Mid-Grade Talismans and Black Membrane Monsters

Yuyang Village, Ren Yuan's residence.

Jiang Yan, Tang Long, and Fei Shan had all rushed over.

The matter was urgent. The hall had issued a strict order: the two villages near Qingshan Village must send manpower to support them. Those who disobeyed or were perfunctory would be severely punished.

"That's the situation. A high-level Monster seems to be lurking in Qingshan Village, and the village patrol seems unable to handle it."

Ren Yuan briefly explained the situation. It was similar to what Tang Long had said. Qingshan Village seemed to be in big trouble.

"Chief, can we estimate the level of the Monster?" Fei Shan asked with a solemn expression.

If possible, this question had to be clarified.

In fact, the only thing that could overwhelm a village patrol was a Sha-level Monster.

If it were a Ranked Monster, they wouldn't just ask the hall for support, but would send out a distress signal directly.

For example, the last time Yuyang Village had a Ranked Monster invade, if they hadn't called for help in time and the hall hadn't used a high-level talisman to destroy the Monster, the entire village of Yuyang Village might have become Monster food.

"This..." Ren Yuan hesitated for a moment. "The message from the hall said it's suspected to be a Blood Sha!"

Blood Sha?!

Jiang Yan and the other two instantly changed their expressions.

This was a Monster corresponding to the last major realm of the Body Refining three realms.

Jiang Yan and the others were only Martial Apprentices. In front of a Blood Sha Monster comparable to a Blood Refining Realm martial artist, they were as weak as ants.

"Chief, if it's really a Blood Sha, aren't we just going to die for nothing?"

Tang Long asked in a deep voice.

He was speaking for everyone present, including Ren Yuan.

Although Ren Yuan was a Body Refining martial artist, he was only at the Body Refining Realm, two realms away from the Blood Refining Realm.

Even he was just a slightly stronger cannon fodder in the face of a Blood Sha.

Ren Yuan shook his head and said with a wry smile, "You've misunderstood. The hall is sending us to support, not to attack that suspected Blood Sha Monster."

"If that's the case, even if we're punished, we can't rush to our deaths."

Everyone looked at him, and Ren Yuan continued, "The hall will send someone else to deal with this Monster."

"But because of the invasion of a powerful Monster, the Talisman Soldiers sensed it and have diverted most of their strength to suppress the Monster. Therefore, there are loopholes in the Talisman Soldiers' defenses, and some Monsters will take the opportunity to enter the village."

"Our main task is to kill these Monsters and prevent too many casualties in Qingshan Village."

Hearing Ren Yuan's explanation, Jiang Yan and the other two's expressions eased.

Although Qingshan Village had a high-level Monster, at least they didn't have to face such terror directly.

At this moment, Ren Yuan took out three talismans from his pocket and handed them to the three of them respectively.

Jiang Yan took it. The tadpole runes on the talisman were similar to the Blazing Flames Talisman, but more complex.

"This is a mid-grade Blazing Flames Talisman. The method of use is the same as the Blazing Flames Talisman you usually use, but it's more powerful."

Mid-grade Blazing Flames Talisman?

An upgraded version of the Blazing Flames Talisman?

"The talisman power of the mid-grade Blazing Flames Talisman is basically equivalent to the Inner Qi of a Bone Refining Realm martial artist. We don't know what dangers we'll encounter in Qingshan Village this time, so don't save your talisman power."

Ren Yuan earnestly instructed.

So that was it. The talisman power of a mid-grade Blazing Flames Talisman was equivalent to the Inner Qi strength of a Bone Refining Realm.

Then, the Blazing Flames Talisman they usually used should be a low-grade Blazing Flames Talisman, and its talisman power should be equivalent to the Inner Qi strength of a Body Refining Realm martial artist.

Talismans were truly a powerful force. They could infinitely balance the gap between the weak and the strong.

He suddenly remembered that Sheng Fuwu had also given him an Ice Talisman, which seemed to be even better than the Blazing Flames Talisman. Then this was also a mid-grade talisman.

At this time, Tang Long asked, "Chief, could it be that ordinary Blazing Flames Talismans can't kill Sha-level Monsters?"

Ren Yuan didn't expect Tang Long to ask this question. He thought for a while and slowly said, "It's not that they can't be killed. As long as the Monster stands still and lets you hack and kill it, you can still kill a Sha-level Monster with a Blazing Flames Talisman."

That was as good as saying they couldn't be killed.

In fact, Jiang Yan could understand the reasoning. A Martial Apprentice using talisman power to kill a Monster was similar to a child using a sharp blade.

If the opponent was a Monster of the same level as a Body Refining martial artist, how could they kill it?

The attack strength was similar, but the Monster's other aspects, such as strength and speed, would be stronger.

A Martial Apprentice had no advantage against a Sha-level Monster.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yan suddenly thought of a question, "Chief, I want to know why ordinary people and Martial Apprentices don't have the power to kill Monsters."

When he killed Monsters before, he found that his physique and speed were not much different from those of Sha-level Monsters, but when he killed Monsters, his weapons were covered with talismans.

Therefore, killing Monsters was partly due to his Martial Apprentice strength, physique, speed, and martial skills allowing him to hit the Monster, and partly due to the power of the Blazing Flames Talisman, which could cause damage to the Monster when he hit it.

He had never tried taking off the talisman and directly fighting the Monster with his weapon. He knew the experience that those below the Body Refining Realm did not have the power to injure or kill Monsters, but he did not understand the reason.

Ren Yuan smiled when he heard Jiang Yan's words, "You've been in the patrol team for so long, how come you don't even know this?"

With that, Ren Yuan tensed, and a layer of white Inner Qi film covered his body.

"Look..."

Ren Yuan pointed to the Body Refining Inner Qi on his body and said softly, "After a martial artist advances to the Body Refining Realm, they can use Inner Qi to protect their body. Inner Qi may seem like clouds and mist, but it's actually extremely violent."

"Generally, low-level martial artists attacking Body Refining martial artists have almost no chance to break through the Body Refining martial artist's protective Inner Qi."

"Body Refining martial artists possessing Body Refining Inner Qi largely avoid the possibility of being ambushed and killed."

Jiang Yan didn't understand why Ren Yuan was telling him about the characteristics of Body Refining Inner Qi, but he followed Ren Yuan's words and said, "So, if you can't break through the protective Inner Qi, Body Refining martial artists won't be injured?"

Ren Yuan nodded. "That's right."

"Moreover, the reason why protective Inner Qi is called protective is because when it's attacked, it also generates a rebounding force that injures the enemy."

"Generally speaking, only power of the same level or higher can break through protective Inner Qi."

Jiang Yan understood. This protective Inner Qi was simply an all-around shield with a counter-damage effect.

As long as one didn't have the strength to shatter the protective Inner Qi in one blow, they basically couldn't harm a Body Refining martial artist.

So, just how severe were Sheng Fuwu's injuries that allowed him to deal with him so easily?

After finishing speaking about Body Refining Inner Qi, Ren Yuan brought the topic back to the question Jiang Yan had asked earlier. "Actually, the reason why one can't kill Monsters below the Body Refining level is because Monsters are born with a layer of protective film. This film isn't aggressive, but its protective effect is similar to a Body Refining martial artist's protective Inner Qi."

"We generally call this film the Black Membrane. Only Body Refining Realm Inner Qi can easily break it. Martial Apprentices only generate Qi internally and can't release it externally. That's why there's the saying that one can't injure or kill Monsters below the Body Refining level."

Monster Black Membrane? Innate defense?

So that's it. If you can't break the Monster's Black Membrane, you can't kill it.

"When we humans classify Monsters, the reason why the 'Sha' level Monster corresponds to the Martial Apprentice realm is because, on the one hand, Martial Apprentices, apart from the difficulty of breaking the Black Membrane, are no weaker than Sha-level Monsters in other aspects. But with the existence of talismans, Martial Apprentices possess the power to kill Sha-level Monsters."

"On the other hand, the protective Black Membrane of Sha-level Monsters is much weaker than the protective Inner Qi of Body Refining martial artists. Apart from some special Blood Sha, Sha-level Monsters can basically be injured by a single blow from a Body Refining martial artist."

Speaking of this, he smiled. "Martial Apprentices using Blazing Flames Talismans to fight Monsters are actually using Body Refining Realm Inner Qi to fight, which actually increases their advantages."

Jiang Yan nodded, then asked another question, "Can Martial Apprentices really not kill Monsters?"

Seeing Jiang Yan's serious question, Ren Yuan shook his head and said, "It's basically impossible without talisman power, unless someone can possess physical strength far exceeding that of a Martial Apprentice in the Martial Apprentice realm."

"For example, a Body Refining Realm martial artist can break a Sha-level Monster's Black Membrane with just physical strength, without using Inner Qi."

"In the end, the Monster's Black Membrane isn't as magical as you might think. It's similar to animal fur or tree bark, something that grows naturally."

"There's an upper limit to the amount of force it can withstand. No matter what kind of force, if it exceeds this upper limit, it can be shattered."

"But generally, no Body Refining martial artist is so reckless as to use their own strength to kill Monsters, because compared to brute force, Inner Qi is the Body Refining martial artist's most powerful and sharp weapon!"

PS: Asking for recommendation tickets.