I Have an Omen System-Chapter 62 - 60: Cicada Molt

Qin Xuan’s scalp went numb with terror. Without a second thought, a bloody light erupted from beneath his feet as he activated Ghost Shadow Seven Kills once more.

His entire body became a blurry streak of blood, instantly shooting dozens of yards to the side.

Almost at the exact moment he vanished, the space where he had been standing suddenly caved in!

VMM!

A golden Talisman, seemingly made of neither gold nor jade and shimmering with a gentle cyan glow, appeared out of thin air.

"Sanqing Guardian, suppress!"

A visible ripple of cyan light violently spread out, like an invisible boulder crashing into a lake.

The air grew viscous. Even the residual Blood Qi from the afterimage of Qin Xuan’s Blood Escape was smoothed away by this immense suppressive force.

’Foundation Establishment Spiritual Pressure, and a Second-tier Treasure Talisman!’

The triple suppression weighed down on Qin Xuan’s heart like three great mountains.

He forcibly circulated the last of his Demonic Essence, his internal organs feeling as if they had been displaced, and barely managed to stabilize himself at the very edge of the Cyan Talisman’s suppression field.

However, the Blood Escape from his Ghost Shadow Seven Kills had been brutally interrupted, and now he couldn’t even move a finger.

"Escape?"

Chen Lixuan’s figure appeared in mid-air like a phantom.

He stood on empty air, looking down on Qin Xuan with a mocking gaze, as if observing a struggling ant.

"Since you refuse to surrender, I will obliterate your Divine Soul today and turn you into a Talisman Puppet to accompany me for eternity."

Chen Lixuan raised his right hand, his five fingers tracing fluidly through the air.

His fingertips left behind trails of glittering golden spiritual marks, his movements so fast they far surpassed the speed of Qin Xuan’s Ghost Shadow Seven Kills!

"Dharma-Breaking Golden Needle, activate!"

Chen Lixuan muttered a Technique, unleashing a second Foundation Establishment Treasure Talisman.

VMMMM—

A roar suddenly erupted!

The golden Runes sketched in the void instantly solidified, forming a brilliant golden Talisman about a foot long!

Hundreds of hair-thin golden needles of light shot out like a volley from a powerful crossbow.

Qin Xuan’s pupils contracted.

The golden needles were too fast and their range too wide. His Blood Escape had just been interrupted, and he was caught in a moment of weakness, his old power spent and new power not yet risen.

’This is all the Demonic Essence I have left... Senior Sister, please don’t let me down...’

Qin Xuan frantically poured his remaining Demonic Essence into the small, exquisite Six-winged Cyan Cicada in his palm.

VMM!

The eyes of the Silver Bone Shadow Soldiers hidden in the corridor suddenly flashed with red light, activating the core mechanism of the Cyan Imperial Armor Captain.

In a single breath, twelve Bronze Puppets of impossibly intricate and exquisite design suddenly appeared before Qin Xuan!

They had various forms; some held swords, some shields, some drew bows. Cyan Thousand Puppet Spiritual Liquid flowed like threads of Spiritual Power through their torsos and joints.

"Those who insult my master shall die!"

The twelve Qi Cultivation Peak Bronze Puppets appeared in unison, roaring furiously as they formed a vast cyan shield of light.

Chen Lixuan’s expression tightened.

’He still had another trick up his sleeve?’

"Ridiculous. Before a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, the struggles of you Qi Cultivation welps are merely a joke."

PFFT PFFT PFFT—!

A dense, rain-like patter of impacts sounded out.

The cyan light shield flashed wildly as cracks spread across its surface at a visible rate.

"Ugh..." Qin Xuan grunted. His Protective Spiritual Light was pierced as if it were made of paper, and sprays of blood instantly erupted from his left shoulder, right leg, and side.

A sharp Power of Destruction ran rampant through his meridians, savagely disrupting the flow of his Spiritual Power.

’So this is Heaven Dao Foundation Establishment...’

Qin Xuan staggered, his face ashen.

’The gap is too immense. A single, casual Talisman from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator forced me to play all my cards and still left me severely injured!’

Chen Lixuan narrowed his eyes, a greedy light glinting within them, as if he were merely crushing a slightly larger bug.

"What formidable Puppets. To think they could withstand a Dharma-Breaking Golden Talisman powerful enough to kill an Earth Dao Foundation Establishment Cultivator... Is this the Purple Mansion inheritance of the Thousand Mechanism Puppet Sect?"

"A pity. Now, they’re mine!"

Chen Lixuan raised his left hand, his five fingers tracing a completely different pattern in the air.

"Nine Nether God-Binding, bind!"

A pitch-black Talisman emanating a chilling aura instantly took form.

’A third Foundation Establishment Treasure Talisman!’

The Talisman exploded, transforming into three massive chains as thick as bowls, forged entirely from dark runes.

’Damn it, where’s the Positional Divine Technique? Show yourself already!’ Qin Xuan was on the verge of collapse.

’These local Foundation Establishment Cultivators have no shame. Using so many Treasure Talismans, one after another, just to deal with a little Qi Cultivation junior like me.’

The shadow of death had never felt so palpable.

His body was wracked with excruciating pain, and blood streamed from his wounds, yet he couldn’t move an inch.

He realized that once the God-Binding Rope ensnared him, forget resisting—even self-detonation would become an impossible luxury.

VMM!

Just then, a strange cicada’s chirp, as if from ancient times, ignored the barriers of space and finally resounded from Qin Xuan’s position.

Positional Divine Power: Cyan Cicada Shell!

A palm-sized, incredibly lifelike illusory ’Light Cicada,’ made entirely of cyan spiritual light with wings poised for flight, suddenly materialized.

"It’s finally here!" An excited expression appeared on Qin Xuan’s face.

The moment the illusory Light Cicada appeared, an indescribable dimensional shift seemed to occur between it and Qin Xuan’s real body.

The God-Binding Rope, radiating a terrifying binding power, paused for a fraction of a second before turning and abandoning Qin Xuan’s body.

Instead, with lethal determination, it viciously coiled around and locked onto the newly appeared cyan Light Cicada!

"How is that possible?! A Life-Substitute Divine Technique of the Yang Wood Position!"

Chen Lixuan, who had been indifferent until now, wore a look of horror. His eyes widened, revealing a rare expression of solemnity and shock!

He could clearly sense that his ’Nine Nether God-Binding Rope,’ a technique powerful enough to lock down even a Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment Cultivator, had its target forcibly changed at the last moment by a profound and unfathomable power.

This was no simple Illusion Technique or substitution; it was a Positional Divine Technique involving spatial displacement!

Chen Lixuan reacted instantly. His shock lasted but a moment before his killing intent grew even stronger.

Without hesitation, his right hand, which had been poised and ready, slammed downward, and an ice-blue Talisman flared to life!

"Profound Ice Prison, seal!"

A fourth Foundation Establishment Treasure Talisman.

BOOM—!

A tide of ice-blue cold erupted violently!

The extreme temperature instantly froze the air, seeming to solidify even the light itself.

A thick layer of Profound Ice spread rapidly across the ground, visible to the naked eye.

CRACK!

The cyan Light Cicada, tightly bound by the God-Binding Rope, let out a crisp cracking sound.

Along with the power of the Nine Nether God-Binding Rope it had absorbed as a Substitute Tribulation, it shattered into a cloud of crystalline, ice-blue dust and was utterly annihilated. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

However, Qin Xuan’s body had become incredibly ’illusory’ in that instant, as if viewed through a flowing curtain of water.

All the attacks missed.

"Wait, where did he go? How did he still manage to escape?!"

Chen Lixuan was furious. He scanned his surroundings but could find no trace of Qin Xuan.

’I, a mighty Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment Cultivator, was just played by a mere Qi Cultivation junior using such a bizarre Secret Technique.’

’I used four Foundation Establishment Treasure Talismans!’

’And every single one of those Treasure Talismans was powerful enough to kill an Earth Dao Foundation Establishment Cultivator!’

...

「Meanwhile, dozens of miles away.」

Space rippled like water, and a wretched figure, covered in blood and with an incredibly faint aura, stumbled out.

It was Qin Xuan!

At this moment, Qin Xuan was in a horrifying state. He was bleeding from all seven orifices, his skin was shriveled and cracked, and the fluctuations of Demonic Essence around him had almost completely vanished, making him weaker than even a Qi Cultivation First Layer Cultivator.

Only a burn mark in his palm, left from activating the Cyan Cicada, still radiated a faint residual warmth.

"Cough, cough..."

Qin Xuan spat out a large mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs.

Without the suppressive Qi Mechanism of the Puppet Sect,

"VMM!"

The Identity Token at his waist suddenly flared with brilliant light, and a stream of information flooded into his mind.

[Holy Sect Plague Bone Altar Steward, Qin Xuan, has slain 17 Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer disciples of the Cold Nether Sect, including 2 Foundation Establishment Guardians.

Passed the Thousand Mechanisms Ancient Tomb assessment, ranking first.

Reward: Flame Demon Position inheritance, the Spiritual Artifact Soul-devouring Banner, and the position of Vice Incense Master of the Plague Bone Altar!]

RUMBLE!

A crimson streak of light, like a meteor chasing the moon, tore across the sky and reached his location in an instant!

Qin Xuan lay on the ground in a crumpled heap, a wild grin spreading across his lips.

’Fortune has smiled upon me. I’ve finally found that sliver of hope for survival!’

...