Chapter 63 – Speech Talisman: They’ve Really Changed

Lian Mu and Luo Qianxue exchanged a glance: “……”

The Artifact Refiner from Chixiao Sect swept his gaze over the two of them. He didn’t recognize anyone from the Gui Xian Sect, but when he had previously encountered Luo Qianxue, she’d had a team with her. So he pretended to be passing by, while secretly observing from the shadows.

Clearly, this team wasn’t very strong—taking so long just to deal with a single snow velvet butterfly nest.

He raised his hand, calling forth three Body Cultivators. “Not handing it over? Then die together.”

Luo Qianxue was already prepared to draw her sword.

Lian Mu took a step back, moving beside Luo Qianxue, and said quietly, “Something’s off.”

Luo Qianxue frowned slightly, tilting her head and signaling for the others in the team to go block them.

“What do you mean?”

Lian Mu glanced behind them. Luo Qianxue immediately understood, stepping out to face off directly with the Chixiao Sect: “Just you lot? Don’t you know your own limits?”

She drew her sword and charged toward the Chixiao Sect cultivators.

This Chixiao Sect squad had more Body Cultivators and only one Sword Cultivator. Luo Qianxue engaged the Sword Cultivator, while the other sword cultivators in the team went to hold off the body cultivators.

The scene was total chaos. Lian Mu dragged along a Talisman Cultivator from her own sect and quietly slipped away while no one was paying attention.

The Talisman Cultivator had no idea what was going on—before he could react, someone had pressed down on his shoulder and stolen the teleportation talisman from his robe.

A moment later, the talisman was ignited, and the two of them were transported to another location. Since teleportation talismans could only take you to places you’d already visited, they didn’t get far—just back near the snow velvet butterfly nest.

“Send a message to the First-Seat team now, tell them to get here fast,” Lian Mu said.

The Talisman Cultivator looked puzzled. “Why?”

“We’re close to the Ice-Core Flower.”

Just as she said that, a message came through on the Spirit Jade Token—Qingxuan Sect had already picked the first Ice-Core Flower.

Lian Mu said, “They came to block us—this was ordered by their First-Seat team.”

Lian Mu had previously heard Xu Xianxing mention Chixiao Sect’s reputation. Chixiao Sect only took other strong sects seriously—besides Qingxuan Sect, they didn’t care about anyone else.

Although Chixiao Sect was infamous among the four great sects for stirring up trouble, they only did so when it was to their own advantage.

A random Chixiao Sect squad suddenly showing up to rob them for a bit of spiritual material didn’t fit their usual lofty, aloof style of meddling from a distance.

Something was definitely hidden nearby—and Chixiao Sect had already discovered it. They just didn’t want anyone else getting close.

“Did the message go through?”

The Talisman Cultivator stowed his talisman and nodded. “Chief Bai Li said they’re almost here. Told us to hold out a bit longer.”

“Good,” Lian Mu also drew her sword. “Let’s go back. I’d like to see just how capable these Chixiao Sect people really are.”

It was the first time anyone had dared to try and rob her.

An hour later, Gui Xian Sect’s First-Seat team arrived at the location indicated by the spirit talisman and regrouped with the Second-Seat team.

The moment they saw Lian Mu and the others, they also noticed that there was more than just their own sect present—on the ground lay a whole row of… shirtless people.

“All cleaned out?”

“Pretty much. These guys were pathetic—barely brought anything.” Luo Qianxue weighed the Spatial Pouch in her hand, then turned and noticed the First-Seat team had arrived.

Lian Mu dumped all the contents of the pouch together and looked at Bai Li Que. “What’s your status?”

Bai Li Que replied, “Killed several groups of magical beasts on the way. The spiritual energy trail from the Ice-Core Flower is getting stronger. The first bloom was already picked by Qingxuan Sect.”

The Ice-Core Flower, from sprouting to blooming, attracts many magical beasts. These beasts carry the flower’s leaked spiritual energy around, making its aura most intense at full bloom. Once the first flower is picked, the plant enters a short dormancy while it prepares to bloom again.

Their hour-long trek had landed them right in time for the flower’s next blooming phase.

But Xu Xianxing was more interested in the people lying on the ground. He squatted down and swept his gaze over them. “Chixiao Sect?”

Luo Qianxue: “Yep. Tried to rob us midway, but they sucked and got themselves wrecked.”

Ji Mingyue: “……”

Why strip them, though?

She couldn’t really figure it out.

The Chixiao Sect cultivators lying in the snow all looked furious, but their teeth were chattering from the cold.

The artifact refiner—who’d been stripped down the most—glared at Lian Mu, eyes practically spitting fire. “Just you wait! Our First-Seat will make you pay!”

Lian Mu’s face was expressionless. “Oh.”

Chixiao Sect Artifact Refiner: “!!!”

Ji Mingyue: “……”

Alright. If it was Lian Mu who did it, then… not surprising at all.

“Tsk.” Wen Yun was dying of laughter. That guy was always full of mischief and loved causing trouble. “What should we do with these guys? Just sending them back seems like a waste.”

Guan Huailin said, “It’s so cold… maybe we should just send them…” back.

Xu Xianxing suggested, “How about we make them scout ahead when the snow starts falling?”

Ji Mingyue: “Throw them into a magical beast nest as bait.”

“You guys are way too kind,” said Wen Yun. “Aren’t these the ones who love stirring the pot? Let’s have them spread some fake intel to the rest of Chixiao Sect.”

Bai Li Que: “Or just make them our slaves. Simpler.”

Guan Huailin: “?”

Lian Mu thought it over, then said, “We’ve already taken everything useful off them. Just leave them here. Bai Li Que, got any tricks to make that guy talk?”

She pointed at the Chixiao Sect artifact refiner.

Bai Li Que, being a Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator, wouldn’t have much trouble dealing with a dual-root artifact refiner. He asked, “What do you want to do?”

“It’s nothing, I just wanted to bump into some other Chixiao Sect squads,” said Lian Mu. “And borrow a few things while we’re at it.”

Wen Yun understood immediately. “I’ll go with you.”

In the first illusion round, the four major sects were all given the same amount of spiritual materials and herbs. Only in the later rounds would allocation be based on ranking. So there were only two ways to stockpile supplies: one, through ranking; two, by taking them.

The more you snatched early on, the bigger your advantage later.

Baili Que immediately pulled out a talisman paper. Spiritual energy gathered at his fingertip as he drew a complex talisman, then slapped it onto the mouth of the Chixiao Sect artifact refiner.

“Junior Brother Baili, isn’t this a bit much?” Guan Huailin recognized the talisman. It was a Speech talisman, used for forced interrogation—anyone branded with it had to answer the question asked, or they’d suffer excruciating pain.

This type of talisman was extremely high-grade and could only be used by those with a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Most wouldn’t use it to suppress others—it earned too many enemies.

“What’s so bad about it?” Ji Mingyue said, arms crossed, watching with interest. “The elders never banned Speech talismans, and we’ve got a Heavenly Root talisman cultivator. This is perfect.”

Xu Xianxing preemptively covered his ears. “When he starts screaming, someone remember to gag him.”

Lian Mu hoisted up the Chixiao Sect artifact refiner so Baili Que could interrogate him.

The rest of the Chixiao team glared fiercely. “How dare you!”

Wen Yun rushed up and kicked a few of them. “You got caught, so shut up and take it.”

He had never been one for unnecessary words. If it could be done with fists, he didn’t waste time with his mouth. After a few kicks, the Chixiao disciples were nearly coughing blood.

Guan Huailin and Luo Qianxue fell silent. “…”

Luo Qianxue wasn’t too shaken. The most shocked was Guan Huailin.

Until now, he’d thought these junior disciples of his had just entered the cultivation world and were still innocent and pure of heart.

But one glance around, and only Xu Xianxing’s expression could still be considered “pure.” The other four all looked like: if you don’t spill, we’ll beat you to death.

Guan Huailin: “…” So this is what everyone’s really like?

Baili Que showed no mercy. He pushed his spiritual power to the max. The person on the receiving end was an artifact refiner—he couldn’t withstand this kind of torment. It didn’t take long before he spilled the whereabouts of nearby Chixiao Sect squads.

Of course, the whereabouts of the main team wouldn’t be shared with a minor squad like this. Baili Que only got partial info, which he passed on to another talisman cultivator.

Baili Que: “Go with her. She’ll lead the way.”

Lian Mu and Wen Yun decided to go together and left with the talisman cultivator.

With the main team missing a body cultivator, Luo Qianxue stepped in to fill the gap.

Guan Huailin stayed silent for a moment, then said nothing at all, leading his group onward to search for the Ice Core Flower.

—

—

“Chixiao Sect’s coming out soon.”

Outside the illusion, in the Qingxuan Sect’s rest area, all Qingxuan disciples had safely exited.

This round, Qingxuan Sect had been the fastest, once again taking first place as in previous years.

Each of the four major sects had its own rest area. At this point, only Qingxuan’s was crowded. The Wunian Sect’s area had a few dozen people, one of whom—a furious artifact refiner—was loudly cursing the Gui Xian Sect.

“People from Gui Xian Sect are just shameless!”

“That Second-Seat Sword Cultivator of theirs—absolutely outrageous! Bullying an artifact refiner like me? Despicable!”

Qingxuan’s chief body cultivator Gu Qingyu passed by and heard the ruckus. When he returned to his sect’s rest area, he asked the chief artifact refiner beside him, “What’s Wunian Sect yelling about now?”

Yuan Hui was repairing Feng Yunyì’s pill furnace—it had been damaged when they encountered a magical beast in the illusion. He didn’t even look up. “Who knows? Isn’t that just how Wunian is? Can’t win a fight, so they start yelling. Only Gui Xian Sect would even deal with them.”

Feng Yunyì leaned lazily against the wall, idly twirling a plum blossom he’d plucked. “Their sect master and elders don’t manage a thing, no wonder their disciples turned out like that. What a disgrace.”

“Their chief team this year isn’t too bad,” said Jiang Yuechen, Qingxuan’s top talisman cultivator. “Isn’t Wunian Sect’s chief alchemy cultivator your sister? They’re even cursing her?”

Feng Yunyì: “…”

Jiang Yuechen was watching a recording stone in front of her. Ever since she came out, she’d been monitoring the other sects’ footage. “Gui Xian Sect really is acting strange this year. They used a Speech talisman on a Chixiao Sect artifact refiner in the illusion.”

The moment she said it, the other Qingxuan chief disciples all looked over.

“A Speech talisman?” Gu Qingyu narrowed his eyes. “As expected of the Baili family’s heir—not afraid of making enemies at all.”

Ying You looked at the image on the recording stone. “…Are they retaliating against Chixiao Sect?”

Years ago, a Chixiao Sect chief talisman cultivator used a Speech talisman on someone from Gui Xian Sect. The victim was also an artifact refiner. That refiner had bled from all seven orifices from the torment and was already blind when he was carried out.

But few knew about it. That year had been Chixiao Sect’s golden age—they were nearly overtaking Qingxuan. One of Chixiao’s elders had stepped in and covered the incident up. Eventually, it was forgotten.

Because of that elder’s intervention, no Heavenly Root talisman cultivator had dared to use one since. An unspoken understanding had formed, though the use of Speech talismans was never explicitly forbidden.

“Using that talisman to force information wasn’t even Baili Que’s idea,” Jiang Yuechen said. “It was their Second-Seat Sword Cultivator who suggested it. Judging by their actions, they probably don’t know about that old incident. I think they just wanted to rob them.”

Gu Qingyu: “They’re just trying to loot people, and they’d risk offending Chixiao Sect over it? Don’t they know who’s backing Chixiao?”

Jiang Yuechen: “It wasn’t just that. They even stripped Chixiao Sect’s people in the snow.”

Gu Qingyu: “?”

Feng Yunyì sighed. “They’ve really changed.”

Ying You withdrew his gaze and said slowly, “Conflicts between other sects are best left alone. If we run into them in future illusion rounds and they have nothing to do with us, just ignore them.”