Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

Chapter 441: The Talisman of Life Destruction

"This should be the final choice..." Chu Liang murmured, his eyes tracing the apocalyptic mural before him. "I believe the Celestial Talisman Master's intention is for us to follow our instincts—whatever resonates with us. That should guide our decision."

Ye Yongxing nodded thoughtfully, seeming to agree with Chu Liang's reasoning.

With that, he stepped forward and leapt into the door underneath the Talismanic Script of Yin.

Whoosh—

Light flashed around him, and when it cleared, a new scene unfolded.

Before him lay a meditation chamber of modest size, where an elderly man in simple robes sat cross-legged. His hair and beard were white, his attire pristine, and his expression serene.

He gave off an otherworldly aura.

Only when Ye Yongxing stepped inside did the elder slowly open his eyes. "You've arrived?" he asked.

As Ye Yongxing stared at the old man in front of him, he didn't display the usual unease he felt when facing others. He could tell that this old man was neither truly alive nor marked by the signs of death.

"Esteemed Senior, my apologies for disturbing you," Ye Yongxing said politely, bowing respectfully despite the peculiarities of the elder.

"No need for courtesy. I am but a fragment of the Celestial Talisman Master's spirit, left here as a vessel of memory and talismanic script," the elder said calmly. "Whether you can comprehend the talisman or not depends entirely on your own fortune."

"Understood," Ye Yongxing replied, still maintaining a respectful tone.

The elder then asked, "Why did you choose this door?"

"Because..." Ye Yongxing paused before continuing, "I sensed an aura of despair and emptiness. This is why I thought the answer might be tied to the power of Yin."

When he gazed at the mural, all he saw was despair and desolation—heavens shattering, the world collapsing, lightning, fire, and floods... all life wiped from the earth. Only destruction remained.

"Hmm..." The elder's voice sounded deep as he gently waved his hand. "Come with me."

As the voice faded, Ye Yongxing's vision shifted rapidly, and in an instant, it felt as though he was swept into the river of time, moving backward.

It was a desolate, dark era of chaos. He saw a young boy, no more than seven or eight, knocked to the ground in a muddy pool of rain, as several burly officials held him down with clubs.

There was another young girl at the age of around four to five being dragged out of the house nearby by another official. Both children were crying loudly, their voices lost in the pouring rain, heard only by themselves.

"It was the twilight of an ancient dynasty, when soldiers were like bandits, and officials like thugs..."

The elder's voice echoed from beyond the scene, drawing Ye Yongxing deeper into the memory. "That year, my parents were imprisoned for minor offenses and soon died in prison. The officials came to seize our belongings, and my sister and I were separated, lost to one another."

Ye Yongxing found himself immersed in the scene, feeling the boy's crushing despair and helplessness. The boy stood in the storm, his sobs turning to cries of rage, consumed by a hatred that seemed endless.

The young boy wanted to kill all these officials!

But he was young, weak, and powerless. Just surviving to the next day was challenging enough, not to mention executing a revenge.

Yet he swore to take revenge, to kill every last one of them.

He had heard tales of immortals beyond the East Sea, so he begged his way to the shore, built a small raft, and set sail. But not long after, a storm capsized his raft, casting him into the sea.

He was fortunate that the heavens took pity on him. When he awoke, he found that not only was he alive, but he had drifted to an island where an immortal sect was located.

However, his talent for cultivation was mediocre.

"None of the immortal masters on the island were willing to take him as a disciple. After enduring countless cold stares, he eventually apprenticed himself to an elderly talisman-maker.

This was the first teacher of his life.

At that time, the Dao of Talisman-Making was an obscure and underdeveloped path within the vast world of cultivation. There were very few talismanic scripts created, and the execution of these talismanic scripts was crude.

But soon, the elder discovered that the boy possessed a rare talent for talisman-making. Not only was he quick-minded and intuitive, but he also had a natural gift for creating new applications for talismans.

In less than ten years, the boy had grown into the strongest of the island's younger generation...

He could no longer be called a boy.

He was a young teenage prodigy.

Yet many still looked down on him because he practiced the Dao of Talisman-Making, a path in which advancement was rather restricted. His future seemed predictable—no matter how far he progressed, he would only become a talisman specialist, supporting others in their cultivation.

But the young man didn't care.

For years, he had cultivated tirelessly, always holding onto the hope of returning home to find his sister once his cultivation was strong enough. When that day finally came, he set out on the road back home.

Ten years had passed, but his homeland remained unchanged.

The good and kind were still treated like beasts, while wolves sat in high positions. He found the enemies from back then and began to track down his sister's whereabouts. Along the way, he searched, questioned, and killed, until he finally found where his sister had been.

It turned out his young sister had been captured and was meant to be sold with other girls. But she had tried to escape multiple times, and not long after, she was beaten to death during one of her attempts.

The sister he had longed to reunite with had been dead for ten years.

The young man's heart broke into pieces.

He had killed all his enemies from the past, but it still wasn't enough. He wanted to obliterate this entire world, a world steeped in evil. One word echoed in his mind, over and over: Kill, kill, kill...

It was a chaotic and maddening Dao essence, similar to the one depicted in the apocalyptic mural. Intense rage and killing intent surged within Ye Yongxing, but he fought to keep his mind clear, ultimately preventing himself from being consumed by the emotion.

When he opened his eyes again, he was still in the small meditation chamber.

"This is..." His eyes flickered as he looked at the elder, "The story of the Celestial Talisman Master?"

"These are the earliest days of his life. It is where it all started," the elder replied. "The wounds from that period, however, never mended, even as he lived on.."

Ye Yongxing fell into deep thought. After a moment, he raised his hand and gently traced a complex script in the air.

Where his fingers passed, light gathered, and in an instant, it transformed into a sharp, black talismanic script!

The aura of killing intent soared toward the heavens!

This was the culmination of everything he had witnessed in those scenes—the talismanic script he had finally comprehended.

This was the talismanic script that the Celestial Talisman Master created when he was consumed by the overwhelming killing intent.

The Great Talisman of Life Destruction!

...

When Ye Yongxing stepped through the door under the Talismanic Script of Yin, the others in the group were surprised. They hadn't expected him, someone who was usually so quiet, to display such determination.

But Chu Liang understood.

"For this trial, the most important thing is to stay true to yourself," Chu Liang said. Then, without any hesitation, he stepped through the door underneath the Talismanic Script of Yang.

With a flash of light, his eyes opened to the sight of an old man in plain robes with sharp and well-defined features.

When he arrived, the old man asked the same question.

"Why did you choose this door?"

"Because..." Chu Liang pondered before answering, "I saw life in that painting."

"Life?" The elder smiled. "That is a mural of doomsday."

"Indeed." Chu Liang nodded. "But after the storm, the land is replenished with water. After the fire, the soil becomes fertile. And when plants die, they turn into spiritual qi for the future... What seems like the end of the world is also the beginning of rebirth."

This was exactly why he and Ye Yongxing had made different choices.

While some saw destruction in the mural of doomsday, others saw the rebirth hidden within that destruction.

The elder continued to smile, neither confirming nor denying his words. With a gentle wave of his sleeve, he said softly, "Come with me."

In the next moment, Chu Liang felt the light and shadows around him shift, as if time itself were rewinding.

When everything settled, he found himself in a peaceful, serene world. Before him stood a mountain, its summit crowned with golden and jade palaces and pavilions. This was the site of the towering Celestial Talisman Sect.