Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 342 - 340 Talisman Jade (For Reader Alliance Leader 16511895272223117056) _1

Chapter 342: Chapter 340 Talisman Jade (For Reader Alliance Leader 16511895272223117056) _1

After a ghastly scream, the man in the green robe hastily removed his eyeball, which seemed to be bleeding in both eyes.

His breath became unstable, and after gasping for air a few times, he began to swallow several kinds of Spiritual Pills and started operating his power in front of Fang Xi. He seemed to barely suppress his injuries before he began wailing, "You little rascal... Did you kill the direct descendants of seventeen or eighteen Nascent Soul old demons? Or did you exterminate an entire family with Nascent Souls? Why is the light from the Resented Spirit Trace on your body so intense?"

"Is it that intense?"

Fang Xi looked puzzled, "I don’t know... after all, I merely killed a middleman from the Demon Path on a whim..."

"It can’t be just one person... The classics state that when viewing the Resented Spirit Trace through the ’Eye of the Demon-Seeking Dog,’ one can only see a faint ring of blood light... But the blood light on you earlier reached the sky, at least the accumulation of dozens of Resented Spirit Trace, and even my secret skills were backfired upon. This ’Eye of the Demon-Seeking Dog’ is now rendered useless..."

The man in the green robe looked regretfully at the lusterless eyeball in his hand, then turned to Fang Xi, clicking his tongue in wonder, "Regardless... I finally believe that you and some Demon Sect definitely share deep-seated enmity!"

Fang Xi was lost for words and then said, "Cut the nonsense, is there a way to break the curse?"

If he hadn’t been uncertain about whether the other party carried a curse-lifting method, he would have considered directly capturing the man to search his soul.

"This..."

The man in the green robe pondered for a while, then suddenly pinched a talisman, and the green light shrouding his face flashed, disappearing in an instant to reveal his true appearance.

He had silver hair and three long beards, and he must have been a handsome man in his youth.

With his green robe complementing his ethereal aura, he dispelled the previously sinister gloom.

"I am ’Master Qingyang,’ and I have seen Sir."

Master Qingyang wore a full smile and performed a Daoist greeting.

"Master Qingyang..."

Fang Xi focused his Divine Consciousness on him, found that his cultivation was still at the early stage of Core Formation, and couldn’t help but narrow his eyes slightly, "Within Yuan Country, I seem not to have heard of Sir’s name..."

"That’s to be expected, as I hail from Jiang Country... Within Jiang Country, the Demon Path holds great power, and the Righteous Path can only struggle to stay afloat..."

Master Qingyang briefly introduced his background.

"A cultivator from Jiang Country?!"

Fang Xi’s expression became solemn, "Cultivators from Jiang Country, covertly forming the Heaven Alliance in Yuan Country – is it to intervene in Yuan Country’s Cultivation World?"

"Not at all... ’Seven Deadly Sins Hall,’ a great faction of the Demon Path in Jiang Country, has long been secretly supporting the Blood Sect, and we merely came out of righteous indignation to assist the Righteous Path of Yuan Country a bit..."

Master Qingyang sighed, "That’s also why I would never reveal my identity... unless I confirmed that you are definitely not a spy from the Demon Path..."

"All because of the ’Resented Spirit Trace’?"

Fang Xi was slightly surprised, "Could it not be a self-directed play, deliberately letting me kill a disciple of the Demon Sect?"

"Heh heh... If Sir had not asked this, it would mean you do not understand the cost of this Demon Path secret skill. It’s quite high... Not even the entire Blood Sect may have a cultivator with the ’Resented Spirit Trace’ implanted... It’s only possible with the core truths of the ’Seven Deadly Sins Hall,’ and I don’t think I hold such value that they would painstakingly arrange a spy."

Master Qingyang shook his head.

"So it turns out that Sir is a person of the Righteous Path, my disrespect..."

Fang Xi clasped his fist, his mind becoming somewhat clearer.

No wonder Heaven Alliance was assisting Mu Yu in revenge, it was to weaken the strength of the Blood Sect!

"Ah... Currently in Yuan Country, Green Leaf Commerce Association has always been neutral, the Mixed Origin Sect has signed a pact with the Blood Sect... We lament their misfortune, angry at their lack of resistance... helpless, we can only follow orders from above, lurk quietly, and secretly accumulate strength..."

Master Qingyang said, "If Sir is willing to join ’Heaven Alliance’... I am willing to offer the curse-breaking method with both hands. You should know... while the ’Resented Spirit Trace’ is difficult for us to perceive, in the eyes of some old demons, it’s extremely glaring. Even if it doesn’t belong to their sects, they regard it with enmity... If Sir continues to bear this mark, there is always the risk of disaster at any time."

"You need not worry about that, Sir. In all of Yuan Country, there are at most three or four Yuan Ying True Monarchs... as long as I don’t go to Blood Sect territory, there won’t be any problems... but I wonder, what are the requirements to join Heaven Alliance?"

Fang Xi pondered for a while before finally asking.

"That’s simple... You just need to swear an oath on the ’Heavenly Path Stele,’ and there will be no further constraints."

Master Qingyang replied, "This ’Heavenly Path Stele’ is a peculiar Supreme Treasure, and the oaths made to it even by Nascent Soul old monsters must be upheld, otherwise there will be a grave price. As for the contents of the oath? First, you must not betray Heaven Alliance, second, you must serve Heaven Alliance for at least a hundred years, third..."

The smile on Fang Xi’s face gradually faded.

Though the oath’s content was not overly harsh, many of the terms were unacceptable to him.

Moreover... he was really not in a hurry.

’Recently having a clue, means it’s very likely to find a curse-breaking method within Jiang Country... There’s no need to hurry to rely on them...’

’Once I reach Nascent Soul, I can directly visit the mountain gates of those Nascent Soul great sects, and a small price in exchange would be possible.’

’After all... my enemies, though formidable, are not in this realm...’

After settling his thoughts, Fang Xi looked at Master Qingyang, showing a slight smile, "In that case, let’s first talk about the trade involving the Jade Talisman Skills..."

Seeing this, Master Qingyang felt helpless but also knew that high-level cultivators had extremely firm minds.

Individual cultivators like ’Yun Jiezi’ valued their freedom and independence above everything else, and he could only sigh, "The ’Thousand Miles Communique Talisman’ is not easy to make, selling for ten high-grade Spirit Stones each... In addition, we will not disclose the Talisman Making Skill, but we sell ’Talisman Jades’ to outsiders at a very favorable price..."

"Heh heh... So this is the style of Heaven Alliance? Truly stingy..."

Fang Xi complained a few words and, feeling the pinch, took out more than ten high-grade Spirit Stones to exchange for a jade slip and several ’Talisman Jades’.

"This is a primary concession for you, my friend... As for the subsequent talisman techniques, they are beyond the purchase of Spirit Stones."

Master Qingyang said with unperturbed calmness, "Of course, if you are one of our own, then the Jade Talisman Skills could possibly be imparted to you without reservation..."

Fang Xi clearly hesitated, but ultimately he waved his hand, "Let me consider it further..."

...

Profound Ice Palace.

Little Cold Cave.

"I pay my respects to the Young Master!"

Jiang Ling was tending to the Spiritual Medicine Garden. When she saw Fang Xi walk in, she couldn’t help but be a little startled.

So the Supreme Elder had already ventured out?

Nevertheless, she quickly composed herself and bowed with folded hands.

"Never mind..."

Fang Xi played with two pieces of Jade talisman in his hand, in quite a good mood.

After comparison, he affirmed that the Jade talismans sold to him by Master Qingyang were identical to the ones he had obtained at the Green Wood Sect using the half-completed secret skills.

With this, he was not afraid of being restricted by the paper for the talismans.

Unfortunately, he had only acquired the method to craft one type of Jade talisman and was not able to obtain other powerful talisman-making techniques, which was a bit regrettable.

’However, Master Qingyang is overt in his scheming... Having enjoyed this sweetener, if I do not help with a few major matters next, I probably won’t even think about continuing the trade, and I would seriously offend the Heaven Alliance.’

At this moment, Fang Xi didn’t notice the somewhat resentful gaze from Jiang Ling, but rather said excitedly, "I need to immediately go into seclusion to diligently study a skill, and here is a list of materials... Take it to the supplies hall and ensure the disciples there gather everything."

While speaking, he inserted a jade slip into Jiang Ling’s hand.

Jiang Ling respectfully accepted it and with a sweep of her Divine Thought, she looked puzzled, "Purple Jade Dust, Thousand Bugs Wax, Vermilion Sand... Rest assured, Young Master, although these materials are somewhat precious, our palace has considerable reserves..."

"That’s very good, increase your contribution by ten percent this time,"

Fang Xi said with a slight smile.

These materials were naturally essential for forging Talisman Jade.

The Profound Ice Palace acted swiftly, and within less than three days, all the materials were compiled and delivered to Little Cold Cave.

...

In the Refining Chamber.

Fang Xi took out a Talisman Jade and silently recalled the method he had comprehended to forge the ’Thousand Miles Communique Talisman’.

A moment later, he opened his mouth and exhaled a wisp of Core Fire, landing upon the Talisman Jade.

Beneath the burning of the Core Fire, Tangxiang Jade became even more luminous, crystal-clear, as if it would melt at any second...

Seeing this, Fang Xi immediately grabbed a handful of vermilion red cinnabar. The cinnabar was bright red and rich in spiritual energy, clearly of exceptional quality.

With a gentle blow, the cinnabar as if moved by some unnamed heat, melted in mid-air and then fell upon the Talisman Jade, slowly infiltrating it, forming patterns.

’The forging method of these ancient Jade talismans is somewhat similar to talisman forging... Even for wooden talismans, one still needs to prepare a carving knife...’

’Talisman and forging equipment aren’t different at all... Yet for me, it’s somewhat difficult.’

Just when Fang Xi was slightly distracted.

Crack!

A distinctly crisp noise came from the Jade talisman, as it cracked and a crack formed, leaking spiritual energy. Then the Jade talisman shattered, falling to the ground as pieces, emitting a clear ringing sound.

Upon seeing this scene, Fang Xi’s face immediately soured.

This Jade talisman was wasted.

He took a deep breath and began to reflect on the process of making the talisman:

"This isn’t my fault, I was never adept at forging... The skill needed to forge a Jade talisman is quite different from drawing a regular talisman."

"Perhaps... The art of talisman-making was tampered with, increasing the difficulty and reducing the success rate..."

"Maybe right now, Master Qingyang is waiting to see me make a fool of myself? Then he will strike a hard bargain in the next Jade talisman trade?"

Fang Xi sighed, feeling that it was very likely.

Luckily for him, the method of Jade talisman forging was not a secret, which meant he could save a significant cost.

"The Heaven Alliance is not an option to join, but to hang around on the periphery and get some benefits should be no problem..."

"As for actions... I’ll consider it after reaching the later stage of Core Formation."

Fang Xi thought to himself and picked up the second piece of Jade talisman...