Mistaken Era – Chapter 7

Mistaken Era – Chapter 7

Of course, an insignificant minor sect leader like Cui Xiaoxiao could hardly be considered a threat, let alone provide any cultivation assistance to Qin Lingxiao. He was not some base mundane man infatuated by feminine charms.

With this thought, Ling Zhishan’s heart settled somewhat.

After leaving the silkworm field, the senior disciple Jiang Zheng resentfully said, “It’s all these wandering tricksters disrupting our master’s great undertaking. Allow me to go deal with them…”

But Qin Lingxiao said, “No need, the demon pearl was tainted, but it can still be used…”

As he spoke, he reached for the pocket containing the demon pearl, only to find it completely empty, the pearl vanishing without a trace…

Qin Lingxiao’s brow furrowed slightly as realization dawned – that girl called Cui Xiaoxiao had leaned in close to speak with him earlier.

Could she have stolen it? But he had been utterly unaware, which should have been impossible given his cultivation level.

It seemed the demonic nature consuming him from within had significantly dulled his senses…

More alarmingly, when he earlier sensed the scent of Cui Xiaoxiao’s blood, for that fleeting moment, the demonic cultivation force he absorbed seemed to abruptly still, like water drained away, giving him a sense of impending purification.

Though Qin Lingxiao slew his master Wei Jie to attain righteousness and absorbed most of his power to soar as a cultivation prodigy, in recent years the latent demonic nature from Wei Jie had become increasingly resonant.

Thinking this, Qin Lingxiao couldn’t help touching his own forehead, knowing best the reason for concealing that mark.

As he exited the silkworm field, waving away the others to stand alone on the stone bridge and gaze down, the moonlight reflected his image rippling in the water, faintly glowing with celestial spirit light.

With a sweep of his hand, the concealing mark was revealed – the red lotus had two petals that had gradually turned from deep crimson to jet black.

Once the red lotus fully darkened, it would signal his complete possession by the demonic resonance forces, his mind devoured and many years of cultivation instantly ruined.

To prevent this, Qin Lingxiao had desperately sought a solution.

Three years ago, the giant rock on Mount Jiulu that had sealed the demon pearls “Greed” and “Wrath” suddenly cracked open, allowing them to slip into the mortal realm and wreak havoc.

If Qin Lingxiao could find these two demon pearls and properly harness their power, he could temporarily suppress the surging demonic resonance within him. After all, the demon pearls originated from Wei Jie’s own demonic energies, a case of fighting poison with poison.

The demon pearl that had been stirring up trouble in Fei County was actually the “Greed” pearl of the two.

Unexpectedly, it had become attached to an ordinary woman. Perhaps the silkworms’ nature of endlessly, greedily consuming mulberry leaves resonated perfectly with the “Greed” pearl, causing that woman to become cocooned in the silkworm field and assimilate with the worms, developing a craving for human flesh.

But even the finest demon pearl could only temporarily alleviate the issue like quenching thirst with poisonous wine. The optimal solution was to find Wei Jie’s true “counter” to permanently suppress the demonic nature within him.

Only those with an extreme yin bloodline destiny could accomplish this. But such fated individuals tended to have short lifespans, usually dying in their youth. For that girl to have survived to sixteen or seventeen, she was truly one in a million.

When he first joined Wei Jie, Qin Lingxiao heard from fellow disciples that Wei Jie’s fate held an ominous destiny – he must never encounter someone of extreme yin nature.

However, for someone to possess such a destiny required being born under the yin convergence of the Nine Profundities stellar alignment.

This nine-fold conjunction only occurred once every seven hundred years. It was said that back then, Wei Jie scoured the realm hoping to eradicate anyone with such a fate, but those fated rarely survived to adulthood, so he never succeeded in finding them.

Qin Lingxiao never imagined that two centuries after destroying Wei Jie’s primordial spirit, someone with this extraordinary fate would appear!

Thinking of this, his gaze could not help but follow that slender, small figure gradually merging into the moonlight…

Cui Xiaoxiao? Quite interesting.

As for the several fellow disciples of the Talisman Sect, after experiencing the horrifying silkworm farm incident, they barely managed to escape with their lives.

Ji Wuqi was a bit more tragically affected, covered in blisters from being burned by fire. Even after he chanted a healing talisman, it only temporarily alleviated some of the pain.

However, compared to the pain on his body, the little liar he had always looked down upon surprised him even more.

No one expected that tonight, after narrowly escaping danger several times, it was actually the half-baked Cui Xiaoxiao who turned crisis into good fortune.

The young A Yi has never concealed his likes and dislikes, so he said with admiration: “Sect Leader’s junior sister, just based on a few words from others, you actually deduced the whole situation. You’re truly formidable! I saw the talisman you drew, you actually drew it wrong! Yet you were still able to subdue the demon, it’s really amazing!”

Hearing her junior brother’s reminder, Cui Xiaoxiao hurriedly looked again at the talisman she had picked up and kept in her pocket. Oh, that’s right! She originally wanted to draw an exorcism and dispelling talisman, but due to painting it hastily earlier, she made a few mistakes…

When she flipped through the book to compare… Ah! This talisman is… a love spell talisman!

According to the secret manuals passed down from her master, this was once the Sect’s best-selling talisman. Even for the extremely elderly, obtaining it would make them feel like a newlywed every day.

However, the production of this divine talisman was not high. Her master could only refine two pieces per year. But it could still earn a prosperous income to support the disciples of the Sect, being considered the treasure of the Lingshan Talisman Sect.

Now recalling old dog Jixiang’s urgent biting of the demon’s neck earlier and his insistent desire to get closer…

Cui Xiaoxiao finally understood why the demon had suddenly lost its mind, looking dazed as it embraced Jixiang, then exploded in embarrassed rage…

No wonder the demon pearl was defiled, it was really her fault… This talisman was too lecherous!

When she sincerely wanted to explain to her fellow disciples that as a young girl, she absolutely did not intend to draw such a lewd talisman, she found that the old dog in the courtyard still had some lingering passion, wagging its tail flirtatiously at a female dog…

Seeing Cui Xiaoxiao holding her long braid, embarrassed yet smiling, Jiang Nanmu’s heart was also somewhat excited.

Their departed master Tang Youshu devoted his life to reviving the Talisman Sect.

However, he often said that due to his innate lack of skill, no matter how hard he tried his entire life, he could never reach the highest realms of “talisman” mastery.

Even at the end, Tang Youshu was unable to reach the boundary-crossing transcendence stage, only passing away at the ripe old age of 202 years.

But their worldly-wise master was overjoyed when he met Cui Xiaoxiao, as if a gold prospector had discovered a nugget in the sand, directly stating that this girl was a heaven-sent person to revive the Talisman Sect.

Previously, Jiang Nanmu did not understand her master’s words, but tonight’s subduing of the demonic giant silkworm made her believe 30% of what her departed master said.

Leaving aside this Cui Xiaoxiao’s character, with just a tattered beginner’s manual, she could actually draw the Sect’s former prized talisman. Isn’t she clearly someone innately gifted in the talisman arts?

Perhaps just as the master said, the hope of reviving the Lingshan Talisman Sect now rests entirely on the shoulders of this young girl.

At the very least, the Lingshan people’s livelihoods are temporarily secured for now.

Because of that massive insect hide as proof of merit, the whole county views Cui Xiaoxiao and them as celestial beings descended to earth.

What’s more, these immortals truly have lofty integrity and view money as dirt, refusing the reward and only requesting a month’s food supply, as well as a burial ground to lay that ill-fated woman to rest.

However, during that woman’s burial, the Jin family’s servants came to obstruct them, glaring angrily and saying that if they buried such an evil demoness in the county, the local people would not be able to live in peace.

Ji Wuqi could not stand these people, saying this land was given by the county magistrate, so they have no say in it!

But those servants produced an official document from the magistrate stating: “The lord has only just learned that you want to bury that licentious woman who violated decorum. He has ordered the land to be reclaimed! Who doesn’t know that this woman shamelessly seduced our old master in the past? Now she has caused so many deaths, even if you bury her, we will dig her up, dismember her bones and scatter her ashes!”

Ji Wuqi wanted to argue more, but Cui Xiaoxiao pulled his sleeve and said: “Senior Brother, don’t argue anymore. What they say is reasonable. Even if we bury her, we cannot guarantee that woman will rest peacefully in the earth.”

Ji Wuqi actually felt quite sympathetic to that woman’s plight and said angrily: “Then what should we do? Just discard her remains on a disorderly gravesite?”

Cui Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and said: “As long as she returns to the five elements, then she will rest peacefully in the earth. Senior Brother, could I trouble you to use your fire talisman technique to cremate this woman?”

Ji Wuqi understood and felt this was a solution, so he raised his fire talisman to refine and cremate her.

Soon, all worldly worries dissipated in the flames, the remains finally placed into a small porcelain urn.

Cui Xiaoxiao then scattered these ashes into the river flowing through Fu County.

This river extends and irrigates the local fertile fields. Since some people could not accept this ill-fated woman, then let her ashes spread throughout the terraced fields of Fu County.

After understanding this woman’s suffering, A Yi also felt unsettled and protested: “An innocent person was forced to become a demon. Yet those committing misdeeds behind the scenes live without worry, complacently going about their days. What reasoning is this?”

However, Cui Xiaoxiao looked at the winding flowing river, stretched her neck, and said lazily: “What’s the problem? Unfair things in this world are too numerous to count. Our master used to say that becoming an immortal is not difficult, what’s difficult is in our time as humans, being able to follow our hearts without overstepping bounds. If one has to go against their true nature and live hypocritically as a person, then even becoming an immortal won’t bring much happiness… Do you all want to go have some fun with me?”

The remaining few looked at each other, because their departed master indeed used to speak in this manner. The old man always said immortal cultivation was not difficult, but he had too many worldly infatuations in life which caused him to lose focus, unable to achieve the true path.

However, what exactly did this new Sect Leader mean by “having fun”?

Soon, they would understand the meaning behind Sect Leader’s words about having fun.

One night, Jin Youde, who was clearly sleeping soundly in his own home embracing a beautiful concubine, ended up lying disheveled on the bed of the neighboring prefecture’s governor hundreds of miles away.

Moreover, this Lord Jin also seemed to have lost his mind, embracing the governor covered in stubble and acting intimately without restraint.

When the servants who heard the governor’s cries for help rushed in and saw that scene, they felt so disgusted they could not eat.

Although Jin Youde held immense power in Fu County, this time he had slept with the governor!

Utterly disgraced, the disgusted governor ordered his men to immediately beat this madman senseless in the courtyard.

No matter how Jin Youde tried to explain, he was beaten half to death, his leg bones even broken. When his family finally managed to carry him back home, they found that the Jin family’s entire gold and silver treasury, as well as the property deeds, had mysteriously vanished overnight.

Jin Youde was shocked speechless, his eyes rolling back as he fainted… Such ghostly occurrences could not but make one suspect the meddling of the late Lady Bai.

When he awoke, he hastily summoned the Taoist priestess surnamed Cui, only to learn that she and the others had disappeared without a trace. And the documents regarding the old Bai family case had somehow found their way to the still-furious Magistrate.

As a result, Jin Youde had barely caught his breath when he was arrested and taken away in a carriage.

As for Cui Xiaoxiao and the others, when they left Fei County, their limbs were aching and sore from the exertion of scouring the Jin family’s treasury for gold and jewels in the dead of night.

The spiritual concealment spell their master had cast proved remarkably useful. With the Jin family’s ill-gotten gains turned to ash, it was only fitting that their unjust wealth should vanish overnight.