"How is this possible!"
Yan Mengchu took only two steps before suddenly stopping dead in his tracks, his eyes wide as bells as he stared blankly ahead.
The masked cultivator from before had transformed into a puff of smoke, floating in front of him like a ghost, so fast that he hadn't even thought of escaping. Was
this masked cultivator truly less advanced than me? Impossible! Such speed was impossible, even at the tenth level of the Qi Refining Realm.
And what were these smoke and figures before him?
A sudden memory struck him, his heart trembling, his face filled with panic.
"You, you're the mysterious cultivator who caused the disappearance of the wandering cultivators?"
He had, of course, heard about the recent widespread incident of the disappearance of wandering cultivators. Later, the market successfully resolved the incident and recovered all the missing cultivators. The market's morale surged, and business improved significantly.
According to the rescued cultivators, their captors were two masked cultivators shrouded in shadow, moving at an incredible speed, making their figures completely invisible.
Could this be the person before him?
Zhou Shu, enveloped in the smoke, let his virtual form sway slightly. He reached forward and said, "Give me the Patriarch's Order."
His plan had achieved its intended effect, a measure of success.
"Impossible,"
Yan Mengchu said bitterly.
Though he was a coward, he knew that without the Patriarch's Order, he would face an even more horrible fate against Hall Master Hu of the Liuchu Sect.
He stared at Zhou Shu, a fierce glint in his eyes, and suddenly a emerald longsword appeared in his hand, its light flickering and stretching several feet.
It was clear that while this sword wasn't a talisman of the highest rank, it was still quite remarkable, far more than just its sheer sharpness.
Zhou Shu remained motionless, his hand still extended, and he said grimly, "Give me the Patriarch's Order."
Yan Mengchu was stunned. It would have been fine if the masked cultivator before him hadn't produced his magic talismans to resist, but he hadn't even dodged? A Qi Refining Realm cultivator couldn't withstand a talismanic attack with just his incantations.
Zhou Shu's expression remained calm, though a hint of unease lingered within him.
The escape technique continued. Dodging the attack was easy, but if he did, all his previous arrangements would be for naught; he had to take a gamble.
However, he still held a golden armor talisman in his hand, which could offset some of the damage if necessary.
"Go to hell!"
Yan Mengchu roared, emboldening himself. He then raised his sword, gritted his teeth, and slashed down with all his might at the figure in the smoke.
A flash of white light, like a rainbow, flashed through the smoke.
The figure before him, from head to toe, was split in two by the sword!
Bang!
The sword's light slashed down to the ground, sending up a shower of flying rocks.
What was going on? It didn't feel like he had struck anything real, not even a drop of blood?
Yan Mengchu sensed something was wrong and looked forward
, completely stunned. He stared blankly ahead, then down at his sword, then back at himself, unable to believe his eyes.
The figure, split in two, reunited incredibly quickly, returning to its original form in less than two breaths, its hand still reaching out to him.
"Give me the Patriarch's token."
A voice pierced the thick smoke, like a curse from the depths of hell, sending Yan Mengchu into a state of panic.
His eyes glazed over, and he cried out, almost in a daze, "How could I not touch you? Who are you? What kind of spell is this?"
Zhou Shu ignored him, simply holding out his hand.
He could see that Yan Mengchu, lacking courage, was nearing collapse, and perhaps he would soon succeed.
Simultaneously, a talisman quietly flew out of the smoke, slowly approaching Yan Mengchu along the ground.
Seeing the eerie figure, Yan Mengchu trembled for a moment, as if finally surrendering. He pulled a pitch-black object from his side and hurled it at Zhou Shu with all his might.
"Here, here, don't come any closer!"
As he threw the Patriarch's token, he retreated with the speed of a rabbit.
Zhou Shu didn't reach out to take the token.
He could clearly see that while the object resembled the Patriarch's token, it lacked a single aura; it was definitely a fake.
It wasn't over yet.
Yan Mengchu, determined to fight to the death, would find it difficult to surrender the Patriarchal Token unless faced with a genuine threat to his life. Without it, Yan Mengchu could not face the wrath of the Six Out Sect.
Zhou Shu shook his head, anticipating an easy solution, but he had anticipated this and prepared a follow-up plan.
Yan Mengchu had taken only a few steps when his pace slowed. A green vine suddenly crawled up his feet, wrapping around them like a venomous snake.
"Green vine talisman?"
Yan Mengchu felt relieved. It seemed the masked cultivator was merely fast, not possessing any offensive means.
"Just a Green vine talisman? Break it!"
A bright light suddenly flashed from his chest, and a gleaming token appeared in his hand. "Red Flame!"
A tongue of crimson fire erupted from the tip of the token, blazing like the sun. Waves of red light emanated, scattering vines wherever it touched.
Zhou Shu was startled.
It seemed this was the true Patriarch's Token. As Yan Yue had said, the Yan family had poured vast resources into its creation. Though only a first-tier item, it was a truly top-grade magical weapon, infused with two talisman arrays, granting the Token two inherent magical formulas.
First-tier magical weapons with two magical formulas were rare in the world of immortal cultivation.
One of these was the Crimson Flame, which, when infused with spiritual energy, formed a powerful flame comparable to earth fire, possessing immense power. It was particularly effective against wood-type spells.
Zhou Shu's figure flashed, rushing towards Yan Mengchu.
Two talismans quietly floated out of the smoke.
The shadow was too fast, and Yan Mengchu shielded himself, not daring to move rashly.
Zhou Shu floated several feet away, retracted his Shadow Escape Technique, and emerged, standing in front of Yan Mengchu. Though it was only a few breaths, if he continued the technique any longer, his spiritual energy would be exhausted.
"What did you do?"
Yan Mengchu, holding the Patriarch's Order, stared at Zhou Shu, then looked at himself in surprise. "Golden Armor Talisman?"
A thick layer of golden armor suddenly appeared on his body, making him look like a statue.
"Haha, are you stupid? You're using defensive talismans on me, but not yourself? Hahaha, it looks like you're going to die this time!"
He burst into laughter, his spiritual energy flowing freely, making the golden armor seem even stronger and gleaming with golden light.
Zhou Shu said calmly, "Then let's try."
He threw another talisman, naturally the Green Vine Talisman. The vines unfurled and wrapped around Yan Mengchu again.
"Come on, I'll burn as many as you can!"
Yan Mengchu laughed, holding up the Patriarch's Order. Seeing that he had a magical weapon, the masked cultivator panicked and mistakenly used the talisman on himself, giving him a chance of victory.
Zhou Shu ignored him, holding another talisman, a faint flash of lightning.
A Thunderstorm Talisman!
Lightning surged like a dragon, enveloping Yan Mengchu.
"Just a mere Thunderstorm Talisman. Are these low-level talismans all you have? You're trying to scare me like some terrifying masked cultivator. Ridiculous."
An eggshell-shaped shield instantly appeared over Yan Mengchu, gleaming and blocking the bursts of lightning.
"It's a mid-grade Thunderstorm Talisman. Dodge."
He quickly noticed something was amiss. Taking on this kind of thunderstorm head-on would drain a significant amount of spiritual energy, so it was best to avoid it. He
activated the Light Body Technique, but as soon as he lifted his foot, he sensed something was amiss.
The thick golden armor, like a heavy shackle, bound him, slowing him to less than half his original speed. How could he possibly escape the Thunderstorm Talisman's area?
Furthermore, underfoot, green vines appeared every five breaths.
He suddenly understood why the masked cultivator had given him the Golden Armor Talisman...
The Golden Armor Talisman significantly increases a cultivator's defense, especially against sharp weapons like flying swords and impact weapons, but it has no effect against lightning damage and significantly reduces the cultivator's speed.
The Golden Armor Talisman, combined with the Thunderstorm Talisman and the Green Vine Talisman, was a perfect combination. How had he come up with this?
What should he do?
He was frantic, his mind in a state of confusion, unsure what to do.
Zhou Shu, on the other hand, smiled faintly. He held a Green Vine Talisman in his left hand and a stack of Thunderstorm Talismans in his right. He timed the talismans perfectly and, almost without pause, flung them at Yan Mengchu one by
one. Amidst the lightning, Yan Mengchu struggled to maintain his shield, his spiritual energy pouring out like a flood.
Looking at the masked cultivator not far away, Yan Mengchu seemed to realize Zhou Shu's intention.
He was trying to kill him.
"It's not that the masked cultivator can't easily defeat me, but he wants to drain my spiritual energy and slowly destroy me."
At this thought, Yan Mengchu began to truly collapse.