Chapter 606

Chapter 606: He Can No Longer Be Touched

That morning, before the sun had fully risen, Hao Yue Lin, dressed like a village girl, walked along the country road with a basket in hand.

The people on the road ignored her, and she did not stop until she reached the door of a remote courtyard. Just as she raised her hand to knock, a voice came from within: “Come in! The door isn’t locked.”

Hao Yue Lin pushed the door open and entered the courtyard, where she saw an elderly man with white hair sitting at a grinding wheel, cultivating. A red and blue glow appeared behind his head, similar to the Buddhist light but fundamentally different.

“Grandpa Jiao, did you manage to understand the items I sent earlier?” Hao Yue Lin asked, glistening with sweat, and sat on a wooden stump beside the grinding wheel. With her cultivation, it was quite strenuous to reach this courtyard.

“Alas! If only you had sent this item earlier!” The elder seemed troubled, frowning as he pulled out a thick stack of spirit talisman bonds and said to Hao Yue Lin, “This talisman looks simple, but the principles within are so profound that they are hard to comprehend. If I’m not mistaken, this person likes to prepare a bundle of talisman paper every time he draws a spirit talisman, then crushes the talisman ink to imprint the formula directly onto the paper. All the talisman ink seeps through, and he doesn’t even need to open the bundle; this spirit talisman bond is thus formed.”

“This…” Hao Yue Lin was shocked, unable to close her mouth. It was hard to imagine someone could create talismans like this. Considering the storm these bonds had caused, the benefits gained by the entire family and the profits yet to come, she found herself at a loss for words.

The elder shook his head with a bitter smile: “These bonds are supposed to be the simplest secret talismans for confidential communication, but in his hands, they have transformed into two sets of secret symbols that alternate. I exerted a great deal of effort to crack one, only to have it evolve into a third set the very next day. If my calculations are correct, the longer this goes on, the more sets of secret symbols will emerge, until it reaches a maximum of twelve sets that cannot be deciphered. His talisman method is truly brilliant. If you had come to me on the night of the bond’s release, perhaps we could have contained this talisman. Now, the opportunity is lost, and this talisman has become internationally recognized.”

Hao Yue Lin stood up suddenly, coldly snorting, “This is outrageous! I take control of the finances, and he pulls such a stunt? Is he slapping me in front of everyone?”

The elder pondered for a moment, and once Hao Yue Lin vented her frustrations, he said with a serious expression: “I’m afraid you won’t be able to do anything about him. In just a month and a half, he has laid out a plan, and he has become fearless.”

“That’s impossible! I have ways to restrain him,” Hao Yue Lin retorted angrily.

“Hahaha! I must ask you, Yue Lin, how do you intend to restrain him?”

“I’ve done some tricks on him and in his body. I’ve even altered his primary cultivation method and arranged hidden lines in the residence. As long as I want, I can take his life at any moment.”

“If you truly believe that, then you’ve lost,” the elder said, calculating with his fingers. “He has asked you for items, and you didn’t pay attention when handing them to him, am I right?”

“That did happen,” Hao Yue Lin sensed something bad and said, “He asked for the treasured White Steed Passage Sword, the Leaf Obscuring Banner, the Yuan Magnetic Lightning Boots, three Thunder Dragon Talismans, as well as the Rare Treasures from the Celestial Palace: Thunder Zhi Dao Bottle, Yang Stone, and Fallen Magnet Gold.”

“He asked for all those items? That’s unexpected.”

The elder suddenly closed his eyes and, after a long while, gasped in cold air and said, “What a deep scheme! Oh no! This boy’s strength is hard to gauge. If I’m not mistaken, he first used the Fallen Magnet Gold to extract the magnetism and electricity from the Yuan Magnetic Lightning Boots. Then, he used the Yang Stone to enhance the force of the three Thunder Dragon Talismans, and with the Thunder Zhi Dao Bottle’s refining enhancement, he combined the three talismans into one, making it incredibly close to the Dao talisman. With just one impact, he could suppress all the methods you left behind.”

“What? He’s just a small slave who has never seen the world; how could he reach such a level?” Hao Yue Lin couldn’t believe the elder’s description but knew that Grandpa Jiao never spoke wrongly. That boy, facing three families previously, had already broken his fetters but still followed her script, as he was clearly aiming for the position of city lord from the very beginning.

“This matter is indeed strange. I’ve never been able to figure it out. Perhaps the ancestors of the Hao Family were secretly competing in their own way, deliberately placing a piece in the game; otherwise, it cannot be explained.”

“Those ancestors…” Hao Yue Lin quickly quieted down, knowing that such beings were too unpredictable, and even casually mentioning them could attract attention.

“That boy isn’t just fusing the Thunder Dragon Talismans! He has most likely already used the Leaf Obscuring Banner to control the White Steed Passage Sword. You might think his swordsmanship is impressive, but in truth, his foundations lie in the path of talismans, and his skill is comparable to that of the sect leaders of the Hidden Talisman Sect and Wanfu Gate. Only the elder leaders of these two sects could suppress him. Based on this, despite being caught off guard, he could fight to the death against a Mid-Hongfa Stage cultivator, and if faced with a Late-Hongfa Stage cultivator, he could easily flee. To eliminate him would require a Traveling Realm cultivator’s intervention.”

“That would be good. Upon returning, I will arrange this immediately and, for safety’s sake, mobilize four Traveling Realm cultivators.” Hao Yue Lin felt confident, as the Hao Family might not have much, but they had a lot of high-level cultivators.

“It’s too late; you cannot move against him anymore!” The elder sighed, “You personally brought him to this position, and he has firmly entrenched himself as the city lord. If you dare to act against him, all spirit talisman bonds and treasure talisman bonds will collapse immediately. I ask you, who in the world will bear animosity towards whom at that time? Furthermore, this boy has already planned his next move, as well as twenty more after that. Who knows how many backups he has prepared.”

“This, this…” Hao Yue Lin paced back and forth in the courtyard, eager to propose a counter-strategy to refute the elder, but upon thinking of the wealth that the little brat now commanded, and the throngs of people in the city, she realized that moving against Li Sifan would be tantamount to turning against the entire world.

“Damn it! Truly damn it! I discovered he got people to drive up the bond prices and then sold a large number of spirit talisman bonds on the black market. There will always be those looking to gain without working, unwittingly falling into his trap.” Hao Yue Lin was furious. She prided herself on being exceptionally clever, never expecting to suffer such a significant loss at the hands of a little brat, feeling like a dumb person who ate bitter melon but had no way to express her pain and had to swallow the bitter fruit herself.

The elder stroked his beard and chuckled, “Haha, man’s calculations cannot compare to heaven’s. From the looks of this, he wants to gain a fortune and leave, but this boy underestimates the nature of people seeking profit and also underestimates their financial power. He has rolled a snowball down the mountaintop, but this mountain is far more towering than he imagines; thus, halfway down, it will get out of control, and with massive consequences, he’ll want to escape? Those cultivators above won’t let him have his way.”

“Grandpa Jiao, what do you mean? Are you suggesting we let him hold the position of city lord? Wouldn’t my efforts become meaningless?”

“Not meaningless! He is more suited to be the city lord than you. If a new sprout can reach this level, what will happen if he realizes he cannot leave Mufeng City? Based on my calculations, the fortune of the whole world is gathering towards the Hao Family. Even if he isn’t a Hao Family member, those ancestors will regard him as Hao Wentong. Do you understand what I mean?”

“How is that possible? This little brat just took the position of city lord and achieved what those ancestors dreamt of. Who exactly is he? Where does he come from?” Hao Yue Lin trembled at the thought of obstructing the ancestors and what consequences she might face.

“His origins do not matter, as long as he becomes the Revitalizing Master of the Hao Family!” The elder said with firm conviction.