Chapter 278: The Mighty Daoist Tongchen

“It’s Old Five!” Daoist Tongchen instantly realized, his fury erupting.
Old Five had betrayed him, leaking his intel to someone else.
No—judging by the method Old Five used to transmit the message, perhaps he wasn’t a traitor, but an undercover agent planted by someone else.
Old Five didn’t know about his hidden injuries, but he did know his cultivation method.
In the Tongu World, a cultivator’s technique was their lifeline—never to be revealed to others.
Others could exploit flaws in your technique or meridian circulation. That was incredibly dangerous!
For example, Daoist Tongchen cultivated the Earth Origin Technique. As long as his feet touched the ground, he could draw an endless stream of power from it. What if an enemy knocked him into the air, forcing his feet off the ground?
Not only that—his subconscious movements, personality, lifestyle habits—an enemy could use all of these.
To survive, the most important thing was to reveal as little of yourself as possible, and know as much about others as you can.
Daoist Tongchen released his divine sense, scanning the entire mountain. He found that Third and Fourth Senior Brothers were already dead, Fifth Senior Brother was on the verge of death, clinging to life, still muttering, “If I die, Old Three and Old Four won’t live either. You’re all coming with me.”
Daoist Tongchen became even more confused. With Old Three and Old Four already dead, who was dying with whom?
He had only been in seclusion for one night. How had things spiraled this far?!
“Old Five, you’re dead for sure!” Daoist Tongchen’s fury surged to the heavens as he rushed toward Old Five.
But before he even got there, two unmistakable Nascent Soul-stage auras stepped onto the mountain through the Life Gate, making no attempt to hide themselves.
Thanks to the intelligence Old Five had leaked, the protective mountain formation—originally enough to repel Nascent Soul cultivators—was now useless.
“How did they get here so fast?!” Daoist Tongchen was shocked. He thought they’d take at least a quarter of an hour to arrive.
“Of course it’s because I’ve been waiting at the foot of the mountain for seven years, waiting for this very day.” A cold, sinister voice echoed from all directions, like ghosts sweeping through, sending chills down the spine.
Yu Feng, thinking Senior Sister might be scared, stayed close by her side.
Sister Wu Lian thought Yu Feng was the one afraid. Seeing him come over, she pulled him into her arms to protect him.
She was at the peak of the Golden Core Stage—the strongest among Daoist Tongchen’s disciples.
But with Third and Fourth Senior Brothers dead and Fifth removed from the roster, Daoist Tongchen now had only two disciples left. Being the strongest didn’t mean much.
The sudden happiness stunned Yu Feng.
“Lord Heishan, Monk Jingguang?” Daoist Tongchen recognized them. They’d only exchanged nods at a banquet hosted by a Soul Formation-stage cultivator.
“Seven years?” That was a sensitive number for Daoist Tongchen. Seven years ago was when he had accepted Old Five as his disciple.
“So Old Five was indeed your mole!” Daoist Tongchen glared at Lord Heishan, teeth clenched.
After Second Senior Brother had betrayed him, he’d become extremely cautious, erecting the protective formation and allowing only Wu Lian to enter or exit. The other disciples were forbidden to leave.
It was all to prevent further betrayal.
And yet, the very thing he feared had come true.
Lord Heishan and Monk Jingguang, after obtaining intel from Old Five, had rushed over immediately to catch Daoist Tongchen off guard. They had hidden at the mountain’s base—for seven whole years.
Seven years wasn’t a long wait for Nascent Soul cultivators. If waiting that long could get them everything Daoist Tongchen owned, anyone would do it.
For mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators like Lord Heishan and Monk Jingguang, the treasures owned by a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like Daoist Tongchen were very tempting.
“This is bad. Master has hidden injuries. How can he possibly win against those two?” Wu Lian was anxious, about to rush forward to help.
Only she knew that Master had suffered a foundational injury from Second Senior Brother and was weaker than the average Nascent Soul cultivator.
Yu Feng grabbed her arm.
“Xiao Feng, what are you doing?”
Yu Feng smiled, “Don’t worry, Senior Sister. Master’s hidden injury has long since healed.”
By now, Daoist Tongchen was already fighting Lord Heishan and Monk Jingguang. Feet planted on the ground, talismans in hand, he fought two against one without falling behind. In fact, he seemed to be gaining the upper hand.
“What’s going on?”
“I gave Master a decoction that completely cures internal injuries. With regular use, it slowly healed him over time.”
“Don’t forget, I’m an alchemist.” Yu Feng puffed out his chest, quite pleased with himself.
Wu Lian rolled her eyes at him. “Alchemist? You’re just a little guy who knows how to make candy beans.”
Seeing their master unharmed, Wu Lian also cracked a joke.
Yu Feng slumped, “Senior Sister, that really hurts my feelings.”
Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu silently observed the two.
With the intel Old Five had transmitted, they quickly analyzed Daoist Tongchen’s spiritual energy pathways and pinpointed his meridian weaknesses.
They deduced from his technique that being forced off the ground was his major disadvantage.
They also learned that a sudden tap on his shoulder would make him instinctively turn his head—indicating he was vulnerable to external stimuli and had no resistance to reflex reactions.
With this information, Lord Heishan and Monk Jingguang aimed for specific acupuncture points, attacking the spot where Daoist Tongchen stood, trying to force him to jump.
They even faked attacks to make him flinch, burning his spiritual power and focus.
Yet despite everything, Daoist Tongchen used his masterful Dao of Talismans to escape every danger and grew stronger the longer the fight dragged on.
“How is he this strong?” Lord Heishan and Monk Jingguang were secretly horrified. Daoist Tongchen’s talismanic arts far exceeded anything they’d imagined.
They’d known he specialized in the Dao of Talismans, but they hadn’t expected he could channel the power of heaven and earth into each one. The force was unbelievable.
“Dmn it, you’re still watching?! Activate the spiritual plant formation, now!” Lord Heishan roared at Old Five.
Old Five lay in bed, toxins ravaging his body. He had no strength, couldn’t even lift a hand—let alone activate a formation.
“F**k, I knew we couldn’t count on this useless piece of sht.” Seeing Old Five’s failure, Lord Heishan grew even more furious.
“Good thing I prepared a backup.”
He began chanting a spell and pointed at Old Five. Old Five suddenly jolted upright from bed, completely beyond his control.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
He immediately realized: Master had used a secret technique from the Spiritual Plant Manual to take control of him.
He had plotted to turn Yu Feng into a puppet—but never considered that he was already one.
“Why is he so weak?” Lord Heishan noticed his disciple exhausted all his energy just standing up. It was hard to believe he was a Golden Core cultivator—an elderly man had more strength.
“In that case, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” Lord Heishan sneered, activating a technique to ignite Old Five’s soul and give him a last burst of strength.
“No, you can’t do this!” Old Five’s heart filled with terror. He hadn’t expected Lord Heishan to be so cold-blooded.
Burning one’s soul meant complete annihilation—no trace of oneself left in the world, not even a chance to reincarnate in the Underworld.
He would be erased from existence entirely!