Talisman Formation

Hiding amidst the swarm of firebirds, Qin Sang did not even dare breathe too loudly. For on the stone platform, a figure stood before the stone hall—it was none other than Daoist Xuan Yu! Daoist Xuan Yu held one hand raised into the empty air, and hundreds of spirit talismans circled aloft. Shining brilliantly like stars, they formed a magnificent talisman formation. Cyan qi drifted through the space, and flecks of light from the talismans hung low like a starry canopy over the stone hall. Afraid that Daoist Xuan Yu might sense his gaze, Qin Sang did not dare look directly at him, watching the talisman formation he had set up only from the corner of his eye. Even so, Qin Sang felt dizzy and disoriented, scarcely able to make sense of its intricate workings. Such was the gap between their cultivation levels. Qin Sang could not even discern the true appearance of those spirit talismans. In his sight, all that appeared were wisps and strands of cyan qi, some reaching downward like creeping vines, others clustering together in shifting, elusive shapes. These wisps of cyan qi probed and brushed against the stone hall; Daoist Xuan Yu seemed to be attempting to unravel the restrictions upon it, though he had not yet succeeded. From the outside, one could not tell what the stone hall was used for. Remarkably crude yet radiating an austere, ancient grandeur, the hall possessed a primal wildness, looking more like a sacrificial site handed down from antiquity than the cave dwelling of an ancient cultivator. A fierce battle must have raged here once, completely destroying the circular restriction that sealed the lava, and the stone hall itself was so heavily damaged that it looked on the verge of collapse. Perhaps affected by that fierce battle, the invisible barrier holding back the fire spirit beasts was also exposed, allowing Qin Sang to see its true appearance for the first time. At the edge of the semicircular expanse, an illusory barrier flickered in and out of sight. The entire barrier was composed of countless totems shaped like firebirds, lifelike and in varying postures, completely identical to real firebirds. Curiously, while even the circular restriction sealing the lava had been utterly destroyed, these totems appeared entirely unscathed. Before long, however, Qin Sang noticed something unusual. Whenever a firebird slammed into a totem, a wisp of fiery aura was absorbed by the totem. Far from damaging it, this became part of the totem's power, reinforcing the barrier. Qin Sang even began to suspect that this totem was not meant to imprison the firebirds at all. The reason the fire elemental power here only manifested as a single kind of fire spirit beast—the firebird—was precisely because of these totems. The firebirds might very well be part of the totems! While Qin Sang was pondering to himself, Daoist Xuan Yu suddenly pointed into the air, and the drifting talismans instantly froze in place. The talisman formation burst with radiant light. Every talisman trembled softly, shooting forth phantoms of themselves that converged at Daoist Xuan Yu's fingertips. Countless talisman phantoms merged into a single talisman the size of a peck measure, solidifying from illusion into substance in the blink of an eye. Intricate and profoundly mysterious, the talisman shone brightly like the sun high in the sky. At this moment, even the crimson lava paled beneath the talisman's brilliance. "Go!" Daoist Xuan Yu's gaze narrowed slightly, and he abruptly thrust a finger forward. Seemingly slow yet startlingly swift, the talisman struck the green stone slab at the entrance to the stone hall in a flash. *Boom!* The talisman shattered on impact, its fragments crashing into the slab like a heavy hammer. The stone hall did not budge in the slightest! Hiding amidst the firebirds at such a distance, Qin Sang still clearly felt the terrifying force of the collision between the talisman and the stone hall's restriction. Sensing shockwaves rippling outward, his expression shifted slightly, and he hastily retreated to avoid them. Now he was somewhat doubting his earlier assumption; perhaps the stone hall had been this dilapidated from the very beginning. Under Daoist Xuan Yu's talisman attack, the seemingly fragile stone hall remained as steady as Mount Tai. The restriction upon it, aroused by the talisman, became fully revealed—intact, without the slightest sign of collapse. Only the green stone slab at the entrance vibrated incessantly; that was the breach, and it seemed very likely to open. At this sight, Daoist Xuan Yu's face also lit up with joy. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly raised his hand and pointed into the void. Just as Qin Sang had seen in the scenes projected by the Hidden Moth, Daoist Xuan Yu held two fingers together. As his fingers moved, they left a thin, solid trace of cyan light in the empty air. His fingers moved faster and faster, weaving complex, twisting curves of cyan light, and in the blink of an eye, a spirit talisman was completed in a single stroke. The talisman hovered in midair, its cyan glow restrained. The seal script inscribed upon it seemed to be an ancient script. Before Qin Sang could study it closely, Daoist Xuan Yu flicked his finger, launching the talisman into the talisman formation. Then he continued drawing talismans by guiding his qi. One spirit talisman after another was born, and the talisman formation grew increasingly potent, leaving Qin Sang thoroughly awestruck. Drawing so many spirit talismans in one go did not seem easy for Daoist Xuan Yu either. White vapor rose from the crown of his head, and his breathing grew slightly heavy. Finally, as the last talisman merged into it, the talisman formation suddenly contracted, shrinking several dozen times over. In Qin Sang's eyes, the compact talisman formation seemed to harbor a miniature cosmos within, where nebulae formed and faded in an incomparably magnificent display. Daoist Xuan Yu looked up at the formation, nodded slightly, and smiled with satisfaction. Yet instead of meditating to recover, he retrieved an elixir pill and swallowed it, then gave a soft shout: "Tiangang Saber Talisman! Forth!" Before the echo of his words died away, a sharp, piercing saber hum rang out through the cavern. Then a milky-white beam of light shot out from Daoist Xuan Yu's body, vanishing into the talisman formation in an instant. "Merge!" Daoist Xuan Yu shouted once more, and the talisman formation shattered with a boom. The fragments did not scatter outward, but collapsed inward, entirely absorbed by that white light. The true form of that white light was astonishingly another spirit talisman—and amazingly, this talisman was shaped like a saber! That saber hum also jolted Qin Sang awake. The Tiangang Saber Talisman... Qin Sang muttered inwardly, recalling a rumor he had heard before. Among the Four Great Secret Talismans passed down by the founding ancestor of Shangyuan Qingjing Palace, there was indeed a saber-shaped secret talisman. It was said that all four secret talismans possessed might no less than that of magic treasures, each possessing boundless mysteries. The Tiangang Saber Talisman was very likely one of the Four Great Secret Talismans! The Tiangang Saber Talisman was already exceedingly potent, and after fusing with the might of the talisman formation, its power soared exponentially. The secret talisman, barely three inches long, radiated beams of saber light and hummed incessantly. Even at such a distance, and despite the talisman not being aimed at him, Qin Sang still felt the illusion of imminent doom, as if he would be cleaved in half the next moment. Qin Sang was secretly appalled. Daoist Xuan Yu pressed his palm downward, and the Tiangang Saber Talisman drifted slowly toward the green stone slab, its imposing aura intensifying with every inch it drew closer. Could the Tiangang Saber Talisman break the restriction on the green stone? The thought flashed through Qin Sang's mind. Just then, another matter suddenly struck him: Old Man Dique had not appeared yet! A considerable amount of time had passed since Qin Sang entered the crater. With Old Man Dique's capabilities, he should have found a way to hoodwink the firebirds long ago, yet he had still not shown himself. Qin Sang frowned inwardly. He noticed that wielding the Tiangang Saber Talisman was no easy task for Daoist Xuan Yu; the man was pouring all his strength into it, with no attention to spare for anything else. Was this the moment Old Man Dique had been waiting for? Like a venomous serpent lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike! Qin Sang inconspicuously surveyed his surroundings. All that met his eyes were swarms of firebirds packed tightly together; there was no telling which one might be Old Man Dique in disguise. At that thought, Qin Sang moved, retreating backward to put as much distance between himself and the stone hall as possible.