Cultivating Immortality :I Obtained The Villain's Ascension Code
Chapter 33: The Aura of a Half-Step Tribulation Expert

Chapter 33: The Aura of a Half-Step Tribulation Expert

Wu Shu’s expression froze.

In an instant, cold sweat broke out across his back. His eyes widened, and he turned sharply toward the entrance of the pavilion.

But there was no one there.

Only the moonlight on the polished floor. Only the quiet rustle of leaves.

Then—another ripple, this time behind him.

Before he could react, a shadow stepped out from nothingness.

A man stood there, dressed in plain black robes, his hands tucked calmly behind his back. His features were unremarkable—sharp, but not overly so—and his expression wore the faintest trace of a smile.

But his eyes...

Those eyes glinted with cruel amusement, like a cat toying with a dying mouse.

"Don’t bother trying to run again," the black-robed figure smirked. "You barely survived the first time."

Wu Shu’s eyes remained fixed on the man in black for several long breaths.

The moonlight that filtered in through the carved pavilion roof no longer seemed tranquil. It pooled across the polished stone floor like cold water, casting faint silver reflections upon the stranger’s robes.

But those robes... that face...

Wu Shu’s heart clenched. A name trembled on the edge of his tongue.

"Li Fang? That’s... impossible."

His divine sense surged forth instinctively, sweeping over the black-robed man’s figure. It met no resistance—but the absence of resistance only made the feeling worse.

He had been there. That day..... he had personally witnessed the end. Li Fang had been surrounded by seven nascent soul cultivators.

Had everything been an illusion? Had he—Wu Shu—been outplayed from the very beginning?

A bitter taste rose in his mouth. For a moment, the weight of it all almost made him stagger.

Then, almost involuntarily, he cast a glance toward the mist-shrouded valley beyond the pavilion.

This place was his final retreat. Hidden within a sealed spatial fold, veiled in three layers of concealment formations, and warded by a Heaven-Eclipsing Talisman.

Even that terrifying woman would take weeks to locate it.

And yet...

How had Li Fang found him here?

A tremor of unease passed through Wu Shu’s soul. But he quickly suppressed it.

He was no green disciple trembling at the first sign of danger. His cultivation may have been injured, but his will was not so easily broken.

He straightened his back and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His face regained its calm.

"Congratulations, Li Fang. I misjudged you. Clearly you’ve come a long way."

His eyes narrowed.

"But let’s not waste time. Tell me—what is it you want?"

Xiao Ning didn’t answer right away.

"What I want?" he repeated softly, almost as if tasting the words.

His gaze swept over the pavilion—and returned to Wu Shu’s face.

"You misunderstand," He shook his head calmly, "What I want no longer matters."

Wu Shu’s brow furrowed. "Then why come all this way?"

Xiao Ning’s smile deepened, but his eyes remained cold.

"To see your face... and tell you that the game is over."

Xiao Nine took a single step forward—and in that instant, a terrifying pressure swept outward like a crashing tide.

Wu Shu’s pupils contracted sharply.

This was no Nascent Soul aura.

This was the unmistakable aura of a half-step Heavenly Tribulation Realm expert—one foot already poised upon the threshold of that realm.

To think... not only had Li Fang survived that hopeless encirclement, but he had even broken through?

For a brief moment, a chill ran down Wu Shu’s spine.

Even so, his expression remained grim but steady. Though alarm stirred beneath the surface, there was not the slightest trace of panic in his eyes.

Without a word, he reached into his sleeve and withdrew a small jade bottle. The surface of the bottle was etched with fine spirit-gathering runes, and faint threads of spiritual mist curled around its mouth as the stopper was removed. A pungent, bitter scent filled the air—dense enough to make even a nascent soul cultivator’s blood stir.

He tilted the bottle slightly, and a single pill rolled into his palm.

The pill was about the size of a fingernail. Its surface gleamed with a moist luster, dark green in color, but with intricate crimson veins coiled across its surface like living blood vessels. These veins pulsed faintly, as though the pill were still alive.

Without hesitation, Wu Shu flicked his wrist and swallowed it.

Boom!

The moment the pill entered his body, a muffled explosion rang out within his dantian. Wu Shu’s body trembled slightly as a surge of heat rushed up his meridians. Faint red light spread beneath his skin like a network of glowing threads. His previously pale complexion flushed with vitality, and his unstable spiritual aura abruptly stabilized, then began to rise.

This was no ordinary medicine.

In the world of cultivation, pills were alchemical treasures refined from rare spiritual herbs, demonic beast cores, elemental essences, and even fragments of Dao laws.

Depending on their grade and type, pills could heal grave wounds, expand spiritual power, suppress tribulation qi, or even grant fleeting glimpses into higher realms of comprehension. To alchemists, pills were the crystallized essence of heaven and earth. To cultivators, they were often the difference between life and death.

This was the Crimson Vein Vitality Pill, a rarely-seen fifth -grade restorative pill. Refined from the root marrow of a thousand-year Crimson Frost Ginseng, tempered in fire essence, and sealed with Dragon Blood Resin, the pill had two primary effects: suppressing internal injuries, and forcibly stimulating spiritual essence flow for a brief period.

Its effects, while potent, were violent. Unless one had an extremely firm foundation or an urgent need, consuming it recklessly could easily damage the meridians or rupture the spirit sea.

But Wu Shu had no time for caution.

His spiritual power, which had been sluggish and fractured due to prior wounds, now surged forth like a dammed river breaking free. A pale red radiance began to emanate from his body, and a faint humming sound echoed from his nascent soul.

But he did not stop there.

With practiced ease, Wu Shu drew a golden talisman from his robes. The talisman’s surface shimmered faintly, and densely packed spirit runes were engraved upon it in overlapping layers. Even at a glance, one could sense the suppressed might sealed within.

With a low grunt, he infused the talisman with spiritual power and flung it skyward.

Buzz!

The talisman ignited mid-air, bursting into brilliant golden flames. Those flames did not burn outward but instead twisted inward, folding around Wu Shu’s form like a cocoon. Within a breath’s time, the flames coalesced into a set of luminous armor—translucent, plated, and covered in floating runic inscriptions.

This was a Combat Spiritual Armor Talisman, a pseudo- talisman treasure refined by a rank-five tailsman master. Its use came at a heavy cost—draining not only spirit stones during refinement but also blood essence, and often requiring the cooperation of a heavenly tribulation realm or above cultivator to anchor the seal.

When activated, it could temporarily elevate the user’s combat strength by half a major realm.

In the cultivation world, talismans are typically single-use spiritual tools. Crafted from beast hide, spirit jade, or refined parchment, they contain sealed techniques—spells, barriers, or boosts—that can be activated with spiritual power. Once activated, they burn out, crumbling to ash. Their greatest strength lies in immediacy: quick deployment, instant effects.

However, they are consumables, and their power is limited by the quality of their inscription and the user’s cultivation.

Talisman treasures, by contrast, are long-term cultivation artifacts.

Forged from rare spirit jade or divine minerals, these treasures must be implanted directly into the cultivator’s dantian and nourished with spiritual essence over decades. As the cultivator’s strength grows, so too does the talisman treasure’s power, gradually refining its runic core and unlocking deeper abilities.

At maturity, they can manifest external armor, form spirit weapons, or even temporarily elevate one’s cultivation base.

Unlike fleeting talismans, a talisman treasure becomes an extension of its master’s essence—half artifact, half lifeblood.

They are exceedingly rare. Even among Nascent Soul cultivators, few possess one.

With this armor now formed, Wu Shu’s cultivation aura surged once more—pressing firmly into the early stage of the Heavenly Tribulation Realm. Though it was a borrowed power and would not last more than the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, it was enough to confront the terrifying figure before him.

He had paid a steep price to obtain this talisman treasure—nearly exhausting his accumulated wealth. For years, he had nourished it within his dantian, feeding it with spirit essence and refining its runes during closed-door cultivation.

He had hoped never to use it.

But now, as the golden armor enveloped his form and the surge of power steadied his breath, he felt no hesitation.

This was the moment it had been prepared for.

Had he been facing a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, even in his injured state, he would never have needed to reveal such a trump card. But to stand against an opponent at the same realm—a half step Heavenly Tribulation cultivator—while wounded and depleted?

To face such an enemy without hesitation... anything less than his full strength would be courting death.

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