Chapter 32: A Bewitching Beauty Part 1

Linlang glanced over from behind Huo Zhi, then immediately looked away.

Huo Zhi had her back to her. Linlang only saw Huo Zhi’s graceful back, the delicate butterfly bones, and the alluring curve of her waist.

Just a glimpse of her back was enough to stir a wave of heat in Linlang’s heart.

What on earth is this woman trying to do?!

“006, can you see what I look like now? Is it the same as my human form?” Huo Zhi lowered her head, letting her long hair cover her face, and asked 006.

“Host, it’s… it’s not quite the same. You’ll know when you look in a mirror.” 006’s voice sounded a little dazed.

Huo Zhi pulled out a mirror from her storage bag and took a look, her eyes widening.

This appearance was far more bewitching than her human one!

The human form created by Huo Zhi’s Fox Demon bloodline was about the same height as her pure human form, but with more perfect proportions, more voluptuous, and longer legs. Her fair skin had a faint, almost imperceptible layer of cherry blossom pink beneath the surface, giving her a warm-toned feel. Her facial features were about sixty to seventy percent similar to her human appearance, but her hair was silver-white, and her eyes were ice-blue. The outer corners of her eyes tilted up slightly, and her contours were softer. Her entire presence exuded a pure, innocent yet seductive charm.

Because of these slight changes in appearance and temperament, Huo Zhi looked like a completely different person.

The hair and eye colors of a Demon Beast after taking human form were usually similar to their original form.

Huo Zhi stared blankly at her current appearance for a moment, then pinched her own cheek.

She recalled that narcissistic saying: My greatest regret in life is that I can’t kiss my own beautiful, perfect face.

That was exactly how she felt right now!

“Linlang, do you have any clothes? Can I borrow one?” Huo Zhi put away the mirror and turned to call Linlang. Her voice was soft and sweet.

She couldn’t take out and wear her own clothes; Linlang would definitely recognize them.

When Linlang saw Huo Zhi’s appearance, her breath caught in her throat.

“Linlang?” Huo Zhi called out to her again.

“Here.” Linlang snapped back to her senses and, with a blank expression, took out a set of clothes from her storage bag. These were ones Huo Zhi had prepared for her before.

“Thank you. I’ll buy you a new set.” Huo Zhi expressed her thanks.

Linlang looked to the side, where Huo Zhi’s shadow fell. She had no choice but to close her eyes.

“I’m going to tend the fire,” Linlang said to Huo Zhi, then left the room. If she didn’t leave now, she truly didn’t know what would happen.

Even without the Love Poison Talisman, Huo Zhi’s body was still that alluring to her.

Linlang went off to do her assigned chores in the Xiao Residence. Meanwhile, Huo Zhi got dressed and tried on the bracelet.

The bracelet was incredibly magical. After putting it on, she channeled Spiritual Qi to activate it. When Huo Zhi looked in the mirror again, the reflection showed her with black hair and black eyes.

With black hair and black eyes, she looked even more like her human self. Subtle changes in her facial features gave this form a softer, sweeter appearance, looking a few years younger than her human form.

Humans and the Demon Race primarily distinguished people by their aura. Even after taking human form, a fox demon still carried the aura of a fox demon.

For the time being, Huo Zhi didn’t activate the bracelet inside the Xiao Residence. She went out to check on Linlang and saw that she was indeed dutifully tending the fire. Instead of using firewood, Linlang was using her own Fire-Type Spiritual Qi. Someone nearby was guiding her on how to better utilize it.

This was far better than Huo Zhi could do, as she could only teach Linlang Talisman Drawing.

After looking around Linlang’s work environment and feeling reassured, Huo Zhi was ready to leave. Linlang had thrown herself into her work, and Huo Zhi needed to go. Moyi Guihua was still waiting for her, and she had to seriously prepare for the Immortal Talisman Sect’s Grand Examination.

“You’ve already achieved Shapeshift? What a little prodigy! The outside world is too dangerous. Can you protect yourself? If there’s any danger, you must send me a Sound Transmission! Don’t let that bracelet slip off your wrist,” Xiao Yun said upon seeing Huo Zhi.

“Thank you, Sister Xiao Yun. I will,” Huo Zhi nodded repeatedly.

As a Half-Demon with both Demon Race and Human Race bloodlines, Huo Zhi felt a close kinship with Xiao Yun. There were good and bad individuals in both the Demon Race and the Human Race. The truly good ones were so good that she could feel it firsthand, deep in her heart.

Wearing a veiled hat and having activated the bracelet, Huo Zhi left through a side gate Xiao Yun had mentioned, breathing a long sigh of relief.

Who would have thought that coming out here would lead to developing a new body and obtaining a precious Talisman Artifact capable of concealing her aura and appearance?

She would have to get to know that Snowy Owl Demon sometime and thank him properly. He was truly kind.

This bracelet looked like it was at least Superior Profound-Grade. He was quite generous.

As a human, with her identity as a Talisman Master, things were complicated with Linlang. Even though Linlang would risk her life to save her, they might not be able to coexist. Better to use this little fox identity to become her friend. If she ever needed help, she could assist her.

Huo Zhi clenched her fist to pump herself up. After leaving this area, she found a deserted spot, activated a Spiritual Sense Isolation Talisman, put on her veiled hat, and switched bloodlines beneath it, transforming into her pure human appearance. She carefully stored the bracelet away and hurried to the inn where Moyi Guihua was staying.

“How is that Little Cinnabar Bird doing?” Sensing someone approaching, Moyi Guihua emerged from her meditative state and asked upon seeing Huo Zhi.

“She went to a relative’s place. She seemed to be doing well, so I didn’t interfere further. I came back first to let you know. I might go check on her from time to time; I’m still a bit worried. The rest of the time, I’ll stay here and prepare properly,” Huo Zhi said. Moyi Guihua was a pure human, so Huo Zhi naturally didn’t reveal the existence of the Xiao Residence.

“That’s good. You really have a worrier’s fate. You say I’m your friend, but can’t you worry about me a little too?” Moyi Guihua glanced sideways at Huo Zhi.

“Sister Moyi, you never tell me about your situation. How can I worry? Is your cultivation stuck at the Core Formation Stage because of damage to your meridians? You said the Moyi Clan specializes in Healing Talismans. Didn’t anyone give you one? You were probably from the Immortal Talisman Sect originally. As a member of the Five Great Clans, why are you staying in a small sect like the Blissful Union Sect? Did something happen?” Huo Zhi asked, partly based on her deductions about Moyi Guihua and partly from piecing together descriptions from the original novel.

The original novel mentioned something about Moyi Guihua. It seemed she broke something, offended a direct-line genius from the Wenren Clan, and was expelled from the Immortal Talisman Sect. Her family also sent her away to avoid trouble, and she’d been lying low for over twenty years.

“…” Moyi Guihua looked at Huo Zhi in surprise. She hadn’t expected Huo Zhi to have already guessed all this.

“Whenever you feel like telling me your story, I’ll be ready to listen. A mature sister like you surely wouldn’t let herself hold onto inner demons, right? I may be weak now, but I’ll work hard. If anything happens to you, I’ll do my best to help. Even if I can’t help, I’ll listen seriously and keep it absolutely secret.” Huo Zhi looked at Moyi Guihua with great sincerity.

“Huo Zhi… if only your name were Huo Wan, things would be better.” Moyi Guihua also looked seriously at Huo Zhi.

“Pfft! Fine, you can wait to tell me later if you don’t want to.” The corner of Huo Zhi’s mouth twitched.

“There’s nothing much to say about those things. Let’s put that aside for now. I mentioned before that I’d take you out for a walk, and we can stop by the Exquisite Pavilion to register you as a Bounty Hunter. As a Talisman Master, you’ll inevitably need Talisman Materials. You can post Bounty Missions there. You can also take on missions to draw specialized talismans. Talismans you draw yourself can be consigned there to sell for Spirit Stones. Once your rank is higher, you’ll even get special privileges to buy high-grade Talisman Materials. Shall we go?” Moyi Guihua smoothly changed the subject.

“That sounds great. Let’s go today and have a look. We can also buy some Talisman Materials and some reference books for the exam.” Huo Zhi nodded. When she was following Linlang earlier, she hadn’t had a chance to explore the surrounding area.

As soon as Huo Zhi agreed, Moyi Guihua led her out.

The moment they left, someone stealthily followed them.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Linlang had finished tending the fire and completed her task. She left the talisman brush in her assigned room, ordering it to stay obediently hidden and not follow her. Then, wearing the bracelet that concealed her bloodline identity, she went out.

This time, her destination was where she truly wanted to go: the Exquisite Pavilion.

After arriving at the Exquisite Pavilion, Linlang grudgingly sold a Parasol Tree Branch, receiving two hundred Spirit Stones. She used one hundred Spirit Stones to register as a Bounty Hunter, becoming the lowest-level Black Iron hunter.

Bounty Hunters were divided into ranks: Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Amethyst, and Red Diamond. Completing ten Black Iron-level missions would promote her to Bronze. One hundred Bronze-level missions for Silver, and so on.

After surpassing these ranks, one could become a Guest Elder of the Exquisite Pavilion, gaining higher authority and access to rarer treasures stored by the Pavilion. The Spirit Stones one could earn would also be an astronomical figure.

As soon as Linlang registered, she immediately started looking through the mission list to find and accept jobs.

Besides the missions that could only be viewed and accepted based on rank, there was also a public mission board with no rank restrictions.

Just as Linlang was intently scanning the mission list, she caught a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she saw two women wearing veils with their backs to her, standing right where she had just registered moments ago. Although their auras were concealed and couldn’t be perceived with Spiritual Sense, Linlang recognized their silhouettes at a glance. The woman on the left was Huo Zhi, and the one on the right had to be Moyi Guihua.

They had actually come here too!

“Black Iron, points zero. No discounts on Exquisite Pavilion’s Talisman Materials—can only buy low-grade stuff. Looks like ranking up is necessary. Sister Moyi, what rank are you?” After obtaining her Bounty Hunter plaque, Huo Zhi sent a Sound Transmission to Moyi Guihua.

“I’m Silver Rank. Haven’t done this in years. If you need Talisman Materials, I can still help you buy some for now, but I can’t get the higher-grade ones either,” Moyi Guihua replied.

“So it has this use too.” Huo Zhi nodded.

“That’s not all! You can even participate in auctions. Once your rank is high enough, you can attend the Exquisite Pavilion’s VIP auctions. Lots of good stuff there. But that’s too far off for now. You should look at the current mission lists and see what you can take on,” Moyi Guihua said.

“There’s a ranked mission list and a public one. Let me look for the ones with high rewards first. Wow, this one offers a hundred thousand Spirit Stones: ‘Assist the mission publisher in passing the Immortal Talisman Sect’s entrance exam!’ Can I take this one?” Huo Zhi asked Moyi Guihua as she browsed the mission list.

“Don’t even think about missions like that. The Immortal Talisman Sect holds its Grand Examination every five years. Ten thousand people from across the continent apply, and only fifty are accepted. The difficulty is extreme. If you help someone else, it means giving them the talismans you draw or the points you earn from the tasks. If you do that, you’ll definitely fail yourself. Getting admitted into the Immortal Talisman Sect is worth far more than a hundred thousand Spirit Stones. Look for other missions,” Moyi Guihua said.

“Oh, I was just looking. There’s a huge demand for Spirit Recovery Talismans here—buying as many as available, two thousand two hundred Spirit Stones each. That’s even more expensive than back where we came from. This is good; I drew quite a few before and can sell them here. And this request for special talismans like Substitute Talismans and Forgetting Talismans—if I buy the Talisman Materials, I can draw those too…” Huo Zhi selected some missions, mostly tasks that could be done while staying in the city drawing talismans. Buying various Talisman Materials would also let her match their names to their appearances and practice drawing all kinds of talismans to become familiar.

Linlang minimized her presence as much as possible, silently studying the mission list from a corner.

She selected those with the highest rewards from the missions she was eligible to take. She also noticed that specific mission but glanced at it only briefly before moving on.

She needed the fastest way to earn Spirit Stones while also accelerating her cultivation speed.

She picked a few missions that required going outside the city to gather materials, especially those in places tainted with Yin Baleful Qi. Low-level cultivators didn’t dare go, and high-level cultivators wouldn’t waste their time for such meager Spirit Stones. These missions had been backlogged for a long time. Linlang screened them all, selected a few that were roughly in the same direction—trips that could be made in a single night—and accepted them. She wanted to leave immediately, but then noticed a cultivator not far behind Huo Zhi and her companion. This man’s gaze was fixed on Huo Zhi and her friend. Instinctively, Linlang felt this look was somewhat unfriendly.