A Name That Shakes the World – The Broken Talisman

Chapter 691: A Name That Shakes the World – The Broken Talisman

As for the five-element spell talismans among high-grade talismans, they were nothing special. The power of most high-grade spells was no match for the power of a magic treasure.

This was why, once a cultivator formed a core, they almost universally abandoned further training in five-element spells.

However, this was not to say that high-grade spells were completely useless.

From what Han Li knew, there were quite a few types of extremely powerful five-element spells that, once unleashed, would make even Nascent Soul cultivators hesitate to meet them head-on.

But these spells were not only difficult to cultivate; even after one comprehended them, the casting process was cumbersome and troublesome.

With the time it took to cast one, it was simply more efficient to attack directly with a magic treasure.

Still, Han Li had vaguely heard other cultivators mention that the Moulan Dharma Warriors seemed to have broken through this limitation. They had developed a number of so-called "Spirit Arts" with great power that could be cast in an instant.

This allowed low-grade Dharma Warriors to fight evenly with ordinary cultivators without needing magic tools or talismans.

And when high-grade Dharma Warriors used magic treasures in conjunction with Spirit Arts, they were even more formidable, allowing them to decisively defeat cultivators of the same rank without question.

This was precisely why the major powers of the Heavenly South had banded together to resist the Moulan people, only managing to hold their ground without ever being able to truly defeat them.

Ever since forming his Nascent Soul, Han Li had wisely begun studying a few of the simplest high-grade spells. He had managed to comprehend three or four of them, but their casting speed was, to put it bluntly, pathetic. He believed that if he ever tried to use these spells in actual combat, unless he had a turtle shell that his enemy could not break, he would have been killed seven or eight times by a cultivator of the same rank before he had even finished casting a quarter of the spell.

However, using high-grade talismans in conjunction with magic treasures during a fight was indeed overwhelmingly powerful. If he could just throw out twenty or thirty high-grade attack talismans at once, like he did with low-grade talismans, not to mention cultivators of the same rank, even a late-Nascent Soul cultivator would have to flee immediately.

After all, this would be equivalent to suffering a combined attack from dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators. No matter how heaven-defying the targeted cultivator's cultivation technique and protective magic treasures were, as long as their cultivation was limited to the Nascent Soul stage, there was absolutely no way they could withstand it.

But such an attack was only a fantasy. A single volley would cost tens of thousands of spirit stones. No one would dare to be so wasteful.

Moreover, there was always a greater demand than supply for high-grade talismans in the cultivation world, and most high-grade talismans were of the auxiliary type anyway.

As he pondered, Han Li walked along the market town’s streets, continuously scanning the larger magic tool and sundry shops on either side. Only large stores were likely to sell top-grade talisman-making brushes.

There was no need to ask at the smaller shops. Ten times out of ten, they wouldn't have such a niche magic tool for sale, let alone a top-grade one.

It was possible that some small shop might indeed have a hidden treasure, but Han Li was not willing to waste time searching them one by one. Otherwise, with so many shops in Tiantian City, even if he did nothing else, he wouldn't be able to see them all in less than ten days.

Besides Han Li, other cultivators were also entering and leaving the shops on both sides, buying and selling what they wanted with various expressions.

Most of them were Foundation Establishment cultivators, with a few Core Formation cultivators appearing occasionally.

As for Qi Condensation cultivators, aside from those native to Tiantian City, there were very few from outside.

Han Li had once again concealed his cultivation to the appearance of a mid-Core Formation stage. So, although he encountered many cultivators on the road, he was only glanced at with a look of reverence by those Foundation Establishment cultivators. As for Core Formation cultivators, if they didn't know each other, they would just glance and move on.

In this way, Han Li did not attract too much attention as he slowly strolled from one large shop to another.

When Han Li came out of another pavilion, once again disappointed, most of the day had passed without him noticing.

Looking at the darkening sky and the moonlight stones that were beginning to glow in the shops, Han Li hesitated for a moment.

He wondered if he should return to his lodging or take a look at two more shops before heading back.

Just then, the sound of an argument came from not far ahead, as if some people were having a dispute. Some curious cultivators nearby gathered around.

Han Li frowned, turned around expressionlessly, and prepared to return to his lodging.

But before he could take two steps, a harsh voice rang out loudly.

"What's this? Are all you Falling Cloud Sect cultivators so shameless? You break something and want to leave without paying?"

"It's not that I don't want to pay, but I just bought something else, and I really don't have that many spirit stones on me. And this is just a primary mid-grade Blazing Cloud Talisman, how could it possibly be worth three hundred spirit stones? A hundred or so spirit stones would be more than enough. Besides, I've already left my sect token here as a deposit. I was going to borrow some spirit stones from my fellow disciples at the inn and come back," another, younger male voice retorted, also somewhat angry.

Han Li's figure, which had already taken two steps, suddenly stopped. The voice sounded familiar, as if it belonged to someone he knew from the Falling Cloud Sect.

Han Li stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then turned back towards the shop where the commotion was coming from.

Whoever it was, he should go and see. After all, he was now one of the three great Elders of the Falling Cloud Sect, and it would be difficult to pretend not to know and simply walk away.

A moment later, Han Li saw from afar that a dozen or so cultivators had gathered in front of a small sundry shop, and inside, it seemed a few cultivators were confronting each other.

One of them, dressed in black, stood straight and had a look of anger on his face. It was Sun Huo from Blazing Cloud Peak, whom he had met at the Sword Trial Assembly.

In just twenty years, this young man called Sun Huo hadn't changed much in appearance, but his cultivation had improved considerably. Opposite him were three local cultivators with unfriendly expressions, who appeared to be the shop's owner and his assistants.

At this moment, the cultivator in the middle, who had a short beard and looked like the manager, rolled his eyes and said to Sun Huo, "A worthless token, what use would I have for it? What if you give up on this token, return to the Falling Cloud Sect immediately, and I would have to travel thousands of miles to Xi Nation to find you? Enough with the nonsense. Since you don't have the spirit stones, take out the things in your storage pouch and leave them here as collateral. As for that Blazing Cloud Talisman, do you think it’s an ordinary mid-grade talisman? It is the work of Tiantian City’s own talisman master. How can it be compared to an ordinary Blazing Cloud Talisman? Charging you three hundred spirit stones is already a bargain. Are all the cultivators of the Falling Cloud Sect so poor?"

After saying this, the manager glanced at the wooden box his assistant was holding, a look of even greater distress on his face, as if he were the one who had truly suffered a loss.

"Fine! It's your goods, so you can say whatever you want. An ordinary Blazing Cloud Talisman, and you say it was made by a talisman master," Sun Huo said, laughing in anger at these words.

"What? Can you tell if a talisman was made by a master or not? Or do you truly not want to compensate this shop for its loss? Then don't blame me for notifying the city's Enforcement Envoys," the manager sneered, threatening him without any politeness.

Sun Huo's face turned pale, then red, at these words.

He didn't even need to ask which way the Enforcement Envoys of the Nine Nations Union would lean.

Besides, this matter was indeed murky. It seemed he was going to have to swallow this loss!

After a moment of hesitation, Sun Huo stamped his foot and slapped his storage pouch.

A sheaf of various talismans appeared in his hand, mostly low-grade, primary mid and low-level ones.

"Although these talismans are not high-grade, they should be enough to cover two or three hundred spirit stones temporarily," Sun Huo said through gritted teeth.

The manager's expression eased a little at this. "That's more like it!" he said, reaching out to take the talismans.

"Hey, this one isn't for sale!"

Just before the manager could take the talismans, Sun Huo’s gaze swept over them, and his expression suddenly changed. He snatched his hand back and immediately pulled out a piece of yellow talisman paper that was almost half torn from the sheaf before handing them over again.

"Hmph! A torn piece of blank talisman paper like that, and you're so nervous about it? Your Falling Cloud Sect is really quite poor," the manager said with a look of mockery after a moment of surprise. Then he reached out his hand again to grab the talismans.

But at that moment, a figure flashed before his eyes, and someone suddenly inserted themselves between the two, taking the sheaf of talismans.

Even Sun Huo was startled, and the manager hurriedly retreated a few steps, shouting in alarm, "Who is it? What do you think you're doing?"

"Doing nothing! I simply heard you repeatedly disparaging our Falling Cloud Sect. Would you dare to say it again, in front of me?" the cultivator who had stepped in said coldly, his face expressionless.

As soon as he finished speaking, an astonishing aura erupted from him, a tremendous spiritual pressure descending from the sky. It immediately caused the nearby cultivators to change their expressions drastically and retreat several steps involuntarily. Some of the weaker cultivators, before they could even steady themselves, felt as if a great mountain was pressing down on them, directly forcing them to one knee.

The two Core Formation cultivators who happened to be passing by fared slightly better, but even they swayed, and one of them exclaimed in panic, "A Nascent Soul cultivator! Senior, you..."