Chapter 78 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

The Price of a Talisman

Diệp Sương knelt at the edge of the Khuyết Nguyên Abyss, placed the old inkstone Mr. Tám Mực had given her in front of her, and with trembling hands ground the last drops of ink in the vase. Around her, the screams of battle continued, but in her mind all sounds seemed to recede, leaving only the rhythm of her breathing and the heat radiating from the abyss.

She began to draw - not a single talisman, but a large formation, combining everything she had learned throughout her life: the basic strokes of the An Mien talisman that Mr. Tám Mực taught her as a child, the strict rules of the orthodox talismans passed down from the sect, and the soft, soothing curves she learned from the Vụ Ẩn clan. Each stroke of the pen was a piece of the journey she had gone through, from Tùng Lĩnh Village to Vân Tiêu Peak, from Vân Tiêu Peak to Thâm Vụ Forest, and now back to the place where everything could end or start again.

*

The giant entity in Khuyết Nguyên's abyss roared violently, sensing the strange energy source trying to touch its very essence, it began to struggle more crazily, black energy tentacles swept across the battlefield, throwing both soldiers and disciples far away.

"Hold!" Tạ Vân Khê shouted loudly, leading the suicide team to approach the edge of the cliff as planned, launching attack after attack to attract the entity's attention, pulling it away from the position where Diệp Sương was focusing all her strength on drawing the formation.

Thanh Việt, Lãnh Vũ, Cố Bạt Nguyên, and most of the remaining forces put all their strength into protecting the perimeter, preventing any small monsters from getting through to harass Diệp Sương while she was at her most vulnerable.

*

But the giant entity, seemingly sensing what was the real threat to its existence, suddenly changed direction, a giant energy tentacle reaching straight towards Diệp Sương, ignoring all attacks from the suicide squad.

"Sương!" Tạ Vân Khê screamed in panic, realizing there was no longer enough time to stop that attack using normal means.

Without the slightest hesitation, she rushed straight into the path of the energy tentacle, unleashing all her remaining strength in the largest talisman she had ever drawn in her life - not to completely block it, but to absorb most of the attack's force, in exchange for a few precious moments for Diệp Sương to complete the formation.

*

Bright light flared up at the moment of impact, a loud explosion echoed throughout the top of Vân Tiêu, throwing Tạ Vân Khê far away, her body falling to the ground with a heavy sound that made Diệp Sương's heart stop beating.

"Elder!" she shouted, wanting to drop her pen and rush forward, but at that moment, the chart she was drawing began to glow, the last ink strokes gradually closing into a complete circle—if she stopped now, all her efforts and everything Tạ Vân Khê had just sacrificed would become meaningless.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, her hands shaking violently, Diệp Sương gritted her teeth, continuing to draw the last strokes of her pen, pouring all the pain, all the love she had for the elder who had trusted her from the first days, into every line, like a silent prayer.

*

Thanh Việt rushed to Tạ Vân Khê's side as soon as he could, knelt down to support her, his face turned white when he saw the serious wound on her body. "Elder, hold on, we'll get you out of here right away!"

Tạ Vân Khê opened her eyes and looked at Diệp Sương who was struggling to complete the formation in the bright light. A weak but satisfied smile appeared on her lips. "Don't... take me anywhere," she whispered, her voice much weaker. "Let me see it finished."

"Don't say that," Thanh Việt said, his voice choked, trying to stop the bleeding with all he could. "You will be fine, you must be fine."

*

"I have lived a life without regrets," Tạ Vân Khê said, her voice gradually weakening but still maintaining an unusual calmness. "I found a thirteen-year-old child in a small village, and I have never regretted that decision for a day. If this is the price I have to pay to give her the chance to accomplish what she was born to do, I pay it, without hesitation."

She tried to look up towards the Khuyết Nguyên Abyss, where Diệp Sương's formation was shining brightly, the warm golden light gradually covering the giant entity that was screaming fiercely, as if that chaotic energy itself was being surrounded, comforted, instead of being forced into submission.

"It's... so beautiful," she whispered, her eyes slowly closing. "Just as I always believed, from the first night I saw her drawing ink lines on the village floor, under the torchlight..."

*

Diệp Sương, mustering the last bit of strength, lowered the final stroke of the pen to close the formation. A giant beam of light erupted, covering the entire area around Khuyết Nguyên. It was not a destructive explosion, but like a sigh of relief from heaven and earth itself after a prolonged pain.

The giant entity, under the influence of the formation, gradually disintegrated into tiny particles of light, not being destroyed, but as if being freed from its forced distorted form, returning to dissolve into the same Linh Mạch network where it originally belonged. The mouth of the Khuyết Nguyên Abyss gradually narrowed, not completely closed, but the most intense rage had subsided.

*

Diệp Sương collapsed as soon as the formation was completed, so exhausted that she could feel nothing but the pounding of her heart in her chest. Yet she still tried to crawl to Tạ Vân Khê's side, her trembling hands holding the elder's increasingly cold hand.

"Elder, I did it," she whispered, tears falling from her eyes. "Open your eyes and see, I can do it."

Tạ Vân Khê opened her eyes to look at her one last time, filled with pride that could not be expressed in words. "I know... you can do it," she said, her voice barely a breath. "This is not the end, Diệp Sương... please continue... the path you have chosen..."

"I don't know how to continue without someone by my side," Diệp Sương choked, squeezing her hand even tighter, as if she just held it tight enough, time would stop.

"You don't need me by your side anymore," Tạ Vân Khê whispered, a gentle smile finally appearing on her lips. "You carry everything I taught you, right in your own hands... that's what really matters."

*

Her hand gradually loosened in Diệp Sương's hand, her eyes gradually lost their light, but a satisfied smile still remained on that old face, as if she had passed away with a complete peace that few people have.

"No..." Diệp Sương whispered, squeezing her cold hand, her whole body shaking from an indescribable pain. "No, please don't go... you promised to personally take me back..."

All around, the screams of battle gradually subsided as the giant entity completely disappeared, but in the midst of that sudden silence, only the choked cry of a girl knelt next to the body of her teacher, the spiritual mother who had spent her whole life believing in a child no one else had dared to bet on.

Thanh Việt knelt beside her, one hand around Diệp Sương's shoulder while the other gently closed Tạ Vân Khê's eyes. His voice trembled with emotion. "You lived a proud life," he said, trying to suppress his own pain to support Diệp Sương. "She saw the results she hoped for before leaving. Not many people have that."

Lãnh Vũ, fighting in another area, when the battle ended, came as soon as he heard the news. He stood silently looking at Tạ Vân Khê's body for a long time, then gently bowed his head according to his clan's highest ritual for a warrior who sacrificed his life for a great cause.

"She died like a true warrior," he said, his voice sad. "Our clan will remember her name, even though we have only known her for such a short time. That is the honor she deserves."

Miên Trà, following Lãnh Vũ, tears rolled down her young face when she saw Diệp Sương collapsed next to the elder's body, quickly ran to hug her from behind, unable to say a word, only transmitting the warmth of a small friend through her tight embrace.

In the distance, Cố Bạt Nguyên stood silently looking at that scene in the middle of a chaotic battlefield, the face of the Great General who had experienced countless battles could not hide his emotions. He ordered the soldiers to lay down their weapons and stand at attention according to military protocol for a fallen hero, even though the person lying there had never worn a military uniform.