Chapter 404: Immortal Jade Talisman Vs Martial Arts Expert

Zhang Xiaohua waved his right hand, and a faintly red object shot towards the old man like an arrow. The old man had already raised his vigilance a hundredfold, fearing Zhang Xiaohua might have some unexpected tricks. Although the dagger in his hand was thrust toward Zhang Xiaohua, he hadn’t used his full strength—his attack was half-real, half-feigned, waiting to see how Zhang Xiaohua would respond.

At this moment, seeing Zhang Xiaohua actually choose to throw a hidden weapon, the old man couldn’t help but sneer inwardly: “This young man is still inexperienced.”

Under the lamplight, the hidden weapon glowed with a faint red color, clearly indicating it was highly poisonous. The old man naturally couldn’t let it get close. The dagger in his hand shifted slightly, striking directly at the glowing object. In the blink of an eye, the dagger hit the flying hidden weapon squarely.

The old man felt the dagger suddenly weigh down, a surge of powerful force rushing up the blade, causing his dagger to tilt to the side. He was astonished: “The force contained in this hidden weapon is simply terrifying.”

Just as this thought flashed through his mind, he heard a crisp “crack” by his ear. The hidden weapon struck by the dagger actually shattered. Only now did the old man truly see the hidden weapon, blocked by his dagger before his chest, breaking apart before his eyes.

“A jade talisman!?” the old man cried out in shock, his pupils instantly contracting.

At that moment, a ball of fire, about the size of a basket, suddenly burst from the shattered jade talisman. Although the talisman was blocked by the dagger, the fireball, following its momentum, sped straight for the old man’s chest.

Though the fireball was small, the old man thought it unlikely to harm him. Still, if it set him ablaze, it would be troublesome. So, he raised his left hand, gripping Zhang Xiaohua’s small sword, and slashed at the fireball. But the sword passed through empty air, unable to hinder the fireball in the slightest. Helpless, the old man had to channel his internal energy, using his right sleeve to smother the fireball.

Unfortunately, things went far beyond his expectations. Although his right hand surged with internal power, and normally such a flame would have been extinguished long ago, this fireball, when struck with his internal force, seemed to draw in fuel instead. Suddenly, it grew larger by a whole circle, immediately setting the old man’s sleeve alight, and then began scorching his right hand.

A piercing pain shot from his right hand; he nearly lost his grip on the small sword. The old man dared not be careless, clenching his teeth, barely managing to control the restless small sword with his internal energy, while hurriedly patting out the flames on his right sleeve with his left hand.

But the more he patted, the worse it became. With a single slap, his entire left hand burst into flames!

Yes, not just the sleeve—his left hand itself was burning.

And so was the dagger in his hand.

Fear flashed in the old man’s eyes. He could no longer care about the small sword and dagger in his hands, only frantically slapping at the flames, trying to extinguish the strange fire. With a clang, the old man’s burning dagger fell to the ground, while Zhang Xiaohua’s small sword, still blackened, slipped from his grasp. As soon as it left the old man’s control, it seemed to gain a life of its own, its tip rising and flying back toward Zhang Xiaohua.

Zhang Xiaohua reached out and caught it, holding it casually as he stood not far away, his eyes flickering, lost in thought.

As the small sword flew back to Zhang Xiaohua’s hand, a new change occurred with the old man.

The bronze-masked old man was a formidable figure. Seeing both his hands ablaze, unable to extinguish the flames, and the fire climbing up his arms, he resolved to sacrifice his arms to save himself. But when he looked down, the dagger that had just fallen was already burned down to a short tip, and even the ground had been scorched into a small pit.

What kind of fire was this?

“Samadhi True Fire?” The legendary term flashed through the old man’s mind.

With the dagger gone, the old man’s eyes filled with desperation. He raised his left hand to sever his right arm, but his left hand had already lost all feeling!

In just this moment, both of the old man’s hands had been burned away! 

Even if he wanted to abandon his arms to save his life, it was but a vain hope.

As the flames reached his shoulders, the incomparable pain made the old man howl like a beast. The eyes beneath his bronze mask glinted with madness. He suddenly leaped toward Zhang Xiaohua with all his might.

It seemed he was unwilling to give up, wanting to pass the flames onto Zhang Xiaohua.

How could Zhang Xiaohua allow him to succeed? Seeing the old man pounce, he immediately used Piaomiao Steps to dart to the corner of the hall. Even if he wasn’t afraid of the fire, there was no need to let the old man get close. Besides, the hall was full of innocent girls—if they were burned, it would be terrible. While the old man was still confused, it was best to lure him away.

The old man, blinded by hatred, chased after Zhang Xiaohua.

But by the time they reached the corner of the hall, the flames on the old man had already reached his chest and face, and even the bronze mask on his head was starting to melt.

By now, the searing pain had driven the old man mad. He forgot all about his enemy, only rolling on the ground in agony.

His wretched screams echoed through the entire underground hall!

It was a tragic sight, unbearable to witness.

“Sigh.” Zhang Xiaohua let out a soft sigh, formed a hand seal, and with a “whoosh,” the small sword shot out like a spirit snake, striking the old man rolling on the ground, biting into his burning throat. The old man’s screams stopped abruptly, his body only rolling a few more times out of inertia before finally lying still.

In the end, Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t harden his heart completely, letting this old man, who had treated the lives of seventy-seven girls as worthless, burn to death.

Retrieving the small sword, Zhang Xiaohua formed another hand seal, then waved his hand, sending true qi out to the raging flames. The fire that the old man could not extinguish, as if meeting its nemesis, instantly vanished, leaving only drifting black smoke and a foul stench.

Staring at the old man’s charred corpse, Zhang Xiaohua stood silently for a moment. He had not expected the jade talisman’s fire to be so powerful, and couldn’t help but feel it might not be wise to give such an unstoppable weapon to his family.

But then, a cold smile crossed his heart. Today’s outcome—his survival—was all thanks to the jade talisman. Otherwise, who knew what fate awaited him? Perhaps even worse than the old man’s. His family all had their own judgment; he should trust them, and they would never act recklessly.

With that, Zhang Xiaohua released his divine sense. With such a commotion in the underground hall, he wondered if the people above had been alerted.

Fortunately, all was quiet outside, nothing amiss. Even the so-called chief steward was nowhere to be seen—likely sent away by the old man when he noticed the underground formation had been triggered.

Withdrawing his divine sense, Zhang Xiaohua walked to the old man’s corpse, turned it over, wanting to see his true face. Unfortunately, the bronze mask had fused with the old man’s head, impossible to remove. Zhang Xiaohua had to give up on this unrealistic idea.

Looking at the corpse, Zhang Xiaohua thought for a moment, formed another hand seal, and conjured a bean-sized flame, tossing it onto the body, which ignited once more.

Dust to dust, ashes to ashes—perhaps returning to dust was the best ending.

Before long, the mysterious old man was reduced to nothingness, not even a trace left behind. In the spot where the corpse had been, a palm-sized token was revealed. The flame had burned on it for a while without leaving a mark, and then, in the windless hall, it flickered briefly and went out.

Like a sudden death, vanishing between heaven and earth.

Zhang Xiaohua frowned, stepped forward, and picked up the token. It was neither gold nor jade, engraved with countless profound patterns. Probing it with his divine sense, he found nothing unusual. But since the fire couldn’t burn it, and it was found on the leader of some sect, it was surely no ordinary item. Without hesitation, Zhang Xiaohua tucked it into his robe. Treasures of heaven and earth belong to the virtuous; Zhang Xiaohua’s sense of justice was a hundred times greater than the mysterious old man’s, so it was only right that he take it.

This underground hall battle was the most perilous fight since Zhang Xiaohua began cultivating the Immortal Path. Though his life was safe, he had faced the hardest choices. Fortunately, the brave Zhang Xiaohua had overcome the crisis with his true heart and used his accumulated skills to defeat a troublesome foe. From this battle, Zhang Xiaohua gained two fundamental insights: first, immortal cultivation techniques have their own methods of attack and defense. Relying solely on martial arts is to pit one’s weakness against another’s strength. In future encounters with similar opponents, it is better to use immortal techniques. Related to this, he needed to seek out more immortal attack methods to cultivate. Second, immortal cultivation techniques are the envy of the entire martial world. When traveling the Jianghu, he must be cautious—unless absolutely necessary, he must never let anyone know he is an inheritor of the Immortal Path. Otherwise, if the enemy learns his secret, there is only one path: silence them forever!

Of course, through this battle, Zhang Xiaohua also gained a clearer understanding of his own martial skills. This mysterious old man was likely the leader of some sect, a high-level figure with some fame in the Jianghu. That Zhang Xiaohua could fight him to a standstill with his flying sword meant he could now be counted among the so-called masters of the martial world.

Moreover, with his earth escape technique, even if he encountered the very top experts and couldn’t win, he could still escape. Of course, that would risk revealing his trump card as an immortal cultivator.