Within the Talismanic arts, there's a special type of talisman known as the master's talisman, or the elder's talisman, typically bestowed upon a disciple when embarking on a long journey or undertaking a particularly dangerous task.

Of course, such powerful talismans also require the user to have a certain understanding, ideally passed down from master to disciple, to truly unleash their power.

The only drawback of this talisman is that it can only be used once; once used, it's gone. This characteristic is well-suited to its purpose; yet, the Master finds it incomprehensible—shouldn't such precious items be reserved for life-and-death situations? Why waste it during a talisman duel?

In the Talismanic arts, elders do not encourage such opportunistic practices, as they are not one's own true skills, nor can they last.

"Hmph, I'm curious to see how many treasures your master prepared for you before you came to Jinxiu," he said.

With a wave of his hand, another Three Talents Talisman was pressed down. Talismans crafted by a high-level cultivator like him are extremely precious and limited in number; it's impossible to just pull out a handful anytime, anywhere. There's an inverse relationship between quality and quantity, and high-level talismans need constant daily nurturing to maintain their power.

Losing a Yin Yang Talisman pained him somewhat, but it wasn't enough to harm his core.

Like the Yin Yang Talisman, he painstakingly pressed the Water Fairy's Protective Life Talisman to its limit, intending to push on with a single effort. But unexpectedly, the woman pulled out another precious talisman and tossed it upward...

Hou Niao didn't want to fight like this either, but his Five Elements Mysterious Light couldn't be used instantly and couldn't cut through sword qi. To make a mark, he had to first understand the opponent's talisman essence. Once the Water Fairy had exhausted most of the opponent's special treasures, he could then strike for maximum effect with half the effort.

So let it grind on, anyway, these so-called formidable Five Elements Precious Talismans are endless. Let's see how many the Daoist of the Yinfu Sect can bring forth?

The Master felt something was off, but couldn't grasp the truth. Hou Gouzi was using the Gu Sou's rag with skill, making it impossible for him to sense there was anyone else lurking in Yin'an Hall.

Unable to figure it out, he could only attribute it to a peculiar aspect of the Anchor Chain Cave of the Dongzhen Sect, considering his own lack of experience.

Having lost two top-tier talismans, he was now ashamed and reluctant to leave empty-handed. How could he face losing face? Although the Yinfu Sect wasn't large, with nearly a thousand cultivators from top to bottom, as one of the two esteemed ancestors, how could he fail to handle even a single Golden Core cultivator and still issue orders in the sect later?

With a resolute heart, he took out another Four Symbols Talisman. This was the best precious talisman he could produce now. Such talismans can't be piled up in quantity, and their different talismanic realms could easily create conflicts between them.

Meanwhile, he hoped the opposing disciples wouldn't have too many treasure talismans. If once again the woman pulled out another treasure talisman, he really wouldn't know whether to continue or withdraw.

Since these outside visitors had flooded into Jinxiu, the entire cultivation world of the continent had lost its hierarchy, and order dissipated, making it impossible for the elders to return to their former esteemed status.

But the more you fear something, the more it comes. Just as the Four Symbols Talisman was about to completely crush the woman's Protective Life Talisman, she pulled out yet another...

He couldn't think of any special method. The Talismanic arts were like this, emphasizing a process. Unlike true Daoist cultivators with their infinite methods or sword cultivators with their eclectic sword paths, their attacks and defenses were straightforward and relied on the contest of talismans to achieve their goals.

This female cultivator's Lifebound Primordial Talisman was quite formidable. She was only defeated by him because her realm and power were lacking. So, he had no way to quickly subdue her—whatever he did, he had to first wear down her Life Talisman before anything else was possible. During this stalemate, the opponent only needed to seize the opportunity to throw out sect-taught treasure talismans.

Having lost three treasure talismans, he left reluctantly and helplessly.

The Da Li Country was limited in size, so he returned to the Mountain Gate within an hour. Observing his expression and demeanor, the other Master of the Yinfu Sect and the sect preacher Fu Liben understood what happened.

Confined by face, there wasn't much to say. The Master just explained a few words, "Ashamed, that female cultivator's skills are commendable but not enough to overwhelm a Nascent Soul. However, her sect-taught treasure talismans are indeed formidable, fully embodying the essence of the Five Elements, and there's quite a number of them. They are likely crafted by great talents within the Dongzhen Sect, probably not using Nascent Soul level methods..."

Failure requires finding reasonable excuses to save face. Though he couldn't be entirely sure about the true origin of Shui Zhen Dong's Five Elements Talismans, with many oddities, suspicion in his heart was one thing, speaking it was another.

As per his description of the Five Elements Talismans' power, if they weren't crafted by a Nascent Soul, then it could only have been a True Monarch, which could somewhat cover for his incompetence.

How amusing that a cultivator from the inconspicuous realm of the Boundary Domain Taoist lineage, like Shui Zhen Dong, was described as being favored by elders and a core disciple of significant influence. But such matters couldn't be verified.

He couldn't do it, and neither could the other Master, making it pointless to go again. A single Golden Core, even if from an Anchor Chain, shouldn't require two Masters to join forces, or it would be laughed at by others.

Seeing the two Masters looking over, Fu Liben shook his head with a bitter smile, "I understand what the two seniors mean, but it's not appropriate for me to go."

Faced with their confused gazes, he explained, "The unification of the Southeast is the collective opinion of more than half the Daoist Sect's hierarchies in the Southeast. There are too many entanglements, numerous stakeholders. I originally didn't expect smooth sailing. Obstructions were inevitable, but in principle, we should minimize the interference of cultivators in the Mortal World. Strategizing without action is the correct path.

The only reason we repeatedly send people is because the Queen of Da Li is a cultivator, so it's already somewhat beyond the bounds, and we must not make further mistakes."

One Master didn't understand, "Isn't this self-contradictory? We need to achieve the objective without involving ourselves too much? Should we just let the Anchor Chain cultivator act as he pleases?"

Fu Liben smiled, "We don't get involved because we don't know the causalities of this matter in the future. It's about the Heaven Creation of Jinxiu, so it's best to be cautious. As for that female cultivator, there are many Anchor Chain visitors on the continent, Hell's Convicts—they all come from the same place. Wouldn't it be better for them to make a move? Though most have drifted overseas, there are still plenty inland. With some effort, it should be relatively easy to find them."

The two Masters deeply agreed with this plan—using their strength to counter their shield. As for the possible causality, let the Anchor Chain people enjoy it themselves. No one else was competing with them for it.

Fu Liben smiled deeply, "You could also contact a few Great Dao Sects and tell them we can't solve it. This was their proposal, so how could they just stand by and watch?"

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