Chapter 12: Fourth-Tier Spiritual Talisman

"A Dharma Tool!"

The young woman in the green dress and the blood dwarf could not help but turn pale with horror at the same time.

Dharma tools could only be refined by Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. Although she was already a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, only one level away from the first layer of Foundation Establishment, that single level was like a vast chasm, blocking the vast majority of Qi Refinement cultivators from crossing.

No matter how powerful a Qi Refinement cultivator was, they could never be a match for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even when facing nothing more than a single flying sword Dharma tool refined at the Foundation Establishment stage.

The small black sword erupted with a speed even greater than the blood dwarf's dual wheels. With a sudden sway to the left and right, it knocked the dual wheels—which were several times larger in size—aside. A residual shadow flashed through the air.

"A-Shan, save me!" the blood dwarf screamed in panic. He turned to flee, unable to even care for his dual wheels. Having been struck twice by the small black sword, the wheels already had significant notches in them; their spiritual energy had greatly diminished, rendering them nearly useless.

*Puff—*

The small black sword pierced through his chest. The blood dwarf felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his body suddenly freezing in place. He looked down at his chest to see a bloody hole as wide as a bowl had been torn through it, with blood gushing wildly. With a final groan, the light faded from the blood dwarf's eyes, and his corpse slumped to the ground.

"Stop! We shall each take one of the remaining Purple Silk Ginsengs. Do not force me to use a Fourth-Order Talisman!" Seeing the blood dwarf's death, the woman in the green dress showed no trace of grief. It wasn't that she was unwilling to save him, but rather that everything that had just transpired had happened in the blink of an eye. From the appearance of the black sword Dharma tool to the death of the blood dwarf, it had all been within the black-robed elder's calculations.

At this moment, she was also facing encirclement by a large swarm of small green ants—at least two to three hundred of them.

Seeing the massive swarm of buzzing green ants flying toward her, the woman in the green dress wore a look of wariness. Simultaneously, she beckoned with her left hand, summoning a talisman three inches long and one and a half inches wide, inscribed with mysterious patterns.

The black-robed elder watched the intimidating talisman with an uncertain expression. It was actually no inferior to his flying sword Dharma tool; he had not expected this woman to possess such a trump card.

However, the black-robed elder did not hesitate for long. He was determined to obtain the two Purple Silk Ginsengs, and the information regarding them absolutely could not be leaked, or it would result in a death sentence and the destruction of his cultivation.

Furthermore, using a single Purple Silk Ginseng to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill carried significant risk. If the refinement failed, wouldn't it all be for nothing?

Thinking of this, the black-robed elder gritted his teeth and commanded the shadow ants to continue their assault on the woman. It was entirely worth paying a price to eliminate her.

"In that case, do not blame me for fighting you to the bitter end!"

The woman in the green dress screamed. She had not expected the black-robed elder to be so reckless. With a Dharma tool flying sword in hand and a swarm of shadow ants at his command, she would likely be slain by him within moments if she used ordinary methods. Thus, she abruptly poured her magic power into the talisman and threw it out in a desperate gamble.

A dazzling fire flickered on the talisman, and a whirlwind rose from the ground. The talisman ignited automatically, transforming into a massive fireball.

*Boom!* The fireball exploded, manifesting dozens or even hundreds of fiery arrows.

"A Fourth-Order Fire Arrow Talisman!" The black-robed elder's expression shifted. Although this talisman was only a low-grade Fourth-Order item, its power was no less than that of an ordinary Dharma tool. Its only drawback was that it was a single-use item, unlike his Dharma tool, which could be reused as long as it wasn't completely destroyed. Nevertheless, the elder did not dare to underestimate its lethality.

"Die!" the woman screamed fiercely. Once the Fire Arrow Talisman was released, she had no more moves left, and there was no room for either side to retreat.

*Swish, swish!*

Hundreds of fire arrows pierced the air toward the black-robed elder. The small green ants blocking the path were scorched to death by the flames, falling to the ground in clumps and emitting a foul, burnt stench.

The black-robed elder repeatedly slapped out four or five First-Order Earth Shield Talismans, creating a series of earthen shields in front of him.

*Boom, boom!* The fire arrows struck the earth shields one after another. Among the Five Elements, while the Earth element possessed the strongest defense—and low-level Earth Shield techniques were known as "turtle shells" among similar spells—the difference in rank between the two talismans was too vast. In an instant, the four or five layers of earth shields were blasted into countless fragments of soil by the fire arrows.

The black-robed elder's face turned grim. He had not expected the power of the Fire Arrow Talisman to be so immense. He hurriedly retrieved a small blue umbrella from his storage bag and opened it in a split second. A bright blue light curtain suddenly descended, enveloping a five-foot radius around him.

*Sizzle, sizzle!*

The fire arrows struck the blue light curtain as if hitting mud; their speed dropped drastically. While half of some arrows pierced the barrier, the other half remained stuck outside the blue light. The arrows were then eroded by the circulating blue light, emitting bursts of white mist as they turned into water vapor.

However, as more fire arrows followed in rapid succession, the blue light curtain thinned at a rate visible to the naked eye.

With a loud explosion, several holes burst open in the small blue umbrella.

The remaining twenty or thirty fire arrows shot toward the black-robed elder in rapid succession.

The elder felt a pang of intense heartache. This spiritual umbrella was a top-grade spiritual tool that had been with him for many years; such defensive spiritual tools were quite rare, but ultimately, it could not withstand the strike of a Fourth-Order talisman equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator's blow. After supporting him for only a few moments, it was completely destroyed.

However, this Fourth-Order talisman was also reaching the end of its strength. Gritting his teeth, the black-robed elder manipulated his black sword Dharma tool to deflect the incoming fire arrows.

The black sword struck the incoming arrows one after another, causing large amounts of scattered flames to explode in the air. But no matter how fast the elder moved, the black sword could not protect him from everything. After shattering most of the arrows, two still flew straight toward him. A sharp pain erupted in his abdomen and thigh. The elder's face turned horrified as he hurriedly mobilized the essence within his body to envelop the two arrows.

*Bang, bang!* It was too late. The black-robed elder let out a miserable scream as his left leg was blown clean off, the air filling with the stench of burnt flesh. Although the arrow striking his abdomen was halted by his internal essence, it still blasted out a bloody hole as wide as a bowl.

Seeing that even this Fourth-Order talisman failed to kill the black-robed elder, the woman in the green dress was struck with terror and turned to flee.

The black-robed elder's expression became incredibly sinister. He bit out the word "death" through his teeth, and the black sword Dharma tool transformed into a streak of black light, chasing after the woman.

Before the woman could flee far, she felt a chilling killing intent approaching from behind. In her panic, she swung her sleeves, and a purple silk cloth flew out to entangle the black sword. The black sword twisted in mid-air, slicing the purple silk into several pieces. Under her incredulous gaze, the sword slashed diagonally from her left shoulder downward. Her body was split in two.

The black-robed elder recalled his flying sword and collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. He endured the excruciating pain to stop the bleeding, but his injuries were far beyond what he had anticipated. Regarding the scattered shadow ants, he only had enough strength to crudely recall twenty or thirty of them. After laboriously harvesting the Purple Silk Ginsengs, he saw that the mist in the canyon had mostly dissipated. Even if there were rare treasures here, given his current state after such a brutal battle, he would be unable to claim them. It would be better to return to his cave dwelling and recuperate for a while.

(End of Chapter)