Dingjia Divine General

Chapter 47: Dingjia Divine General

Hong Yi recalled the brief description of thunder talismans in the Daoist Classic. The Daoist's Yin Spirit was truly formidable; although struck by the Yaksha King, the damage was not severe. Hong Yi felt as if his entire being had been shattered, his soul on the verge of scattering. However, as soon as Hong Yi's form dispersed, he immediately condensed it again. The Yaksha King he had visualized appeared out of thin air, flying forward to strike the Daoist with its trident.

"Six Ding and Six Jia? Yaksha King!" Although the Daoist had been struck, he did not show the same tendency to dissipate as Hong Yi. His body merely swayed slightly before he waved a hand, manifesting a Dingjia Divine General that sliced the Yaksha King in half at the waist.

However, this type of gunpowder was extremely rare, and the refining process was incredibly dangerous. When many Fangxian Dao Daoists attempted it, a slight lapse in temperature control would cause the alchemy furnace to explode, reducing the entire hall to ash.

Just as these thoughts crossed Hong Yi's mind, the several Daoists split up to act. Four of them vaulted over the high walls of the Marquis Mansion with lightning speed. Their hands barely touched the surface as they ascended, and they landed without a sound, more agile than a cat climbing a tree.

"The Sect Leader has bestowed upon us the 'Explosive Flame Talisman Sword'. The runes on this sword are inscribed with Purple Thunder Gunpowder, a secret refinement of the Fangxian Dao, written by the Sect Leader using immense supernatural power and a brushstroke force capable of piercing metal and stone..."

At the same time, he understood what these Daoists intended to use against Hong Xuanji: the Purple Thunder Gunpowder of the Fangxian Dao.

The Daoist was shocked! Their eyes met! Hong Yi "saw" his own body being shattered and knew that if he dispersed now, his soul would truly be scattered. Fortunately, he had experience; amidst the crisis, he focused his thoughts, visualized, and entered the state of sitting in the void, the realm of Past Amitabha.

The Daoist's physical body remained seated on the ground; the figure holding the sword was his Yin Spirit, which was why it could fly through the sky. His Yin Spirit had already reached the realm of Object Manipulation!

As Hong Yi visualized the Past Amitabha, his Yin Spirit gathered together. With a shift of his thoughts, another Yaksha King appeared, lunging rapidly toward the Daoist and striking him in the chest with its trident. It was like a duel between two people—you slash me, I slash you—but each time one was struck, the wound healed instantly.

Just as the Daoist's Yin Spirit was flying toward the main mansion with the sword, he suddenly stopped in mid-air, his eyes widening as he caught sight of Hong Yi.

Suddenly, Hong Yi felt a flash of light before his eyes. Amidst a golden radiance, a divine general appeared, clad in golden armor and wielding a massive golden axe like a celestial warrior. With a majestic air, he lunged toward Hong Yi, swinging the axe down upon his head.

Once a thunder talisman is completed, it is activated by the user's thoughts. The talisman acts like a firecracker, emitting a loud explosion and blinding light, causing massive damage to a Yin Spirit.

"What a Marquis Wuwen, truly formidable. His spiritual perception is so sharp that he actually discovered them. We cannot wait any longer."

This sword was shorter than a dagger and could not be used to kill enemies in close combat, but the blade was covered in dense, purple characters. Hong Yi saw clearly that as the sword took flight, a figure emerged from the top of the Daoist's head, and it was this figure that held the sword.

There were five Daoists in total. While four approached the main mansion, the fifth closed his eyes and sat silently in a corner, focusing his mind to circulate his Yin Spirit.

The Daoist was struck by the trident, and his Yin Spirit immediately plummeted to the ground. While clutching his chest, he waved his hand to visualize the Dingjia Divine General, which shattered the Yaksha King.

"These four are all experts!"

"Hmph!" This was the reason many Daoists, when refining alchemy, would leave the room and have young disciples watch the fire, to avoid being killed by an exploding furnace.

Hong Yi watched as the Daoist's Yin Spirit picked up the sword and flew away. Although its speed could not compare to an arrow shot from a powerful bow or crossbow, it was as fast as a galloping horse. Hong Yi mused that his own Yin Spirit could never achieve such speed.

The Daoist sitting in silent meditation suddenly opened his eyes, muttered to himself, tensed his entire body, and then slammed his eyes shut again.

In that instant, he recognized that this golden-armored, golden-axed divine general was a warrior from the Daoist "Dingjia Visualization Method." Like the Yaksha King, it could be visualized during a clash of Yin Spirits to harm an opponent's soul.

Hong Yi saw the look in the Daoist's eyes and felt a jolt in his heart.

"Hmm?"

Daoist masters with supernatural powers use gunpowder as ink to write on paper. While writing, they concentrate their entire being, channeling their spirit into the tip of the brush to drive the powder so that it fully permeates the talisman paper; thus, the thunder talisman is formed. The strength of the Fangxian Dao lies in alchemy, as well as the smelting of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal in furnaces to create various types of highly destructive gunpowder.

"Terrible! How could I forget that since the opponent's Yin Spirit has left their body, they can also see me?"

The Daoist's Yin Spirit was stronger than Hong Yi's, but even so, it could not withstand such consumption!

Hum! A sound like a dragon's roar seemed to emanate from the void. Hong Yi saw a short sword beside the Daoist suddenly unsheathe itself, flickering with purple light.

"Go."

The "Explosive Flame Talisman Sword" mentioned by these Daoists was likely a type of thunder talisman. However, since it was a sword, it was made of metal and stone, making its power immense and not to be underestimated—something no human could withstand.

These two visualizations were extremely fast. At the moment Hong Yi was struck by the Dingjia Divine General, the Daoist was also struck by the Yaksha King's trident.

In an instant, Hong Yi also visualized a Yaksha King and sent it lunging at the Daoist. The opponent's Yin Spirit was very strong.

"Yaksha King!"

These purple characters looked as if they were carved, protruding from the blade, yet they were unrecognizable, resembling individual flickering flames. Hong Yi realized this immediately.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, torches suddenly flared up within the main mansion. Armor clattered, swords were drawn, and crossbows were cocked.

After the divine general summoned by the Daoist shattered the Yaksha King, he pointed a finger. The divine general leaped before Hong Yi and swung his axe again, shattering Hong Yi's form.

The gunpowder refined by the Fangxian Dao was not the kind used in ordinary fireworks or firecrackers; its power was immense, capable of blasting through mountains and quarrying stone. The Great Gan Dynasty used it in their copper, silver, and gold mines.

"So fast! As fast as a Lightning Chaser horse!"

In the Daoist tradition, there is the Divine Thunder Talisman Method, used specifically to subdue demons and ghosts. This method does not involve the lightning of wind and clouds, but rather the explosion of gunpowder. In an instant, a body that had dispersed like smoke immediately coalesced again, the Yin Spirit proving resilient.

"The Yin Spirit recovers so quickly? How is this possible! Impossible!"

Slash! A hit landed. A fist-sized amount of this Purple Thunder Gunpowder was enough to blow up a house.

Hong Yi chewed over the words of the Daoists, gradually understanding what kind of thing the "Explosive Flame Talisman Sword" was.

"The power of a thunder talisman has three grades: gold and jade are the best, wood is second, and paper is third."

Amidst the violent explosion of gunpowder, the intense light, fire, and shockwaves would not only destroy a physical body but would also scatter a Yin Spirit into nothingness. There was no chance of survival.

This figure grabbed the sword and floated into the air, assuming a sword stance, preparing to charge violently toward the main mansion like a celestial being descending from the heavens.

The most powerful of these powders was the "Purple Thunder Gunpowder," which appeared as a vibrant, brilliant purple dust.

The Daoist let out a cold snort and waved his hand.

"The Purple Thunder Gunpowder of the Fangxian Dao? This stuff is incredibly dangerous. Wasn't the refining method lost long ago? How does it still exist? And what is the Explosive Flame Talisman Sword?"

Hearing the conversation, Hong Yi knew these people were members of the Wusheng Dao, the Zhenkong Dao, or other such evil cults that had come to assassinate his father, Hong Xuanji.

The four Daoists quickly approached the main mansion and stopped at the perimeter. They did not move closer, avoiding Hong Xuanji's keen spiritual perception by a hair's breadth as they lay in wait.

Furthermore, when Hong Yi had read the Daoist Classic, it explicitly stated that the secret recipe for refining Purple Thunder Gunpowder had been lost. Moreover, such things were against the natural order, and the imperial court had banned Fangxian Dao Daoists from refining them. No Fangxian Dao Daoist would risk death to refine such a dangerous substance.