Chapter 529 - 500: So It Was You

Chapter 529: Chapter 500: So It Was You

Bai Zichen flew a thousand miles on his sword before landing on the peak of Cui Feng Mountain.

The thirty-six Jade Talismans suppressed by his Moon Xuan Sword were still stirring restlessly. As a fellow Top-Grade Spiritual Treasure, they had been refined into Xiang Banshan’s Lifebound Magical Treasure and nurtured for several hundred years.

If Xiang Banshan hadn’t overdrawn the power of the Flower Bird Grass within the Jade Talismans to escape, the Moon Xuan Sword would not have been able to suppress them.

This Treasure was originally a set of one hundred and eight Tier Four Top-Grade Jade Talismans that Xiang Banshan had obtained in a Secret Realm. Each one was inscribed with an Ancient Technique of immense power.

Later, rubbings of the ancient Flower Bird Grass were integrated into them, allowing them to become a Spiritual Treasure and cementing Xiang Banshan’s title as the Jade Talisman True Monarch.

Unfortunately, the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Jade Talismans had extremely high requirements for the user’s Talisman Dao Realm. One who was not a Tier Four Talisman Master lacked even the basic qualifications to wield them.

To wield them as adeptly as Xiang Banshan—freely changing various Magic spells at will—one would need to conduct an in-depth study of the Flower Bird Grass.

Few in the entire Cultivation Realm met the requirements to use them.

’In terms of sects with the highest achievements in the Talisman Dao, none surpass the Taiping Sect. Their Taiping Talisman Scripture encompasses all the Talisman Techniques in the Cultivation Realm, and the Taiping Mother Talisman embodies the very essence of the Talisman Dao... If I want to sell these for a high price to a party unafraid of offending the Nine Tribulations Sect by acquiring the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Jade Talismans, the Taiping Sect is the ideal candidate.’

Bai Zichen sealed each of the Jade Talismans and put them away. Now was not the right time to sell them.

This battle had drawn too much attention, so he needed to lie low for a while.

Besides, he had no connection to the Taiping Sect. ’I can’t just show up at their gates and offer to sell them the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Jade Talismans.’

He would need a suitable intermediary.

For most Nascent Soul Sects, a single Top-Grade Spiritual Treasure was a Sect’s Treasure to be passed down for countless generations.

Treasures of this caliber were almost always spoken for and rarely appeared on the open market.

The Taiping Sect, much like the Five Phoenix Sword Sect, was a sect that had once been glorious but was now in gradual decline.

It had once been a Divinity Transformation-level power, but ten thousand years had passed since its last Divinity Transformation Great Power, and it had long since been stripped of its Super Sect title.

But as they say, even a starving camel is bigger than a horse. Its foundations remained, making it far stronger than an ordinary Nascent Soul Sect.

The Taiping Sect’s heirloom, passed down to each Sect Leader, was the Tier Five Top-Grade Taiping Mother Talisman. With this talisman, a cultivator was virtually invincible below the Divinity Transformation Realm.

’Trading the Jade Talismans for a Tier Four Flying Sword will likely be difficult. It’s not that the Taiping Sect would be unwilling, but that they’ve never had any dealings with Sword Cultivators. They probably don’t even have one.’

Bai Zichen had no intention of switching to the Talisman Dao, so keeping the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Jade Talismans was useless to him.

’The Taiping Sect’s Talisman Arrays are ingenious, merging the Array Dao and the Talisman Dao... If they were willing to go to Black Mountain and set up a Tier Four Talisman Array in exchange for this Top-Grade Spiritual Treasure, that might be a viable deal.’

After putting away the Jade Talismans, Bai Zichen did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he gazed into the distance, as if waiting for something.

The anger in his heart had dissipated significantly after forcing Xiang Banshan to abandon his physical body.

It was almost comical. Of the Xiang Family father and son, the son’s body had first been scorched to a crisp by Ge Cang’s Thunder Skill. Then, the father appeared, only to have his own body destroyed by Bai Zichen’s Qing Emperor Longevity Sword.

He found it somewhat amusing to imagine the father and son’s Nascent Souls facing each other back in the Nine Tribulations Sect, both having lost their physical bodies.

This was his first battle against a Great True Monarch. Though there were ups and downs, it had generally gone according to plan.

Having no weaknesses in either his physical body or his Primordial Spirit was the source of Bai Zichen’s confidence, allowing him to challenge those in higher realms with his Sword Dao.

Any other Cultivator, even one who had also mastered the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword but lacked his unique advantages, could at best have only fought Xiang Banshan to a stalemate where both sides suffered heavy losses.

Time True Intent could ignore all defenses and directly sever one’s lifespan.

However, that same cultivator would be unable to withstand a desperate, all-or-nothing strike from a Great True Monarch. It was even possible that the Great True Monarch might survive, while the challenger’s divine soul would be utterly annihilated.

’Even Xiang Banshan could neutralize almost half the effect of the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword. Against a Divinity Transformation expert, I’d be fortunate if a single strike could sever even a decade of their lifespan... I just wish I had a lead on a High-Tier Cultivation Technique. Otherwise, I’d find a place to enter seclusion and just cultivate quietly for a while.’

In terms of tangible gains, this battle hadn’t brought Bai Zichen much. However, it had drawn a clear line in the sand, giving him a much better understanding of where he stood among the Great True Monarchs.

Someone like Xiang Banshan probably ranked in the third tier of Great True Monarchs. Bai Zichen could defeat him with either the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword or the Star River Sword Array.

The tier above that was comprised of cultivators at the level of Ma Youx from the Five Phoenix Sword Sect.

He possessed the Sword Light Division technique and wielded Tier Four Dual Swords. In addition, the Sword Sect had a Tier Five Flying Sword guarding its Mountain Gate, which had once been the personal sword of their Divinity Transformation Ancestor and could be retrieved in a moment of crisis.

Against a second-tier Great True Monarch, even if Bai Zichen used every trump card he had and fought with all his might, the best he could hope for was a stalemate.

The first tier, naturally, was Great True Monarch Hongfa.

With his Natural Daoist Technique and True Intent Perfection, such a figure was someone Bai Zichen could not hope to match, regardless of whether they wielded a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure or not.

He feared that in a single encounter, he would be pulled into the man’s personal Realm with no chance of escape.

He hadn’t forgotten how Du Heng’s True Demon Avatar had been utterly powerless against Great True Monarch Hongfa, swept directly into his Realm.

When it reappeared, only a gruesome demonic head was left.

However, there were only two or three such Great True Monarchs in the entire Cultivation Realm—those who were a hair’s breadth from Divinity Transformation and seeking that final opportunity.

The chances of running into one were minuscule.

Of course, this was merely Bai Zichen’s own ranking system based on his personal experience; it was bound to have errors and omissions.

’The Nine Tribulations Sect deserves to be destroyed, and Xiang Banshan deserves to die!’

By borrowing the power of the Time Ring Body, Bai Zichen had greatly deepened his understanding of the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword.

If he could enter seclusion for several decades to study and practice it in detail, he had high hopes of mastering the complete version of the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword.