Chapter 167: Crisis, Myriad Sound Sect

In the simple house, the "village chief" and several other stewards sat down with Yan Taibai.

The old man in the green robe, acting as the "village chief," spoke up with a respectful expression to inquire.

"Exalted Immortal Master, are you a cultivator at the Spirit Severing Stage? In this godforsaken place, only Spirit Severing Stage cultivators can mobilize the True Essence Magic Power within their bodies, right?"

"That is not the case; it is merely due to the cultivation technique I practice, not because I am a Spirit Severing Stage cultivator."

Yan Taibai shook his head in denial.

"Then, I wonder if the Exalted Immortal Master could take us away from this godforsaken place? Rest assured, we will absolutely not let the Exalted Immortal Master help for nothing."

The old man in the green robe promised.

"Oh! Then what can you offer?"

Hearing such a straightforward question, Yan Taibai asked with interest.

"I wonder if the Exalted Immortal Master has heard of the Dajin Dynasty?"

The old man in the green robe hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Naturally, I have heard of it. It is rumored to be the number one sacred land for cultivation, though I have never had the chance to go."

Yan Taibai nodded and smiled.

"I am from the Heavenly Talisman Sect of the Dajin Dynasty, and I am the fifty-seventh generation sect leader of the Heavenly Talisman Sect. However, our Heavenly Talisman Sect is merely a minor, bottom-tier sect in Huayun Province of Da Jin. When I entered this Yinming Land, I was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage; I hope the Exalted Immortal Master will forgive my inadequacy."

The old man in the green robe smiled bitterly.

"Since you are also a cultivator, you and I can simply address each other as fellow Daoists. There is no need to continue calling me Exalted Immortal Master."

Yan Taibai said with a smile.

"In that case, this junior will be impolite."

The old man in the green robe cupped his hands in a salute.

"Our sect possesses the Three Great Spirit Talismans. It was precisely because of these three that our sect once became one of the Ten Great Sects of the Righteous Path in Da Jin during its peak. But following the passing of our founder, it became difficult for anyone in our sect to craft the Three Great Spirit Talismans. I am the one who keeps the crafting method for one of these talismans. As long as you, Senior, can take the people of my village away from this Yinming Land, I am willing to offer this talisman with both hands, along with the items left behind by many fellow Daoists over these many years. I believe they should be of no small use to you, Senior."

"Senior, please do not be in a hurry to refuse. The talisman in this junior's hands is called the Spirit-Descending Talisman. As for its function, why don't you take a look before deciding, Senior?"

The old man in the green robe took a crude bone box from his bosom, held it up to Yan Taibai with both hands, and said respectfully.

Now, he could only gamble.

Through the understanding of others, the old man in the green robe knew that Yan Taibai was not some heinous cultivator of the Demonic Path.

On the contrary, this journey, combined with the "food" just provided, was what led him to make the decision to gamble.

"If you are unwilling to let us leave, Senior, I only hope that one day you will bring this crafting method for the Spirit-Descending Talisman to the Heavenly Talisman Sect in Da Jin. With your divine abilities, Senior, since you can use True Essence Magic Power in this Yinming Land, you are certainly no ordinary cultivator. It is highly likely you will head to the Dajin Cultivation World in the future."

The old man in the green robe continued.

"Very well! Then I will take a look first! If it is truly suitable, I will consider it, but it is impossible for me to take all of you out; I hope you understand that."

Yan Taibai took the stone box he wanted and offered a reminder.

"This junior understands, Senior, please rest assured."

Regarding Yan Taibai's words, the old man in the green robe was not surprised and said respectfully.

"Hmm! You may go down first! I will examine this Spirit-Descending Talisman."

Yan Taibai instructed.

"Yes, this junior takes his leave."

Upon hearing this, the old man in the green robe chose to respectfully bid farewell and leave.

After the old man in the green robe left, Yan Taibai finally opened the stone box and took out the crafting method for the Spirit-Descending Talisman to examine it.

Although he did not really need it himself, it was a rare method for self-preservation and combat for those around him.

And it was not much different from what he remembered; the main material required was the Demon Soul of a Transformation Stage Demon Beast.

For others, this would be a difficult task, but for Yan Taibai, he actually had quite a few.

Therefore, he could indeed craft this Spirit-Descending Talisman, but this place was not suitable. It would not be too late to craft it after returning.

After putting away the crafting method for the Spirit-Descending Talisman, Yan Taibai found the old man in the green robe, the Heavenly Talisman Sect leader, and headed to the place where the items left behind by other cultivators were kept.

The place was very simple and ordinary, with only a row of stone tablets of similar size standing out slightly; apart from that, there was only a stone table.

The stone tablets were about a zhang wide and two zhang high, which could be considered relatively tall.

As for the stone table, there were no classics or bamboo slips of any kind, only a few magic tools that seemed to have lost their luster.

This left Yan Taibai quite disappointed, and he only cast his gaze upon the stone tablets, which contained the cultivation experience left behind by a Nascent Soul cultivator; this was still somewhat useful to Yan Taibai.

Although it was not much, it was not a wasted trip.

After finishing reading the cultivation experience on the stone tablets, Yan Taibai left.

At this time, the old man in the green robe and several other village stewards were already waiting for him outside.

Their faces were full of anticipation and respect; clearly, the old man in the green robe, this Heavenly Talisman Sect leader, had already told them about the deal with Yan Taibai.

"I will give you two choices now; as for how you choose, that is up to you."

Seeing this, Yan Taibai thought for a moment and spoke.

"Please speak, Senior."

The old man in the green robe spoke with a respectful and expectant expression.

"First, I can leave behind some Puppets that can be powered by the Soul Stones of the Underworld Beasts here; you can rest assured. As for their power, they are equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Stage or even the Golden Core Stage, enough for you to deal with and kill most Underworld Beasts."

Yan Taibai nodded and said.

Hearing this, the people of the village, including the old man in the green robe, all breathed much more heavily.

"Second, I can help you clear out the Underworld Beasts in this Yinming Land this time, leaving only those you can consume. Even if new Underworld Beasts appear, I believe there will be no trouble for a short time. At the same time, I can also help set up a few arrays to improve the environment, allowing you to produce more food. This should not be too difficult a task."

Yan Taibai continued.

In reality, he wanted the Soul Stones of the Underworld Beasts; naturally, the more of these things, the better.

He also believed that the good things in the Yinming Land were definitely more than what was before his eyes. As for what else there was, he would need to search for it himself.

In any case, even if it were just Soul Stones, the trip was not in vain; for him, this Yinming Land held little danger, and with time to spare, he had even less to worry about.

After all, he was the only one capable of utilizing True Essence Magic Power, spells, and the divine abilities of Dharma Treasures.

"Third, I can take a portion of you away, at most ten people, and you can help me resolve matters along the way. As for who? You choose yourselves. Remember, do not let any conflict arise, and do not make things difficult for me, otherwise, none of you will be able to leave."

Yan Taibai was being kind for once, yet he did not want any problems to arise.

Of course, he did indeed need a few people to lead the way.

"Could you allow us to consider this, Senior?"

The green-robed old man, the Sect Master of the Heavenly Talisman Sect, exchanged glances with the others for quite a while before speaking.

"Naturally, that is no problem. I will go resolve a few Underworld Beasts first and see how things are."

Yan Taibai nodded in agreement.

Afterward, he left directly, with no intention of wasting words.

"Who shall we choose to leave?" After Yan Taibai had been gone for a long time, the green-robed old man, the Sect Master of the Heavenly Talisman Sect, asked with some hesitation.

"Do you want to leave?"

Another white-haired old man asked.

"Heh! My lifespan is not long, so even if I go out, there is no benefit. I won't live much longer anyway. Furthermore, the affairs of the entire village require me to preside over them. I will not leave."

The green-robed old man, the Sect Master of the Heavenly Talisman Sect, chuckled and shook his head in refusal.

This statement basically settled it: only the young and strong would be able to leave.

Of course, at most ten people, so as not to overly affect the village's combat strength.

"Fine, then I won't leave either."

The white-haired old man also gritted his teeth and said.

"Can we not choose not to leave? Senior has already said he can leave behind a few Foundation Establishment Stage Puppets, Golden Core Stage cultivators, and we can even use the Soul Stones from inside the Underworld Beasts. Therefore, we can completely rely on the Puppets to obtain enough food and slay Underworld Beasts we couldn't kill before. As long as there is enough food, what problem is there if we stay here forever?"

Another middle-aged man spoke up.

He was also a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator.

Moreover, he knew some martial arts, which was why he had become one of the village managers.

His words also caused everyone to fall silent.

After all, this was also a decent choice.

…….

Yan Taibai did not care how the villagers chose; right now, he only wanted to obtain Soul Stones.

Everything else was not very important to him.

Now, he had encountered the first Underworld Beast.

This was a type of Underworld Beast called a "Green Toad Beast"; its body was not large, and it was covered in bumps. Although they looked hideous, as if they were giant, magnified toads, they were one of the few Yin beasts in this Yinming Land that were not highly toxic and could be consumed by humans.

As for this type of Underworld Beast, Yan Taibai naturally did not need to act personally; he only needed to leave it to the Tihun Beast.

This was also the reason he wanted to hunt Underworld Beasts; these beasts were of great benefit to the Tihun Beast, so he naturally could not miss them.

In any case, he did not need to worry about the issue of True Essence Magic Power, and with the Tihun Beast, that little fellow who countered Underworld Beasts, it was extremely safe.

There was no need to worry about anything; he only needed to hunt Underworld Beasts.

……

This was a rare and powerful Giant Claw Beast in the Yinming Land, standing five or six zhang tall.

This Giant Claw Beast relied on its sharp claws and fangs to become the hegemon of this region.

However, on this day, more than ten zhang in front of it, a small monkey about a foot tall appeared.

This little monkey was staring at the Giant Claw Beast before it with extremely excited eyes.

At the same time, when the Giant Claw Beast saw the little monkey, it did not pounce as it usually did, but instead revealed a look of fear and wanted to leave.

But while it wanted to leave, the little monkey did not intend to let this "delicacy" before it go. It spat a sheet of yellow mist from its nostrils, which then flew over like lightning, instantly enveloping the Giant Claw Beast.

Following that, from within the yellow light, a heaven-shaking roar erupted from the beast.

After the light dimmed significantly, the yellow mist flew back, carrying wisps of black energy that were sucked into the little monkey's large nose.

The little monkey chewed with relish a few times, then patted its slightly bulging belly, a satisfied expression appearing on its face, as if it had eaten something extremely delicious.

After a while, it landed on Yan Taibai's shoulder.

By this time, Yan Taibai had already been in this Yinming Land for one year and eight months.

In the previous village, no one had followed him to leave; instead, they had asked him to leave behind Puppets and help set up arrays to change the environment, creating more places to produce food.

Actually, it wasn't that there were none, but the minority followed the majority, so naturally, there was no one.

Besides the first village Yan Taibai visited, there were several other sizable villages in the Yinming Land. Yan Taibai had also left behind Puppets obtained in the Void Heaven Palace and used arrays to change the environment.

As for the Spirit Stones required for the arrays, they had been replaced by the Soul Stones from inside the Underworld Beasts.

For Yan Taibai, this was not a very difficult task.

And he had also become a "great benefactor" of the entire Yinming Land.

Mainly, Yan Taibai also wanted to see.

Whether he could resolve the baleful energy and violent aura within his body by doing good deeds in this way.

These two things were of no benefit to cultivation, so naturally, if they could be eliminated, they should be.

……

The exit from the Yinming Land was named Storm Mountain.

This place was a giant mountain reaching the heavens located in the northeast corner of the Yinming Land.

If one looked from afar, one could at most see half of its waist; the remaining part was all within the dark clouds, and the upper half could not be seen at all.

This Storm Mountain was composed entirely of bare black stone; no grass or trees could survive on the mountain, and starting from a height of over a thousand zhang, fierce Yinming winds began to blow across the mountain. Ordinary people, let alone continuing to climb upward, might even turn into black ice sculptures the moment they stepped inside.

Under such harsh conditions, the area around the mountain was even more gloomy and terrifying than ordinary places; electric arcs flashed and crackled incessantly in the sky, while on the ground, cold winds howled and sand and stones flew, as if one had stepped into a ghost realm.

But for Yan Taibai, it had no effect at all, especially with the help of the Tihun Beast.

It was basically smooth sailing.

……

At the same time, a major event occurred at the Miaoyin Sect.

Yan Taibai not returning was originally nothing, even quite normal; even if he were to leave for a hundred or eighty years, it would be the most normal thing in the world.

But as luck would have it, a wisp of primordial spirit left by Yan Taibai in the tokens given to Yan Ruyan, Ziling Xianzi, and the others, had disappeared.

To be precise, it dissipated directly after Yan Taibai entered the Yinming Land.

In the cultivation world, what this implies goes without saying.

At best, it means being severely injured and near death; at worst, it means falling.

The women were all intelligent people, and they believed that nothing would happen to Yan Taibai.

But in the end, a flaw was revealed, which had nothing to do with Yan Ruyan, Zhou Yuan, Ziling Xianzi, or the other women of the Miaoyin Sect.

What mattered was Ling Yuling!

Ling Yuling revealed a flaw in front of the Heavenly Star Sages and had no choice but to speak the truth.

Therefore, the Heavenly Star Sages wanted to take the opportunity to test the situation.

The method was also very simple: using this Beast Tide as a reason to ask Yan Taibai for help.

Although the Miaoyin Sect used the excuse that Yan Taibai was away and had not yet returned.

Unexpectedly, Wen Qing, one of the Heavenly Star Sages, personally brought Ling Yuling to extend the invitation.

(End of this chapter)