novelaction #135 - Immobilization Talisman
#135 - Immobilization Talisman
Chapter 135: Immobilization Talisman
"You don't think I have a chance to defeat Wei Yingwu and win the Grand Competition, do you?" Zhang Chen's eyes were fixed on Little Bean.
"You might only have a sliver of a chance, but I definitely have no chance to participate in the Grand Competition. Besides, Wei Yingwu only mentioned the Grand Competition, but didn't say when it would be held. If the Grand Competition is set a year from now, with my careful training, you might not be without a chance, right? Haven't you heard of a novice beating a master?" Cheng Yu's voice was full of seriousness.
Zhang Chen glanced at Little Bean in surprise, not expecting this little girl to be so clever, actually knowing that he had no chance to participate in the Grand Competition.
"The twelve seeds of the Yellow Heaven Path will definitely be granted divinity in the future. This kind of opportunity is extremely precious, and competing for it is exceptionally difficult. I think instead of pinning your hopes on me, you might as well find a way to get you qualified to participate. With your current talent, one of those twelve seeds should have your name on it," Zhang Chen said to Little Bean.
"I hope you can get it too! After all, that's a great opportunity to ascend to the heavens in one step," Little Bean said to Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen was speechless in response to Little Bean's words. Then, Little Bean began to practice the True Dragon Grand Stance for Zhang Chen, teaching him the last six forms one by one, constantly correcting Zhang Chen's movements.
Although Zhang Chen said he didn't want to learn martial arts, he couldn't resist Little Bean, and he couldn't tell Little Bean the reason why he couldn't practice martial arts.
At this moment, the two of them exchanged blows constantly. As Zhang Chen gradually adapted to the True Dragon Grand Stance, Little Bean took her little cloth bag, sat in a corner, threw dried fruits into her mouth, and watched the words with a smile while practicing writing in the sandbox.
Zhang Chen practiced martial arts for three hours, and apart from feeling that his muscles had been exercised, there seemed to be no other effect.
However, in order to deal with Little Bean, he could only endure it.
After Little Bean left, Zhang Chen once again entered the mysterious first level of the mental world, squatting in the ruins, studying the countless incomplete talismans.
Although there were no complete talismans, there was no shortage of broken talismans! After seeing enough of them, he could always find some patterns.
Another hour passed, and just as his mana was about to be exhausted, Zhang Chen stood in the mental world, and a thought suddenly arose in his mind: "This is the mental world, I wonder if I can cultivate mana in the mental world to replenish the loss of mana."
Zhang Chen secretly circulated the mantra of the Qi Refining Technique, but as soon as the Qi Refining Technique was activated, Zhang Chen suddenly felt that the black sand in front of him turned blood red, and a gloomy aura directly attacked the cyan lotus flower, dyeing the cyan lotus flower blood red.
At this moment, the light of the True God in Zhang Chen's body suddenly burst out. As soon as the light of the True God appeared, the blood red color in the void instantly disappeared, the cyan lotus flower also returned to emerald green, and the world in front of him once again returned to black.
"My Light of the True God is still useful in the mental world? Moreover, because this is the mental world, my Light of the True God is simply in the right place here, and it can be said that it can exert its power to the extreme here," Zhang Chen's face showed a hint of joy, not expecting that there would be such an unexpected gain.
Then Zhang Chen returned. At this time, it was already late at night. Zhang Chen sat in meditation to restore his mana, and then used the "Heavenly Round Earth Square Diagram" to restore his consumed mental power before falling into a drowsy sleep.
Days passed by, and seven days passed quickly. It seemed that since Wei Yingwu and the Elder of Transmission had finished talking about the Grand Competition that day, there had been no more news.
Zhang Chen's seven days were fulfilling, practicing Qi, slacking off in martial arts, and studying talismans.
His martial arts practice had slackened again. As long as Little Bean wasn't watching, he would study talisman techniques. He felt that instead of wasting his energy on martial arts, he might as well look for a breakthrough in talismans.
He had mana in his body. If he could master talisman techniques, he might have a chance to win.
For the past seven days, Zhang Chen had been pondering the runes day and night, and he had indeed found a trace of诀窍 (qiào jué – knack, trick).
On the yellow sand,
Zhang Chen picked up a wooden stick and quickly swiped it across the yellow sand. In an instant, he completed it in one stroke, and a complete talisman appeared in the yellow sand.
"It should be done," Zhang Chen looked at the talisman on the yellow sand, checked it for a moment, and felt that there were no defects. The lines were complete, regular, and very precise in one go.
At the moment when Zhang Chen finished drawing the talisman, Zhang Chen's golden finger panel refreshed again:
【Name: Zhang Chen】
【8 Skills (Entry): Immobilization Talisman (0/100)】
【Points: 2562】
【Note 1: Can immobilize people with weak body and blood】
【Note 2: Find a piece of yellow paper, some cinnabar, mix them, and then draw the talisman by running mana】
Zhang Chen looked at his own 8th skill, the Immobilization Talisman, and didn't know whether to be surprised or to smile bitterly. He was happy that the Immobilization Talisman skill had been grinded out, but he was helpless because it could only immobilize people with weak blood. Wasn't this a useless skill?
It can only immobilize people with weak blood, what's the use?
Zhang Chen shook his head helplessly, and then directly added points to it:
【8 Skills (Minor Success): Immobilization Talisman (0/500)】
【Points: 2462】
【Note 1: Can immobilize people with normal body and blood】
【Note 2: Find a piece of yellow paper, some cinnabar, mix them, and then draw the talisman by running mana】
"Slightly useful, but still too useless," Zhang Chen looked at his few points, and looked at the upgrade of the Immobilization Talisman, which actually required five hundred points, and couldn't help but feel helpless. He could only add them again.
Since the talisman has been grinded out, he can't give up because he feels sorry for the points, right?
Another five hundred points disappeared, and then Zhang Chen's golden finger panel refreshed:
【8 Skills (Great Success): Immobilization Talisman (0/1000)】
【Points: 1962】
【Note 1: Can immobilize people with strong body and blood】
Looking at the last remaining points, Zhang Chen didn't feel sorry for it, and chose to add it directly. Anyway, there were only so few points left, what's the use of keeping them?
Moreover, he was quite interested in this Immobilization Talisman.
【8 Skills (Perfection): Immobilization Talisman (0/2000)】
【Points: 962】
【Note 1: Can immobilize people who have not entered the rank.】
【Note 2: Find a piece of yellow paper, some cinnabar, mix them, and then draw the talisman by running mana】
Seeing this, Zhang Chen's eyes lit up, especially when his gaze stopped on 'people who have not entered the rank'. This meant that as long as he activated the talisman and the other party hadn't entered the rank to open the mysteries of the spirit, even if the other party was a Dan-Holding Grandmaster, they would be immobilized by his talisman.
"This time the Grand Competition is stable," Zhang Chen looked at the skill, a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.
However, if he could grind the Immobilization Talisman into a rank, that would be even more stable!
"But if I want to enter the rank, I need two thousand points. I only have nine hundred and sixty-two points now. Where can I find the remaining thousand points?" Zhang Chen's mind flashed with thoughts, and he began to worry about the points again.
He felt that if the talisman techniques were upgraded further, they should be classified as 'ranked'. At that time, their power would surely undergo earth-shattering changes.
“It seems I have to make a trip to the Great Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter. If I want to obtain points, I still need to seek opportunities within the Great Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter. Moreover, so much time has passed; surely no one is still watching me, right?” Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
Was his reluctance to visit the Great Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter for such a long time because he didn't want to go? He was afraid that he would be marked, and if he brought someone to the Great Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter, it would definitely cause big trouble.
Especially after that Wu Changming, Elder Wu, appeared in the Taoist temple, Zhang Chen felt even more uncertain. He didn't know if he had given himself away or if Wu Changming had discovered his secret.
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Chen felt that he could try it out, as he couldn't avoid it forever. Moreover, he was too weak now. Facing ordinary martial arts experts, he was too vulnerable, completely lacking the ability to fight back. If something unexpected happened, he would likely panic.
Besides, he was currently in desperate need of a large number of points. He needed to go to the Great Tomb of the Emperor's Daughter to stock up.
“Now that I can transform into a bat, I should be able to try to go through that crack. If I can get close to that twelfth-order mystery, would I still be worried about not having enough points?”
Thinking of this, Zhang Chen wiped away the talisman in the sand basin. The next moment, he transformed into a bat and disappeared from the room.
As Zhang Chen transformed into a bat and disappeared, a Taoist temple elder passed by. Looking at the bat flying around in the Taoist temple, one of them said, “Have you noticed that there seem to be more bats in our Taoist temple recently?”
“Perhaps it's because the weather is too dry, and the mosquitoes and insects have been dried to death. The bats have no choice but to come out during the day to forage for food?” Another elder said hesitantly.
“Let's go, let's go, quickly go find that damned meat thief. Why bother with the bats?” Another elder urged.
In a dense forest...
Zhang Chen, in the form of a bat, had super-sensitive hearing. Although he was tens of meters away from the elder, he could still hear the conversation clearly: “It seems I need to be more cautious when traveling in the future. If I'm targeted by the Yellow Sky Dao again, it will be troublesome.”
Zhang Chen, transformed into a vampire bat, soared in the sky, constantly shuttling through the heavens.
First, he returned to the cave to feed the bumblebees and then the hawks. Only then did Zhang Chen open his Dharma Eyes and look around to see if there were any old guys following him.
He possessed the Heavenly Eye, so if there were any old guys secretly following him, they would definitely not be able to hide from his eyes.
After carefully observing for a while, Zhang Chen arrived at the cave. The next moment, he directly transformed into a vampire bat, huddled into a ball, and plunged into the water.
Zhang Chen tried his best to fly in the water, passing through the underground water all the way, appearing in a dim and narrow cave. Then, the vampire bat that Zhang Chen had transformed into rushed out of the water and soared in the darkness, arriving at the stone chamber again.
The underground world was pitch black, so dark that one couldn't see their fingers. Zhang Chen's figure manifested in the darkness, and then he waved his right hand towards the depths of the water. The underground dark river surged, and a luminous pearl appeared in his hand.
This luminous pearl was the size of an infant's head, illuminating an area of more than twenty meters. Zhang Chen arrived at the crack. As the river water washed over it, the soil on the wall was washed away, and a dazzling earthy yellow light projected from the crack, illuminating the entire darkness.
“The twelfth-order mystery.” Zhang Chen stood at one end of the crack, looking at the dazzling light on the other end of the crack. The next moment, his figure flashed, and he transformed into thirty-six vampire bats.
Then, one of the vampire bats landed at the crack and crawled inside along the crack.
“It must succeed!”
Zhang Chen said to himself.
As the bat entered the crack, the mist within the stone wall re-emerged. However, when it was three feet away from the bat, all the mist dissipated, because the bat had a pearl hanging on its body, which was infused with the light of a righteous god, dispelling the mist in the crack.
However, as the bat got closer and closer to the depths of the crack, its movements became slower and slower, as if an invisible burden was pressing on its body, making its steps heavier and heavier, as if it was carrying an overloaded weight.
Most importantly, the bat's internal organs began to experience bursts of severe pain at this time. The gravity not only acted on the bat's body but also directly on the bat's internal organs, and even directly on the bat's soul and spirit.
Finally, at a certain moment, the bat stopped moving, and blood slowly flowed out of its seven orifices. At this time, the crystal nucleus in its heart was beating frantically, constantly repairing the bat's injuries.
Zhang Chen stopped moving and pondered to himself: “The speed at which the crystal nucleus repairs the injuries cannot keep up with the speed at which gravity destroys it. Moreover, I am still twenty meters away from the crack, and the gravity behind will become heavier and heavier. It is simply not enough to achieve a balance between repair and destruction.”
After thinking for a long time, Zhang Chen finally withdrew the bat transformation. Although the death of the bat transformation would not kill him, it would definitely damage his vitality.
For cultivators, the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit are extremely important and should not be easily damaged.
To do something knowing it is impossible is foolish.
Zhang Chen thought, the bat returned, and then Zhang Chen's figure reappeared in the cave: “I remember that behind the bronze door, there is still a lot of experience points. As long as I go behind the bronze door, I can collect that large amount of experience points.”
Zhang Chen held the luminous pearl, and the river water beneath his feet rose up, turning into a waterway staircase. Zhang Chen stepped on it, and the water flow froze into ice, step by step, walking towards the bronze door.
Zhang Chen's pace was very fast, because for him, experience points were very important.
Zhang Chen came to the bronze door again, and his eyes looked at the gap under the bronze door.
There was a high threshold outside the bronze door. Although the bronze door was off the ground, it was still airtight due to the high threshold.
“It is indeed difficult to distort the bronze door and open a passage for normal people to pass through, but I still have a chance to create a gap for bats to pass through. I don't even need the complete bat to pass through. I can break the bat's skeleton and flatten the bat's chest a lot. With my current crystal nucleus's recovery ability, it shouldn't cost me my life. Moreover, I don't need all the bat transformations to pass through; I only need one bat transformation to pass through, and things should be done.” Zhang Chen silently calculated how to quickly pass through the bronze door and the opportunity to pass through the bronze door.
“It still has to be blasted with gunpowder. As long as there is enough gunpowder, the bronze door can always be blasted out of shape.” After thinking for a long time, Zhang Chen came up with a countermeasure.
He needed gunpowder! And a lot, a lot of gunpowder!