I crushed the Spatial Compression Talisman and appeared above the Eastern Sea in an instant.

"Old man, I've heard the talisman formations of Western Reaches cultivators are something else?" I pushed my spiritual energy and accelerated westward toward the desert.

"Hmph." The system elder scoffed. "Countless ruins of ancient cultivators lie buried beneath that wasteland. A single Quicksand Formation could reduce a Nascent Soul cultivator to a dried husk. And those Western Reaches cultivators guarding the ruins — every last one of them stubborn as a camel, masters at using formation arrays to make your life miserable. You'd better pray you don't trigger some world-ending kill formation."

I raised an eyebrow and spread my divine sense outward like a vast net, casting it over the yellow sands below. A thousand li in the distance, the ruins of an ancient civilization — crumbling walls and broken ramparts — flickered with an eerie crimson light beneath the blazing sun. Countless arcane talisman scripts shimmered in and out of sight among the gravel, forming a colossal Dragon-Binding Array. At the array's eye, three auras of Nascent Soul cultivation intertwined and coiled — clearly the Western Reaches cultivators guarding the site.

"Perfect timing." A faint curve touched the corner of my mouth. My figure shot forward, transforming into a streak of light that plunged straight toward the ruins.

The moment I crossed into the ruins' perimeter, the talisman scripts on the ground blazed to life. Countless sand blades erupted skyward, shrieking as they tore through the air. I neither dodged nor retreated. The Trident Sea Sword cleared its sheath in an instant, and a burst of gold-blue radiance exploded outward.

"Trident Sea Sword Art, First Form — Surging Seas Across the Horizon!"

I called out in a low voice, drawing in the moisture from a hundred li in every direction and condensing it around my body into a massive wall of water. Sand blades crashed against the water wall with a hissing, corrosive sound, yet failed to breach even its outermost layer. Three silhouettes swept out from behind the broken walls. The elder at the front wore a crimson robe and carried a staff inlaid with a black crystal; the other two each held a talisman disc, wrapped in a dense swirl of talisman paper.

"Which cultivator dares trespass upon the ruins of our Shara Ancient Kingdom!"

The red-robed elder's voice was hoarse. He struck his staff against the ground, and the talisman scripts lit up once more. Torrents of quicksand converged into sand worms that opened gaping maws and lunged toward me.

My gaze went cold. I flicked my wrist, and the Trident Sea Sword traced a fluid arc through the air.

"Demon-Bane Sword Art, Second Form — Righteous Qi Pierces the Sun!"

A streak of golden sword qi, condensed to near-physical density, broke through the void like a pillar of light connecting heaven and earth. It punched through every last sand worm in an instant. The sword qi lost none of its momentum and drove straight for the red-robed elder's face.

The elder's expression changed drastically. He swung his staff in a frantic parry, and a shield wall woven from talisman scripts deployed in an instant. It was useless. The golden sword qi carried within it the sword intent of the Dao Ancestor — the moment it touched the shield wall, the talisman scripts fractured inch by inch, and the qi slammed hard into the thin shell of spiritual energy the elder had left to protect himself.

Pfft.

The elder vomited a mouthful of blood. His spiritual energy shield shattered, and the force sent him flying backward. He crashed into a crumbling wall with a dull thud. The other two cultivators exchanged a glance. Their talisman discs spun furiously, sending countless sheets of talisman paper slicing through the air like blades in an overwhelming volley.

I let out a cold snort. My figure moved like lightning, weaving through the storm of talisman blades. In my hand, the Trident Sea Sword became a spinning wheel of light — every sweep scattering swaths of talisman paper, the Dao Ancestor's sword intent reducing each sheet it passed through to drifting ash.

"With only this level of skill, you still dare call yourselves guardians of ancient ruins?"

The words had barely left my mouth when I surged forward and appeared before one of the disc-wielding cultivators. The Trident Sea Sword came down with the force of ten thousand catties. The cultivator didn't even have time to react — his talisman disc split apart with a single stroke, and the shock sent his meridians into reverse flow. He spat blood and collapsed.

The other cultivator saw this and a flash of terror crossed his eyes. He turned and bolted. I was hardly about to let him go. A flick of my fingertip sent a ribbon of spiritual energy shooting out with perfect accuracy, striking him square between the shoulder blades. The cultivator let out a wretched cry and pitched forward onto the ground, his fate unclear.

The red-robed elder struggled to his feet. He looked at his fallen companions, his eyes brimming with dread. "You — who in the world are you? To think you could break through the formation arrays of our Shara Ancient Kingdom!"

I sheathed my sword and stood still. The pressure of my mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation released slowly, and the talisman scripts on the ground quivered beneath its weight.

"My name is Ethan Lu," I said evenly. "I've come to retrieve something."

The elder's face went deathly pale. He dropped to his knees with a thud. "Spare me, Senior! Whatever Senior desires, so long as our Shara remnant clan possesses it, we will offer it with both hands!"

I raised an eyebrow. "I want the other half of the Penglai Jade Talisman."

At those words, a flicker of hesitation passed through the elder's eyes — but under the weight of my pressure, it quickly dissolved into fear. "The jade talisman... the jade talisman is in the sealed chamber at the core of the ruins. It is a sacred relic our clan has guarded for generations. If Senior wishes to take it, you will need to... to break through the core formation array."

End of Chapter 95: The Western Reaches