It happened faster than a thought could process. Daoist Yan was killed by a single strike before he could even change his expression. The Nine Yang Talisman Sword was still in his hand, and his tall body remained standing, but he was undoubtedly deadâcleanly and absurdly so.
Yu Ci didn’t blink as he watched the scene unfold until Daoist Yan’s head fell to the ground.
“The vibration is from the soul. How fascinating!”
Actually, calling the Seven Star Talisman Sword a “Talisman Sword” wasn’t entirely accurate. Even though it could condense the essence of heaven and earth, using blood essence as its framework to manifest into a physical form, at its core, it was still a talisman. Since it was a talisman, it naturally required spiritual activation. The feeling of the soul’s oscillation, the void opening, and the simultaneous spiritual response was unprecedented and exhilarating.
Yu Ci, savoring the experience, wanted to cast another talisman to try it again.
However, at this moment, his mood suddenly relaxed, and a wave of intense fatigue hit him. Weakness spread through his body. Biting the tip of his tongue, the wound left from earlier when he spat blood onto the Seven Star Talisman Sword stung, sending a shiver through him and dispelling some of the drowsiness.
This place was unsafe. Yu Ci reminded himself as he struggled to stand up and staggered toward Daoist Yan’s remains ten meters away.
Sometime later, a light drizzle began to fall in the forest, suppressing the raging wildfire and raising wisps of green smoke. The cool rain seeped through his skin, further driving away his sleepiness.
After only a couple of steps, Daoist Yan’s headless body collapsed, crashing into the damp soil.
Standing before the remains, Yu Ci was still in a daze. Had he really killed a legendary Divine Connectivity cultivator so easily?
Of course, purely based on facts, Yu Ci didn’t consider it luck. From start to finish, the odds of life and death between him and Daoist Yan were fifty-fifty. It was just that Yu Ci was more familiar with such gambles, whereas Daoist Yan lacked this skill, making it deserved for him to be killed here.
Yu Ci merely felt that Daoist Yan was weaker than he had imagined.
In battle, the most threatening technique from Daoist Yan was his last method of striking with the sword from a distance. That indeed showcased the power of a Divine Connectivity cultivator as imagined. Other aspects, like sensitivity, superior swordsmanship, and profound cultivation, were not fundamentally different.
With this doubt in mind, Yu Ci looked down at the Nine Yang Talisman Sword that had given him so much trouble. It lay in the muddy water, its red glow dimmed almost to extinction. Yet, even up close, he could still feel the distinct heat emanating from it.
“Is this the sword?” Yu Ci picked up the talisman sword and played with it in his hand. To his surprise, this incredibly sharp Nine Yang Talisman Sword was actually wooden, barely a foot long, no wonder it looked like a short stick from afar. The blade was inscribed with numerous dark red patterns, almost completely obscuring its original material.
Casually swinging it twice, the air produced a soft sound, lacking the feeling of a sharp blade cutting through. Only by infusing his True Qi did it emit the fiery red glow seen the night before. The sword’s brilliance cut through the air with the sound of a golden blade slicing the wind, but it still didn’t feel as sharp as it had in Daoist Yan’s hand.
Was this the difference in realm? Yu Ci didn’t pay much attention and started rummaging through Daoist Yan’s body, hoping to find some treasures.
The result was bizarre.
“Nothing… there’s nothing at all?”
After searching for a long time, he found nothing. Not only were there no treasures, but even the usual items one would carry while traveling were completely absent. It seemed that besides the Talisman Sword and the clothes on his back, this ruthless man was entirely penniless, which was clearly impossible!
Yu Ci considered himself not wealthy, but living outside, he always carried some essential items with him. Over the years, he had accumulated quite a bit, and his Hundred Treasures Pouch was always full. By this logic, others who roamed the martial world should be similar. Yet, Daoist Yan was so clean; could he really be free from worldly possessions, coming and going without a trace once stripped of his clothes?
Impossible. Daoist Yan had infiltrated the herb gatherers under the pretense of collecting Shrimp Whisker Grass. How could he not even have a stone box prepared?
Seizing upon this illogical point, Yu Ci felt no frustration but instead scrutinized Daoist Yan’s body with his eyes over and over.
Suddenly, his gaze fixed on the little finger of Daoist Yan’s left hand.
There was a black line there, resembling a ring at the base of the finger. For some reason, the moment Yu Ci’s eyes touched the ring, it seemed like a faint “thud” echoed in his head, as if two forces collidedâthough weak, it was distinct.
What was that?
With this thought in mind, Yu Ci bent down and pulled the ring off, examining it closely.
The tactile sensation was quite ordinary, and upon closer inspection, the material and craftsmanship were unremarkable. However, Yu Ci had a feeling that the ring was merely an outer shell, with something else hidden inside.
“Perhaps, peel it off?”
With this absurd thought, Yu Ci clenched it in his hand. Naturally, he did not apply force, but the tactile sensation was so real that the size and shape of the ring imprinted itself clearly in his mind.
Then, something marvelous happened.
Out of nowhere, a small hammer struck with a “bang,” as if breaking an eggshell. The image of the ring in his mind shattered, and then his mind was filled with numerous items, seemingly stuffing an entire room.
He shivered suddenly, and the feeling of fullness transferred from his mind to his palm. In that instant, his palm seemed to swell, now holding not a small ring but a room filled with various items.
Yu Ci took a deep breath and then fully understood:
“A storage ring!”
His current experience finally matched the fragments of memories from his past. Yes, this was the legendary wondrous portable space that cultivators possessed, capable of holding vast amounts within a small object. He had seen it on the Twin Immortals during his youth; it was almost a trademark item closely associated with a cultivator’s identity.
“Good stuff…” This thought had just surfaced when Yu Ci suddenly froze, as an indistinct notion came crashing in from an angle, like a sudden storm on a calm sea, stirring his emotions into a raging tide that swept through his chest.
This surge of emotion was contradictory to the storage ring itself. He still held the ring, and the swelling sense of fullness was unmistakably clear, with layers of items inside almost bursting out. Yet, he completely ignored these things.
At the crest of this emotional wave, his remaining bit of rationality was roaring:
Is it there? Is it still there?
Yu Ci was indifferent to the ring, especially in comparison to that thing. He just wanted to know if that âsmall hammerâ which had come from the void and shattered the outer shell of the storage ring was still there. Where was it?
With a “ding” sound, the storage ring slipped from his palm and fell onto a protruding rock, bouncing away.
This was intentional on Yu Ci’s part. He didn’t immediately pick up the ring but stood there for a while, forcing himself to forget the recent sensations and clear his mind, before slowly stepping forward, bending down, and picking up the ring again.
Yes, he was going to try again.
Breathing heavily, his hand holding the ring even trembled.
Taking a deep breath, Yu Ci wanted to exert force; if possible, he would even crush the precious storage ring. But there was no need for such trouble. Instead, with a thought, the ring in his palm gave a barely perceptible tremor, and the real sense of fullness surpassed the physical limits, directly feeding back into his mind.
Everything was as he wished!
The ecstatic dizziness spread, and Yu Ci had to exert all his strength to retain the last bit of rationality, issuing his final command.
With the “splashing” sound, countless items poured out of his half-open palm. More real than the spiritual satisfaction was the tangible reality of the objects before him. The items, appearing out of thin air, piled up like a small mountain in front of Yu Ci.
Valuable, worthless, useful, useless⌠No matter what, they were all genuinely present. More importantly, they had been extracted from the marvelous storage ring by Yu Ci’s own power.
Yu Ci no longer needed to find the âsmall hammerâ because that hammer was himself. That marvelous power came from within his own soul, merging with his life; it was instinctual, like breathingâthought initiated it, thought ceased it.
He remembered the only time Immortal Chi Yin had spoken about cultivation realms:
âDistinguishing thoughts, transforming intentions, is the path to becoming an immortal.â
Yes, only with a strong soul and well-developed divine intent; only by refining divine thought and spirit, could one unlock the storage ring.
What did this represent?
It represented truly surpassing the âThree Mortal Obstacles,â genuinely possessing magical powers, and entering the âImmortal Realm.â
Yu Ci felt his entire face flush with blood, his lips numb. He struggled to control his last bit of reason. Then he extended his hand, not activating the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror, but simply using his fingers to trace the familiar trajectories in the void.
As his fingertips moved, his heartbeat suddenly calmed. At the same time, the marvelous soul pulses reappeared. Yu Ci seemed to have an additional âself,â but as his heartbeat adjusted, the pulses of his soul and heart quickly resonated, ultimately merging into one.
There might have been spiritual light gathered at his fingertips, or perhaps not, but in Yu Ci’s eyes and mind, a familiar world unfolded.
In the midst of the chaotic void, it was dark and obscure. Yu Ci’s fingers, seemingly enchanted, illuminated each star with every movement, drawing out bright lines from those stars, gradually forming a brilliant constellation in the void.
As the symbols formed their spiritual responses, a massive blue arc of lightning suddenly lit up in a corner of the misty mountains and forests, piercing the sky and merging with the upper dark clouds, creating a beautiful and astonishing sight, followed by a rumbling thunder.
The Five Thunder Talisman had drained all of Yu Ci’s energy. His knees trembled uncontrollably, his body half-bent as he gasped for breath, but his gasps looked more like a hoarse, desperate laugh.
Becoming an immortal was like an invisible, insurmountable wall, the true starting point of immortality.
At this moment, that wall had crumbled before Yu Ci, turning to dust!
âAh!â
With a roar, Yu Ci kicked out, sending the pile of items in front of him crashing down, broken parts flying in all directions.
This outburst of emotion seemed inexplicable but was undeniably built up within Yu Ci.
When a long life has only one clear goal, and after years of hard work, it remains just out of reach, impatience, hesitation, and despair are inevitable. Yet, Yu Ci had suppressed all these with sheer will and solitary courage, like a lone wolf traveling a seemingly endless path.
The pressure had never diminished, only buried deeper. Over the years, it accumulated, and todayâs joy and near-mad roar were the complete eruption of this long-held pressure.
Becoming an immortal and a cultivator was now Yu Ci’s latest identity, and the world he faced was entirely different!