Chapter 1588: The Power of Array Talismans
Lin Feng walked through the trading area of the buffer zone between the Nine Immortal Palaces and Heavenly Fortresses. There were many market stalls here, where all kinds of precious items could be obtained through trade. Lin Feng first purchased some materials for making array talismans, then went to a trading pavilion that sold demon beast pelts.
"Old sir, could you trouble me with some high-quality beast hide suitable for inscribing sacred marks?" Lin Feng said with a smile to an elderly man inside a pavilion. To refine better array talismans, not only did the materials need to be top-grade, but the demon beast hide used for inscribing sacred marks was especially important. Ordinary materials simply could not withstand the fluctuations of sacred mark power.
"What level of demon beast hide do you need?" the old man asked Lin Feng.
"The higher the quality, the better," Lin Feng replied.
"I do have a hide from a peak-level demon venerable, the Azure Thunder Lion, but the price..." The old man looked at Lin Feng, a hint of cunning in his eyes. Demon venerable-level experts were extremely difficult to deal with, and hunting them was incredibly dangerous. Few people dared to deliberately hunt such beings unless they had a personal grudge, in which case they might kill the opponent and sell the demon venerable's body. Otherwise, if someone kept hunting them, they would inevitably incur the hatred of powerful figures in the demon realm.
"These sacred artifacts should be enough, right?" Lin Feng took out several sacred artifacts from his body, all spoils of war he had collected. A peak-level demon venerable's body was indeed priceless, but the hide was only a part of the body.
Seeing the sacred artifacts, the old man's eyes flickered, and he smiled, saying, "Enough."
With that, he put away the sacred artifacts and then brought out the Azure Thunder Lion's hide, handing it to Lin Feng. Seeing the azure-purple demon beast hide, Lin Feng was quite satisfied. It was indeed top-grade hide. As for the sacred artifacts, he didn't care much about them; he had plenty on him. This large piece of hide could be used to refine many array talismans. If refined well, these talismans would be worth a great deal, and any single array talisman would be no less valuable than a sacred artifact.
Lin Feng put away the hide and walked out of the trading pavilion. However, after walking a short distance, his footsteps paused slightly, and a faint, cold smile appeared in his eyes.
He continued walking, retracing his steps for a while, until several figures finally appeared before him. The leader looked at Lin Feng with a faint smile, appearing quite refined and noble.
"Sir, I'd like to make a deal with you. That hide you just obtained has some use for me. How about letting me have it?" The noble young man in front of Lin Feng was draped in a golden robe, which struck Lin Feng as quite familiar. People from the Great Zhou Immortal Palace wore similar golden robes.
"And what price are you prepared to offer for the trade?" Lin Feng asked with a smile.
"Hand over the hide, and this sacred artifact will be yours." The young man took out a mid-grade sacred artifact. Lin Feng's smile grew even more pronounced as he said flatly to the young man, "Why don't you just rob me directly?"
Hearing Lin Feng's words, the young man's brow furrowed slightly, but he still maintained a warm smile and said calmly, "Sir, I am Zhou Tianmu of the Great Zhou Immortal Palace. Why not let me have the hide, and we can become acquainted. How about it?"
"Why would I want to know you?" Lin Feng was in no hurry to leave. So it really was someone from the Great Zhou Immortal Palace. Zhou Tianmu—he wondered what relation this person had to Zhou Tianruo and Zhou Tianxiao. Zhou Tianmu's cultivation was at the peak of the Eighth Layer of the Venerable Martial Realm, and his aura seemed somewhat unstable, his foundation not as solid as Zhou Tianruo's. In a large family with many descendants, there were naturally those of superior and inferior quality, and this Zhou Tianmu clearly wasn't amounting to much.
Zhou Tianmu's face finally turned completely cold. A faint, mocking smile appeared in his eyes as he said, "Sir, I was willing to trade a sacred artifact with you. Don't be ungrateful."
Although Zhou Tianmu was not accomplished, he was very familiar with the younger generation of the Nine Immortal Palaces and Heavenly Fortresses. Lin Feng was clearly not one of them, yet he showed no respect at all.
"Why bother being polite to someone like this? Just take it by force," one of the men beside Zhou Tianmu snorted coldly, stepping forward. This man was likely Zhou Tianmu's guard, with a cultivation at the Ninth Layer of the Venerable Martial Realm, even stronger than Zhou Tianmu.
"Perfect timing—I'll use you to test the power of the array talismans I've been refining these days," Lin Feng said softly. As the man strode forward, a golden palm print suddenly slammed down toward Lin Feng. Lin Feng's hand trembled slightly, and an array talisman was instantly pressed onto the man's golden palm.
"Boom!" A terrifying force suddenly exploded. The man let out a miserable scream as his golden palm was blasted apart and burned, and his entire arm was engulfed in rolling flames.
"Chi..." With his left hand, he slashed out a golden sacred sword aura, severing his own right arm. In an instant, the fallen arm was completely consumed by the flames. His face was as pale as paper, and his eyes were fixed on the burning arm. That was an array talisman—this ordinary-looking, sallow-faced young man actually possessed array talismans with terrifying offensive power.
Zhou Tianmu and the other man were also stunned. Zhou Tianmu had originally needed a beast hide and had planned to trade for it, but seeing that Lin Feng, who looked very ordinary and had a slightly sallow complexion, had already obtained one, Zhou Tianmu decided not to bother with trading. He would just take Lin Feng's. But he never expected that this seemingly ordinary young man would actually possess such powerful array talismans.
Lin Feng's assessment of the talisman's power was only "passable." After all, when inscribing the sacred marks, he had infused both flame and demonic power into them, giving the array talismans a strong explosive force. Then, using the sacred marks, he inscribed the Minor Ruin Array Dao he had deduced. Destroying the arm of a Ninth Layer Heavenly Martial Realm cultivator was nothing to be proud of. Once he returned and perfected the array he had deduced, inscribing it on better materials, any single array talisman he refined would have the power to destroy a peak Venerable Martial Realm expert.
"You dare to destroy his arm!" Zhou Tianmu stared coldly at Lin Feng, who looked surprised and said with a smile, "Do you think I should have stood still and let his palm strike me?"
As he spoke, Lin Feng produced two array talismans in his hand and slowly walked forward. This sight made Zhou Tianmu's heart skip a beat, and his face turned pale. He said to Lin Feng, "Who are you? Even someone from the Great Zhou Immortal Palace—you dare to touch?"
"Great Zhou Immortal Palace?" Lin Feng paused slightly, staring coldly at Zhou Tianmu, then said, "Sever the connection to all the storage rings on the three of you, and hand them over to me."
"Crack!" Zhou Tianmu's body erupted with golden sacred qi, his anger surging.
"Should I do it myself?" Lin Feng walked slowly forward, holding the array talismans, a particularly sinister smile on his lips. Seeing Lin Feng approach, Zhou Tianmu involuntarily stepped back.
Suddenly, Lin Feng's body vanished like a shadow. The man whose arm had been burned off by Lin Feng changed expression drastically and tried to dodge, but there was no escape. The array talisman was pressed directly onto his chest, and with a boom, it exploded. His chest was blasted open, and terrifying flames engulfed his entire body. His screams lasted only a moment before fading away, but to Zhou Tianmu and the other man, they were piercingly harsh.
"Isn't that Zhou Tianmu? He's used to robbing the weak. Looks like he's kicked a steel plate this time. That guy is actually an array talisman master."
"People skilled in array talismans are rare to begin with. This person has such high mastery—one array talisman pressed down and instantly killed a Ninth Layer Venerable Martial Realm cultivator. I wonder if he refined it himself. If so, he must have a very strong understanding of the array dao."
People in the distance cast glances this way, letting out soft exclamations. In the region of the Nine Immortal Palaces and Heavenly Fortresses, they had never heard of such a powerful array talisman master before.
Lin Feng paid no attention to the crowd's gazes. He walked over to the man who had been incinerated in the flames, crouched down slightly, picked up the storage ring, and put it away. He said flatly, "Is this what you call being ungrateful?"
Raising his head, Lin Feng's eyes fell on Zhou Tianmu and the other man. With his own strength, he could easily kill these people, but since he had changed his identity, Lin Feng didn't plan to use his original power. Now, he was Mu En of the Wuji Palace, skilled in the array dao and inscribing array talismans.
"Will you hand them over yourselves, or should I do it myself?" Lin Feng's smile, combined with his sallow face, looked particularly eerie.
"One should be lenient when possible. The Great Zhou Immortal Palace is very willing to befriend you," Zhou Tianmu said, still trying to intimidate Lin Feng with the reputation of the Great Zhou Immortal Palace.
"I'm not worthy of such a high connection," Lin Feng said as he walked forward. Zhou Tianmu's expression stiffened, and he took out his storage ring, severed its connection, and tossed it to Lin Feng.
"If you're thinking of hiding anything, I don't mind dealing with you the same way I dealt with him," Lin Feng said coldly. Zhou Tianmu felt a surge of frustration in his heart. He glanced at the man beside him, and both of them took out their storage rings and threw them to Lin Feng. They didn't dare risk fleeing. Array talismans exploded in an instant, and if Lin Feng let the talismans touch them, they could be destroyed.
"Get lost." Lin Feng put away all the storage rings and spat out a single word. Zhou Tianmu and the other man slunk away, fleeing.
Ignoring them, Lin Feng walked back calmly, not bothering to avoid anyone's eyes.
"Someone skilled in array talismans—interesting. This guy isn't afraid of the Great Zhou Immortal Palace?" The people in the distance looked intrigued. It probably wouldn't be long before the Great Zhou Immortal Palace came looking for him. After all, Zhou Tianmu was a direct descendant!
(Note: This is a direct translation of the provided Chinese text. The chapter title and content are preserved as requested, with all Chinese characters translated or transliterated into English.)