Chapter 177: The Ba Talisman

They were in imminent danger!

Xu Ziyang had ordered the Golden-Winged Falcon to take off immediately because once the Gold Ba got close, it would very likely injure the Golden-Winged Falcon. By then, no one would be able to escape.

That was why whoever could leave now should go. There wasn't a moment to waste. They had to be decisive!

Meanwhile, the abandoned Shang Ziliang fell into despair as he watched the Golden-Winged Falcon take off from just one step ahead of him. In the blink of an eye, the falcon was already leaving him in the dust...

If it were Xu Ziyang who was left behind, he might be able to escape by using his divine skills. Shang Ziliang, on the other hand, could only pray for divine protection.

His father was one of the Mount Shu Sect's peak masters, but the only defensive item his father had given him for the trip was the Yang Mirror of Righteousness. This was not something that could protect him against a sixth-realm Gold Ba!

It was a tradition for the disciples of the Mount Shu Sect to make this trip to the Immortals' Marsh, and fifth-realm disciples had always been more than capable of protecting the disciples they escorted. Who could have imagined that there would be such a sudden turn of events today?

The Golden-Winged Falcon hadn't flown that far yet. It was still close enough for Chu Liang to make out Shang Ziliang grimacing so hard out of anxiety and despair that his molars were visible.

The Gold Ba behind Shang Ziliang was pretty close too, bringing a gust of foul wind with it as it approached.

Chu Liang swiftly made a decision. He turned around and broke free from the talons of the Golden-Winged Falcon, falling with a whoosh.

Then Chu Liang suddenly crossed paths in midair with Shang Ziliang, who was chasing the falcon desperately. There was a clear look of astonishment in Shang Ziliang's eyes.

However, before Shang Ziliang could even figure out what was going on, Chu Liang had already maneuvered himself behind Shang Ziliang and unleashed a spinning kick.

Wham!

With the Power of Ten Tigers, Chu Liang put all of his strength into this kick and ruthlessly struck Shang Ziliang's tailbone!

"

Aaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!!

" Shang Ziliang screamed.

A distinct crack rang out from his hip area, indicating his bones had been broken.

Yet, thanks to this kick, Shang Ziliang's flying speed increased by several times. He crashed into the talons of the Golden-Winged Falcon a moment later and immediately grabbed onto them with great desperation.

Whoosh.

The Golden-Winged Falcon sped across the night sky, looking like a crescent-shaped light.

Meanwhile, Chu Liang floated down to the ground and exchanged a glance with Xu Ziyang from a distance. In the middle of the two was the Gold Ba, which had stopped in its tracks.

Suddenly, there was a moment of silence. No one could have expected that Chu Liang would switch places with Shang Ziliang at this critical moment, giving him the chance to escape!

Despite that, this wasn't actually a difficult decision for Chu Liang. After all, he had a sixth-realm Battle Soul that he could summon. He just needed to pay the Battle Soul, and he would have the power of a sixth-realm cultivator on his side. With Fei Qi, Chu Liang believed they could be a match for the Gold Ba.

If Shang Ziliang and Xu Ziyang had been left behind instead, it was highly likely that they would have ended up as casualties.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Silver Sword Peak did not have a good relationship with either Jade Sword Peak or Cloud Horizon Peak. So, if both Shang Ziliang and Xu Ziyang were to die in the marsh, that just meant Chu Liang would have two fewer enemies at the Mount Shu Summit.

However... even if we have conflicts and even end up fighting, all of that happens within our sect. Once we leave Mount Shu, we're fellow disciples. We're family!

Those petty conflicts among the disciples were insignificant compared to life-and-death situations. As long as he could save his fellow disciples, Chu Liang would choose to take the risk. If he were presented with the choice a thousand times, he would choose to do the same thing every time without hesitating even once.

...

When the Gold Ba realized that it couldn't catch up to the Golden-Winged Falcon, it stopped chasing and hovered in midair.

It wore clothes made of an extraordinary dark gold fabric, which had remained intact even after all the years that had passed since the Ba's human self had died. The Gold Ba had white hair, hollow eye sockets, a shriveled face, and vaguely discernible facial features. Its skin was in a much better state than that of the Copper and Iron Ba. Additionally, it was clear that it still had a consciousness.

The Gold Ba turned toward Xu Ziyang. It was obviously aware that this prey had a higher cultivation level than the other one. As long as it could deal with him, these two living humans would form its meal.

Xu Ziyang stood with his sword in hand, poised to make a move. Sparks seemed to be flying out from his determined gaze. There was an imposing air about him, which showed he didn't have even the slightest sense of inferiority toward the Gold Ba. Unsurprisingly, Xu Ziyang didn't even consider getting Chu Liang's assistance to defeat the Gold Ba; he was resolute on staking everything on this one move.

Meanwhile, Chu Liang could tell he was being ignored, so he took the chance to stealthily back away from the scene.

Then he silently took out a jade bottle and called out, "Old Fei, wake up..."

Whoosh.

A stream of smoke slowly emerged from the jade bottle.

"This is... a Gold Ba from the Immortals' Marsh?" Fei Qi cried out in surprise the moment he appeared. "This is a big job!"

"Don't worry. I'll pay you well," Chu Liang said.

When faced with such a fast opponent, it was necessary to play one's trump card immediately. Waiting even a moment might cause someone to die.

The situation on the battlefield changed with Fei Qi's presence!

Faced with just one fifth-realm cultivator and one third-realm cultivator, the sixth-realm Gold Ba initially had the absolute advantage. It was the hunter. However, when this sixth-realm lingering spirit appeared, the situation was immediately reversed.

Something seemed to shift in the hollow eye sockets of the Gold Ba, and in the next moment, it retreated swiftly, disappearing into the nearby trees.

It ran away?

The Gold Ba seemed to have left, but none of the three people present were fools. They remained vigilant for a while. In fact, they were even more cautious of their surroundings now, afraid that the Gold Ba might catch them off guard with a sudden strike. Nevertheless, they didn't hear any signs of movement even after a long while.

Just as Chu Liang was about to relax, he heard something burst open by his feet... A dark gold hand reached out from the ground and grabbed one of his ankles!

The Gold Ba had fled underground!

The three people were shocked. Naturally, Chu Liang was the most shocked.

The Ba was using a divine ability that it shouldn't have control over... unless it had retained some memories of its past life. That's the only reason why it would be able to use it!

Moreover, the Gold Ba knew that when fighting a group of enemies, it should target their weak link first! And Chu Liang was, of course, the weakest.

There was a loud rumbling in his ears as the Gold Ba dragged him underground. The Gold Ba wanted to take its meal to go!

As the earth rubbed against his skin, Chu Liang felt suffocated and constricted. Before he was pulled under completely, he turned his hand over and tossed the Ba Talisman that he had just obtained into the air.

The Ba Talisman turned into ashes, and his body hardened as all the power of the Copper Ba he'd killed was channeled into him.

The Ba Talisman worked!

With the power of a Copper Ba, the damage that Chu Liang would suffer from having the dense earth rub against him was now reduced by more than half.

A cultivator with a slightly weaker body would not be able to withstand the friction and constricting pressure of being dragged underground. Even if they didn't die from being dragged, they would be seriously injured.

Just a moment later, a huge beam of swordlight penetrated the earth, followed by a sword piercing the Gold Ba! It was Xu Ziyang!

Right after that, a clear voice said, "Thou shalt be restricted within a radius of five zhang."

It was Fei Qi!

With this command, the power of divine law descended inconspicuously, restricting the Gold Ba's range of movement within a radius of five zhang. It only took the Gold Ba a moment to cross the distance of five zhang, so it slammed into what seemed to be an invisible wall soon after!

Wham.

This was the Immortal Art: The Spoken Divine Law! It was one of the classic Confucian immortal arts.

With just one sentence, the Gold Ba was trapped. Xu Ziyang continued to press his swordlight down viciously into the Gold Ba's back, covering it in sword qi!

Nonetheless, the Gold Ba wasn't just going to sit there and wait for death.

The Gold Ba suddenly bellowed, "

RAAAAAAAR!

"

The earth shook, and the mountains trembled! Cracks opened up in the surrounding earth, and the nearby mountain range shook. It seemed like the Gold Ba wanted to lift the ground itself!

Fei Qi's incorporeal form swayed. It was clear that using the immortal art had consumed a huge amount of his energy! The Confucian immortal art The Spoken Divine Law was not an absolute power; it was more like a tool. If the opposing party were to resist the divine law with explosive force that the person using the divine law couldn't withstand, then the manifestation of the divine law would be broken.

The Gold Ba's power seemed inexhaustible, but this wasn’t the case at all for Fei Qi. He possessed an incorporeal form, so he would die once he exhausted all of his energy! He couldn't suppress this Gold Ba for very long.

Meanwhile, Xu Ziyang's Heavenly Sword Seal barely broke through the Gold Ba's defenses. It managed to pierce a few inches into the Gold Ba's back, but the sword couldn't inflict any serious damage. Instead, it just enraged the Gold Ba further!

In a battle between experts, the speed increased further as the fight got more intense. There were even sparks flying out amid the rapid changes in movement!

Yet, Chu Liang was the most anxious of the three. He wished he could use the Dustless Sword to strike the Gold Ba ruthlessly, but without the support of the Crimson Executioner, Chu Liang wouldn't be able to overcome the wide gap between the third and the sixth realms.

Moreover, the sixth-realm Gold Ba was notoriously tough to fight. A sword might not even be able to scratch the Gold Ba's golden skin, let alone break through its defenses.

Nevertheless, Chu Liang didn't panic. Instead, he stayed calm and let his mind operate at lightning speed, trying to figure out a way to escape. Right then, he noticed there were rumbling sounds ringing out from his left and right as if there was some sort of force flowing somewhere unseen.

Chu Liang gritted his teeth and raised the Dustless Sword! Instead of striking the Gold Ba, he struck the dirt wall on the side.

Wham, wham.

He struck the dirt wall twice with full force, and it suddenly burst open with a bang. There was a rumbling sound like that of thunder, and in the next moment, a huge stream of water gushed out like a water dragon and engulfed Chu Liang and the Gold Ba!

Chu Liang had hedged his bet right!

The underground water network of the Immortals' Marsh consisted of countless intersecting underground rivers. The moment the Gold Ba went berserk, the surrounding dirt walls began to fold under the pressure.

The Gold Ba's bellow had sent vibrations running through all of the water in the Immortals' Marsh and in turn caused the flow of water in the underground water network to become turbulent, much like a kettle boiling over! The hole that Chu Liang had made became an opening to release the water pressure, and the water flooded out with tremendous force!

The Gold Ba was hit! However, it was still under the restraint imposed by Fei Qi's Spoken Divine Law, so it didn't get swept very far.

Chu Liang seized this opportunity to break free from the Gold Ba's grasp! He was swept away by the turbulent stream of water, crashing through a dirt wall on the other side and into an empty space.

His mind went blank. The force of the water sent him flying into the air and then ruthlessly slammed him to the ground. It was as though a giant hand was controlling everything.

It took a long time for things to settle down.

...

When Chu Liang opened his eyes again, he found that he wasn't underwater.

Sunlight streamed in from overhead, and he was surrounded by curved walls like those of a rock cave. Dust danced in the rays of sunlight amid the pin-drop silence.

Where is this place?

Chu Liang looked around and got a shock. He saw a little girl, who appeared to be five or six years old, crouching behind him!

She had long black hair draped over her shoulders and wore oversized red robes. The girl had a fair and delicate face without a single blemish, appearing very young and adorable. She stared at him curiously with her large black eyes that seemed so innocent.

Chu Liang's first reaction was to be cautious. A child in such a strange location couldn't possibly be human!

Yet, when Chu Liang extended his divine sense and examined her carefully, he found that there wasn't the slightest fluctuation in her aura. All she was doing was breathing.

She was just an ordinary little girl! But that was even stranger than if she were a ghost!

Chu Liang couldn't stop himself from asking, "Little girl, why... why are you here? Where are your mom and dad?"

The little girl didn't say a word. She just silently shook her head.

"Then, how about I take you out of here?" Chu Liang asked.

This time, the little girl didn't shake her head. She didn't nod either; she just didn't react at all.

"How strange..." Chu Liang muttered.

He sighed and brought his hand up to his forehead to support it. The series of powerful hits he'd suffered earlier left him feeling dizzy.

After calming down a bit, he pondered about his situation.

I was swept here by the turbulent stream of water. It felt like I traveled for just a short distance in a straight line. So, as long as I can get back above ground, it shouldn't be difficult to return to the scene of the battle.

He looked around again, carefully observing the cave. It seemed to have been an underwater cave beneath initially, but the water level had dropped. The underwater cave dried up and became an underground cave with no opening in the rock walls all around; it was instead on the ceiling of the cave.

Right when Chu Liang was looking around for a way to get out, the little girl behind him quietly bared her teeth, revealing a row of beautiful, perfect, white teeth. Among them were two small but rather eye-catching fangs...