Looking at Wei Jie staring at her, Xiaoxiao could only steel herself and say vaguely: “Yes, if there’s nothing urgent, I naturally need to return. I’ve told you all that your grandmaster’s death anniversary is approaching, so I must go back to pay respects… Well, Wei Jie, we’ll wait for you at Ghost Stone Cliff… ah, no, at Lingshan!”

Her words were half true and half false, but Master Tang Youshu’s death anniversary was indeed approaching. Although separated by two hundred years, she still wanted to arrange offerings and prepare a pot of thin wine on this day to honor her master’s spirit in heaven.

Of course, the prerequisite was that her master, Tang Youshu, shouldn’t be beside her. Otherwise, accompanying her master to worship her master… might invite divine punishment.

But right now, she more urgently wanted to persuade Wei Jie to leave and let him go to Qilao Mountain with peace of mind.

As long as Wei Jie was gone, she could also shake off the most clingy leech, and the remaining matters would be easier to handle.

Wei Jie looked at Xiaoxiao with long, contemplative eyes, thought for a moment, and said: “Alright, but without me around, with just those two blockheads Tang Youshu and Yu Ling’er, you must be extra careful in everything.”

Seeing that he didn’t suspect anything, Xiaoxiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled in response: “I’m not helpless, and I don’t like getting into conflicts with people. I probably won’t cause any trouble along the way. Don’t worry, we’ll immediately return to that… that Lingshan and wait for you there!”

So Wei Jie said nothing, but only when Tang Youshu turned around to give mountain apricots to Yu Ling’er did he lower his head, staring at Xiaoxiao with those purple eyes that bewitched the world and could drown people in them, asking quietly: “…Do you want me to leave?”

Shrouded by his gaze, Xiaoxiao felt guilty for a moment, her eyes unsure whether to settle on his brow peak or his high nose tip.

Finally, she could only blink her bright eyes, silently swallowing in her throat, and laugh dryly: “Why would you think that? When you leave, both your disciple and I will miss you…”

Hearing this, Wei Jie suddenly showed his gleaming canine teeth, thinking of something, and smiled rather mischievously: “Tang Youshu doesn’t constantly stare at me, so if you want to miss me, it has to be different from how he misses me!”

Xiaoxiao’s lips moved slightly, but she never dared to ask him: how should she miss him?

A dog’s mouth ultimately can’t produce ivory. At this moment, Xiaoxiao and Wei Jie’s faces were too close, and she had already been forced back against a nearby tree trunk.

She was afraid that if she asked, she would give the rebellious disciple a ladder to heaven, and he might use this excuse to commit some master-betraying deed…

But after teasing her, Wei Jie just smiled, tidied his master’s somewhat messy temples, then turned and left…

Xiaoxiao, who had been forced against the tree trunk, couldn’t even help closing her eyes when he arranged her hair.

But unexpectedly, when she opened her eyes, that person had already walked away with large strides.

Looking at his tall retreating figure, Sect Leader Cui couldn’t come to her senses for a moment, feeling both annoyed and greatly disappointed…

For a moment, she was even so annoyed that she wanted to drag that flirtatious bastard Wei Jie back, pin him firmly to the ground, then pinch his handsome chin and forcefully…

Ah! Xiaoxiao suddenly shivered in fright, shocked at what chaotic things she was thinking!

The ancients said, “Those who associate with ink become black!” It was indeed true. Spending all day with that lecher, her mind was filled with indecent thoughts!

Frightened, Xiaoxiao quickly sat cross-legged on the spot and silently recited calming mantras.

When she had composed herself, she heard Tang Youshu say that Wei Jie had already left for Qilao Mountain under the escort of guards sent by the Crown Prince, transporting the blood vat.

When Wei Jie left, Xiaoxiao didn’t even go to see him off. Only Tang Youshu stood by the roadside, waving his handkerchief with tears in his eyes, shouting: “Master, please return soon and don’t let your disciple worry!”

As for Wei Jie, after searching everywhere and not finding Xiaoxiao’s figure, he left without looking back.

After Wei Jie left, both Cui Xiaoxiao and Yu Ling’er sat in the carriage and sighed simultaneously.

Yu Ling’er turned to look at Xiaoxiao and said with a sense of loss: “Although Wei Jie usually has a sharp tongue and annoys people, with him around, we never worried about food. Now that he’s gone, I feel strange inside. Do you feel the same way?”

Hearing Yu Ling’er say this, Xiaoxiao had an epiphany: no wonder she felt somewhat sour and uncomfortable hearing that Wei Jie had left – so this was the reason.

Thinking of Wei Jie’s excellent hunting skills and his fragrant barbecue techniques, it would indeed be hard to part with him if he left!

Ling Zhishan had been following behind the Talismonger Sect’s carriage.

But when Wei Jie bid farewell to Cui Xiaoxiao, Miss Ling found herself torn between emotion and duty. Logically speaking, since she wanted to worship Cui Xiaoxiao as her master, to demonstrate her sincerity, she should continue following Cui Xiaoxiao.

However, what she wanted to follow was Wei Jie, but as a young lady, it would be improper for her to rashly follow Wei Jie.

After learning from Yu Ling’er that Wei Jie was only temporarily separated and would return to find them after finishing his business, Miss Ling finally made up her mind to continue following Cui Xiaoxiao.

So, although Wei Jie had left, the Lingshan Talismonger Sect’s convoy showed no signs of reduction and remained just as long.

Cui Xiaoxiao didn’t mind. She had already helped the Wei family find the torn page, completing the ancestor’s assignment. Having finally sent Wei Jie away, she naturally planned to find an opportunity to slip away.

She wasn’t from this era, and staying would only create more turmoil and chaos. As Qin Lingxiao had said, she shouldn’t invest too much emotion in people of this time.

It was time to bid them farewell completely and find a way to locate the divine statue to return.

But while Xiaoxiao’s plans were good, implementation was another matter. Someone had leaked the news that Cui Xiaoxiao was returning to Lingshan for ancestral worship.

Because the four great sects were being hunted by the court, many disciples had severed ties with them and returned to their hometowns.

But having glimpsed the path of cultivation, how easy was it to return to mortal life? Since they couldn’t enter the mountain gates of the four great sects, some sought alternative paths and conceived the idea of finding new famous masters.

That day in the village, Wei Jie’s battle with the Young Pavilion Leader of Lingyun Pavilion was truly spectacular, leaving a deep impression on the disciples from various sects present. This time, Lingshan Talismonger Sect’s name wasn’t on the “Purging Divine Ways” list.

The Lingshan Talismonger Sect, previously slandered as a demonic evil sect, suddenly became a hot commodity!

As a result, not long after Wei Jie left, disciples came in twos and threes to intercept Cui Xiaoxiao’s carriage by the roadside. They knelt and kowtowed, making sounds like cracking walnuts, directly expressing their desire to worship Cui Xiaoxiao as master and study the Talismonger Sect’s profound mysteries.

If it were just these few, it would be manageable, but after Cui Xiaoxiao politely declined them, talented individuals from various paths came one after another, wanting to worship Cui Xiaoxiao.

Moreover, they seemed inspired by Miaoxian Mountain’s Ling Zhishan. Even after being refused, they wouldn’t leave, all becoming like leeches, silently following behind the Talismonger Sect’s carriage, waiting for Sect Leader Cui to change her mind and accept them.

This made Cui Xiaoxiao, who originally planned to slip away, somewhat frustrated. However, looking at the gradually increasing number of people behind them, Xiaoxiao felt somewhat moved.

If only this were two hundred years in the future!

If by then, Lingshan Talismonger Sect’s lineage could be this prosperous, when she cried at her master’s grave during ancestral worship, could she cry with more pride and volume?

Xiaoxiao couldn’t help praying internally: Master, is this your spirit in heaven blessing us, making our Lingshan Talismonger Sect branch out and become deeply rooted?

Unfortunately, your blessing came too quickly. Your disciple hasn’t returned yet, and you’ve arranged so many for me two hundred years ago – how am I supposed to bring them back?

Perhaps hearing her devout prayer, Tang Youshu suddenly poked his head into the carriage curtain, somewhat hesitantly saying: “Master, among those disciples following us, many haven’t achieved fasting. When mealtime comes, they ask us for food. Recently, even Ling’er hasn’t been eating enough and has to catch sparrows in the roadside forest with her clan members.”

Xiaoxiao had originally prepared an invisibility talisman, planning to stick it on and slip away under the cover of darkness.

But seeing her master’s young and thin face now, Xiaoxiao felt she couldn’t just leave like this, abandoning her master to suffer alone.

Otherwise, leaving Tang Youshu, such a kind-hearted person who couldn’t refuse others, wouldn’t he be devoured alive by that string of beggars behind the carriage?

So when night fell, Xiaoxiao distributed invisibility talismans to Tang Youshu, Yu Ling’er, and the others.

On this dark and windy night, the entire Talismonger Sect and fox clan members acted like thieves, sticking on talismans, concealing their forms, abandoning even the expensive carriage, and quietly shaking off that group of master-worshipping fanatics.

They rode foxes and rushed desperately, covering a great distance in one breath.

Finally, everyone was so exhausted they couldn’t maintain the invisibility talismans, and their figures were revealed in the dawn light.

Yu Ling’er, thinking she no longer had to share rations and chicken legs with others, happily hugged Cui Xiaoxiao’s arm, half-acting coquettishly and half-complaining: “Xiaoxiao, you should have thought of this method earlier. We wouldn’t have been pestered by those people for so long. Do you know I’ve been living on sparrows these past few days? I want to vomit whenever I hear birds chirping overhead…”

Xiaoxiao thought: This method was originally intended to get rid of you all. I just don’t know if using this trick again would be too old-fashioned.

However, Tang Youshu looked at the boundary marker below the mountain and exclaimed joyfully: “Grand-master, we’ve arrived at Ghost Stone Cliff… no, at Lingshan!”

Xiaoxiao walked to the boundary marker and saw three large characters, “Ghost Stone Cliff,” carved on the moss-covered stone tablet.

The old male fox leading the way said proudly beside them: “I often travel in all directions and never get lost even without a map. How about it? Have we arrived?”

This made Xiaoxiao somewhat embarrassed. She had occasionally told Tang Youshu and Yu Ling’er about Lingshan’s past.

For instance, there was a pond of white lotuses outside the window of their dwelling, beautiful beyond description. There was also a Buddha-palm-shaped high platform on the mountain peak for stargazing, where lying within it would bring exceptional peace of mind, such as from trivial daily matters.

Originally, Xiaoxiao thought it didn’t matter since she wouldn’t come to Lingshan anyway.

But unexpectedly, through a twist of fate, she had brought the entire Talismonger Sect to this “Lingshan” she had randomly identified. Once they went up the mountain, if it was just a desolate wilderness, would Tang Youshu be disappointed to discover that his grand-master was a complete fraud?

Just then, Cui Xiaoxiao was pushed by Yu Ling’er and involuntarily walked up Ghost Stone Cliff’s mountain path.

When stepping on the broken stone steps, Xiaoxiao looked up at the stream flowing beside the mountain path.

The stream here flowed gently, accompanying travelers, quite similar to Lingshan!

Xiaoxiao walked a few more steps and saw a giant boulder by the roadside, round and plump, looking exactly like a Maitreya Buddha.

Yu Ling’er, having just run and being tired, simply sat on that round stone to rest. As Tang Youshu handed her a water bottle, he said: “This stone looks like a Buddha statue and might have spiritual properties. You shouldn’t sit on it.”

Hearing this, Yu Ling’er jumped down and examined the stone while looking around. The more she looked, the more it resembled one, so she playfully used her sword tip to carve a curved big mouth on the smooth surface of the round stone.

“Haha, Young Master Tang, does my drawing look like it?”

Tang Youshu had been advising her that all wood and stone in the mountains had spiritual energy. He hadn’t expected her to mischievously carve a mouth on the stone and could only shake his head helplessly.

Yu Ling’er wasn’t satisfied and called Xiaoxiao to come look, but just as she called out, she saw Xiaoxiao staring at the round stone with a drawn mouth as if she had seen a ghost…

She clearly remembered that on Lingshan two hundred years later, there was also such a round stone with an exaggerated, disproportionate arc carved on its smooth surface.

When Xiaoxiao first climbed the mountain, she had asked her master about it. But her master had said with a melancholy expression that it was the handiwork of an old friend.

After saying this, the usually gentle master closed his mouth and said no more.

But now, Cui Xiaoxiao saw on Ghost Stone Cliff two hundred years ago the same smiling face round stone as on Lingshan.

At this moment, cold sweat suddenly ran down Xiaoxiao’s spine – could Ghost Stone Cliff be Lingshan?

After Wei Jie’s demonic path was destroyed, Ghost Stone Cliff became deserted, with no one willing to go to this unlucky place.

But given Master Tang Youshu’s reverence for his master, he wouldn’t avoid Ghost Stone Cliff.

That meant her master had returned to Ghost Stone Cliff decades after Master Wei Jie’s death, renamed it Lingshan, and established the Talismonger Sect there?

Why wasn’t this mentioned in her master’s secret texts?

Thinking this, Cui Xiaoxiao no longer delayed, quickly walked to the front of the group, and ran toward the mountain peak.

This mountain was somewhat different from the Lingshan in her memory. After all, with two hundred years between them, the trees and mountain paths felt somewhat unfamiliar.

But the more Xiaoxiao walked, the more familiar it felt, especially when she saw the distant buildings – she couldn’t take another step forward.

Because ahead, buildings and courtyards were under construction, looking exactly like the Talismonger Sect buildings on Lingshan.

Although those buildings were much more dilapidated and weathered compared to the present, the style was the same.

Tang Youshu, seeing craftsmen moving wood and stone, curiously asked: “What are you doing? Do you know Lingshan’s master has returned, so you’re repairing the buildings?”

The craftsman looked them over and nodded: “Yes, so our schedule is tight. If you have nothing urgent, don’t block our way – it’s hard for us to move things.”

Yu Ling’er excitedly said to Xiaoxiao: “Oh, did the Talismonger Sect disciples on the mountain know you, the sect leader, were returning with us, so they’re rushing to repair the houses? Those houses are really beautiful – can I choose my room first?”

Xiaoxiao quickly covered Yu Ling’er’s chattering mouth.

Where was she, the master of Lingshan… no, it should be Ghost Stone Cliff? Lingshan Talismonger Sect shouldn’t even have a ghost shadow now.

Regarding Ghost Stone Cliff, Master Tang Youshu’s records weren’t extensive. They only recorded that when Wei Jie led his followers to Ghost Stone Cliff, they happened upon Lord Can constructing a mountain retreat villa.

At that time, Wei Jie and Lord Can had a decent relationship. After all, Lord Can had befriended Wei Jie in Luoyi City and had been secretly helping Wei Jie fight against the four great sects.

Hearing that Wei Jie led his followers but had no place to settle, Lord Can generously gave Wei Jie the summer retreat built on Ghost Stone Cliff.

From then on, Wei Jie settled on Ghost Stone Cliff, became the Demon Lord leader, and his power grew increasingly vast.

It seemed that in the original trajectory, Lord Can had effortlessly used Female Demon Siling’s death to provoke conflict between Wei Jie and the four great sects while also winning Wei Jie’s loyalty.

In any case, in the predetermined previous life, with the protection of the Book of Life and Death fragment, Lord Can could perfectly patch up flaws in his destiny, utilizing all available connections, truly achieving the ultimate in good fortune.

However, now, due to Xiaoxiao’s appearance, Lord Can’s perfectly designed destiny had also developed significant deviations.

Now he was nominally killed by people from the four great sects. How could his summer retreat still be under construction, claiming the master would arrive soon?

Could it be that Lord Can’s “tragic news” hadn’t reached here yet, so the craftsmen didn’t know? Or was the Lord Can hiding in the shadows, commanding people to continue renovating this retreat?

Before Xiaoxiao could figure it out, several guards in silk robes came to drive them away.

“Who are you people? How can you randomly come to this private property?”

Yu Ling’er was puzzled: “You two don’t even recognize your sect leader? The Lingshan Talismonger Sect leader has returned – why aren’t you quickly sweeping and welcoming her?”

Those guards stared wide-eyed. This little girl had a delicate oval face and big fox-like eyes that blinked charmingly – she didn’t seem like an idiot!

One guard couldn’t help saying: “This mountain originally belonged to Lord Can of Luoyi, but he gave this retreat to his niece, Princess Yongning, as a birthday gift long ago… What Lingshan Talismonger Sect? We’ve never even heard of it! Go, go, go – if your brain isn’t clear, quickly go down the mountain and take medicine. Don’t wander around here!”

Yu Ling’er immediately became upset!

This was Cui Xiaoxiao’s territory – how could it be transferred to someone else by that damned Lord Can while she was away?

But before she could shout, Xiaoxiao had quickly covered her mouth, then apologetically smiled at the guards, led Yu Ling’er, and took Tang Youshu and the others down the mountain.

Yu Ling’er said angrily: “Xiaoxiao, what’s wrong with you? Why are you being so submissive? Didn’t you teach Wei Jie that the thing under the nose is called a mouth, and when bullied, you must speak up – that Talismonger Sect disciples can eat anything but can’t suffer losses?”

Xiaoxiao sat down heavily on the Maitreya Buddha-shaped round stone, continuously rubbing her temples.

She had said those words, but the key point was that Lingshan would only be their Talismonger Sect’s ancestral home two hundred years later – right now it was still Xia family territory!

If she brought her disciples and foxes to make a scene, she could probably smoothly get onto the “Purging Divine Ways” list.

Looking at the furious Yu Ling’er, Xiaoxiao could only speak earnestly: “Different times call for different measures. We haven’t been back here for so long – it’s normal for others to occupy it. We can’t occupy the toilet without using it! Since distinguished guests are building a retreat here, our Talismonger Sect can just find another place to cultivate. As long as we have the Way in our hearts, everywhere is Lingshan…”

“What a fine ‘everywhere is Lingshan’!”

Just as Xiaoxiao’s words fell, a clear young girl’s voice suddenly came from the nearby mountain path.

Xiaoxiao looked in that direction and saw a young lady in hunting attire, exuding nobility, surrounded by a group of maids and guards, walking up the mountain.

This noble young lady stopped at the stone tablet carved with “Ghost Stone Cliff,” swinging the whip in her hand while saying: “The retreat my imperial uncle gave me is nice, but this mountain’s name is too inelegant! What Ghost Stone Cliff? How frightening! Everywhere is Lingshan… Someone come! Find the craftsmen on the mountain and change this tablet. This princess bestows the name ‘Lingshan’ on this mountain!”

Yu Ling’er muttered quietly: “She’s bestowing the name? This was already called Lingshan!”

Xiaoxiao gave her a look to shut up, then observed the young lady, thinking: Looking at her bearing and demeanor, she should be the new master of Ghost Stone Cliff. Could she be Lord Can’s niece – Princess Yongning?

Just then, the young lady walked up to Cui Xiaoxiao, tilting her head to look her up and down: “I heard what you said earlier. You’re the sect leader of Lingshan Talismonger Sect and were previously cultivating on this mountain? How come I’ve never heard of an immortal sect cultivating on this mountain?”

Xiaoxiao was very curious about this young princess’s relationship with Lord Can. That Lord Can was an impostor, so using the excuse of being sickly, he had always avoided contact with other imperial relatives.

Moreover, why had he given Ghost Stone Cliff, which had deep connections to Wei Jie, to this niece? Thinking carefully about it, there were potential pitfalls everywhere!

However, since the young princess asked, Xiaoxiao naturally had to answer.

Even though she was the leader of street con artists, she found it difficult to patch up the torn cassock of lies she had woven.

She couldn’t tell the truth and say this mountain would only belong to her Talismonger Sect two hundred years later!

But if she denied that this wasn’t the Talismonger Sect’s Lingshan, Tang beside her would certainly think she had been lying before.

With her master’s death anniversary approaching, she didn’t want to make the young master sad and upset.

So trapped in a dead end, she could only laugh dryly a few times, then in desperation said: “Well… our Talismonger Sect are recluses who have been living in the deep mountain forests behind the mountain!”

The back mountains of Lingshan were layered with peaks and ridges, always uninhabited, and would certainly be even more desolate two hundred years ago, so saying this should be foolproof.

Hearing this, the young princess’s eyes lit up with barely contained curiosity: “They say the back mountains of Ghost Stone Cliff hide phoenixes, and living people shouldn’t enter, which is why my imperial uncle built a phoenix-viewing platform here. But you live in the back mountains – doesn’t that mean you spend day and night with the legendary phoenixes?”

Hearing this, Xiaoxiao burst into hearty laughter, mumbling: “Not really, we just cultivate separately, like well water not interfering with river water… Haha haha…”

After laughing a few more times, Xiaoxiao quickly moved, stepping beside the old fox who had led them here, quietly asking: “Is what she said true? Are there phoenixes in the back mountains of Ghost Stone Cliff?”