Chapter 162: Are You Not Battle-dressed?
Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: Hitesh
Acquired Pearl of Fire Element was a spirit item produced from the condensation of Acquired Fire element energies, and almost represented the strongest power of all Acquired Flames in this world. As there was no time for Wu Qi to truly refine and take full control of it, he could only toss it over at his enemy as if it was merely a brick.
But that was more than enough. Relying solely on the power of the Acquired Pearl of Fire Element itself, the formation of four elements immediately collapsed due to the highly concentrated and hot flame. The frightening flame that could instantly turn several dozens of lofty mountains into wisps of smokes dispersed in all directions, blowing four talisman treasures into a far distance. The red-hot flame transformed into walls of fire several thousand feet tall and sweeping across the land. Wu Qi was knocked flying away by one of these walls, and his head of short hairs was once again burned into ashes. Furthermore, all his body hairs were also taken away by the raging flame. His skin was now silky smooth, looking like a smooth marble floor.
Ling Wuju and all his junior brothers did not expect that Wu Qi actually owned such an incredible spirit item. The piping hot heatwave rushed whistling into their bodies, and almost burned their corporeal bodies into ashes. Sweat was spraying out from their bodies, but was instantly evaporated by the heat. Fats underneath their skin were melting under the high temperature, turning into oil that oozed out from their pores. It was ignited by the intense heat and began burning violently on their skin.
Under the fearful heat, their hair and nails were bending and charring, and their bodies became softened like candles, slowly melting down.
The severe pain that came from the burning of flame made Ling Wuju and his junior brothers screamed and howled miserably. However, they did not have any means to counter such an attack. As the talisman masters of Heavenly Spirit Sect, apart from drawing all kinds of talismans that could be used in hurting and killing people, their talisman treasures were the only magical items they owned, and the strongest. The mystic technique by all people from Heavenly Spirit Sect was the same technique of crafting talisman treasure, turning their own Gold Cores into an aggregation of runes. Only by doing so could they communicate with their talisman treasure, bringing the strongest offensive into play. But, after having their Gold Cores engraved with a huge amount of runes, there was no way they could communicate and control all other flying swords and magical treasures.
As a result, they could only try their best in enduring the violent burning of flame, persistently channeling their energies so that Ling Wuju could activate the Heavenly Star Positioning Disk.
The Heavenly Star Positioning Disk was an upper-grade magical treasure, an extremely rare piece of equipment in Great Yan Dynasty. It had almost given birth to its own Item Spirit, which would make it a Spirit Item. This magical treasure could chime in with stars in the sky, and possessed powerful abilities of surveying and mapping out the layout of mountains and rivers, and the strata in the land. If it were controlled using a secret technique, it could also perform all kinds of divinations. For example, it was able to roughly determine Wu Qi's position within the distance of thirty thousand miles.
Besides, the talisman treasure crafted and cultivated by talisman masters of the Heavenly Spirit Sect was one of the rare magical treasures which fitted perfectly and could be controlled by them.
The raging flame kept on burning on their bodies. Moments before Ling Wuju and his junior brothers had their bodies turned into dried corpses by the high temperature burst out from the Acquire Pearl of Fire Element, their energies had finally activated the cornerstone treasure of the Heavenly Spirit Sect. Suddenly, a couple thousand silvery specks were flashing on top of the Heavenly Star Positioning Disk. The stars that appeared in the sky became brighter, and some silvery-green silks that one could see with naked eyes descended from the sky like fogs. They then quickly injected into the bodies of Ling Wuju and his junior brothers.
The flame that filled the surrounding was instantly put off, replaced by a piercing cold force of the stars, completely enveloping the area several miles in circumference. The Heavenly Star Positioning Disk sprung up into the sky with a deep, muffled noise of spinning as it began to slowly spin. Suddenly, a couple dozens of starlights flashed from its surface, and a silvery beam, as fine as a strand of hair, shot right out from them.
Wu Qi had just landed on the ground when he tilted his body slightly, without the slightest hesitation. The silvery beam that was aiming at his heart missed the target, brushed against his body and flew further away. A frightful force, piercingly cold yet having a strangely high temperature, brushed against his body and brought away a thumb-sized muscle from his left shoulder. The wound looked clean and smooth, and not even a single drop of blood could be found on it.
It was the 'Six-Nine Spirit Stars Death Beam' unleashed by the Heavenly Star Positioning Disk. The death beam was a combination of the star forces and a thread of magnetic force that was found above the Ninth Heavens, which was a force that could wipe out any life in an instant. Its power was enough to destroy everything. The power of the tiny silvery beam just now could be comparable to a full force attack unleashed by an Earth Immortal using a middle-grade magical treasure, a force that could easily kill an Earth Immortal of Nascent Soul realm.
Fortunately, not only did Wu Qi have a strong body, his reaction was extremely fast as well. He was able to tilt his body immediately after landing on the ground, which allowed him to dodge the attack from the silvery beam. Or else, if his heart were hit by the death beam, he would be a dead man now.
The aftershock made Wu Qi's muscles tense up. His lower abdomen was shuddering just now, as he nearly peed uncontrollably because of fear. The silvery beam nearly killed him, missing by inches. Wu Qi gave a furious growl while his eyes were flashing with a bright five-colored light. "Go!" He shouted out loud.
Emanating a faint five colored gleam, the silver lotus which shot out together with the Acquired Pearl of Fire Element had all its petals spread out slowly, turning into a splendid lotus flower several hundred feet in diameter, blocking right in front of the Heavenly Star Positioning Disk. A rapid firing of thirteen death beams hit onto the silver lotus. The impact made the glowing lotus flash and glint ceaselessly, while deep, muffled roars of thunder kept echoing out in the air. Yet, none of the attacks could break the defense of the silver lotus.
Three hundred and sixty Grand White Spatial Breaching Pearls blasted out with a sharp piercing noise. Within a blink of an eye, they had penetrated the bodies of Ling Wuju and his junior brothers. The pearls were vibrating at a high frequency and ran rampantly inside their bodies, completely destroying them within a split second. Ling Wuju gave a miserable howl, as his Gold Core shot out and soared high up into the sky with a bright glow, reaching several thousand feet high and about to fly out from the Meng Mountains.
For a cultivator who had attained the mastery stage of Gold Core realm, his soul would have completely merged into his Gold Core. As long as he could break the core and give birth to his Nascent Soul, he would become an Earth Immortal. Therefore, such a cultivator possessed the ability to escape even after his corporeal body was destroyed. As long as his Gold Core could make the escape and find a suitable body to possess within seven days, he would be able to restore his Dharma Body like before, and would not experience too much of decay in his cultivation base.
But, would Wu Qi allow Ling Wuju to make his escape? The answer was obvious. From the stamen of the silver lotus, countless bright, five colored silks shot out and tightly trapped four Gold Cores, including Ling Wuju’s, bringing them down from the sky and kept captive inside the silver lotus.
After blasting out fourteen death beams, the bright Heavenly Star Positioning Disk dimmed slowly and gradually descended from the sky. It was true that this upper-grade magical treasure could unleash an incredible power that was able to kill Earth Immortals easily, but the energies consumed by it were astronomical. Ling Wuju and his junior brothers had injected all their energies into it, yet that only made it unleash fourteen death beams. Besides from taking away a small piece of muscle from Wu Qi's body, they did not cause any real harm to him.
Panting and struggling, Wu Qi rose to his feet, and hastily summoned back the silver lotus and Acquired Pearl of Fire Element back into his body in a flurry. Then, filled with excitement and pleasure, he clutched his hand onto the Heavenly Star Positioning Disk. "Hahaha, the cornerstone treasure of Heavenly Spirit Sect is mine! It is an upper-grade magical treasure? It will level up into a Spirit Item after giving birth to its Item Spirit? Aye, are you guys here to kill someone or to bring gifts?"
He thoroughly flipped and examined the Heavenly Star Positioning Disk for a brief moment. Wu Qi did not have time to refine it, so he quickly shoved it into his storage ring, before leaping and dashing towards the spot where Ling Wuju and the other men were killed. A few storage rings were seen sparking on the messy ground, and there was a green gleam shining out from Wu Qi's eyes.
After a short but fierce battle, relying on his strong corporeal body and an array of unexpected treasures, Wu Qi was able to kill five Human Immortals of Heavenly Spirit Sect. The battlefield was brutally damaged by them. There was a huge hole in the ground caused by the explosion of the Flaming Dragon Talisman; the ultimate flame unleashed by Acquire Pearl of Fire Element had even melted the ground and made it sink by thirty feet, turning the area of several miles in circumference into a lava pool.
Wu Qi carefully picked up all five storage rings from the lava pool, then injected his divine sense into them.
A loud and sonorous laugh rang out. Wu Qi's eyes narrowed into two fine lines as his face bloomed into a bright smile. Without any surprise, he found a great number of talismans. All these men were Gold Core Elders from Heavenly Spirit Sect, sitting in a lofty position and holding high power in their hands. Because of the habit they had cultivated for many years, whenever they had free time, they would draw and produce many talismans, some of which were advanced talismans with powerful abilities, which they did not want to sell or give to someone else. After accumulating these talismans for several hundred years, there were actually over twenty thousand talismans of various powerful functions stored in these five storage rings. The finding struck Wu Qi with a wild joy.
The stockpiles of talismans that had accumulated by five Human Immortals for several hundred years, and each of them were of premium quality, invaluable treasures. There were also some energy stones and spirit medicines, just right to replenish Wu Qi's consumption while constructing his secret caves. As for those raw materials used to draw and produce talismans, he merely gave them a rough glance before throwing them aside.
Wu Qi was especially overjoyed by a surprise finding. As the Elder who was in charge of passing down cultivation technique from Heavenly Spirit Sect, Wu Qi found a secret scroll inside Ling Wuju's storage ring - the scroll of 'Heavenly Spirit Star-Positioning'. It was a comprehensive record that included all the Daos of Heavenly Spirit Sect's runes, arrays and formations, and defensive mechanisms. It was divided into three volumes, with thirteen chapters each. From the technique of how to produce the most basic talisman - the Explosive Talisman, to the technique of making the 'Eighteen Lightning Talisman for Exorcism', a talisman capable of unleashing an attack equal to the full force strike of a Heaven Immortal of Nascent Divinity realm, the secret scroll contained everything that one expected to find.
Gripping these few storage rings tightly within his palm, Wu Qi threw his head back and let out a few loud laughs. Without hesitation, he quickly transferred all the items inside them to his own storage bracelet, then hung those rings with a string of fine silk around his neck.
After tidying up these few storage rings, Wu Qi rushed towards the four talisman treasures which were all blown dozens of miles away. All four of them were artifacts crafted using a huge amount of rare and precious treasures, and several hundreds of years. Although the impact from the Acquired Pearl of Fire Element had dispersed the energies gathered around them, these talisman treasures did not suffer any real damage. As long as they were refined using the mystic technique of Heavenly Spirit Sect, they would become excellent materials in constructing formations. They were perfectly suitable to be used as the core in a few offensive formations.
Right after Wu Qi lined all four talisman treasures on the ground, pleasingly admiring the complicated runes engraved on them, he heard someone singing a song in a feverish tone from a far distance.
Are you not battle-dressed?
Let's share the plate for breast!
We shall go up the line.
Let's make your lances shine!
Your foe is mine.
Are you not battle-dressed?
Let's share the coat and vest!
We shall go up the line.
Let's make our halberds shine!
Your job is mine.
Are you not battle-dressed?
Let's share kilt and the rest!
We shall go up the line.
Let's make our armor shine!
And march your hand in mine! [1]
The sound of singing brought together a clear invincible spirit and a killing intent that soared high up into the sky. Wu Qi felt his flesh creep, as if he was suddenly stared at by several dozen extremely cruel and savage beasts. A faint cold air was diffusing from pores all over his body.
He slowly turned around, then saw a burly man at a distance of a few miles away, clad in a pale-red heavy armor and carrying a Tiger-head spear in his hand. He brought together seven to eight soldiers clad in black heavy armor, and a couple dozens of soldiers clad in soft armor. They were all slowly pressing towards him in a crescent-shaped formation, extremely rigid and showed no weakness.
As if going for a spring outing, these soldiers strode towards him like nothing was wrong, and kept singing the song that Wu Qi heard just now. However, their grayish and emotionless eyes were fixing straight at Wu Qi's face and all over his body. Any spot that could be used to launch an attack would receive one to several glances. On top of that, although it seemed like they were walking in a casual manner, no matter how they walked, the crescent-shaped formation would still maintain the same shape.
The burly man carrying the tiger-head spear gave a laugh. From a mile away, he spoke, "Hand me all your energy stones and kill yourself. I'll spare your soul and let you go freely into reincarnation."
The laugh of the burly man sounded bright and cheerful, yet it was filled with a bloody aura of a Shura. [2]
[1] A patriotic poem composed during Qing Dynasty. Source of translation: http://www.en84.com/dianji/jingshu/200912/00000584.html
[2] Shura - Most of the time in Chinese novel, Shura is referring to Asura. An asura in Buddhism is a demigod or titan of the Kāmadhātu. They are described as having three heads with three faces each and either four or six arms. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asura_(Buddhism))