Chapter 68: Break Mountain, Imprison Hell, Zhenwu Refines the Form

Movement and stillness, birth and death, stir wild hearts; subdue the dragon, tame the tiger, refine the mysterious scripture.

Since ancient times, all talisman arts under heaven have belonged to Long Hu; thus, every talisman technique of this lineage must begin with the “form of dragon and tiger,” aiming to subdue the dragon and tame the tiger, annihilating all evils.

“Impossible… how could this be possible?”

Among the outer scenery of the clouds, the one most deeply stirred was Qi Ji’s nascent soul—he had received the true transmission of the Maoshan Shangqing talisman path and understood the profundity and terror of that lineage.

Yet eighty years ago, during the great calamity of the Daoist sects, Long Hu Pass Mountain ceased to receive incense offerings.

This lineage had long withered and vanished—how could any talisman art of it still survive!? “Who? Who exactly is it?” Qi Ji’s mind raced.

Within this palace, the Shen family alone maintained sixty-four talisman masters, and over twenty to thirty visitors came and went; among nearly a hundred nascent souls, only one possessed the Long Hu talisman art.

“Long Hu talisman art… this is impossible… eighty years have passed… no one has walked out of that mountain for eighty years…” Shen Xiangrong stared fixedly at the strange nascent soul, his eyes trembling, barely able to contain himself.

The Shen family’s ancestors once took refuge under Long Hu, studying the Dao upon that mountain.

Precisely because of this, they passed it down generation after generation, whispering it mouth to ear, deeply aware of the mystery and terror of that lineage…

Boom…

Beneath the sky-obscuring tortoise shell, that nascent soul took a step forward, drawing closer.

At that moment, golden talisman characters flickered, radiating light like splashed ink, forming a barrier that forcibly blocked the path of the nascent soul.

Hum…

Suddenly, the nascent soul moved again—he formed a sword seal and pointed a finger, drawing within the “form of dragon and tiger” an additional “sword shape” and a “mountain shape.”

Boom…

In an instant, a terrifying, majestic aura surged skyward, shaking the heavens, shattering starlight, and crushing the golden radiance with unstoppable force.

“Break Mountain, Imprison Hell Talisman!”

The cold, heavy voice leapt from Qiu Zhengdao’s clenched teeth; his gaze burned as he stared at the sky, at the strange talisman emerging beneath the nascent soul’s hand, his face alight with unprecedented brilliance.

“Break Mountain, Imprison Hell Talisman… it truly is a Long Hu talisman!?”

Qi Ji clenched his fists, still feeling as if he were dreaming, unable to believe it.

The Break Mountain, Imprison Hell Talisman was one of the most renowned talismans of the Long Hu lineage.

Know this: in Daoist history, nine campaigns to break mountains and destroy temples, slaying the unprincipled demons, five were led by the Zhang family of Long Hu.

In short, the Zhang family of Long Hu and the Wuwei Sect were locked in blood-deep enmity, their hatred like raging tides.

Qi Ji had once heard his sect elders say that during its peak, the Wuwei Sect not only spread incense offerings across the land but also gathered all demons and spirits of the four seas, lawless and unrestrained…

The Daoist sects’ campaigns to break mountains and destroy temples were most powerful under the Zhang family of Long Hu—their Dao arts were astonishing, their talisman arts divine; among them was one technique called “Break Mountain, Imprison Hell”—when this talisman was invoked, it shattered the incense offerings of mountain temples and imprisoned the earth as a hell, slaying countless demons and monsters.

“Break Mountain, Imprison Hell Talisman… this talisman hasn’t been lost?” Jiang Hu watched, entranced.

When he was on the mountain, he had once heard of the fame of this talisman, but eighty years ago, during the great Daoist calamity, even the Zhang family of Long Hu vanished—let alone a single talisman.

Boom…

The Break Mountain, Imprison Hell Talisman transformed into a sword shape, effortlessly piercing through the brilliant golden barrier; then, the “mountain shape” upon the talisman blazed with radiant light, forming a cage that tightly imprisoned the sky-obscuring tortoise shell.

“What is he doing?”

“Is this man mad? How dare he lay hands on the Shen family’s most precious treasure?”

“That was three generations of the Shen family’s blood and sweat—does he intend to take it away?”

“Nonsense—it’s an outer scenery, not real—how could he take it away?”

A chorus of incredulous voices rose and fell; under everyone’s gaze, the strange nascent soul approached beneath the sky-obscuring tortoise shell, reached out a massive hand, and plunged it directly into the tortoise shell.

The hand seized golden talisman characters and swallowed them whole.

“He… he’s stealing the talisman inscriptions of the [Mystic Mirror Treasured Scripture]!? “This… is he targeting the database?”

“Something’s wrong… something’s truly wrong…”

Every face bore a strange expression, eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.

If this man truly came from Long Hu and mastered the Long Hu talisman art… then these talisman inscriptions would be useless to him—after all, all talisman arts under heaven belong to Long Hu…

He already possesses profound mastery—why does he need these talisman inscriptions? But if not, how could he have drawn this [Break Mountain, Imprison Hell Talisman]?

Crack… crack…

A sound like tearing eardrums echoed around them; before all eyes, the strange nascent soul voraciously devoured the golden talisman inscriptions within the sky-obscuring tortoise shell, consuming all these “data” into its belly.

“Die!”

Suddenly, an ancient voice thundered through the outer scenery of the clouds; the sky-obscuring tortoise shell shuddered violently, golden radiance surging like a wild tide…

In an instant, the outer scenery shattered, and every nascent soul returned to its physical body.

Someone had interfered with the [Mystic Mirror Treasured Scripture] in reality, breaking this outer scenery.

“Just now…”

Inside the Talisman Refining Hall, silence fell; everyone stared at each other—even the sixty talisman masters had paused their work, daring not to move.

“No one here today will leave the Shen family…”

“Please remain for a few days,” Shen Xiangrong swept his gaze across them, revealing the authority of a Shen family steward; he gazed once more at the [Mystic Mirror Treasured Scripture], then turned and walked away.

“Zhang Fan… Zhang Fan…”

At that moment, Jiang Hu called out twice; Zhang Fan finally snapped back to awareness.

Soon after, the people in the Talisman Refining Hall were led by the Shen family to their respective rooms—free to move about, but forbidden to leave the Shen estate.

“Long Hu talisman art?” Zhang Fan listened to Jiang Hu’s words, lost in thought.

“This is too strange—Long Hu Mountain hasn’t received incense for eighty years—how could someone suddenly wield Long Hu talisman art!?” Jiang Hu murmured softly.

“Perhaps someone obtained an outside transmission… after all, Long Hu Mountain’s history rivals that of Zhenwu Mountain—over such vast time, some Dao methods inevitably leaked out.”

Jiang Hu voiced the most likely possibility and speculation; yet even so, given the Shen family’s ties to Long Hu Mountain, they would dig the person out.

“Dig him out?” Zhang Fan frowned.

“We don’t need to worry… we’re the least suspicious—you’re from Zhenwu Mountain, I’m from Maoshan… I used to be from Maoshan… my origins are perfectly clean…” Jiang Hu wore the casual air of a spectator enjoying the show.

“True enough—perfectly clean,” Zhang Fan nodded, chatted briefly, then escorted Jiang Hu out the door.

The moment he closed the door, his expression darkened.

“My nascent soul… is something wrong with it!?”

He had no memory of anything Jiang Hu described—he had never entered the outer scenery, had never seen anyone wield the Long Hu talisman art.

Only two possibilities existed: either his nascent soul never left his body… or…

“No way!”

Zhang Fan frowned, shook his head urgently, calmed his mind, and activated the [Northern and Southern Sect Origins] method; after a brief cultivation, he dispelled distractions and fell into deep sleep.

In his dream, the mark representing the Zhenwu Jade Tablet on his chest glowed with a faint, eerie light.

Meanwhile, within the inner realm of his nascent soul, darkness reigned; golden talisman inscriptions gathered slowly like data, continuously tracing and refining the same pattern…

The pattern was immense—its back like a tortoise, its tail like a snake—absorbing and fusing the gathering golden talisman inscriptions, as if striving to coalesce into form, manifesting within Zhang Fan’s inner scenery.

(End of Chapter)