Chapter 223: Completing the Talisman

By the time the first item of the auction was sold, the Purple Lightning Talisman was only ten percent complete. By now, Fang Chen didn't care much about the auction anymore.

The Purple Lightning Talisman, which was only one-tenth complete, was now shimmering with lightning, its aura no weaker than any of the complete mid-grade Purple Lightning Talismans he had made before.

Fortunately, Fang Chen's spiritual energy was strong enough. While making the talisman, he enveloped the room with his spiritual energy, not letting any of the talisman’s aura leak out. He didn’t want anyone outside to sense anything.

Time passed second by second.

The auction was still ongoing, and Fang Chen was still focusing on inscribing his talisman.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, with the last stroke, a complete Purple Lightning Talisman came to life. The power of thunder and lightning continuously poured into the talisman from the void. The terrifying aura attempted to burst out of the VIP room, but Fang Chen firmly suppressed it with his spiritual energy.

"Is it high grade? Or peak grade?" Fang Chen looked at the Purple Lightning Talisman in front of him, not very sure about its grade. But one thing was for sure. The Purple Lightning Talisman was at the very least a high-grade talisman!

Moreover, halfway through drawing it, Fang Chen's spiritual energy had actually been completely depleted; however, fortunately, he was different from other cultivators and managed to recover at an extremely fast rate.

If it weren't for his ability, the moment his spiritual energy was depleted, the Purple Lightning Talisman would’ve been destroyed. But the fact stood that his cultivation, which was at the eighth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, was still insufficient to complete a Purple Lightning Talisman of this grade.

Just as he had that thought, the voice of the Manager You rang through the venue. "Everyone, today's auction ends here. Thank you all for coming. I have prepared some light refreshments. If you are not in a hurry, you can stay and discuss the ways of cultivation."

Fang Chen put away the Purple Lightning Talisman and left his room. Along the way, he encountered the Clear Void Poison King, but Fang Chen didn't plan on coming into contact with him now. They passed each other without acknowledging one another.

"Wait." Clear Void Poison King suddenly turned around and looked at Fang Chen. "Do you have a moment?"

Fang Chen stopped, turned around, and looked at Clear Void Poison King.

It was only at this moment that the hunchbacked boy could clearly see Fang Chen's appearance. There was a flash of excitement in his eyes the moment he saw Fang Chen, but it gradually disappeared.

"You look familiar, are you a disciple of some sect?" Clear Void Poison King smiled. "I wonder which sect you belong to. Perhaps I know the seniors of your sect."

"My seniors probably don't know you," answered Fang Chen with a faint smile. He didn’t offer the man more of his time and turned to leave.

Clear Void Poison King didn't show any anger. He looked at Fang Chen's back with a smile that wasn't a smile and whispered softly, "His body seems to be a perfect vessel for cultivating poisons. Little bastard, after you die, I'll make him replace you. How about that?"

The hunchbacked boy trembled all over.

Clear Void Poison King laughed, thinking the hunchbacked man was afraid of death, but, unbeknownst to him, that wasn’t what the hunchback was afraid of....

***

At the entrance of the shop, Fang Chen met Song Yu, who had a radiant smile on his face.

"Younger brother, I was just thinking of finding you," said Song Yu with a smile.

"You seem to have encountered a bit of good fortune, Ridge Master Song. What is it?" said Fang Chen with half a smile.

It was clear to him that Song Yu had participated in the bid for cultivation technique, albeit not overtly. It was evident that he had obtained a copy of the technique.

Song Yu chuckled. "What good fortune could I’ve obtained? It’s just that I am happy about the sheer, enormous transaction volume of the auction! A lot of revenue has been drawn into my Dragon Ridge."

"Well, congratulations!” said Fang Chen. “Now that I’ve spent quite some time here, it's time for me to take my leave."

Song Yu had intended to persuade Fang Chen to stay a bit longer, but seeing Fang Chen's determination to leave, he didn't say anything more.

***

"Senior Brother Wei, why do we have to be so cautious? There are other cultivators who jointly purchased the technique with us."

On the road, Li Huafeng gazed at the middle-aged Daoist carefully, who occasionally checked if anyone was following them. Seeing him so worked up, Li Huafeng couldn’t help but start to become uneasy too.

"This is one of the lessons our master hopes I will teach you. Once you embark on this path, you must be cautious at all times, lest you perish along the way," said the middle-aged Daoist. He seemed to have calmed down, probably from the relief of not sensing any unusual movements behind them.

He looked at Li Huafeng with a heavy smile. "Men die for wealth and birds die for food. And for cultivators, cultivation techniques are their lifeline. If we were to be targeted, we’d die without even knowing how."

Li Huafeng frowned. "Do those wandering cultivators dare to lay their hands on us, disciples of the Clear Sky Monastery?"

During the period he was away from Grand Xia, he had come to learn many things regarding the cultivation world. Although their Clear Sky Monastery wasn't as prominent as the Heavenly Southern Sect or the Spirit Beast Valley, it still couldn’t be underestimated within the Flame Empire.

They stood at the peak of second-rate factions. The master of the Clear Sky Monastery was a cultivator at the twelfth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, and now, with only one Foundation Building Pill left, he has a chance to successfully establish his foundations! Li Huafeng had witnessed the skill of a cultivator at the twelfth stage of the Qi Refining Realm with his own eyes. With just a wave of his hand, he could casually manipulate waves hundreds of feet tall, as if they were mere toys! That was the true ability of an immortal! However, there weren’t many strong cultivators like the Master of the Clear Sky Monastery out there, at least not many that he knew of.

The expression of the middle-aged Daoist turned a shade more serious. "Don't think just because our master is at the twelfth stage of the Qi Refining Realm that those wandering cultivators won't dare to make a move against us. Normally, they might have some reservations, but as long as the rewards are tempting enough, they would dare to kill for treasures!"

Li Huafeng nodded slowly, and his impression of cultivators became even more profound. Unwilling to meddle in worldly affairs; afraid of karma; unwilling to act recklessly; fearing death, but in the face of sufficient benefits, one could become extremely ruthless without any scruples!

It was then that a laugh full of mockery came from up ahead.

“

Haha.

Wei Changqing,” called the owner of the voice, “why aren't you properly cultivating back at your Clear Sky Monastery? Trying to be a teacher now? What merits and abilities does this little guy have to deserve your personal attention?"

The middle-aged Daoist stiffened, and his eyes left Li Huafeng and drifted toward the source of the voice. When he saw who it was, his eyes suddenly filled with fear. "Clear Void Poison King."

"It's that guy..." Li Huafeng's face changed slightly. He had asked about Clear Void Poison King's background during the auction and he had come to learn that he was a master of poison who had even been able to force a Foundation Building Realm cultivator to retreat once. He felt extreme fear toward the man.

Now... the fact that he made an appearance made his intentions clear enough!

Clear Void Poison King pointed at Li Huafeng with a strange grin on his face. "Tell me, who’s that kid?”

The middle-aged Daoist's face darkened. "He is a closed-door disciple of my master. My master values him greatly, so he instructed me to keep him close and teach him well."

"

Hmm?

" Clear Void Poison King furrowed his brow slightly. "The master of the Clear Sky Monastery values him greatly? What qualifications does he have to receive this much favor?"

The middle-aged Daoist replied calmly. "My master instructed me not to casually disclose anything regarding the talent of my junior brother. Just know that my master values him greatly."

"Hahaha.” Clear Void Poison King chuckled oddly. “So you think that will make me think twice?"

The middle-aged Daoist's expression changed slightly, and he said in a low voice, "What exactly do you want? Don't forget, I am at the tenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm! My cultivation is no weaker than yours!"

"What if you throw us into the mix?"

Suddenly, seven or eight figures appeared around them, some at the ninth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, and some at the tenth stage.

The middle-aged Daoist's face turned pale at the sight. He gritted his teeth and went straight to the point. "You just want that technique, right? I can make a copy for you."

The others were surprised by his straightforwardness, but Clear Void Poison King sneered. "Gentlemen, are you thinking of sparing his life? Since we've offended him today, if we don't want to be hunted down by that old fart from the Clear Sky Monastery to the ends of the earth, we must eliminate these two, leaving no trace for them to link this back to us!"

Upon hearing what he said, both the middle-aged Daoist and Li Huafeng's faces turned incredibly grim.