Chapter 381 361: The Black-Crowned Middle-Aged Man

"Ah, I can't accept this! I can't! I'm a Half-Step True Dao Expert! How could I die here? I can't accept it! I can't accept it!" Gu Yunsong's body plummeted toward the ground as he let out a crazed roar.

BANG!

Gu Yunsong slammed heavily onto the ground. After reaching the Half-step True Dao realm, Gu Yunsong's Life Power had become incredibly formidable. Even though his body had been pierced by the Mysterious Blade Tip and he had taken a hard fall, he still wasn't completely dead. He glared at Zhaang Ye with venomous eyes and said, "Zhaang Ye, even if I die, you won't live either! You're dead meat, urgh—"

Gu Yunsong hadn't finished speaking when the Purple-haired Wild Boar suddenly appeared by his side, its massive, bloody maw snapping toward him. It turned out that Gu Yunsong's flesh and blood contained abundant Innate True Qi and the essence of Medicinal Herbs, and the Purple-haired Wild Boar now saw him as a nourishing meal. Before Gu Yunsong could finish his sentence, the Purple-haired Wild Boar had already lunged, intending to swallow him alive.

Gu Yunsong was down to his last breath. Seeing the Purple-haired Wild Boar's bloody maw approach, he was so startled that his final wisp of Innate True Qi dissipated, and he died on the spot.

Seeing that Gu Yunsong was finally dead, Zhaang Ye heaved a long sigh of relief. This battle had been incredibly perilous. If Gu Yunsong had successfully advanced to the Half-step True Dao realm, Zhaang Ye would have had no choice but to flee for his life. And since the Little World was such a small place, escaping from a Half-Step True Dao Expert would be nigh on impossible.

Zhaang Ye flew down from the sky, preparing to search Gu Yunsong's body. Just then, a series of CRACKLES erupted from Gu Yunsong's corpse. The Heaven and Earth Essence Qi fluctuated violently, and then a gleaming Golden Talisman suddenly shot out of his body as a strange and unpredictable power swept across the area!

'Hm? What kind of Talisman is this? It's so strange!' Zhaang Ye shivered as the bizarre power swept over him. What horrified him even more was that the power seemed to have entered his body, yet when he circulated his Dragon Elephant Power to inspect himself, he couldn't find anything at all. The feeling was unbearable.

AWOO!

The Purple-haired Wild Boar also felt very uncomfortable. It swiped its paw—a paw as heavy as a mountain—and struck the Talisman fiercely. Hit by the beast's claw, the brilliant Golden Talisman let out a soft sound and dissipated into the void. The strange and unpredictable power vanished along with it.

AWOO!

Having shattered the Talisman, the Purple-haired Wild Boar swiped its claw again, tearing away Gu Yunsong's clothes before opening its massive mouth and swallowing him whole. To a Fierce Beast, humans were just another type of prey. For the Purple-haired Wild Boar, eating people was as commonplace as a cow eating grass or a cat eating a mouse.

While the Purple-haired Wild Boar excitedly devoured its prey, Zhaang Ye's brows were tightly furrowed. 'That Talisman that flew out of Gu Yunsong's body was just too bizarre,' he thought. 'It emerged after he died, but what's its purpose? And what about that strange power it released?'

Zhaang Ye had always focused solely on his Cultivation and knew very little about the dao of Talismans. No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn't figure out the Talisman's function. He just had a vague, sinking feeling about it.

After thinking for a moment, Zhaang Ye decided not to dwell on it. He walked over and searched Gu Yunsong's belongings. Gu Yunsong had very little on him, only a gray-black Storage Bag. The space inside this Storage Bag was surprisingly two square chi, much larger than the Storage Pouches from the True Hall. Inside the Storage Bag were a dozen or so rare Medicinal Herbs, several hundred Essence Stones, over ten bottles of Elixirs, and one Martial Arts Secret Manual.

Zhaang Ye placed these items into his Small Space. Suddenly, he felt Heaven and Earth Essence Qi surge toward them, flowing directly into the Purple-haired Wild Boar.

Zhaang Ye sized up the Purple-haired Wild Boar and saw a violet light shimmering around its body. Its fur was slowly changing from light purple to deep purple. As its fur color changed, the beast's aura grew more and more powerful, its body grew larger and taller, and a simple twitch of its claws released a tremendous surge of power!

'The Purple-haired Wild Boar is advancing!' Zhaang Ye realized. He immediately sat down cross-legged about a hundred feet away and began his Cultivation. When the Purple-haired Wild Boar advanced, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Essence Qi became exceptionally dense. Zhaang Ye planned to use this opportunity to properly consolidate his Late-stage Martial Arts Ninth Layer Cultivation and strive to reach the Peak of Martial Arts Ninth Layer as soon as possible.

...

Atop a colossal mountain range was a palace hidden amongst white clouds. The entire palace was jade-green, wreathed in misty vapor. Faint Runes flickered across its surface, giving it an inexplicable majesty, yet also a touch of ethereal grace.

In the depths of the palace, a middle-aged man in a black crown sat cross-legged on a cattail hassock. Wisps of Innate True Qi poured down from the palace ceiling, flowing entirely into his body. The man's aura was as heavy as a mountain, causing the White Jade floor to creak under the pressure.

Suddenly, the black-crowned man's eyes snapped open. Two brilliant golden beams shot out, bathing the entire palace in a magnificent, dazzling golden light.

WHOOSH!

The moment the black-crowned man's eyes opened, a gleaming Golden Talisman flew out from his body. The Golden Talisman flew into mid-air, and a mysterious, unpredictable power instantly erupted from it, sweeping through the entire palace in an instant.

"Ah!"

The instant the Talisman appeared, the black-crowned man's expression changed. With a WHOOSH, he shot up from his hassock, his eyes locked onto the Talisman as a dense killing intent erupted from his body.

The black-crowned man's Cultivation had reached an incredible Realm. The killing intent pouring from him was like tangible waves, one after another, layer upon layer, seemingly endless. Under the assault of his killing intent, the sturdy palace began to groan, looking as if it might collapse at any moment.

SHH SHH SHH—

A soft sound of parting air was heard, and a young man with two swords on his back suddenly appeared outside the palace. Wisps of Innate True Qi faintly swirled around the dual-sworded youth. His skin was as clear as crystal, and his gaze was like a physical substance—he was actually a Half-Step True Dao Expert. The moment he appeared outside the main hall, he immediately asked, "Master, what has happened?"

The black-crowned man reined in his killing intent slightly and said grimly, "Yun Song has been murdered."

"Ah!" The dual-sworded youth gasped, crying out in disbelief, "How is that possible? Junior Brother Gu's Cultivation had already reached the Peak of Martial Arts Ninth Layer, and he had even cultivated thirty percent of his Innate True Qi. He was only a hair's breadth away from the Half-step True Dao realm. With his strength, how could he have been killed? Besides—"

As he spoke, the dual-sworded youth suddenly saw the Golden Talisman above them in the palace. His face instantly paled, and he stammered, "Th-that's the Innate Mother and Child Talisman!"

The black-crowned man nodded slightly. "The Innate Mother and Child Talisman is divided into a Child Talisman and a Mother Talisman. I carry the Mother Talisman, while Song'Er carried the Child Talisman. The Mother Talisman has now activated on its own, which means the Child Talisman no longer exists. In other words, Song'Er has been killed."

The black-crowned man's tone became perfectly calm, but the dual-sworded youth felt an overwhelming sense of oppression. He bowed respectfully to his master and said, "Master, where was Junior Brother Gu killed? This disciple will depart at once to hunt down the murderer and avenge him!"

The black-crowned man glanced at the dual-sworded youth. "It is good that you have such heart. Some time ago, Yun'Er entered the Little World in the Land of Divine Abandonment to seek a breakthrough.

"Among the Thirteen Countries of the Land of Divine Abandonment, only sixty-some young experts are qualified to enter the Little World. You will depart for the Land of Divine Abandonment immediately. Find the person tainted with this aura, cripple them, and bring them back to me alive."

As he spoke, the black-crowned man waved his hand, and a strange, unpredictable aura immediately entered the dual-sworded youth's body. The black-crowned man's voice followed, slow and deliberate. "When the Child Talisman of the Innate Mother and Child Talisman explodes, its aura is released and taints the killer. Unless one is a Half-Step True Dao Expert, this aura cannot be removed. No matter who is tainted by it, you are to bring them before me. This old man will make them taste a fate worse than death!"

The dual-sworded youth shivered and said, "Yes!"

The black-crowned man waved his hand slightly. "Go and prepare. I will arrange an identity for you so you can enter the Land of Divine Abandonment openly."

The dual-sworded youth responded respectfully and quickly left the palace.

'Oh, Yun Song, Yun Song,' he murmured. 'I sent you into the Little World of the Land of Divine Abandonment hoping you would cultivate to the Half-step True Dao realm and search for that item in its depths. I never imagined you would be killed there! Rest assured, your father will tear the murderer to pieces and avenge you!'

The black-crowned man gave a grim smile, and the temperature in the entire palace plummeted as if winter had suddenly arrived. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)