Mistaken Era – Chapter 12
At this moment, Ji Wuqi discovered that there was a talisman seal on the back of the bronze case. When the Talisman Sect disciples saw it, they gasped in shock.
Although talisman patterns in the world followed similar principles, there were slight differences in the strokes. For example, the talisman patterns of Lingshan Talisman Sect always had an inverted hook at the end.
Disciples of Lingshan could recognize their sect’s talismans at a glance. And at the end of this talisman pattern, which appeared ancient for exorcising demons, there was indeed a hooked stroke representing the personal calligraphy of their master Tang Youshu.
Ji Wuqi reverently paid respects, then stated firmly: “There’s no doubt, this was left behind by our master!”
At that moment, the talisman on the case drifted down, and the case opened up.
Everyone looked inside and saw a small wooden carving. The carving appeared to be an ancient serpentine deity with a human face and snake body.
The carving had hollow eyes and a carved mouth that seemed to be smiling yet not smiling. Staring at it for too long made one shudder involuntarily.
The several of them looked at each other, and Ji Wuqi bravely reached out to grab it first, but was driven back by the surging chill emanating from the carving before he could touch it.
Jiang Nanmu and A´Yi also tried grabbing it but failed, repelled by the chill from the carving.
Cui Xiaoxiao, always prudent, wanted to stay far away from this ominous carving emanating devilish energy.
But strangely, it seemed like there was a voice whispering in her mind, urging her to quickly pick up the carving.
Almost unconsciously, Xiaoxiao stretched out her hand towards the carving and easily lifted the wooden statue.
It seemed her extremely yin destiny, which made her blood special, also made her unafraid of the extreme chill clinging to the carving.
However, the Senior Martial Brother stubbornly believed that because she was influenced by the demon pearl, she had started aligning with the demonic path, which was why she could pick up this clearly sinister object.
But after Xiaoxiao held the carving for a while, the chill gradually faded, allowing the others to also examine it. However, no matter how they looked, they couldn’t find anything special about the carving.
Cui Xiaoxiao stared intently at the carving’s face, feeling there was something missing from the hollow eye sockets.
Engraved on the back of the carving was a line of Sanskrit script. Since the Senior Martial Brothers couldn’t understand it, they decided to put it away for now and find someone who could interpret the Sanskrit script.
However, Cui Xiaoxiao was adamantly against keeping the carving, even suggesting burning it, due to the overly realistic nightmare she had.
Ji Wuqi refused to let her, stating that since the case containing the carving was sealed by their master from two hundred years ago, if there was some shocking demonic conspiracy, wouldn’t the Lingshan Talisman Sect be first among the palaces and sects to achieve great merit?
Although Xiaoxiao, as the sect leader, vehemently objected, she could only watch helplessly as the Senior Martial Brother put both the carving and the case into his pack.
As a result, whenever they set out again, Xiaoxiao always felt an inexplicable chill emanating from the Senior Brother’s pack, as if a pair of eyes were coldly staring at her.
Xiaoxiao planned to seize an opportunity to discard it, but the Senior Brother guarded the demonic object closely, not allowing anyone near it.
When evening meditation time came, the usually unenthusiastic Cui Xiaoxiao surprisingly found a small hill away from her martial siblings, laid out a soft mat, and entered meditation early.
She was so active for a reason. Ever since that night, she always felt like there was a voice in her mind misleading her.
Taking the wrong path and coming to Chixizhou was one instance, and going against her willtouch that carving was another.
Xiaoxiao wasn’t muddle-headed enough to misread a map, much less court danger by grabbing that stupid serpent carving.
It seemed she was still being influenced by the demon pearl, unconsciously doing things against her will whenever her willpower was weak. If she didn’t figure out what was going on, and let the voice in her heart control her, there would be more trouble ahead.
So she entered meditation early to see if she could enter the dream realm and understand what exactly the Blood Demon from that nightmare was.
To prevent any accidents, Cui Xiaoxiao cut open two of her fingers before meditating, letting fresh blood flow out to ward off sneak attacks from the Blood Demon.
Perhaps afraid of Xiaoxiao’s blood scent, the Blood Demon did not appear. But after entering meditation, the strange voice in her heart grew clearer.
“Little girl, are you looking for me? Don’t bother, your bloodline has suppressed me and I can’t move for now…But don’t think you can easily get rid of me either!”
Cui Xiaoxiao silently asked with her eyes closed, “Who are you, and what exactly do you want to do?”
The voice seemed to yawn lazily, then said, “Me? Isn’t the name you gave me ‘Greed’? Your talisman damaged my primordial energy, so I could only attach to a living host. Who knew you’d have a physique that restrains me…”
“Don’t worry, when I find a suitable opportunity, I won’t stay in your body for even a moment!”
“Were you the one who lured me to Crimson Crake State? Just to make us find that carving? What exactly is so special about it?”
Cui Xiaoxiao closed her eyes and asked a few more questions, but the demon pearl seemed too lazy to answer, only yawning and saying, “Why ask so much, you’ll find out eventually. Oh, by the way, my malice has already started spreading through your body. Little girl, you’d better stay strong and not die too quickly…”
After that, it seemed to be extremely tired and no longer responded no matter how Xiaoxiao called out.
When Cui Xiaoxiao opened her eyes after finishing meditation, she was almost startled to see three of her martial siblings squatting in front of her, staring like at a monkey show.
Jiang Nanmu looked at the junior sect leader admiringly and whispered, “Junior Sister, what insight did you gain? How did your cultivation advance by a day’s journey in such a short time? It’s only been a few days, but during meditation, auspicious vapors were rising from your crown – you almost entered the small celestial cycle!”
Indeed, while Xiaoxiao meditated, wisps of hot air had continuously risen from her crown, and her body emanated a spiritual light similar to the Heaven-Protecting Armor of the Sword Sect disciples.
Though her light was still very faint, far from the disciples of the Nine Mystic Sword Sect, it definitely surpassed her three martial siblings, showing great potential to surpass them.
Cui Xiaoxiao was stunned to hear this – she had no special method. When others meditated, they only needed concentration and relaxation. But when she meditated, she had to battle the demon, ready for a life-or-death struggle at any moment.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that her cultivation astoundingly doubled in an extremely short time when she meditated…
She recalled the origins of the demon pearl – it was the turbid energy that Apocalypse Wei had refined from his body, which meant the demon pearl had accompanied Wei for a long time.
Back then, Wei’s cultivation had also made a meteoric advance. Perhaps like her now, he had periodically subjugated the demonic nature within, inadvertently achieving the effect of advancing by a day’s journey…
Thinking of this, Cui Xiaoxiao sighed and said to her martial sisters and brothers: “I really wish I could share this method with you all…why don’t you take over the demon pearl?”
The other three immediately shook their heads vigorously.
Over the next two days, the demon pearl did not disturb Xiaoxiao again, lying dormant and silent as if hibernating.
Because of the excessively demonic nature of this demon pearl, Xiaoxiao had diligently studied her master’s secret manuals these past few days.
Unlike the traitorous disciple Qin Lingxiao, Tang Youshu, though not approving of his master Wei Huo’s descent into demonic ways and the crimes he committed while demonized, still maintained the due reverence of a disciple towards his master. Even though Wei Huo later became demonized and made grave mistakes, Tang Youshu only lightly described it as “invaded by demonic qi, not acting of his own will” to explain his master’s actions.
As for the demon pearl refined from Wei Huo’s body, Tang Youshu did not record too many details about it.
However, he did emphasize one point – Wei Huo’s bane was the blood of those with extreme yin constitutions. It could dissolve Wei Huo’s demonic cultivation. If such blood fell into the hands of a great cultivator, the consequences for Wei Huo would be unimaginable.
So Wei Huo had always sought out such people in order to eliminate them.
When Cui Xiaoxiao read this, she gasped in realization. She finally understood why, when the master learned of her ten-injury destined fate, he seemed pensive but said her fate was actually very good.
If she had been born two hundred years earlier, she would have been hunted down by that half-human, half-serpent demonic lord.
In that case, having been born two hundred years later was truly a stroke of good fortune for her.
After understanding the wondrous property of her extremely yin-natured blood against which even the Demon Sovereign Wei Huo was wary, Xiaoxiao no longer felt the demon pearl’s invasion was anything special. Since her blood could subdue even Wei Huo from back then, how could the demon pearl refined from his core do anything to her?
That day, when the sun rose, they prepared to depart again.
Ji Wuqi and A Yi were not too particular, ready to set out without washing up.
Cui Xiaoxiao and Jiang Nanmu were girls, so they took a bit more time washing up together by the stream.
As Xiaoxiao squatted down to scoop water, almost unconsciously recalling the scene from her dream where she controlled her own blood to repel the Blood Demon, an idea struck her.
That feeling had been so realistic that even after a few days, the memory was still vivid.
Her continuous days of diligent meditation left her dantian feeling full, like someone who had finally eaten their fill and was brimming with energy, wanting to expend it playfully.
Thinking this, as her fingertips disturbed the water’s surface, she silently recited a water-controlling spell with a slight mental effort.
At first, the water surface only rippled from her fingertips disturbing it. But in the next moment, a few water droplets vibrated like bouncing on a drumhead, trembling as they leapt from the surface.
Those leaping droplets quickly converged, growing longer as if a water snake was coiling and swirling upwards, birthed by the morning sun. They soon twined around Xiaoxiao’s slightly raised wrist like ribbons dancing joyfully around a celestial maiden…
Jiang Nanmu was washing her face when she looked up and saw her junior martial sister casually controlling the water flow.
She was so astonished that her mouth hung open and she could not speak for a long while, only pointing shakily at Cui Xiaoxiao.
At this moment, the impatient Ji Wuqi and A Yi came over to urge the two juniors to set out. But instead they saw Cui Xiaoxiao waving her arms, directing the swirling water flows up and down…
Now their eyes also bulged like eggs, mouths agape but unable to speak.
It must be understood that while controlling water and fire were basic skills for Talisman Sect disciples, not just any disciple could master them.
For example, after three years A Yi could only do minor illusions. And although Ji Wuqi could control fire, it was only for a brief moment.
Yet Cui Xiaoxiao, who previously knew nothing, could now wield water flows as easily as handling a snake, controlling them with graceful sweeps of her arms. Just what level of cultivation could support such ability?
How could her cultivation have suddenly spiked overnight like this?
Thinking of this, Ji Wuqi finally reacted, shouting: “Damnation! She…she’s demonized! Martial brothers, quick, get the talismans!”
