Chapter 35: The Choice

Just as one of the group aimed a kick at Ji Shuling, Huo Zhi activated the Binding Talisman in her hand. A spiritual qi rope lashed out, wrapping around Ji Shuling’s waist, and Huo Zhi pulled her over.

Ji Shuling had once begged her father to help Huo Zhi, leaving her a Sound Transmission Talisman so she could seek refuge in the Artifact Talisman Sect.

Ji Shuling’s father and brother were not easy to get along with, so Huo Zhi had politely declined the offer. After arriving in Immortal Talisman City, she hadn’t contacted Ji Shuling again. She never expected to run into her here.

Seeing the little cutie being bullied, Huo Zhi naturally couldn’t stand idly by!

“You… Yu…” Ji Shuling was startled but her face lit up with surprise when she saw Huo Zhi’s appearance.

“Yes, I’m Huo Zhi. Those people are unreasonable. You’re on my team now.” Huo Zhi cut off the name Ji Shuling was about to exclaim.

“Elder Sister Huo! Wonderful, meeting you here!” Ji Shuling immediately caught on and hugged Huo Zhi’s arm.

“Oh boy, looks like we’ve got a little reunion here. You lot, hand over all the talismans on you!” The group that had been bullying Ji Shuling now noticed Huo Zhi and her companions.

There were six of them. Compared to Huo Zhi’s side, which, with the less-powerful Ji Shuling, only had four, they thought they had the advantage and tried to rob them.

The fifth trial was exactly about handing in talismans. The more talismans and the better their quality, the higher the score.

This trial was a comprehensive assessment, testing previous talisman-drawing ability, practical talisman usage skills, and even the backing of one’s faction. If you were strong in all these areas, you wouldn’t be robbed, and you might even rob others.

“Utterly shameless! Sister, they’re bad people, let’s run!” Ji Shuling quickly said.

“We’re going to steal their talismans!” Huo Zhi declared. She assessed the group; their cultivations weren’t high, a ragtag bunch not belonging to any major clan. She wanted to try.

“…” Linlang remained silent at the side, her expression not too pleasant. Right now, Huo Zhi’s right arm was held by Beimen Duoduo and her left by Ji Shuling. It was just…

“I’ll try first.” Huo Zhi pulled out some talismans, preparing to face them, but saw Linlang suddenly dash out and attack.

Those few were all at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Linlang didn’t even use talismans, relying solely on physical strength to fight.

The group was reluctant to waste their talismans and tried to withstand her assault, but they didn’t expect to be so quickly overwhelmed. In just a few moves, Linlang had two of them on the ground and had seized the talismans on them.

They had no storage bags, so their talismans were on their person, incredibly easy to find.

The remaining four panicked and only then thought to use their talismans, but it was already too late.

Linlang used a single Binding Talisman to tie them all together. Before they could struggle free, she knocked two more unconscious and stripped them of their talismans. The other two broke free but were immediately subdued by Linlang.

The whole sequence was fluid, precise, vicious, and efficient.

It was as if she was channeling some pent-up rage!

The group had come to rob, but to their utter disbelief, they were stripped clean of everything themselves, not a single item left.

“Wow, so awesome!” Beimen Duoduo clapped her hands repeatedly.

“Thank you for your help!” Huo Zhi thanked Linlang.

Linlang said nothing, just shoving what she had collected into Beimen Duoduo’s hands.

“Seeing as you know the Master, I’ll give you an Ice Crystal and some talismans.” Beimen Duoduo was quite generous, giving some of what Linlang had handed her to Ji Shuling.

“Thank you all. If not for you, I probably would have not only been beaten but eliminated too.” Ji Shuling said, her eyes reddening.

“You did very well to make it to this round. Good girl, don’t cry. We still have more trials ahead.” Huo Zhi patted Ji Shuling’s head.

“Mm-hmm, I won’t hold you back.” Ji Shuling quickly wiped her eyes.

The cultivators behind them were catching up. Many had used up most of their talismans escaping the Ice Thorn Snakes and had almost nothing left.

Linlang went out and snatched some more talismans, returning them to Beimen Duoduo. The group arrived at the fifth trial, the Talisman Handover.

“Aren’t you handing any in?” Huo Zhi saw Linlang give away every single talisman, some to Beimen Duoduo and even some to her, keeping none for herself.

“I’m not. I’ll be leaving afterwards.” Linlang said.

The Moyi Clan members had all been eliminated. Huo Zhi should be safe now. Only one trial remained, and from what was known of the process, it wouldn’t involve any combat. Linlang wouldn’t participate further; her score would drop, and she would be eliminated.

“It wouldn’t be because of what happened earlier… I’m sorry, I…” Huo Zhi felt a little guilty.

“No, she took a bounty mission. She doesn’t want to join the Immortal Talisman Sect. Master, it has nothing to do with you.” Beimen Duoduo whispered to Huo Zhi, who finally understood. What a shame; this person only came for the Spirit Stones and had no interest in joining the sect.

After Beimen Duoduo handed in her talismans, her rank shot up to sixty-third.

Huo Zhi handed in hers, placing her at seventy-second. Ji Shuling, who had been outside the top five hundred, handed in a few talismans and remained in the two hundreds.

Linlang looked at the rankings, still silent, and went out to snatch more talismans.

“The more talismans you hand in, the higher the rank. Our current ranks aren’t good enough yet. The sixth trial hasn’t started; I can draw some more. We still have unused talisman materials from earlier. I tied them in my bundle and carried them all the way here. Give me any talisman materials you might have. I’ll keep drawing.” Seeing they had time to wait, Huo Zhi decided that quantity had a quality all its own; she might as well draw more basic talismans.

Both Beimen Duoduo and Ji Shuling had some blank talisman materials on them. Huo Zhi sat down and drew them all. With those and the ones Linlang had snatched, Huo Zhi’s rank climbed to forty-third, Beimen Duoduo’s to thirty-eighth, and Ji Shuling’s to seventy-second.

Time ran out as the sixth trial began. Their ranks were locked in.

Ji Shuling had entered the exam with no hope and was just there to participate. Meeting Huo Zhi had actually given her a real chance to pass!

“I’m off!” Linlang hadn’t handed in a single talisman; her rank had plummeted. Seeing the fifth trial end and the sixth begin, she had no desire to stay.

“Okay, be careful out there. I’ll give you the rest of your Spirit Stones, plus an extra fifty thousand!” Beimen Duoduo whispered.

“What’s her name? She’s so formidable. Doesn’t she want to join the Immortal Talisman Sect?” Huo Zhi watched Linlang disappear and asked Beimen Duoduo. A strong sense of familiarity lingered around that person.

“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me. She wants to stay mysterious. Becoming a bounty hunter is her real goal.” Beimen Duoduo shook her head.

“Alright.” Huo Zhi didn’t press further. The sixth trial lay ahead.

The sixth trial involved unlocking Talisman Locks. These were relatively difficult puzzles. Only by unlocking a Talisman Lock could one proceed into the building for the final trial.

Each Talisman Lock only allowed one cultivator to pass and score points, meaning they needed to unlock three separate locks.

The Talisman Locks tested a wide range of knowledge, deductive reasoning, and understanding of talismanic scripts. For most people, they were extremely hard.

Huo Zhi looked at her own test and recognized it instantly: it was a Talisman Lock she had designed!

She felt almost embarrassed. This was far too easy for her.

Using the provided Talisman Brush, she drew the unlocking script and activated it. The spiritual qi formed the shape of the script, attaching to the lock and fitting perfectly into the missing piece. The Talisman Lock clicked open.

The moment Huo Zhi’s lock opened, her rank soared into the top ten.

“Mine is a word lock. This type of talisman lock is exceptionally rare. Isn’t this just a waste of time? How are you supposed to match so many jumbled and separated characters?” Huo Zhi finished hers and went to check on Beimen Duoduo, who was staring at her own lock with a headache.

“Deep feelings, misty rain.” Huo Zhi glanced at it and told Beimen Duoduo.

Beimen Duoduo’s word lock was also designed by Huo Zhi. It was very simple, something anyone with a basic nine-year compulsory education would know.

The characters on hers were scattered chaotically, their radicals separated. If Huo Zhi hadn’t designed it herself, one would normally have to stare at it for a long time just to piece all the characters back together, then start trying to assemble a sentence, which also relied heavily on luck. That would take an incredibly long time.

These separated characters, when pieced together, formed the line “Deep feelings, misty rain.” Huo Zhi told Beimen Duoduo this line. All she had to do was arrange the characters, and the lock opened.

“Master! Wuwuwu, Master, when we get out, we’ve got to be friends! I’ll tell you in secret, my name is Beimen Duoduo. Don’t tell anyone else.” Beimen Duoduo shook Huo Zhi’s arm excitedly upon hearing the answer, transmitting her voice.

Huo Zhi had already guessed Beimen Duoduo’s identity. Her volunteering the information now, while wearing such a plain-looking face, she could still feel how adorable she was.

“Hurry up and get it done. I’m going to check on little Ling.” Huo Zhi laughed and went to see Ji Shuling.

“Your talisman lock is a figure lock. You need to carve and complete the missing part of this figure. I’ll draw you a sketch, and you carve it in.” Huo Zhi saw Ji Shuling’s lock and said.

They each still had to open their own locks, leaving their personal spiritual sense imprint for it to count.

Huo Zhi taught them the method. Fortunately, both youngsters were quite sharp and had been studying talisman arts from a young age, so they quickly managed to unlock them.

Both their ranks jumped considerably. Beimen Duoduo reached twenty-second place, and Ji Shuling reached forty-eighth.

These ranks remained unchanged for a long time, meaning the results were finalized.

“My mother will be overjoyed when she finds out I passed! It’s all thanks to you, Master!” Beimen Duoduo hugged Huo Zhi excitedly.

“Elder Sister Huo, I never thought I would pass either. Wuwuwu, my father and brother will go crazy with happiness too. Thank you, Elder Sister Huo!” Ji Shuling, much like Beimen Duoduo, pounced and hugged Huo Zhi, jumping up and down.

“…” Huo Zhi was squeezed so tightly by the two of them that her cultivation method nearly broke.

She was happy too. She had thought entering the Immortal Talisman Sect would be a lonely experience. With these two little treasures, life certainly wouldn’t be dull.

While the women were embracing in celebration, outside, Linlang had been teleported to the Outer City.

A crowd was gathered at the Outer City gate, and Linlang spotted many cultivators bearing the Moyi Clan crest.

“It’s her! She’s the one who injured us!” One of the Moyi Clan cultivators pointed at Linlang and shouted.

Moyi Xiu’er had brought the Moyi Clan to inspect the eliminated cultivators as they were sent out. They were specifically waiting for Linlang to appear.

Not a single Moyi Clan member had passed the Grand Examination, and two were dead. Meanwhile, Huo Zhi’s ranking had climbed steadily, clearly having passed. This infuriated Moyi Xiu’er.

Unable to deal with Huo Zhi, who was now an Immortal Talisman Sect disciple, she had first brought people to wait here and see if any of Huo Zhi’s companions who had been eliminated came out.

Linlang hadn’t disguised herself; she still had the same aura and appearance from the exam, precisely to be recognized. She figured this would draw their attention to her, keeping them from going after Huo Zhi and the others.

“Grab her, now!” Moyi Xiu’er shouted angrily.

Violence was forbidden in the Outer City, so offensive talismans couldn’t be used. Even Moyi Xiu’er didn’t dare break this rule. She could only order her clan’s cultivators to charge and capture her.

Linlang would never just wait to be caught. She dodged the oncoming people and ran as fast as she could, with the group in hot pursuit.

She ran straight for the Outer City gate.

“Very good. Once you’re outside the city, it’s your death sentence!” Moyi Xiu’er led her people in pursuit.

Outside the city, they could immediately use talismans to kill.

Linlang was well aware of this. She had saved one Teleportation Talisman for herself. The second she burst out of the city gate, she activated it and vanished.

When she reappeared, Linlang shed the expensive disguise Beimen Duoduo had made for her, transforming directly into her Cinnabar Bird form. She soared straight into the sky, flying towards the deepest part of the forest. After flying for several hours, she reached the Ten-Thousand-Ren Cliff, landing on a flat area at the top that didn’t look naturally formed. Beside her was a round nest that had only its base built.

Once her breathing was steady, Linlang looked at the nest. Her expression seemed angry, perhaps a little hurt and aggrieved, before finally settling into indifference.

Her old desire to build a nest, to bring Huo Zhi there to live, to raise offspring together, was suppressed. Only an uncontrollable instinct remained, a drive to finish this half-built nest.

Several lumps of a transparent, amber-like jelly substance were taken from her storage bag. It was the Peach Resin Linlang had collected earlier.

Fire-type spiritual qi spewed from Linlang’s mouth onto the resin, gradually melting it. Then, Linlang picked up Parasol Tree Wood in her beak, dipped it in the melted resin, and stuck it onto the nest’s base.

While Linlang was there, expressionlessly building her nest, on the other side, Moyi Xiu’er had lost track of her completely.

“Who in the world is that! Hired by Moyi Guihua? How can she be so formidable! Outrageous!” Moyi Xiu’er was nearly spitting with rage when she felt the pulse of a Sound Transmission Talisman.

“Return immediately!” A chilling voice commanded. Just those two words made Moyi Xiu’er feel like her legs had turned to jelly. Unable to disobey, she ordered a few people to continue the search for Linlang and hurried back.

Moyi Xiu’er returned to the Moyi Clan’s mountain villa in the Outer City. The moment she stepped inside, a powerful force of spiritual qi slapped her across the face, sending her crashing to the ground.

“Outer Clan Head, I—I just never imagined the person Moyi Guihua brought along would be so powerful. They all lost to her.” Moyi Xiu’er stammered, trembling.

“Incompetent fool! Not only did we fail to get a single person through the Grand Examination this time, but we lost two of our nurtured geniuses! The geniuses the sect spent countless resources cultivating cannot simply die in vain! Continue the hunt for that previous person. She must be captured! As for Moyi Guihua, find a way to lure her out of the city. Cripple her cultivation, but leave her with a breath. Her Soul Lamp is still in that lord’s hands! And as for Huo Zhi, it is currently the time for new disciples to choose their courtyards. Send a message to your Second Grand-Uncle in the Immortal Talisman Sect. See if he can accept Huo Zhi as a disciple. If she can be made to serve the Moyi Clan, brand her with a Slave Seal Talisman and let her live for now. If she refuses to join the Moyi Clan, leave her to the Second Grand-Uncle’s discretion.” The woman Moyi Xiu’er called Outer Clan Head spoke with a frosty expression.

Moyi Xiu’er bowed hastily in acknowledgment and rushed off to carry out her orders.

The Grand Examination had ended by this time. Inside the Moxu Sub-Realm, the remaining cultivators heard the voice.

“Congratulations on completing the Immortal Talisman Sect’s Grand Examination. The top fifty will be directly admitted to the Immortal Talisman Sect and teleported to the Immortal Talisman Sect Main Hall. All other examinees will be teleported out and issued Talisman Master Rank Certificates according to their final placements.”

As the voice faded, many cultivators vanished from the Moxu Sub-Realm. Huo Zhi and her group were teleported away, arriving in a magnificent, resplendent main hall. Cultivators of unfathomable cultivation levels were seated on the dais and arrayed around the hall.

Huo Zhi struggled to the utmost to maintain her cultivation method circulating, secretly clicking her tongue. Even without doing anything, the sheer presence of the people around made it difficult to breathe. She couldn’t guess their cultivation levels.

“Congratulations on becoming part of the Immortal Talisman Sect. I am but a humble Junior Steward of the Immortal Talisman Sect. You may all call me Xuanchengzi. As is tradition, the various courts of the Immortal Talisman Sect will select suitable disciples from among you. Joining a court means that will be your primary field of study going forward. My Immortal Talisman Sect comprises the Talisman Script Court, the Embroidery Institute, the Artifact Talisman Court, the Array Talisman Court, the Healing Court, the Talisman Sword Court…” The cultivator, Xuanchengzi, introduced.

Listening, Huo Zhi felt it was a lot like choosing a major in university.

Huo Zhi’s primary inclination was towards talisman material creation. If she truly had any specific interest, the Embroidery Institute and Array Talisman Court seemed somewhat intriguing. Inscribing talismans directly onto a human body through tattoos wasn’t something she had designed; it was the author’s creation. Talisman Arrays, when used well, were immensely powerful and versatile. She hadn’t participated in designing that aspect either, making her somewhat curious.

“Naturally, our Immortal Talisman Sect will not force anyone to join a specific court. Whether you join or not is up to you. It is a mutual selection. Let us begin now, starting with first place, Wenren Liluo.” Xuanchengzi continued.

At the mention of the first-place winner, Huo Zhi deliberately took a look. The person was indeed extraordinary, likely having achieved a perfect score in several segments and only slightly behind in one or two others.

“Alright, there’s nothing to discuss for our Wenren Family member. She’ll definitely be joining the Embroidery Institute.” A lazy voice rang out.

With that statement, no one else tried to contest it. Children of the great clans who entered the Immortal Talisman Sect mostly joined the branch under their own family’s surname.

And so it went for the first nine places, without dispute. They were all from the major clans, and each had someone of influence within their respective courts.

“Huo Zhi, I am Moyi Feng, Vice Dean of the Healing Court and a master of healing-type talismans. You applied for the Grand Examination through my Moyi Clan’s recommendation. Achieving tenth place is a fine result. Henceforth, you will study under me in the Healing Court. I will accept you as a personal disciple. You possess an ice element, which can also be refined in the path of healing.” When Huo Zhi’s turn came, a man seated off to the side spoke to her.

Seeing that man, Huo Zhi’s heart trembled. The Moyi Clan had been trying to hunt her down and kill her. She wouldn’t dare to accept.

But what court could she go to if she refused?

“What’s wrong? Are you unwilling?” Moyi Feng’s face darkened as he questioned her.

“Thank you for your high regard, Vice Dean. My abilities are too weak. I have absolutely no talent for the healing path. I truly fear I would not live up to your expectations.” Huo Zhi braced herself and spoke.

“Oh? Are you certain?” Moyi Feng asked, releasing a pressure that carried a hidden threat in his tone.