Chapter 72
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Chapter 72: Run, Monk!
Half a stick of incense later, Li Hui had left the city.
“Farewell, Fusu City!”
“Farewell, Mu Qianyun!”
“No choice! Peace no longer belongs to me. I must cultivate well and hope to meet again in the future!” Silently bidding farewell in his heart, Li Hui turned and walked away.
Although the golden pearls could conceal his aura, cultivators have countless techniques and abilities. How could he know if they could locate him? That feeling of being linked to fate was surely not an illusion. Moreover, he sensed the presence of others, indicating that most of the other disciples in the Jade Symbol Sect could feel it too. The true disciples who escaped catastrophe would surely not allow the outer disciples to carry the sect’s fate!
Li Hui faced a choice ahead: the path to the White Sea through Hongye Valley was blocked, forcing him to take a detour around Iron Gourd Mountain. However, this detour would delay him by at least three days.
“No! I can’t go over Iron Gourd Mountain. I will fly over it instead!”
At that moment, Li Hui’s decisiveness showed as he stepped forward with measured strides, carrying the bag of treasures and still wearing his dark blue monk robe.
Once he found a deserted area, he quickly released his most powerful Yin-Yang Nine Heads. The heads flapped their large ears like wings, and he leaped onto them, their feet generating five lotus-shaped Dharma clouds to shield him, forming a splendid display.
Now, all nine heads could fly, and their speed was nothing to scoff at, but their altitude was not very satisfying; they could only reach about five or six zhang. No matter how Li Hui urged them, they couldn’t reach seven.
“Who cares! As long as they can fly! If I relied on my two long legs, I wouldn’t reach the White Sea in three months.”
Starting from the afternoon, Li Hui flew until the sun began to set, arriving at Hongye Valley. He glanced from the sky and couldn’t help but frown. The merchant caravan returning to Fusu City had reported that landslides had blocked the road, but from his vantage point, there was more than just landslide damage.
In the sky, many enormous figures circled about, their presence intimidating enough to threaten the surrounding area.
In the past, he could only watch helplessly, entirely unresponsive. But now it was different—his mind was racing with images and information, rapidly comparing and analyzing.
Li Hui touched his bald head and inwardly cursed, “What the hell! Why are Building Water Profound Eagles appearing here? They usually nest at sea, feeding on whales and sharks. What are they doing in Hongye Valley? If they haven’t eaten enough, will they come to Fusu City for humans?”
“An adult Building Water Profound Eagle can have a wingspan of four zhang, loves water, moves swiftly, and tends to congregate. I wonder what attracts them to Hongye Valley?”
“Let’s analyze!”
“The landslide in Hongye Valley must be related to their arrival. If a week has passed without harm, it shows they found sufficient food. Ancient texts record that these eagles travel thousands of miles inland to eat a certain bug that helps them enhance reproduction.”
“A bug? Hongye Valley?”
“The landslide caused many trees to collapse.”
“Exactly! The environment aligns, and so does the season. There’s a greedy, fat bug that loves to chew through giant trees and spontaneously suck up resin, typically emerging from late summer to early autumn. These bugs can be the size of a human, known as the Resin-sucking Beetle.”
After Li Hui activated the fifth spirit mark on his forehead, guided by the Dragon Horn pattern, he reached a new level of understanding, able to discern the situation just from a glance. However, knowing that was one thing; crossing through Hongye Valley was another, which posed a challenge!
“Even if I sneak past using a drunken talisman, the impact range is limited, and the activation time is slow, so it won’t work against them. Plus, the Building Water Profound Eagles have good night vision. At night, they continue to patrol the territory; there’s no way to sneak through under the cover of darkness. If I attack directly, I’ll lose the spirit talismans I’ve drawn these past few days. My cultivation is still too weak. If I could reach the Gather Spirit stage, I could continually gather spiritual energy to support the battle. Although my output may not match that of specific spirit talismans, I would excel in endurance!”
“Life and death hang in the balance; I can’t take a detour. I must find a way to get through.” Li Hui clenched his fists tightly, rapidly coming up with a plan. Shallow golden patterns appeared on his forehead, looking rather three-dimensional, much like two delicate deer horns breaking through his skin.
Countless thoughts cascaded in his mind, rotating millions of characters before finally revealing an ancient text.
“Bug grass into the talisman scriptures?”
“The head of the Resin-sucking Beetle has long tentacles and a soft shell; it loves to eat resin, has tonic properties, and its blood can be mixed with Blood Ink to create a lust-inducing talisman medium.”
“Eagles eat bugs, bugs eat trees?” Li Hui thought excitedly, quickly devising, “I’ve just happened to keep a few green Miao Jades, which are clearly infused with wood spirit energy. Perhaps I could mimic the scent of a forest giant to lead the bugs elsewhere, drawing the Building Water Profound Eagles after them. That will clear the path!”
Under the shadow of pursuit, Li Hui was performing beyond his usual capabilities, using his understanding of astronomy and geography. He then didn’t hesitate to use yellow talisman paper, taking out a little bit of Conch of the Ascending Record powder, applying an unimaginable level of luxury to increase the success rate of his talisman-making efforts.
Despite all this, he still failed four times, barely managing to create two Falling Wood Talisman and two Spirit Summoning Talismans.
Li Hui forced a smile. The Falling Wood Talisman was initially a five-pattern spirit talisman, which could produce a middle-grade treasure talisman, suitable for imitating the aura of giant woods. The issue lay in the initial talisman-making process, where the success rate was appallingly low; the cost was tantamount to creating a hundred Lightning Sword Talismans.
Compared to the Falling Wood Talisman, the Spirit Summoning Talismans were much simpler to make, but in pursuit of the best effect, he didn’t dare to cut corners, aiming to attract the attention of the Resin-sucking Beetles in the shortest amount of time.
Once all the arrangements were made, Li Hui hurried to his predetermined position, calling out in his heart, “Dao Ancestor and Buddha, bless this disciple! You should know that I am the monk who recites the most scriptures in the Daoist Sect, and the most skilled talisman maker in the temple. As long as I can overcome this hurdle, it’s not impossible for me to go work as a monk or Daoist for a few days in the future. I just need to succeed—no failures allowed!”
“Swish…” Green smoke rose in the west of Hongye Valley, followed by sudden, deafening sounds, as if countless giant trees were rolling down from above.
In a short moment, the distinct freshness of the forest spread outwards.
Li Hui’s heart raced to his throat; nightfall had quietly descended. The Resin-sucking Beetles thrived under the cover of night, and he had taken that factor into account, but this time was also active for the Building Water Profound Eagles.
After waiting a while, as the refreshing aroma dissipated significantly with no noise at all, Li Hui’s face turned grim; he was almost ready to give up when suddenly the ground trembled.
“What’s going on?”
“Puff, puff, puff, puff…” Many large pits opened up in the ground, shooting up clouds of sand and soil, instantly obstructing the view from above.
“How clever are these bugs!” Li Hui paused slightly, then looked up and saw over twenty enormous figures starting to turn, emitting terrible eagle cries, raising many giant shadows toward Hongye Valley.
“Opportunities must not be missed! Charge!” With that, the nine heads soared up, flapping their ears, as they carried their master into a frenzy.
The Resin-sucking Beetles moved en masse, and the Building Water Profound Eagles flocked into action, no longer having the energy to monitor Hongye Valley.
The first part of the journey went smoothly, but suddenly, a voice rang out, “Master, wait! I beg for your assistance.”
