Chapter 93: Famous Saying

Xu Haoran withdrew his gaze from the night sky and said in a worried tone, “The Zhou Family of Canglang City and the Yang Family of Nanlin City were already a bit stronger than us in strength. Now that they have joined forces, it will be hard to deal with.”

“But aren’t we forming an alliance with the Han Family of Juque City?” Xu Haoliang said discontentedly.

“How much help the Han Family of Juque City can actually give us is still unknown. It’s better to rely on ourselves rather than place our hopes on others. Besides, we don’t know when exactly the Zhou and Yang Families will attack us. We can’t possibly have the experts from the Han Family live permanently in our Xu Clan, right? Even if we were willing, they wouldn’t agree. Who can guarantee that the Zhou and Yang Families won’t suddenly change their minds and attack the Han Family first? We can think of this, and so can the Han Family. Therefore, the Han Family is destined not to give us much help.”

Xu Haoran thought for a while, his expression growing even more serious. He slowly said, “More importantly, since it was the Huayang Sect that ordered Canglang City and Nanlin City to form an alliance, who dares to say that when they attack our Xu Clan, the Huayang Sect won’t send people? If the Huayang Sect really sends one or two high-level Foundation Building Stage cultivators, how could our Xu Clan possibly survive!”

“Then… what should our Xu Clan do?” Xu Haomiao asked, looking lost and dazed.

“Now that we already know the plot of the Zhou and Yang Families, and we are forming an alliance with the Han Family of Juque City on the tenth of next month, the Zhou and Yang Families might not act immediately. Even their backer, the Huayang Sect, will likely become suspicious, wondering if our alliance with the Han Family is also commanded by a force behind us, the Taixuan Sect. That way, the other side will have reservations and probably won’t act until they have investigated the matter thoroughly.”

“But how can we know if they actually have reservations? Or if they postponed their plans? We can be on guard for a thousand days, but it’s impossible to be fully vigilant for a thousand days!” Xu Haoliang frowned deeply, his tone filled with helplessness.

“On the tenth of next month, when our Xu Clan and the Han Family form an alliance, if the Zhou Family of Canglang City and the Yang Family of Nanlin City send people to congratulate us, that means they are certainly suspicious of this alliance. At that time, we can speak vaguely to deepen their suspicions. Regarding this point, I will discuss it with the Family Head of the Han Family then. Once they become suspicious and also learn that the City Lord’s Manor of Zhongdu City, the Xiao Family, and the Wu Family are plotting against our Xu Clan, they will surely wait on the mountain to watch the tigers fight. They will wait until both sides are weakened before they attack us.”

“Will they know about the plot of the City Lord’s Manor, the Xiao Family, and the Wu Family?” Xu Haomiao asked softly.

“They will know. I believe nothing in Zhongdu City can escape their eyes, just as we also have spies there. Hehe…”

After laughing, Xu Haoran continued, “This way, we can buy about half a year. I hope that by then, the Taixuan Sect will send a message.”

Xu Haobo forced a bitter smile and said, “I never thought that the City Lord’s Manor, the Xiao Family, and the Wu Family would become the straw our Xu Clan clutches at to delay time. How ironic. I wonder what those three parties would think if they knew the truth?”

Everyone laughed along, but their laughter carried a distinct bitter taste.

Seven days later.

Xu Ziyan slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were clear and bright. A faint smile touched the corners of her mouth. By now, she had completely stabilized her cultivation level at the Late Peak of the First Layer of Foundation Building Stage. She could launch an attack on the barrier of the Second Layer at any time.

After a simple wash, Xu Ziyan took out Little Kunpeng from Kunpeng’s Heart again. As soon as Little Kunpeng saw Xu Ziyan, it excitedly burrowed into her embrace, its little mouth continuously rubbing against Xu Ziyan’s chest. Xu Ziyan giggled, tickled by Little Kunpeng. After playing with it for a while, she tilted her head thoughtfully, then took out an elixir and fed it to Little Kunpeng. After eating the elixir, Little Kunpeng looked at Xu Ziyan with bright eyes, flapping its small wings, looking like it wanted more. Xu Ziyan couldn’t hold back her laughter and, smiling, fed Little Kunpeng another elixir. Seeing that Little Kunpeng looked drowsy after taking it, she put it back into Kunpeng’s Heart.

She thought about it; she still had many things to do. She needed to give the Storage Ring given by the Scarred One-Armed Man to Xu Lin, and she also needed to see the Clan Leader. Since the clan was in a time of crisis, she had to contribute her share. Xu Ziyan quietly assessed her own strength: Late Peak of the First Layer of Foundation Building Stage. But relying on the advantage of her Water Spirit Body, she could probably fight against a cultivator at the third or fourth layer of Foundation Building Stage even without relying on talismans. If she added the talismans she had, she wouldn’t fear even high-level Foundation Building Stage cultivators.

Speaking of talismans, now that her cultivation level had reached the First Layer of Foundation Building Stage, if given time to comprehend, she could now fully create the highest-level Ninth-Grade Talismans. As for talisman arrays, she could already set up mid-grade talisman arrays. Although she was still relatively weak within the mid-grade category, it should be enough to deal with those high-level Foundation Building Stage cultivators. If she used Third-Grade top-tier talismans to set up the array, then there would be even less of a problem.

Should she use even higher-grade talismans? Xu Ziyan briefly considered it, then immediately shook her head. Revealing that she could create Third-Grade top-tier talismans was already shocking enough. If she revealed her ability to create even higher-grade talismans, she didn’t know what kind of attention it might attract on this continent. Ever since Xu Ziyan had encountered the Scarred One-Armed Man, she had held a sense of reverence for this world. She would definitely not be foolish enough to show all her cards to everyone.

But thinking back to the power of the Fifth-Grade Talisman she had released that night outside Zhongdu City, it could probably cause some harm even to cultivators below the sixth layer of Foundation Building Stage. If several were released together, even a tenth-layer Foundation Building Stage cultivator would be flustered. Since it was already known that she possessed Fifth-Grade Talismans, it was better for her to make some more and give them to the clan. After all, she could then attribute it to the Female Immortal she had made up.

Once she thought of it, she acted. Xu Ziyan abruptly stood up, took out the talisman brush and talisman paper from her storage pouch, and began crafting talismans. Throughout the entire day, Xu Ziyan crafted eighty Fifth-Grade top-tier talismans. She kept twenty in her Kunpeng’s Heart and put sixty in her storage pouch, ready to hand over to the clan.

After putting away the talismans, Xu Ziyan did not leave the room to find Xu Lin or see the Clan Leader. Instead, she stood right there in front of the table, sinking into comprehension of the Talismanic Art. During the process of talisman crafting just now, Xu Ziyan had gained a deeper understanding of talismans. So she immediately stopped crafting and immersed herself in comprehending talismans.

The heritage in her soul allowed Xu Ziyan to comprehend very quickly. When the sun rose again, Xu Ziyan opened her eyes. She immediately picked up the talisman brush on the table and began crafting on the talisman paper.

One talisman after another continuously appeared in Xu Ziyan’s hands. First, a few Sixth-Grade ones, then Seventh-Grade, Eighth-Grade, and finally, top-tier Ninth-Grade talismans emerged.

Putting down the talisman brush, Xu Ziyan looked extremely excitedly at the pile of talismans on the table. With these talismans, even if she encountered someone at the Late-Peak of the Twelfth Layer of Foundation Building Stage, she would not be afraid. One could say that with these talismans, as long as the quantity was sufficient, and Xu Ziyan set up a mid-grade talisman array, she would be the number one below the Golden Core Stage. Of course, that required the opponent to give her time to set up the array. If they tried to kill her instantly, she still couldn’t escape.

Therefore, Xu Ziyan secretly vowed in her heart: She absolutely must not let others know about her ability to create high-grade talismans. If anyone found out, she must kill them. This was to prevent the news from spreading and letting her enemies know about it. If they knew, they might not give her time to set up the array during a fight and try to kill her instantly. Suddenly, she remembered a famous saying:

“No one knows exactly how powerful Xu Ziyan’s talismans are, because anyone who found out has died!”

Thinking of this, Xu Ziyan couldn’t help but laugh out loud. However, she didn’t expect that her famous saying would eventually become a reality, famous throughout the entire Vast Expanse Continent, making everyone who mentioned Xu Ziyan’s name feel full of awe in their hearts.