Chương 29: Chapter 30: Slaying the Foundation Establishment

The youth's face flushed a deep, burning crimson amidst the mocking laughter of the crowd. His eyes darted toward Reyn with a flicker of genuine trepidation; had his cultivation not been stuck at a stubborn bottleneck for so long, he never would have dared to attempt such a desperate, humiliating gamble.

"Senior... this junior was merely lost in a pipe dream," the boy stammered, his voice trembling.

"How could someone of your stature possibly care for such low-grade talismans? I... I will leave at once."

"Wait." Reyn's gaze swept over him, cool and indifferent.

"Leave a hundred Fireball Technique talismans. Take two pills from the bottle." The market square fell into a sudden, suffocating silence. Then, a roar of disbelief erupted. The boy's face transformed from despair to ecstatic shock. Without a moment's hesitation, he slapped down a thick stack of a hundred yellow paper charms and gingerly retrieved two glowing spheres from the Spirit-Gathering Pill bottle. He bowed frantically and vanished into the crowd, his heart soaring.

Seeing that Reyn was willing to accept even 'trash' like basic fire charms, and with a successful precedent established, the atmosphere turned electric. The crowd surged forward like a tide.

"Senior! I have dozens of Fireball talismans as well! I also have Earth-Cracker Talismans, Binding Techniques, and over a dozen Vajra Talismans! I wish to exchange them for three Minor Restoration Pills!"

"Senior, look here! I have Kui-Nan Golden Needles, Explosive Fireballs, and thirteen Quagmire Talismans. I only ask for two Spirit-Gathering Pills and a portion of Alabaster Restorative Balm!" The frenzy lasted for nearly an hour. By the time the fervor died down, Reyn's stock of spirit pills had been depleted by half. However, his storage bag was now heavy with over a thousand various talismans. He felt a surge of quiet satisfaction.

A single low-grade Fireball talisman was only equivalent to a strike from a third-level Qi Condensation cultivator—pathetic on its own. But what if a hundred were unleashed simultaneously? Even a Foundation Establishment expert would be forced into a desperate defense, if not killed outright. In a moment of crisis, this hoard was not just paper; it was a second life.

"Hmph!" A cold, biting snort cut through the air from the edge of the crowd. It carried the oppressive weight of powerful spiritual energy and a sharp Divine Sense shock. The bustling market went silent instantly; one could have heard a needle drop. The crowd parted like a retreating tide, carving a wide path for a man in his thirties. He was dressed in somber black robes, his expression gloomy and predatory.

As he approached Reyn's stall, a flicker of naked greed danced in his eyes at the sight of the remaining pills. A Foundation Establishment cultivator! Reyn's heart gave a sharp thud of alarm, but he forced his features into a mask of calm. Though he had not yet broken through to that realm, his True Essence was exceptionally dense and pure. In a true life-and-death struggle, he might not necessarily lose to someone at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

"Does Senior wish to purchase pills?" Reyn asked, his tone neither humble nor arrogant as he cupped his hands in a polite salute. The man in black hesitated for a heartbeat before speaking in a low, raspy voice.

"I have talismans for trade. And they aren't the gutter-trash these small fry are peddling." A smirk of superiority crossed his face as he reached into his storage bag. He produced a talisman that was a vibrant, pulsating crimson, looking as if it were carved from solidified flame. The intricate, swirling patterns on its surface hummed with a volatile energy.

"A Fire-Explosion Art talisman. Channel your spiritual energy to trigger it, and it unleashes an attack equivalent to a full-strength strike from an early Foundation Establishment cultivator. What is your price?" Reyn's eyes narrowed with interest. This was clearly a Grade 2 talisman, and a high-tier offensive one at that. Having this in his arsenal would be a formidable trump card.

"Three Peiyuan Pills," Reyn replied after a moment of calculation. He produced three pills from his bag; the medicinal fragrance that wafted out was significantly more potent than anything else on the table, marking them as superior grade. Peiyuan Pills—treasures that could actually bolster the cultivation of a Foundation Establishment master. The surrounding cultivators gasped, their eyes turning red with envy.

"Deal!" the man in black barked, his greed winning out. He snatched the pills and tucked them away before leaning in closer.

"I also have a High-grade Water Needle Technique talisman. When activated, it releases ten thousand needles of pressurized water. Even a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would be stalled by it." Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"I'll take it!" Reyn didn't hesitate. Since he had already revealed the Peiyuan Pills, he decided to push further, handing over five bottles of Spirit-Restoring Pills to balance the trade.

"Spirit-Restoring Pills!" The man in black was clearly an expert; his eyes lit up with joy. He inspected them carefully, nodded in satisfaction, and handed over the blue-tinted Water Needle talisman. Reyn checked the integrity of the seals, and once confirmed, he tucked it safely into his bag.

"Does Senior have any other talismans? I promise a fair price," Reyn said, his eyes gleaming with a well-acted thirst for more. The man hesitated, then shook his head slowly. Reyn allowed a trace of disappointment to flicker across his face—a detail the man caught with a cold, inward sneer before he turned and strode away. Fifteen minutes later, after trading for another two hundred miscellaneous charms, Reyn waved a hand.

"That is all for today. Disperse." Though many were disappointed, Reyn's displayed cultivation of the 7th level of Qi Condensation was enough to keep the disgruntled at bay. They grumbled but moved on. However, Reyn noticed several pairs of eyes lingering with predatory intent. He smiled coldly to himself, packed his things, and transformed into a streak of green light, departing the market. He maintained a moderate pace, flying several hundred miles away from the Small Hillside Market.

Suddenly, the space in front of him rippled, and a dark figure barred his path. Reyn stopped, looking at the man with an expressionless face.

"What is the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist? Our trade was concluded. Why block my way?" The man in black let out a savage, low chuckle.

"Heh, my goal is simple. If you're smart, you'll return the two high-grade talismans I gave you. Then, hand over several dozen more spirit pills as 'compensation.' Do that, and I might be merciful enough to let you keep your life." In his mind, Reyn was surely the pampered scion of some great sect; how else could a mere Qi Condensation brat carry such wealth? He had waited until he was certain Reyn was alone and unprotected before striking. The prospect of such a massive haul made his breath hitch.

Reyn's face contorted into a perfect mask of terror. He stumbled back, looking as if he were about to flee.

"Don't bother struggling. It only makes the end more painful!" The man in black was brimming with confidence. Killing a Qi Condensation ant was as easy as flipping his palm.

"Die!" the man roared. He opened his mouth and spat out a streak of crimson light—his soul-nurtured Spirit Tool. It shrieked through the air toward Reyn's heart. Even against a weaker opponent, the man was ruthless, using a full-strength strike to ensure an instant kill. Against anyone else, it would have worked. But he was facing Reyn.

"Now!" The moment the man launched his Spirit Tool, his mental guard dropped to its lowest point, convinced of his victory. In that heartbeat, the fear vanished from Reyn's eyes, replaced by a terrifying, icy clarity. The man in black gasped, but before he could react, he felt as if a red-hot iron awl had been driven straight through his brain. His Divine Sense was shattered in an instant.

He sprayed a mist of blood from his mouth, his body jerking violently before plummeting toward the earth like a bird with clipped wings. With the master's connection severed, the crimson Spirit Tool lost its luster. It let out a mournful hum and tried to fly away, but Reyn reached out. The tool struggled briefly before falling silent in his grip. A mid-grade Spirit Tool! Reyn felt a surge of joy, but he didn't linger. He slapped two restrictive talismans onto the weapon and shoved it into his bag.

He landed beside the man; the Divine Sense strike had been so devastating that the cultivator had died before hitting the ground. Reyn felt no guilt; had he been weaker, he would be the corpse. He stripped the storage bag from the body and cast a cold, warning glance at the distant treeline. With a sharp snort, he took to the sky and vanished. A few moments later, several figures emerged from the shadows of the forest. Their faces were ashen, and they exchanged looks of pure horror, swallowing hard.

"Instantly killing an early Foundation Establishment master... he must have hidden his true cultivation!" The warning look Reyn had given them made their skin crawl. Realizing they had just stood on the precipice of the grave, they scattered in all directions, fleeing as fast as their legs could carry them. Reyn returned to the Xuanxiao Sect undetected. After checking the hidden arrays outside his valley, he entered the mountain interior medicinal garden with a sigh of relief.

He began by sorting his massive haul of talismans. While individually weak, the sheer volume was staggering. Then, he pulled out the two high-grade talismans he had 'bought' and the storage bag of the deceased man. He broke the restrictions with a wave of his hand and dumped the contents onto the floor. Reyn's eyes sparkled. Regardless of his character, the man had been incredibly wealthy—the richest Foundation Establishment cultivator Reyn had ever seen.

There were hundreds of low-grade Spirit Stones and several mid-grade ones. Beside the crimson flying tool, there were three other Spirit Tools: one mid-grade and two low-grade. He swept them all into his own bag. The pills were mediocre compared to his own, so he set them aside. Finally, he found several more Fire-Explosion and Water Needle talismans, and two jade boxes that had been kept in a separate, reinforced compartment. He opened the first box to find a strange talisman.

Unlike others, it had no complex lines, only a few simple strokes that depicted a needle with haunting realism. It gave off no spiritual fluctuations, appearing utterly mundane, yet Reyn's instincts screamed that it was extraordinary. He tucked it away carefully. In the second box lay two jade slips. One was green, the other milky white. The green one contained a cultivation manual called the *Wave-Breaking True Water Scripture*—a decent technique, but useless to him. He pressed the white slip to his forehead.

Four characters blazed into his mind: The Way of Array-Talismans. It was a comprehensive guide on how to condense massive formations into portable talismans. Reyn's heart raced. While Dan Chenzi had given him the Basic Array Formations Manual, it was rudimentary. This new text was the key to true power. He spent half an hour immersed in the text before withdrawing his Divine Sense. The path of the Array-Talisman was profound; he would need time to master it, but for now, his foundation was set.