Chapter 101: The Illusory Realm Talisman

Seeing Xu Haoliang’s expression and hearing his words, everyone in the hall could not help but smile. Xu Ziyan, in particular, held back her laughter and turned her head away. After Xu Haoliang spoke, he also felt embarrassed. But since the words were already spoken and could not be taken back, he could only angrily turn his head aside, as if saying, “Go ahead and laugh. I’m definitely not going. Whoever wants to go, go!”

In the hall, aside from Clan Leader Xu Haoran and Teaching Hall Master Xu Haoliang, the one with the highest cultivation was Punishment Hall Master Xu Haocang, who had reached the peak of the late Qi Refining Stage, twelfth level. Seeing Xu Haoliang stubbornly refusing to go, he had no choice but to force a bitter smile and say,

“Maybe I should give it a try!”

“Mm, fifth brother, you are just right for this!” Xu Haoran nodded and said, “Yan’er mentioned that this grand array only affects those below the Foundation Building Stage. Since you are at the peak of the late Qi Refining Stage, twelfth level, you can test the maximum power of this Clan Protection Grand Formation.”

“Alright, I understand.” Xu Haocang said with a wry smile, “But big brother, you must go easy on me. Don’t let me lose too much face!”

“Alright, I understand!”

Xu Haoran suppressed a laugh and spoke with feigned seriousness to Xu Haocang. Xu Haocang glanced at him, conveying with his eyes: “You don’t have to pretend—if you want to laugh, just laugh. I get it!”

He turned and strode out of the hall. Once outside, he soared into the air. His flying sword appeared, circling around him. He stepped onto it and flew swiftly beyond the clan’s boundaries. Inside the hall, everyone watched Xu Haocang’s departure through the Water Screen in the sky. They were all very excited to be able to observe everything happening within the clan from the hall—something they had never dared to imagine before. Looking at Xu Haocang on the screen, Xu Haobo stroked his beard and chuckled lightly,

“Hehe, I never noticed before—fifth brother’s Sword Flight posture is quite dashing!”

“Hahaha…” The room erupted in laughter. Even the perpetually gloomy Xu Haoliang couldn’t help but let out a laugh, and it seemed the knot in his heart loosened a bit.

By then, Xu Haocang had already flown beyond the Xu Family Clan’s territory. Xu Haoran formed a hand seal and pointed at the Water Screen. The screen rippled, and the entire Clan Protection Grand Formation was fully activated. However, to the outside eye, nothing seemed to have changed around the Xu Family Clan. Just as Xu Haoran was about to form another hand seal, Xu Ziyan, who had been standing outside, spoke up:

“Eldest Uncle, don’t reveal the changing formations to avoid outsiders noticing. Just use a few simple tests.”

Hearing Xu Ziyan’s words, Xu Haoran’s expression changed. He nodded gratefully at her, inwardly chiding himself for being too carried away with excitement. Then, he turned his attention back to the Water Screen. Though there appeared to be no change around the Xu Family Clan, those who could control the formation knew clearly that a transparent light shield had enveloped the entire clan.

Outside, Xu Haocang hovered in the air on his sword, frowning slightly as he looked around the clan. He couldn’t see any changes with his eyes, but in his mind, he sensed that something was different. It clearly conveyed to him that a transparent barrier had formed around and above the clan.

Gritting his teeth, Xu Haocang pushed his cultivation to its peak and charged toward the clan on his sword. He was extremely fast, reaching the clan’s edge in an instant. Everyone in the hall saw clearly through the Water Screen that Xu Haocang crashed into what seemed like a solid wall and was thrown back with a resounding impact. Even though Xu Haocang had been prepared, he was still nearly knocked off his sword. He staggered backward in a crooked line before finally stopping mid-air. His face was flushed red from the shock, and his breathing became very unsteady.

He hadn’t expected the formation to be so powerful. Despite being at the peak of the late Qi Refining Stage, twelfth level, he couldn’t break through that protective barrier. Not only was he thrown back, but his internal organs were slightly injured—and this was with ample preparation. What if he hadn’t been prepared at all? At this thought, Xu Haocang felt incredibly pleased. Even though he had just made a fool of himself, when he thought about the clan’s future and the expressions of those who dared to attack the clan, he felt waves of satisfaction.

Sensing that someone was spying from afar, Xu Haocang slowly flew back toward the clan. As he did, he secretly made hand gestures to the clan, indicating that there were spies outside. Naturally, everyone in the hall saw Xu Haocang’s gestures and understood his meaning. As Xu Haoran deactivated the formation, he smiled triumphantly and said coldly,

“A bunch of riffraff actually dare to set their sights on our Xu Clan? They don’t even know how to write the word ‘death’!”

“Exactly!” The Xu Clan’s higher-ups all nodded arrogantly in agreement.

Soon, Xu Haocang returned on his sword, rushing excitedly through the hall’s entrance. He exclaimed with great emotion,

“Big brother, that Talisman Array is amazing!”

“Hehe, we all saw it!”

“Hahaha…”

Everyone in the hall burst into laughter. Only then did Xu Haocang realize that his every move had been clearly visible to everyone through the Water Screen. Embarrassment showed on his face.

“Good!” After everyone finished laughing, Xu Haoran said happily, “With this Clan Protection Grand Formation, our Xu Clan is indeed much safer. I’m really looking forward to the second, even more powerful grand array that Yan’er will set up around this hall. Hahaha…”

Everyone also looked at Xu Ziyan with anticipation. Xu Ziyan simply smiled and nodded without saying a word. Xu Haoran’s eyes swept over the crowd again, and he said seriously,

“About this matter, it must remain a secret—only those of us here should know. After we deal with the Zhou Family and the Yang Family, we’ll wait for the City Lord’s Manor, the Xiao Family, and the Wu Family—these three clowns. If they find out beforehand and don’t dare to act, wouldn’t that waste all their years of planning?”

“Hahaha…”

“Oh—one more thing…” Xu Haoran glanced at Xu Ziyan and said softly, “Regarding the sparring match between ninth brother and Yan’er, let’s not mention it to anyone. Just act as if it never happened in this hall.”

Everyone held back their laughter and seriously agreed, including Xu Ziyan. On the other hand, Xu Haoliang, though looking embarrassed, gave Xu Haoran a grateful look for the first time.

“Everyone must be tired. Let’s disperse!”

Xu Haoran waved his hand as he spoke, but his expression showed he was still not quite satisfied. Xu Ziyan respectfully bowed to everyone and said,

“Esteemed elders, I will take my leave now. I’m going back to make those Third Grade Talismans, hoping to finish setting up the formation around the hall as soon as possible.”

“Good! Good! Yan’er, hurry along now, and don’t overwork yourself!”

“Yes! Be sure not to overwork yourself!”

Xu Haoran said affectionately, and the others also smiled warmly at Xu Ziyan. She smiled back, nodded to everyone, and turned to leave the hall. As soon as she stepped out the door, she heard Xu Haocang’s impatient voice:

“Big brother, when I went out to test the formation earlier, I didn’t get to control it myself. Let me try it now!”

Xu Ziyan couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. She leaped up, her flying sword appearing and circling her. She stepped onto it and flew away on her sword.

Fifteen days later, Xu Ziyan had completed the grand array made of Third Grade top-tier talismans around the hall. By then, only five days remained until the Xu Clan’s alliance with the Han Family. Guests had already started arriving to offer congratulations. On the third day before the alliance ceremony, Han Family Head Han Kui arrived at the Xu Clan with a group of elite clansmen. Naturally, Xu Clan Leader Xu Haoran personally led a group of the clan’s experts to welcome them at the gate. Xu Haoran and Han Kui walked arm in arm, chatting and laughing as they entered the Xu Family Clan’s main gate, heading straight for the Council Hall.

By this time, none of this concerned Xu Ziyan. Over these days, even though she had shown her Qi Refining Stage strength, she had not yet reported to the Inner Hall. Meanwhile, the clan was busy with the alliance matters, and no one paid her any attention. Thus, Xu Ziyan remained in the Outer Hall, thinking she would move to the Inner Hall after the alliance affairs were settled.

During these days, Xu Ziyan took time to guide Xu Qingxue while also continuing her own cultivation. At the same time, she kept studying the Talismanic Art from her inheritance. As she delved deeper into the Talismanic Art, certain restrictions within the inheritance gradually opened up for her. By now, she knew that both the Cultivation Methods and Talismanic Art imprinted in her soul were layered with restrictions. Only after fully understanding one layer would the next layer become accessible. This gave Xu Ziyan a feeling that the information she had received so far was only a small part of the inheritance.

On this day, while studying the newly unlocked inheritance, Xu Ziyan became very interested in the name of a talisman. The talisman was called the Illusory Realm Talisman. As the name suggested, this talisman could create an illusion of a high-level cultivator’s might. That is, once this talisman was activated, it would give the opponent the illusion that the person using the talisman appeared to be a high-level cultivator in terms of displayed cultivation and Aura Pressure. However, it only gave the impression of a high-level cultivator’s power—the actual cultivation level remained unchanged, with no real improvement in strength.

However, driven by curiosity, Xu Ziyan decided to make an Illusory Realm Talisman. After preparing it on her body, she activated the talisman. Indeed, a powerful Mighty Pressure immediately emanated from her. It startled Xu Ziyan—her body now displayed the Core Formation Stage’s cultivation level! The Mighty Pressure rippled through the air, spreading rapidly in all directions…