As I widened my eyes, many of the spectators stood up abruptly and stared at Li Encheng with shock written all over their faces.
The entire venue was quiet for a few seconds, and then there was a commotion. Everyone's faces were filled with bewilderment after the shock, and they kept discussing with the people around them.
Talismans were one of the most common methods in the Metaphysics world. This was the headquarters of the Metaphysics Society, and even the weakest among the spectators was a member of the Metaphysics Society. They were all at least in the Glory of Knowledge realm, and all of them were people who had studied talismans for many years. However, after discussing for so long, the confusion on their faces didn't lessen, but instead increased. Their gazes towards Li Encheng were filled with respect.
Li Encheng's face was already sallow and sickly. Now, his hair was curled and his clothes were burnt black. He looked even more miserable, but after this battle, no one would dare to look down on him anymore.
The discussions below the stage finally quieted down. Zhang Kunlun recovered his usual smile, but no matter how you looked at it, it was a little awkward.
Since the outcome of the battle hadn't been decided yet, they naturally had to continue fighting. I thought that Zhang Kunlun would finally take this fight seriously and use his true strength to fight Li Encheng. However, I didn't expect that this guy would casually take out a silver talisman from his body. He wasn't in a hurry to make a move. He just looked at Li Encheng with a smile as he fiddled with the silver talisman.
It was obvious that he wanted Li Encheng to back off.
Li Encheng's face was a little green. His way of dealing with the previous Silver Talisman was indeed shocking, even inconceivable. But this time, he couldn't do it again. At the very least, he only had two Merit Summoning Talismans in his hands, and they would be gone after he used them. Facing Zhang Kunlun's second Silver Talisman, he was completely helpless.
Even the spectators couldn't help but sigh, feeling pity for Li Encheng.
In the end, Li Encheng didn't persist. He cupped his hands towards Zhang Kunlun, admitted defeat, and left the stage.
The outcome of the match had been decided, but everyone's attention was focused on the loser, Li Encheng. No one paid any attention to the victorious Zhang Kunlun. Zhang Kunlun did not care. After putting away the silver talisman in his hand, he leisurely walked down the arena. He was still smiling, and even the slight awkwardness on his face had disappeared. He sat in the seats below the arena, closed his eyes slightly, and closed them to rest.
On Li Encheng's side, after he left the stage, Yang Shilong and the others from the Metaphysics Society went up to him and asked him questions. Although I couldn't hear what they were saying, I didn't need to think to know that they were asking what had happened. How did he use two normal red talismans to block a silver talisman?
I was also curious. Seeing that Ye Pianpian was also there, I quietly went over. After I went over, Yang Shilong and the others seemed to have gotten the answer from Li Encheng. They all looked pensive and returned to their seats.
I wasn't familiar with the others, so I pulled Ye Pianpian and whispered to her, "What did Li Encheng say? What was the talisman he just wrote? How could it be so powerful?"
Ye Pianpian wore a strange face. "The talisman Li Encheng just wrote was a Rain Talisman."
Her answer was beyond my expectation. It was a Rain Talisman!
This kind of talisman was the lowest grade of Daoist talismans. According to feng shui masters, it was a Feng Shui Talisman. Ordinary feng shui masters who hadn't reached the Earth Master realm could use it.
Nowadays, it was rarely used, but in ancient times, it was one of the most commonly used talismans.
Usually, during a drought, people would find a Feng Shui master or a Daoist priest to set up a sacrificial altar. After performing a ritual, they would draw a Rain Talisman and burn it, hoping that it would reach the Heavens.
As for whether it could reach the Heavens or not, the person who performed the ritual wasn't sure.
Li Encheng had used an ordinary talisman to block the silver talisman. How was that possible?
Looking at my incredulous face, Ye Pianpian didn't wait for me to ask and explained, "Although the Rain Talisman's grade isn't high, it's a rare symbol that has the power to reach the Heavens. Even if an ordinary feng shui master finishes his ritual and burns it, there's still a chance that it can reach the Heavenly Court. Li Encheng's acupoint sealing has reached the Consummate Realm, and he's also comprehended the power of the stars. The effect of his talisman is naturally stronger. Moreover, he used a scarlet talisman paper and a weasel hair brush. He even used two merit calling talismans to summon the merit officer dharmakayas on duty. With all these support, it's normal for the merit officer on duty to receive the report … Li Encheng chose the perfect time. When the merit officer on duty received the report, it happened to envelop the power of the silver talisman. Although the merit officer on duty is only a dharmakaya and doesn't have enough Daoist energy, after receiving the report, he can directly go to the Heavenly Court. No matter how strong the power of the silver talisman is, it can't affect this rule. Thus, it wasn't Li Encheng's talisman that blocked the power of the silver talisman. Instead, the power of the silver talisman was directly taken away by the merit officers on duty."
Ye Pianpian's explanation was very thorough, and I could understand her reasoning after thinking about it for a while. However, I still found it hard to believe.
The Rain Talisman, the memorial to the Heavenly Court, and the merit officer on duty going straight to the Heavenly Court after receiving the memorial. It was too unbelievable.
After hesitating for a while, I couldn't help but ask Ye Pianpian, "Although we're cultivators, are the Heavenly Court and the Heavenly Court true or false?"
I was just asking casually, but Ye Pianpian's expression became solemn. She said to me seriously, "Of course it's true. If it's false, how could the merit officer's Dharmakaya be summoned?
Where did the power of the Rain Talisman and the Rain Talisman go?
We're all cultivators, and our highest goal is to raise our Yang Spirit and become an immortal. If it's false, won't our goal of cultivation be meaningless? "
I was stunned by her hurried words, but I quickly understood. This matter was related to the foundation of cultivation. If I didn't think it through, I might have an inner demon when I advanced in the future, which would affect my Dao foundation. Ye Pianpian had seen through this problem, which was why she spoke so fiercely.
After thinking it through, I became alert and hurriedly threw my previous thoughts to the back of my mind. I sincerely thanked Ye Pianpian.
Ye Pianpian heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that I had noticed this problem. She returned the topic to Li Encheng and said, "Although all cultivators dabble in the Dao of talismans, in terms of usage, there is no Taoist talisman faction in the world."
I nodded. "That's for sure. Ever since Celestial Master Zhang and Lord Daoist Three Reeds left their orthodoxies, Mount Longhu and Mount Maoshan have been obsessed with the Dao of talismans for two thousand years. Naturally, they're much stronger than the other factions, whether it's the power or usage of talismans.
However, our Metaphysics Association has Li Encheng. Not to mention the power of talismans, his usage is not inferior to that of Mount Longhu. "
After the previous incident, Ye Pianpian and I had a deep prejudice against Mount Longhu. Now that I mentioned it, I subconsciously mocked Mount Longhu.
However, Ye Pianpian's face was still very serious. She turned to look at me and said with a frown, "It's not inferior, but it's much more exquisite than Mount Longhu!
The Dao of talismans in the world is unique to Mount Longhu. Why did our Metaphysics Association suddenly have Li Encheng? "
Eh?
The hidden meaning in Ye Pianpian's words startled me. I couldn't help but ask, "You suspect Li Encheng?"
Ye Pianpian nodded straightforwardly. "Although the Rain-praying Talisman is a Fengshui talisman, since ancient times, Fengshui masters have never used it as much as Taoist priests. Moreover, this method of using talismans is too magical. I can believe that it's the inheritance of some family that uses talismans, but I can't believe that Li Encheng came up with this method by himself."
I still found it unbelievable. According to Ye Pianpian, Li Encheng was most likely a member of Mount Longhu. But why would Mount Longhu send such a person to the Metaphysics Association?
Was it because of the conflict between us and Mount Longhu? Ye Pianpian's identity made them think that the Metaphysics Association wanted to do something to them, so they sent Li Encheng to be a spy?
Now that I thought about it, it did seem possible. However, I still felt that it was ridiculous.
In terms of power and foundation, Mount Longhu wasn't weaker than the Metaphysics Association. Moreover, with its rallying power in Daoism, if the Metaphysics Association really had a conflict with Mount Longhu, all the Daoist sects in the world would join Mount Longhu to besiege the Metaphysics Association.
At that time, the Metaphysics Association wouldn't have any chance of winning.
With such a great disparity in power, even if Mount Longhu was suspicious, they could have just gone to their sect to question them. Why would they send a spy?
However, Ye Pianpian wasn't stupid. If I could think of it, she could probably think of it as well. So, why would she question me?
Before I could figure out the reason, President Gu had returned to the platform and announced the start of the third match.
I had to stop my doubts. I pointed at the platform and smiled at Ye Pianpian. "Go and investigate. If you need any help, just come to me … I'm going up now."
Ye Pianpian nodded. Her frown deepened. After a moment of silence, she said to me, "Then … take care."
I grinned at her and didn't say anything else. I walked up to the platform.
Ye Pianpian had a cold temperament. There were some things she couldn't say, but I could feel the worry in her heart.
In yesterday's competition, the talismans that appeared in everyone's hands were only scarlet talismans. However, today, silver talismans had appeared. Zhang Kunlun had silver talismans, so naturally, Lu Zhenyang also had silver talismans. Moreover, with the Lu Family's current popularity, Lu Zhenyang's silver talismans would not be less than Zhang Kunlun's.
Although I also had two silver talismans that Ye Pianpian had given me, I obviously didn't have more than Lu Zhenyang's group.
Ye Pianpian's worry was probably because of this.
I felt much more reassured than Ye Pianpian. The fact that Grandfather Li had given me a silver talisman wasn't something that others would think of. Secondly, the power of the two silver talismans that Grandfather Li had given me was extraordinary. At the very least, they were much stronger than the one that Zhang Kunlun had just used. Even if Lu Zhenyang had more silver talismans, they might not be as powerful as mine.
Apart from that, the most important thing was that the silver talismans contained the power of the Heavenly Master. Although it didn't consume a lot of dao energy to activate the silver talismans, it was still a lot. In a match, using two or three silver talismans was already the limit. No matter how many silver talismans Lu Zhenyang had, what was the point if he couldn't use them?