Chapter 171 - 170: [The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, the Oriole Is Behind]

Chapter 171: Chapter 170: [The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, the Oriole Is Behind]

What else could Daoxuan do? He could only do as he was told.

But before he took off his clothes, he kicked the human-faced sunflower out of the meditation chamber.

Over the past few days, he had more or less come to accept this bizarre creature.

Despite its frightening appearance, the human-faced sunflower was actually a coward.

At the slightest sign of trouble, it would burrow into Daoxuan’s arms, scared to death.

If all else failed, it would just lie on the ground and play dead.

It was so pathetic, it sometimes gave one the false impression that monsters weren’t all that special.

Of course, that was just the sunflower being a wimp. If you actually ran into a monster, you still had to run for your life.

Try to fight one head-on, and believe me, you’d die a horrible death.

Shouyangzi expertly took out a wolf-hair brush, cinnabar, an ink stick, and a bowl of rooster blood.

He poured the three ingredients into a dish and began to stir them together.

"Scholar X, the Daoist Spirit Awakening requires the use of certain Talismans. These Talismans, however, must be drawn on the surface of the body to increase the chances of success. While it’s possible to cultivate in the mortal world, it’s nothing compared to the energy tide that occurs when a Netherworld Fissure appears.

At that moment, the Talismans drawn with cinnabar, ink, and blood will guarantee a one-hundred-percent successful Spirit Awakening. Furthermore, I’ve secretly practiced drawing these Talismans many times. Each attempt takes ten minutes at most.

Once my disciple, Daoxuan, has succeeded, I will immediately perform the Spirit Awakening for you."

As the old Daoist spoke, he had already finished mixing the cinnabar, ink, and rooster blood into a uniform paste.

He dipped the wolf-hair brush in the mixture. Then, with swift, masterful strokes, he began to draw Talismans all over Daoxuan’s body.

A series of strange, bewildering symbols, impossible to comprehend, appeared one after another.

The paper version of He Xiaotian felt like his head was about to explode just from watching.

Ten minutes later, Daoxuan’s entire body was covered in Talismans.

Meanwhile, the Netherworld Fissure pulsed and swelled, suddenly expanding to an enormous size—at least half as tall as a person.

"HUMMM!!"

Shouyangzi plunged his right hand into his robes, pulling out dozens of Daoist Talismans and tossing them into the air.

The walls, door, and windows of the meditation chamber were instantly covered in paper Talismans.

In that instant, an incredibly dense and intoxicating wave of Spiritual Qi erupted from the fissure.

The Daoist Talismans around the room glowed with a faint yellow light, trapping all the gushing Spiritual Qi inside.

The Juggler’s eyes shot wide open, his face filled with delighted surprise.

Unfortunately, before he could make a move, a flick from He Xiaotian landed on his forehead.

FLICK!

With a soft thud, the man instantly passed out.

As his eyes closed, his heart seethed with endless resentment.

Upon contact with the Spiritual Qi, the blood-red symbols on Daoxuan’s body began to shimmer with a golden light.

Vast amounts of Spiritual Qi poured into his body, forging a wellspring of Magical Power within him.

Half an hour later, the blood-red symbols on Daoxuan’s body erupted in a boundless golden radiance.

Then, they contracted sharply and vanished completely beneath his skin.

Daoxuan exhaled sharply.

He rose to his feet. His eyes were sharp and full of spirit; he was like a completely different person.

He now possessed a certain spiritual, ethereal quality.

He looked like a great Daoist master reborn, having undergone an astonishing metamorphosis.

"Hahaha! All the blood patterns have vanished beneath your skin! This proves you’re a genius! The number one genius of our Daoist Alliance, no less!" The old Daoist was ecstatic, practically bouncing with an energy that simply couldn’t be contained.

"Is that significant?" the paper He Xiaotian asked.

"Of course! If twenty to thirty percent of the blood patterns disappear, the Spirit Awakening is considered a success. But the results are mediocre, nothing special. Someone like that would struggle their whole life; being able to draw a single Daoist Talisman would be a miracle born from good karma in a past life and extreme diligence in this one.

If it’s forty to fifty percent, the result is satisfactory. They can at least dream of becoming a true Daoist. Anyone who reaches sixty to seventy percent is, without exaggeration, one in a thousand—a genuine young talent.

Reaching eighty to ninety percent makes you a definite genius! Our sect hasn’t seen many of those. But Daoxuan... he reached a full hundred percent! What does this mean? It means The Three Pristine Ones have blessed us! It is fated that the Daoist tradition will be carried on through my, Shouyangzi’s, lineage."

He Xiaotian, hiding in the wardrobe, rolled his eyes. ’Is all this excitement really necessary?’

He couldn’t understand the joy of achieving a long-held dream after years of waiting.

"Master, I still have symbols on the soles of my feet. I don’t think I’m a genius."

"..."

Shouyangzi’s bubble of pride was instantly popped by reality.

"That’s still ninety-nine percent!" the old Daoist snapped. His enthusiasm clearly dampened, he turned and gestured for the paper He Xiaotian to strip. "Alright, it’s your turn, Scholar X."

A moment later, the old Daoist stared at the bulging muscles and gulped.

’No wonder he can beat those treacherous superhumans to a pulp. Just how in the world did he build these muscles?!’

More than ten minutes later, the paper man’s body began to emit a faint golden glow.

"CRASH!!"

A massive tree root burst from the ground and lashed out violently at the paper version of He Xiaotian.

Although it was a creation of the Paper Palanquin Master and very durable...

...the tree root was clearly stronger, shattering it into pieces with a single strike.

Shouyangzi stood to the side, completely dumbfounded.

The wolf-hair brush dropped from his hand and clattered to the floor.

’What just happened?’

Outside, the three people buried in the dirt flinched.

’Looks like another huge battle is about to start. We’d better just stay put.’

"Hahaha, thank you both for clearing the way for me! As for this energy tide, I’ll be happy to take it off your hands." A thick, towering tree of some unknown species burst from the ground.

A human face twisted into shape on its bark, its expression full of smug satisfaction.

It was clearly very pleased with its own sneak attack, which had seemingly eliminated He Xiaotian instantly.

"Such pure Spiritual Qi... If I can absorb it all, I can break through the Hidden Dragon Realm and take that final step into the Dragon Transformation Realm," the tree demon muttered to itself, acting as if victory was already in its grasp.

Inside the paper palanquin, the young lady was bewildered. ’How did He Xiaotian know there was an enemy hiding in the shadows?’

The truth was, He Xiaotian didn’t know.

He had simply sensed someone spying on him, and being a person who greatly valued his own life...

...he decided to use the Paperman’s paper creation to play out the old "lure the snake from its hole" trick.

If no one appeared, all the better.

As it turned out, his worry had been excessive.

A tree demon that had to resort to a sneak attack was clearly lacking in confidence.

It didn’t dare to face him head-on, choosing instead to hide in the shadows and wait for the right moment to strike.

With a thrust of his right hand, He Xiaotian shoved the Qi-Sealing Stubborn Stone directly into the Juggler’s mouth.

"CRACK!"

The faint sound of a dislocating jaw echoed. After all, when He Xiaotian was at full power with all his buffs stacked, he stood over three meters tall.

His fists were even larger than clay pots.

It took some real force to cram the stone into the Juggler’s small mouth.

"Bastard!"

Ignoring the young lady’s cry, He Xiaotian flared his Inner Strength.

The boundless, Extreme Yang Inner Strength from his Heart Spleen Acupoint surged forth.

The temperature in the room instantly skyrocketed, becoming unbearably hot.

"Hm?!"

The tree demon sensed something was wrong. ’Why does this aura feel... familiar?’

Then, a ridiculously muscular man ripped the wardrobe apart and stepped out.

"?!"

’Holy shit, how are you still alive?’

’Didn’t I just smash you to bits?!’