Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman

"However, this old man is not someone who delights in slaughter. As long as you, old ox-nose, answer a few questions honestly..." Old Man Dique's tone shifted as he stared into Daoist Xuan Yu's eyes and asked, "This old man has heard that among the Four Great Secret Talismans of Shangyuan Qingjing Palace, the Neijing Origin Talisman was created through the painstaking, lifelong devotion of Shangyuan Qingjing Palace's founding ancestor, and that it offers immense assistance when forming a Nascent Soul. I wonder whether this is true or false?" Raging fire erupted in Daoist Xuan Yu's eyes. "You dare covet my sect's secret talisman! You court death!" Old Man Dique turned a blind eye to Daoist Xuan Yu's fury and continued on his own, "This old man was skeptical at first as well. However, after investigating from various angles, I discovered that through Shangyuan Qingjing Palace's ups and downs, while its reputation was never exceptionally illustrious and it has never stood as the leader of the Lesser Cold Domain, its heritage is actually older than that of the Taiyi Dan Sect. Whenever the sect faced peril, there was always a Nascent Soul cultivator who emerged to turn the tide. Surely this talisman possesses some wondrous power! "This old man merely wishes to borrow the Neijing Origin Talisman, one of the Four Great Secret Talismans, for a look. I hope you won't be stingy, old ox-nose!" Daoist Xuan Yu rebuked furiously, "In your dreams!" Old Man Dique's expression turned chilly. "Had this old man not shown mercy, old ox-nose, you would have become a corpse long ago. Now that your magic treasure and saber talisman are both destroyed, killing you is as easy as turning my hand! Hand over the Neijing Origin Talisman, and this old man can spare your life. Otherwise, do not blame this old man for showing no quarter!" Faced with Old Man Dique's threat, Daoist Xuan Yu showed not the slightest fear and retorted mockingly, "Do you take this old man for a sheltered child ignorant of the world? This hatred is irreconcilable. If you dare let me leave alive, I will surely tear you into ten thousand pieces! Refusing to hand it over means death, but surrendering the secret talisman means death just the same. Go ahead and try—see if you can obtain the Neijing Origin Talisman after I am dead!" "Hmph!" Old Man Dique snorted coldly. "Since this old man dared to make a move against you, I naturally prepared an escape route long ago. Even if your sect's patriarch acted in person, I am confident I could evade his pursuit. Killing you brings no benefit to this old man, and I might even be injured by your desperate counterattack, which is not what I desire... Weigh it carefully yourself: is the secret talisman more important, or is your old life more important?" Hearing this, Daoist Xuan Yu froze, seemingly swayed. A look of hesitation surfaced on his face. Lowering his head slightly, his gaze shifted uncertainly. Old Man Dique did not attack either. Toying with the Tianyin Conch, he looked at Daoist Xuan Yu with an amused expression, quietly waiting for his decision. "Even if I give you the Neijing Origin Talisman, you cannot use it. Aren't you afraid that after we leave, this old man will track this talisman and hunt you down? ...I can give you the method to craft the Neijing Origin Talisman instead," Daoist Xuan Yu said, suddenly looking up. Old Man Dique scoffed. "Old ox-nose, don't try to deceive me. To deal with the people of your Shangyuan Qingjing Palace, this old man specifically studied the Dao of Talismans. A secret talisman is merely a type of spirit talisman; it is not a magic treasure, so can it recognize a master? Crafting a secret talisman is no less difficult than forging a magic treasure, and this old man lacks the energy to prepare for all that. Wouldn't using your Neijing Origin Talisman directly be far easier? I'd like to see how you could possibly track me!" Daoist Xuan Yu's face flushed pale and green in turn. Finally, gnashing his teeth, he extended his palm. A speck of white light surfaced in his palm. The white light expanded steadily until the secret talisman manifested. It was about palm-sized, slender, and shaped like a jade ceremonial tablet, vastly different from the Tiangang Saber Talisman. Raised patterns covered its surface. Looking closely, these ridges seemed to be composed of flood dragons, converging into a mysterious seal script character. Seeing this secret talisman, Qin Sang found it oddly familiar for some reason. Just as Qin Sang was secretly puzzled, Daoist Xuan Yu gently tossed the secret talisman forward. Then, a sudden change occurred! A wild dragon roar abruptly echoed from within the secret talisman. The ridges upon it actually came to life! The secret talisman shattered into specks of debris as six genuine flood dragons burst from the jade tablet, roaring into existence. Though small in size, these flood dragons were indistinguishable from real ones: serpentine in form, four-clawed, scaled, and without horns on their heads, yet bearing a bulbous bump from which a solitary horn seemed ready to sprout at any moment. Among them were white flood dragons, cyan flood dragons, and black flood dragons. These flood dragons were not physical corpses but ethereal forms—merely the spirit souls left behind after flood dragons died—yet they exuded an unmistakable, shocking dragon aura. This was... flood dragon spirit souls! A flash of inspiration struck Qin Sang's mind, and he suddenly understood where the sense of familiarity had come from. The Three-Flood-Dragon Carriage! When riding Daoist Xuan Yu's Three-Flood-Dragon Carriage from the Tianjing Secret Realm to this ancient mansion, Qin Sang had felt that something was off about those three flood dragons. Looking at them now, weren't they three of these six flood dragon spirit souls? Not only that, when Daoist Xuan Yu had recalled the Three-Flood-Dragon Carriage back then, the rune it transformed into was precisely a simplified version of this secret talisman. He had assumed it was a magic treasure, but it was actually a spirit talisman sealing flood dragon spirit souls! What did the so-called Neijing Origin Talisman have to do with flood dragon spirit souls? Qin Sang was surprised, but then he saw that once manifested, the flood dragons grew rapidly with the wind. The six flood dragons swung around and pounced toward Daoist Xuan Yu, winding themselves around his body. The flood dragon spirit souls spewed dragon breath, their roars shaking the heavens. With the aid of the flood dragons, Daoist Xuan Yu transformed into a streak of flowing light, rocketing high into the air at astonishing speed. Only then did Qin Sang realize that this talisman was meant for escaping with one's life, and very likely another of the Four Great Secret Talismans. Daoist Xuan Yu's verbal sparring with Old Man Dique had merely been to stall for an opportunity to unleash this secret talisman. Encircled by flood dragons and roiling dragon breath, Daoist Xuan Yu resembled a dragon god walking the mortal realm. "Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman!" Old Man Dique showed no panic whatsoever. Cold light glinted in his eyes as he said chillingly, "This old man noticed long ago that your Three-Flood-Dragon Carriage was extraordinary! Break for me!" Daoist Xuan Yu's speed was overwhelmingly fast—the fastest Qin Sang had ever witnessed in his life, giving him the impression of teleportation. Unfortunately, fast as Daoist Xuan Yu was, he still failed to escape. Just as he approached the totem barrier, an obscure fluctuation of spiritual power abruptly emerged beneath the barrier. Following Old Man Dique's shout, the fluctuation manifested into reality—a golden, bronze-bell-shaped magic treasure. No one knew when Old Man Dique had hidden the magic treasure there; neither Qin Sang nor Daoist Xuan Yu had detected it. The bronze bell was a trap—Old Man Dique had allowed Daoist Xuan Yu to unleash the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman, merely waiting for him to fly right into the snare. *Dong!* The bronze bell vibrated. Its resonance was like a massive temple bell, causing Daoist Xuan Yu's figure to stiffen slightly. Immediately after, a golden beam shot from within the bronze bell. Incredibly swift, it circled Daoist Xuan Yu in the blink of an eye. *Pfft!* With a whimper, the flood dragon spirit souls were decapitated by the golden beam, shattering into oblivion. The true body of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman emerged. Stripped of the flood dragon spirit souls, the secret talisman lost all its luster and turned deathly pale. The secret talisman could not escape unscathed either; struck directly by the golden beam, a startling crack opened across its surface, and it shattered immediately. The two halves of the talisman were blasted apart by the impact. One happened to fall onto the stone platform, while the other plunged straight into the lava, kicking up a splash before being swallowed by the molten rock. With the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman destroyed, Daoist Xuan Yu's figure was laid bare, his face filled with despair.