Starting as a Talisman Master

Chapter 76 Bone-Melting Yin Needle (Fourth Update)

"Boom!"

The raging purple lightning and the extreme chill collided violently deep within the gray mist of this small area.

Lightning and frost intertwined and clashed wildly, transforming into a destructive turbulent flow of spiritual energy, like a silent storm sweeping in all directions.

"Click—click—"

The array flags hidden beneath the green rock could no longer withstand the terrifying internal pressure and began to crack repeatedly.

The originally thick, isolated Yin Sha formation began to shake violently.

The gray mist in the formation was instantly evaporated and cleared away by the violent turbulence. The gray light barrier at the edge, which isolated the energy, was covered with dense cracks, flickering on and off, clearly on the verge of breaking.

"puff!"

Ge Jiuzhang was violently thrown back by the terrifying recoil force, crashing heavily onto the crumbling array light screen, spitting out blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.

He was panting heavily, his bones broken in countless places. Although he still had some magical power left in his dantian, he was severely injured by the direct impact of the destructive aftershocks of the clash between the two top-grade talismans. He had exhausted all his trump cards and was completely out of options.

In contrast, at the center of the raging spiritual energy turbulence, Lu Chi slowly stepped out.

His entire body was enveloped in a layer of dazzling golden light that seemed to be tangible, as if he had activated a top-grade golden light talisman in an instant!

The terrifying aftershocks, powerful enough to severely injure an ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, struck the golden shield like a storm, yet it failed to even cause a ripple, protecting him completely unharmed.

"Fellow Daoist Ge."

Lu Chi looked down at Ge Jiuzhang from his high vantage point, but did not rush forward. Instead, he controlled his flying sword to hover three inches between the other's eyebrows, the blade emitting a chilling, watery light: "Things have come to this point, and some things should be made clear. Your array techniques are not those of ordinary people."

"I'd like to know, did you already settle in Qingque Mountain long ago, or did you only recently establish connections with those two families?"

"If I were truly in cahoots with those two families, why would I be engaging in such underhanded dealings alone? In the end, it's nothing more than taking their money and sharing their burdens."

Ge Jiuzhang collapsed to the ground, vomiting blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, and gave a bitter laugh.

He had been passing through Dongyue County several months ago and had no intention of staying long.

It was only because the prices offered by those two companies were really high that I accepted the job. If I had known earlier that Lu Chi was not as simple as the rumors suggested, I might not have gotten involved in this mess.

Seeing Lu Chi remain silent, Ge Jiuzhang noticed a growing, barely concealed will to survive flicker in his eyes, and his voice lowered as he said, "Between you and me, there's no irreconcilable feud. My current predicament is my own fault for misjudging others; I can't blame anyone else. But cultivating to this point has ultimately been difficult—"

He struggled to lift his head, looking at the flying sword hanging in front of his forehead. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice carried a hint of sorrow.

"If Fellow Daoist Lu is willing to spare my life, I will gladly offer up all the wealth I have accumulated over the years. Whether it's the various spiritual items in my storage bag or my meager insights into array formations, you may take them all—"

As he spoke, he tremblingly raised his blood-soaked right hand, seemingly wanting to untie the storage bag at his waist to show his sincerity.

Lu Chi, with his perception far surpassing that of others of the same level, keenly sensed that the remaining Yin energy in the surrounding area was frantically converging towards Ge Jiuzhang's palm in an extremely secretive manner.

It turns out that the old scoundrel Ge Jiuzhang had no intention of handing over the storage bag at all, but was secretly gathering a vicious secret technique called "Bone-Melting Yin Needle"!

This technique is extremely insidious; once it takes effect, it can instantly shatter the protective aura of a Qi Refining cultivator.

However, it has a fatal flaw: it not only condenses extremely slowly, but its range is also only three feet.

In the fierce battle just now, with its crisscrossing sword energy and booming spells, there was simply no chance to use any spells or make a hit.

He deliberately feigned weakness at this moment, hoping to throw out the huge bait of "inheritance of array formations" and gamble that Lu Chi would lower his guard due to greed and step forward to take the storage bag.

As soon as Lu Chi steps within three feet of him, the long-accumulated poison needles of malevolent energy will instantly pierce through his dantian, dragging this junior down with him to his doom!

Lu Chi's eyes were cold and piercing. Having seen through him, he would not give him even the slightest chance.

The next moment, the azure flying sword suspended in mid-air suddenly trembled, transforming into a chilling stream of light that swiftly shot out.

"Pfft."

The sword flashed and disappeared in an instant, piercing straight through Ge Jiuzhang's brow.

Ge Jiuzhang's eyes suddenly froze, and the Yin Sha Qi in his palm, which had not yet fully formed, dissipated. His hand, which had been raised halfway, fell limply to the ground, and he collapsed as if his last breath had been sucked out.

In the blink of an eye, only a gradually cooling corpse remained, lying at the edge of the ruined formation.

Lu Chi looked at the gradually cooling corpse on the ground, raised an eyebrow slightly, and thought to himself, "I need to learn a method to subdue people in the future."

Although they were unable to uncover the subsequent plans of the Shen and Luo families, the person was dead, and the trouble was temporarily put to rest.

Lu Chi moved with extreme speed, and with a wave of his sleeve, he took the storage bag from Ge Jiuzhang's waist and the dimmed octagonal array plate into his possession.

He then moved through the formation like a ghost, thoroughly searching the storage bags and fallen magical artifacts of the other three followers.

Just in case, he flicked a few wisps of fire from his fingertips. The domineering high temperature of the primordial [Mysterious Fire] instantly burned the four corpses, along with the bloodstains, into ashes, which were then completely dispersed by the remaining air currents in the formation.

After doing all this, Lu Chi finally raised his head and looked around.

Without the magical power of Ge Jiuzhang and others to maintain it, the gray mist within this "Yin Sha Corrosion Spirit Array" is thinning at a visible rate.

To Lu Chi's surprise, even after the terrifying clash of two top-grade talismans and the intense battle, the light barrier at the edge of the formation, though cracked and teetering, still managed to hold on and not completely collapse.

"The art of formations truly possesses an extraordinary quality that rivals the creation of heaven and earth," Lu Chi thought with a chill.

No wonder array masters hold a transcendent status in the cultivation world. To be able to set up such a killing array with a cultivation level of the seventh level of Qi Refining, Ge Jiuzhang's claim that he once used this array to kill a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining seems to be no exaggeration.

At this thought, his heart warmed slightly, and he subconsciously squeezed Ge Jiuzhang's storage bag in his sleeve, wanting to immediately investigate whether this old fox had any legacy of array formations left behind.

But he also knew very well that now was definitely not a good time to take stock of the spoils.

The surrounding light barrier emitted a series of faint cracking sounds as it struggled under the strain. The formation was clearly at its limit and was about to break. It was not advisable to stay here any longer.

Lu Chi's divine sense stirred slightly, and following his previous memories, he pulled out and carefully stored all the black array flags buried deep in the ground.

Just as the array flags left the ground, the light screen emitted a soft, muffled sound and vanished completely, turning into specks of spiritual light.

Almost simultaneously, Lu Chi had already quietly climbed back into his small bluestone courtyard, hugging the wall, and closed the gate behind him.

Just moments after he landed.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Two sharp whooshing sounds rang out in the night on the long street.

Two figures flew over like startled swans and landed steadily on the long street where Lu Chi had just fought.

The visitors were Han Jingxing and his wife, Su Jin.

Both of them held magical artifacts in their hands, emanating spiritual light, and appeared to be on high alert, ready for battle.

The moment the formation broke, a very faint surge of spiritual energy was still leaked out.

Han Jingxing and his wife lived next door and were quite sensitive to changes in the flow of energy. They immediately noticed something was wrong and rushed over to investigate.

However, when the two men's eyes swept across the entire street warily, they couldn't help but freeze in surprise.

The night breeze was cool, and the bluestone path remained as smooth as ever.

There were no corpses, no bloodstains, and apart from a faint, lingering smell of burning and dampness in the air, there was nothing unusual.

"Strange—" Han Jingxing frowned, widening his senses. "I clearly sensed a strange fluctuation of energy here just now, so why didn't it leave anything behind?"

Su Jin also looked suspicious. She glanced around and whispered, "Could it be that some passing expert casually engaged in a magical duel here and then quickly erased everything?"

Han Jingxing pondered for a moment, then his gaze suddenly fell on Lu Chi's small courtyard, which was just a stone's throw away.

He and Su Jin exchanged a glance, then quickly walked to the courtyard gate and gently knocked on the door knocker.

"Brother Lu? Have you rested yet?"

A short while later, the sound of slow footsteps echoed from inside the courtyard.

With a creak, the courtyard gate was opened. Lu Chi, dressed in a green robe, stood there with a calm expression, his body radiating only a faint aura of the fourth level of Qi Refining.

"Brother Han, what brings you here so late at night?" He looked at the two fully armed men, a perfectly timed hint of doubt in his eyes.

Seeing that Lu Chi looked normal and unharmed, Han Jingxing's last doubts were dispelled.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and cupped his hands in a wry smile: "I'm so sorry to have disturbed Brother Lu so late at night. My wife and I sensed some unusual fluctuations in spiritual energy outside this alley, and fearing some evil cultivator might be causing trouble, we came out to investigate. Did Brother Lu notice anything unusual while he was in the courtyard?"

Lu Chi calmly shook his head and said indifferently, "I was just concentrating on deducing the talisman's movement, and the courtyard was sealed with soundproofing talismans, so I didn't hear any noise outside."

"I see, then we must have been overthinking it." Han Jingxing was completely relieved. "Since Brother Lu is unharmed, my wife and I will not disturb your cultivation any longer."

"Thank you for your concern, Brother Han."

Watching Han Jingxing and his wife turn and leave, Lu Chi stood at the door, nodded slightly, and then slowly closed the courtyard gate.