Chapter 1049 - Complete Crush

In the world of cultivation, everyone knew that the size and quality of a spiritual talisman directly impacted its effectiveness. Everyone knew that powerful talismans were usually larger.

However, excessively large talismans were difficult to throw, and their spiritual runes often came loose during activation. On the other hand, a talisman that was too small couldn't hold enough spiritual runes to be useful. This had always been the central dilemma in the design of spiritual talismans.

Spiritualists had experimented for countless years before finally settling on a standardized size, roughly half a foot in length, with a width slightly larger than the average palm. This size offered the perfect balance between power and usability.

So when Song Ling revealed a talisman barely the size of a palm, the crowd erupted in laughter.

The Wang Clan, in particular, couldn't contain themselves and burst into howls of joy.

Even so, Wang Yuanhou didn't dare to take it too far. After witnessing the downfalls of Shi Yuan and the Yuan Clan, he remained cautious, afraid he might also fall prey to one of Liu Wuxie's traps.

The Liao Clan, in contrast, remained composed. Although they had occasionally cast doubt on the Heavenly Dao Society, they had never gone as far as the Yuan or Wang Clans and had not yet made themselves a target.

"Just step down already. Don't make a fool of yourself. That tiny talisman can't possibly be worth anything," sneered a Wang Clan disciple, urging Song Ling to stop wasting everyone's time. They already believed their clan had secured first place.

"Stop wasting time!" others echoed, though deep down, no one dared to entirely dismiss the Heavenly Dao Society, not after what they had witnessed in the first two segments.

Song Ling gave his rotund frame a casual shake, and the talisman in his hand gently floated into the air.

A strange hush fell over the plaza.

"What's going on? Why is that talisman radiating such intense spiritual energy?" Someone stood up abruptly, stunned by the overwhelming aura it released.

"That's not a spiritual talisman... that's a profound talisman!" another voice shouted in disbelief.

Gasps filled the air.

A profound talisman required a cultivator at the upper levels of the Earth Profound Realm or higher to craft. Even many cultivators at the lower Earth Profound Realm couldn't produce one, and every single profound talisman fetched an enormous price.

Despite their power, they were costly and impractical for most. Those at the high levels of the Earth Profound Realm didn't typically need them, and those in the Spirit Profound Realm lacked the strength to activate them. But for cultivators at the lower levels of the Earth Profound Realm, they were more valuable than even high-grade pills.

"No, that's not a profound talisman. If it were, the surrounding space would have already collapsed," someone corrected, their voice trembling with disbelief.

Profound talismans were known to absorb the surrounding laws, empowering themselves and distorting space, thereby destabilizing everything nearby.

"This is a Quasi-Profound Talisman," said Elder Qu Su, rising from his seat with visible shock in his eyes. "It sits between a spiritual and a profound talisman. More powerful than the highest grade of spiritual talismans, yet it doesn't require laws from the Earth Profound Realm to activate."

Gasps echoed through the plaza. Elder Qu Su's reputation as a spiritualist was beyond dispute.

"That's impossible! How could someone at the Spirit Profound Realm craft something like this?" someone whispered, stunned.

Many doubted Qu Su's assessment. After all, Song Ling had only just stepped into the Spirit Profound Realm. Even crafting a high-grade spiritual talisman would have been extraordinary, and this was unthinkable.

However, Qu Su offered no explanation; he simply shook his head in silent awe.

What they didn't know was that Song Ling had crafted this talisman shortly after his breakthrough. He had revealed it publicly for the first time.

More importantly, this marked only the beginning. As more members of the Heavenly Dao Society stepped into the Spirit Profound Realm, talismans like this would no longer be rare. The Heavenly Dao Society could mass-produce them.

Song Ling slowly raised his palm and injected his true essence into the floating talisman.

A blinding brilliance burst out, washing across the entire plaza in a golden wave that engulfed half the sky.

Those nearby felt an invisible force locking their bodies in place. Its aura alone could flatten entire battlefields.

In comparison, the spiritual talisman showcased by the Wang Clan had barely illuminated a radius of several dozen meters. But Song Ling's talisman covered everything, sealing the entire plaza under its golden glow.

And then, the talisman did something even more shocking.

The spiritual runes within began to twist and surge, weaving themselves into the shape of ancient art. Like how cultivators had their dao techniques, talismans too had their own, known as talisman arts.

"How is this possible?" Those who had mocked Song Ling earlier now stood frozen in place, dumbstruck by what they had just witnessed.

They couldn't believe that such a small spiritual talisman could contain so many spiritual runes, let alone watch as those runes rearranged themselves into powerful talisman arts. It was a phenomenon only seen in profound talismans.

Only profound talismans could shift and evolve their structures. It reminded many of the legendary talisman Liu Wuxie had once encountered atop Heavenly Peak. An immortal rune he had inscribed had triggered a complete reconfiguration of the talisman’s form.

"Elder Qu Su is right," said an elder from the Dragon Emperor Academy, rising to his feet. "This talisman exists between the realms of spiritual and profound talismans. Once unleashed, it will easily threaten cultivators at the lower levels of the Earth Profound Realm."

His words sent a fresh wave of murmurs through the crowd.

The expressions of Wang Clan's members turned bitter.

As a clan renowned for their expertise in talismans, they understood the value of what Song Ling had created. And more importantly, they knew they couldn't refute it.

Unlike the Yuan Clan's earlier stunt, they had no excuse to claim that the Heavenly Dao Society didn't make the talisman. Song Ling had infused his aura into the talisman. No one could fake such resonance.

Had it been acquired from elsewhere, the aura wouldn't have aligned with Song Ling's cultivation. At best, he could've activated it by throwing it. Controling it freely wouldn't have been possible.

Only a talisman crafted by its spiritualist could alter both its form and internal runes at will.

Time passed, and five minutes went by, then ten. The radiance from Song Ling's spiritual talisman continued to shine without fading. The longer a spiritual talisman maintained its brilliance, the more powerful cultivators believed it to be.

The Wang Clan's talisman had lasted five minutes. Song Ling's had now surpassed ten, and still, its light lingered. Even if all the talismans presented today were combined, none could compare to this one.

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

"If someone had a whole stack of talismans like that," murmured a cultivator at the higher levels of the Spirit Profound Realm, "even a cultivator at the early Earth Profound Realm would be reduced to ashes."

Such talismans required no laws to activate. This practicality made them invaluable. Many cultivators were already considering placing bulk orders as they were perfect weapons to deploy in life-and-death situations against stronger foes.

Even Liu Wuxie was stunned by Song Ling's achievement in spiritual talismans. Most of the innovation had come from Song Ling himself; Liu Wuxie had provided only minimal guidance throughout the process.

At the fifteen-minute mark, the talisman finally began to dim.

"Come back!" Song Ling called, withdrawing his true essence. Instantly, the talisman faded and floated back into his palm.

"That's impossible!" a Wang Clan elder shouted, rising to his feet in disbelief. "No cultivator can withdraw true essence instantly from a talisman; one needed to drain it gradually! How did he do that?"

"I suspect this isn't a spiritual talisman at all," someone else muttered. "It might be a dao technique in disguise."

They had never seen such a bizarre talisman before. It was small and easy to activate, and now they had watched Song Ling retract its power at will; something entirely unprecedented.

With a wide grin, Song Ling lifted the talisman resting in his palm and said, "If it's not a spiritual talisman, then what is it? Why don't you tell me?"

Bi Gongyu and Hu Shi had already humiliated Shi Yuan and the Yuan Clan. Now it was Song Ling's turn, and he had no intention of letting the Wang Clan off lightly.

The Wang Clan's elder faltered under Song Ling's sharp question.

"I don't care what it is!" the elder snapped. "It can't be a real talisman! Real talismans don't last that long, and no cultivator can retract them at will like that!"

The crowd jeered in response to his protest.

A long-lasting talisman demonstrated power, and a retractable talisman showed control. In battle, both were invaluable traits.

"You're just a frog at the bottom of a well. What do you know about spiritual talismans?" Song Ling sneered.

The insult stung. For a clan renowned for its expertise in talismans, being accused of ignorance was a public affront. Rage flared among the members of the Wang Clan.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Y-You dare say we don't understand spiritual talismans?" the elder stammered, trembling with fury.

Laughter rippled across the plaza. Everyone could see that Song Ling had deliberately baited them, refusing to let the Wang Clan walk away unscathed, even if he failed to disgrace them completely.

After years of following Liu Wuxie, Song Ling had grown sharp and relentless.

"Your Wang Clan's been around for tens of thousands of years, and this is all you have to show for it?" he said coldly. "And still you puff up your chests, acting like your work is unmatched? What a joke."

The plaza erupted in laughter again. It was clear to all that Song Ling had explicitly come to tear the Wang Clan down.

However, with the Yuan Clan's downfall still fresh, the Wang Clan remained wary.

Wang Yuanhou quickly stepped in to stop the elder from responding. He wouldn't let them fall into Song Ling's trap.

"So the mighty Wang Clan hides behind silence? How disappointing." Song Ling shrugged and returned to his seat.

The Wang Clan knew better now. They would have been fools to take his bait now.

"Patriarch, why did you stop me?" the elder asked, frustration etched on his face.

"There's no point in arguing with a dead man," Wang Yuanhou replied, a cruel smile tugging at his lips. "Frankly, I just want this commerce fair to end quickly."

Realization flickered in the elder's eyes.

"That's right. We'll destroy the Heavenly Dao Society once the fair ends," the disciples whispered, nodding in agreement.

As the Wang Clan fell silent, the Heavenly Dao Society seized an undisputed victory in the third segment.

Only one event remained: the spiritual array segment. Here, the Liao Clan reigned supreme, with the Scarlet Dragon Cult as their closest rival. Cultivators across the Central Plains actively sought out their mobile array compasses.

"Now, let us begin the fourth segment," Elder Long Chen declared, eager to push the fair to its conclusion. This had become the most exhausting commerce fair he had ever presided over.

Lan Yu rose to represent the Heavenly Dao Society in spiritual arrays.

As before, 101 participants stepped into the center of the plaza. Notably, the Liao Clan sent not an Earth Profound elder but a Spirit Profound disciple. Liao Changhong's death had forced them to nurture new talent.

A few forces displayed ready-made array compasses, but most began constructing arrays on the spot. The process wasted time, and the results rarely matched the quality of a finished compass.