Starting My Immortal Life by Upgrading Buildings

Chapter 130: “Have You Ever Been Hit by a Talisman Treasure?!”

Damn it—such brilliant acting—

Ji Yuan watched Feng Yichen’s disappearing figure and had only one thought: this guy really knows how to put on a show.

Still, Ji Yuan had to admit: the man did have the right credentials to pretend.

If it were someone else who cultivated Qi to Foundations and then disappeared, their arrogance would surely skyrocket.

But Ji Yuan clearly wasn’t that sort of person. Even if he truly cultivated Qi to Foundations, he’d suppress any sign of superiority, afraid of being noticed.

Dong Qian was the same.

Hearing Feng Yichen’s words, she showed no reaction—just sat down to write a letter to Zhu Yue.

After all, once they left, started the fire, and were done, they’d return straight to the Water Dragon Sect—not back to Old Locust Valley—so an explanation was owed.

For this, Ji Yuan and she each put a medium-grade spirit stone under her pillow as payment for this mission.

They wouldn’t be stingy here—she’d risked enough for this job.

Once Dong Qian finished the letter, the two packed and quietly shut the door behind them.

They walked out of the market town with downcast eyes, taking side streets to avoid being bumped into.

Once they were out of the market, arriving near the mountain pass where they’d landed the flying boat earlier, Dong Qian summoned it again, and they headed north.

The flying boat ascended.

Dong Qian then explained, “Junior Brother, I really had no choice. Senior Brother Feng spoke so plainly—if I hadn’t agreed, when we returned to the sect, it’d be difficult to explain.”

“It’s okay—I understand,” Ji Yuan responded with a smile.

When you’re away from home, anything can happen; staying safe is already the greatest blessing.

“Mm, good. Those eight Illusion‑Heart Flowers—

  “I only need three. The rest you should take, Senior Sister.”

Ji Yuan had no alchemical plan that required the Illusion‑Heart Flowers; upgrading the 悟道室 (Enlightenment Chamber) only needed three. Any extras would be useless—and selling even one wouldn’t fetch many spirit stones.

Dong Qian needed them for her formula, so giving them to her made more sense.

“Let’s each take four. We came together—no reason for me to take more.”

“I really don’t need that many. If it bothers you, just give me one spirit stone.”

Seeing Ji Yuan wasn’t bluffing—and she indeed needed the flowers—Dong Qian hesitated, then accepted the arrangement. Illusion‑Heart Flowers were rare treasures.

With three flowers in hand, Ji Yuan felt much calmer. Regardless of what came next, the mission’s goal was accomplished. Once back, he could upgrade the 悟道室 and retreat again to improve his alchemy and talisman arts.

Before long, the two reached near the warehouse Feng Yichen had mentioned.

From the sky earlier, Ji Yuan had already noted that the warehouse stored lumber: too bulky to fit in spell pouches, and besides, the wood wasn’t top‑grade.

If it had been, the Medicine King Valley wouldn’t have casually built a warehouse in these woods.

“These are first‑grade qingshan wood. A lot of Water Dragon Sect’s buildings use this. Not worth much—no wonder it’s piled here,” Dong Qian observed.

Now they were less than a hundred meters from the warehouse.

Not knowing what defenses Medicine King Valley cultivators had, they paused there, wary of being spotted.

The warehouse had two rooms, facing south. Behind them were the lumber piles—no formation talismans, meaning Medicine King Valley hadn’t expected theft. If planting a talisman meant provoking them, few earth cultivators would bother with such low returns.

“I have a high‑grade Fire‑Sea Talisman, just in case—let’s use it,” Dong Qian said, producing the talisman. Ji Yuan blinked.

She was cautious—and not stingy. She’d use a high‑grade talisman just to start a fire.

Ji Yuan took out one from his pouch too—he had five, loot from killing the Yueli clan ancestor.

“Great. I’ve got one too—just in case. Let’s use both.”

With two Fire‑Sea Talismans, the warehouse would be a blazing ruin—and the two Medicine King Valley disciples would surely pursue them.

Ji Yuan was already prepared: first Dong Qian would use the Divine‑Walk Talisman from Feng Yichen to shake them off.

If that failed, he’d activate the Thunder‑Gather Boat and trigger the spiritual core inside.

Once activated, the vessel would reach spirit‑artifact speed—no Foundation cultivator’s flying boat could catch it.

“Alright.”

Dong Qian smiled faintly. She summoned the flying boat, they boarded, and soared through the trees. In a moment, they flew above the warehouse.

Down fell the two talismans.

“Boom—”

Under the combined flames, the warehouse instantly became a sea of fire.

Even the two front rooms were engulfed in roaring flames.

“Bang!”

Two cultivators crashed through their doors and rushed out—just in time to see Dong Qian’s boat taking off.

“You thieves, prepare to die!”

“Damn it, don’t let them escape!”

  The two men cursed as they summoned their flying boats and hurriedly gave chase.

Whether they could catch up was uncertain, but whether to pursue or not was a matter of principle.

“Senior Sister.”

Ji Yuan acted terrified, speaking up with a warning—he played the role of an inexperienced junior disciple to perfection.

“Don’t worry.”

Dong Qian smiled as she took out the three Divine-Walk Talismans. Before Ji Yuan could even react, in a blink, she replaced their ordinary flying boat with the Phantom-Tracing Boat.

The two of them didn’t even shift their positions in the slightest.

That move took some real skill—Ji Yuan was admittedly a little stunned.

Dong Qian attached the three talismans to the Phantom-Tracing Boat. With a sharp “whoosh,” the flying boat vanished into the distance.

The two Medicine King Valley disciples behind them were stunned.

They instinctively slowed their flying boats.

Chase?

How could they possibly keep up?

Just as they were about to give up, another streak of light shot across the sky and stopped in front of them.

Meanwhile, in front of Old Locust Valley, Feng Yichen, who sat cross-legged atop a treetop, watched the flames erupt in the distance and several streaks of light rise from the valley. Finally, he stood up, satisfied.

Everyone had their own chessboard.

Today, he, Feng Yichen, would be the chessmaster—and slaughter Zhang Zehuai in battle!

At the back of the flying boat, Ji Yuan looked behind and, seeing no sign of the Medicine King Valley disciples, finally felt a bit more at ease.

“They’re not chasing anymore?”

Dong Qian, piloting the Phantom-Tracing Boat, didn’t look back and used the chance to ask.

“They’re not—”

Before Ji Yuan could finish, the flying boat seemed to crash into something. The sudden jolt sent him colliding into Dong Qian.

The next instant, the flying boat flipped, and the two of them plummeted straight toward the ground.

“Damn it!”

Ji Yuan reacted instantly, instinctively releasing the Thunder-Gather Boat.

“Go!”

His body turned into a flash of violet light as he caught Dong Qian mid-air.

But before he could activate the Thunder Falcon Boat again, he noticed another flying boat appear before him. On it stood a middle-aged man in a black Daoist robe.

The man had his arms crossed and gazed at them with the cold contempt of someone high above.

“So it’s you rats from the Water Dragon Sect,” the man sneered, “setting fire even to one of our Medicine King Valley’s warehouses—disgraceful.”

Ji Yuan’s Thunder-Gather Boat didn’t reveal much, but he had clearly seen Dong Qian’s Phantom-Tracing Boat earlier—it was a Water Dragon Sect standard issue.

Right now, the Water Dragon Sect and Medicine King Valley were in conflict, so this all made sense.

Ji Yuan eyed the man with extreme caution.

He could feel a significant pressure coming from him—at the peak of Qi Refinement. But to still exude such pressure likely meant this man had lingered at the peak for many years.

He was probably one of the top disciples in Medicine King Valley.

Dong Qian, held behind Ji Yuan, regained consciousness. That earlier collision had left her dazed.

Now slightly clearer, she quickly stuffed several pills into her mouth.

When she looked up and recognized the man before her, she cried out instinctively.

“Jian Zong?!”

“What are you doing here?!”

Jian Zong had been famous for years—longer even than Feng Yichen. The Water Dragon Sect had circulated his portrait long ago.

Dong Qian had seen it and recognized him at a glance. This was the top Qi Refinement cultivator in Medicine King Valley—Jian Zong.

Like Feng Yichen, he had once slain a Foundation Establishment cultivator while still in Qi Refinement. A true monster!

Hearing her, Ji Yuan felt a fresh wave of dread.

He’d thought this was just a notable disciple of Medicine King Valley—never expected it to be their number one.

“So your eyes still work. You recognize your Lord Jian.”

Jian Zong gave Dong Qian a sweeping glance. “Diversion tactics?”

“Lured away our Foundation cultivators, and now you’re here to set fires—your real target must be that Junior Brother Zhang at Old Locust Valley?”

“Fine, then. Even if Feng Yichen comes, he won’t be able to take him down quickly.”

“And you Water Dragon Sect dogs don’t dare break the treaty by sending Foundation cultivators to kill, so—”

Jian Zong’s gaze shifted over the two of them again.

“I’ll kill you both first, then head over to help Junior Brother Zhang slaughter Feng Yichen—and this whole matter will be wrapped up...”

Before he could finish, there was a faint sound—“swish—”

The Thunder-Gather Boat beneath Ji Yuan transformed into a flash of violet lightning and disappeared.

By the time Jian Zong reacted, it had already vanished into the horizon.

Son of a bitch! That thing’s a spirit artifact flying boat?!

A mere ninth-layer Qi Refinement disciple... had a spirit artifact-level flying boat?!

He must be a scion of a Golden Core family. Which meant—he absolutely had to die!

Jian Zong already began calculating how much reward he could claim from Medicine King Valley for killing this Golden Core clan descendant.

Kill. He had to kill him.

With a flick of his thought, several talismans slapped onto the deck of his white flying boat.

That boat transformed into a streak of white lightning, instantly chasing after them.

“Your flying boat is fast—but mine isn’t slow either!”

Naturally, Jian Zong also owned a top-grade magical artifact flying boat. With the Divine-Walk Talismans added, its speed now skirted the edge of a true spirit artifact.

“Junior Brother Ji, you—”

Sensing their flying speed, Dong Qian was stunned.

So her junior brother hadn’t lacked a flying boat—he just didn’t want to reveal how fast it was before!

“Look back. Can you see Jian Zong?”

Ji Yuan asked in a low, steady voice, expression unchanged.

  Dong Qian no longer fussed over the flying boat issue. She quickly turned her head to check. “Yes! But he can’t catch up to us right now.”

He couldn’t catch up now only because Ji Yuan had activated his hidden backup energy source. Once the Thunder-Gather Core’s half-hour duration ended, Jian Zong would definitely catch up—

Of all the enemies Ji Yuan had faced thus far, Jian Zong was the strongest.

Just from the flying boat alone, that much was obvious.

Ji Yuan had thought his boat was the best among peers—but never expected to encounter a rival!

“Senior Sister, do you have any more Divine-Walk Talismans?”

Ji Yuan had some for personal use, but none that could be applied to a flying boat. Though they were both called Divine-Walk Talismans, their functions differed and thus belonged to different types.

“No—those things are way too expensive.”

Dong Qian looked grim.

Despite how cautious they had been, they had still ended up facing a foe like Jian Zong.

Truly, the path of cultivation proved the old saying true: “Cultivation is fraught with peril—you never know which comes first, tomorrow or disaster.”

Ji Yuan remained unusually calm. He considered the situation: three choices. Either use the Talisman Treasure: Sky-Escape Shuttle and flee now, or wait a bit longer to see whether Jian Zong’s boat maintained its high speed or just had a short burst.

Or—simply stop and have a battle right here!

Jian Zong may be strong, but Ji Yuan, with a Foundation-level physique, was no pushover!

After a moment of thought, Ji Yuan chose the second option—stall a bit longer. The Thunder-Gather Core could still sustain for nearly half an hour.

Thus began a long chase.

Nearly half an hour passed just like that.

Seeing that the Thunder-Gather Core was nearing its limit and about to weaken and enter recovery, Ji Yuan also noticed that Jian Zong was still doggedly chasing him.

Damn it—was he really going to have to use the Talisman Treasure?

A trump card only counted if unused. Once used—it was gone forever.

Fine then. At worst, he’d fight first—and only escape with the talisman if necessary.

With a Foundation-level physique, Ji Yuan did want to test his strength. Ordinary Qi Refinement peak cultivators couldn’t threaten him. Jian Zong was perfect for this.

With that decision made, Ji Yuan no longer hesitated.

“Senior Sister, in a moment, head straight toward the Water Dragon Sect. Don’t look back, and don’t stop.”

Ji Yuan gave the command in a low, serious tone.

“What about you?!”

Dong Qian was shocked.

She clearly thought Ji Yuan planned to stay behind—but did he not realize who was behind them?

Jian Zong!

How could he possibly hold him off?

“I’ll stall Jian Zong. Don’t worry, I have escape methods. Just leave at full speed—don’t stop for anything.”

Ji Yuan spoke quickly and firmly.

Dong Qian, hearing this, didn’t argue. She simply asked one question.

“Are you sure, Junior Brother?”

“I’m sure.”

“Alright.”

She answered with one word.

She knew Ji Yuan wasn’t a fool. On the contrary—her junior brother was a smart, cautious man.

And if such a person said he had an escape plan, he likely truly did—

But it was also this cautious man who was willing to stay behind for her.

And face someone like Jian Zong.

To say Dong Qian wasn’t moved—would be a lie.

Ji Yuan slightly slowed the Thunder Falcon Boat’s speed. Dong Qian leapt off. Before she even landed, she had already summoned the Phantom-Tracing Boat and flew straight east.

Ji Yuan turned the boat in a circle and stopped at his current spot.

Below was still a barren stretch of mountains.

In just a few breaths, Jian Zong closed in.

“Who the hell are you? When did the Water Dragon Sect have someone like you?”

Unlike earlier, Jian Zong’s gaze was now extremely cautious.

A glimpse was enough to gauge the whole picture.

Even just the speed of Ji Yuan’s flying boat spoke volumes about his strength.

“Water Dragon Sect—Qiu Qianhai!”

As Ji Yuan spoke, he summoned the Hundred Fish Shield, and the Cyan Centipede Sword landed on his shoulder.

“Qiu Qianhai?!”

“Very well, I, Jian Zong, will remember that name.”

Before the words finished echoing, Ji Yuan had already thrown out several high-grade Thunderstorm Talismans.

In an instant, Jian Zong’s location became a lightning hell—black clouds rolled, purple lightning thundered down.

“Open!”

No figure could be seen in the thunderstorm—but a voice rang out.

With a furious shout, a massive blood-red blade aura appeared out of thin air, slicing through the sky. It split the storm in an instant.

Jian Zong’s form, riding his flying boat, rose from the lightning.

This was Ji Yuan’s first time seeing someone so easily break through several high-grade thunder talismans—truly impressive!

Without another word, he threw out several more high-grade offensive talismans.

This time, not just thunder talismans—

There were also water, fire, and lightning spells.

Jian Zong didn’t waste words either. He crossed his hands, and blood-red light surged from his body.

The blood light expanded outward from him, rippling wave after wave.

While blocking many of the talismans, Jian Zong sneered.

“Wouldn’t be polite not to return the favor. Try this one!”

As his words fell, the surrounding blood light exploded, destroying several talismans. Then, the blood light transformed into a blood-colored flood dragon, lifting its head and lunging viciously at Ji Yuan.

  “Go!”

As Ji Yuan raised his hand, the Hundred Fish Shield flew up, expanding against the wind and forming a barrier before him, blocking the gaping jaws of the blood-colored flood dragon.

He then slapped two high-grade protective talismans onto himself.

Just as the talismans activated, the blood dragon spewed a stream of fierce blue ghostfire from its mouth. The water shield around Ji Yuan instantly evaporated, and he had to dive the Thunder Falcon Boat urgently toward the ground.

In that split second, he threw out another high-grade sword talisman.

A flash of sword light pierced into the blood dragon's mouth, running straight through its skull and then slashing downward, splitting the illusion in two.

The Hundred Fish Shield fell, and Ji Yuan recalled it mid-air.

At this moment, the shield had turned red-hot, and many of the fish scales on its front had melted.

Ji Yuan felt a pang of heartache.

“Impressive strength!”

Jian Zong laughed wildly as he charged down, tossing several high-grade talismans as he came.

Ji Yuan quickly activated the Thunder Falcon Boat, narrowly dodging several talismans—only for a curved blade to shoot toward him at terrifying speed.

Clang!

The blade was blocked by the Hundred Fish Shield, sparks flying everywhere.

It spun rapidly, as if trying to grind the shield to pieces.

Ji Yuan had never met such a ferocious opponent.

Such aggressive attacks, and such watertight defense. Damn!

With a thought, the Cyan Centipede Sword on his shoulder flew up, emitting azure light and summoning a series of water mirrors between the two.

He simultaneously activated the first and second moves of the Azure Wave Sword Art: Entangling Wave and Layered Mirrors.

The Entangling Wave slowed the spinning blade, allowing Ji Yuan to flip the Hundred Fish Shield and deflect it.

The layered mirrors forced some distance between them again, and blocked several more of Jian Zong’s talismans.

While retreating, Ji Yuan tossed out the bronze ancient mirror. With the Layered Mirror technique, his illusion multiplied—several Ji Yuan illusions now surrounded Jian Zong.

An illusion descended.

Ji Yuan took the chance to steer his boat down into the mountain forest—vanishing from sight.

Under the mist, a soft drizzle began to fall.

Spell: Cloud and Rain Technique.

As a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, he could easily summon rain—but within this mist and rain, a formation was secretly activated.

Above the sky—

Jian Zong flew through wildly, his blade slashing left and right, finally shattering the last of the water mirrors.

The final item, the bronze mirror, turned into a streak of light and fell to the ground, disappearing.

Overlooking the quiet mountain forest, Jian Zong’s eyes grew more serious.

It seemed like this man had unlimited high-grade talismans, a stream of high-grade magical tools, and even hidden spells—

When had the Water Dragon Sect produced such a figure?

Jian Zong stared at the calm mountain range, now certain Zhang Zehuai wasn’t his target anymore.

Everyone had their own fate.

You had to rely on yourself—couldn’t always depend on others to save you.

Today, he had to take this man down. If a cultivator not even at the Qi Refinement peak already had this strength, what kind of monster would he become after ten years at the peak?

Such geniuses had to be killed in the cradle.

Jian Zong steadied his breath and dove back down into the rain.

But the moment he entered, he knew something was wrong.

Formation!

Motherf—this brat even knows formation arts?!

Sensing the pull from within the rain, he instantly slapped several more high-grade protective talismans on himself.

Then he suddenly noticed—

Within the misty rain, a single black droplet appeared.

No—it wasn’t rain. It was liquid spiritual energy!

And incredibly potent liquid energy at that!

Jian Zong felt the threat from it immediately.

But he was still a moment too late.

Boom!

The droplet exploded in a triple-layered blast.

Talisman lights flickered over Jian Zong’s body, and a deep-green vine shield also emerged.

Even so, he was blasted backward—crashing into the mountainside.

In that instant, the Thunder Falcon Boat vanished in a flash.

Strike while the enemy is down—that’s something Ji Yuan understood well!

He followed Jian Zong closely, manifesting the Water-Dividing Dragon Spear as he went, while the second layered explosion followed behind.

But just before getting close—

Ji Yuan abruptly pulled his boat upward and soared into the clouds.

The blast detonated right where he’d been—and two Water Thunder Bombs exploded with it.

A deafening blast echoed through the mountain range. Trees collapsed in a line, the ground shattered and caved in.

Each Water Thunder Bomb had the power of a peak Qi Refinement full-force strike.

Three explosions in total.

The devastation was unimaginable.

Hovering in the sky with the Dragon Spear in hand, Ji Yuan looked back. Seeing the waves of spiritual shock still radiating from the ground, he felt a chill.

If he hadn’t reacted fast—he would’ve died or at least been crippled.

But just from that brief delay—

Jian Zong, who’d been on the defensive, regained enough composure to charge up again.

But Ji Yuan gave him no time to regroup. He dove down and reentered the Rainkill Formation.

Above and below—

Covered in ash, bleeding at the mouth, Jian Zong glared at the misty rain with a dark expression.

He’d suffered.

This unknown Water Dragon Sect disciple, “Qiu Qianhai,” hadn’t been injured—

He himself had!

This wasn’t something Jian Zong had expected—

Qi Refinement ninth layer and he had this kind of strength—and now even had formation mastery?

Was he even a Qi Refinement cultivator anymore?!

Normally, Jian Zong feared no ability.

But formations…

Formations were hellishly tricky.

Once you entered, you were trapped.

But if you didn’t enter, you couldn’t catch your target.

Hence, formation masters were called the “ghosts that refuse to die” in the cultivation world.

Especially powerful formation masters.

Enough. Dragging this out any longer—if Feng Yichen finished with Zhang Zehuai and caught up, he’d die here instead.

With that thought, Jian Zong pressed down his flying boat—descending to the edge of the rain.

Through the formation, he couldn’t see where “Qiu Qianhai” was hiding, but that didn’t matter anymore.

He flipped his hand and pulled a golden talisman from his storage pouch.

This talisman bore not typical glyphs—

But interwoven chains.

Chains in all directions converged, intersected, and formed a binding cage.

With a thought, Jian Zong sent a torrent of spiritual power from his dantian into the talisman.

Staring down at the mountain range, surrounded by ever-condensing chains, he sneered:

“Kid, have you ever been smashed by a Talisman Treasure?!”