Chapter 80 The Heavenly Talisman Sect's Inheritance! 6 Ding Heavenly Armor Talismans! Ancient C
Inside the Tianyuan Pagoda.
With a flash of light, Zhou Jin had already stepped into the tower.
In that instant, he felt as if he had passed through an invisible barrier and entered a completely new world.
Behind them was a slowly closing golden passage, and in front of them was a vast space.
It was much bigger than he had imagined.
From the outside, the pagoda has three stories, but it only occupies a few dozen feet in size.
But once you step inside, you'll discover that it's a hidden world, a world of its own.
The feeling is like suddenly entering a vast and boundless world through a narrow entrance, creating a strong visual impact and psychological shock.
This is a huge palace.
The palace was dozens of feet high, with a dome shaped like an arc, inlaid with countless fist-sized jewels that emitted a soft light, illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime.
The luminous pearls were arranged in a mysterious pattern, with faint starlight flowing around them, as if they were a miniature starry sky.
Zhou Jin counted them; there were no fewer than a hundred jewels on the dome alone.
Each one of them is worth a fortune.
The ground was covered with an unknown blue jade stone, so shiny that it could reflect one's image clearly.
Zhou Jin looked down and saw his face clearly reflected in the jade, as if he were standing in front of a giant mirror.
The jade was covered with intricate patterns, which crisscrossed and faintly formed a huge array, emitting a faint spiritual light.
He could sense that those patterns contained a certain power, which remained intact despite being dormant for countless years.
Around the palace stood eighteen enormous stone pillars, each as thick as two people could hug and over ten feet tall.
The stone pillars are carved with exquisite patterns, including immortals riding the clouds, ferocious beasts, magnificent palaces, and vast and magnificent landscapes.
Each image is so lifelike, as if telling an ancient story.
Zhou Jin approached a stone pillar and gently touched the carvings, feeling the textured surface between his fingertips.
It looked as if it had been carved by an unknown craftsman, stroke by stroke, countless years ago.
Deep within the palace, several tightly closed doors could be vaguely seen, leading to higher levels.
The portals were a pale gold color, matching the tower's color, and were also covered with runes.
Zhou Jin knew that behind those doors were the second and third floors.
He stood at the entrance, his gaze sweeping over the magnificent palace, a profound and indescribable awe welling up within him.
This is the place where the Tianyuan Sect has been passed down.
The Heavenly Origin Sect Master, who was at the Nascent Soul stage, created this small world, but ultimately perished here.
He hid all his life's learning and collection in this pagoda, waiting for the right person to come along.
And I am clearly the one destined for this.
Zhou Jin took a deep breath and felt the rich spiritual energy permeating the air.
The spiritual energy here is several times denser than outside. With each breath, you can feel that spiritual energy flowing through your body, nourishing your meridians and flesh.
He even had the illusion that one day of cultivation here was equivalent to ten days outside.
He was about to take a step forward when his gaze suddenly sharpened.
Not far from the entrance, near the left-hand stone pillar, he discovered a corpse.
It was a skeleton sitting cross-legged, leaning against a stone pillar, as if it had been meditating and regulating its breathing in life.
The skeleton had completely weathered into a grayish-white color, but it still maintained the posture it had in life, with its hands hanging down on its knees and its head slightly lowered.
Judging from the posture, the person died peacefully, without struggling or suffering, as if he were simply asleep.
Zhou Jin felt a chill run down his spine and slowly stepped forward.
He approached cautiously, his footsteps so light they were almost silent.
His eyes were fixed on the corpse, and his mind was on high alert, ready to deal with any potential dangers at any time.
In such a place, any carelessness could have fatal consequences.
But nothing happened.
The corpse sat there quietly, motionless, like a statue.
The surrounding air was still, and there was nothing unusual.
Zhou Jin approached the corpse and examined it carefully.
Although the Taoist robe on the corpse had faded and its original color was no longer visible, it was still intact and faintly glowed with spiritual light, clearly indicating that it was not an ordinary item.
The Taoist robe was smooth and soft, made of some unknown material, and had not rotted despite the passage of countless years.
A dusty gray storage bag hung from his waist; it looked ordinary, just like any other ordinary storage bag.
But Zhou Jin knew that this storage bag must be extraordinary to have survived until now.
He hesitated for a moment, then reached out, wanting to touch the Taoist robe.
The moment the fingers touched—
"call--"
The corpse instantly turned into a cloud of ashes, which scattered into the air.
Zhou Jin's hand stopped in mid-air, watching the wisp of ash slowly fall and eventually spread into a thin layer on the ground.
Those grayish-white powders were the last traces of a monk.
No matter how glorious one's life may be, after death one is nothing more than a handful of dust.
He only had time to pick up the Taoist robe and the storage bag.
The Taoist robe I received was soft and smooth; I wondered what material it was made of.
Despite the passage of countless years, it remains resilient and intact, with a faint glow emanating from it.
Zhou Jin gently tugged at the robe and found that it was extremely strong. With the strength of his body at the fifth level of Qi Refining, it could not be damaged in the slightest.
He tried to tear it with force, but the Taoist robe didn't budge. He then tried to slash it with a dagger, but it didn't leave a single mark.
This is an extraordinary treasure.
Zhou Jin understood.
This Taoist robe is very likely a defensive magic weapon, but it is unknown how to use it.
Even if it's unusable, its material alone makes it quite valuable.
He carefully folded the Taoist robe and put it into his storage bag.
Then he picked up the storage bag and probed it with his divine sense.
He was stunned by this discovery.
The storage bag had an enormous interior space, measuring several tens of feet square, larger than any storage bag he had ever seen.
An ordinary storage bag has an internal space of only about ten feet square.
Even the better ones are only a few feet high.
This storage bag was several tens of feet square, almost like a small warehouse.
It was filled with all sorts of items, a dazzling array that made one's head spin.
A large number of spirit stones were piled up into a small mountain.
There are probably thousands of mid-grade spirit stones alone.
There are also nearly ten high-grade spirit stones, radiating rich spiritual energy, each one priceless.
Zhou Jin roughly estimated that these spirit stones alone were worth hundreds of thousands of low-grade spirit stones.
Several antique treasures exude an ancient and rustic aura.
There were knives and swords, seals and banners, all in different shapes and exuding a powerful spiritual aura.
Ancient treasures are magical artifacts from ancient times, whose power far surpasses that of ordinary magical artifacts today.
Each of these ancient treasures is worthy of being a treasure of the sect.
There were also a large number of talismans, neatly stacked, at least a hundred of them.
Each one exuded a powerful spiritual pressure, clearly indicating that they were not ordinary items.
Zhou Jin scanned the talismans with his divine sense and found that there were many kinds of talismans, including attack talismans, defense talismans, auxiliary talismans, and special talismans that he had never seen before.
Zhou Jin's heart began to race.
If he wasn't mistaken, the identity of this corpse was very likely that of the Nascent Soul cultivator from the Heavenly Talisman Sect!
In the original story, the ancient cultivator from the Heavenly Talisman Sect perished because he forcibly broke into the Heavenly Origin Pagoda.
Unexpectedly, he actually barged in.
But for some unknown reason, it ultimately perished here.
Zhou Jin took a deep breath and took out a jade slip from his storage bag.
It was a pale blue jade slip, warm to the touch, with a faint glow of spiritual light.
The jade slip has a very special texture. It is not like ordinary jade. Instead, it has a warm and smooth feel, yet it is incredibly tough.
On the front of the jade slip are four ancient and simple characters—
The Secret Manual of Celestial Symbols!
Those four characters are written with vigorous strokes and a majestic style, clearly the work of a master calligrapher.
Zhou Jinxin was shocked.
Sure enough it was him!
He suppressed his excitement and probed the jade slip with his divine sense.
In his mind's eye, lines of ancient characters slowly emerged.
The opening section provides a detailed introduction: This is the core inheritance jade slip of the Heavenly Talisman Sect, which must not be lightly passed on to anyone other than the sect leader or a candidate for the next sect leader.
The jade slip contains many secret advanced talisman-making methods of the Heavenly Talisman Sect, as well as a complete talisman-making inheritance from beginner to expert.
Zhou Jin continued reading, becoming increasingly alarmed and excited with each word.
The contents of this "Heavenly Talisman Secret Manual" are so comprehensive that it can be called an encyclopedia of the Way of Talismans!
It contains "An Introduction to the Way of Talismans," which starts with the most basic principles of talismans and explains in detail the composition of talismanic characters, the selection of talismanic paper, the preparation of talismanic ink, and the steps of talisman making, allowing even someone who knows nothing about talismans to get started.
After reading a few pages, Zhou Jin suddenly understood many things that he hadn't understood before.
There is a book called "Essentials of Talisman Insights", which records the insights and experience summaries of talisman-making by masters of the Tianfu Sect throughout the ages.
It covers everything from how to improve the success rate, how to avoid failure, and how to deal with various emergencies.
Those pieces of experience, gained through countless failures by our predecessors, are invaluable.
There are unique recipes and techniques for crafting various special talisman papers and spirit inks. Ordinary talisman papers can only be used to draw low-level talismans, while special talisman papers can bear more powerful rune power.
These recipes and techniques are closely guarded secrets of the Tianfu Sect and cannot be bought outside.
There is also a complete system ranging from basic talismans to advanced complex talisman arrays.
The basic talismans, such as the Fireball Talisman, Ice Arrow Talisman, Vajra Talisman, and Swift Travel Talisman, are explained in detail, including their principles, rune structure, and drawing techniques.
Comparing the talismans with those he had seen before, Zhou Jin discovered many details that he had never noticed before.
High-level talismans, such as the Heavenly Thunder Talisman, Earth Fire Talisman, Wind Escape Talisman, and Invisibility Talisman, each require a deep understanding of the runes and exquisite drawing skills.
Each of these talismans is incredibly powerful and a life-saving weapon.
The composite rune array combines multiple runes together to form an even more powerful force.
Such as the Five Elements Talisman Array, the Eight Trigrams Talisman Array, and the Seven Stars Talisman Array, each of which is incredibly powerful.
Zhou Jin imagined that if he could set up these talisman arrays, they could probably trap even Core Formation and Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
There are also various unorthodox, bizarre, and even extremely powerful special talisman-making methods.
Such as the Soul-Capturing Talisman, Puppet Talisman, Substitute Talisman, and Curse Talisman, each has its own unique uses.
These talismans have various abilities: some can control people's minds, some can create substitutes, and some can curse enemies—it's simply unbelievable.
The entire process, from material selection, processing, brush making, ink mixing, talisman drawing, talisman nurturing, and activation, to various contingency plans for dealing with talisman making failures and talisman power backlash, is documented in detail.
Zhou Jin became increasingly alarmed and excited as he looked at the document.
The systematic nature, completeness, and depth of this "Heavenly Talisman Secret Manual" far surpass any talisman classic he had ever encountered before!
With it, he can grow from a complete novice in talismans to a true master of the art!
He suppressed his excitement and continued searching through the storage bag.
A moment later, he found a jade box.
The jade box was pure white, carved from the finest mutton-fat jade, and faintly shimmered with a spiritual light.
He took a deep breath and slowly opened the jade box.
The moment the jade box was opened, a dazzling light shot out from it!
It was a ball of light the size of a fist, with six colors—cyan, red, blue, yellow, white, and black—flowing and merging slowly like a living thing.
The six colors of light intertwined and permeated each other, as if enacting some profound principle of the universe. Cyan represented wood, red represented fire, blue represented water, yellow represented earth, white represented metal, and black represented yin. The six colors flowed, and the five elements and yin and yang were all contained within them.
The ball of light emitted a profound, solid, and strange Daoist aura that seemed to draw in the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
A faint, deep sound, like a dragon's roar, could be heard emanating from within, echoing through the silent palace.
Although the voice was soft, it was extremely penetrating and went straight to the heart.
Through the light screen, a talisman can be seen floating silently within it.
The talisman has a mysterious silver-white background, on which six layers of overlapping and intersecting armor phantoms are outlined with extremely complex and profound brushstrokes that seem to contain the ultimate principles of heaven and earth!
Each layer of armor is a different color, corresponding to the six colors of the light cluster—cyan, red, blue, yellow, white, and black. Each layer of armor possesses an inner radiance and an exquisite structure, as if it were not painted on, but rather a projection of real armor sealed within!
The texture of the armor, the scales of the plating, the curve of the shoulder guards, and the lines of the leg guards were all so lifelike, as if you could almost touch them.
The six layers of armor overlapped and intertwined, forming a perfect defensive system.
"Six Ding Heavenly Armor Talisman!"
Zhou Jin (Zhou Ding)'s breathing suddenly became rapid, his eyes fixed on the talisman, almost as if he was about to cry out in alarm!
His heart was pounding, his blood was boiling, and he was completely immersed in immense joy.
In the original work, this talisman is one of the three major secret talismans of the Heavenly Talisman Sect, and its reputation is extremely high!
Its most distinctive feature is that any cultivator can wield it, and the protective power it provides directly depends on the concentration of spiritual energy in the environment when it is activated!
The more abundant the spiritual energy in a place, the more robust and astonishing the "Six Ding Heavenly Armor" formed by this talisman from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth becomes.
In theory, under specific conditions where spiritual energy is extremely abundant, it can even withstand a full-force attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator!
After the passing of the Celestial Master Tianfu, the talisman disappeared without a trace, becoming a famous unsolved mystery in the cultivation world.
It turns out that they were lost here along with this successor of the Heavenly Talisman Sect who had trespassed into the core of the forbidden area!
This is a powerful life-saving technique that can be used as a trump card to turn the tide in critical moments!
Its value, in some respects, even surpasses that of many offensive magical artifacts!
With trembling hands, Zhou Jin closed the jade box again.
His fingers were trembling slightly, from being too excited.
He carefully put the ball of light and the jade box into his storage bag, placed it close to his body, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
It took him a long time to calm down.
He took a few deep breaths to calm his agitated emotions. His heartbeat gradually returned to normal, and his breathing became steady.
Now is not the time to take stock of the ancient cultivators of the Tianfu Sect.
The most urgent task is to obtain the legacy left by Tianyuan Sect.
This is the legacy of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
It is far richer and more precious than the legacy of this Tianfu Sect.
With that thought in mind, Zhou Jin carefully put away the storage bag and Daoist robe of the ancient cultivator from the Heavenly Talisman Sect, and stepped towards the interior of the first level of the Heavenly Origin Pagoda.
After passing through the area at the entrance, the view suddenly opened up.
This is a huge hall, several times more spacious than the entrance.
The main hall is rectangular, about 100 zhang long and 50 zhang wide.
The dome is even higher, reaching tens of feet high, as if it reaches straight into the clouds.
The radiance of those luminous pearls illuminated the entire hall as if it were daytime, without a single shadow.
In the center of the main hall, there was nothing but exquisite murals carved on the surrounding walls.
Zhou Jin approached the wall and examined it closely.
The murals are exquisitely carved with smooth lines, depicting scenes of ancient cultivators battling.
Each mural is several meters high and more than ten meters wide, occupying the entire wall.
The colors on the mural are still vibrant, as if they were just painted recently.
In the first mural, an ancient monk clad in golden armor, wielding a long sword, is fighting a giant, jet-black python.
The giant python was hundreds of feet long, coiled up like a mountain, spewing black poisonous mist from its mouth. The poisonous mist spread, and wherever it passed, the grass and trees withered.
The golden-armored cultivator's sword flashed like a rainbow, slicing through the poisonous mist and piercing the giant python's vital spot. The python writhed in agony, blood raining down.
In the second mural, the golden-armored cultivator sits cross-legged, his body shimmering with spiritual light, cultivating. Above his head floats a fist-sized golden core, radiating a dazzling brilliance. The golden core is golden in color, with cloud patterns flowing across its surface; it is the legendary "Golden Core."
The golden-armored cultivator formed hand seals, and his golden core slowly rotated, absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy.
In the third mural, the golden-armored cultivator's hair had turned completely white, but his aura was even more unfathomable. Before him knelt a group of young disciples, receiving his instruction. The disciples included men and women, young and old, but all wore expressions of piety. The golden-armored cultivator pointed to the sky, as if explaining some profound truth.
In the fourth mural, a golden-armored cultivator battles another cultivator whose aura is equally unfathomable. The two unleash their supernatural powers, their fight causing the heavens and earth to tremble and the sun and moon to lose their light. The surrounding mountains and rivers are leveled, and countless cultivators watch from afar, their faces filled with fear. The opponent is surrounded by black mist, clearly a demonic cultivator.
In the fifth mural, a golden-armored cultivator stands before a magnificent palace, with countless disciples behind him. That palace is none other than the Heavenly Origin Pagoda!
Each mural tells the story of the Tianyuan Sect from its founding to its glory and eventual decline.
Zhou Jin was engrossed in watching, as if he had traveled through time and witnessed that magnificent era firsthand.
He watched the golden-armored cultivator grow step by step, and watched the Tianyuan Sect gradually expand.
After a long while, he withdrew his gaze and continued walking deeper into the main hall.
The most eye-catching feature is a half-person-high stone platform in the very center of the main hall.
The stone platform was pure white, carved from an unknown type of jade, and its surface was covered with intricate runes.
The runes were layered and interlocked, with a faint spiritual light flowing around them, clearly indicating an extremely complex formation.
Zhou Jin observed carefully and discovered that the runes contained the power of the five elements, which interacted and countered each other, forming a perfect cycle.
On the stone platform, a dark red, simple-looking three-legged round cauldron is quietly placed.
The tripod is about three feet tall, and its surface has no fancy decorations, only a restrained and heavy texture that has been accumulated over countless years.
The dark red cauldron looked as if it had been scorched by flames for countless years, giving it an ancient and weathered color.
The surface of the tripod has fine lines, which are the marks of time and a testament to history.
The lid of the cauldron was tightly closed, fitting perfectly, as if it were integrated with the body of the cauldron.
The lid of the cauldron is also engraved with runes, which echo the runes on the body of the cauldron.
But beneath the belly of the cauldron, through the gaps in the openwork of the stone platform, one can vaguely see a stable, magnificent reddish-gold flame burning silently.
The flames were not intense or outward-fiery; instead, they gave a warm and vibrant feeling, as if they possessed their own spirit and were eternally inextinguishable.
It burned quietly like that, burning for who knows how many years, and for who knows how many more years.
The shape of the flame was very stable, motionless, as if frozen, yet it was clearly burning.
Zhou Jin only took a few steps closer before he could feel an extremely pure fire elemental power rushing towards him.
That power was both gentle and strong, causing his internal magical energy to become slightly more active and its circulation speed to increase.
He felt that his meridians had become unobstructed, and his magical power flowed more smoothly.
"This flame... is definitely not ordinary."
Zhou Jin's eyes narrowed slightly.
It doesn't seem like an ordinary spirit fire; it's more like a living, spiritual being.
That warm and vibrant feeling makes people want to get closer and be intimate with it.
It was as if it were not a flame, but a warm life.
Zhou Jinqiang suppressed his impulse and did not approach rashly.
He knew that this stone platform, this ancient cauldron, and this flame were all extraordinary.
There must be some kind of protective barrier above it; touching it rashly could be dangerous.
That ancient cultivator from the Heavenly Talisman Sect perished here because he recklessly broke through the forbidden area.
He must take this as a warning.