Talisman Emperor

At the banks of the Sword Purification Pool.

The young woman stood elegantly at the bank of the lake in an embroidered robe, and she obviously seemed like a woman disguised as a man. But she possessed a type of natural charm that caused every move she made to seem as if the entire heavens and the earth were cheering, shouting, and jumping with joy at her extraordinary and peerless graceful bearing and charm.

All along the way, Chen Xi was curious why he didn’t see Huo Molei and the others, nor did he see A’xiu, Xueyan, or Bai Kui. But when he saw this young woman that was disguised as a man, he instantly understood the reason.

“Little Junior Brother, long time no see.” The young woman grinned as she spoke with her red lips and white teeth, and she seemed beautiful and delicate. She was like a warm gust of wind that caused others to be unable to help but be subdued by her graceful bearing.

“Senior Sister.” Chen Xi cupped his hand, and his heart revealed a rare state of emotionlessness, and it was calm and tranquil.

All those years ago, the first time he met this ‘Senior Sister’ of his was at the rear mountain of the Wanderingcloud Sword Sect. At that time, the young woman had given him a Firesoul Lotus Fruit and a river diagram fragment.

The second time they met was at the oasis within the Oceanic Desert. At that time, Qing Xiuyi and Fan Yunlan had lost their bodies to him through a series of strange circumstances, and they’d turned angry from embarrassment and intended to kill him to keep him quiet. Fortunately, the young woman gave timely assistance and dealt with this calamity.

These two meetings were like a passing bolt of lightning, and they’d only said a few words to each other. It was even to the extent that Chen Xi still hadn’t figured out the name of this ‘senior sister’ of his.

But he was extremely sure that she was a disciple of the Master of the Manor, Fuxi. Moreover, he’d already taken her to be his senior sister in his heart a long time ago.

Chen Xi didn’t have the slightest reason to hide anything before her, nor did he ever worry she would act in a harmful manner towards him. This was a feeling of trust that was very difficult to explain.

Perhaps it was because her cultivation was truly too high, high to the point he could only look up at it even until now. If such an existence wanted to harm him, then the person had utterly no need to waste so much time and effort.

“Not bad, not bad. You were able to cultivate to this state in a short few tens of years. It’s truly difficult to come by.” The young woman had her hands behind her back while she sized Chen Xi up with a grin on her face, and her clear eyes were filled with an expression of approval.

“Senior Sister, you’re too kind.” At this moment, Chen Xi was actually slightly embarrassed.

The young woman stretched out her slender and white hand to pinch Chen Xi’s cheek, and then she giggled. “You’re about to overcome the tribulation to become an Earthly Immortal soon, yet you’re still so shy.”

Chen Xi instantly felt extremely embarrassed when being ‘teased’ like this by a young woman, and his face turned red for the first time ever while he was slightly at a loss for what to do.

“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you.” The young woman waved her hand and restrained her laughter before she said, “Little Junior Brother, I came here this time because I want to take you somewhere.”

“Where?” Chen Xi’s expression became serious when he heard this.

“You’ll know once we get there.” The young woman smiled while her pink lips parted lightly, and then changed the topic and spoke gradually. “You probably already know that your fate has been concealed by the workings of the heavens since a long time ago, and do you know what will happen if you try to overcome the heavenly tribulation to advance into the Earthly Immortal Realm like this?”

Chen Xi was stunned. He was indeed aware of this since a long time ago, but he’d never thought that this had anything to do with the heavenly tribulation.

“It’s very simple. You’ll be seen as a ‘variant’ by the Heaven Dao. It will send down the divine lightning of judgement to annihilate you, and there’ll be no chance of surviving it.” The young woman’s eyes were as clear as the lake, and she stared at the distant sky as she said, “You don’t understand the might of the divine lightning of judgment. Even a Golden Immortal of the Immortal Dimension would be directly annihilated when taken as a variant by the Heaven Dao.”

Chen Xi was horrified. The divine lightning of judgment? A Golden Immortal? It was the first time he’d heard such names, but it couldn’t be denied that he was shocked by the young woman’s words.

A variant!

So I’ve always been a variant…

A wisp of a complicated feeling arose in Chen Xi’s heart, and he didn’t know if he should be happy or sad. A so-called variant was an existence that was different from normal, and as for if this difference was good or bad, only the heavens knew.

“But Little Junior Brother, there’s no need to worry because the place I’m taking you to is sufficient to deal with this problem.” The young woman smiled lightly, and her clear eyes were alluring as she said while totally unconcerned. “Once you’re truly standing proudly in the three dimensions, you’ll understand that the so-called Dao of the Heavens isn’t invincible.”

Chen Xi took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister.”

Actually, he was very curious why this mysterious senior sister of his would be so clear about his current circumstances, and it was even to the extent that she was clearly aware that he was about to advance into the Earthly Immortal Realm.

But he didn’t ask because there were too many things that were difficult to explain in this world. Perhaps it was just as she’d said, he would understand everything when he was truly strong.

“Little Junior Brother, get prepared, and I’ll come get you three days from now.” The young woman smiled and didn’t seem to take any action, but her entire figure was like starlight that turned faint from a material state, and then finally vanished without a trace.

She came without a trace and left in the same way. She was like the mysteries of the Heaven Dao that was unknown to all.

I wonder exactly what sort of place it is. But even if it’s the lair of a dragon or the den of a tiger, so long as I can smoothly advance into the Earthly Immortal Realm, then I must go through it! After the young woman left, Chen Xi let out a long breath of air while a wisp of firmness surged out into his eyes. No matter if he was taken as a ‘variant’ by the Heaven Dao, he never had any fear on this path of his! 

    …

Night.

A bonfire blazed at the top of West Radiance Peak. Huo Molei and the others, A’xiu, Xueyan, Meng Wei, Mo Ya, and all the youths from the Ninth Hell Tribe were gathered here.

An attractive fragrance of meat drifted through the air while everyone drank wine and ate meat, and they chatted happily and with delight.

Ling Bai, Bai Kui, and the little golden bear, A’Man, were gathered together while eating meat with large bites and drinking large mouthfuls of wine, and they were competing in who could eat the most. Amongst everyone present here, these three little fellows were the happiest.

On the other hand, A’xiu frequently rubbed Ling Bai’s head and praised repeatedly. “How handsome! You’re simply too handsome.” 

Then she rubbed A’Man’s belly and couldn’t contain her joy. “Aiya! What a soft little belly. It will surely be very comfortable to lie on it and sleep at night…”

The three little fellows cooperated very well with A’xiu as well because she seemed to have various spirit fruits that could never be finished. Not to mention that these spirit fruits were tasty, they were all rare spirit fruits, so to these three little gluttons, A’xiu was simply like an almighty goddess!

But Chen Xi kept having the feeling that A’xiu seemed slightly distracted today, and she frequently stared blankly in a daze and seemed to be upset because of something.

When the dinner ended, Chen Xi announced that he would be leaving three days from now for a period of time, and he told everyone that there was no need to worry and just cultivate on West Radiance Peak while awaiting his return.

Everyone naturally had no objections. Presently, the status of the West Radiance Peak in the Nine Radiance Sword Sect seemed to have already surpassed the other peaks, and it took the first place. It was mostly because of Chen Xi, but it couldn’t do without everyone present here as well.

For example, Meng Wei, Mo Ya, and all those youths from the Ninth Hell Tribe had been cultivating here for a few years, and their strengths had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Presently, even the youngest snotty kid possessed a cultivation at the Rebirth Realm, whereas the others with higher cultivations like Scarface had already started to charge into the Nether Transformation Realm!

How shocking the natural talent and natural endowment of these youths from the Ninth Hell Tribe were was obvious from this.

Meng Wei and Mo Ya intended to enter into closed door cultivation now to charge into the Earthly Immortal Realm in body refinement. Both of them had accumulated strength in the Nether Transformation Realm for too long, and they could be said to be erupting after deep accumulation, so it was within reason.

On the other hand, the cultivations of Huo Molei and the others had improved swiftly as well. But they weren’t fond of cultivation and placed their energy on their various interests.

Qing Yu trained the youths from the Violet Lightning and Azurefrost Camps to practice strategy all day and night, whereas Eldest Senior Brother Huo Molei, Second Senior Brother Lu Sheng, Third Senior Brother Yi Chenzi, Fourth Senior Brother Duan Yi, and Fifth Senior Sister A’Jiu respectively helped in refining equipment, setting up commands, taking care of logistics, studying formations and battle tactics, and so on and so forth.

As for Xueyan and A’xiu, there was no need to mention them. One was a 1st level Earthly Immortal Realm expert while the other had an unfathomable strength, and their residence on West Radiance Peak even seemed like a waste of god’s given gifts.

If the strange combination of Bai Kui, Ling Bai, Mu Kui, and A’Man were added on, then the forces of the entire West Radiance Peak were sufficient to look down proudly at the South Radiance, North Radiance, and East Radiance Peaks.

Bai Kui was born an auspicious beast, Pixiu, and under the fostering of A’xiu, he’d already grown greatly and had transformed from being fist sized before to the size of a racoon now.

Ling Bai and Mu Kui had left the Nine Radiance Sword Sect five years ago, and they’d gained experience and tempering in the outside world to grow quite a bit and even obtained numerous fortuitous encounters. Presently, Mu Kui had already advanced to the intermediate-stage of the Nether Transformation Realm, and his improvement could be said to be marvelously quick.

Most importantly, Mu Kui had successfully stimulated the bloodline of the divine beast, Lunarwood Wolf, within him, and he’d obtained its innate Dao Art, the Moonhowl Extermination!

On the other hand, Ling Bai’s improvement was even more shocking. His body was that of a magic treasure and coupled with the supreme Sword Dao inheritance from the Nirvana Sword Sect, and his current cultivation had advanced to the perfection-stage of the Nether Transformation Realm a long time ago.

Moreover, according to what he said, if it wasn’t for the sake of awaiting an enormous fortuitous encounter, he would have been able to advance into the Earthly Immortal Realm last year!

In short, if Chen Xi was a ‘variant,’ then these seniors and friends by his side were equally extraordinary, and all of them could be called abnormal freaks.

With them present on West Radiance Peak, Chen Xi didn’t have to worry about any mishaps occurring after he left.

Not to mention his status and prestige in the Nine Radiance Sword Sect was simply like the scorching sun in the midday sky now, and he deeply received the appreciation of the higher-ups. At this moment, there was no elder that would look for trouble with the West Radiance Peak.

The only thing that worried Chen Xi was he wasn’t sure how long he would be leaving for this time. After all, the time limit for him to meet Bai Wanqing was five years from now, and if he were to be delayed, then he would absolutely feel extremely regretful.

After all, if it was in terms of possessing the deepest understanding of his parents, then amongst everyone within the entire Dark Reverie, it was absolutely Bai Wanqing without a doubt, and he would only be able to find out all he wanted to know from her.

Three days later, Chen Xi pushed open the door to his room and arrived outside the courtyard.

Sure enough, his mysterious senior sister was waiting there since an unknown moment in time, and she couldn’t help but grin when she saw him make an appearance. “Looks like you’ve already made the necessary preparations.”

Chen Xi nodded and asked. “Senior Sister, roughly how long will be needed for this journey of ours?”

The young woman smiled. “It will be three years at most for you, and you’ll be able to achieve everything you require.”

Chen Xi heaved a sigh of relief. Three years? That’s more than enough!

“Let’s go, Little Junior Brother. It’s a holy land of talismans that was created by four great figures of the three dimensions, and ordinary people are utterly incapable of entering it.” The young woman blinked and grinned as she spoke.

As she spoke, she stretched out her jade white and slender palm  and grabbed Chen Xi’s right hand without the slightest aversion, and then her figure flashed and transformed into a misty wisp of starlight that vanished silently.