Chapter 50
Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Righteous Path Grand Tournament (8)
Talismans.
They were tools used in endlessly diverse ways by cultivators.
In spells, in array formations—no, even when bartering at markets, talismans served as one of the finest forms of currency.
If magic had a memorize function made manifest in material form, it was the talisman: a vessel that stored powerful spells or divine abilities, ready to activate at a moment's notice.
The beauty of it was this—even if you knew the crafting method and had the materials, you could imbue talismans with divine powers or spells far beyond your own realm.
'Yeom Suk isn't at Nascent Soul Realm, so he can't use divine ability talismans.'
But put another way: over the decades he'd spent awaiting this Righteous Path Grand Tournament, who knew how many Core Formation-level spell talismans he'd stockpiled.
Yong Yoo swiftly scanned the incoming spells from all directions with his divine sense, then blocked them with the clouds of his Black Dragon Tempest Armor.
'Can this hold?'
It was his first time using the Black Dragon Tempest Armor in real combat. Yong Yoo desperately hoped the dharma treasure would live up to its reputation.
Kaboom!!!
The spells battered at Yong Yoo, but astonishingly, the Black Dragon Tempest Armor's clouds repelled them all with ease.
It was the corpse of an spirit beast that had lost its nascent soul, dissipating much of its spirituality—yet still half dragon-blooded.
Geum So-ryeo had personally supplemented the missing spirituality with her private stores of materials, then entrusted it to one of High Heaven Sect's top Refining Qi artisans. The result: a Black Dragon Tempest Armor powerful enough for even a Nascent Soul cultivator.
And with Yong Yoo's mighty divine sense drawing out its maximum potential at his current realm, it effortlessly withstood even perfected Core Formation spells.
"Master, thank you!"
He'd had his doubts about the Subduing Needle's underwhelming performance, wondering if the Black Dragon Tempest Armor might disappoint too. But now he knew.
'The Subduing Needle was made from the scraps left over after crafting the Black Dragon Tempest Armor and the Heaven-Shattering Golden Crown!'
So-hu, reading Yong Yoo's thoughts, raged inwardly—'How dare you call my claw a scrap?!'—but Yong Yoo ignored the tiger's heartbroken fury and focused on the Dao debate.
The Subduing Needle and Refined Flying Sword hurtled toward Yeom Suk as nine streams of wind and a single ray of light.
Yeom Suk lightly deflected them with a few talismans, then used more to empower his spells and summon five clones.
'Clone technique.'
The clone technique was originally a skill with zero practical combat value.
Clones conjured through spells rather than divine abilities could only follow simple commands, and with no offensive capability whatsoever, they were utterly useless.
They were little more than a cultivator's empty shell replicated.
Yeom Suk had modified the clone technique with his talismans to make it viable in battle.
He boosted their durability with defensive talismans, armed them with offensive ones to enable attacks, and finally embedded self-destruct talismans at their cores—turning the clones into walking bombs ready to unleash massive explosions at any moment.
As five Yeom Suks charged from all sides, the one hovering in the sky hurled more talismans to attack.
Yong Yoo examined the talismans Yeom Suk launched.
'Three worn talismans. Two pristine ones!'
The worn ones were crafted when Yeom Suk's skills were still lacking—old, poorly maintained, and degraded.
The pristine ones, by contrast, were his most recent masterpieces, brimming with perfection. Naturally, the spells they unleashed were on another level entirely.
Yeom Suk might try disguising worn talismans as pristine to deceive, but Yong Yoo's divine sense probed their condition meticulously—no tricks would work.
Exhaling clouds to block one wave of spells, Yong Yoo watched as the pristine talismans' magic pierced through.
'Whoa.'
Impressed for a split second, he swiftly wielded the tempest winds to assail the spells.
Tempest winds decomposed everything they touched.
The spells that met Yong Yoo's tempest winds broke down at the spiritual power level, scattering into nothing. Yong Yoo mounted his square shield-shaped flying dharma treasure and soared into the sky, dodging Yeom Suk's clones.
As the clones pursued with Wood Escape Arts, the Refined Flying Sword moved ferociously, sweeping through them.
Kaboom!!
The fierce single-origin spiritual power triggered the self-destruct talismans, detonating the clones in an instant. Yong Yoo fired his prepared Water Essence Bullet Art at Yeom Suk.
An adult-head-sized water orb rocketed toward Yeom Suk and struck true.
Without any defense, Yeom Suk watched in shock as ten of his worn talismans crumbled to dust.
'I'm a wood spiritual root, resistant to water spells, and it still hits this hard.'
Yeom Suk recalled Yong Yoo's Single Origin Jade Seal.
The Single Origin Jade Seal Yong Yoo had demonstrated was powerful enough to demand his full caution.
Yeom Suk kept firing spells with talismans while scrutinizing Yong Yoo, who grew ever more adept at the Black Dragon Tempest Armor, blocking attacks with increasing finesse.
Learning the ideal cloud thickness and angle with each use, correcting errors on the fly as he pressed the assault.
Yeom Suk read those reactions, varying his spells to exploit openings, only for Yong Yoo to shred them with tempest winds and defend.
Unlike most matches that ended in unilateral dominance after a few exchanges, this deadlock held for around twenty moves—until Yeom Suk took the initiative.
He produced a specially crafted talisman and activated a spell. A colossal tree sprouted, engulfing the entire Dao debate arena.
Yong Yoo sensed ill omen from the massive tree blotting out the sky. Yeom Suk, perched atop it, wove complex spell gestures.
Completing the sequence, countless flowers bloomed from the tree, absorbing heaven and earth's spiritual energy. It condensed into beams of light raining down on Yong Yoo.
ZZZZing!!
The concentrated spiritual energy beams melted everything they touched. Yeom Suk grew branches to adjust the flowers' angles, directing every beam at Yong Yoo.
Yong Yoo dodged the clouds-piercing beams, flying swiftly while blasting spells to destroy some flowers—but Yeom Suk extended more branches and blossoms, increasing the barrage.
Watching Yong Yoo evade, Yeom Suk conjured clones across the tree, which manipulated branches with talismans to redirect the beams.
Dozens of clones orchestrated the beams into an inescapable net.
Soon trapped amid the incoming spiritual energy beams from all sides, Yong Yoo clicked his tongue softly.
"So-hu, come out."
At his call...
ROOOAAARRR!!!
A magnificent tiger with crimson scales and mane materialized, unleashing a thunderous roar.
The power in So-hu's roar blasted away the surrounding spiritual energy beams. Yong Yoo stowed his shield treasure, mounted So-hu, and slipped his feet into the stirrups.
Gripping the reins tight and channeling divine sense through them, Yong Yoo urged So-hu into a wild charge across the skies.
"What is that?!"
"What kind of spirit beast?!"
"A tiger! A flying tiger! Half-dragon, half-tiger!"
"Tigers... one of the Dragon-Tiger Offspring!"
As Yong Yoo raced across the arena astride So-hu, the spectators erupted in uproar.
"Gongja-niiiim!!"
"Ughhhheeeeng!"
"Why's that one crying?"
Above all, his splendid armor atop the beautiful, valiant tiger made him look like a heavenly general.
Leaving movement and evasion to So-hu, Yong Yoo wove spell gestures. Spotting them, Yeom Suk hurled clones to attack.
Yeom Suk's clones swarmed from all directions alongside spells.
So-hu snorted derisively and channeled power through its horn.
During Yong Yoo's ten-year seclusion, So-hu had diligently devoured the spirit beasts and demon beasts supplied in the training cave, building its strength.
No truly satisfying prey, but by sheer volume—stuffing itself relentlessly—it had recovered to early Core Formation.
Lightning erupted from its horn's tip, obliterating clones and spells to clear a path as it charged. Yong Yoo unleashed his completed spell.
'Unified Single Origin Jade Seal.'
A sun small enough to fit in one's hand shot forward, slamming into the tree trunk.
Expanding hundreds of times over, it shattered the tree with scorching heat and pressure. Yeom Suk had no choice but to abandon it and take flight.
Watching his tree devoured by Yong Yoo's sun, Yeom Suk instinctively glanced at Geum So-ryeo.
'...Master!'
Geum So-ryeo's eyes sparkled at Yong Yoo's spell.
The ever-cool, composed Geum So-ryeo was beaming with girlish delight.
'Why! Not me, but that guy!'
Beaming at another disciple's spell!!
He could fake reactions to Yong Yoo's provocations, but not to Geum So-ryeo's.
Seeing her expression tore at his heart, igniting hatred and jealousy toward Yong Yoo.
'How dare you!'
Yeom Suk scattered talismans to summon dozens of clones, positioning them precisely.
The clones activated their talismans in unison, forming an array. The surrounding spiritual energy churned violently.
As spectators panicked at the sudden turbulence, Yong Yoo eyed Yeom Suk and uncorked his Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle, weaving his own gestures.
"Heaven-Spanning Earth-Weaving Hand, Earth-Splitting Sky-Cleaving Sword."
Two spells activated simultaneously. Behind Yeom Suk materialized a colossal tree-hand and a mountain-sized wooden sword.
The arena-crushing tree hand gripped the even vaster sword tightly, drawing it back to cleave at Yong Yoo. Its mere motion tore clouds asunder, whipping up a storm.
Yet Yong Yoo remained calm amid the spectacle, unleashing his trump card.
"Ahap Sesado Yeo Yeon Pyo Sang."
The moment Yong Yoo invoked the spell, an impenetrable fog swallowed the entire arena.
"Hraaaah!"
Yeom Suk's Heaven-Spanning Earth-Weaving Hand swung the Earth-Splitting Sky-Cleaving Sword. The scattered fog whirled into a vortex, converging into a massive pillar piercing the heavens.
"...Is that a spell? For real? Not a divine ability?"
"My god."
The spectators were dumbfounded by the duo's spell might.
The power wielded by these two cultivators, one who is a Foundation Establishment Perfection and their opponent a Core Formation Perfection, shattered the limits of their known realm.
And at last, the wooden sword clashed with the fog.