Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman

A wave of scorching heat rushed toward him, but Chen Fan's expression remained calm.

With a sharp whoosh, his figure abruptly blurred.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The next moment, three consecutive thunderous impacts rang out as three fireballs viciously slammed into the ground behind where Chen Fan had stood, leaving three charred black marks in the searing air.

Only then did Chen Fan's form reappear off to the side, his face still composed.

"So fast!" The Red-robed Woman's expression finally shifted. Such speed should not belong to a cultivator at Qi Refining Layer 2.

Her demeanor grew serious as she decided to unleash a killing move to avoid any prolonged complications. Flipping her hand, a talisman radiating clear spiritual energy fluctuations appeared in her palm.

But Chen Fan moved as well. Five talismans materialized simultaneously in his hand, ignited by his true qi, and transformed into five streaks of multicolored light that shot forth.

"This... the Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman?" The Red-robed Woman's face changed again as she stared at Chen Fan in surprise. "I underestimated you. A mere Qi Refining Layer 2, yet you carry such a precious talisman. But relying on this alone might not be enough..."

Just as she shook her head with a light laugh, the five streaks of light suddenly began chasing one another, forming a dazzling ring of colors in the air. Between the rings, streaks of rainbow-like light slowly emerged and connected, gradually shaping a slowly rotating five-pointed star. A terrifying wave of spiritual power radiated outward, making the woman's face pale.

Wood as the start, water as the end—the Five Elements Array!

Chen Fan's expression hardened. He hooked two fingers, drawing a strand of white true qi, and tapped several times in the void toward the five-pointed star. The true qi shot forth violently, slamming into the star's center.

Boom!

As if a heavy hammer had struck, a deafening roar exploded in the Red-robed Woman's ears.

Before her shocked gaze, the Five Elements Array spun at extreme speed and, amidst a blaze of brilliant light, slowly and heavily crashed toward her!

The Red-robed Woman pushed off the ground with her toes, retreating rapidly, but she was horrified to sense an overwhelming force locking onto her from all directions. The Five Elements Array moved slowly, yet it seemed unstoppable, leaving her no room to retreat or evade!

Wood suppressed Earth ahead, Fire suppressed Metal to the left, Metal suppressed Wood to the right, Earth suppressed Water behind, and even above, Water suppressed Fire, sealing the sky.

Her vision was completely flooded with a dazzling sea of five-colored light!

She felt as if trapped in a small world, surrounded on all sides.

Boom!

Pfft!

The Five Elements Array slammed into the Red-robed Woman, sending her flying backward as she coughed up a spray of bright red blood.

"The Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman... how could it be used like this..."

Before she could finish, her entire form dissolved into a wisp of white light and vanished from the Martial Arts Arena.

Qi Refining Layer 6, utterly defeated by Chen Fan in a single blow.

"The mutual restraint of the five elements—that is the true key to the Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman," Chen Fan murmured calmly.

At that moment, a large white jade tablet on the platform displayed a single ink-black character:

Grade A!

At the same time, a small green jade piece descended from the air into his hand. On its surface was carved a tiny star.

One-Star Heavenly Soldier!

Chen Fan gripped the small jade token and glanced at it, noticing a flash of white light as several numbers suddenly appeared.

"50!" Chen Fan was momentarily stunned.

Then, the jade token suddenly erupted with a massive green glow in his hand.

Reacting swiftly, Chen Fan flung it away and watched it warily.

"Ow! Are you trying to kill This Seat?!" A large green bird suddenly materialized, with a golden star etched on its head.

It flapped its broad wings, baring its teeth and glaring furiously at Chen Fan.

"A green-feathered bird?" Chen Fan frowned. He couldn't understand how a jade token had suddenly turned into a bird.

"Pah! This Seat is an Ancient Immortal Bird," the green-feathered bird said disdainfully.

"Then why are you inside this jade token? No, wait—are you the artifact spirit of this token?" Chen Fan seemed to have an idea.

"You're quite sharp. No wonder you managed to earn a Grade A evaluation. This is the first time a Grade A has appeared in the first layer of the Heavenly Court," the green-feathered bird said, sizing Chen Fan up as it spoke.

"Kid, what's your name?" the bird asked with a roguish air.

"Chen Fan."

"Mm, not a bad name. From now on, follow This Seat, and I guarantee you'll achieve immortality," the bird said with an air of seniority, looking at Chen Fan as if trying to recruit him as a lackey.

"This jade token now belongs to me. Since you are its artifact spirit, you should obey my commands," Chen Fan said calmly.

"Uh... how about this: we'll treat each other as equals. You be the big brother, I'll be the second... no, just equals, no hierarchy," the green-feathered bird said, rolling its beady eyes.

"So, does everyone's jade token have an artifact spirit?" Chen Fan ignored the bird's words and pressed on.

"Yes, but those are all low-level artifact spirits. Only This Seat is a true Ancient Immortal Bird, destined to ascend to the ranks of the immortals," the bird said, lifting its head proudly.

"Let me ask you—what does the number 50 on the jade token mean?" Chen Fan said.

"You don't even know that? It represents the amount of Immortal Qi you have in this Heavenly Court. You just successfully cleared a trial, so you've been rewarded with 50 points of Immortal Qi, along with a top-grade Immortal Cave."

"An Immortal Cave?"

"That's right. Anyone who scores Grade C or above gets their own Immortal Cave. Grade C is low-grade, Grade B is mid-grade, and Grade A is naturally high-grade." The Green-feathered Bird nodded.

Chen Fan nodded slightly at this. He recalled entering that secret chamber with Chen Jingjing earlier, where Wang Yunlan was—that must have been an Immortal Cave.

"Do I have to use Spirit Stones to activate the Teleportation Array every time I go in?" He thought of Chen Jingjing's Spirit Stones.

"Outsiders need the cave owner's permission and must use the Teleportation Array to enter, but the cave owner can come and go anytime, anywhere." The Green-feathered Bird said.

"Oh? How do I enter?" Chen Fan asked.

"Like this..." As the Green-feathered Bird's voice fell, its entire body burst apart again, turning into a green light that enveloped Chen Fan, and they vanished from the spot in an instant.

The next moment, Chen Fan appeared outside an ancient mansion.

A surge of spiritual energy, denser than the outside world, washed over him. He surveyed his surroundings and realized he was standing in a medicinal field. On the spiritually rich soil grew several green plants.

"Seven-Star Grass?" Chen Fan recognized the green plant, somewhat surprised.

Seven-Star Grass was the main material for making mid-grade talisman paper. The yellow talisman paper the old man had given him earlier in the hall was only low-grade, capable of bearing talismans like the Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman at most. If a more profound talisman were written on low-grade paper, the paper couldn't withstand it and would burn up on its own.

The process and materials for making low-grade talisman paper were cheap, but mid-grade paper was rare. Seven-Star Grass had gone extinct several hundred years ago—he never expected to see a few stalks here in the Heavenly Court.

"Kid, you know your stuff. This Seven-Star Grass and the medicinal field are what separate high-grade Immortal Caves from mid-grade ones. And the spiritual energy density here is far beyond what's outside." The Green-feathered Bird said with a grin.

Chen Fan took a deep breath. A cool, refreshing sensation flowed from his nose and mouth through his lungs, drawing into his dantian.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he sat cross-legged on the ground, activated the Blazing Heaven Sword Art, and began channeling the spiritual energy. It coursed through his meridians, slowly converting into Blazing Heaven Sword Qi, which he stored in his dantian.

Gradually, the sword qi replaced all the true qi in his body, converging in his dantian. At the very center of his dantian, a vortex formed, and the speed at which he absorbed true qi grew faster and faster.

Meanwhile, in a luxurious room in a distant city, a Red-robed Woman sat on an empty floor. Her eyes snapped open, filled with utter disbelief.

"How could a Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman have such power? A mere Qi Refining Layer 2 cultivator..." Her Heavenly Court avatar had been killed, and her divine soul was now damaged.

"Yueru, what's wrong?" A middle-aged man in a Daoist robe walked over, concern in his voice.

"Father." The Red-robed Woman looked at him and called out.

"I just took a Heavenly Court assessment mission and lost. My Heavenly Court avatar was obliterated."

"Did you run into an expert?" The middle-aged man frowned.

"I think so..." The Red-robed Woman was suddenly uncertain. If a Qi Refining Layer 2 cultivator counted as an expert, then what was she, a Qi Refining Layer 6? But she had been thoroughly defeated.

"What realm?"

"Qi Refining Layer 2." The Red-robed Woman smiled bitterly.

"Forget it... Wait, what did you just say? Qi Refining Layer 2?" The middle-aged man had been about to comfort his daughter, but he quickly caught himself—she had said Qi Refining Layer 2.

"Mm." The Red-robed Woman nodded, still smiling bitterly. This was the first time since becoming a prodigy that she felt her face burn with shame.

"What exactly happened?" The middle-aged man's expression grew serious. He knew his daughter's strength well. How strong could a Qi Refining Layer 2 cultivator possibly be?

"He used a Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman and arranged the sword talismans into a formation..." The Red-robed Woman recounted her battle with Chen Fan in full detail.

After a long silence, the middle-aged man finally spoke: "First, recover your divine soul. When you re-enter the Heavenly Court, open the Recording Stone. I want to see what happened."

"Father, you... you're a Foundation Establishment Realm expert. If anyone finds out you're going after a Qi Refining Layer 2 cultivator..." The Red-robed Woman exclaimed in shock.

"It's fine. Just focus on healing and recovering." The middle-aged man finished speaking and left.