Talisman Emperor

Chapter 158 – Blood Sacrifice

The balefulstar lightning was condensed from the purest baleful energy of the stars from the myriad of stars in the sky combined with the energy of lightning to be formed, and it contained extremely copious amounts of baleful energy of the stars and piercingly cold and condensed lightning bolts. Every bolt of lightning that struck down possessed a might that was sufficient to annihilate everything in the world and obliterate Earthly Immortal Realm experts, and the words ‘Immortal Slaughtering’ in the name of the Nine-Palace Balefulstar Immortal Slaughtering Formation came from this.

Moreover, for the sake of activating this grand formation, the Starnet Palace had practically completely consumed all the resources that they’d conserved for a few thousands of years. Thus, how terrifying a might the formation revealed could be easily imagined. If it wasn’t for Bei Heng’s Quasi Immortal Artifact Fifth-Earth Mirror withstanding the roiling lightning that poured down, Chen Xi would probably have been obliterated into nothingness under the lightning since long ago.

It was fortunate that he possessed this layer of barrier to neutralize more than half of the might of the balefulstar lightning, and it was only because of this that he was able to safely absorb the pure and vast amounts of baleful energy of the star to ceaselessly temper, hammer, and strengthen his body.

The saying danger and fortune exist side by side was most likely describing Chen Xi’s current situation of turning danger into safety and turning disaster into fortune. Even Bei Heng never imagined that Chen Xi actually dared draw the energy of the balefulstar lightning to cultivate, and this action, that was almost at the extent of playing with his life, caused Bei Heng to feel extreme shock.

In the sky 3 km from Falling Star Mountain, Starnet Palace’s Sect Master, Tie Yunzi, and the Nether Transformation Realm expert, Chai Shao, stood shoulder to shoulder. Within the eyes of the two of them, the entire vast expanse of Falling Star Mountain was covered in balefulstar lightning. Those numerous lightning bolts struck down like the milky way pouring down from above the nine heavens, and the lightning arcs that were dazzling bright like daylight shone upon them, to the point their faces were flickering with brightness and dimness.

“This is the Nine-Palace Balefulstar Immortal Slaughtering Formation? How many years has it been? Since I became the Sect Master, it’s still the first time I’ve seen it. Although it consumed the essence of the stars and over 100 million spirit liquid that was bitterly gathered for a few thousands of years, so long as it’s able to annihilate that Earthly Immortal, then it was worth it to expend all this!” Tie Yunzi muttered, and his gloomy expression revealed madness.

“In short, after experiencing this battle and annihilating a 6th level Earthly Immortal Realm expert that had comprehended Spatial Laws, my Starnet Palace will be able to become famous throughout the world!” Chai Shao laughed loudly. “Let me see if anyone dares look down on our Starnet Palace in the future.”

“Hmm?” As they spoke, the two of them suddenly saw that a myriad of verdant lotus flowers had abruptly arisen in Falling Star Mountain. Every single lotus flower covered an area of 10m and had an old man wearing a scholar’s hat and ancient clothes sitting or standing within it. These old men formed seals with their hands, waved about their swords, chanted scriptures... They had a myriad of different poses and expressions, and their movements were all different, yet all of them explosively shot out streams of azure light that charged into the heavens and shattered the sky!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The instant the balefulstar lightning that descended from the sky touched those lotus flowers, they were like ice that melted into water, causing them to be instantly shattered, obliterated, and disappear without a trace. Shockingly, within those myriad of lotus flowers, Bai Wanqing, Bai Gan, and Bai Teng stood there, and under the protection of the numerous verdant lotus flowers, it was as if they’d entered into another world. No matter how violent of dense the balefulstar lightning was, it was unable to injure them in the slightest.

“Immortal Artifact! It’s actually an Immortal Artifact!” Chai Shao’s expression turned to shock as he cried out involuntarily, and he seemed as if he’d seen something extremely terrifying.

“Immortal Artifact? Shit! Martial Uncle, our Nine-Palace Balefulstar Immortal Slaughtering Formation is probably unable to confine them any longer. What should we do?” Tie Yunzi seemed as if he was struck by lightning as well, and his expression was unsightly beyond compare as he understood that he’d probably offended a great figure this time. Just think about it, if an Earthly Immortal Realm expert was able to possess an Immortal Artifact as a weapon, then how great would the power that stood behind him be?

Chai Shao had an indeterminate expression, and he gnashed his teeth and said after a short moment, “Kill! Use the blood sacrificial technique to completely simulate the might of the Nine-Palace Balefulstar Immortal Slaughtering Formation. We must kill this Earthly Immortal Realm expert this time. If we allow him to escape, then Starnet Palace will surely suffer unending acts of revenge, and it would even be to the extent of being erased from the cultivation world. Not one of us is able to bear such consequences.”

“Blood sacrificial technique? Martial Uncle, it requires the cost of a few tens of thousands of lives to be able to completely stimulate the might of the formation! This... Isn’t this a little cruel?” Tie Yunzi shuddered with fear, and he spoke with a bewildered expression.

“Hmph! What time is it now to still be kindhearted? Didn’t we foster the disciples in the sect for the sake of using them to help the sect pass through difficult situations?” Chai Shao had a savage expression, and his killing intent surged. “You only have to sacrifice some disciples, yet you’re able to obtain an Immortal Artifact in return, a real Immortal Artifact, and it isn’t something like the Buddha’s Pagoda that’s only an empty shell is able to compare to! With this Immortal Artifact, our Starnet Palace will surely surpass the Wanderingcloud Sword Sect once I advance to the Earthly Immortal Realm, and it will become the number one sect in the southern territory. At that time, we’ll be able to recruit as many disciples as we want, so why should we worry about being unable to make the sect flourish?”

“Alright! I’ll join forces with the other elders right away to incinerate the souls of a few tens of thousands of disciples and offer a blood sacrifice to the grand formation!” Tie Yunzi hesitated for a moment before agreeing resolutely in the end.

As the leader of a sect, Tie Yunzi was a ruthless and cruel person, and after he analyzed the pros and cons, his figure flashed out right away and intended to fly towards the distant gorge where 17 elders and 60,000 disciples were hiding.

“Wait! Look over there, the Fifth-Earth Mirror! Dammit! The Wanderingcloud Sword Sect’s Supreme Grand Elder, Bei Heng, is here as well!” Chai Shao’s expression instantly went gloomy.

Tie Yunzi stopped his footsteps abruptly, then raised his eyes to look, and he saw that in a narrow gorge in Falling Star Mountain, there was an enormous mirror floating in midair and emitted a golden barrier to withstand the balefulstar lightning that covered the entire sky and descended down. Within the barrier, he could vaguely see the figures of two people.

“Chen Xi!” Tie Yunzi spoke out with doubt and surprise. He had an extremely deep impression of Chen Xi, and in practically an instant, he’d recognized who that figure belonged to, whereas, he didn’t have to guess to know that the person by Chen Xi’s side was Bei Heng as only Bei Heng possessed this Quasi Immortal Artifact — Fifth-Earth Mirror.

“Hmm? It’s that kid that killed my son, Letian?” Chai Shao was stunned, and his expression instantly became extremely icy cold.

“Exactly. According to the Su Clan, it ought to be this kid that killed Junior Brother Letian.” Tie Yunzi spoke slowly. “Moreover, this kid has subdued the Buddha’s Pagoda. If it wasn’t for Bei Heng’s obstruction, I’d have seized it from him since long ago.”

“Good! The heavens are really assisting Starnet Palace!” Chao Shao’s voice seemed to be squeezed out from the cracks between his teeth, and he spoke word by word. “Not only will I be able to kill this old fellow at the Earthly Immortal Realm, I’ll also be able to avenge my son and annihilate Bei Heng. In this way, after Bei Heng is wiped out and Starnet Palace possesses two Immortal Artifacts, annihilating the Wanderingcloud Sword Sect in the future would be extremely easy as well!”

“Go, quickly execute the blood sacrificial technique! Starnet Palace’s future hope to become supreme in the southern territory’s cultivation world is in this battle!” Chai Shao’s expression was already extremely insane, and his hair fluttered as he shouted in a low voice.

Swoosh!

How would Tie Yunzi dare delay any longer, and his figure flashed to tear through the sky.

“Ah! Third Elder, why do you kill me?”

“Sect Master, you... you....”

“Bastard! All of you actually have the heart to slaughter the disciples of your own sect, you’re simply worse than animals! I curse all of you! I curse your Starnet Palace to flow with rivers of blood, to be utterly exterminated, and the Dao inheritance of the Starnet Palace to be wiped out forever!”

After a short moment, a wave of shrill howls instantly resounded out from within that gorge, and numerous roars of despair sounded out. It was simply like devils that were suppressed in hell intended to reappear in the mortal world, and it caused chills to run down one’s spine.

After that, countless bloody lights shot into Falling Star Mountain. Instantly, sounds of thunder that shook the heaven and earth instantly resounded out in the sky as boundless blood colors tainted the sky before transforming into numerous lightning bolts that were violent like tidal waves as they struck down. At this moment, these balefulstar lightning bolts had a trace of blood color in them; they were ferocious and violent, and their might had risen explosively by more than double!

Tie Yunzi laughed coldly as he gazed at the balefulstar lightning with bloody lights revolving around them that covered the sky, as a concept of being able to control countless beings, annihilating everything with a thought, and creating a world with a thought arose suddenly in his heart.

“Spending all the resources accumulated for thousands of years and sacrificing a few tens of thousands of disciples, my Starnet Palace has paid such a heavy price, and all of you... Must die today!”

——

Swoosh!

The surging Shaman Energy was like an enormous river that flushed, howled, and rolled between his flesh, blood, and skin. The vital qi and energy in Chen Xi’s entire body was at a peak state and every pore on his entire body was filled dense Shaman Energy, fifth-earth energy, second-wood energy, seventh-gold energy, third-fire energy, ninth-water energy, the baleful energy of the stars, and lightning energy mixed together. The aura that these energies emitted became even more ancient, desolate, and vast. It was as if the lands of chaos formed during the primordial absolute beginning of the world was emerging within his body, and it was extremely mysterious.

At this moment, he’d abandoned all distracting thoughts and forgotten everything.

He’s forgotten the heavens, the earth, and himself!

He’s forgotten Bei Heng who was beside him, and he’d even forgotten his past and memories.

The balefulstar lightning that descended above him and his own cultivation technique were forgotten as well, yet the vital energy and qi within his blood had instead started to circulate naturally, and it was purely natural without the slightest thoughts contained within it.

He felt as if he’d fused with the balefulstar lightning of the universe, changing and entering into a mysterious and unfathomable state. He felt as if he’d grown wings, flew up into the heavens and towards the boundless quiet depths that was above the sky.

After an unknown period of time, he’d arrived in a boundless space. On his right was an enormous star that was red hot like fire and emitted dazzling bright lights; on his right was another star as well, it was icy cold and gloomy, completely pitch black, and that black was black to the point it caused one’s heart to palpitate and despair to arise.

These two ancient stars that had been revolving since the beginning of time were precisely the Great Yang Star and Great Yin Star. One yang and one Yin, just like when the chaos was first lifted and clear air rose while foul air sank, and the Yin and Yang separated to develop the world.

“Great Yin, Great Yang...” It was as if a mysterious energy was driving Chen Xi, and he unconsciously sat cross-legged in space, grasping Yin in his left hand and holding Yang in his right, causing black and white to be distinguished clearly. His True Essence and appearance were tranquil, neither happy nor sad, and he seemed as if he was the ruler that controlled the Supreme Grand Dao of Yin and Yang.

In his mind, the two River Diagram fragments that had combined into one abruptly gushed out with a strand of airflow that instantly that surged into in a strange scene of the five elements being derived, the Yin and Yang alternating, lightning flashing, gales howling, stars swiftly moved along a myriad of trajectories...

“Hmm?” Bei Heng was sparing no efforts to maintain the Fifth-Earth Barrier and withstand the balefulstar lightning, and he seemed to have noticed something and turned to look at Chen Xi before instantly being dumbstruck.

Two balls of lightning clouds had appeared atop Chen Xi who sat cross-legged on the ground. One ball was pure black and deep, the other dazzling white, and the two balls of lightning clouds revolved ceaselessly to form a completely round Yin-Yang diagram. Atop the diagram, lightning roiled and baleful energy of the stars howled, it was like an enormous black and white vortex and was even more alike to the mysterious black holes in the depths of the universe that swallowed everything.

“Star, wind, lightning, Yin, Yang, five elements...” Bei Heng muttered involuntarily. “These are ten types of Supreme Grand Daos amongst the 3,000 Grand Daos of the heaven and earth, and any one of them is sufficient to make any cultivator comprehend it for their entire lives!

Dao Insight was divided into Minor Daos and Grand Daos.

For example, the Tidal Dao Insight that the Roc King comprehended was a type Dao from the Grand Dao of water, or the Ice Dao Insight comprehended by the leading figure of the Wanderingcloud Sword Sect’s younger generation, Fei Lengcui, was similarly a type of Dao from the Grand Dao of water. But no matter if it was the Tidal Dao Insight of the Ice Dao Insight, they were both Minor Daos, and they were entirely unable to compare with the Grand Dao of Water. Because the Grand Dao of Water was the ultimate form of the myriad types of water in the world, it was the supreme king, the quintessence of water!

In the eyes of Bei Heng, the level of Dao comprehension that Chen Xi revealed now contained ten types of Dai Insight, namely the star, wind, lightning, Yin, Yang, metal, wood, water, fire, earth. Every single one of them was a Supreme Grand Dao!

These Dao Insights were like seeds planted in one’s heart, and so long as one cultivated diligently and bitterly, comprehending it both day and night, then after one overcame the nine waves of Heavenly Tribulation, it would be able to transform into true Grand Dao laws, whereas, mastering a Grand Dao law was one of the symbols of a Heavenly Immortal!

Bei Heng’s cultivation was currently at the 2nd level of the Earthly Immortal Realm, and he’d already accumulated a strand of Immortal Energy in his body. His lifetime goal was to charge into the Heavenly Immortal Realm and to obtain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the Grand Dao.

According to his knowledge, all the existences that were able to overcome nine waves of Heavenly Tribulation and ascend into a Heavenly Immortal had comprehended a Grand Dao. In other words, only after one comprehends a type of Grand Dao would one have a higher probability of ascending into the Heavenly Immortal Realm!

On the other hand, no matter how many Minor Daos once comprehends, if one is unable to fuse them together and advance it to the level of a Grand Dao, then overcoming the nine waves of Heavenly Tribulation would be full of difficulties and have narrow chances of survival, and it was far unable to compare with a Grand Dao.

Bang!

Right when Bei Heng was thinking swiftly, a strand of terrifying blood colored balefulstar lightning struck down, and it instantly shook his Fifth-Earth Mirror to the point it vibrated intensely and wailed endlessly.

Bei Heng himself was shaken to the point his vital blood and energy roiled as well, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He hurriedly spat out a mouthful of Immortal Energy onto the Fifth-Earth Mirror, causing it to instantly stabilize.

But in just an instant, the mirror started to wail intensely one more, causing Bei Heng’s countenance to even became pale as the pressure on him suddenly increased, and a feeling of danger swiftly surged into his heart.

I ought to be able to get through these lightning bolts if I abandon this kid, but I’ve already expended so much on this kid. Wouldn’t it be too much of a pity if I give up halfway? Bei Heng gazed at Chen Xi who circulated his cultivation technique with his eyes closed, and Bei Heng struggled intensely in his heart.