Chapter 62 Divine Armor Displays Its Power, Naked Escape
However, at this critical moment, Lin Yue, who was by the Spiritual Spring, suddenly let out a low roar!
[Ding! Soul Connection strength increased to 5%! Partner Liu Qingyan favorability +3 (Current: 3)! prajna divine armor sensed a cross-Realm Soul link, and the owner recognition process is accelerating!]
[Detected 100% compatibility between the host and the divine armor. Unlocking the remnant Soul Power of the previous owner! Current available power: Early Golden Core Stage Peak!]
Suddenly, a burst of dazzling gold and silver light surged from every scale of the prajna divine armor, burning fiercely like an ignited flame.
On the chest, the previously blurred lion-head mark became exceptionally clear, as if a real lion were roaring with its head held high. A translucent Lion Soul Phantom leaped out from the armor, overlapping perfectly with Lin Yue's figure, and the Spiritual Qi around him instantly boiled like lava.
Lin Yue's feet struck the ground like thunder. With a "boom," the hard bluestone slabs cracked and shattered, and stone fragments splashed out like raindrops.
He transformed into a streak of brilliant golden light, shooting into the air at supersonic speeds. At this moment, Wu Tianli was focused entirely on Liu Qingyan, his mind filled with the thought of "uprooting the problem," completely unaware of the lethal killing intent approaching from behind.
"Crack!"
The moment the golden light collided with the Golden Core phantom shield on Wu Tianli's back, the pale gold barrier—capable of withstanding a full-strength blow from a Golden Core expert—shattered like glass.
Wu Tianli felt a massive, surging force crash into his back. He flew forward like a kite with a broken string, coughing up mouthfuls of essence blood. His face turned pale as paper; not only were his ribs broken, but even the Golden Core within his Dantian was vibrating from the shock.
The golden light landed, and Lin Yue did not stop for a second.
The power of the Golden Core remnant Soul within the prajna divine armor continued to surge through his Meridians, and his Wanjun Overlord Body was pushed to emit a resonance like metal and stone.
Like an enraged lion, he kicked off the ground again, causing more spiderweb-like cracks in the bluestone. Amidst a surge of gold and silver light, he instantly caught up to the staggering Wu Tianli, his right fist wrapped in Golden Core power as he smashed it ruthlessly into the other man's shoulder blade.
"Crack!"
The crisp sound of the shoulder blade shattering was ear-piercing. Wu Tianli's protective Spiritual Qi completely dissipated, and as he fell to one knee, the Spiritual Qi in his palms dimmed abruptly. Shocked and enraged, he struggled to gather his Golden Core spiritual power to counterattack, but the tremors in his Dantian caused his blood to surge, leaving him without even the strength to lift his hand.
Lin Yue, however, threw punches like a violent storm. The Heaven-Burning Sword Intent and the Wanjun Overlord Body alternated as they landed. Every strike was accompanied by the sound of bones breaking and Wu Tianli's shrill screams. Pale gold Golden Core spiritual power and gold-silver light splashed everywhere, causing the surrounding Spiritual Plants to snap and scatter.
"I am a Golden Core Cultivator! If you kill me, the Sect will never let you go!" Wu Tianli's eyes were filled with fear and resentment. In his panic, he suddenly pulled out a yellowed talisman from his robe—it was the "Golden Cicada Substitute Talisman" he had cherished for years. It was intended for a desperate escape, but he never expected to use it against a Qi Refining Cultivator.
But he had forgotten that while this "Golden Cicada Substitute Talisman" could summon a substitute using a wisp of Divine Essence, it harbored a fatal side effect: when the talisman's power activated, it would strip the user of all external items. Whether it was armor, a Storage Pouch, or protective accessories, everything would be transferred to the substitute, leaving the true body to flee stark naked.
"Buzz—"
As soon as the talisman touched Wu Tianli's essence blood, it erupted with a blinding white light.
In the white light, a substitute identical to him instantly appeared. But the moment the substitute solidified, Wu Tianli felt his whole body become light, followed by a wave of coldness—his Spirit Treasures, Storage Pouch, outer robe, and undergarments had all been transferred to the substitute. His true self, however, was stark naked and thrown outside the East Mountain Spirit Garden...
At this time, countless Disciples were gathered around the East Mountain Spirit Garden to watch the commotion, and they happened to witness this scene!
"Is that Elder Wu?"
"Heavens! Why is Elder Wu running away naked?"
"Stark naked! This is too pathetic!"
...
The Disciples watching outside the Medicine Garden immediately erupted into a frenzy, with gasps and discussions rising one after another.
Some covered their mouths and snickered, while others were full of disbelief—a Golden Core Cultivator fleeing naked in broad daylight was a humiliation the Qingyun Sect hadn't seen in a century!
Wu Tianli was now both ashamed and anxious. The shame of being exposed naked to the air was harder to bear than the injuries to his body and Soul.
Hearing the discussions of the Disciples, his face turned a purplish-blue. He didn't even have the courage to look back, and could only grit his teeth and run toward his Immortal Cave with all his might. Every step felt like treading on a red-hot iron plate, utterly embarrassing.
...
Lin Yue finally caught up to the "Golden Cicada Substitute Talisman" and slammed his right fist, wrapped in the lingering power of the Golden Core remnant Soul, into the newly solidified substitute phantom.
The golden light exploded. Fragments of the talisman fluttered like butterflies, and the substitute phantom couldn't even hold out for half a breath before dissipating into specks of white light.
The moment the white light vanished, the few remaining rags covering Wu Tianli's modesty suddenly tore apart with a "rip," turning completely into flying lint.
Even more astonishingly, the Spirit Treasures and Storage Pouch he had previously transferred to the substitute seemed to lose their tether, pouring out from the void with a "clatter." The bronze-colored Storage Pouch rolled onto the bluestone slabs, and various bottles of Medicinal Pills, glowing Jade Slips, and even several Spirit Treasures were scattered all over the ground. The dazzling spiritual light under the sun was blinding.
"This is..." Lin Yue's pupils constricted, and then his eyes lit up. Wild joy instantly washed away all the exhaustion after the battle.
He didn't care about Wu Tianli's miserable state anymore. He practically scrambled over on all fours, first grabbing the other man's Storage Pouch. As his fingertips touched the warm spiritual light from the pouch, his heart pounded wildly: "I've hit the jackpot! This is the entire fortune of a Golden Core Cultivator!"
He nimbly gathered the items, stuffing the pill bottles into his robe and wrapping the Jade Slips and Spirit Treasure fragments in spiritual power. He didn't even miss an Identity Token engraved with the word "Wu" that had rolled to his feet.
Liu Qingyan's gaze swept over the Storage Pouch and Magic Treasures in Lin Yue's hands. Her tone was flat but held an unquestionable certainty: "Wu Tianli's Storage Pouch and Magic Treasures have all been refined using his Golden Core Divine Essence. With just a thought, he can reclaim them at any time, even if they are scattered thousands of miles away. Your holding them now is merely keeping them for him temporarily."
"Oh!?" Lin Yue's eyebrows quirked at her words.
In his excitement, he had forgotten this—a Golden Core Cultivator's control over their treasures was not something a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could compare to.
However, a cold smile soon curled at the corners of his mouth. "If he wants them back, I'm afraid it won't be that easy."
Before he finished speaking, Lin Yue sent Wu Tianli's Storage Pouch, Protective Jade Pendant, and other items, along with the damaged Magical Artifacts he had previously stripped from Xuan Chenzi and Zhu Wang, into the Hongmeng Space deep within his Sea of Consciousness.
[System Notification: Detected Golden Core Grade Magic Treasure and Qi Refinement Stage Magical Artifact. Hongmeng Space is beginning decomposition...]
Ripples instantly appeared on the gray spatial barrier. As soon as the damaged Magical Artifacts of Xuan Chenzi and Zhu Wang entered the space, they were swiftly ground into powder by the gray mist, turning into wisps of pale cyan Spiritual Qi that merged into the barrier. The decomposition was extremely fast, vanishing in just a few breaths.
However, when Wu Tianli's Storage Pouch and Golden Core Grade Magic Treasure entered the space, the decomposition speed slowed down abruptly. The gray mist was like water meeting a hard rock, only able to slowly erode the pale gold Divine Essence Mark on the surface of the Magic Treasure. The runes on the Storage Pouch resisted stubbornly; every bit decomposed consumed a large amount of spatial Spiritual Qi.
[System Notification: Golden Core Grade items contain Divine Essence Marks. Decomposition difficulty increased. Estimated decomposition time: 72 hours.]
Lin Yue looked at the slowly decomposing treasures in the space, understanding.
Wu Tianli's Magic Treasures were, after all, Golden Core Grade and carried his Divine Essence Mark, so it was naturally difficult for the Hongmeng Space to decompose them.
But he was in no hurry—as long as these things were placed in the space, Wu Tianli's Divine Thought would be unable to sense them, let alone reclaim them.