Talisman Emperor

Bloodbath City occupied an area of 5,000 km and row upon row of countless limestone houses could be found all over the city. Tens of thousands of people could be accommodated here.

Presently, there were no more than 10,000 cultivators within the entire Bloodbath City; coupled with these houses all being unowned, everyone was able to choose a house to stay in.

However, reality wasn’t so simple. Although they were able to avoid the boundless baleful beast packs outside the city by hiding in Bloodbath City, the fighting between cultivators was instead unavoidable.

Nothing could be done about it, as the value of baleful pearls were too high and a man’s wealth was his own ruin. Within this Bloody Mountain that was cut off from the outside world, anything could happen.

So, for the sake of their own safety, most people choose to gather together nearby the houses of some experts. On one hand, when a fight broke out, more people would equal being easier to be noticed, and it would be even better if an acquaintance were to come to their help; on the other hand, no one dared to guarantee that someone wouldn’t take advantage of the fight to gain the final reward by lying in wait for the dust to settle.

All along the way after entering Bloodbath City, Chen Xi’s group had seen many such scenes and they became accustomed to it.

The Southern Barbaric Nether Domain trials were different this time, and a cultivator that was able to be publically acknowledged as an expert was surely a Violet Palace Realm cultivator without a doubt. Although their cultivations were restricted to the Congenital Realm, comparatively speaking, this level of cultivation was undoubtedly already in the top ranks.

As they walked past a house with over 100 cultivators gathered around it, Du Qingxi explained to Chen Xi in a light voice, “Look, there are four Violet Palace Realm cultivators here and they ought to be from the southern territory’s Phoenixcloud Sect. They all have formidable auras, and their strengths are only stronger than Li Huai.”

Chen Xi glanced over, he saw that before the center stone house were four cultivators in luxurious clothing that had stopped to chat. A stalwart middle aged man, a gaunt old man, a young man and a young woman. They all wore crimson-purple robes with exquisite patterns of a fire phoenix dancing in the air while surrounded by clouds.

“They’ve come for the sword immortal’s abode as well?” Chen Xi couldn’t help but be surprised. Only at this moment did he understand that besides Li Huai and Su Jiao’s group, there were actually so many Violet Palace Realm cultivators that had come here, and it fully showed how great of an attractive force the sword immortal’s abode possessed.

“Of course, but the Phoenixcloud Sect is nothing to be feared. Compared to the Dragon Lake City’s eight great sects, three great institutions, and our six great clans, the Phoenixcloud Sect is only a small power.”

Duanmu Ze spoke confidently with words that revealed a dense feeling of superiority. The arrogant nature this young master gained through birth was extremely difficult to change.

The faraway group of Phoenixcloud Sect cultivators instantly stopped their chat and gazed over at Chen Xi’s group with gloomy expressions. However, they seemed to recognize the identity of Duanmu Ze and the others, and although they were enraged, they didn’t have any intention of starting a fight.

“Let’s hurry on.” Du Qingxi glared at Duanmu Ze then turned around to walk towards the center of the city.

At the center of Bloodbath City stood five stone towers that shot straight into the sky. Compared to the surrounding low rise houses, they were like giants amongst dwarves, seeming to be unusually conspicuous.

What caused Chen Xi to be surprised was that all five towers emitted numerous overbearing auras from within. All these auras weren’t inferior to Du Qingxi, Duanmu Ze, and Song Lin; some even surpassed them!

At this moment, 3,000 plus cultivators were gathered nearby the stone tower, and all that could be seen was a dark and dense mass of people. Thus, the formidable aura of the cultivators that resided within the five towers could be seen from this, and they’d surely obtained the acknowledgment from everyone present. Otherwise, it would absolutely be unlikely to form such an explosive scene here.

Chen Xi’s group went around the city before casually finding an enormous stone house that was near the center of the city. Although its conditions were shabby, it had an extremely large space and was more than sufficient to accommodate the four of them.

After they sat within the house and rested for a short moment, Du Qingxi instructed. “Everyone, although we don’t have to worry about being harassed by baleful beast packs tonight, we still have to be slightly cautious. Especially Chen Xi, you’ve utterly offended Su Jiao today and it is best if you don’t stray too far from us.”

Chen Xi was in the process of cooking and he nodded when he heard this.

Although he’d defeated Li Huai in the battle today, his physical strength and True Essence were greatly depleted. If he didn’t recover to his optimum condition, then he wouldn’t dare make a move arbitrarily. With Du Qingxi’s group of three here, at least he would be slightly safe.

Duanmu Ze sat over and looked at Chen Xi as he asked, “Right, how did you come to possess a Nether Enlightenment Token?”

“I obtained it from a Violet Rhino greater demon…” Chen Xi explained in detail about how he’d encountered Manager Wu, how he’d rescued those pitiable people that were taken to be ‘tributes,’ up to the point he killed the Violet Rhino greater demon in the end.

If it was before, Chen Xi wouldn’t say so much to Duanmu Ze at all, but all the way here, Duanmu Ze had repeatedly shown goodwill to him, and the way Duanmu Ze spoke now didn’t contain that trace of disdain and contempt from someone of a higher position. Besides feeling surprised from this, he couldn’t help but feel proud. Being able to make an arrogant and conceited young master of noble birth like Duanmu Ze lower his head and show goodwill was indeed something that caused Chen Xi to feel happy. Chen Xi understood the reason behind this, as it was none other than because he’d defeated Li Huai earlier and directly proved his strength.

When all was said and done, formidable strength was the guarantee to change everything!

“No wonder the Li Clan took the so-called ‘tributes’ to befriend the Violet Rhino greater demon, it was surely for the sake of this Nether Enlightenment Token.” Duanmu Ze came to a sudden understanding, then he burst into laughter. “It just so happened that this Nether Enlightenment Token was unexpectedly obtained by you. The Li Clan can be considered to have drawn water with a sieve and wasted their time for nothing.”

“Could it be that there’s something marvelous about the Nether Enlightenment Token?” Chen Xi asked.

This time it was instead Du Qingxi who replied. She glanced at Chen Xi with a slightly astonished expression, then explained. “I presume you know now that the numerous Violet Palace Realm cultivators that have entered the Southern Barbaric Nether Domain this time have a different objective than the objective of hunting baleful pearls like the others, and their objective is the sword immortal’s abode. The Nether Enlightenment Token is the key to opening the sword immortal’s abode, and without it, regardless of how formidable your cultivation is, you wouldn’t be able to take a single step closer to the sword immortal’s abode.”

“The sword immortal’s abode really exists?” Chen Xi asked in surprise. He’d always taken the so-called sword immortal’s abode as a rumor that was extremely vague. At this moment, when he heard that Nether Enlightenment Token in his possession was actually the key to open the sword immortal’s abode, he couldn’t help but feel excited in his heart.

Sword Immortal!

An existence that was able to be called an ‘immortal’ would have a cultivation that had at least overcome the heavenly tribulation to attain the level of Earthly Immortal, and if even higher, it would be to have overcome the nine levels of heavenly tribulation to ascend to become a Heavenly Immortal!

But regardless of if it was an Earthly Immortal or a Heavenly Immortal, they were both terrifying existences that Chen Xi could only look up to now. How could the abode left behind by an immortal not cause Chen Xi’s heart to be moved?

“It surely exists. One month from now, a Tri-Factor Teleportation Formation will appear at the end of the Southern Barbaric Nether Domain, and we can be sent to the sword immortal’s abode through it.”

Du Qingxi replied in an extremely firm manner, then she turned the direction of the conversation and said, “But you don’t have to be worried, there are more Nether Enlightenment Tokens besides the one in your possession. Those Violet Palace Realm cultivators that have come to the Southern Barbaric Nether Domain all more or less possess a Nether Enlightenment Token. Moreover, one token is able to allow three cultivators to enter the sword immortal’s abode at the same time. Coupled with the three of us being here, so long as you aren’t a perverse person, then no one would dare come seize your Nether Enlightenment Token.”

Chen Xi secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He was indeed worried about this earlier. But now that he was seen through by Du Qingxi, he was instead slightly embarrassed and he diverted the topic of conversation and asked, “The sword immortal’s abode is so valuable, but why have only Violet Palace Realm cultivators entered here? Aren’t those great cultivators at the Golden Hall Realm and Golden Core Realm tempted?”

“They are tempted, but helpless. This space the Southern Barbaric Nether Domain resides in is unable to withstand the strength of a cultivator above the Violet Palace Realm. Even if they use Essenceseal Pills to lower their cultivation to the Congenital Realm, so long as they attack, the level of the Martial Dao they utilize would surely destroy the laws that operate this space. In the end, they would destroy this space.” Du Qingxi replied in an extremely detailed manner, and her chilly and musical voice was extremely pleasant to the ear.

So that’s how it is!

An explanation like this confirmed everything Chen Xi had seen, but he still had a question. “Since a sword immortal’s abode exists within the Southern Barbaric Nether Domain, then why hasn’t it been discovered in the previous years and has only appeared during the current trials?”

According to Chen Xi’s knowledge, the history of the Southern Barbaric Nether Domain could even be traced back to over 10,000 years ago, yet during this extremely long time, it was rather strange that there weren’t any rumors of a sword immortal’s abode.

“Because this sword immortal’s abode only appears once every 10,000 years, and this year just happens to be the 10,000th year!” Du Qingxi slowly replied.

Appears once every 10,000 years?

Chen Xi couldn’t help but gasp, the time for this sword immortal’s abode to be inherited was truly too long, and was simply beyond belief!

I wonder who that sword immortal is, and why would he want to leave an abode within the Southern Barbaric Nether Domain?

After eating the dishes Chen Xi had cooked, Du Qingxi’s group of three started to meditate and rest, whereas Chen Xi instead sat at the side as he silently thought about everything he’d seen today.

“Nether Enlightenment Token… Sword immortal’s abode… I never imagined I’d have the qualification to enter it. But if I want to obtain benefits from there, I’ll surely get into conflict with those Violet Palace Realm fellows. Looks like during this month’s time, I have to advance my cultivation properly!” Chen Xi pondered for a long time, then he dismissed it as he withdrew a few spirit crystals from his storage ring before starting to meditate in cultivation.

Swoosh!

Surging pure True Essence poured into the meridians around his body, then circulated 18 revolutions before transforming into tiny streams that poured into his Dantian.

Traveling an entire day and fighting a difficult battle with Li Huai caused Chen Xi’s body and mind to already be exhausted to the limit. At this moment, at the instant he started cultivating, he felt his entire body became warm and comfortable like he was soaking in a spring, and his physical strength and mental strength were both recovering at a shocking pace.

Kacha! Kacha!

Two spirit crystals transformed into powder. Although the True Essence within his Dantian was already saturated, yet Chen Xi had an unsatisfied feeling. He pondered for a moment, then once again took out another two spirit crystals.

In the past, Chen Xi only obtained a few tens of spirit stones from crafting talismans every day, but he had to bring home the bacon and help Chen Hao pay for his tuition fees, so taking even a single spirit stone to cultivate was something he felt was extravagant. He’d frequently have to worry about the spirit energy needed to cultivate, thus it was impossible for his cultivation to advance substantially.

However, it was different now. During the time he trained in the culinary arts at Clear Stream Restaurant, not only did he earn a large number of spirit stones, he also ate dishes that were abundant in spirit energy on a daily basis and his cultivation improved along with this improvement in his situation. He’d also obtained 3,000 spirit crystals from the Violet Rhino greater demon, and besides the spirit stones used to purchase martial techniques and the Azurebolt Sword, nearly 400 spirit crystals still remained. Thus, he entirely didn’t need to worry about the problems that came with cultivating anymore.

Kacha! Kacha!

Spirit crystal after spirit crystal shattered into powder. If Chen Xi was aware, he would surely feel pained by this, but he didn’t have the time to think about it now as he vaguely had a feeling that his qi refinement cultivation was about to break through and advance to the 9th level of the Congenital Realm!