Ch150 Being Followed

“What is this? All it says is enlightenment? Do I just imprint it?” Lan Xin asks, flipping the piece of jade a few times before I stop her.

“Yes, all you have to do is imprint it, and the talisman will activate on its own. I recommend pressing it to your forehead while imprinting it for the smoothest trigger. Though, don’t do it now. Take a few days to think about what you want to learn. You can’t just use them over and over without limits.”

She stops handling it so carelessly. “And what? It just has information inside it? Anything I want to learn, it can just tell me?”

I chuckle and shake my head. “No, it’s best used to hyper-focus on a bottleneck. Maybe there is something about your physique you don’t understand, or a certain spell you’re having difficulty memorizing. These talismans are best used to better understand concepts, or become better in tune with a passion. Like Meng Ruo managed to do, learning more about crafting talismans.”

Lan Xin rolls her eyes. “So it is just a memorization tool?”

Her comment sounds dismissive, but she rubs the smooth jade with her fingers in curiosity.

I shrug and activate the control disk to open the door back to the main storefront again.

“Yes, it’s fine for memorization, but I think you’d be surprised at what it's capable of. It doesn’t even have to be completing a task, you can simply ponder a question. No matter what you wish to focus on, you’ll find the insight you need. I know you’ve told me before you don’t believe in passion, but don’t limit yourself just to prove a point.”

She thinks to herself for a few seconds, but imitates my shrug back and lets out a light hmph before storing it away.

There is a warm stir in her soul, simply happy about the fact I gave it to her, right after telling Meng Ruo I ran out.

We leave the shop and make our way to an open-air portion of the city where flying vessels often take off.

The gossip from the residents in this city has died down, but I still hear my name being spoken every few blocks.

I’m able to scan most of them with my spiritual senses, but once and a while I feel like there are eyes looking at my back that do not belong to anyone.

–

Even when we set off into the sky, there is a strange paranoia in the back of my mind that we’re being followed.

I don’t mention it, but stay alert while Lan Xin gives me a rundown on what’s happened the past few weeks in the city as we fly hundreds of kilometers away.

There have been many late-stage and perfected-stage qi refiners visiting from neighboring smaller cities deeper in the Hidden Mist County. Many have come to congratulate the Wang and Mu Clans on their merging, but the two young heirs in question have not been able to make their company.

Wang Ming and Mu Shulan have not left the Wang Family Estate since the night of their wedding.

“There are all kinds of rumors. Some say they got injured in the battle and do not want to make a negative public appearance until they are healed. Others believe they are taking time to themselves to enjoy consummating the union… Though, I felt a few very fine shockwaves of qi passing by their peak a few times this week. They came from 7th, then 8th, and even 9th-level qi refining breakthroughs. The auras came from the young heirs and even their spirit beasts, I’m certain of it. Whatever gifts they received, they’ve been putting them to great use…”

Lan Xin pauses, and I wonder if the heavenly-grade marrow cleansing elixirs I granted them really helped that much.

Though, my concentration is broken when a very subtle fluctuation in the wind makes my hair stand on end.

I turn around, looking back to see only the empty wasteland of low- and mid-grade mountains and fields as we fly further and further from the city.

It is that same presence I felt before we left, but much stronger.

I pull my tier 2 perception-expanding jade pendant from my storage and activate it on the spot, growing my senses out slightly further, but I do not see anything.

“What? Are we being followed?” Lan Xin asks leisurely, lying in a relaxed position at the back of the boat.

I shake my head. “Not sure… It may have just been my imagination. Do you remember the day we met, when we faced that Phantom Lord?”

She tightens her gaze while looking away. “Yeah, of course I remember… Though, I bet I could kill that demon without your help now anyway.”

I turn my head sharply again, as an instinctual pressure that can only resonate with my Illusory Demon’s Concealment Art floods into my mind.

A loud twang sounds out in the air, followed by metal shattering.

I feel a dense pressure in my chest and look down to see a hair-thin silver needle shattering to pieces as it collides with my Obsidian Silkworm Armored Vest. The front of my robe is torn to shreds.

My eyes widen, and I reach into my storage and instantly crush a perfect-grade enchanted defensive talisman.

A thick layer of 12th-level density qi floods out, and it vibrates with a perfect-grade harmony enchantment.

Another sound of metal shattering rings out in the air, as another almost invisible needle collides with this barrier, less than a centimeter away from my exposed neck.

The talisman breaks apart as it’s used up all of its energy and explodes with excess qi. The entire flying vessel tilts unevenly, and a third impact slams against the bottom of the upturned ship.

An explosion of pseudo tier 2 wood from the hull bursts off the vessel, and Lan Xin’s flames erupt into the air as she prepares to fight. Her serpent glows a deep red in her chest, but does not come out.

I grit my teeth and shatter another enchanted defensive talisman, then throw two inferior-grade tier 2 daggers to Lan Xin.

“Take these! Your old weapon broke, and you’ll need something to fight. That’s the best I have… If you really think you can kill a phantom alone, now would be the time to prove it!”

Another loud bang explodes on the other side of the boat, and shards of a silver needle breaking up through the wood glimmer in my vision.

I can’t see where these attacks are coming from at all, but from the trajectory of the needles, I can tell they’re somewhere below us.

They wield the Illusory Demon’s Concealment Art and have the ability to use at least pseudo tier 2 attacks from long range.

There’s a high chance we’re under attack from foundational demons.

A fifth attack strikes the center bottom of the flying vessel, and a massive crack opens up, tearing the entire boat in half.

All of the shielding arrays shatter, and our forward momentum breaks down as well.

Two damaged halves of the vessel start spiraling down to the ground.

I’m separated from Lan Xin, but I don’t try to stay nearby.

Instead, my head turns to a single point near the ground. A dense stir in my Illusory Demon senses rises in the back of my mind.

There are thick trees for cover and boulders all around, as we’re near the base of an abandoned mountain almost a thousand kilometers away from both the Outer Sect and Lingshi City.

This must be a calculated and timed attack, but I have no idea why or by whom.

I grit my teeth, pulling all of my talismans to the forefront of my mind, deciding between two options.

There are two loud crashes as both halves of the ship slam into the treeline, destroying trees and making craters in the forest.

My Illusory Demon senses blare in my instincts, making all my muscles tighten up and my mind strain to piece together what direction this threat is coming from.

Two hot shadows come bursting toward me from opposite directions. They both look like enormous two-meter-tall fat men, holding heavy silver clubs.

One is a real Illusory Demon; the other is a manifestation of his soul used as a decoy.

I try to turn and block, but a heavy crack of his weapon slams into my back.

My enchanted defensive talisman shatters, and my Obsidian Silk Vest absorbs the rest of the impact before sending me flying.

I’m mostly protected, but the weight of this foundational aura still forces me to cough up blood while text flickers to life in my mind.

[Automatic Inspect Function Activated…]

[Ye Chufan] [Age: 148]

[2nd Level Foundation Establishment]

[Earth, Metal, and Water Spiritual Root] [5th Grade]

[Acquired Illusory Demon Physique] [Late Stage - Mortal Grade]

[No Innate Physique]

[Tasked by his Patriarch of the Ye Clan to follow through with a secret investigation, and find the identity and location of Jiang Duo’s killer. Here with his two brothers, Ye Chuxiang and Ye Chumiao. They plan to capture and soul search the host to find out if they are linked to their mission.]

I activate another enchanted defensive talisman and don’t take any more chances.

As blurs of grey and white light try to circle around me and attack again, I pull out a golden sword in one hand and a crackling azure lightning attack talisman in the other.

I pivot my body away from the obvious false copy of this Illusory Demon and let a lethal, vibrating surge of azure lightning explode into the fat man’s chest at point-blank range.