Chapter 38: Butterfly Fairy

[] way to make earth soldiers?

Liang Yan was slightly stunned. He focused his gaze on the three earth-armored soldiers and found that they possessed not a shred of spiritual energy, appearing more like clay statues.

However, in the next moment, the three earth-armored soldiers simultaneously raised their blades with both hands and turned their heads, as if they were "watching" him.

Tang Diexian nodded and said, "Indeed. This 'Earth Soldier Talisman' can gather earth to form soldiers; they possess immense strength and are impervious to blades and spears. They are truly brutish. However, the 'Earth Soldier Talisman' is extremely difficult to draw. An ordinary person would struggle to obtain even one, yet this person actually has three. You must deal with them carefully."

Before she could finish, Liang Yan had already stepped forward, launching an active attack against the three earth soldiers.

He silently circulated an unnamed incantation within his body. With a strange posture, he unleashed a punch from his "Hooligan Technique" toward one of the earth-armored soldiers.

The earth-armored soldier showed no fear. Gripping a massive earth blade with both hands, it swung a strike toward him. As the blade and fist collided, a deafening, muffled boom echoed through the air.

Liang Yan stood motionless, and there wasn't even a single scratch on his right hand. On the contrary, the earth-armored soldier went *thud, thud, thud!*—staggering back three steps, its massive earth blade and both arms covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

"This guy!"

Tang Diexian's mouth hung half-open. The warning she had intended to give him was completely lost for words. She thought to herself

"This little devil is full of tricks. Not only did he hide his cultivation, but he also possesses such formidable supernatural powers. I wasted my worry on him for nothing!"

The old man in linen clothes, however, gasped in shock. He knew the power of the "Earth Soldier Talisman" better than anyone; an ordinary Qi Refinement Level 5 cultivator could not hope to contend with them. Even a Level 6 cultivator could, at most, only defend themselves; defeating an earth soldier was said to be nearly impossible. Yet this youth before him had nearly crushed his earth soldiers with nothing but his bare fists. How could he not be terrified?

He was originally a talisman master, and having spent most of his life immersed in the Dao of Talismans, he had only managed to draw these three "Earth Soldier Talismans." They were truly life-saving treasures.

Upon discovering that these two were investigative disciples from the Yixing Pavilion, he had used them all without hesitation. He was merely a rogue cultivator; if not for his reliance on talismans, how could he have fought against disciples of the same level from a great sect like the Yixing Pavilion? Not to mention there were two of them.

To his horror, even his greatest trump card—the three "Earth Soldier Talismans"—could not touch the youth. Panic set in, and the urge to flee took hold.

He performed a hand seal, commanding the three earth-armored soldiers to suppress Liang Yan and Tang Diexian at all costs, and then immediately bolted into the forest.

Tang Diexian, who had been feeling annoyed at Liang Yan for hiding his cultivation, saw the old man fleeing and shouted angrily, "You old geezer! Did I give you permission to leave?" With that, she drew her Hundred Flowers Sword and gave chase.

The three earth soldiers moved to intercept her, but Liang Yan's figure shifted. He stepped in front of them, saying with a grin, "Don't go! Come on! Let me see if your earth limbs can take a beating." With that, he began throwing punches, engaging the three soldiers in combat.

Seeing that Liang Yan was managing the three earth soldiers with ease, Tang Diexian felt relieved and turned her full attention to pursuing the old man.

The old man glanced back and saw that the three earth soldiers could not stop the two of them, and that one person was still pursuing him. Terrified, he lost his wits. He fumbled in his storage bag for another talisman, muttered an incantation, and then—*snap!*—he slapped it onto himself. His speed instantly surged, and the distance that Tang Diexian had been closing was once again widened.

"A Speed Talisman!"

Tang Diexian's eyes narrowed. She thought, "This guy has an endless supply of talismans; he must be a talisman master. Hmph! I'll see just how many trump cards you have left in your box."

Although she was only at Qi Refinement Level 5 and had not yet reached the stage of flying with tools, the Yixing Pavilion was a great sect. No one would believe they didn't possess one or two methods for Qi Refinement stage cultivators to increase their speed.

She performed a hand seal, and a layer of green light appeared beneath her feet, as if she were absorbing the nearby Wood Essence.

Tang Diexian's speed surged. Tiny specks of green light trailed behind her feet in a long streak, fluttering in the wind like a ribbon.

Meanwhile, the old man in linen was fleeing for his life without looking back. He had made up his mind: once he escaped this crisis, he would immediately use a secret signal to inform his companions in Yongle Town of the arrival of the Yixing Pavilion disciples.

Once they gathered the strength of all six members, they would surely grind these two young cultivators into dust to vent their fury!

Thinking of his three "Earth Soldier Talismans," his heart ached with regret. Talismans were difficult to draw, and more importantly, the materials were hard to find. He had spent most of his life accumulating only these three talismans, and to see them all lost here tonight would make him inconsolable with rage.

As his thoughts raced, he suddenly heard a whistling sound from behind. Terrified, he instinctively ducked his head, hunched his shoulders, and rolled onto the ground.

With a clear, ringing sword chime, a magnificent treasure sword flew past his back, slicing through his clothes and embedding itself into a large tree ahead, where it continued to vibrate.

Seeing this, Tang Diexian thought, "What a pity!"

She was not a sword cultivator; she merely enjoyed using sword-type spiritual tools. Thus, she did not understand sword incantations and could not perform long-range sword control to strike enemies. She had simply released her spiritual energy to throw the Hundred Flowers Sword with all her might in an attempt at a surprise attack. Unfortunately, the old man was far too cautious; he had rolled onto the ground without any regard for decorum.

Seeing her sword miss, Tang Diexian could only sigh. She performed a hand seal and recalled the Hundred Flowers Sword.

Seeing that she was so fast that she had actually caught up to him, the old man realized that fleeing was no longer an option. He said with a fierce expression, "Our cultivation levels are not that different. Fellow Daoist, are you truly thinking that I, Feng, am afraid of you?"

Tang Diexian spat, "Pah! If you're not afraid, then why are you running?"

The old man narrowed his eyes and said, "We are both mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators. Everyone has a trump card. If you keep pressing me like this, are you not afraid I will use a method to take us both down together?"

Tang Diexian laughed, "Fine then! I'd like to see what kind of methods you, you old geezer, have left!" With that, she performed a hand seal and muttered an incantation, appearing to be casting a spell.

The old man had been on high alert, and seeing her cast a spell, he hurriedly reached into his storage bag and pulled out a talisman, which was inscribed with a purple bolt of lightning.

With a flick of his hand, the talisman flew into the air, transformed into a bolt of purple lightning, and radiated a terrifying heavenly might. It raced toward Tang Diexian.

"A Five Thunder Talisman!"

Tang Diexian was startled, but she immediately regained her composure.

"It can't be a Five Thunder Talisman. Hmph! It's just an imitation of the 'Earthly Thunder' among the Five Thunders. Its power is likely not even one ten-thousandth of the real thing."

The purple lightning seemed to wrapped in infinite heavenly might as it shot toward Tang Diexian, but she did not move an inch. Instead, the Pixiu pendant on her chest automatically flew out and transformed into a small, exquisite Pixiu in mid-air.

As it emerged, it seemed as if it hadn't woken up yet; it rolled lazily in the air, looking quite adorable.

Just then, the purple lightning struck. The Pixiu opened its mouth and swallowed the lightning directly into its belly, even letting out a burp. It then rubbed its belly in a human-like manner, as if saying, "Thanks for the treat!"

"You!"

The old man's heart shook violently, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

This imitation "Earthly Thunder Talisman" was his final trump card, which he had cherished until now and never shown to anyone.

Before today, he had been full of confidence. He believed that although he was ranked fourth in his organization, if he truly fought for his life and used all his methods, even the elusive "Number One" might not be his match.

However, his greatest reliance was on talismans, and most talismans were single-use consumables. Therefore, he usually maintained a kind and cautious appearance, avoiding unnecessary conflict, which prevented others from seeing his true strength.

He never expected that even using the imitation "Earthly Thunder Talisman" would fail to harm the woman before him in the slightest.

Before he could recover from the shock, the woman opposite him seemed to have finished her spell. The old man felt a rumbling sound beneath his feet, as if something were about to burst from the earth.

Startled, he instinctively tried to retreat. But in the next moment, within a radius of several miles, colorful flowers began to sprout from the ground, blooming in every shade—gold, cyan, purple, blue, and every other color—though pink was the most common.

The old man found himself in the middle of a sea of flowers, but he had no desire to appreciate the beauty. He felt nothing but killing intent in his surroundings.

Tang Diexian swung her Hundred Flowers Sword, muttering the incantation in her heart. Countless petals were swept up by the wind, dancing to the rhythm of the spell. Tang Diexian stood elegantly amidst them, her white robes fluttering and her long black hair flowing freely. She truly looked like a fairy of the flowers or a beauty under the moon.

This peerless beauty, if a secular scholar or poet had passed by, would surely have thought they were in a grand dream or had arrived in the immortal realm. They might even have composed a poem on the spot to soothe the longing they would feel later.

But in the old man's eyes, these flying petals were no different from death warrants.

He trembled, reaching into his storage bag and throwing out talismans as if they were free. Some transformed into small hurricanes, some into blazing fireballs, and many other forms.

However, all these supernatural phenomena and visions, upon encountering the sea of flowers, were instantly shredded and dissipated by the sharp killing intent within the petals.

Seeing that his various methods were useless, the old man could only smile bitterly. As the sky filled with flying petals, his mind began to wander.

*Splat!*

His entire body was sliced by the petals, and even the meridians within his body were shredded by the killing intent within the petals. He then fell backward, his breath vanishing.

His life of cultivation had come to an end.

Tang Diexian ceased her technique, and the sea of flowers gradually faded into nothingness.

She reached out and took the jade pendant and the fake imperial decree from the old man's body, and thought to herself

"I need to get back quickly to see if that idiot has dealt with the earth soldiers. Although his physical body is powerful, there's no guarantee he won't run into any accidents. I must get back and check on him."

(End of Chapter)