Talisman Emperor

A 30cm long Pickled Pepper Unicorn Prawn, a plate of Agar Spirit Bamboo Slices, a plate of Azuredeer Meat that dripped with golden juices, a plate of Nine-treasures Wolfporia Biscuit, and a pot of Pheonixtail Bird Soup that was still boiling were placed on the table, and they both looked and smelled good, and even caused the air to be suffused with a tempting fragrance.

"Eat." Chen Xi drank a mouthful of wine before smiling to Mu Kui.

"There's no need, I'm fine even if I don't eat." Mu Kui replied hurriedly with an extremely embarrassed expression. It was his first time cooking, yet he'd taken salt as the oil used for cooking, and he felt truly ashamed.

"Try it. Even though we cultivators are able to achieve inedia since long ago, eating some delicacies is a type of enjoyment as well." Chen Xi passed over a pair of chopsticks and spoke with an irrefutable tone.

"Thank you, Master." Mu Kui was unable to decline, so he held up the chopsticks and started to eat. He'd only tasted a mouthful of the bamboo slices that were jade white like slow when he instantly felt his mouth and belly were filled with a wonderful and indescribable feeling of comfort, causing his appetite to be aroused, and he couldn't help but clamp over another piece. After this, he couldn't stop himself and started eating voraciously without the slightest restraint.

"Aowu!" Bai Kui raised his head from the plate and glared with displeasure at Mu Kui who was taking his food, and when he saw this fellow was eating even faster than himself, he hurriedly buried his head in the plate once more and started swallowing with large mouthfuls.

Chen Xi smiled lightly, yet he stood up and returned to his cabin in the ship before starting to meditate and cultivate. There was only a year and a half from the Allstar Meeting, so he had to make the best use of his time to cultivate and strive to attain the Golden Core Realm in his cultivation within this period of time. Otherwise, he would probably not even possess the qualifications to participate in the Allstar Meeting.

In a flash, half a month passed by.

On this day, Chen Xi awoke from his meditation and faintly felt that there was a strand of unusual wind surged that was as fine as a hair within the Door of Life that sat at the center of the True Essence lake in his Dantian, and if he didn't carefully pay attention to it, he would utterly be unable to notice it.

It won't be long. The tribulation of wind and fire is being developed, and perhaps it wouldn't be long before the critical moment for me to advance into the Golden Core Realm will arrive! The corners of Chen Xi's mouth was suffused with a trace of a smile as he stood up and stretched his body before moving to the bow.

The Myriad Venom Mountain Range should be ahead. It continues on for a few tens of thousands of kilometers, and behind it is the river that lays across and marks the boundary between the southern territory and the central plains, Sunset River… Chen Xi took out a jade slip map and looked down at the ground beneath him as he compared and scanned it with the map.

After a long time, he put away the map and instructed Mu Kui. "We'll traverse from the ground once we arrive at the Myriad Venom Mountain Range."

Mu Kui received his orders with a solemn expression. During this half month of time that Chen Xi was in closed door cultivation, he'd always been guarding against the surroundings, as flying in the air was similarly filled with danger, and it was possible for both natural calamities and disasters brought by man to occur. Moreover, if they chose to traverse it on the ground, even though it would consume a slightly longer time, yet it was comparatively safer.

The Myriad Venom Mountain Range continued for an extremely long distance and was suffused with a layer of thick poisonous fog and miasma all year round, and there were various poisonous insects residing within it. The most formidable amongst these poisonous insects were snakes, scorpions, spiders, centipedes, and toads. If cultivators below the Golden Core Realm entered the mountain range, they would be assaulted by a variety of poisonous things before finally dying from being contaminated by toxic poison. Even if it was a Golden Core Realm cultivator, they had to carry along some potent antidotes before they would dare step foot into the mountain range.

Three hours later, Chen Xi put away the treasured vessel and descended to the ground before entering the mountain range with Mu Kui.

Swoosh!

A sword light struck out abruptly and a thousand-legged centipede that shot out explosively from a rift in the rocks was slashed into two. Its corpse was thick like a bucket, and its thousand claws were pitch black and suffused with a blue sheen. As its blood flowed onto the ground, the plants instantly withered and lost all vitality, whereas, the dirt on the ground was tainted to become pitch black like ink, and it emitted strands of a pungent stench.

It deserves being called the Myriad Venom Mountain Range. I've encountered at least 100 types of poisonous things all along the way. Moreover, all of them aren't inferior to Golden Hall Realm cultivators and simultaneously possess toxic poison in their bodies. Ordinary cultivators wouldn't dare step into this place indeed. Chen Xi put away his Talisman Armament and became vigilant in his heart. The reason he'd chosen to traverse this mountain range was for the sake of tempering his cultivation in martial techniques. The poisonous beings in this place were cunning and dangerous, and their strengths weren't weak. So it was undoubtedly a natural practice ground and he naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity.

Chen Xi headed deeper into the mountain range and Mu Kui followed his footsteps behind him. As he looked at Chen Xi's back, his heart was filled with admiration. He'd initially thought that since his cultivation realm had surpassed Chen Xi, he would be entirely capable of being more helpful to Chen Xi, yet after he witnessed the terrifying strength Chen Xi revealed, he was finally enlightened. Even if he's already advanced into the Golden Core Realm now, he was probably far from being a match for Chen Xi.

This won't do! I have to make the best use of my time and cultivate as well. Once my cultivation is left far behind by Master, I'm afraid I'll become a burden again… Mu Kui clenched his fists tightly in secret as his fighting spirit soared.

In a gorge.

This gorge wasn't large yet it was completely different from the green and luxuriant mountains in its surroundings. The gorge was completely barren and covered with rubble, and only at the center of the gorge was a small pool that covered an area of 30m and a lotus that was pitch black like ink bloomed within this pool. The lotus leaves and stem were extremely pitch black, and its entire body was coiled with traces of blood colored mist, causing it to seem exceedingly beautiful.

At this moment, there was a group of people gathered in the surroundings of this pool, or perhaps it should be said that they were surrounded here, because opposite them stood a rainbow colored spider that was the size of a millstone.

Shockingly, this rainbow colored spider had an extremely beautiful face, yet its body was enormous and rainbow colored with numerous disgusting tumors growing upon it, and the eight large legs beneath it were suffused with an icy cold sheen like that of a sharp blade. When looked at from afar, this rainbow colored spider seemed to extremely peculiar and evil, and its appearance caused one's scalp to go numb

Moreover, there was a layer of poisonous fog suffusing the surroundings of its enormous body, causing it to be a beautiful scene that revealed an aura of extreme danger.

"Young Miss, leave quickly or it'll be too late!"

"This Rainbow Jadeflame Spider has at least cultivated for over a thousand years, it's only a step away from taking human form, and its strength is sufficient to be comparable to a cultivator at the Golden Core Realm. We're far from being a match for it. Young Miss, you should leave quickly!"

"Leave! We'll stop it!"

This group of people were obviously led by the young woman in a jade dress at the center, and when faced with a terrifying poisonous being like the Rainbow Jadeflame Spider, the over 10 men with strong figures and capable bearings had faces that were covered with anxiousness at this moment as they spoke out at the same time.

"I won't leave, if we die, we'll die together! How can I abandon and disregard all of you?" The young woman in a jade green dress had an extremely beautiful appearance. But her exquisite oval face was already completely ghastly pale as she shook her head resolutely. "Not to mention it was I that requested all of you to come to the Myriad Venom Mountain Range to search for the Inkjade Bloodlotus. I can't leave."

A tall middle aged man at the side frowned and said anxiously when he heard this, "Young Miss, if you don't leave, then how will we be able to concentrate on our enemy? You can't help even if you stay behind, so you should leave swiftly!"

"Right, Young Miss. You take the Inkjade Bloodlotus and leave quickly. We can exchange for the Ambergis from the Treasure Heaven Pavilion to save the Young Patriarch of the Feng Clan. In this way…"

"Enough!" The young woman gritted her teeth as she interrupted. "Dying here is better than abandoning all of you and escaping. I currently…only have all of you that are dear to me."

"Young Miss! The tall middle aged man's face was covered in pain. He'd watched the young woman grow up and had deep feelings like that of a father and daughter with her, so how could he bear to see her die?

Swoosh!

Right at this moment, the Rainbow Jadeflame Spider attacked. Its eight legs danced about and were like blades that descended from the sky as they instantly minced the body of a guard, and then it spat out a ball of web to coil around the minced pieces of the corpse before swallowing it into its stomach.

"Ninth Brother!" The tall middle aged man's eye almost split open when he saw an old brother of his had been killed and eaten instantly, and he roared angrily as the enormous ax in his hand gave rise to a stream of light that chopped out.

Clang! Clang!

The force of the enormous ax chopped onto the back of the spider yet seemed as if it had chopped onto exceedingly hard metal, causing a string of sparks to arise yet was unable to injure it in the slightest, and it had instead seized this opportunity to rob another three guards of their lives.

Hmm? There seems to be a battle over there. What a formidable Rainbow Jadeflame Spider, its strength is at least comparable with a cultivator at the intermediate-stage of the Golden Core Realm! A figure appeared 3km outside the gorge and instantly saw this scene.

This person was naturally Chen Xi. He'd moved through the mountain range for an entire three days and had encountered many formidable poisonous being on the way, yet it was still the first time he'd seen such a formidable spider.

"Tch! Tch!" At this moment, the Rainbow Jadeflame Spider let out a sharp cry as its eight legs that were sharp like blades danced about once more, and it faintly contained a trace of blade technique within it, causing it to be fierce and raging, spraying like a wave. Everywhere it passed, the airflow in the sky was torn into numerous strips and emitted sharp sounds of explosions.

In the blink of an eye, another three guards had their bellies split open and became the delicacies in the stomach of the spider.

"Sixth Brother! Seventh Brother! Eleventh Brother!" The tall middle aged man roared with rage and in an almost insane state. However, what horrified him even more was that the spider was actually moving towards his Young Miss.

He couldn't care about his own safety any longer and raised the enormous ax before standing in front of the young woman with the intention of severing a leg of the spider that was coming right at him.

Bang!

To his despair, his enormous ax was actually sliced apart by the long legs of this spider instead, and it instantly tore open a badly mutilated injury on his chest before he was blasted flying by the force of this strike.

"Uncle Luo!" The young woman cried out in alarm, and then a wisp of resolution appeared on her snow white face as she held her sword and moved to attack the spider.

"Tch! Tch!" However, her strength was even inferior to half the tall middle aged man's strength, and it was without the slightest threat in the eyes of the spider. She instead seemed like a delicacy that delivered itself to the spider, and it couldn't help but emit a sharp complacent cry before swinging its leg to sweep out.

Swoosh!

The young woman in a jade green dress was about to be split in half at the waist when a dazzling and cold light abruptly appeared. It seemed like a flowing light that appeared out of thin air and carried a matchlessly fierce sharp energy that directly penetrated the beautiful face of the Rainbow Jadeflame Spider.

Crack! Crack!

The terrifying sword qi penetrated through its entire body and rampages within the spider's body, instantly slicing apart the spider's exceedingly hard body into countless pieces that crashed onto the ground.

The young woman retreated hastily after she escaped from death, and then she looked at the Rainbow Jadeflame Spider that had transformed into pieces with a terrified and uneasy gaze as if she didn't dare believe that she wasn't dead.

"Young Miss, are you alright?" The tall middle aged man lay on the floor while covering his injury with his hand, yet was unable to stop the blood from flowing, and the blood was even suffused with a dark purple color. Obviously, the attack from before had caused him to be infected with a toxic poison.

The young woman stared blankly as she shook her head, and then she jolted back to her senses and hurriedly ran over to the side of the tall middle aged man as she said excitedly, "Uncle Luo, that spider is dead, it's dead!"

"Young Miss, it's that Senior that saved us. Quickly go thank that Senior." The lips of the tall middle aged man were turning purple, yet he forcefully propped up his body and spoke while looking towards the distance.

The young woman was stunned, and then she raised her eyes to look over. A tall and thin young man was walking towards her, his appearance was handsome, his bearing relaxed and extraordinary, and he entirely didn't possess the appearance of a 'Senior' that she expected and seemed more like someone of almost the same age as her.

"Thank you for this life saving grace, Senior." The young woman in a jade green dress bowed as she spoke. Even though she was shocked by Chen Xi's age, she knew clearly that there were too many young experts in this world, and some were even not inferior to cultivators of the older generation.

"It isn't a big deal." As his clothed fluttered with the wind, Chen Xi instantly arrived before the pool and swept the surroundings with his gaze, and he noticed that only the young woman and tall middle aged man remained amongst the living.

"What're you saying, Senior? If it wasn't for you, I'm afraid Young Miss and I would have lost our lives on the spot." The tall middle aged man gritted his teeth as he stood up, and he panted for breath as he cupped his hands and spoke.

"You're poisoned. You should quickly lay down and circulate your cultivation to heal your injuries. Otherwise, your life will be in danger. I have a cleansing treasured pill that's used to remove poisons, take it." Chen Xi shook his head as he passed a medicinal pill to the tall middle aged man. After he finished doing all this, his gaze unintentionally noticed that within the pool was a bloomed lotus that was pitch black like ink and bathing in traces of bloody mist, causing it to seem extremely beautiful.