Chapter 22

If he kept laughing, she would almost believe that the dark god Gunara was about to appear. Ye Qiao quickly tore the talisman off Mu Chongxi. “Looks like it works well.”

Mu Chongxi’s face was stiff from laughing for so long. When he finally stopped, he shook his head and collapsed to the ground, sighing, “More than well. I almost thought I was going insane.”

That laugh would scare anyone.

“Do all talisman cultivators have this much fun?” Mu Chongxi had spent the last few days helping his junior sister test all sorts of strange talismans, almost forgetting that Ye Qiao was a sword cultivator.

What kind of sword cultivator could draw talismans so well?

Ye Qiao didn’t even lift her eyelids. “Don’t slander me. I’m a proper sword cultivator.”

“Drawing talismans is just a hobby.” After all, the original Ye Qiao had chosen to be a sword cultivator in the Moon Clear Sect, where talisman cultivation was common.

Ye Qiao preferred being an assassin to being a mage.

Thinking of the power of her talismans, Mu Chongxi chuckled.

A hobby?

Whose hobby has such powerful effects?

Taking advantage of skipping class, Ye Qiao made some Spirit Recovery Pills to sell in town.

Maybe because she didn’t have a proper pill furnace, the pills she made in a big pot turned out weird.

They were lumpy and oddly shaped.

Because they looked so unappealing, she priced them very cheaply. Even so, no one wanted such strange-looking pills. Everyone was afraid of the potential side effects. Ye Qiao sighed inwardly, wondering why people judged things by appearance.

…

“Are you still drawing talismans?” Mu Chongxi propped his chin with one hand, watching Ye Qiao draw on the talisman paper.

Ye Qiao picked up the ruined talisman. “Another one wasted.”

Mu Chongxi, having witnessed her repeated failures, thought for a moment and suggested, “Why don’t you ask Ming Xuan?”

“I’ll try again. If I fail again, I’ll ask Second Brother.” Although Ming Xuan would probably think she was crazy for a sword cultivator learning to draw talismans.

“Did you learn to draw talismans at the Moon Clear Sect?”

Ye Qiao turned to look at him and thought for a moment. “Yes.” She had indeed learned by following the images from the original Ye Qiao’s memory of the talisman cultivators in the Moon Clear Sect.

“Moon Clear Sect is known in the cultivation world as the home of orthodox talisman cultivators,” Mu Chongxi said slowly. “There’s a hierarchy in the cultivation world. They look down on talisman cultivators from other sects. If the people from Moon Clear Sect knew you learned their talismans, I can imagine how displeased they’d be.”

Ye Qiao was hearing this for the first time.

Thinking about it, the discrimination and comparisons within large sects weren’t any less than in modern workplaces. In the original Ye Qiao’s memory, the Moon Clear Sect was just like this. Personal disciples looked down on inner disciples, inner disciples looked down on outer disciples, and outer disciples looked down on servants.

And the servants looked down on people from small sects.

It was quite ridiculous.

Mu Chongxi’s gaze shifted to the pen Ye Qiao held in her hand, then he sighed heavily. “Also, Litte sister, I’ve heard Second Brother mention that if you want to improve the quality of your talismans, it’s best to use a better wolf hair brush.”

Ye Qiao was surprised. “Oh.”

“But those brushes are quite expensive.”

“Let’s make do with what we have.” She replied casually. “After all, one shouldn’t be too competitive.”

Mu Chongxi looked at Ye Qiao’s already split brush and couldn’t help but twitch his mouth, realizing that his litte sister was indeed very frugal.

As if this kind of brush could succeed.

“I have an unused wolf hair brush here.” He rummaged through his mustard seed bag and quickly pulled out a pen emitting a faint purple glow, engraved with special runes, heavy in his hand.

“It belongs to the category of mid-grade spiritual tools.” Mu Chongxi was probably giving something to someone for the first time; he scratched his head. “I’ll find you a better one next time.”

He wasn’t a talisman cultivator, and he had picked up the wolf hair brush from the black market.

Ye Qiao didn’t hesitate and accepted it immediately. Indeed, valuable things had their benefits; when drawing talismans, there was no interruption. The intricate runes formed golden spell imprints, and with increasing speed, she quickly finished the talisman in one go.

The light golden glow slowly lit up, indicating that the talisman hadn’t failed.

Ye Qiao’s tense heart finally relaxed.

But the next moment, the talisman erupted in a dazzling light, and beneath its corner appeared black small characters, resembling some special symbol from ancient times.

Ye Qiao stared blankly at the strange ancient text under the corner of the talisman. “What is this?”

In the moment when the golden light appeared, all the elders of the Changming Sect involuntarily looked up towards the direction where the light had fallen.

— “Blessing of the Heavenly Dao.”

Qin Fanfan stood up. Because of the protection of the Heavenly Dao, he couldn’t feel where the golden light had fallen. He looked up at the sky with a hint of contemplation in his eyes.

Was it Ming Xuan who received the blessing? Or was it Xue Yu?

Not only them, but this disturbance was so great that even the heads of several other sects were alarmed.

“Who could it be?”

“Heavenly Dao blessing? It seems to be from the Changming Sect.”

“Mu Chongxi? Or Zhou Xingyun?”

“Ming Xuan?”

At this moment, everyone from various sects speculated incessantly, unable to resist the urge to investigate the situation at the Changming Sect.

Meanwhile, the people who caused the commotion were still in a daze.

“Heavenly Dao blessing.” Mu Chongxi murmured to himself, his expression gradually becoming serious. “You really are a talisman cultivator?”

He quickly changed his tone, his eyes sharp. “So, you can really achieve dual cultivation of sword and talisman.”

Mu Chongxi had never seen a true dual cultivation in this sense. He had only heard that their sect’s ancestors were such extraordinary figures.

He never expected that one day, even his litte sister could achieve it.

Ye Qiao didn’t understand what this meant. “So, Fourth Brother, what does it mean to have a Heavenly Dao blessing? Is there any special use?”

She was more concerned about what benefits this thing could bring her compared to the Heavenly Dao blessing.

Mu Chongxi pondered, “Special use? Being blessed by the Heavenly Dao means being recognized by the Heavenly Dao. In the future, the talismans you sell will fetch at least five times their usual price.”

Ye Qiao’s eyes lit up.

— Such good fortune exists in the world?

“And as far as I know, not even those self-proclaimed orthodox talisman cultivators of the Yueqing Sect have been blessed by the Heavenly Dao. It won’t be long before news spreads that someone from our sect has been blessed by the Heavenly Dao. By then, their faces will probably turn black.” Mu Chongxi grew more and more proud as he spoke, his lips curling upwards as if he could already see the scene of them being humiliated in the future.

He turned to look at his litte sister.

“By the way, Ye Qiao, what kind of talisman did you draw?”

Formation talisman? Defensive talisman? Or offensive talisman?

Under Fourth Brother’s expectant gaze, Ye Qiao hesitated. “A crawling talisman.”

“What is that?” Mu Chongxi felt uneasy hearing the name. “Does it have any specific function?”

Her voice grew quieter. “The person affixed with it will crawl on the ground like an animal.”

He fell silent.

What should he say? After a while, he forced out a sentence: “You really are something, Litte sister.”

Even being blessed by the Heavenly Dao, she still chose such an unconventional path.

Ye Qiao held her talisman, feeling a bit melancholic.

If she had known she would be blessed by the Heavenly Dao, she would have drawn a more conventional talisman.

These days, Ye Qiao had been immersed in tinkering with her eccentric creations, skipping classes, and Mu Chongxi had accompanied her in skipping, making their other two senior brothers feel like they had missed something.

“What have you two been up to behind our backs these days?”

Ming Xuan pushed open the door to the room, eyes filled with suspicion.

Ye Qiao put away her talismans, greeted him warmly upon seeing him, and waved her hand. “Good evening, Second Brother, Third Brother.”

Xue Yu smiled and nodded, grabbing his fourth junior brother. “Good evening, Litte sister, I came to find my junior brother.”

Mu Chongxi: “Huh?”

He had a bad feeling about this.

Xue Yu continued, “I’ve just finished refining some pills and need someone to test them.” He placed his hand on Mu Chongxi’s shoulder and smiled faintly. “Come. Junior Brother.”

“…”

Couldn’t this be discussed properly, Third Brother?

Mu Chongxi vividly recalled Xue Yu poisoning several other members of the inner sect last time and being punished with confinement. Hearing this, Mu Chongxi shivered and quickly ran away.

No, please!

Seeing this, Ye Qiao collected her talismans and followed.

***

“Heavenly Dao blessing. Who caused such a stir?” Zhou Xingyun’s eyes narrowed in thought. Was it his junior disciple? Or could it be… his new litte sister?

Qin Fanfan said, “I’m not sure. I’ll call those brats over later and find out.”

“Speaking of which, they’ve been skipping classes for several days now.”

He was somewhat worried.

Zhou Xingyun’s expression was slightly serious, “They skipped class?”

Qin Fanfan was angry when he mentioned this, knocking on the table with gritted teeth, “Not only did they skip class, they did it under Ye Qiao’s leadership.”

Forget it.

“I’ll go check on them.” Zhou Xingyun reluctantly opened his mouth under his master’s worried gaze.

He felt that if he didn’t intervene now, his junior siblings might end up in trouble.

…

In fact, even before Ye Qiao arrived, Ming Xuan and the others always liked to gather together. Xue You needed to study his chemical formula, and Ming Xuan, being a fragile symbol cultivator unable to care for himself, couldn’t be used as a test subject. Hence, they could only use their youngest junior brother.

Mu Chongxi now felt a toothache whenever he saw Xue You. He soared into the sky on a clear breeze and flew away on his sword, intending to shake off these two.

Xue You was like an antagonist from a TV drama, smiling faintly from behind. “Run all you want. You can’t escape.”

Ming Xuan added sympathetically, “Even if you shout yourself hoarse today, no one will come to rescue you.”

“Accept your fate, Junior Brother.”

Ye Qiao stood on her sword, shouting loudly from behind, “Don’t run! Fourth Junior Brother, we won’t hurt you.”

But these three really seemed like perverts trying to force a wayward youth!

Ye Qiao chased after her two senior brothers on her sword, with Xue You following behind. “Fourth Junior Brother!! This time I absolutely won’t make you uncomfortable.”

The four moved at an astonishing speed.

Wherever they passed, it was like locusts crossing the land, leaving no trace of grass.

Zhou Xingyun, who saw this scene, murmured, “…”

Quite lively indeed.

Since Ye Qiao arrived, the Changming Sect had never been quiet.

Even someone like Zhou Xingyun, who lived as if he were dead, was stimulated.

The eldest senior brother silently looked up at his senior brothers and sisters flying in the sky like birdmen. Even he, who rarely showed emotion, couldn’t help but twitch his lips. He waved his hand, and a burst of energy shot towards Ye Qiao’s sword.

Xue You stylishly dropped to one knee, but before he could strike a handsome pose, Mu Chongxi was hit by the residual energy and fell awkwardly from the sword.

Xue You instinctively reached out to catch him.

In the end, the two ended up in a princess carry, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes.

The scene was quite dazzling.

“What are you doing?” A clear, cold voice rang out.

Zhou Xingyun remained calm, not even moving his sleeves as he watched them.

Xue You was always afraid of this senior brother. He raised his head and saw the strange look in his eyes.

Xue You let go, his voice trying to maintain calm, “Senior Brother… Let me explain.”

He really wasn’t a pervert!

Ye Qiao and Ming Xuan also froze, afraid of being hit. She quickly stepped off the sword and swallowed her saliva, “Senior Brother, please listen to our explanation.”

“Things are not as you think.”

Zhou Xingyun remained calm for a moment.

Perhaps… all his junior brothers and sisters really had gone mad?

The four stood together in silence, none daring to speak. Zhou Xingyun’s eyes were cold, and he began to prepare to settle the account: “I heard that you four haven’t attended class in the past few days?”

Ming Xuan instinctively defended, “No, who told you that?”

“Someone must be trying to slander us, the pure and kind-hearted.”

Mu Chongxi hurriedly agreed, “Exactly.”

Zhou Xingyun smiled coldly, and the two instantly quieted down.

Ye Qiao, feeling the pressure of the eldest senior brother for the first time, keenly felt that if she didn’t do something today, perhaps all four of them would be sent to confinement together.

Her mind raced, urgently interrupting Zhou Xingyun before he could speak, “Senior Brother, who do you think will win the position of the top sect in the cultivation world this year?”

Zhou Xingyun frowned. Although he didn’t understand why she asked this, he replied, “For thousands of years, Chengfeng Sect and Wenjian Sect have alternated in the position of the top sect. This year, in terms of strength, the two sects are evenly matched.”

“So, who will take the top sect position this year is still uncertain.”

Ye Qiao showed a hint of a smile, locking eyes with Zhou Xingyun, “So, if Senior Brother works harder, can we become the top sect in the cultivation world?”

“?”

Her eyes gleamed as if the next second, Ye Qiao would make him go and fight Wenjian Sect with his fists and step on Chengfeng Sect with his feet.

Veins popped on his forehead, and he struggled to keep calm and composed, telling himself to stay calm: “No.” The two words were squeezed out of his teeth.

Ye Qiao immediately changed her approach, “Senior Brother, you disappoint me too much.”

Zhou Xingyun: “?”

He choked, unable to follow his litte sister’s train of thought for a moment.

Mu Chongxi looked at his bewildered eldest senior brother and instantly understood what it meant to strike first: “Yes, Senior Brother. You can’t even lead us to become the top sect in the cultivation world. You really disappoint us.”

Ming Xuan also laughed, realizing the intentions of the two. He casually added, “Yes, you really disappoint us.”

Taking advantage of the moment when the eldest senior brother was at a loss, Ye Qiao grabbed Ming Xuan, who was closest to her, and ran away.

The two quickly evacuated, and Mu Chongxi also pulled Xue You, who was slow to react, and the four fled in an instant.

After Zhou Xingyun reacted, he pondered, “…”

Have they learned this skillful and shameless escape route from their litte sister?