Fei County could be considered one of the more prosperous county towns under the Great Qi Dynasty’s rule over the past century. This place was rich in mulberry silkworms and had always seen continuous merchant traffic.
However, recently, the country roads around the county town had become eerily quiet, not even a single stray dog searching for food could be seen.
Upon entering the county proper, every household had its doors tightly shut, wine shops and tea houses all had their door panels closed, with only a few colorful banners meant to attract customers hanging limply under the blazing sun of this windless April day.
The streets and alleys that should have been filled with the fragrance of wine were so silent that it greatly disappointed any potential diners, and threw those who had been hungry for three days and three nights into complete despair.
Four begging men and women walked through the marketplace, along with a balding old dog.
This group walked along the deserted streets, suspiciously examining each tightly closed door panel.
Behind these doors, there seemed to be human shadows moving about, yet no one ever came out, and everywhere was permeated with the smell of realgar powder.
These few outsiders occasionally knocked on doors, hoping to beg for some porridge water to drink, but were met only with rough dismissive shouts, and those voices carried an indescribable fear.
A dark, thin young man said in despair: “Sect Leader, junior sister! Didn’t you say that when we reached here, we could beg for some rice to eat? How is this place like a dead city, without even a bowl of swill to be seen!”
Because he had not had rice or water for several days, the young man’s hoarse voice was rough and weak, making anyone who heard it feel unbearably sorry for him.
Hearing his words, the other two older men and women also dejectedly sat down on the ground, unwilling to take another step forward.
Just then, the short person standing beside the young man slowly removed the hood of their cloak, revealing a head of jet-black hair tied in a ponytail and a pair of lively eyes. There was even a red mole at the corner of those eyes, making them look quite mischievous.
This person in the cloak was a pretty young woman in her prime, except that her face had grown thin from hunger, making those distinct black and white eyes appear even larger, and her originally fair skin with a rosy tint now showed a slightly sallow complexion.
She said with forced cheerfulness, “Have you forgotten what Master said before he passed away? Abstaining from food is greatly beneficial for those who cultivate. Eating too much grain only increases mundane bones and pollutes the spiritual meridians and immortal essence. Now, after three days of fasting, I’m gradually beginning to understand what the old man meant. I truly feel my steps becoming lighter and more nimble, and there’s a transcendent feeling in my breathing.”
Hearing the young woman’s useless encouragement, the young man’s legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground in despair: “Sect Leader, are you certain that continuing like this will help us ascend to immortality, rather than starve to death by the roadside?”
The young woman nodded confidently: “How could that be possible? Our Lingshan Talismonger Sect’s lineage is by no means undeserved! How could we die from missing a few meals?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the young woman’s stomach suddenly let out a tremendous rumbling sound that seemed to yearn for worldly flavors, clearly indicating she was thoroughly starved.
Seeing the meaningful looks from her three fellow disciples, Cui Xiaoxiao relied on the skills she had developed since childhood through deception to smile calmly: “Did you hear that? This is the sound of the stomach and intestines shedding vulgar qi. We are only a few steps away from entering the hall of mastery…”
The man in his thirties sitting on the ground mockingly curled his lips, then turned to look at the old dog lying at Cui Xiaoxiao’s feet and said roughly: “I don’t have the Sect Leader’s level of cultivation! If worse comes to worst, let’s light a fire and roast this old dog to eat!”
Hearing these words, the new leader of the Ling Sect, Cui Xiaoxiao, raised her cloak to protect the old dog that had followed her for many years, glared at the big man with widened eyes, and said sternly: “You dare!”
The old dog named Ji Xiang poked its head out from under the cloak, said nothing, but bared its teeth fiercely at the big man, its eyes hidden in the wrinkled dog skin carrying endless killing intent.
Just as the fellow disciples were about to turn against each other and start an internal conflict, the woman sitting beside the big man was attracted by a notice posted by the roadside. She got up to look and then exclaimed with joy: “Oh my, there’s a food reward! Come quickly and see!”
The group couldn’t be bothered with their quarrel and gathered around to look—it turned out to be a notice posted by the county office.
The notice stated that evil spirits and demons had appeared in the county’s silk farm, with silk farmers dying unnatural deaths one after another, and even the guards sent to keep watch had met tragic ends. Now, the county magistrate was recruiting extraordinary people to guard the silk farm at night and solve this mysterious case.
Ordinary people would naturally flee upon hearing of such supernatural murder cases, but as inheritors of the Lingshan Talismonger Sect, subduing demons and eliminating evil was their duty.
Looking at the substantial reward amount listed in the notice, if they took on this job, they could eat and drink well here for over a month.
However, Cui Xiaoxiao showed a worried expression and hesitated to respond.
The big man who wanted to kill the dog was named Ji Wuqi, and he now looked meaningfully at Cui Xiaoxiao: “Cui Xiaoxiao, you… couldn’t be afraid and not dare to take on this job, could you?”
Cui Xiaoxiao didn’t respond, only staring intently at the notice with her distinct black and white eyes.
The tall woman beside them spoke to Ji Wuqi in a low voice: “Senior Brother, you mustn’t be disrespectful to our Sect Leader junior sister! Although she joined the sect not long ago, Master personally appointed her as the inheritor of the Lingshan Talismonger Sect before his death! We all swore to follow her…”
Hearing Second Junior Sister Jiang Nanmu’s words, Ji Wuqi reluctantly held his tongue and stopped making sarcastic remarks.
However, he was not convinced in his heart—clearly he was Master’s favored eldest disciple, but unexpectedly, before Master died, he suddenly took in Cui Xiaoxiao, this small-time swindler from the martial world, as his final disciple, and even passed on to her the secret manual recording the sect’s techniques and methods, along with the position of sect leader.
Look at her pretentious manner! She was probably already scared out of her wits by the notice and didn’t dare to accept the job at all.
That made sense—Cui Xiaoxiao had only recently taken over as sect leader and had no foundation in cultivation. She was just a petty con artist from the martial world. How could she have the ability to subdue demons and eliminate evil?
But just then, Cui Xiaoxiao confidently took down the notice and called out: “Come on, let’s go to the county office first to get a full meal!”
Ji Wuqi said roughly, “What ability do you have? How dare you take on this job?”
As long as the topic of killing and stewing the dog wasn’t brought up, Cui Xiaoxiao could always be pleasant and amiable. Even facing Senior Brother’s rudeness, she only smiled and said: “I may not be capable, but you three all have real abilities. Since that’s the case, why couldn’t we take down the notice?”
No matter what, it was still daytime, and there was still some time before they had to go guard the silk farm at night. The county magistrate would surely give the extraordinary people a full meal first!
The other few people also thought this made sense.
Speaking of which, their current miserable state was also thanks to their deceased master. Before dying, to test the new sect leader and fellow disciples’ unity, their master had cursed them: any gold or silver that passed through their hands, or any food they bought, would instantly turn to ash.
The master had said that if they wanted to eat, they could only go down the mountain to beg for alms and train themselves, accepting food given by others.
As for when this could be lifted, the old man had not given clear instructions before breathing his last and departing for paradise.
This was clearly because he was afraid they would laze around on Ling Mountain, forcing them to go down the mountain to train themselves.
After hunting all the birds and beasts on Ling Mountain for food, the group had no choice but to follow their master’s deathbed instructions, going down the mountain to train and beg for food to fill their bellies, while trying to figure out how to break the curse.
Unfortunately, there had been no suitable work along the way, and no birds or beasts to fill their stomachs.
The group couldn’t bring themselves to compete with real beggars, and nearly starved to death because of their late master’s curse.
These past few days, they had barely survived on wild vegetables and mountain fruits.
When they arrived at the county office, the county magistrate looked at these few people who claimed to be masters from the Lingshan Talismonger Sect with some contempt, sized them up and down, then said: “It seems times are hard, even beggars can’t get food easily. But being a little hungry is better than dying violently. If you’re trying to get free food and drink, you’d better leave early! This job is not easy to take on…”
Cui Xiaoxiao looked back at her fellow disciples—indeed, they were dirty and disheveled, pretty much like beggars, no wonder the county magistrate didn’t take them seriously.
Seeing several bailiffs roughly trying to drive them away, Cui Xiaoxiao instructed the youngest youth: “A’Yi, show them what you can do!”
A’Yi was angered by the bailiffs’ contempt and didn’t hold back. He simply tore off a corner of his clothing, bit his finger, and drew a crooked talisman on the cloth piece, then waved his hand. It turned into a flash of fire, the cloth became ash, and it scattered into the sky.
The unburned ashes gathered into form, becoming a hawk that let out a sharp cry and swooped toward the county magistrate sitting in the hall, snatching his black gauze cap and carrying it up to the roof beam.
This transformation happened in an instant, leaving everyone in the county office stunned with shock.
A’Yi also raised his chin proudly.
After the county magistrate recovered from his daze, he came to his senses with a face full of joy, walked around the desk, and bowed to Cui Xiaoxiao: “This immortal lady, this humble official was blind and failed to recognize your supernatural abilities. My apologies, my apologies! With your help, the evil spirits at the silk farm will surely be eliminated by you all…”
“Not necessarily!”
Before the Talismonger Sect could hear enough of the county official’s flattery, someone suddenly threw cold water on the situation.
Cui Xiaoxiao turned to look, and her eyes immediately lit up. She saw a group of young men dressed in ethereal white robes, all strikingly handsome, walking in from the office entrance.
The leader was a tall, well-proportioned man with proper features, and in the center of his forehead were four red lines twisted into a lotus flower mark.
The dozen or so people behind him had lotus flower red line marks of three or two lines respectively on their foreheads.
Watching these white-robed figures walk with their shoe soles barely touching the dust, they had an air of complete immortality.
When she saw the lotus flower marks on their foreheads, Jiang Nanmu couldn’t help but whisper: “These people… could they be disciples of the Jiuxuan Sword Sect?”
The newcomer glanced at the few “beggars” from the Talismonger Sect and spoke coldly to the county official: “I am a disciple of the Jiuxuan Sword Sect, sent by my master to come here and subdue demons.”
At these words, the faces of Ji Wuqi and the others changed.
This Jiuxuan Sword Sect had great origins, not least because of the sect’s founding master, Qin Lingxiao.
Among cultivators, who hadn’t heard of the name of the sword sect leader Qin Lingxiao?
This prodigy had once apprenticed under the demon Wei Jie, endured hardship and bided his time, and when Wei Jie’s evil cultivation went awry, he resolutely killed his master to prove his way, simultaneously absorbing nearly a hundred years of Wei Jie’s cultivation, causing his power to surge dramatically.
Now, Qin Lingxiao had probably already reached the Yuan Ying realm through pill refinement, only a few steps away from transcending tribulation and ascending to heaven.
The Jiuxuan Sword Sect that Qin Lingxiao single-handedly established was the leader among numerous cultivation sects, with countless disciples and unlimited glory.
It was unexpected that so many dragon and phoenix immortal sect members would appear all at once in this small Fei County, truly hard to believe.
The county magistrate was somewhat ignorant and didn’t know the reputation of the Jiuxuan Sword Sect. With the precedent of the Lingshan Talismonger Sect disciple’s “eagle snatching the official’s hat,” the county magistrate didn’t believe these sword sect disciples had any more outstanding abilities.
Cui Xiaoxiao had been the Talismonger Sect leader for less than a month, and before being taken in by her master, Tang Youshu, she was just a small-time con artist from the marketplace who knew nothing about cultivation.
Although Qin Lingxiao’s reputation was great, Cui Xiaoxiao, like the county magistrate, was ignorant. Hearing the newcomer’s words, her first thought was—these people wanted to compete with the Talismonger Sect for the job!
So she pursed her cherry lips and said apologetically to the Jiuxuan Sword Sect disciples: “Everything has a first-come, first-served basis. The job here has been taken by our Lingshan Talismonger Sect. You all should go look for work elsewhere!”
The Jiuxuan Sword Sect disciples couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
The leading disciple Jiang Zheng looked contemptuously at the slender girl before him and couldn’t help but mock: “Heretical side paths dare to compare themselves with our Jiuxuan Sword Sect? This is truly laughable! Do you think we’re like you, here to beg for work?”
The disciple beside him also curled his lips in cold laughter: “Your master Tang Youshu? He was once our master’s fellow disciple! What kind of bullshit Talismonger Sect? An unworthy talisman cultivator established a sect! In the end, he died of old age on Ling Mountain—truly shameful! You should leave early! Don’t come here to cause trouble!”