Talisman Emperor

In the depths of the Soul Suppression Hall was a large bronze door that was mottled with rust.

At this moment, there were many disciples that held teleportation talismans in their hands while striding into this door and vanishing in the blink of an eye. They were teleported into the Bloodsoul Sword Cave.

“Hey, Senior Brother, can you bring me along? I urgently need to enter below the 34th level of the sword cave, please be kind enough to help me out.”

“Senor Sister… Hey! Hey! Don’t ignore me, I just want to capture some bloodsouls and don’t have any improper desires.”

“Big Brother, Young Master, I beg you, bring me along with you. I guarantee to not cause trouble. What? You want me to fuck off? Senior Brother, we’re disciples of the same sect at any rate, don’t be so heartless… Fuck, another one left!”

Fang Ren repeatedly encountered refusal before the bronze door, and he was vexed to the point of stamping his feet with an anxious expression on his face. He was an inner court disciple that only possessed a cultivation at the Golden Hall Realm. He loved to tame spirit beasts and was extremely infatuated with the Dao of Taming.

A few days ago, he’d stumbled on an insect egg that had been sealed up for countless years. At that time, he didn’t pay much attention to it, but after he searched through some books, he actually found out that it was the egg of a Treasure Emperor Silkworm!

The Treasure Emperor Silkworm was a rare worm of the primeval times. Its combat strength wasn’t great, yet it was innately skilled in locating treasures, and some secret and rare treasures that couldn’t even be sensed by Divine Sense were unable to escape its sense of smell!

In other words, if one was able to possess a rare worm like this, then one didn’t even have to do anything and would be able to locate various secret treasures, secret realms, spirit medicine, precious ores…

Fang Ren was overjoyed and researched about how to hatch this egg all through the night. Everything comes to he who puts in the effort, and he’d really found a way to achieve this. But this was also the source of his worries. Ordinary spirit medicines were utterly incapable of hatching this rare worm, and it had to be nurtured with abundant energy of the soul and blood.

This caused him to think of the Bloodsoul Sword Cave at the first possible moment.

According to his knowledge, the bloodsouls within the cave were absolutely the most superb material to hatch this rare worm. However, he was conflicted because ordinary bloodsouls were utterly useless, and it had to be nurtured by bloodsouls of high quality.

Moreover, according to his estimations, so long as he was able to obtain a large amount of bloodsouls that possessed strengths comparable to the Rebirth Realm, it would be sufficient for him to hatch the Treasure Emperor Silkworm.

Regretfully, capturing these bloodsouls that were comparable to the Rebirth Realm with his current cultivation was simply no different than courting death.

So he came over to the Soul Suppression Hall every single day in hopes of obtaining the support and assistance of his fellow senior brothers and senior sisters with formidable strength. But he’d constantly encountered refusal.

He couldn’t help but feel very disappointed because of this.

If I’m still unable to obtain bloodsouls to nourish it, then the vitality of this egg will probably be lost forever… Fang Ren muttered while his brows knit together with worry.

It was at this moment that a wave of light footsteps sounded out, causing his spirits to be refreshed as he said swiftly, “Senior Brother, can you bring me along with you? I’ll surely repay you generously in the future if we’re able to enter the 34th level of the sword cave!”

“The 34th level?” The person that arrived had a tall figure and handsome appearance, and it was precisely Chen Xi who’d just entered the Soul Suppression Hall. He glanced at the nearby thin young man with surprise and felt slightly curious. Why would a little fellow at the Golden Hall Realm want to get to the 34th level to train himself?

Fang Ren’s spirits instantly rose once again when he saw Chen Xi stop. I have a chance!

Even though he thought like this in his heart, he wasn’t slow to act in the slightest, and he gritted his teeth while stretching out a finger. “How about one heaven-rank magic treasure? This compensation isn’t low, right? So long as Senior Brother brings me in, I’ll surely send over a heaven-rank magic treasure to you in the future.”

Chen Xi turned around and left. It was only a heaven-rank magic treasure, and it didn’t arouse his interest in the slightest. Moreover, this little fellow’s actions of intending to exchange a treasure for his help caused him to be very displeased.

“Senior Brother, wait!” Fang Ren was anxious, and he charged forward and said with a pitiable tone, “Senior Brother, I really need to go in there. It’s extremely urgent! Please, please help me.”

“Tell me the reason,” said Chen Xi calmly. Both of them were disciples of the same sect, and it was a rare moment that he’d left his closed door cultivation, so it was impossible for him to not lift a finger when he could lend a hand.

“Senior Brother, I’m infatuated with the Dao of Taming, and I obtained a good worm egg a few days ago. I intend to hatch it, but it requires the nourishment of formidable bloodsouls…” Fang Ren spoke quickly, and everything he said was true, but he’d concealed everything related to the Treasure Emperor Silkworm.

“This worm egg is very extraordinary, right?” Chen Xi seemed to be lost in thought after he heard what Fang Ren said.

According to his knowledge, the strength of bloodsouls at the 34th level was already comparable to Rebirth Realm cultivators, yet a single worm egg required the bloodsouls at the Rebirth Realm to nourish it. So it was naturally extraordinary.

But when these words entered into Fang Ren’s ears, it caused his heart to jerk before he spoke vaguely. “It should be. I’m not sure as well, and I’ll only know once it has hatched. This is just like gambling on jade. A piece of unrefined jadestone would be in hand, yet it was utterly impossible to discern if the size of the jade within, but it just happened to have an extraordinarily high price…”

Chen Xi waves his hand and interrupted. “Alright, come with me.”

…

The scene before their eyes flashed when they stepped into the bronze door, and in the next moment, they were already within a blood colored underground cave.

This place was extremely spacious, quiet, and filled with jagged rocks of grotesque shapes that emitted a dim red glow, and the moist air was suffused with a horrifying and bloody aura.

This was the first level of the sword cave. At the side was a stream that seemed like lava, and it wound and stretched along continuously towards the unknown.

The stream that was like lava gurgled and bubbled while surging with undercurrents, and there were countless whirlpools in it. All of them carried terrifying suction force that seemed material, and Chen Xi suspected that those whirlpools were already capable of mincing apart Violet Palace Realm cultivators.

Chen Xi’s guess wasn’t mistaken because the nearby Fang Ren warned. “Senior Brother, those bloodsouls live within this stream that seems like lava, and it flows all the way to the 99th level of the sword cave. The might of the whirlpools within it grow stronger and stronger along with the levels of the sword cave. You must be careful and avoid approaching it.”

As he spoke, he suddenly thought of a problem. I seem to…still not know exactly how formidable the cultivation of this Senior Brother is.

Chen Xi was surprised and said with a smile, “You know quite a bit.”

Fang Ren chuckled. “I’ve heard quite a bit after coming here many times.”

A trace of doubt arose in his heart instead. He doesn’t even know such common knowledge? I’ve already found out about all this when I’ve only entered the sect for three years. Could it be that this fellow is a new disciple that has just joined the sect not too long ago?

Chen Xi said with interest, “Then tell me is there’s anything else to pay attention to in this place?”

As soon as these words were spoken, Fang Ren’s heart was almost filled with terror, and he had an even stronger suspicious that this help he’d obtained with great difficulty seemed to be slightly unreliable…

When he thought up to here, most of the excitement in his heart dispersed, but he still answered patiently. “Normally speaking, the stronger one’s strength is, the deeper one would go. But there was something that one has to pay attention to, and it’s pressure!”

He paused for a moment and continued. “This Bloodsoul Sword Cave contains a shapeless force that causes the pressure one suffers to increase the deeper one went. Not only does it affect the body, it even affects the soul. So we can’t continue heading deeper and have to stop immediately once our bodies are unable to endure the pressure.”

During these past few days, he’d suffered a great deal of refusal and disdain. So when he put himself in Chen Xi’s shoes, he couldn’t help but answer Chen Xi because if he didn’t, then would he be any different from those people?

Chen Xi nodded. “Very good. The stronger the pressure, the more beneficial it would be towards tempering my strength.”

Fang Ren didn’t care about any tempering of strength, and he was swiftly thinking if he should leave the sword cave first before finding another person with even more abundant strength and experience…

“Let’s go down as well.” Chen Xi sized up the surroundings as his Divine Sense stretched out, and he clearly sensed numerous disciples at the Violet Palace Realm tempering their respective strengths.

Their opponents were numerous bloodsouls with very strange appearances. Some were in human form while some were in the form of beasts, and they were completely blood red and emanated dense and brutal killing intent.

“Wait a minute!” Fang Ren gritted his teeth and finally mustered up the courage to say. “Senior Brother, can I know exactly how high your cultivation is?”

Chen Xi was stunned. Who asks the cultivation of another like this? This young man is truly interesting, and he actually hadn’t recognized my identity up until now.

But Chen Xi knew as well that he’d been in closed door cultivation during these past four years, and it was utterly impossible for some outer court and inner court disciples of the sect to have seen him. So it was naturally impossible for them to recognize him. Earlier, there was someone in the hall that had seen him in the past, and that was why he’d been recognized.

Chen Xi didn’t say anything further before he flicked his sleeve and directly charged towards the depths of the sword cave while brining Fang Ren along with him.

They whistled through the air all along the way and were swift like they were teleporting.

Such speed caused Fang Ren’s mind to drone and be muddled, and he cried out repeatedly. “Senior Brother, where are you talking me? I was wrong, I shouldn’t have doubted your identity. Please let me off…”

Chen Xi was both angry and amused, and he couldn’t be bothered to pay any attention to Fang Ren. Chen Xi flashed through all along the way like a bolt of lightning while the scene before him flashed by like a fleeting shadow. All of this terrified Fang Ren to the point of screaming without end, and even his face went pale.

It was too swift!

To Fang Ren who was only at the Golden Hall Realm now, it was simply like an unprecedentedly strong blow that caused his entire body to tremble involuntarily, and he was deeply afraid that Chen Xi would throw him off with a flick of his sleeve because wouldn’t that cause him to fall to the point the bones in his entire body shattered?

The 1st level!

The 9th level!

The 20th level!

…

In merely the time of a few breaths, Chen Xi had suddenly stopped moving and said, “We’ve arrived.”

At the instant Fang Ren touched the ground, his legs went weak, and he almost fell down on his butt. His countenance was pale while his gaze was blank, and he was still muttering. “How horrifying! How horrifying! Senior Brother, I was really wrong…”

Chen Xi slapped Fang Ren’s shoulder and instantly caused him to sober up.

“Err, where is this place?” Fang Ren swept the surroundings with his gaze and was extremely bewildered.

“The 34th level of the sword cave,” answered Chen Xi.

“What? That fast!?” Fang Ren was shocked to the point of almost leaping up, and his face was covered in disbelief.

“You better not leave my side, otherwise, the pressure here will instantly crush you into mush.” Chen Xi glanced at him.

“Err, err.” Fang Ren nodded with a blank expression, and he seemed to be overwhelmed with shock.

At this moment, he was finally certain that this senior brother before him was absolutely an expert, a great expert! His strength is at least at the Rebirth Realm, right?