Chapter 67: The Price of Underestimating Him, No Discrimination One Talisman Per Person and Dimensional Reduction Strike

The forest had already become a mess.

Broken branches covered the ground, leaves had been scattered everywhere, and the air was filled with the smell of burnt woods. The three Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators were breathing heavily as they desperately defended themselves against another wave of talismans.

Yu Liang, meanwhile, was still moving. He had quickly grown bored of simply standing in one place while they desperately tried to attack him.

Every time they attempted to approach him, he would retreat several steps before throwing another handful of talismans. When they tried to separate and surround him, he simply changed direction and forced them to defend against another barrage.

The situation had completely reversed.

They were supposed to be hunting him.

Instead, they were struggling to survive.

"Stop running!" One of the cultivators shouted furiously.

Yu Liang casually threw another talisman.

The man immediately shut his mouth and raised his spiritual energy to defend.

Boom!

The explosion sent him stumbling backward.

Yu Liang looked at him. "You were the ones who wanted to kill me."

Another talisman appeared between his fingers.

"So why are you asking me to stop?"

The man’s face turned pale.

The leader’s expression had already become extremely ugly.

He finally understood that they couldn’t continue like this. Their spiritual energy was rapidly depleting. If this continued, they would eventually be unable to defend themselves.

"Enough!" The leader suddenly shouted.

The other three looked toward him.

"We retreat!"

None of them argued.

They immediately turned around.

But before they could take more than a few steps, Yu Liang’s voice came from behind them.

"Leaving already?"

The leader’s body stiffened.

Yu Liang stood several meters away.

He wasn’t smiling anymore.

He reached into his storage pouch.

What came out wasn’t another Tier Two talisman.

The moment the four cultivators sensed the spiritual fluctuation coming from it, their expressions changed completely.

A terrifying pressure spread through the whole forest.

The leader’s pupils contracted.

"Tier Four..."

His voice trembled.

"How could you..."

It was because of the powerful spiritual fluctuations released when Yu Liang activated it that they immediately recognized it as a Tier Four talisman. What they didn’t know, however, was that the defensive talisman Yu Liang had been using all along was also a Tier Four talisman.

Yu Liang casually held the talisman between two fingers.

Tier Four — Mountain Suppression Talisman.

The talisman wasn’t particularly large.

Yet the moment Yu Liang injected his Qi into it, the spiritual energy surrounding the forest seemed to become heavy.

A massive golden formation appeared above them.

The three cultivators looked upward.

Their faces lost all color.

"Run!"

They scattered instantly.

But they were too late.

Yu Liang looked at the first cultivator who had been closest to him.

"You’re first."

He flicked the talisman forward.

The golden formation descended.

The man didn’t even have enough time to scream.

Boom!

The ground beneath him collapsed.

An enormous force descended from above, crushing everything within its range. Trees snapped in half, rocks shattered, and the earth sank several meters downward.

When the dust settled, there was nothing left of the cultivator.

Not even his body remained intact.

The other three froze.

Their faces were filled with absolute horror.

With just one talisman and a single attack, one of their companions was gone.

Yu Liang didn’t even look at the destruction for long.

He simply took out another talisman.

The leader’s heart nearly stopped as he shouted."WAIT!"

Yu Liang looked at him.

The leader swallowed hard. "W-we can compensate you!"

Yu Liang tilted his head. "Compensate?"

"Yes!"

The leader hurriedly continued, desperation filling his voice.

"We were hired! We can tell you who sent us!"

Yu Liang stared at him for a moment. Then he shook his head. "No need."

The leader froze. "You don’t want to know?"

Yu Liang’s expression was strangely calm.

"Looking at your cultivation and the way you handled this entire operation, I already have a rough idea of what kind of person your employer is."

He raised the talisman. "Probably a braindead guy who’s not someone worth keeping alive."

The leader’s face became horrified.

"You..."

Yu Liang didn’t give him time to finish.

The second talisman activated.

Tier Four — Crimson Thunderfall Talisman.

The sky above the forest suddenly darkened. Crimson lightning gathered between the clouds.

The remaining three cultivators looked upward in despair.

The leader immediately circulated every bit of spiritual energy he had left and formed a defensive barrier.

The other two did the same.

"Together!"

They desperately combined their defenses.

A massive crimson bolt descended.

BOOM!

The entire forest shook. Lightning tore through their combined barrier as though it were paper.

The leader’s eyes widened.

His defense shattered instantly as crimson lightning struck his body, tearing through his spiritual energy. Blood spilled from his lips as he fell to his knees, trembling uncontrollably.

"No..." His voice was barely audible as he looked at Yu Liang in terror. "We can still—"

Another bolt of lightning descended, cutting him off as his body collapsed.

The second cultivator stared at the corpse.

His breathing became frantic and immediately turned and ran.

He didn’t care about the mission anymore.

He didn’t care about his employer.

He didn’t care about anything.

He simply wanted to live.

He ran through the forest with everything he had.

Behind him, Yu Liang watched silently.

Then he sighed. "Do you think running can save you?"

He took out another talisman.

The cultivator felt the terrifying fluctuation behind him. His body trembled as he looked back and his pupils shrank in pure terror.

"No!"

Yu Liang activated it.

Tier Four — Void Severing Talisman.

The space in front of the fleeing cultivator distorted.

A thin black line appeared.

The man desperately tried to dodge it desperately but he was too slow.

The black line passed through his body.

His expression froze. For a brief moment, nothing happened. Then his body separated cleanly along the line.

Now only one remained, the final cultivator. He stood completely motionless, his face pale and his legs trembling after watching his three companions die before his eyes.

One crushed.

One struck by crimson lightning.

One cut apart by distorted space.

And now he was alone.

The man slowly turned toward Yu Liang.

Yu Liang was already holding another talisman.

The man’s heart almost broke from fear.

"No..."

He stumbled backward. "Please spare me."

Yu Liang said nothing.

"I’ll leave! I’ll never come after you again!"

Still nothing.

"I-I can tell you everything!"

The man dropped to his knees.

"Please!"

Yu Liang finally looked at him. There was no anger or hatred in his eyes, only indifference. "You should have thought about everything before coming here."

The man desperately gathered the last of his spiritual energy.

He had one final technique.If he could escape even once, he might survive.

His body suddenly shot backward.

Yu Liang watched him run but he didn’t chase. He simply raised the talisman in his hand.

The man’s expression changed when he realized what Yu Liang was doing.

"NOOOO..."

The spiritual energy around him began to tremble.

"NO, NO, NO!"

He ran faster.

Yu Liang calmly activated the final talisman.

Tier Four — Heavenfire Burial Talisman.

The sky above the forest turned red. A pillar of blazing fire descended from the heavens.

The cultivator screamed.

His desperate spiritual barrier lasted less than a breath then flames swallowed him completely.

His screams echoed through the forest before abruptly disappearing.

The fire slowly faded.

The forest became silent.

Four Foundation Establishment cultivators had entered this place and none remained alive.

Yu Liang stood among the destroyed trees, calmly looking at the aftermath. He lowered the empty talisman in his hand, he used four Tier Four talismans, one for each of them.

Not because one wasn’t enough.

A single Tier Four talisman contained the full force attack of a Core Formation Realm cultivator. Against a few Foundation Establishment cultivators, the difference in power was simply overwhelming, it was a dimensional reduction in strength.

One would have been more than enough to kill all four.

But Yu Liang didn’t particularly care.

They had come here intending to kill him. Why should he make things convenient for them?

He glanced toward the bodies or what remained of them and casually turned around.

"Troublesome."

He dusted off his sleeve.

"What a waste of time. I could’ve been at the restaurant by now." Yu Liang started walking back toward the city.

After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Though..."

He glanced back at the ruined forest.

"That was actually somewhat satisfying."

He continued walking.

As he walked away, Yu Liang couldn’t help but wonder why people like them always talked so much before fighting. If they had just attacked him without wasting all that time explaining their plan, perhaps they would have ended up dying more faster.

They had never been hunting Yu Liang.

They had simply delivered themselves to him.