“With this thing, we can at least recover some of our losses,” Huangfu Song let out a slight sigh of relief as he put away one of the Exemption Talismans. He then distributed the other two to Li Fan and Dongfang Yao.
“Just this worthless thing?” Dongfang Yao held the seven-colored talisman up to his eyes, scrutinizing it with disbelief.
“I’ve actually heard of this item before,” Li Fan narrowed his eyes, recalling, “It seems that when the Immortal Alliance issues a compulsory mission, cultivators can use this Exemption Talisman to completely ignore the mission’s requirements.”
“Exactly!” Huangfu Song nodded with satisfaction, his previous frustration dissipating.
“What’s the use of that?” Dongfang Yao muttered under his breath, still somewhat unconvinced.
Huangfu Song shot him a glare. “It might not seem useful in everyday situations, but at critical moments, it could literally save your life! For instance, if a war breaks out with the Five Elders Association and cultivators are drafted to the battlefield, others will have to pull every string they can find or resign themselves to fighting on the front lines. But with this Exemption Talisman, we can avoid such calamities altogether.”
“In a way, this is like an imperial pardon of death!” Dongfang Yao suddenly realized the true value of the item and immediately stored it carefully.
“That’s right. And more importantly, this Exemption Talisman is unregistered. Any cultivator holding it is considered its rightful owner. If someone offers a high enough price, we could even trade it away.” Huangfu Song added, “To prevent anyone from coveting it, you two should avoid carrying it on you at all times. Store it in the Tianxuan Mirror’s space instead.”
Dongfang Yao nodded repeatedly in agreement.
“The real game has just begun; how could we stop here? Now that we have a partially mapped route, we can directly push into uncharted territory. Our exploration efficiency has increased many times over,” Huangfu Song’s stance was clear, and his eyes flickered with boundless greed.
Dongfang Yao naturally sided with Huangfu Song.
Li Fan clapped his hands in admiration, “To rise stronger after setbacks—that is the spirit of a true hero! In that case, I’ll restock on supplies first, and then we’ll set off immediately.”
“However…” Li Fan hesitated, looking troubled. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to find any more Longevity Pills—affordable yet effective life-extending treasures like that are incredibly rare.”
Huangfu Song and Dongfang Yao both nodded in understanding.
“We can’t keep making you take the losses. I’ll find a way to contribute too,” Dongfang Yao offered, taking the initiative.
The three of them agreed to meet again in two days, then went their separate ways.
Beastkind Realm.
Xu Bai lay motionless, floating in the sky with his eyes tightly shut, as if in deep slumber.
Above his forehead hovered a Seventeen-Petal Heavenly Spirit Flower, emitting a faint, milky-white radiance.
A mysterious energy surrounded him, distorting the air. Layer after layer of seven-colored halos rippled outward from him, expanding across the sky.
From the ground of the Beast Realm, it looked as if a seven-colored sun had appeared in the heavens.
Countless exotic beasts felt an instinctive reverence, kneeling in worship.
The disciples of the Medicine King Sect exchanged uncertain glances, whispering amongst themselves.
Of course, with Liu San standing guard beside Xu Bai, no one dared to speak out of turn.
More than ten days ago, Liu San had already located Jiao Xiuyuan.
Jiao Xiuyuan had shown great interest in the deal Li Fan had mentioned.
However, he insisted on personally verifying whether the Heavenly Spirit Flower in Li Fan’s possession was as miraculous as the rumors claimed.
But with Li Fan’s true body absent and impossible to contact, Liu San hurried back with Jiao Xiuyuan’s communication talisman, intending to report to Li Fan’s clone.
Yet, upon arriving in the Beast Realm, he discovered that Xu Bai was in a state of epiphany.
Not daring to disturb him, Liu San instead stood watch over him.
“Old Liu, the sect master’s enlightenment this time… seems rather extraordinary.”
A voice rang in Liu San’s ears—it was Fang Zaiji speaking.
However, Fang Zaiji himself was nowhere to be seen. The voice originated from a golden eyeball floating in midair.
This was an experimental creation following his research on the True Cauldron of the Medicine King. Drawing inspiration from the [Great Dream of Early Autumn Formation], which connects the consciousness of multiple individuals within the Medicine King’s Cauldron, he crafted a set of Eighty-One [Eyes of Shared Vision].
The holders of these Eyes could not only communicate with one another but also synchronize and share everything they saw and heard. Even their perceptions of the changes in the world’s spiritual energy and their cultivation insights could be mutually sensed, as if they were experiencing them firsthand.
“You could clearly communicate with me directly in my Sea of Consciousness, yet you insist on speaking right next to my ear.” Liu San’s expression darkened slightly.
“You don’t understand. This is called a sense of ritual.” Fang Zaiji scoffed and retorted immediately.
Liu San turned his head and glanced at the golden eyeball.
The golden eyeball immediately darted to the side. “Old Liu, let’s talk this over calmly. This artifact was not easy to refine…”
Liu San was not one to indulge the other party. Just as he was about to act, he suddenly sensed something, raising his head to look toward the sky.
In his sleep, Xu Bai suddenly lifted his right hand. Using his finger as a brush, he made a sweeping motion in the air.
Countless specks of light gathered in the sky. Moments later, a vivid and lifelike painting of a roaring, rushing river appeared in the heavens.
“Go!”
Xu Bai pointed downward.
The painting transformed into a stream of light and plummeted toward the Beast Realm.
Then…
“Boom!”
A mighty river descended from the sky, manifesting out of thin air and crashing onto the land.
Yet Xu Bai did not stop.
Majestic mountains, ancient pines, deep ravines…
One breathtaking landscape painting after another materialized, descending like falling stars, scattering across the Beast Realm.
The earth roared continuously.
Ancient trees broke through the ground. Towering mountains rose from the land. Plains split open with thunderous cracks.
Like a divine creator, Xu Bai floated in the sky, shaping existence from nothingness, remodeling the Beast Realm according to his will.
Liu San and Fang Zaiji watched in stunned silence.
“…This…” Fang Zaiji hesitated, unsure.
“This is not an alteration made through resonance with this small world’s Heavenly Dao. Rather, it is a direct manipulation, forcibly rewriting reality using an external, mysterious force.” Liu San saw through it at a glance.
“Such effortless control… While part of it is due to the Young Master’s clone fighting on home ground, that only enhances the power he can wield here.”
“It does not change the essence of this divine ability.”
A sharp light flashed through Fang Zaiji’s eyes. “In that case, if this technique were used in the outside world or even in the Xuanhuang Realm, as long as one’s power was great enough, wouldn’t it be possible to reshape mountains and rivers as easily as painting them?”
Liu San’s expression grew heavy as he slowly nodded.
“Issue a strict gag order to all sect disciples. This matter must be kept absolutely confidential.” Liu San spoke in a deep voice.
With their knowledge, even in the ancient cultivation era, this would have been considered an extraordinary divine ability.