Chapter 264 – Beast Tide Crisis
The sword howl was faint, chilly, and melodious.
At this moment, azure light that seemed like a layer of ripples faintly flowed about the surface of the ancient and simple sword base, and it was like a flowing and gurgling clear stream that emitted an indescribable sense of intelligence.
If one looked into the sword, one would notice a luxuriant and green world that had formed within it. The talisman markings were dense like branches and leaves, flickering within like the stars in the sky as they emitted copious and surging vitality.
I’ve succeeded!
Chen Xi completely heaved a sigh of relief when he saw this scene, and he couldn’t bear it any longer and lay on the ground. Within his body, boundless exhaustion was like tidewater that drowned him, causing him to unconsciously enter the land of dreams.
All of his energy for an entire five years of time had been placed into the inscribing of talisman markings, causing Chen Xi to be like a tightly drawn bowstring. Even though his body was fine, yet the consumption of the strength of his mind and soul increased with each passing day. If another person was asked to neither eat nor drink, neither sleep nor rest, and continuously do the same thing for five years, they would surely be tortured by the extremely monotonous life to the point their body and mind was exhausted, let alone inscribing talisman markings that were vast like the ocean and didn’t allow the slightest mistake from occurring.
It could be said that even if a talisman formation grandmaster inscribed the talisman marking structures of the Azurewood Divine Talisman, the grandmaster would absolutely not dare say he had confidence in inscribing it successfully.
Besides Chen Xi’s extraordinary comprehension ability in the Dao of Talismans, Chen Xi was able to achieve such a feat because of his persistence, tenacity, and the heavy pressure he placed on himself that disallowed failure.
I originally thought it was impossible for him to succeed in one try. Who knew that this little fellow would give me a pleasant surprise instead? Haha! Master has a successor. Perhaps he’ll be able to ascend to Oracle Mountain one day and compete with those senior brothers and sisters of his… Ji Yu looked at Chen Xi who was sleeping soundly, and he felt a sense of pride from Chen Xi’s achievements as well, then stayed for a while before turning around and leaving.
Only Chen Xi remained in the entire world of stars.
He slept soundly in the starry universe with the eternally circulating stars, nebulas, and rivers of stars in his surroundings, causing him to seem inconspicuous like a drop in the ocean or an inconspicuous speck of dust.
In the next moment, boundless chilly starlight gushed over from all over as if they possessed intelligence and poured down to envelop Chen Xi’s entire body.
When looked at from afar, Chen Xi who was bathing under the starlight seemed as if he was sleeping within an eggshell, and strands of starlight seemed like a gentle drizzle that moistened every inch of his skin and nurtured his skin, tendons, flesh, meridians, apertures, and internal organs. Besides that, some impurities that were hidden extremely deep within his body were washed and cleansed, causing Chen Xi’s entire body to become even more pure and flawless.
Even the energy of his soul seemed to have obtained nourishment, and even though its strength didn’t increase, the energy of his soul had become more pure and tough.
If Chen Xi’s former Divine Sense was like a piece of unrefined jade that hadn’t been carved, then the impurities on the surface of this unrefined jade were being removed at this moment, and it revealed its bright, smooth, flawless, translucent, and crystalline intrinsic appearance.
After Chen Xi awoke from his sound sleep and started to inscribe the Crimsonfire Divine Talisman, he’d obtained clear realization of this improvement. He noticed that the True Essence his Divine Sense could control had become even more precise, perfect, and compact, causing the speed he inscribed the talisman marking structures to become swifter along with this improvement.
Compared to when he inscribed the Azurewood Divine Talisman, it was more than 100% faster!
The strength of my soul hasn’t increased, yet it has become more pure, material, and tough. Could it be that it’s because I’ve been inscribing talisman marking structures day and night for five years? Chen Xi sensed this apparent change yet was unable to wrap his head around the reason behind it. Before long, he’d placed his attention once more onto the inscribing of talisman markings.
The talisman marking structures possessed by the Crimsonfire Divine Talisman wasn’t the slightest bit inferior to the Azurewood Divine Talisman. Moreover, there wasn’t a single one of these talisman marking structures that were similar. They possessed a raging and overbearing characteristic, like flames that couldn’t be controlled. So the difficulty in inscribing them was even greater, and he had to spend even more energy to control the pathways of the talisman markings.
But all this was already incapable of daunting Chen Xi. With the experience from inscribing the Azurewood Divine Talisman and the changed energy of his soul, he didn’t feel that inscribing the Crimsonfire Divine Talisman now was strenuous.
Unknowingly, another five years passed.
In this way, a ball of dazzling flames rose abruptly in the world of stars, and it seemed like a Vermillion Bird soaring into the sky, like a Suncrow flapping its wings, and like gorgeous fireworks that shot into the sky before blooming, and these unusual scenes only dispersed after a long time.
The Crimsonfire Divine Talisman is successful! Chen Xi’s eyes lit up as he looked at the sword base in his hands.
A wisp of faintly visible flames fluttered in the surroundings of the sword base. This strand of flame was almost translucent, it wasn’t scorching and overbearing, but instead gave others a warm and gentle feeling.
The surface of the originally pitch black and dull sword base had become glossy because of the appearance of this strand of flame, and it was like a pond of dark water that was clear and translucent.
Presently, the sword base is only partially completed, and it still lacks the inscribing of another three Divine Talismans. I wonder what sort of change will occur to the sword base after all the five Divine Talismans are inscribed? Chen Xi faintly anticipated it. After resting for a few days, he didn’t stop and started to inscribe the third Divine Talisman — the Yellowearth Divine Talisman!
——
Flowers bloomed and wilted, grass grew taller, and the nightingales flew in the sky. An entire three years had already passed in the outside world, and if it was converted to the time within the world of stars, it was an entire 30 years of time.
During these three years, Pine Mist City had suffered a few hundreds of attacks from packs of beasts, causing the entire city to already be extremely damaged, like an expanse of ruins. More than half of the people that were born and raised in the city had moved three years ago, and almost all those that had to leave had already left.
After all, the packs of beasts invaded endlessly, and it was no different than a calamity to ordinary people. Coupled with the defensive strength of Pine Mist City growing weaker bit by bit, for the sake of survival, most people only had the choice of being forced to leave their hometown.
Presently, those that still held their ground in Pine Mist City were mostly the clans and institutions that had taken root in Pine Mist City for a few thousands of years. These powers were of enormous size, and if they were to move their entire clan or institution with the hopes of rising in an unfamiliar city or place, it was absolutely more difficult than it seemed. This was because there were no native powers in a city that would be happy to see a new formidable opponent appearing in their territory.
So during these years that were related to the survival of their clans and institutions, the various powers of Pine Mist City had become extremely united. When they resisted the packs of beasts, those with strength contributed their strength, those with money contributed their money, and there wasn’t the slightest bit of passiveness and dallying.
Because of the protection of the Grand Qi Atomic Sword Formation, the Chen Clan was impregnable. Thus it became the stronghold for the Pine Mist City’s cultivation world to resist the packs of beasts, whereas, Chen Hao had also become the leader that was commonly elected by the various powers of Pine Mist City.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the Chen Clan main hall was silent and even the air seemed to be sluggish.
Chen Hao sat upright at the seat at the center with brows that were knit tightly, his face that had a steadfast outline was covered in seriousness, and a trace of exhaustion was difficult to be concealed on his face. During these past three years, he’d practically been dashing about battling packs of beasts at the frontline, and he rarely had time to rest.
But all of this wasn’t important. So long as he was able to help the clan tide over this difficult time, then this little bit of exhaustion was something he wouldn’t flinch at. What caused him to feel worried was that along with the passage of time, the scale of the beast packs had already arrived at a number of over 1,000. Moreover, there would be a Golden Hall Realm greater demon garrisoned amongst the pack of beasts every single time. According to his estimations, there would soon be Golden Core Realm greater demons that entered the battlefield.
During this past few days, extremely terrifying roars of beasts would frequently resound out from the depths of the mountain range and shake the heavens and the earth while demonic qi shot into the sky and awed the surroundings. Even if it was within Pine Mist City, these enormous roars could still be heard.
“Will a Demon King with monstrous strength appear in the depths of the mountain range?” A heavy and sonorous voice sounded out, and it broke the silence in the main hall.
Chen Hao raised his eyes to look over and recognized the Redleaf Institution’s Dean Ye Qiu. This saber cultivator that had already attained a cultivation at the 9th star of the Violet Palace Realm was greying at the temples, his eyes were like sabers and emitted cold lights as they opened and closed, and he was a figure that slaughtered resolutely as well.
“Wait, according to what I’ve seen, the highest cultivation amongst the greater demons in the depths of the mountain range is probably around the Golden Core Realm, and it’s far from being a monstrous strength.” The one that spoke was an old man in good health with grey hair that was almost silver, his figure was tall and stalwart, and he was the Dean of Pine Mist institution, Ning Daofu.
If it was before, the Pine Mist Institution was the deserving number one power in Pine Mist City, and even the Li Clan didn’t dare bear its blunt. But along with the mighty rise of the Chen Clan in the past few years, it stood above all the powers in Pine Mist City, causing the Pine Mist Institution to reluctantly come off as second best.
“There really are Golden Core Realm greater demons occupying the depths of the mountain range. Moreover, I’m extremely certain that the packs of beasts that have attacked Pine Mist City during this past three years were commanded by these Golden Core Realm greater demons. But I suspect that there might be an even more terrifying greater demon commanding behind those Golden Core Realm greater demons.” Ye Qiu didn’t refute Ning Daofu’s point of view, and he merely spoke of his own point of view. “Could it be that all of you haven’t noticed that the demonic qi in the depths of the mountain range has been billowing lately, and the roars of beasts were like thunderclaps that can be heard from both far and near? Such might isn’t something a Golden Core Realm greater demon can possess.”
Everyone present went silent when they heard this.
It was indeed as Ye Qiu had said. Since Pine Mist City suffered an assault from a pack of beasts for the first time three years ago, the strength of the demon beasts that appeared after started to increase greatly. From the Postnatal Realm, to the Congenital Realm, to the current Violet Palace Realm, the strength of the demon beasts grew stronger and stronger and possessed a scale that was larger and larger, and it had already arrived at a scale of over 1,000 a few days ago. When looked at from afar, they seemed to cover the heavens and the earth like a dark cloud that covered the sky, and it was extremely terrifying.
Fortunately, merely two or three of these demon beasts had attained the Golden Hall Realm, 30 plus were at the Violet Palace Realm, and the remaining demon beasts were at the Congenital Realm. Under the full cooperation of the various powers, Pine Mist City didn’t fall to the demon beasts.
But a fact like this struck a warning bell for the leaders of the various powers that were present, causing them to realize that behind this wave after wave of beast packs was an even more formidable demon beast commanding everything!
The leaders of the various powers had converged in the Chen Clan main hall precisely for the sake of discussing this matter.
“What everyone said is correct. There’s surely an existence that possesses a strength that surpasses the Golden Core Realm in the depths of the mountain range, and its strength is so formidable that I’m unable to estimate it as well. But according to my prediction, this greater demon with terrifying strength would surely not make an appearance until the final moment. So we temporarily don’t have to worry about it.” Chen Hao swept the surroundings with his gaze and spoke with a low voice. “Presently, the urgent problem is, will everyone hide within my Chen Clan and resist passively or take the initiative to enter into battle if a Golden Core Realm greater demon appears in the next pack of demon beasts?”
Everyone looked at each other. The strength of all of them who were present here could represent the highest standard in Pine Mist City, yet only Chen Hao and the Pine Mist Institution’s Dean Ning Daofu had attained the Golden Hall Realm, whereas, all the others were at the Violet Palace Realm. When facing a Golden Core Realm greater demon, they utterly didn’t have the slightest certainty of victory.
After all, the strength of demon beasts completely crushed human cultivators at the same cultivation, and some greater demons that possessed the bloodline of ancient divine beasts were even more than 10 times more formidable than human cultivators.
So, when facing existences like Golden Core Realm greater demons, everyone present only had two choices, either flee or hide.
In the end, it was Ye Qiu who broke the silence and said, “Let’s hide if such a situation really appears. But in this way, we’ll have to trouble Patriarch Chen.”
Chen Hao waves his hands. “Everyone is a Fellow Daoist of Pine Mist City. We should work in unity and help each other in these difficult times. This is also something my Chen Clan should do.”
The leaders of the other powers heaved a sigh of relief when they heard this. Since they were able to obtain the protection of the Chen Clan, they indeed didn’t have to worry about any danger appearing. After all, the Grand Qi Atomic Sword Formation was a terrifying grand formation capable of annihilating Nether Transformation Realm experts, and if Golden Core Realm greater demons dared invade it, it would surely be a path of no return.
“All of us should be thankful for Patriarch Chen’s great kindness and never forget it for our entire lives.” Ning Daofu smiled. “But, for the sake of not bringing trouble to the Chen Clan, I’ve already sought for help from an old friend and invited over a few formidable Golden Core Realm cultivators. If nothing unexpected happens, they’ll surely arrive in Pine Mist City within three days.”
Everyone had happiness written all over their faces when they heard this, yet Chen Hao’s brows knit instead.
