The Boiling Blood Evil Flower was a bizarre bloom of the demonic path, offering no aid in forming a Nascent Soul.
Had there truly been a Blood Zhi Herb, he could simply have harvested it and refined it into elixirs to help his disciples condense a Nascent Soul; why go to such trouble plotting to seize the Nascent Soul talisman puppet?
Dongyang Bo sighed inwardly, forced to admire the methods Old Daoist Chongyi and the Red-Haired Ancestor had used to train their disciples.
The Chunyang Sect had fractured after the Red-Haired Ancestor's demise, but the Taiyi Dan Sect's two Nascent Soul cultivators had cultivated together since childhood and shared an exceptional bond, making it impossible for them to repeat that mistake.
It was the convergence of auspicious timing, favorable geography, and human harmony—the Taiyi Dan Sect was destined to flourish!
Old Daoist Chongyi could truly rest in peace.
In this era, the Soul Formation stage was hopelessly out of reach, and the immortal path was even more ephemeral and illusory; not a single person had attained it in countless years, and it existed solely in legends.
Cultivators knew all too well that the path to immortality was severed, and eternal life was nothing more than a fond dream.
Returning to reality, cultivators merely lived a few years longer than mortals.
Mortals were like morning fungi, knowing neither dusk nor dawn.
And cultivators were no more than summer cicadas, shrilling away an entire lifetime that could not outlive the autumn.
Under such circumstances, unless one was truly detached and free of desire, who wouldn't wish to leave behind some mark upon this world to prove they had once existed?
Mortals spent their entire lives pursuing fame, wealth, rank, and glory, striving to build great achievements and etch their names into history.
What cultivators sought was the continuation of their sect's lineage and capable successors to carry the torch.
What was more, Dongyang Bo had once sworn before his master's coffin to revitalize Shaohua Mountain.
Experiencing the soul shadows within the Nascent Soul talisman puppet to perceive the Nascent Soul realm was a lengthy process; even those of superior talent required at least forty-nine days.
Yet within the Dingling Jade was only a single breath of azure spiritual qi, which would be destroyed once used, unable to sustain the process for anywhere near that long.
Having obtained the Dingling Jade, Gongliang Yu could only use it to drive the Nascent Soul talisman puppet to hunt for treasure.
Once the Blood Lake opened, Dongyang Bo knew his opportunity had arrived.
The Blood Lake was the most perilous forbidden zone within Boundless Valley; not even a Nascent Soul cultivator could guarantee their own safety there.
Had it been someone steadfast and cautious like Tie Guanzi, they would have hesitated for fear of losing their sect's greatest treasure and courting catastrophe. But Gongliang Yu had always been arrogant and self-assured; entering the Blood Lake to seek medicine, he would inevitably bring the Nascent Soul talisman puppet with him.
This way, Dongyang Bo could quietly capture Gongliang Yu and seize the puppet without anyone being the wiser, and it was not impossible that he might even annex the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace amid the ensuing chaos later on.
It was also Tie Guanzi's poor judgment of character that had sown the seeds of this disaster.
Of course, whether Dongyang Bo had fanned the flames behind the scenes was another matter entirely.
...
Gongliang Yu was a shrewd man; from just a few words, he guessed nearly the entirety of Dongyang Bo's scheme.
The two had communicated through divine sense, a matter of mere moments.
Understanding Dongyang Bo's intentions, Gongliang Yu felt utter terror grip his heart.
Since Dongyang Bo had come specifically for the Nascent Soul talisman puppet and laid a trap here in advance, waiting for him to walk right into it, how could he lack countermeasures?
Meanwhile, having received Gongliang Yu's summons to return and protect its master, the Nascent Soul talisman puppet had just pulled away from the Blood Zhi Herb when the crimson mist beneath the herb suddenly churned, shooting forth streaks of profound light.
The illusion of the Blood Zhi Herb shattered completely.
This phantom had been laid out by Dongyang Bo using a treasure as bait. It was not without flaws, nor was the disguise particularly subtle.
However, Gongliang Yu's cultivation fell far short of his, countless blood shadows infested the area, and the azure spiritual qi could only last for a limited time, leaving Gongliang Yu no opportunity to inspect it closely.
In luring his quarry here, Dongyang Bo had naturally taken every factor into account.
Whoosh...
The yin wind whipped even more fiercely.
Tens of thousands of dazzling rays abruptly burst through the crimson mist, instantly forming a vortex. The phantom of a grand formation emerged from below, at the center of which hovered a jade bottle. Its mouth pointed straight at the talisman puppet, emitting a ceaseless pulling force.
Subjected to the suction of the jade bottle, the Nascent Soul talisman puppet's speed plummeted; it felt as though it had sunk into a mire, unable to advance even an inch.
The puppet roared. An evil puppet suffused with countless soul shadows, its temperament was violent in the extreme. How could it resign itself to being bound? Light erupted across its body at once, unleashing countless talisman shadows in unison.
Mountain rocks, water, fire, thunder, ancient wood—a dazzling array of offensive spectacles burst from the talisman puppet like brilliant fireworks, battering against the grand formation.
Anxious and frantic, Gongliang Yu urged it on again and again.
The talisman puppet's onslaught set the jade bottle shaking erratically and the grand formation trembling violently, yet that suction remained relentless, making it impossible to break free for the moment.
To make matters worse, Dongyang Bo formed an incantation gesture. The vajra ring above his head rang with a metallic chime, separating out an almost tangible ring phantom that plunged downward to encircle the Nascent Soul talisman puppet.
Roar!
The ring phantom tightened, its binding force pressing until the puppet's body creaked and groaned.
Though its flesh was hardy and devoid of pain, it could sense that the enemy sought to capture it. Flaring with even greater fury, it let out roar after roar, counterattacking with berserk frenzy.
Unfortunately, Dongyang Bo had plotted this for a long time and specifically found a formation designed to counter the Nascent Soul talisman puppet; how could it break free so easily?
Most of the talisman energy unleashed by the puppet was swallowed whole by the jade bottle, leaving it only shuddering continuously—who knew how long it would take to burst the bottle?
Seeing this, a bitter taste filled Gongliang Yu's mouth. He knew the situation was lost; reclaiming the talisman puppet was utterly out of the question now. The supreme treasure passed down through his sect for generations would be lost in his hands.
All that mattered now was saving his own life.
Having committed such a wicked deed and chosen this place to strike, Dongyang Bo was certain to finish him off as well to eliminate all future trouble.
The moment this thought flashed through his mind, Gongliang Yu saw a cold glint flare in Dongyang Bo's eyes, blazing with murderous intent.
Harboring no illusions that Dongyang Bo would spare his life, Gongliang Yu acted with ruthless decisiveness. Seeing that all hope was lost, he steeled his heart and detonated the Tiangang Saber Talisman without hesitation!
As the secret talisman detonated, the surrounding blood shadows were blasted back, barely carving out an escape route.
A flood dragon phantom roared around Gongliang Yu as he spared no effort in driving the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman, simultaneously unleashing a magic treasure passed down from his sect specifically to boost flight speed. His velocity was truly astonishing, rivaling that of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.
Unfortunately, before Dongyang Bo, it still fell short.
His figure had barely moved.
Before he could flee very far, a blinding glare of white light filled his vision, and a terrifying binding force descended from above. Even the blood within his veins seemed to freeze, making him realize just how vast the chasm was between himself and the mid Nascent Soul stage.
Gongliang Yu exerted every ounce of his power, but all his methods proved useless, effortlessly neutralized by the vajra ring.
Right at that moment, he abruptly struck his own chest with a reverse palm.
Golden light burst from his palm—it was a golden talisman.
Smack!
Gongliang Yu's body shattered at the impact, instantly dispersing into tens of thousands of golden light streaks. Faint Buddhist chants echoed as they broke free even from the vajra ring's restraint, shooting in all directions.
This was Gongliang Yu's ultimate escape technique.
Faced with this sudden turn of events, Dongyang Bo was not flustered in the least. Instead, he sneered, "The Thousand Bodies Myriad Shadows Talisman of Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace is indeed a top-tier life-saving divine ability. Anywhere else, even I might not have been able to capture you. Unfortunately, this talisman was derived from the Buddhist path. Righteousness and evil counteract each other, and this foul, yin-evil land is its exact bane."
Before his words had fully faded, the yin-evil aura surged wildly. Countless blood shadows pounced upon the golden light like ravenous beasts, devouring every last speck on the spot.
The Thousand Bodies Myriad Shadows Talisman shattered.
Gongliang Yu tumbled out in utter disarray, his face deathly pale.
The Thousand Bodies Myriad Shadows Talisman was exceptionally difficult to suppress; Dongyang Bo had lured Gongliang Yu to a place like this precisely because he feared this talisman and worried Gongliang Yu might slip away.
Seeing the talisman broken as expected, Dongyang Bo casually pointed a finger at Gongliang Yu.
Chapter 1241