Chapter 155
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Chapter 155: The Contest of Dao Rhythms
With ten days left until the two-month deadline, the team approached the edge of the forest sea.
The number of restrictions and formations ahead was increasing. The air was filled with array rings and halos, along with clouds, lightning, storms, and dust…
Since Li Hui significantly improved his success rate for creating talismans and distributed many high-quality spirit talismans, the low-level practitioners could survive the various dangers and harsh environments thanks to these talismans.
Of course, casualties were inevitable. Under the intertwining of fortunes, many greedy individuals often lost their lives due to a minor mistake. Even if Li Hui wanted to give them opportunities, he couldn’t rescue them in time.
After Qian Qiu Yue used her secret techniques to make replacement bodies for Li Hui and the others, she collected the remaining Dragon’s Wangling Stones. Even though both sides had an agreement beforehand, the loss of fortune could not be avoided, and her injuries worsened, causing her to sleep heavily for three days before barely getting back up.
In the days that followed, a faint halo appeared around the Fortune Ascending Talisman, and ninety percent of its surface had shed its ashes, suggesting that it was not long before this talisman would be activated.
Earlier in the Blood Phantasm Maze, Qian Qiu Yue had asked Li Hui to select nine items, one of which was a Dragon Nest Seal. He found two types of resin in the forest sea and mixed them with the mud to make talisman ink, stockpiling many of the fourth kind of attack and defense spirit talismans from the Record of the Four Gods and Demons—namely the Wood Jiao Talisman and Green Scale Talisman.
Today, Li Hui had no choice but to stop creating talismans. Although he still had plenty of Blood Banana Leaves, he could not avoid running out of resources.
He rummaged through some talisman-making materials from Qian Qiu Yue, and the practitioners under him tried their best to clean out their wallets, gathering raw materials along the way.
However, items such as blank talisman paper, electric eel scales, and Cow Shock Stone talisman ink were completely exhausted, even the Sea-Patterned Stone inkstone was worn down to tatters.
Suddenly being unable to write or push his success rate higher left him feeling empty inside. But upon reflection, guarding a half-block of talisman ink and hundreds of sheets of blank talisman paper while nervously preparing to write was a common scenario.
“No more, I can’t afford this anymore; I need to save some resources for monster-conjuring talismans, unless I find suitable materials to make talisman ink.”
At that moment, Chef Zhao shouted from the front of the team, “Boss, we are about to reach the boundary of the forest sea! I heard that beyond it is the outer ring, where many demon cultivators are lying in wait. What should we do?”
“Use the Blood Ignition Talismans and damage-dealing talismans to pave the way; whoever is in the line of fire will take the hit.” Li Hui’s confidence was solid. He could use Blood Banana Leaves to draw damage-dealing talismans; even if he was lacking in cultivation, he had already elevated these talismans to Nine Patterns with the boost from fortune.
“Ha ha, understood!” Chef Zhao cheerfully dashed off to relay the order.
Before long, two hundred Concentrating Spirit stage practitioners led the charge forward when suddenly a flurry of arrows shot from the opposite side. Many lower-tier Slave Cultivators gathered together, launching an offensive like a military formation.
“The distance is too far; we can’t use talismans to block the attack. Push forward!” The Concentrating Spirit stage practitioners either used Thunder Shield Talismans or unleashed artifacts to protect themselves as they sped ahead.
“Bang bang…” The noise of mechanisms echoed, and numerous traps and mechanisms sprang up from the ground, hindering their charge. Clearly, the enemy had done this before, amassing a considerable amount of experience.
“Green Scale Talisman, go!”
The Concentrating Spirit stage practitioners on Li Hui’s side used the Green Scale Talismans in unison, rapidly growing wooden scales all over their bodies. Each also wielded at least two defensive artifacts, accelerating toward the enemy.
“Ah? Damn it, how do they have so many spirit talismans and artifacts?” came the shocked exclamations from the opposing side.
As they got closer, talisman lights swept forward in several waves.
The Blood Ignition Talismans and damage-dealing talismans were enhancement-type spirit talismans, and most artifacts weren’t adept at defending against them. They first bolstered their vitality, then stripped away their energy, creating a very uncomfortable sensation. The issue was they came back for a second round immediately after the first.
By the time the bulk of the formation charged in, the enemy’s Slave Cultivators were left powerless to retaliate, half-kneeling on the ground as their best effort. Most of the Slave Cultivators had gone limp. Seeing this, the demon cultivators hesitated slightly, and their fate was the same; they couldn’t even use the Slave Seal to escape.
They captured Slave Cultivators, gathered resources, and surrounded the demon cultivators. Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang were quite skilled at this operation.
If they managed to process these captives, the team could break through to over five thousand members in one go.
Having many people wasn’t necessarily a good thing—there was a mix of good and bad—everyone had different thoughts, but Li Hui didn’t care at all.
He was drawing from fortune, and the more people around him, the better. Especially when Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang pulled out their bags to hand out spirit talismans, the speed at which he absorbed fortitude skyrocketed, and it looked as if the Fortune Ascending Talisman was only half an ash away from being fully activated.
Crossing through the forest sea, he gazed across the horizon and saw a sky filled with halos, light pulses, and light thorns. Though the colors appeared weak, once they ascended, misfortune would surely follow. Even Condensed Essence Stage practitioners couldn’t recklessly charge through.
As Li Hui stepped out of the forest sea, his form trembled slightly, and his expression changed.
“The spiritual energy here is incredibly rich!”
The most significant difference between the periphery of Wan Nest Island and the outer ring was the concentration of spiritual energy, which was at least ten times more intense. The mountain spirit creatures thriving here had an innate advantage, with physical strengths comparable to those of Concentrating Spirit stage practitioners.
Qian Qiu Yue transmitted her voice, “Junior Brother, I’ve recovered quite a bit. The Hongmo Sect demands outer disciples enter the outer ring within two months, inner disciples enter the middle ring, and true disciples enter the inner ring. Those who fail will face the deadly restrictions of Wan Nest Island. This is divided by cultivation level, so I must reach the middle ring in ten days, or there could be changes!”
Li Hui snapped back to attention, “Oh! I almost forgot about that matter. Senior Sister Yue goes ahead; I’ll lead the team through the outer ring area. Perhaps we can reunite in a month.”
“Hopefully, everything goes smoothly.” Qian Qiu Yue nodded and floated away.
As soon as she left, Xiuhuan immediately shouted, “Oh dear! This turtle son is acting so well I could barely breathe! Ha ha ha, sweetness after bitterness, sweetness after bitterness! It’s a pity that farmer boy managed to keep some fortune; otherwise, he would have full talisman fortune. I really want to see how effective the treasure-level Fortune Ascending Talisman can be on this mysterious big island.”
Li Hui said solemnly, “Xiuhuan, given the circumstances, shouldn’t there be any changes now? Why not tell me your plans? Do you have a deep-seated grudge with the Jade Symbol Sect, so you are trying to exhaust the last bit of fortune?”
“Pfft, why would I have a grudge against the Jade Symbol Sect? They have done me a favor!” Xiuhuan responded disdainfully, “But the Jade Symbol Sect has restricted my freedom, and that is a major grievance! To say I would extinguish the last flicker of hope for a comeback is nonsense! I won’t go as far as to do something monstrous. My true intentions you don’t need to worry about; I can only hint at it being related to Dao Rhythm.”
“Dao Rhythm?”
Li Hui was not unfamiliar with this term. The elder Chen Mengde spent his later years turning the silver snake into a Dao Rhythmic Artifact. According to the jade symbol scriptures, Dao Rhythm was something even more enigmatic than Dao Traces, and talismans, to some extent, mimicked various Dao Traces.
“You’re too weak, and your talisman methods are lacking, so I can’t explain it clearly to you!” Xiuhuan paused for a moment and continued, “Be careful; the current leader of the Jade Symbol Sect and the Grand Elder are scheming regarding this matter. You’ll encounter them soon.”
“The sect leader isn’t dead?” Li Hui found it hard to believe…
