CHAPTER 250: CHAPTER 245 THE CORRECT WAY TO USE THE BIZARRE TALISMAN! THE FALL OF THE TIANXING SECT!_1

I need to find a Sea Demon to experiment with the Bewildering Charm.

Jia Ren left Qunxing Archipelago and flew towards the distant sea.

Using the Bewildering Charm on Cultivators could easily lead to hidden dangers. If the person experimented on survived and reported it to the Town Demon Alliance, more trouble would follow. The Misleading Bizarre has always been in the hands of the Remnants of the Bizarre Alliance. If the Remnants of the Bizarre Alliance were to reappear on Qunxing Archipelago, this place would become a focal point for the Town Demon Alliance, which isn’t conducive to my steady development. It’s better to find Magical Beasts! Magical Beasts won’t snitch to the Town Demon Alliance if they’re bullied.

Just as the Insect External Incarnation was about to pick an ordinary Magical Beast for experimentation, a new idea struck him.

The Lost Path Guai Talisman Pill is extremely expensive to make. Using it on a common Fish Demon would yield no returns... what a waste.

The cost of twelve Bewildering Charms plus the Calming Talisman Instrument-style Fu Wan was excessively high.

No matter how many Spirit Stones I have, I can’t afford to waste them like this. How can I solve this? The Lost Path Guai Talisman Pill could be tested on powerful Magical Beasts. Ideally, I’d get something out of it to compensate for the loss from using the Fu Wan. A Third-order Monster Beast! Harvest Spiritual Medicine!

The Insect External Incarnation had previously searched for Spiritual Medicine on Qunxing Archipelago, within a range not exceeding three thousand li. Many Cultivators were active around Qunxing Archipelago, and most Spiritual Medicine had been harvested, though some older specimens remained. The Insect External Incarnation had accidentally discovered a Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicine and many others over five hundred years old, which he had intended to collect.

Unfortunately, a late-stage Third-order Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon guarded the Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicine. If not for the Thousand-Year-Old Black Turtle he carried, the Insect External Incarnation feared he wouldn’t have returned alive. Previously, he wouldn’t have provoked this demon; it wasn’t a Magical Beast he could handle. They minded their own business, each keeping to their own.

With the Lost Path Guai Talisman Pill in hand, the situation was different.

If I can make the Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon lose its way and leave its den, won’t I be able to harvest the Spiritual Medicine openly? This is the correct way to use the Bewildering Charm.

The sea was vast and featureless, lacking coordinates; finding the Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon’s lair again would not be easy. But he had a solution.

He activated the Demon-Spotting Talisman and traveled more than two thousand li. The purple-red glow of the Magical Beast’s aura was extremely striking.

Found it! The Monster’s lair is just ahead!

The Insect External Incarnation dared not get too close. He collected the Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon’s aura from the area and turned to flee. Even so, he was discovered. A massive aura approached rapidly, accompanied by a powerful, golden-pupiled Sea Demon.

Not good, I’ve been spotted!

Without a moment’s hesitation, the Insect External Incarnation’s Ancient Talisman Wings emerged on his back, and twelve Grandmaster Level Divine Wind Talismans activated. A sudden gust of divine wind arose, and he vanished from his spot.

Thousands of giant water projectiles rose and chased after the Insect External Incarnation. The Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon recognized the intruder as the same fellow who had tried to steal its Spiritual Medicine years ago.

He dares to come again?!

Before the Formless Law Domain could descend, the Insect External Incarnation was already far away.

Good thing I ran fast!

The Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon possessed a natural ability to see through presence-concealing techniques; the Turtle Breath Technique couldn’t deceive it. Last time, it had discovered him just as he approached its lair. The difference now was that he was prepared with the Ancient Talisman Wings. After intercepting the Magical Beast’s aura, he had decisively fled.

The Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon pursued for a moment, then stopped. It wasn’t skilled in speed and watched helplessly as its target escaped. Humans are cunning, it worried. They might be using a ploy to lure the tiger from the mountain to steal my Spiritual Medicine.

The distance should be about right.

The captured aura of the beast was placed into the Life-Stealing Rouge Sachet. A Lost Path Guai Talisman Pill, tainted with the aura, glowed red and flew towards the Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon’s lair.

BOOM!

An explosion sounded, not very powerful. A superior-grade Third-order Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon, equivalent in strength to the Late Golden Core Stage, was unaffected by the Fu Wan’s explosive damage.

It’s those humans meddling again!

Fuming, the Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon rushed out of its den, determined to kill this little pest.

Success!

As it left its lair, it was as if it had gone blind, unable to distinguish directions. It charged headlong in one direction, disappearing without a trace.

Once the Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon was far away and confirmed not to be returning, it was time to act. The Insect External Incarnation took out the Evil-Warding Full Body Armor, put it on, and walked towards the Monster’s lair.

The explosion of the twelve Bewildering Charms meant the disorienting power would persist for a long time. Jia Ren couldn’t just wait around, wasting his precious time. The effectiveness of the Evil-Warding Full Body Armor had been tested; it could resist the power of the Misleading Bizarre. Unaffected by the Misleading Bizarre’s power, he entered the Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon’s lair.

Only one Third-order Monster Beast inhabited this place; there were no other Magical Beasts, so his passage was smooth.

Haha, the Millennium Sea Spirit Flower!

Inside the lair, a sea-blue Spiritual Medicine exuded an invigorating medicinal fragrance. Jia Ren knelt, took out a pre-prepared shovel, and carefully extracted the Spiritual Medicine with its complete root system, ensuring not to damage the Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicine.

What a bounty!

A Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicine was a treasure coveted even by Golden Core Cultivators. This item, combined with a Third-order Monster Core, could be used to refine Elixirs that enhance one’s Cultivation Level after reaching the Golden Core stage. He didn’t overlook the other few Spiritual Medicines either, harvesting all of them and storing them away.

Within the Monster’s lair, leftover bones and Magical Beast hides were scattered about, mostly carcasses of Second-Order Monsters. He collected everything of value.

Time to go!

Just as Jia Ren was about to leave, something suddenly occurred to him.

"Eye of Prospecting!"

A faint light glowed in his eyes as he continuously scanned the Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon’s lair. This was a new secret technique he had learned from the Tianxing Trade Association. During his time managing the Tianxing Trade Association, he had obtained many treasures and secret techniques, the Eye of Prospecting being one of them. It was a Pupil Skill for surveying the aura of heaven and earth and ore veins, capable of observing terrain, identifying Spirit Lands, and distinguishing ore veins; it was quite practical.

Other areas had been scoured by the Tianxing Trade Association and other Cultivators, making the probability of finding new ore veins minuscule. This place was guarded by a Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon, so no one dared to prospect here. Powerful Magical Beasts liked to occupy Spirit Lands, and Spirit Lands were prone to having ore veins.

Under the Eye of Prospecting, rich Spiritual Power was evident—a decent Spirit Land. There were no anomalies beneath the earth veins, indicating no ore veins were present.

Ore veins aren’t that easy to find; their absence is normal. It’s time to leave!

Jia Ren wasn’t surprised. He scanned the vicinity once more but found nothing.

This trip has been quite profitable.

The Bewildering Charm had worked well in its first trial, yielding a Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicine and over a dozen Spiritual Medicines more than five hundred years old—a true bumper harvest.

This time, it’s a guaranteed profit.

The Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon was lost and wouldn’t be able to return anytime soon, so he decided to flee immediately.

He had flown less than several tens of li when a massive Spiritual Power Fluctuation erupted in the distance. The Insect External Incarnation activated the Xuan Guang Water Mirror and looked towards the area where the battle sounds originated.

A scene from a hundred li away appeared in the Xuan Guang Water Mirror: two Cultivators, wielding their Magical Treasures, were fleeing into the distance, shocked and enraged. Hundreds of massive water projectiles pursued them, with an enraged Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon hot on their heels.

All humans must die!

The two Golden Core Cultivators’ escape speed was inferior to the Insect External Incarnation’s. Unable to escape the Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon’s range, their faces were about to turn green with frustration.

Such bad luck!

They had originally partnered to hunt Magical Beasts, heading to Peaceful Water Courtyard Lake to slay a Third-Order Shrimp Demon they had marked years ago. Unfortunately, someone else had killed the Shrimp Demon first, and its den had even been converted into a Cave. Helpless, the two had come to the Western Extreme Sea, avoiding areas teeming with Magical Beasts, to hunt Third-order Monster Beasts here.

And as a result... they had good luck encountering a Third-Rank sea beast.

But... why is it a late-stage Third-order Monster Beast?!

Both were at the Early Golden Core Stage. Together, they could handle an ordinary Third-order Monster Beast without issue, but a late-stage Third-order Monster Beast left them no choice but to flee.

Those two are really unlucky... Still, they should be able to escape.

The Golden-eyed Sea Lion Demon was affected by the Bewildering Charm, so its tracking ability was severely impaired. If they focused solely on escaping, they could easily shake it off. Jia Ren had no intention of getting involved and decisively made his getaway.

He hurried back to the island non-stop, first making a trip to Wanling Island to resupply.

The Golden Core Cultivator surnamed Zhu had been gone for over a year, with no sign of his return. Moreover, the usually punctual annual supply delivery from the Tianxing Sect had ceased, making the Tianxing Trade Association on Qunxing Archipelago seem abandoned. The Guardians of the trade association were in a panic; their attempts to contact the Tianxing Sect went unanswered. Many who had returned to the Sect were now missing.

Something big must have happened! This place is too far from the Tianxing Sect; there’s no information. The only ultra-long-range communication Formation isn’t getting a response from the other side.

BUZZ!

On Wanling Island, strong Spiritual Power Fluctuations emanated from the Tianxing Trade Association’s location. Three Cultivators wearing black masks were attacking it. The Formation activated, and the three couldn’t break through quickly.

Three Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivators attacking the Tianxing Trade Association? Aren’t they a bit too bold!

Jia Ren hadn’t been on Qunxing Archipelago for a short time, but this was the first time he’d seen such audacious Bizarre Cultivators. The Lord of Wanling Island was absent, leaving the island without a leader. Several Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the island glanced over but showed no intention of intervening. It wasn’t their concern, so they stayed out of it.

"Fellow Daoists, please turn back!"

Jia Ren owed the Foundation Establishment Cultivator surnamed Zhu half a favor for the Spirit Origin Pill, from which he had deduced the Alchemy Recipe. Furthermore, he had promised to help look after the Tianxing Trade Association. He had benefited considerably from the Tianxing Trade Association over the years.

What if the attacking enemies are too strong? Then I’ll pretend nothing happened. Three Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivators, I truly don’t take them seriously.

"Senior Zhen, you’re here! Please, help us!" a clerk cried out.

"Are you a Cultivator from Tianxing Sect?" one of the attackers asked, immediately on high alert. They had initially thought a helper for the Tianxing Trade Association had arrived. A Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator would indeed be troublesome, someone they couldn’t afford to provoke, and they had begun to consider retreating.

The clerk had addressed him as "Senior," not "Martial Uncle" or "Martial Senior." This brought them some relief. As long as he’s not a Tianxing Sect Cultivator, there’s still room for negotiation.

"Tianxing Sect has been destroyed by Bizarre Demons, and all its trade associations have been looted. Why don’t we join forces and seize this Tianxing Trade Association?" one of them proposed. "You take seventy percent, and the three of us will take thirty percent. How about that?"

The combined strength of three Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivators was no match for one at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. They were reluctant to give up on the Tianxing Trade Association and entertained the idea of taking a share of the plunder if the newcomer took the lion’s share.

Jia Ren was momentarily stunned, staring at the three.

Tianxing Sect has been destroyed by Bizarre Demons? What Bizarre Demons?

His first thought was of the Heart-devouring Illusion Bizarre. That was the most likely Bizarre Demon capable of destroying the Tianxing Sect.