Chapter 20

The stream of light came extremely fast, and within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, it was hovering over Mianshui County.

The light dissipated, revealing a middle-aged Daoist priest in a black robe with a sinister face.

He stepped on a broad sword like a door panel, overlooking this small county from above, his spiritual sense scanning every inch of land unscrupulously.

"Spiritual energy is thin, human luck is declining, it really is a remote and desolate place," the Daoist curled his lips, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes.

His name was Black Crow, and he was a loose cultivator in the mountains of the nearby Jiang Guo, whose cultivation had reached the late stage of Transformation of the Spirit Realm.

A few days ago, he accidentally sensed a wave of pure innate true essence flashing away from this direction; although the wave was weak, the quality was extremely high, which made him quite tempted.

He originally thought that some heaven-defying treasure had been born and rushed over, but he didn't expect it to be just a mortal city.

"Hmph, a wasted trip," Daoist Black Crow was unhappy and was about to leave, but his nose suddenly twitched.

A strange elixir fragrance drifted out from a residence in the city, entering his nostrils.

This elixir fragrance was clear and distant, and although the spiritual energy contained in it was not thick, it carried a charm of returning to simplicity, which made him feel refreshed.

"Eh? Someone is actually refining elixirs here?" A trace of surprise flashed in Daoist Black Crow's eyes.

He looked in the direction of the elixir fragrance, and his spiritual sense focused on the Su family residence.

He saw that a side room deep in the courtyard was covered by a layer of faint light, isolating it from outside prying eyes.

Obviously, a layer of restriction had been set up.

"Playing tricks!"

Daoist Black Crow sneered; he considered his cultivation of the Transformation of the Spirit Realm enough to run rampant in such a mortal place.

How much ability could an alchemist hiding in a turtle shell have?

Maybe he had some dog-shit luck and got some elixir recipes, which was just right for him to snatch.

He put away his flying sword, his figure flickered, and he floated into the Su family residence silently.

At this moment, in the side room, Su Chen was sitting cross-legged in front of a bronze elixir furnace half a person high.

This elixir furnace was something he had refined casually using the gold and silver compensated by the Wang family, mixed with some spiritual iron he brought back from the Three Stars Cave.

The furnace fire was not an ordinary fire, but a wisp of true fire he catalyzed with his own Golden Core true essence.

In the furnace, dozens of common medicinal herbs he had collected in the mountains near Mianshui County over the past few months were being calcined by the true fire, removing the dross and keeping the essence, turning into clusters of crystal-clear medicinal liquid, slowly blending with each other.

What he was refining was not some Immortal elixir, but a mortal elixir called "Foundation Establishment Pill."

This pill was useless to cultivators, but for mortals, taking it could consolidate the foundation and cultivate the origin, dispel diseases and strengthen the body, and ensure a hundred years of worry-free life.

Just as the elixir was about to condense, Su Chen's brows stirred.

He had long sensed the uninvited guest, but was too lazy to pay attention.

He didn't expect the other party to be so ignorant of life and death, daring to break directly into the Su family.

"Since you're here, don't leave."

Su Chen's heart stirred, and the light of the restriction covering the side room flickered slightly.

Daoist Black Crow, who had just sneaked into the courtyard and was preparing to break the seemingly weak restriction, suddenly had his vision blur.

The surrounding courtyard disappeared instantly.

Replacing it was a boundless expanse of white fog.

In the fog, one could not see one's fingers, and his spiritual sense was suppressed to only three feet away from his body.

"An array?" Daoist Black Crow was shocked, then calmed down again.

It was just a mere maze array; what could it do to him?

He pinched a spell, muttered something, and a mass of black Qi surged from his palm, turning into a dozen fist-sized crows, cawing and flying in all directions, trying to find the array eye.

However, those crows flew less than ten zhang before they were like mud cows entering the sea, instantly losing contact.

Daoist Black Crow's face finally changed.

This array was far more brilliant than he had imagined!

Just as he was suspicious, the white fog in front surged and slowly condensed into a person's figure.

"Who is your Excellency? Why break into my Su family?" Su Chen's figure appeared in the array, his tone calm.

"A mortal kid, and you dare to play tricks in front of this seat?" Daoist Black Crow felt relieved when he saw Su Chen was so young.

He only thought Su Chen dared to show himself because he relied on the array.

He sneered and suddenly opened his mouth to spray.

A pitch-black flying needle, with a harsh sound of breaking through the air, shot toward the center of Su Chen's brow like a poisonous snake.

This was the "Yin Sha Soul-Snatching Needle" he had refined by collecting a hundred years of Yin Sha Qi; it was extremely vicious, and those who were hit would have their souls destroyed.

Facing this fatal blow, Su Chen didn't even raise his eyelids.

The flying needle stopped at a distance of three inches from his brow, as if it had fallen into a quagmire, its speed slowing down suddenly, finally hovering in mid-air, buzzing, but unable to move forward at all.

"What?" Daoist Black Crow was horrified.

This was his life-bound magic treasure, which had always been successful, but today it was intercepted out of thin air.

Su Chen stretched out two fingers and pinched the flying needle lightly.

"This object is filthy and useless to keep."

He exerted a little force at his fingertips, and with a "crack" sound, the extremely hard flying needle, comparable to a magic treasure, was easily crushed into powder by him.

"Puff!"

His life-bound magic treasure was destroyed, and Daoist Black Crow was hit hard, spraying a large mouthful of blood, his aura instantly withering.

He looked at Su Chen, his eyes no longer having the previous contempt and greed, leaving only endless fear.

Return to Emptiness!

This young man was actually a great cultivator at the Return to Emptiness Realm!

He was truly blind to have kicked such an iron plate.

"Senior, spare my life!" Daoist Black Crow knelt on the ground with a "plop," kowtowing repeatedly, "This junior had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai, offending the senior. I beg the senior to spare my life for the sake of us both being in the Daoist sect!"

"Both in the Daoist sect?" Su Chen walked slowly in front of him, looking down at him, "Are you worthy?"

He raised his foot and stepped lightly.

"Boom!"

The entire array space shook violently, and Daoist Black Crow only felt an irresistible terrifying force descending from the sky, pressing heavily on his body.

His protective magic power shattered instantly, as if made of paper.

His whole person was pressed onto the ground, unable to move.

"Speak, what is your background? What is your purpose here?" Su Chen asked.

Daoist Black Crow didn't dare to hide anything anymore, and like beans pouring from a bamboo tube, he confessed his background, how he sensed the spiritual power fluctuation, how he was attracted by the elixir fragrance, and how he became greedy, all in full.

After listening, Su Chen sighed in his heart.

His existence was beginning to attract some karma.

Today, a Transformation of the Spirit Realm cultivator came; tomorrow, it might be a Return to Emptiness Realm cultivator.

His family were all mortals; how could they withstand such tossing?

It seemed that the day of departure must be brought forward.

He looked at Daoist Black Crow, who was like a puddle of mud on the ground, a murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

Su Chen waved his large sleeve, and true fire ignited on Daoist Black Crow's body, and after a moment, he disappeared between heaven and earth.

After dealing with Daoist Black Crow, Su Chen returned to the room.

In the side room, Su Chen patted the elixir furnace lightly.

The furnace lid flew up, and nine elixirs, the size of dragon eyes and perfectly round, flew out one after another, falling into the jade bottle in his palm.

The Foundation Establishment Pill was done.

After dealing with this, Su Chen did not stop.

He took out the talisman paper and cinnabar used for practicing the talisman Dao at the Three Stars Cave from his bag and began to make the final protective talismans for his family.

He bit his fingertip, forced out a drop of bright red essence blood, and merged it into the cinnabar.

He dipped his brush in ink, his mind highly concentrated, and merged the three talisman scripts of "Protection," "Disaster Avoidance," and "Killing" from the talisman Dao passed down by Patriarch Puti into a brand-new talisman.

Every stroke that fell triggered a certain rule between heaven and earth.

This was the induction of the Heavenly Dao; the power of this talisman had already exceeded the boundaries of the mortal world.

Su Chen was focused, his brush moving like a dragon or snake, completing it in one go.

The moment the last stroke was completed, the talisman paper shone with golden light, and a mysterious talisman script appeared faintly in the center of the talisman.

He let out a long breath, a trace of fatigue appearing on his face.

With his current cultivation, drawing such a talisman that merged his essence blood and Dao insights consumed quite a bit.

He drew nine of them in a row.