Chapter 401: Gezao Talismans

Chapter 401: Gezao Talismanic Script

From the sound of footsteps like raindrops tapping on tiles, to the drumming before a battle line, and finally to the sinister punch wind striking his face, the entire process occurred in the blink of an eye.

The newcomer moved so swiftly that Luo Tian's half-turned body could not react in any way, leaving only the thoughts in his mind surging like stormy waves.

Chen Qisheng's mocking sneer, the chilling gleam dancing at the tip of the brass knuckles, the shock spreading across Luo Shan's round face...

Within Luo Tian's spirit, heightened to its utmost limit, everything around him seemed to freeze in slow motion. At this moment, he could even see the floral patterns carved into the edge of those brass knuckles, and the pair of icy eyes following behind them!

"Gezao Talismanic Script, Fire Seal—Ember Shift!"

A miniature crimson fire talisman flew automatically from the star-studded Daoist robe, drifting onto the tip of the brass knuckles and exploding with a roar!

Boom!

A wave of flame swept across the front of Himeji Castle's guard station. Within the twisted light of the scorching heat, Luo Tian's figure burst through the inferno, soaring high into the sky, hovering ten zhang above the ground.

Luo Tian flicked his sleeve, rolling the Daoist robe's wide cuff behind him, his expression calm as ever. Two cyan wind talismans clung to the soles of his cloud boots, with a roaring gale swirling around him.

The celestial dignity of the Daoist immortal remained unchanged, save for a fine wound, like a sliver of black, that had somehow opened on his ethereal face.

Luo Tian pressed his thumb against the wound, wiping away the milky white blood oozing from it. In his downcast eyes, his pupils contracted into pinpoints, glowing with a faint, inhuman golden light.

An exiled immortal hovered aloft, overlooking the mortal world.

"Interesting."

Li Jun, whose punch had missed, grinned and looked up at Luo Tian suspended above. He bent his knees slightly, then suddenly straightened them, launching himself skyward amidst the shattered gravel and debris.

Boom!

A talisman no larger than a grain of rice flew down, but the brass knuckles met it head-on, exploding it in midair with a thunderous crack that shook the heavens.

Azure electrical arcs danced across the black armor plates, most dissipating in an instant. Occasionally, a few bolts of lightning slipped through the gaps in the armor, but upon touching Li Jun's skin, they were swallowed up by the Fuyuan Whale Armor without a trace.

This level of lightning talisman posed no threat whatsoever to Li Jun as he was now.

"Lord of Inuyama Castle?!"

Luo Tian shouted in a low voice, plucking a metallic-glinting star point from his chest and flinging it outward.

The talisman grew with the wind, instantly expanding into an ancient, solemn, and heavy swallowtail shield, crashing down toward the charging figure.

Gezao Talismanic Script.

Gold Seal—Swallowtail Shield.

"You've got eyes, but your brains are lacking!"

Li Jun sneered as the armor plates on his back opened, ejecting a turbulent stream of air that abruptly shifted his body sideways, its lack of leverage in the air now moot.

"Catch!"

In the moment he passed the swallowtail shield, Li Jun grabbed it with one arm, hooked the swallow's horn, and hurled it upward in a reverse toss.

The shield spun with a roar, its sharp angles cutting like a blade wheel toward Luo Tian's body.

"Today's matter is between Gezao Mountain and Longhu Mountain; it has nothing to do with the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I advise you not to bring trouble upon yourself!"

Luo Tian's wind talismans beneath his feet glowed with cyan light, propelling his body backward in rapid retreat. He made a hand seal with one hand and pointed before him. The swallowtail shield that Li Jun had thrown back rapidly shrank, contracting once more into a talisman no larger than a grain of rice, which settled back onto Luo Tian's Daoist robe.

"Old Li, did I hear that right? He's threatening you?"

The ferocious black armor halted in midair, and a mocking voice, that of Lord Ma, emanated from its blood-red single eye.

Li Jun pointed downward in astonishment. "Instead of listening to his bullshit, why don't you tell me when you got this feature?"

"Just now. Small update on the way here."

"Just from eating Feihu? That easy?"

Lord Ma boasted smugly, "What am I, Lord Ma? A divine artifact! Known as Threefold Gelizi, elite of the Mohist Sequence, top tier of the Minggui. These little tricks are child's play!"

Li Jun's eyes lit up. "Then do you have Feihu's portable function?"

"Could have it anytime, but Lord Ma looks down on such shoddy mustard-seed technology!"

Lord Ma snorted coldly: "You're not thinking of stuffing Lord Ma into your pocket, are you? Let me tell you, stop dreaming!"

"What are you saying! I'm afraid you'll scare people, always walking around with that steel frame!"

Li Jun spoke with earnest sincerity, "I'm thinking of you. Besides, how could I possibly stuff you into my pocket?"

Lord Ma wasn't fooled at all. He snapped angrily, "Don't give me that crap. Lord Ma is an iron-boned, upright man. I never change my name, whether sitting or standing. I will absolutely not do anything sneaky or underhanded."

"That's where you're wrong. 'Nest Mount Sumeru into a mustard seed, hide the sun and moon in a gourd'—does that make you sneaky?"

Li Jun put his brass knuckles behind his back, lowered his voice, and sighed as if in regret, "I'm letting you come without shadow, leave without trace, find every crack! Find every crack!"

"..."

The red light in the single eye paused for a moment, then came a gnashing voice: "I always pay my dues; I don't need your sales pitch. Besides, Lord Ma is a staff, not a needle!"

"Lord of the Dead!"

Seeing the two joking and cursing without taking him seriously, Luo Tian felt a surge of fury rising in his heart.

"I advise you not to be so arrogant! Su Ce is old; he can protect you for a time, but not forever! When the new policies in the Japan region stabilize, the New Eastern Forest Party will no longer sit idly by while you men of the Embroidered Uniform Guard continue to entrench yourselves there. They will surely settle accounts! By then, Su Ce himself will be a clay Buddha crossing the river, with no strength left to shield you! If you back off now, when you return to the empire's homeland, Gezao Mountain might yet show leniency..."

Before Luo Tian could finish, Lord Ma interrupted him directly.

"Old Li, tell me, why do some people insist on rushing to their deaths?"

Li Jun laughed. "They don't think they're rushing to their deaths; they think they're doing us a favor."

"What gives them that right?"

"Because they come from a good background."

"How good?"

"Haven't you heard? Gezao Mountain!"

"Gezao Mountain?"

Lord Ma sneered repeatedly, "Today, we're taking down your Gezao Mountain!"

The wind howled, and murderous intent surged to the sky.

Enraged and alarmed, Luo Tian watched the figure charging straight at him, his hands flickering repeatedly as he released a shower of star points.

Thunder Seal—Awakening of Insects!

Fire Seal—Ember Shift!

Wind Seal—Tiger's Roar!

Lightning danced, wind roared, and a vast sea of flame hung across the canopy of the sky!

"By the Patriarch above, he's really damn rich! If my own master had been a bit more ambitious and saved up a stash like this for me, who would I ever have to fear?"

Chen Qisheng muttered under his breath. He was the first to look down from that sea of upturned faces, striding over to the heavily armored man, snatching away the Duoyan Rifle from his arms.

Click~.

Chen Qisheng skillfully pulled back the bolt, kicked up the front hem of his Daoist robe—so dirty its original color was indistinguishable—and tucked it into his belt.

"Master, what are you doing?"

Heavy Armor, a look of shock on his face, stared blankly at the other.

“What else can it be? It's a fight, of course! The threshold of our own post has been trampled flat, what are you still dazed for?”

The Taoist held a spear, his face full of murderous intent!

“I, I mean...”

Heavy Armor looked at his own empty hands and said helplessly, “You use a spear too?”

“My flying sword was broken by someone, and I've finished all my genetically modified pills. If I don't take a spear, am I supposed to swing my fists? Damn it, Patriarch of the Dao, today we must knock down all these stinky Taoists from Mount Gezao one by one!”

Li Jun appeared, and Chen Qisheng had no more worries. He flung his ponytail back, his gaze landing on Dragon.

“Old Dragon?”

“Strike!”

The words that Dragon had been holding in his throat could finally be shouted out. As soon as his voice fell, a series of sharp, earsplitting sounds of tearing air suddenly sounded behind him.

Four black, ferocious dragon heads shot out with a roar, charging straight at the people from Mount Gezao outside the door.