Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Nine Clouds Divine Talisman

Jing Xuan pursued the demonic cultivator, arriving just in time to witness the demon standing beside Ji Feichen, delivering a palm strike that shattered his heart meridian.

“Senior brothers, save him quickly!” Alarmed and pale, Jing Xuan rushed forward to rescue Ji Feichen. “Qing Hong, junior brother? Qing Hong, junior brother?”

At that moment, Ji Feichen had completely lost consciousness.

Tu Shan struck viciously, holding nothing back. This play of self-sacrifice was fraught with peril—if Jing Xuan and the others hadn’t tried to save him, Ji Feichen would certainly have died.

Examining Ji Feichen’s injuries, the three wore grave expressions.

“His heart meridian is broken. Were it not for the Dao Fruit of the Human Immortal residing in his soul, he would be dead beyond doubt.”

Hearing this, Jing Xuan hurriedly took out the “Seven-Star Soul Revival Pill” bestowed by his master and administered it to Ji Feichen.

Seeing the pill encircled by seven radiant stars, the two immortals’ expressions shifted. “Junior brother, this medicine…” The Seven-Star Soul Revival Pill was exceedingly precious—one batch was produced every thousand years by the Taiqing Sect, and only nine pills currently existed. Jing Xuan was favored by the sect leader and, having recently performed meritorious deeds in the mortal world, had been rewarded with this pill.

“No time to consider, saving him is paramount.”

After administering the medicine, Jing Xuan helped Ji Feichen to sit cross-legged, pressed his hands to Ji Feichen’s back, and infused him with immortal spiritual energy to aid in his recovery. The immortal energy entered Ji Feichen’s body, clashing with the vast, turbulent power within him. It needed to be converted to vital energy before the healing could begin, inadvertently delaying the rescue.

“Unfortunately, this fellow cultivates the ancient method of the Qi Refiner. My immortal spiritual energy can hardly truly heal him.”

The two fellow disciples guarded Jing Xuan, wary of any lurking demonic cultivators.

Tu Shan hadn’t gone far. The white-clad youth dangled his feet over the cliff’s edge, gazing into the distance to monitor the situation.

Tian Cheng, chilled by Tu Shan’s ruthless strike, asked, “Did you really intend to kill him?” Compared to Tu Shan, his own junior brother seemed far more merciful.

“Who knows?” Tu Shan replied with a smile, toying with Ji Feichen’s Demon Dragon Mace. “Get ready. Let's go interfere with their rescue efforts.”

“Interfere? If we interrupt now, what if he truly dies?”

“Just do as you’re told, no more talk!”

Tu Shan knew well Ji Feichen’s cunning—he did not believe Ji Feichen was utterly powerless at this moment.

“To hand over the sword and give others leverage—Ji Feichen would never do such a thing. Yet, to gain trust, he must risk everything, placing himself in extreme danger.” Tu Shan pondered, muttering to himself, “Just what trump card is he hiding?”

Was Ji Feichen truly on the verge of death?

At the very least, Tu Shan did not believe it.

Thus, white energy once more enveloped him, transforming his appearance into “Ji Feichen.” He advanced, letting Tian Cheng wield the Demon Dragon Mace and use demonic techniques to engage the two nearby Human Immortals.

Ji Feichen, meanwhile, observed coldly, having sent his soul’s Yin Spirit into the Nine Heavens Mystic Gold Dragon Divine Tower. Even if his physical body perished, he could use the treasure to cultivate the path of the artifact immortal.

“Tu Shan’s strike was merciless—he truly does not care for my life!” The Nine Heavens Mystic Gold Dragon Divine Tower stood at the ancestral aperture between Ji Feichen’s brows. His Yin Spirit quietly meditated on the first floor, practicing energy refinement, studying the nine-tiered tower, and monitoring the outside world through the first floor.

The tower was profoundly mysterious, a single artifact comparable to myriad treasures, with comprehensive functions.

It could serve as a storage space, a temporary residence, imprison and subdue enemies, and even observe the outside world through its vantage.

However, Ji Feichen was currently limited to the first floor, unable to ascend further. Between the first and second floors lay a cloud of radiant light blocking his path.

“To ascend to the second floor, I must break through this light cloud.” Ji Feichen, recently ascended to immortality, had never found time to study it. Now, on the verge of life and death, he abandoned all worldly concerns, focusing his mind to use the Nine Clouds Mystic Crystal Plate to deduce a solution. The light cloud itself was a manifestation of the Heavenly Dragon Dao, and with the first floor’s Dragon God artifact, he could calculate the means to break through.

Within the tower, time did not flow. Ji Feichen immersed himself in the art of the Dao.

Outside, chaos reigned.

Tu Shan tangled with the two Taiqing Sect immortals, then Fu Yutang and two others arrived. Seeing their numbers swell, Tu Shan retreated voluntarily.

Fu Yutang’s arrival made Jing Xuan’s eyes light up. “Quick, you save him. Your cultivation methods are similar—you can save him!”

Fu Yutang, disciple of Jade Orchid Immortal Lady, wielded the Dragon Beard Treasure Sword, kin to Ji Feichen’s “Yin-Yang Dragon Beard.” Thus, he was tasked with healing Ji Feichen.

The commotion drew many onlookers. Numerous Daoists gathered, and upon seeing Ji Feichen’s face, many harbored murderous intent, seeking vengeance.

Ji Feichen, using the guise of the wandering immortal Qing Hong, bore some resemblance to the demonic Ji Feichen, and was initially mistaken for the same person.

Jing Xuan and others hurried to explain, and with Zhang Yuanchu and others arriving, under the joint guarantee of the three great sects—Moral Sect, Hongyang Heavenly Cave, and Taiqing Sect—the crowd was persuaded, albeit with lingering doubts.

Tu Shan then went elsewhere to cause more trouble, waiting for new victims to arrive, helping Ji Feichen clear his name, and finally dispelling the suspicions of all immortals. Even the fate-divining arts could only trace the demonic Ji Feichen, not the wandering immortal Qing Hong.

The immortals gathered; besides Ji Feichen, others had been injured. So, they sought a jade hall to heal, and Ji Feichen was settled there as well.

Three days passed in a blink. Tu Shan, unable to transmit his cultivation from afar for long, called upon the drought demoness for help.

The female immortal was unimpressed. “You two, sneaking about with such petty schemes, and you want me involved?”

Tu Shan smiled obsequiously. “Rest assured, madam, I cultivate the Heavenly Fox Dao and accumulate virtue—I would not kill lightly. I seek only treasures. If not for their lack of skill, how could I seize the immortal medicine from Lingwei Immortal Mansion? If you disapprove, you may find a reason to return it later.”

“Enough,” the lady said, producing a puppet and reciting incantations to seal Tian Cheng and the two Demon Dragon Maces in a pool. “Let him hide for a few days, let Ji Feichen retrieve him himself later. Just a few days without supervision, and you cause such chaos. If a mishap occurs, his life will be forfeit.”

Tu Shan chuckled, thanked her, and returned to his cultivation.

Three days gave Ji Feichen time to make progress in his calculations.

He smiled with confidence. “Success!” On the Nine Clouds Mystic Crystal Plate, nine divine dragons soared skyward, merging into one—the Nine-Five Divine Dragon, with five claws and nine toes—charging toward the light cloud.

The dragon follows the clouds, the tiger follows the wind. Divine dragons naturally possess the power to swallow clouds and exhale mist. Under the dragon’s tumult, layers of auspicious clouds arranged themselves in special patterns, forming a radiant portal.

Thunder rumbled—

The tower trembled as the second floor slowly revealed itself to Ji Feichen.

His Yin Spirit entered the second floor, as if bathed in heavenly light. The impurities in his soul were automatically purified, rendering his soul more pure.

“The ancient saying goes: a carp leaps the dragon gate, and once it passes, it becomes a divine dragon. The nine-tiered tower is much the same. Each time I ascend a floor, my being is elevated by heavenly light.”

Five-colored heavenly light shone down, dispelling the impurities from Ji Feichen’s Yin Spirit, furthering its transformation toward the Yang Spirit.

Daoist cultivators refine the primordial spirit; at the Human Immortal stage, it is called the Yin Spirit, able to travel a thousand miles by night and enter the netherworld. But the Yin Spirit has three nemeses: first, sunlight, which prevents prolonged activity by day; second, thunder, the pivot of heaven and earth, which may trigger calamity during storms; third, death of the body—if the Yin Spirit is out for too long, the flesh decays, leaving it homeless, doomed as a wandering ghost immortal. Such was the fate of the Nine Spirits Ghost Mother, whose body was slain by a Moral Sect master, forcing her to roam as a ghost immortal.

To break free from these constraints, one must refine the Yin Spirit into the Yang Spirit—reaching the Earth Immortal realm. Only then, freed from all limitations, can one truly roam unhindered.

Yang, pure yang, is the highest ideal of the Daoist sect. Pure Yang Celestial Immortals are undying, indestructible.

“After this baptism by heavenly light, a wisp of yang energy has entered my Yin Spirit. But to fully transform into Yang Spirit, I must—at the very least—reach the fourth floor!” Ji Feichen calculated, then surveyed the second floor.

The second floor was much like the first; its interior shifted with Ji Feichen’s will. He thought, and the space transformed into the terrain of Lingwei Immortal Mansion.

A thousand-mile cave heaven, a land of splendor. Above, sun, moon, and stars; below, rivers and mountains crisscross. Golden palaces and auspicious clouds, jade halls wreathed in purple mist, the mansion overflowing with spiritual energy, like a sacred celestial palace.

Using the tower to simulate terrain maps, Ji Feichen analyzed his current location, the purposes of the various halls, and the treasures they might contain.

“To think, this tower can serve as a strategic map as well.”

Naturally, the most crucial feature of the tower for Ji Feichen was the second floor’s inherent treasure.

In the heart of the tower hovered nine-colored clouds, drifting into Ji Feichen’s brow, imparting the functions and forging method of the artifact.

The first floor’s treasure was a golden plate, capable of surveying rivers and mountains, deducing fate, and using the power of nine dragons to suppress enemies. The second floor’s treasure, however, was entirely different—a talisman for concealing one’s presence, transforming appearances, and manipulating the vital energy of heaven and earth.

“A talisman?” Ji Feichen mused. “I thought it would be a flag. Not that it would be so coincidental—I was just searching for nine Demon Suppression Flags, and now I find a matching artifact.” He continued to study the method of refining the artifact.

This artifact was much easier than the Nine Clouds Mystic Crystal Plate from the first floor.

“The Nine Clouds Departure Divine Talisman doesn’t require many other materials—one needs only to draw the talisman oneself to condense it.”

This was also a set of nine artifacts, ultimately forming talismans shaped like command tokens. Originally composed of nine types of cloud talismans, accompanied by a special soaring dragon cloud script.

“This script is the innate Daoist script used to refine the tower’s treasures. The second floor’s artifact is meant to impart the true script of the Dao!” Ji Feichen realized that the nine-tiered tower signified nine stages of Dao cultivation. The first floor taught the art of deduction—the foundation of the nine tiers. The second floor imparted the true script of the Dao, the art of drawing talismans.

The Nine Clouds Departure Divine Talisman included Azure Cloud, Red Cloud, Yellow Cloud, White Cloud, Black Cloud, Nether Cloud, Scenic Cloud, Purple Cloud, and Gold Cloud, each corresponding to the cultivation of nine spiritual talismans.

It could be said that even if Ji Feichen practiced no other methods, by the legacy of the Nine Heavens Mystic Gold Dragon Divine Tower alone, he could attain the supreme position of the Dao.