Talisman

The open red sandalwood doors stood over ten feet tall, revealing a space beyond as vast as a hall in an imperial traveling palace. The hall's furnishings were dominated by ink-black, cinnabar-red, and dark gold. The four ink-gold timber pillars supporting the domed ceiling were lavishly carved and painted. Wreaths of incense rose from bronze burners, drawing the gaze of any visitor up to the carved Nine Dragons Swallowing Heaven diagram coiled across the ceiling. Looking up, one was met with solemn, imposing grandeur. With just a single glance, Su Jinxuan instinctively shrank back, her pretty eyes turning toward the person behind her in a silent plea for help. Bai Muxi cleanly turned her gaze away. You're the one taking the fall. "..." Su Jinxuan. Straightening her leaning posture, Su Jinxuan instinctively swept her gaze across the room. She figured that woman surnamed Ran must have tattled to the young master; otherwise, how could he know they had come? Yet within her field of view, she saw the woman sitting cross-legged on a prayer mat before a massive bed, cultivating with eyes closed, showing no intention of opening them. As for the young master... Beaded curtains hanging from the domed ceiling obscured the view, leaving only a hazy silhouette of the man reclining on the black lotus nephrite bed in the center of the hall. The young master hadn't slept together with Ran Qingmo... *Clatter—* The long-haired man on the bed slowly rose, parted the beaded curtain, and stepped out. In his hand, he held a palm-sized wooden tablet that seemed to be formed from black death fungal carpet. The hollow hall echoed only with his footsteps. Taking a seat before a low table, Xu Yuan casually tied back his long hair. He picked up the teapot and porcelain cups from the tabletop, leisurely poured three cups of fragrant tea, and looked up again with a smile: "What are you standing there stunned for? It's not like I'm going to eat you." Su Jinxuan parted her lips, but before she could speak, she caught a glimpse of an elegant figure sweeping past her toward the low table where Xu Yuan sat. As she walked, Bai Muxi murmured softly: "Sister Jinxuan was worried about Young Master, so she thought to bring Muxi along to check on you." "..." Su Jinxuan. Hearing this, Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment. He glanced at the little succubus who seemed to come with her own visual effects, the corner of his lips curling in teasing amusement: "If you were worried, you could have knocked, sent a voice transmission, or simply walked in." Su Jinxuan gave Bai Muxi a grateful look and blinked her eyes. "Jinxuan was afraid of spoiling Young Master's romantic mood." "So you brought Xiao Bai along to eavesdrop?" "I didn't..." Su Jinxuan grew anxious. "I know you didn't. You're not smart enough for that." "..." Su Jinxuan. With a faint smile in his half-lidded, narrow phoenix eyes, Xu Yuan glanced at the obedient, docile Muxi across from him. "So it was your idea, wasn't it?" "..." Bai Muxi. Blushing, Su Jinxuan swayed over and knelt down beside Bai Muxi, hesitating before whispering: "Young Master... you've changed so much." After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan picked up his porcelain cup and took a sip, savoring the bittersweet taste spreading across his palate. He asked softly: "How have I changed?" "The impression you give has changed." Her limpid eyes gazed straight at Xu Yuan, and she said cautiously, "...You've become a bit intimidating." Xu Yuan paused for a moment, then asked: "Have I ever been harsh to you?" "No," Su Jinxuan shook her head. "...So it's just a feeling." "Is it really that exaggerated?" "It is." Bai Muxi suddenly chimed in, expressing it much more clearly than Su Jinxuan: "Even right now, there is a faint trace of killing intent around you—or rather, a deathly aura." Xu Yuan lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment. Then he raised an index finger and chuckled softly: "That might be because of my Dao Charm, or perhaps my cultivation." Even as he spoke, a wisp of silk-like black smoke materialized into reality, wrapping around his finger, exuding an ominous aura. Instantaneously, wisps of breeze rippled outward with Xu Yuan at the center. Feeling the immense pressure radiating from the man before them, Su Jinxuan and Bai Muxi's eyes widened in disbelief. "Origin Realm..." "No... th-that... Young Master, why are you at the Origin..." "It is not the Origin Realm." A cool, aloof voice came from the side. Ran Qingmo dispelled her art and opened her eyes, speaking clearly: "Xu Yuan... has already reached the Transcendent Realm." "?" Su Jinxuan, Bai Muxi. Xu Yuan turned to look at the girl in ink-black robes walking toward him, asking with a light smile: "Did we disturb you?" Ran Qingmo shook her head: "Not really." Xu Yuan said gently: "Your Dao Charm is special. Having just entered the Origin Realm, you should consolidate your cultivation more. Do you need me to prepare a meditation chamber for you?" Ran Qingmo stared at the miniature Dao domain swirling around his fingertips, a mark of the Transcendent Realm. Her mouth puckered in slight dejection: "It's only the Origin Realm..." "Miss Ran has already broken through to the Origin Realm?" Bai Muxi suddenly interjected. Ran Qingmo looked back, her gaze aloof, and nodded plainly: "...Mhm. Broke through last night." "..." Bai Muxi pursed her lips, a touch of unwillingness flickering in her bright eyes. She had thought she would be the first to break through to the Origin Realm. Amid the silence of the group, Su Jinxuan turned out to be the one feeling the least pressure, her voice bubbling with joyous excitement: "Young Master! Young Master! How did you break through from Body Integration to the Transcendent Realm in less than a month?" Xu Yuan's eyes darkened briefly before he brushed it aside, saying: "A few things happened while you weren't around, and I came into some opportunities... Well, let's not get into that for now. Speaking of which, why did you arrive so late?" If his maternal uncle hadn't gone looking for them, the three women would probably still be traveling through the Western Desert. But given their cultivation and speed, they shouldn't have been nearly that slow. Even as the thought crossed his mind, Xu Yuan saw the little succubus across from him sigh wearily. Xiao Bai cast a subtle, sidelong glance at the great ice block. The great ice block met the world with an open, calm gaze, cool as ice. Xu Yuan understood immediately. Looking at the girl radiating charm, he asked with a strange expression: "You let Ran Qingmo lead the way?" Su Jinxuan averted her gaze, twirling a strand of long hair around her finger as she muttered under her breath: "How was I supposed to know that the chief disciple of the Sword Sect has no sense of direction? And she didn't say a word when she got lost, just kept flying straight ahead silently! By the time we realized it, she had already dragged us all the way to the Desert Sea..." "..." Xu Yuan. He was somewhat speechless, but mostly relieved. If Ran Qingmo and the other two had actually made it to Zhenxi Prefectural City, on that battlefield of Saints, he wouldn't have been able to protect them. Sometimes, bumbling into a coincidence was truly a stroke of good fortune. "That's good, then..." Murmuring with a soft chuckle, Xu Yuan set down his porcelain cup, picked up the wooden tablet composed of black death fungal carpet beside him, and said: "Take this." Su Jinxuan instinctively took it and swept her intent-soul through it in confusion, only to be shaken to her core by the boundless Source Qi contained within: "Young Master... what is this?" "A type of talisman." Xu Yuan clasped his hands tightly together and rested them on the low table. He lowered his eyes and fell silent for a long while before speaking softly: "An idiot who was very important to me died in battle at Zhenxi Prefectural City, perishing in that clash of Saints. These past few days, I have been thinking constantly about how I could protect you in the presence of such Saints. "I'm sorry. The reason I haven't come to see you all these days was that I've been engrossed in researching this object. Since you came looking for me first, take it for now. I engraved my most powerful spell onto it. "Limited by the materials, it's still merely a prototype. But once triggered, if it lands a direct hit, severely wounding or even instantly killing an Origin Realm cultivator shouldn't be an issue."