Chapter 24: A Summoning Talisman? Encounter with Fellow Examinees!

Ye Qingning clearly remembered that Lüluo had once said, after the Second Madam’s nephew died, the Second Madam invited a Daoist to the residence.

It was that Daoist who had posted talismans for warding off evil spirits all over the manor.

She had also taken out all the talismans she carried with her for warding off evil.

She counted them—fifteen in total.

Back when she drew these warding talismans, it was because cultivators, aside from cultivating, would also exterminate evil and monsters during their training journeys.

These warding talismans could be worn or affixed to the residence. When encountering evil entities, the talismans would automatically activate to repel or suppress them.

These were commonly used talismans for eliminating demons and monsters. So, at the time, she had drawn a few extra.

Since the identity she drew was that of a cultivator, and she could gain points by slaying demons and evil spirits, if she were to replace all the talismans in the Yu residence with her own warding talismans, then when the evil spirits were eliminated by her talismans, wouldn’t that count as her having slain them?

Wouldn’t that mean she could earn points that way?

The system, upon hearing Ye Qingning’s idea, felt it was totally feasible! His Ningning really was a genius!

Ye Qingning checked the surroundings again, and once she confirmed there was no one nearby, she gathered spiritual energy to her fingertips, gave a light flick, and lifted the yellow talisman that had originally been posted on the door.

The moment she removed the talisman, Ye Qingning was surprised to find that the strange, eerie wind around her had inexplicably dispersed a little.

The system also noticed something was off.

Puzzled, it said, “Even if this talisman isn’t very effective, it should still drive away some of the yin energy. Why do I feel like the surrounding yin energy actually thinned after you removed it?”

Hearing this doggy system speak up, Ye Qingning was certain it wasn’t her imagination.

She held the yellow talisman in her hand, carefully examining it, her brows gently furrowing.

Though the talisman also bore red sigils, they were unlike any she recognized as a warding talisman.

Though she had only recently begun studying talismanry, and wasn’t a talisman cultivator in her previous life, the more she looked, the more familiar the sigils seemed—as if she had seen them somewhere before.

The system, being quick-witted, suddenly remembered and shouted, “I remember now! In your last life, when you were training in the mortal realm, you met a pregnant woman—but the child in her womb was actually a ghost fetus!”

“At the time, we didn’t notice anything wrong with her, but we did take note of the old locust tree in her courtyard.”

“That tree was lush and tall, standing in the center of the yard. You mentioned that locust trees belong to the yin element and shouldn’t be planted in homes. Then, by chance, you discovered a yellowed talisman pasted on one of the branches.”

“That talisman had strange red sigils, exactly the same as the ones on this one! I remember that dog-man Xie Jibai was there too—he said it was a summoning talisman!”

Ye Qingning remembered now. No wonder the sigils felt familiar. She had indeed seen them before—it was a Summoning and Gathering Yin Talisman.

Its purpose was to attract and concentrate evil yin energy, summoning nearby evil spirits and ghosts to gather at its location.

No wonder the sinister aura within the Yu residence had become stronger and stronger—it had everything to do with the talismans posted throughout the manor.

As for whether the other examinees had noticed the talismans were problematic, she couldn’t say for sure.

Firstly, only talisman cultivators might recognize the sigils, and even they might not.

After all, talismans came in many varieties—some were passed down through generations, some were long lost, and some existed only in ancient texts or legends.

There were even talismans created or modified by individual talisman masters, so not recognizing them was normal.

From her perspective, it was best if the other examinees didn’t recognize them. That way, she could quietly replace all the talismans in the manor without anyone competing for clues.

Since she already knew these summoning talismans were put up by the Daoist invited by the Second Madam, it was enough to prove that there was something wrong with this Daoist.

If she could find this person, she might obtain useful information.

After all, demons and evil spirits had been wreaking havoc in the city, with over a hundred deaths in just a few days. There had to be a reason behind it.

The Nine-Turn Reincarnation Bottle mentioned in the examination task might also be related to the evil spirits causing harm. Otherwise, why would they be asked to find this item?

It seemed she really needed to track down that Daoist.

Having made up her mind, Ye Qingning pasted one of her own warding talismans on the door, replacing the original Summoning and Gathering Yin Talisman.

In less than a quarter of an hour, she had deftly replaced fifteen talismans. Those she couldn’t replace, she still took down.

These summoning talismans couldn’t be discarded—she still had great use for them tonight!

Just as she finished stowing away the stack of summoning talismans, a gust of eerie wind blew past. The moment she sensed someone approaching, she immediately used Flowing Cloud Steps to hide her presence, concealing herself behind a large tree.

She suddenly felt like she was spying—or worse, sneaking around during some clandestine affair.

The night was dark as ink, and the hurried sound of footsteps grew closer. Soon, two men came running and stopped in the courtyard she was in.

The one being chased looked flustered and panicked, while the pursuer smiled like a proper villain, eyes gleaming with cunning.

“Junior Brother, hand over your identity token, and I can let you leave this trial realm with some dignity.” The man gripped his longsword tightly, his aura surging, exuding the air of a victor.

Upon hearing the keywords “junior brother” and “identity token,” Ye Qingning narrowed her eyes. She hadn’t expected to run into fellow examinees here—two of them, no less!

Unfortunately, just from their appearances, she couldn’t determine what identities they had drawn, nor did she know the names they were using in the secret realm. Otherwise, she could have quietly verified them right then and there.

What puzzled her was that verifying someone’s identity only required checking the back of her own token. So why did this sword cultivator insist on the other person handing over his token?

If she hadn’t already eliminated the scumbag and clearly remembered the rules of the trial, she would have thought she misunderstood something.

“What do you mean? If you want to eliminate me, just verify it. Why do you need my token?” The other man’s eyes were full of confusion, clearly not understanding the intent behind the demand.

“Junior Brother, you really are slow. You suspect I’m a demon, yet haven’t figured out how a demon gains points in this trial realm?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh well, since you’re about to be eliminated, I’ll let you die with some clarity.”

“In this trial realm, examinees who drew the identity of a demon can gain points by seizing the identity tokens of others. It’s the only one of the four roles that earns points through robbery.”

“In the cultivation world, the strong prey on the weak. Demonic cultivators are inherently evil, competitive, and ruthless. To achieve their goals, they use any means necessary. Stirring up strife is how they feed their ambition and desire. I may despise demonic cultivators, but I have to admit—I do quite like how their point system works in this trial.”

“You know I’m a sword cultivator and fond of combat. If we really fought, I might accidentally hurt you. Since you’ll be eliminated anyway, why not save us both the trouble and hand over your identity token obediently?”