Chapter 113: The Golden Attendant Talisman

Mu Long was furious.

He had been in the midst of a crucial moment during his seclusion. Having struggled for so long to achieve a state of selflessness and wander through his spiritual consciousness, he had just caught a trace of that peculiar energy and vaguely sensed the threshold of the Core-Formation stage. Just as he was about to explore it further...

A pungent, foul stench suddenly pierced into his body.

Despite his cultivation at the late stage of the Pulse-Refining phase and the protection of his third-grade treasure armor, he could not block those fumes. The toxic mist invaded his body, forcing his cultivation to a halt. The feeling of his heart boiling with frustration made him incandescent with rage.

His spiritual consciousness swept outward, instantly grasping the situation outside his chamber. Seeing the figures standing there, he understood everything at once. Without a word, he abandoned his cultivation site to exact his revenge.

Li Mu watched Mu Long descending from the sky and smiled faintly. "Long time no see. To appear before us in such a state, completely unashamed—truly, you are a master of the older generation. I am genuinely impressed."

Li Ge could not hold back either; he pointed at Mu Long and laughed so hard he nearly stumbled.

Mu Long realized then that he was practically naked. The Poison Miasma Beads were not merely about the stench; the poison within them was potent. With over a hundred beads shattering at once, even his high-quality third-grade armor had been riddled with holes of varying sizes.

Scanning himself with his spiritual consciousness, Mu Long was horrified to find that a significant amount of toxic miasma had entered his body, circulating through his energy pools and meridians. This was not entirely unexpected; the poison had been concentrated in the small space of his cultivation chamber, reaching a density far higher than what was inside his own body. While he was cultivating, his true energy circulated rapidly, allowing the miasma to spread throughout his entire system in an instant.

Consumed by rage, Mu Long had failed to notice his own condition until now. The poison was not lethal, but it hampered the circulation of his energy, significantly increasing his expenditure. Every major technique he unleashed now placed an additional burden on his body.

Under normal circumstances, he would have sought a place to recover and spend several hours purging the toxins. But seeing the faces of the people before him, Mu Long’s pride and arrogance flared. He believed that even with his current cultivation diminished, crushing these enemies should be easy. Furthermore, as someone who considered himself a refined scholar, the sheer humiliation of his current state made him too furious to retreat.

"All of you, go to hell!"

As he spoke, he drew a third-grade treasure robe from his Mustard Ring and hastily draped it over his shoulders. Such a fourth-grade treasure robe was something even a Pulse-Refining cultivator would rarely possess.

Li Mu tensed, his expression cautious. He knew the initial plan to disrupt Mu Long had succeeded, but the real battle was about to begin.

"Li Ge, engage him!"

He charged forward, brandishing his Spirit Soul Spear. Li Ge nodded, looking up at Mu Long in the sky, as two bursts of power flickered in his hands.

Mu Long was not panicked. Although he had never met Li Mu, he recognized the Spirit Soul Spear and had clashed with Li Ge before; he knew Li Ge was not an easy opponent. Mu Long stepped into the air, hovering steadily. Even in his rage, he would not be so reckless as to fight two people while standing on the ground.

"Star Fist!"

Li Ge struck first. Two pure, white light-fists, glowing like stars, roared through the air toward Mu Long.

The light-fists were incredibly swift, reaching the hundred-meter mark in an instant. Just as they were about to strike, Mu Long remained calm. A deep golden umbrella appeared before him.

The umbrella looked as fragile as paper, yet with a slight rotation, it unleashed hundreds of vortices. The light-fists collided with the vortices and, like water flowing into a drain, vanished in an instant. The force was completely neutralized, leaving the cultivation chamber unharmed.

"What is this broken umbrella?"

Li Ge’s expression remained unchanged. His hands vibrated as he unleashed two more punches. They were lighter than before but carried a heavier, more substantial weight, as if they were physical fists.

*Thud! Thud!*

Two heavy sounds echoed. The light-fists struck the vortices, causing the small ones to explode and fuse into a single, massive vortex, again rendering the attack useless.

Mu Long chuckled softly. "This umbrella is called the Air Umbrella. Let me give you a taste of it."

The Air Umbrella was a mid-grade fourth-tier treasure, forged primarily from Air Stones and imbued with water elemental properties. It was a formidable tool for both offense and defense. As he breathed, the umbrella spun rapidly in the air.

The water vortices expanded, covering a radius of hundreds of meters. Like a misty, murderous fog, the swirling energy within condensed into droplets, whistling toward the group like projectiles. This was the Air Umbrella’s special technique: The Miasma Fog Decimation!

"Very well!"

Li Ge roared, slamming his fists together. His fist-aura expanded instantly, forming a massive, white light-shield that enveloped them. The toxic droplets struck the shield with booming force; some managed to pierce through, but the majority were blocked.

"Hmm?"

Mu Long felt a flicker of doubt. "How is this possible? You were imprisoned; how can you wield such power? Have you recovered? How can this be?"

He looked sharply at Li Mu. "Did you return the Idol of the Evil God to him?"

Having been a patriarch of the Great Wolf Plains for so long, it took little thought to deduce the reason.

Li Mu shook his finger, his face impassive as he deliberately baited him. "Is it not a Spirit-Suppressing Artifact?"

"Go to hell!" Mu Long pointed a finger at Li Mu and bellowed.

Li Hong, watching Li Ge struggle to maintain the shield, shouted at Li Mu with bloodshot eyes, "Why aren't you attacking?"

Li Mu shook his head, pointing at Mu Long, and laughed. "Don't be impatient, wait a little longer!"

"Wait for what? His umbrella isn't in his hands, how is this not the perfect moment?" Li Hong snapped. Ignoring Li Mu, he unleashed a streak of black light from his blade. It moved like a dark dragon, tearing through the light-shield and heading straight for Mu Long.

The black light seemed to shatter space itself, erupting with intense, chaotic energy. Mu Long’s eyes flashed with disdain. He drew a talisman from his robes and tossed it casually.

The talisman exploded in the air, raining golden dust down from the sky. As the smoke cleared, a golden guardian, several meters tall, appeared. The guardian’s face was indistinct, its body covered in golden armor. It held no weapon, yet the heavy aura of pressure it radiated made one feel an involuntary sense of dread.

As the blade approached, the golden guardian stood firm, merely raising its hands and clapping them together.

*Clang!*

The blade was abruptly caught and shattered, falling to the ground in pieces.

The Golden Guardian Talisman!

It was a fourth-tier talisman, an evolved version of the Yellow Armor Talisman. It was incredibly difficult to craft and consumed a terrifying amount of true energy. It could manifest a massive golden guardian to protect the user at close range, though it could only last for about half a breath’s time.

Mu Long felt a pang of heartache as he used it; he only possessed one or two such talismans. But he could not hold back now. He needed a quick victory; every time he used his treasures and talismans, he felt the internal damage worsening, his true energy draining away with alarming speed.