, which instantly revealed inscriptions on its surface. The prayers and wishes rose into the air, drawing the calamity’s powerful strike against the cauldron.

The Decree of the Heavens Stone came from the Dafeng Dynasty; it served as the first threshold to the imperial court. A prince knew of its ability to ward off calamity, so he acquired it before joining the sect, and it sold for a great price.

Li Hui plastered the Decree of the Heavens Stone with spirit talismans, then tossed it out. The calamity immediately weakened, at least capable of withstanding five or six layers of calamity.

And there was also a Spring and Autumn Classic, handwritten by an ancient sage—he only took it out as a precaution, but when the calamity struck, the waves accelerated, with several surges descending simultaneously, and a massive blue light enveloped the Mirror Lake.

“Four Nine Ding Fire Black Frost Calamity? Ding Fire is yin fire, and Black Frost is yang ice; when the two mix, the only result is an explosion!”

“Boom, boom, boom…” In a single blow, the Avoid Calamity Sacrificial Cauldron and the Decree of the Heavens Stone shattered simultaneously, turning to dust, while the Spring and Autumn Classic soared, as Li Hui released the Primitive Shell Symbol, flinging out scrolls of decree to fight with everything he had.