Chapter 90: Watch Me Flaunt My Wealth Once

By the time Ji Yao had finished regulating her breathing, the group surrounding her had suffered no casualties, while the beasts besieging them had grown fewer and fewer.

It seemed there was no major danger here either. After all, this was still far from the very heart of the secret realm, and no third-tier beast had yet appeared in the outer regions.

She put away the formation disc, pasted a concealment talisman onto herself, adjusted her direction, avoided the range of that group’s divine sense, and continued toward the center of the realm.

Perhaps something had happened at the core of the secret realm, for as she traveled onward, many places bearing spiritual herbs were no longer guarded by beasts.

Ji Yao selected only the rarer specimens or those of great age and dug up a few. Aside from mature Heaven-Opening Grass, which she always had to take, she left the other herbs untouched.

Exhausting the springs to catch the fish had never been the purpose of entering the secret realm. Solving the problem was what mattered.

The farther inward she went, the denser the packs of beasts became, and the more cultivators she encountered. There were always times when avoidance was impossible.

Ji Yao also dared not attack with talismans, fearing the commotion would draw attention and bring the beast hordes down upon her as a lone cultivator.

As she quietly employed hidden methods to clear the obstacles ahead, Ji Yao suddenly sensed a surge of power far in front of her, an attack beyond the cultivation level permitted within the realm. From that violent fluctuation of energy, she knew someone had used a fourth-tier talisman.

It was a signal: a third-tier beast had already appeared ahead, and someone was the first to buckle.

Each person could use a fourth-tier talisman three times, but if the loophole was not sealed, third-tier beasts would keep emerging without end, while the number of talismans was strictly limited. In the end, it would be no more than drinking poison to quench thirst.

At present, Ji Yao still did not know how long the cycle rules of the secret realm would allow these third-tier beasts to remain below, but she knew that her and Situ Jing’s earlier guess had been correct. Otherwise, this secret realm would already be crawling with third-tier beasts everywhere.

Now she needed to find the disciplinary hall disciple from her sect who had been put in charge of this matter and learn more detailed information. If she was right, it should be the young man who had once exchanged a glance with her outside the camp.

The stated purpose of the major sects this time was investigation, but in truth they still wanted to seal this loophole, so they must have prepared other means as well.

Ji Yao no longer bothered to conceal her movements. She picked up speed and pressed forward, and by the time she finally saw the main force of Azure Cloud Sect, three days had passed since she entered the forest.

Though she had found the main group, entering it became yet another problem, for layers upon layers of beasts stood between her and them.

Most were only second-tier beasts, but there were five third-tier ones among them. At this point, she had no choice but to play the ostentatious show-off for once.

Even with concealment and invisibility talismans pasted on herself, Ji Yao still did not feel at ease. In her divine sense, she instructed Qianxun to blend her aura completely into the surrounding trees and grass, and only then did she step forward.

When she had closed to within a hundred meters and no beast had noticed her yet, Ji Yao felt it was time to act.

Once more she slapped nine Vajra Talismans onto herself, then gathered strength beneath her feet and suddenly lunged forward, closing the distance by another fifty meters. The violent fluctuation of spiritual power could not have been more obvious.

The beasts surrounding the main force finally turned around. Ji Yao simply tore off the talismans concealing her and let eight Sharp Gold Talismans rise around her.

The beasts that turned and saw the lone cultivator suddenly revealed before them instantly went mad. The horde surged forward, eager to tear this human cultivator to pieces at once.

They moved, and how could Ji Yao possibly be slower than a pack of beasts with so little intelligence?

Today she would show them what it meant to unleash everything!

With a faint, almost playful smile, Ji Yao accelerated even more and flew toward the beast tide. Since this poor big sister had finally been generous for once, they had better not waste the feast she had prepared.

The Sharp Gold Talismans around her spun into streaks of golden afterimages. Ji Yao raised her hand and hurled ten Fireball Talismans in one breath.

When the talismans were still a meter away from the charging beasts, they suddenly turned into ten massive fireballs, which struck the first rank of beasts squarely and exploded with a thunderous blast.

Along with the corpses of the beasts and the sky full of fire, the first layer quickly fell. The beasts in the rear were stunned and hurriedly skidded to a stop.

Afraid now, were they? Ji Yao did not care whether they would continue forward or not, because she was going to keep advancing.

Another ten Earth-Spike Talismans were thrown out. The beasts that had stopped were suddenly pierced through by jagged spikes erupting from the ground beneath them. Whether or not the blows struck their vital points, blood inevitably spurted everywhere, staining the earth below.

Only then did the beasts realize how dangerous the person before them was. They hurriedly began to retreat, but what met them was a row of ice blades following close behind. The piercing chill froze any beast struck by them clear through.

This time not even blood flowed out; the beasts’ corpses crashed stiffly to the ground, unable even to move.

Several third-tier beasts that had been preparing to advance were already behind a mass of second-tier beasts, waiting for the chance to cast their spells, and never imagined this human cultivator would be so savage.

They each let out a roar. At the sound, the wavering second-tier beasts suddenly split apart, and from the looks of it, they intended to flank Ji Yao from both sides and the rear.

Ha. Did they think her Sharp Gold Talismans were some kind of flashy effect used only for show?

This was the first time Ji Yao had used a talisman formation. She had chosen Sharp Gold Talismans precisely because they were sufficiently sharp and matched her spiritual roots, making them easier to control.

As the beasts, having changed their attack strategy, drew near, the eight Sharp Gold Talismans revolving around Ji Yao abruptly separated, each taking one of the eight directions. At an even faster speed, they began alternating three-hundred-and-sixty-degree rotations.

All that could be seen was Ji Yao shrouded within a golden sphere two meters in diameter. Any beast that came near that sphere was cut apart, flesh and blood flying everywhere, and the rain of gore turned the air in this area a murky red.

Ji Yao had not expected the talisman formation laid out with ancient talismans to be so effective. It far exceeded her expectations, working several times better than using a single talisman alone. Yet while blood mist billowed all around her, her own heart was bleeding too.

That one wave of attacks had cost thirty-eight ancient talismans. How could her heart not ache?

As Ji Yao pressed forward step by step, the golden light grew weaker and weaker, and the protective sphere slowly shrank. The beast pack, which had been preparing to withdraw, seemed to catch the scent of blood and once again grew eager.

When the light faded enough for her silhouette to be seen clearly and the sphere had shrunk to a diameter of one meter, a fireball unleashed by one of the third-tier beasts suddenly arrived.

The moment the fireball slammed into the shield, the eight Sharp Gold Talismans turned to ash. A flash of white light passed over Ji Yao’s body, and the force sent her staggering forward several steps before she finally managed to steady herself.

A roar from another third-tier beast sounded, and the second-tier beasts surrounding Ji Yao surged forward once more.

Who would have thought that another sudden change would strike? Eight more Sharp Gold Talismans appeared at inconceivable speed, and almost in the instant they emerged, they formed a dazzling golden barrier, expanding outward from a one-meter diameter.

A fresh rain of blood began to fall again, mingling with the beasts’ agonized cries. The cultivators who heard it could not help but feel their minds grow heavy.

With such a commotion on Ji Yao’s side, how could the people stationed ahead and holding the line fail to notice? Not only Azure Cloud Sect, but also the cultivators of the six nearby great sects were all alarmed.

Only one thought rose in everyone’s minds:

This killing god wielded the methods of the Talisman Gate, yet possessed the heart of a mad sword cultivator.