Long Xiao's move stunned Klay. He hadn't expected Long Xiao's strength to be so formidable.
News of a sorcerer intruding into the tribe spread like wildfire, and soon, everyone in the Shen Wu tribe knew.
Long Xiao and his companions remained in place. Five minutes later, over a dozen tribesmen, their heads adorned with feathers and clad in grass skirts, approached Long Xiao and his group.
Leading the way were a few youngsters, followed by a group of middle-aged individuals, and bringing up the rear was an elder.
"Who dares trespass into the Shen Wu tribe?" one of the young men bellowed.
Long Xiao, having heard Klay's translation, replied, "I am Master Long, here to find someone."
The young man glanced at Long Xiao and those behind him. "Unsanctioned intrusion into the Shen Wu tribe is a capital offense."
Long Xiao chuckled and produced the remaining eight Five Thunder Talismans from his pocket.
"Shen Wu my foot. I doubt you can even withstand one of my talismans," Long Xiao said, shaking the Five Thunder Talismans in his hand.
Upon seeing the talismans in Long Xiao's hand, the elder at the very back of the group showed a slight change in expression. He parted the crowd and stepped forward, speaking in Chinese, "Are you a Daoist from Huaxia?"
Long Xiao shook his head. "I am not Daoist, but my sorcery is similar to that of the Daoists."
"Daoist talismans can ward off ghosts and control spirits; they are incredibly powerful. Did you draw these talismans yourself?"
Long Xiao nodded. "Yes, only talismans I draw myself are effective. I never use talismans drawn by others."
"Could you give me one to examine?" the elder inquired.
Long Xiao shook his head. "No. Only after you hand over the tourists you bought a few days ago will I show you."
The elder took out a black wooden token from his robes. "If you won't show it, then so be it. I have a talisman token, no less potent than your talismans, and mine can be reused."
While talisman tokens could be reused, they were inconvenient to carry, and each use consumed more vital energy than a paper talisman. Long Xiao knew how to make them but had never done so.
"Did you make the talisman token yourself?" Long Xiao asked.
The elder shook his head. "My talisman token was given to me by a Huaxia sorcerer. This is a Heavenly Thunder Talisman, extremely potent."
The Heavenly Thunder Talisman possessed immense power. One Heavenly Thunder Talisman was five to six times more potent than a Five Thunder Talisman, but it also consumed five to six times more vital energy to use.
Long Xiao examined the Heavenly Thunder Talisman token. "Are you preparing to fight me with this talisman token?"
The elder nodded. "Yes. Since you are here to find someone, we must follow the rules. If you win, you take the person. If you lose, you all stay and become my experimental subjects for sorcery."
Long Xiao pinched a Five Thunder Talisman between his index and middle fingers. "How shall we duel? Shall we both strike at once, or will you go first?"
"Simultaneous strike. Whoever is faster goes first."
As soon as the elder finished speaking, the Five Thunder Talisman in Long Xiao's hand was ignited and thrown.
The elder hastily pulled out a sparkling object and held it up to block in front of himself.
With a thunderous roar, a white light erupted, completely blocking the power of the Five Thunder Talisman. The elder was shaken back several steps before regaining his balance.
"Why aren't you attacking?" Long Xiao asked with a smile.
"I wasn't ready. You cheated!"
"Didn't you say whoever is faster goes first?"
"You were supposed to wait for me to say 'go.'"
"Alright, let's do it again." Long Xiao picked up another Five Thunder Talisman with two fingers and said.
This time, Long Xiao waited for the elder to yell "go" before acting. The result was the same: the elder was a step too slow. Before he could even raise his talisman token, Long Xiao had already thrown the Five Thunder Talisman.
Another deafening explosion. This time, the elder blocked the attack with the object in his hand once more.
The sparkling object in the elder's hand, unable to withstand the impact of two Five Thunder Talismans, groaned and shattered into pieces.
"You broke my Sky Crystal. You're quite strong," the elder remarked.
Long Xiao shook his head proudly. "Of course, I'm strong. How shall we proceed now?"
"This time, I'll attack you first. If the Heavenly Thunder doesn't kill you, then you can attack me," the elder began to act unreasonable.
Long Xiao shook his head. "No, why should you attack first? Why not me?"
"I've lost my Sky Crystal. How am I supposed to defend myself?" the elder asked.
"I don't have a Sky Crystal either. How am I supposed to defend myself?" Long Xiao retorted, displeased.
Neither of them wanted to be the second to strike. If they struck simultaneously, the elder was much slower than Long Xiao. Without the Sky Crystal to defend himself, he might be blown to bits in the next round.
"This is too violent. We are both civilized people. Let's compete in something more elegant, like sorcery."
Long Xiao was somewhat bewildered. He hadn't known that sorcery could be divided into elegant and violent categories.
"What is elegant sorcery?" Long Xiao asked.
The elder explained that sorcery that wasn't used for fighting or killing was considered elegant sorcery.
Long Xiao thought to himself that the elder seemed to be afraid.
The elder proposed a duel of paper figures. Long Xiao took out some yellow paper from his pocket, tore out a few paper figures, and drew talismans on their backs with cinnabar.
Seeing that Long Xiao had quickly produced several paper figures, the elder stopped being polite and took out four paper figures he carried with him.
As soon as the elder's paper figures were thrown to the ground and began to move, Long Xiao also threw his paper figures onto the ground.
The elder's paper figures lunged at Long Xiao's. Long Xiao's paper figures, wielding their long paper swords, attacked the elder's four figures.
Soon, the paper figures were locked in a fierce battle. Long Xiao's paper figures had superior numbers, but their individual strength was lacking. They barely managed to fight the elder's four figures to a stalemate.
Long Xiao tore out a few more paper figures, drew talismans on them, and threw them to the ground. Before long, over a dozen paper figures surrounded the elder's four. The four figures were overwhelmed and fled back to the elder's side.
Long Xiao's dozen paper figures advanced on the elder. Some attacked his remaining paper figures, while others swung their paper swords directly at the elder.
"Stop! This is elegant sorcery! We are practicing elegant sorcery," the elder shouted, retreating.
Long Xiao burst into laughter. "Elegant? What elegance is there? Hand over the people quickly, or I'll set fire to this place."
The middle-aged men and youngsters who had accompanied the elder quickly drew their magical artifacts, preparing to confront Long Xiao.
Long Xiao flung a Five Thunder Talisman. With a deafening roar, a pit appeared in the ground, startling everyone, who retreated in fear.
Long Xiao waved his hand. "Everyone spread out and search. See where the people are being held."
Everyone began to search. Lin Xuan, eager to rescue her mother, also moved to leave but was grabbed by Long Xiao.
"It's too dangerous here. You must stay with me," Long Xiao said.
Lin Xuan took Long Xiao's hand and walked forward, asking as they went, "Long Xiao, did an old man teach you how to draw talismans?"
Long Xiao nodded. "Of course. Drawing talismans is actually very simple, as easy as reading feng shui."
Lin Xuan looked at Long Xiao speechlessly. She began to doubt if Long Xiao was telling the truth. She believed that drawing talismans was incredibly difficult, especially drawing effective spirit talismans, which required at least a decade of practice.