If Gou Cheng becomes the Dao Ancestor, the monkey will come to become his disciple.

Jiang Chuan arrived on the second floor and entered. It was like entering a magnificent palace. The interior was decorated in an extremely luxurious style, exuding grandeur and class.

As he was looking around, a beautiful female nun came over and greeted him:

"Excuse me, what do you need?"

Jiang Chuan said calmly, "I'd like to see some advanced talisman manuals."

The beautiful female cultivator looked surprised, then became even more respectful, "May I ask, senior, are you a talisman master?"

"Not really, just a little bit, a very little bit!"

Jiang Chuan replied, frowning slightly, feeling that something was amiss.

The beautiful female cultivator seemed to be used to Jiang Chuan's modesty and smiled, saying:

"Please follow me, senior."

Unlike the first floor, which is mostly filled with paper cultivation manuals, the second floor has far fewer cultivation manuals, and they are all stored in jade slips.

"Senior, please look, this is the 'Qing Clan Talisman Codex,' a legacy left behind by a certain talisman master. It contains insights into the Dao of Talismans and three types of first-tier high-grade talismans..."

Jiang Chuan casually asked, "How much is this?"

The beautiful female cultivator smiled gently: "Senior, this 'Qing Clan Talisman Codex' only costs 800 low-grade spirit stones."

"How many?"

Jiang Chuan's pupils contracted, startled by the price; it was far too expensive.

The explanation for the beautiful cultivator's still radiant smile:

"Senior, you may not know this, but top-grade cultivation techniques and talismans are worth several times more than mid-grade ones. Our Biyang Tower is absolutely honest and trustworthy."

"Ahem, let's look at the others."

Jiang Chuan looked somewhat embarrassed. He had thought he was quite wealthy, but now he realized that he was still penniless.

"Senior, this is the 'Chen Family Talisman,' priced at 600 spirit stones."

"This is the 'Talisman Handbook,' priced at 400 spirit stones."

"This is 'Advanced Talisman Basics,' priced at 500 spirit stones."

Jiang Chuan felt a chill run down his spine, but he forced a smile and asked, "

"Um, I'm a bit strapped for cash, do you have anything cheaper?"

A hint of embarrassment and annoyance flashed in the beautiful cultivator's eyes. Since she dared to come to the second floor, didn't she have any mental preparation at all?

With a casual flick of her wrist, a jade slip landed in her flawless white hand. She looked at Jiang Chuan, her red lips slightly parted:

"Fellow Daoist, here is a jade slip containing several ancient, incomplete talismans. It is priced at only 100 spirit stones."

Upon hearing the words "ancient times," Jiang Chuan felt a surge of curiosity.

Could it be that I've actually encountered the kind of "serendipitous encounter" or "lucky find" that's common in fantasy novels?

"Fairy, may I take a look?"

"Yes, but all of these jade slips are protected by restrictions, so you can only see part of their contents."

Jiang Chuan nodded, took the jade slip, and placed it on his forehead. A fragmented message came from within.

The Way of Talismans is the fundamental principle of Heaven and Earth, the pattern of the Great Dao. I comprehend the workings of Heaven and Earth, using them as my brush and my divine soul as my ink, to create the [Divine Breaking Talisman], to be passed down to future generations...

Jiang Chuan was shaken upon seeing this brief message.

Is this [God-Breaking Talisman] some kind of incomplete soul-type attack talisman?

If that's the case, then we must take it.

Seeing Jiang Chuan's shocked expression, the beautiful female cultivator's eyes flashed with a cunning glint.

This incomplete ancient talisman, suspected to be a soul-attack talisman, has been sold countless times by Biyang Tower over the past century, all in the hope that someone would one day be able to complete it. But so many years have passed, and no one has been able to complete it...

"Senior, how are you feeling?"

Jiang Chuan snapped out of his daze and said with a smile, "This feels like a soul attack talisman, extremely rare and uncommon, but unfortunately it's incomplete."

"However, I'm quite interested in this incomplete talisman; I'll take it!"

The beautiful female cultivator immediately smiled and flattered, "With your wisdom and talent, you will surely be able to bring this 'God-Breaking Talisman' back to the world."

"Senior, is there anything else you require?"

Jiang Chuan looked at the empty storage bag and could only shake his head in pain.

"It's gone!"

.........

Watching Jiang Chuan leave, the beautiful cultivator's smile quickly vanished, replaced by a thoughtful expression.

"Interesting. They've deliberately concealed their cultivation level, so their strength is unknown, but they're probably in the late Qi Refining stage... Could they be a newly emerging high-level talisman master?"

"At this critical juncture, let's report the news."

.........

Next, Jiang Chuan bought some medicinal herb seeds, talismans, and demon beast blood, spending all the spirit stones he had before leaving Biyang Tower.

Jiang Chuan was preparing to return to Lingtian when suddenly, his brows furrowed, a shadow fell over his heart, and he felt as if a great disaster was about to befall him.

"Do I feel like someone is following me?"

Remembering Zhang Hao's warning before he left, Jiang Chuan dared not be careless. He gripped his flying sword in one hand and a mid-grade talisman in the other, ready for battle at any moment. He tried to move towards areas with more people, hoping to make those following him wary.

Just as he was about to reach the vicinity of Lingtian in the Dingzi District,

suddenly,

"Ugh~"

A loud, piercing scream exploded in my ears, like a clap of thunder in spring, exceptionally sharp and shrill, tearing through the eardrums and drilling deep into my ears, as if a demonic sound had entered my body.

Even Jiang Chuan, a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining with late-stage first-order body tempering cultivation, felt dizzy and almost fainted.

If he was in such a state, the other cultivators in the market must have been in an even more miserable situation.

Some low-level cultivators bled from all seven orifices and collapsed to the ground dead; some fainted and foamed at the mouth; and others immediately went berserk and attacked those around them...

Not only the cultivators, but even the surrounding buildings collapsed like rotten wood amidst this hissing sound...

"What was that sound?" Jiang Chuan's face turned pale, his head spun, and his eyes instinctively searched for the source of the sound.

Looking up, one could see a gigantic beast circling overhead, its wings spanning tens of meters in length. Its feathers gleamed with a metallic sheen, its blood-red eyes blazed like the sun, and its crimson crown was a striking gold. It was both eerie and brutal, its gaze fixed on the market below, radiating a chilling killing intent.

"This is... a monster?... This is terrifying."

Seeing this colossal monster, comparable to a bomber from his previous life, Jiang Chuan trembled with fear. He quickly retreated to a nearby collapsed house, activating the "Concealment Technique" to lower his aura and avoid being targeted by the monster in the sky...

"Ah, ah, help... I'm deaf."

"It's a Black-crowned Golden Eagle, a second-tier ferocious beast from Yunmeng Mountain. How dare it attack our market?"

"Damn ferocious bird, how dare you do this! Where are the Foundation Establishment stage cultivators of humanity? Come out and kill this beast!"

Under the demonic power of the ferocious bird, a large number of rogue cultivators in the market fell. This indiscriminate attack of demonic sound was difficult for anyone but the strong to withstand.

In the blink of an eye, the area covered by the black-crowned golden eagle turned into a human slaughterhouse, filled with the stench of blood and littered with corpses.

"You monstrous bird, how dare you! You're courting death!"

A loud shout came from the sky.

In the next instant, a rain of arrows, burning with scorching flames, covered half the sky, as thousands of arrows were unleashed towards the black-crowned golden eagle.

With a flap of its four wings, the black-crowned golden eagle dodged with lightning speed, covering hundreds of feet in an instant to reach another densely populated area. It let out a sharp screech, and countless cultivators fell to the ground once more...

The Black-crowned Golden Eagle wreaked havoc throughout Taihu Market, reaping the lives of low-level cultivators with its speed and innate supernatural abilities.