The Fox Demon World System.
In the Fox Demon world, talismans are divided into four tiers: low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-tier. Low-grade talismans are the most common and weakest; anyone with a bit of magical power and the drawing steps and materials can create them, but they are still the worst low-grade talismans, primarily auxiliary. Mid-grade talismans are rarer, only drawable by those who have reached the Qi Refining to Spirit Transformation realm. Qi Refining to Void Returning corresponds to high-grade talismans, and Qi Refining to Dao Integration allows for the creation of top-tier talismans.
Human cultivation realms are: Qi Refining to Essence, Qi Refining to Spirit Transformation, Qi Refining to Void Returning, and Qi Refining to Dao Integration. Each realm is divided into four minor stages: early, mid, late, and peak, corresponding to two major realms of the demon race.
Demon race realms are: Spirit Opening, Form Transformation, Minor Demon, Great Demon, Minor Demon King, Great Demon King, Demon Emperor, Great Demon Emperor, and the pinnacle Demon God. These also have four minor stages: early, mid, late, and peak.
Magical treasures are divided into six tiers: Mortal, Spiritual, Profound, Earthly, Heavenly, and Divine, each with four minor levels: low, mid, high, and ultimate.
Formation arts are divided into: low-level, mid-level, high-level, top-level, and forbidden-level.
Pills are divided into five tiers: Divine, Heavenly, Earthly, Profound, and Yellow, each with four minor levels: low, mid, high, and ultimate.
Other aspects will not be discussed for now.
—Divider—
"Sword qi?"
Ling Feng's expression changed drastically as he saw a white sword qi slash towards him. He immediately stopped, holding the Dragon's Roar in its sheath horizontally in front of him.
"Clang!"
The sword qi struck the Dragon's Roar, and the powerful impact forced Ling Feng back several steps before dissipating.
Before Ling Feng could catch his breath, his pupils suddenly contracted.
In his vision, the pockmarked Taoist had appeared before him, his long sword thrusting towards Ling Feng's head, clearly intending to finish him with a single strike.
In a moment of crisis, Ling Feng parried the incoming sword with an upward swing, narrowly avoiding a decapitation.
But before Ling Feng could feel any relief, he was kicked away by the pockmarked Taoist, crashing heavily against the iron cage.
Suffering this heavy blow, Ling Feng felt a sweetness in his throat, and a mouthful of blood surged upwards. However, Ling Feng swallowed it back down, half-crouching on the ground while clutching his stomach, and looked up at the pockmarked Taoist.
As he looked, Ling Feng's expression changed again. In his sight, a long sword was slashing down towards his crown.
"Ah!!!"
Ling Feng roared, channeling his strength once more, and slashed upwards with his blade, colliding with the long sword with a clang of metal on metal.
"Die!"
Seeing Ling Feng block his fatal blow again, the pockmarked Taoist intended to repeat his tactic. But this time, Ling Feng didn't let him succeed.
Before the pockmarked Taoist could move, Ling Feng slid his body, shifting from a seated to a lying position. Ignoring the threat of the long sword, he swept out a leg from right to left.
The pockmarked Taoist immediately lost his balance, falling sideways onto the carriage, and his long sword dropped from his hand.
Ling Feng seized the opportunity, rolling to the left to create distance from the pockmarked Taoist, and used the carriage's handrail to get back on his feet.
"Huff, huff, huff."
Ling Feng's breathing was unsteady. Everything that had just happened had consumed a lot of his stamina, and his breathing was faltering. The kick he had received earlier sent waves of pain through his abdomen, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.
"Gulp."
Ling Feng retrieved a Resurrection Pill from his system space and swallowed it.
The pill dissolved instantly in his mouth, and a warm current flowed through his meridians. Ling Feng immediately felt refreshed, the pain in his abdomen and the exhaustion from overuse slowly subsiding as his stamina rapidly recovered.
The true qi in his dantian was also being rapidly replenished by the qi converted from the medicinal power. His entire state quickly improved, no longer looking so disheveled.
"That feels good."
"You two, get off the carriage. He's mine."
Ling Feng called out to Tu Shan Honghong and the others behind him. He realized the pockmarked Taoist was not as easy to deal with as he had imagined.
The disparity was evident from their earlier fight. However, thanks to the "Fearless Card," Ling Feng was no longer afraid of life-threatening situations, but Tu Shan Honghong and the others were in danger of being caught in the crossfire if they stayed.
"Can you handle it?" Tu Shan Honghong didn't understand why Ling Feng was "trying so hard."
"How can a man say he can't! Leave it to me, don't worry." Ling Feng gave a thumbs-up with his left hand, not looking back.
"Then be careful." Tu Shan Honghong nodded and, with Tu Shan Rongrong, jumped off the carriage. Tu Shan Honghong was very worried about Tu Shan Rongrong staying there.
"Big brother human, keep it up!" Tu Shan Rongrong shouted before being led off the carriage by Tu Shan Honghong.
Seeing them off the carriage, Ling Feng's gaze shifted to the pockmarked Taoist, who was re-grabbing his long sword and preparing to get up.
"Perish!"
Ling Feng wouldn't give him the chance. He raised the Dragon's Roar and slashed at the pockmarked Taoist.
"Explosion Talisman!"
The pockmarked Taoist pulled a white talisman with a red border from his Taoist robe, with the character for "explode" written in the center, and threw it at Ling Feng.
"What!" Ling Feng exclaimed in alarm. Explosion Talisman! What was an Explosion Talisman? The name itself was self-explanatory.
Ling Feng quickly changed his attack target. He slashed his blade towards the talisman. It was too late to escape now; he could only shatter the Explosion Talisman!
"Bang!!!"
But Ling Feng's hope was in vain. As soon as the Dragon's Roar touched the Explosion Talisman, it instantly detonated, and a blast wave sent Ling Feng, along with his sword, flying out of the carriage.
Tu Shan Honghong and Tu Shan Rongrong had not gone far after dismounting when the explosion behind them immediately drew their attention.
Tu Shan Honghong and Tu Shan Rongrong both looked back and saw Ling Feng, emitting black smoke, flying over their heads and crashing onto the ground a few meters away, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Big brother."
Tu Shan Rongrong called out anxiously, her voice filled with worry. She now knew that Ling Feng was there to save them, unlike the humans who had captured them.
Although Tu Shan Honghong beside Tu Shan Rongrong remained silent, her eyes also showed a hint of concern. Her nature was one of outward coldness but inner warmth.
Regardless of Ling Feng's actions, he was their savior. Had it not been for Ling Feng's appearance, she and Tu Shan Rongrong would likely have been sold to the so-called Heavenly Immortal Academy long ago.
Coupled with Ling Feng's attitude towards her, she had a generally good impression of him.
"I'm fine."
Ling Feng slowly got up from the ground, dusting himself off as if unaffected by the explosion. However, a large hole in the clothes beneath his black jacket indicated otherwise.
The damage caused by the Explosion Talisman was not insignificant. The power of that single Explosion Talisman was equivalent to that of a regular hand grenade.
The reason Ling Feng appeared unharmed was that all his injuries were healed by the residual medicinal power of the Resurrection Pill.
"If I kill him, won't all these troubles disappear?" Tu Shan Honghong asked, confused why Ling Feng was torturing himself.
"Indeed."
"But don't your Tu Shan Fox Demons advocate for peace?"
"If you kill someone like this, not only will it dirty your hands, but it will also damage the reputation of your Tu Shan Fox Demons if it gets out. So, I will bear this sin." Ling Feng said with a smile.
"What a big dummy."
Hearing this, Tu Shan Honghong muttered softly. Her affection for Ling Feng deepened, and she didn't notice a slight increase in her demonic power.
"Did older sister suddenly grow a bit taller?"
Tu Shan Rongrong noticed that Tu Shan Honghong seemed to have grown a little taller, but she wasn't sure if she was mistaken.
...
[Ding! Companion: Tu Shan Honghong, Favorability increased, current Favorability: 25 (Slightly Favoring)]
"It increased again?"
The system notification in his mind sounded pleasing to Ling Feng's ears. However, before Ling Feng could be happy for long,
Ling Feng felt a jolt in his brain as if it had been electrocuted. Then, without thinking, he instinctively looked up, sensing something. In the sky, he saw a familiar figure – the pockmarked Taoist!
"When did that happen!?"
Seeing the pockmarked Taoist hovering in the air on his sword, and a pile of talismans floating before him, Ling Feng's expression changed dramatically, and a sense of foreboding washed over him.
"Let's deal with the biggest threat first. Mid-grade Fireball Talisman, ignite!"
Indeed, less than a second later, Ling Feng's premonition came true. All the talismans in front of the pockmarked Taoist ignited spontaneously, turning into fiery balls that rained down!
"Not good, be careful!"
Ling Feng quickly warned Tu Shan Honghong and Tu Shan Rongrong. Though he only glanced, Ling Feng had already estimated that the area covered by these fireballs was directed at Tu Shan Honghong and the others, not himself.
Tu Shan Honghong heard him and looked up, her expression changing at the sight of the dense rain of fireballs.
She could feel that these fireballs posed a significant threat to her. However, Tu Shan Honghong's first action was not to escape alone. Instead, she gathered demonic power in her hands and threw Tu Shan Rongrong towards Ling Feng: "Catch Rongrong!"
Tu Shan Rongrong, already unable to use her demonic power due to the demon-repelling talisman and still injured, could not be fully protected by Tu Shan Honghong amidst so many fireballs.
"Sister!"
Ling Feng heard her and quickly caught Tu Shan Rongrong, who was thrown towards him. Tu Shan Rongrong's face was filled with anxiety. When Tu Shan Honghong threw her, they had already missed the best time to escape.
Ten mid-grade Fireball Talismans would make even a peak Minor Demon King retreat, let alone Tu Shan Honghong, who was currently only at the mid-stage Minor Demon King level.
"Big brother human, please save sister." Tu Shan Rongrong looked at Ling Feng, her eyes pleading.
Ling Feng did not reply but showed his resolve through his actions. Ling Feng's attention was fully focused, his hands rapidly forming hand seals. Thanks to the effect of the "Fearless Card," Ling Feng was incredibly calm and had no fear of forming the wrong seals.
It wasn't that he wouldn't make mistakes, but rather that he was calmer, making mistakes less likely. In contrast, nervousness would increase the chances of error.
Tu Shan Honghong emanated red demonic energy, her clothes billowing as if in a strong wind, showing no fear of the fireballs that had surrounded her.
However, at this moment, spiritual swords materialized around Tu Shan Honghong, numbering forty in total.
"Go!" Ling Feng commanded from not far away.
The forty spiritual swords hovering around Tu Shan Honghong shot towards the sky like a reverse waterfall, creating a magnificent momentum.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."
Explosions sounded one after another, like a fireworks display. However, the power generated by each "firework" was as terrifying as a rocket explosion on Earth.
Tu Shan Honghong was almost at the center of the explosions. The shockwaves pushed her back several meters, leaving two scorch marks on the ground.
"Sister."
Tu Shan Rongrong, extremely worried, ran towards Tu Shan Honghong. Ling Feng did not stop her but manipulated the remaining three spiritual swords to charge out of the smoke, shooting towards the pockmarked Taoist like arrows released from a bow.
Seeing this, the pockmarked Taoist drew another long sword from his Qiankun bag and swung it, unleashing a wave of sword qi.
To Ling Feng's disbelief, the three spiritual swords were shattered into fragments and vanished into the heavens and earth with just a slight collision with the sword qi, as if cutting through tofu.
"How is this possible!"
Ling Feng looked astonished. These were spiritual swords he had condensed with a significant amount of true qi. Although there were only three, they were easily destroyed by a single wave of sword qi.
The pockmarked Taoist above was also not surprised. He had only unleashed an ordinary wave of sword qi, and it had destroyed three spiritual swords.
"Something is not right."
"This brat's techniques seem superficial. He doesn't seem like the son of elders from a sect or family. Otherwise, how could he not withstand even a single wave of my sword qi?"
The pockmarked Taoist felt something was amiss. If he were the offspring of a powerful figure, why would his swordsmanship be so weak that he couldn't even block one of his moves? This made the pockmarked Taoist begin to doubt Ling Feng's identity.
"Right, there's another possibility. This brat might have just obtained the inheritance of a rogue cultivator?"
"If that's the case, then everything makes sense. Otherwise, how could someone so young, who possesses swordsmanship, be so weak?"
Thinking of this, a glint of greed and killing intent flashed in the pockmarked Taoist's eyes: "If it really is the latter... killing him to seize his treasures! Such an inheritance is not something a brat who hasn't even grown body hair should possess!"
"With this inheritance, perhaps I can become an elder!"
"Can't rush it. Let's test him first. If he's faking weakness, I still have the jade pendant given by my master to save myself and escape."
The pockmarked Taoist suppressed a flicker of excitement and decided to proceed cautiously to avoid a mishap, as such incidents were not uncommon in their line of work.
Since it was a test, the pockmarked Taoist directly flew towards Ling Feng on his sword. He took out another Fireball Talisman and infused it with mana to activate it. A fireball half the size of the previous ones shot towards Ling Feng.
The pockmarked Taoist did not intend to use mid-grade talismans for testing; he wanted to try a low-grade Fireball Talisman first.
He didn't have many mid-grade talismans left; once they were gone, they were gone.
Although he was a Qi Refining to Spirit Transformation cultivator and could already draw mid-grade talismans himself, he lacked the drawing methods for mid-grade talismans, and the materials for mid-grade talismans were much more expensive than those for low-grade ones.
He was merely an inner disciple of a small sect, and his wealth primarily came from capturing and selling monsters.
Ling Feng felt a slight sense of relief as the pockmarked Taoist shifted his target to him. If his target had remained Tu Shan Honghong, she would have been forced to kill him, and his mission would have automatically been judged as a failure.
However, even a normal difficulty mission was exhausting him to this extent. The close calls were entirely different from an easy difficulty.
Ling Feng dodged the incoming fireball.
Bang!
The fireball exploded like a hand grenade, leaving a pit in the ground. But no one was paying attention to the pit now.
"Clang!"
A sound of metal clashing echoed. Ling Feng's Dragon's Roar blocked the pockmarked Taoist's long sword. This time, Ling Feng was not passively taking hits. He parried the pockmarked Taoist's sword and swept out with the Dragon's Roar.