Of course, a small-time sect leader like Cui Xiaoxiao from such a minor and unconventional sect wasn’t worth much consideration, and certainly wouldn’t provide any cultivation assistance to Qin Lingxiao. Qin Lingxiao wasn’t one of those ordinary men who would be bewitched by feminine beauty.

Thinking this, Ling Zhishan’s heart relaxed slightly.

After leaving the silk farm, head disciple Jiang Zheng said resentfully: “It’s all these wandering charlatans who interfered with Master’s grand plan. Let me go deal with them…”

But Qin Lingxiao said, “No need. The spirit pearl is tainted, but it’s not unusable…”

Saying this, he reached toward the pocket where he kept the Demon Pearl, only to find it empty, the pearl having vanished without a trace…

Qin Lingxiao frowned slightly, suddenly realizing that the girl called Cui Xiaoxiao had been close to him when speaking earlier.

Could she have stolen it? But he had been completely unaware just now. With his cultivation level, he shouldn’t have been pickpocketed without knowing!

It seemed the demonic backlash within his body had made him considerably duller…

More importantly, when he had smelled Cui Xiaoxiao’s blood scent earlier, for that moment, the demonic cultivation power he had absorbed had stilled like water settling, with a feeling of being purged.

Although Qin Lingxiao had killed his master to prove his way back then, striking down Wei Jie in one blow and absorbing most of Wei Jie’s cultivation to leap to become a leader in the cultivation world, in recent years, the demonic backlash from Wei Jie within his body had become increasingly obvious.

Thinking this, Qin Lingxiao couldn’t help but touch his forehead, as only he knew the reason for concealing that mark.

When he walked out of the silk farm, dismissed everyone, and stood on the stone bridge looking down, by moonlight, the water also reflected his image, faintly glowing with heavenly spiritual light.

He wiped his hand across, and the concealed mark appeared – that red lotus had two lines that had gradually changed from deep red to black.

Once the red lotus completely changed color, it would mean he had been completely demonized by the backlash force, and his consciousness would be completely devoured, destroying years of cultivation in an instant.

For this reason, Qin Lingxiao had been desperately searching for a solution.

Three years ago, the boulder in Jiulu Mountain suddenly cracked, and the Demon Pearls “Greed” and “Wrath” that had been sealed within took the opportunity to escape into the mortal world and began causing havoc.

If Qin Lingxiao could find these two Demon Pearls and properly utilize their power, he could temporarily suppress the surging demonic nature within his body. After all, the Demon Pearls were separated from Wei Jie’s demonic energy, so he could only use poison to fight poison for now.

The Demon Pearl, currently causing havoc in Fei County, was actually “Greed,” one of the two pearls.

He hadn’t expected it to attach itself to a woman. Perhaps the silkworms’ day-and-night devouring of mulberry leaves, their endless greed, perfectly matched the “Greed” pearl’s nature, so that woman had lurked in the silk farm, becoming one with the silkworms and beginning to feed on humans.

But no matter how good the Demon Pearl was, it was still drinking poison to quench thirst, only temporarily delaying the demonic nature. The best solution for the demonic nature within his body was to find Wei Jie’s nemesis to suppress it.

Only someone with an extremely yin bloodline could do this, but those with such fortune had shallow lifespans and often died young in childhood. That girl appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old – to have luckily survived this long was truly one in ten thousand.

When he had joined Wei Jie’s sect, he had heard fellow disciples say that Wei Jie had a destined calamity – he must not encounter someone of ultimate yin nature.

However, those with such a fate could only be born during the convergence of the nine revolving stars at the most yin moment.

The nine revolving stars only converged once every seven hundred years. It was said that Wei Jie had searched the world wanting to eliminate this threat at its roots, but even those with such fates often died young and couldn’t possibly live to adulthood, so Wei Jie had never found one.

Who would have thought that two hundred years after Wei Jie’s primordial spirit was destroyed, such a person with this unique fate would appear!

Thinking this, his gaze couldn’t help but follow that slender figure gradually merging into the moonlight…

Cui Xiaoxiao? How interesting.

Now, several senior and junior disciples of the Talismonger Sect had experienced the silk farm horror and managed to escape with their lives intact.

Only Ji Wuqi was in a pitiful state, covered in blood blisters from fire burns. Even though he had recited healing incantations afterward, it only slightly eased the pain.

But compared to the physical pain, the little swindler he had always looked down upon surprised him even more.

No one had expected that after several brushes with danger tonight, they would ultimately rely on the half-baked Cui Xiaoxiao to turn danger into safety.

Young A’Yi never concealed his emotions and said with complete admiration: “Sect Leader junior sister, you figured out the whole story just from a few words others said – you’re truly amazing! I saw that the talisman you drew was drawn wrong! Yet it could still subdue demons – how strange!”

Hearing her junior brother’s reminder, Cui Xiaoxiao hurriedly looked again at the talisman she had retrieved and tucked in her chest – oh my, indeed! She had intended to draw an evil-dispelling talisman, but because she had drawn it hastily, several strokes were wrong…

When she opened the book pages to compare… oh dear, this talisman was… a love charm talisman!

According to the secret manual passed down by her master, this talisman was the sect’s former bestseller. Even decrepit old men could become daily bridegrooms with it.

It was just that the divine talisman had low production rates – her master could only refine two per year, but it could still earn him a fortune, supporting the sect’s disciples and serving as the treasure that revitalized the Lingshan Talismonger Sect.

Now recalling how the old dog Ji Xiang had eagerly bitten the demon’s neck and kept trying to press closer…

Only then did Cui Xiaoxiao understand why that demon had suddenly lost its mind, embracing Ji Xiang with a dazed expression, then exploding from shame and anger…

No wonder the Demon Pearl had been tainted – it was her fault… This talisman was too wicked!

When she wanted to sincerely explain to her fellow disciples that she, a young girl, would never intentionally draw such an indecent talisman, she discovered that the old dog in the courtyard was still somewhat aroused, wagging its tail and flirting with a female dog in the yard…

Watching Cui Xiaoxiao grab her long ponytail and smile awkwardly, Jiang Nanmu felt somewhat excited inside.

Their late master, Tang Youshu, had devoted his life to revitalizing the Talismonger Sect.

Unfortunately, he often said that due to his naturally low aptitude, even spending his entire life wouldn’t let him touch the supreme realm of “talismans.”

Even at the end, Tang Youshu hadn’t reached the stage of transcending tribulation and ascending, only passing away at the advanced age of two hundred and two.

But when the master who had seen through worldly matters met Cui Xiaoxiao, he was overjoyed, like a gold prospector finding a nugget in the sand, declaring that this girl was heaven’s gift to revitalize the Talismonger Sect.

Previously, Jiang Nanmu hadn’t understood his master’s words, but tonight’s scene of subduing the demonized giant silkworm made him believe thirty percent of his deceased master’s words.

Regardless of this, Cui Xiaoxiao’s character, she had only relied on a beginner’s worn book yet could draw what was once the sect’s treasure talisman – wasn’t she someone with exceptional talent for talisman arts?

Perhaps, as the master had said, all hope for the Lingshan Talismonger Sect would have to rest on this young girl’s shoulders.

At the very least, the livelihoods of the Lingshan people were barely preserved for now.

Because of that huge insect skin as proof of merit, everyone in the county regarded Cui Xiaoxiao and the others as immortals descended from heaven.

And these immortal masters truly had noble character, treating money like dirt, actually refusing the reward money and only requesting meals for over a month, plus a burial plot to inter that unfortunate woman.

However, when that woman was being buried, servants from the Jin family came to obstruct them, glaring and saying that if such an evil demon woman were buried in Fei County, the local people would have no peace.

Ji Wuqi was disgusted by these people and said this was land given by the county magistrate – they had no authority over it!

But that servant held an official document written by the county magistrate: “The magistrate just learned that you want to bury that woman who corrupted moral standards. He has already ordered the land to be reclaimed! Everyone knows this woman originally violated her wifely duties by seducing our master. Now that she’s killed so many people, even if you bury her, we’ll dig her up and scatter her bones to ash!”

Ji Wuqi wanted to argue further, but Cui Xiaoxiao tugged at his sleeve: “Senior brother, don’t argue anymore. What they say makes sense – even if we bury her, we can’t guarantee that woman would rest in peace.”

Ji Wuqi sympathized with that woman’s plight and said in frustration: “Then what do we do? Just throw the corpse in the mass grave?”

Cui Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and said: “As long as she returns to the five elements, that’s resting in peace. Senior brother, I may need to trouble you to use fire incantations to perform cremation for this woman.”

Ji Wuqi understood and felt this was also a solution, so he raised his fire talisman to cremate the woman.

Soon, all worldly troubles dissipated in the flames, finally contained in a small ceramic jar.

Cui Xiaoxiao finally scattered these ashes over the Tong River in Fei County.

This water flowed continuously to irrigate the local fertile fields. Since some people couldn’t tolerate this unfortunate woman, let her ashes spread throughout Fei County’s terraced fields.

After learning about this woman’s experiences, A’Yi felt uncomfortable and said indignantly, “An innocent person was forced to become a demon. But those who commit evil deeds behind the scenes live comfortably without worry – what kind of logic is this?”

But Cui Xiaoxiao faced the meandering river, stretched her neck, then said lazily: “What’s so strange about that? Unfair things in this world are everywhere. Master said that becoming an immortal through cultivation isn’t difficult – what’s difficult is being able to act freely without overstepping bounds while still human. If you have to go against your true heart and live hypocritically as a person, you won’t be happy even if you become an immortal… Do you want to come and have some fun with me?”

The remaining few looked at each other because their master had indeed had this tone when alive. The old man always said cultivation wasn’t difficult, but he had many hobbies in life, causing too much distraction to achieve the righteous cultivation path.

However, what exactly did this new sect leader mean by “fun”?

Soon, they understood what their sect leader’s junior sister meant by fun.

One night, Jin Youde, who had been sleeping soundly at home embracing his beautiful concubine, somehow ended up disheveled on the bed of the prefect hundreds of li away.

Moreover, this Master Jin seemed to have lost his mind, fondling the bearded prefect up and down, being endlessly affectionate.

The servants who rushed in after hearing the prefect’s cries for help felt so nauseated by the scene that they couldn’t eat for days just thinking about it.

Although Jin Youde could cover the sky with one hand in Fei County, this time he had slept with the prefect himself!

The prefect, who had lost all face and couldn’t stand the disgust, had this madman beaten with sticks in the courtyard.

No matter how Jin Youde explained, he was beaten half to death with all his leg bones broken. When his family finally carried him home, they discovered that the Jin family, the richest in Fei County, had somehow lost all the gold and silver in their treasury overnight, and even their property deeds had turned to ash.

Jin Youde was so shocked he stared wide-eyed and fainted… Such ghostly occurrences couldn’t help but make people suspect that the deceased Bai family woman had come to haunt them.

When he awoke and frantically sent people to find Immortal Cui again, he learned that those several had already disappeared like immortal cranes, their whereabouts unknown. And somehow, the legal documents about the old Bai family case had been delivered to the still-furious prefect.

As a result, Jin Youde had barely caught his breath when he was arrested by officials again.

As for Cui Xiaoxiao and the others, when they left Fei County, the several fellow disciples were all flexing their sore and numb arms.

After all, searching through all the gold, silver, and precious jewels in the Jin family treasury in the middle of the night wasn’t exactly light work.

The gold-dissolving curse their master had taught them unexpectedly had such wonderful uses.

Turning gold and silver to ash was quite interesting. Since the Jin surname had built his fortune unjustly, he shouldn’t blame ill-gotten wealth for disappearing overnight.