Lin Xuan said nothing. He released his own life-bound talisman.
The Gu-Xuan Talisman shot from the Mud Pill Palace straight at Gu Ying's twin talismans.
As it flew, its runes shone and twisted rapidly. By the time it reached the Youxuan Sword, it had formed a palm-sized vortex.
"Life-bound talisman?!"
Gu Ying's expression changed drastically, horror flashing across his face.
He hurriedly tried to retract his two talismans.
But just as he attempted this, the Gu-Xuan Talisman vortex surged forward.
The pull was so strong that Lin Xuan could clearly feel the spiritual power inside Gu Ying's talismans being sucked into the vortex.
"No!"
Gu Ying shouted.
"Divine Needle!"
He quickly controlled his Divine Needle, shooting at Lin Xuan in an attempt to distract him.
"Ding!"
The Youxuan Sword shot back, blocking the Divine Needle.
At this point, Gu Ying's spiritual power was exhausted; the Divine Needle could no longer maintain its materialized form.
"Boom!"
After colliding with the Youxuan Sword for a few seconds, it completely disintegrated.
Simultaneously, Gu Ying's two life-bound talismans were fully absorbed by the vortex.
"Spare me! Please, Master, spare me!"
Gu Ying knelt immediately, shouting.
"Whoosh!"
The Youxuan Sword transformed into a black shadow, piercing Gu Ying's neck.
A thousand miles delivered a head, a small token with deep meaning… Lin Xuan silently paid respects, "Master Gu, rest in peace."
The Gu-Xuan Talisman, having absorbed the talismans, returned to the Mud Pill Palace.
The moment it reentered, Lin Xuan felt a surge of spiritual power, far stronger than before, spreading rapidly.
The spiritual power in the Mud Pill Palace skyrocketed!
"So good… this is what absorption feels like. Temporary power-ups are fun, but constant power-ups? Even better."
Lin Xuan moved to Gu Ying's body and absorbed his Qiankun Bag.
He then transmitted his voice to Qing Tan, instructing her to bring the three little tigers over.
"Carry the bodies of the two men and their horses into the forest," Lin Xuan commanded the beasts.
After handling the bodies, Lin Xuan returned to Lieyan Mountain.
"Time to challenge a second-rank talisman master!"
He found a room and entered seclusion.
[Task: Breakthrough to Second-Rank Talisman Master. Reward: Spiritual +2, Comprehension +2]
Half a day later…
Vzzz… Powerful spiritual fluctuations emanated from Lin Xuan's room.
All the bandits on Lieyan Mountain felt the overwhelming spiritual energy.
Many, understanding its significance, bowed in awe.....Lin Xuan was breaking through.
Lin Xuan gazed at the second Gu-Xuan Talisman forming in the Mud Pill Palace and exhaled in satisfaction.
"Claim reward!"
[Spiritual 25—27]
[Comprehension 21—23]
"Let's see what Master Gu left."
Lin Xuan emptied Gu Ying's Qiankun Bag. Among the miscellaneous items, the valuable rewards were hundreds of Yang Yuan Pills and a mental technique manual.
The manual detailed the "Divine Needle," allowing spiritual energy to materialize into a phantom needle with high lethality.
The technique required advanced spiritual control; the higher the control, the stronger the needle.
"A refined-level technique… not bad!"
Lin Xuan recalled Master Yan mentioning that mental techniques were akin to martial arts for talisman masters, divided into Refined, Qi, and Spirit levels.
His Youxuan Sword was a basic technique; it could match Gu Ying's Divine Needle only due to Master Yan's craftsmanship and Lin Xuan's perfect spiritual control.
"Once I master this technique, its power will surpass Gu Ying's by far."
[Task: Read Divine Needle 10 times. Reward: Basic understanding of Divine Needle]
Lin Xuan read ten times, gaining an introductory understanding, then began training.
[Task: Train Divine Needle once. Reward: Divine Needle proficiency +1]
He succeeded on the first try.
Next, he would gradually increase proficiency.
With his already perfect spiritual control, training the Divine Needle was easy.
What originally required 1,000 repetitions now needed only 680.
His spiritual breakthrough also improved his Yuan Energy.
Three days later…
Lin Xuan refined the innate Yang Gang energy from system rewards and successfully broke through to Late Tianyuan Stage.
[Task: Breakthrough to Late Tianyuan Stage. Reward: Constitution +2, Root Bone +2]
[Task: Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, Level 6. Reward: Constitution +1]
"Claim!"
[Constitution 29—32]
[Root Bone 35—37]
The attributes merged into his body. Lin Xuan felt waves of power.
His constitution improved drastically, mainly thanks to Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, which granted +1 constitution per level.
Over this period, he progressed from Level 4 to Level 6, gaining 3 points of constitution.
Constitution represents physical training aptitude; higher stats increase strength, speed, and recovery.
Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill complemented his training.
Now, Lin Xuan's Yuan Energy, spiritual power, and physical strength were terrifying.
Even facing Hu Ying in a one-on-one fight would be manageable.
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