Scatter Beans to Soldiers

Shu Village also has a ancestral hall.

It is the Zhang Family's ancestral hall, named Yongquan Hall.

Compared to the ancestral hall in Shu Village, this one is much simpler. Not to mention the ancestral hall of the Wang Family in Heng Village, it's probably not even as good as a regular branch ancestral hall of the Wang Family.

However, this is the resting place of the ancestors of the Zhang family in Xiaochuan Village. They believe that their ancestors have spirits and can bless their descendants. So, after Zhang Da was injured, the villagers, fearing they would scare his elderly mother, didn't want to carry him back to his home. Their first thought was to bring him to this ancestral hall.

They didn't expect someone else to be there already.

There were also two young Daoists. Judging by their Daoist robes and the headwear, they looked like the Talisman School their master had mentioned. One was in his early twenties, and the other looked only in his teens.

Seeing the group rush in, they quickly asked:

"What happened?"

"Injured by Yin Ghosts."

"Three Daoist friends are..."

"Mount Yi, Floating Hill Temple. This humble Daoist is Li Miaolin," Third Senior Brother stepped forward. "These are my junior brother and sister, here with the villagers to eliminate demons."

"Mount Qi Yun, Profound Heaven Temple. Qing Xuan," the Daoist in his early twenties stepped forward. "This is my junior brother, Ma Cunshu. Our master also sent us down the mountain for training after the villagers sought our help."

"Let's not talk about that for now!"

Several villagers hurriedly helped Zhang Da to sit down.

The torchlight illuminated the ancestral hall brightly, and the faded ancestral portraits stared down with evident concern.

Zhang Da's clothes on his chest were torn and stained red with a large patch of blood. Lifting his clothes revealed three shocking, neatly arranged wounds.

"What injured you?"

The Mount Qi Yun Daoist named Qing Xuan asked.

"Seems like a bird?"

Third Senior Brother frowned, not entirely sure.

Third Senior Brother's main cultivation was the "Bean Soldiers" method, a simplified version of the legendary Scatter Beans to Soldiers. This magic might be adept at warfare, defending cities, and conquering territories, or perhaps in combat, but it wasn't suited for dealing with Yin Ghosts. Furthermore, Zhang Da had walked ahead on his own and charged towards the Yin Ghost, making it difficult to react even for a seasoned cultivator.

The darkness had merged with the entity, and in the haste, only a general outline of its appearance could be discerned.

"A bird?"

Daoist Qing Xuan bent down to examine the wounds.

"Respected layman, you are the brave warrior that Layman Zhang mentioned on the road just now, aren't you? You were too reckless, too reckless! Since you asked the villagers to invite us, why didn't you wait for us to arrive?"

It seemed these two Daoists had also arrived after dark.

"I really couldn't stand it... and it's my fault for being too careless, I didn't expect something was hiding inside!" Zhang Da said in a low voice, his expression clear. "Is it serious?"

"The wounds aren't very deep. With your physique, you should recover with proper care. However, if it was an injury from a Yin entity, it's very likely to leave behind Yin Qi or Ghost Qi, which would be difficult to say." Daoist Qing Xuan said.

"It's Death Qi," Third Senior Brother stated.

"Death Qi?"

Daoist Qing Xuan's expression tensed.

He immediately took out several talismans from his robe, selected one, formed a sword finger with his fingers, held the talisman between them, chanted an incantation, and after a few shakes, the talisman ignited with a "peng" sound.

"Haste!"

He pressed the flame onto Zhang Da's chest in response.

"Chiii..."

Under the torchlight, black smoke visibly rose.

"This talisman of mine can summon pure spiritual energy, which should temporarily suppress the Death Qi. Once it's daytime, someone can be sent to invite my seniors from Profound Heaven Temple to treat it," Daoist Qing Xuan said.

Third Senior Brother leaned closer and also exhaled.

"I cultivate the Yin Yang Spiritual Law. This breath of pure Yin Yang Spiritual Charm also has some suppressive effect," Third Senior Brother said. "My junior brother is also skilled in medicine and can remove Death Qi."

"It depends on which one is closer."

"It's closer to Mount Qi Yun,"

an experienced villager said.

With that, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Jue began to observe the two Daoists.

He had no choice. They came from Mount Qi Yun, and when he left his village to seek immortality and the Dao, Mount Qi Yun was the first place he wanted to go.

It seemed the people of Xiaochuan Village had not only sought out Floating Hill Temple on Mount Yi but also the most famous Profound Heaven Temple on Mount Qi Yun. However, based on their words, they likely didn't hold out much hope that he could actually invite Daoists from Profound Heaven Temple. To their surprise, people from Mount Qi Yun had indeed come.

He saw it was also a senior brother leading a junior brother.

From what had happened earlier, it was clear that the Daoists from Mount Qi Yun possessed considerable skills, but they seemed to rely entirely on talismans. He himself lacked the ability to discern with his naked eye whether there was Yin Qi or Ghost Qi in the wounds.

He could only rely on experience to guess.

"Even if a normal bird achieved sentience and became a spirit, it wouldn't carry Death Qi. If it truly cultivated some ability using Death Qi, it probably wouldn't have just clawed him once. It's likely some kind of evil entity that coexists with Death Qi, disguised as a bird or inherently bird-like," Daoist Qing Xuan mused, truly possessing rich experience in eliminating demons and ghosts.

"It's highly possible," Third Senior Brother added. "I wonder if the Death Qi here nurtured it, or if it brought the Death Qi to this place. From what we see today, it hasn't fully matured yet and was in the process of cultivating when Zhang Da forced it out. It likely resents him for that."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but glance outside.

Outside, the night was thick and dark.

"If it knows we're here to deal with it and can no longer cultivate there, it might cause trouble tonight."

"What you say makes sense, fellow Daoist."

"It will either harm someone to vent its anger and then leave, or it will kill us and continue cultivating here," Third Senior Brother said calmly, showing no trace of his usual drunken demeanor.

However, his words greatly frightened the villagers in the ancestral hall and the young Taoist priests beside Qing Xuan.

"Since that's the case, let's discuss how to dispel the Yin Qi and Death Qi here and eliminate this evil entity," Qing Xuan said, his expression serene. He bowed and continued, "I hope you and I can work together."

"Eliminating harm for the people, no need for pleasantries."

Third Senior Brother, who had been speaking amicably and letting Lin Jue take the lead, became serious after seeing the strange bird.

"To be honest, before I came down the mountain, I had already sought guidance from the Divine Lord in our temple. However, at the time, I only thought it was some Yin Qi and residual souls, so I didn't take it too seriously," Qing Xuan said with some difficulty. "The talismans I brought are mostly for protection and to deter Yin Ghosts and residual souls."

"That's understandable. We also thought it was just some Yin Qi and residual souls, otherwise, I wouldn't have brought my junior brother and sister," Third Senior Brother said with a sigh. "The world is becoming more chaotic. Such things never happened before."

"Indeed..."

"Fellow Daoist Qing Xuan, do you have any good methods to dispel the Death Qi here?"

"We can only wait until tomorrow to set up an altar and request the Divine Lord's permission to borrow the divine power of the Thunder Generals under his command."

This implied there was no solution for tonight.

Third Senior Brother nodded without further comment. "In that case, tonight's matter is up to us!"

"Thank you, fellow Daoist!"

"Why such formality? We each have our strengths, so let's each do our part. I'll trouble you again tomorrow," Third Senior Brother returned the bow.

Lin Jue and Junior Sister also bowed in unison.

It seemed that Mount Qi Yun was also quite righteous.

It made sense. Although the cultivators of the Talisman School worshipped deities, their ultimate goal was to receive their own talismans, ascend to immortality after death, and join the ranks of the celestial beings. Therefore, when worshipping deities, they also had to cultivate their own character and virtue.

"Let me think..."

The torchlight illuminated the ancestral hall brightly as Third Senior Brother paced, lost in thought.

After thinking for a while, he couldn't come up with a good solution.

He turned to look at his junior brother.

He felt this junior brother was intelligent.

"The moment this thing was forced out, it risked everything to injure Zhang Da. It must resent him for disturbing its cultivation, or perhaps it was severely cursed by him. It's likely vengeful," Lin Jue said. Although he had only been cultivating at Floating Hill Temple for a short time, he had some experience dealing with demons and monsters. "If we go into the village, it might come here to find Zhang Da. If we stay here, it might cause trouble in the village!"

"Then what should we do?"

"I'm afraid we'll have to split up."

"Excellent! I thought so too!" Third Senior Brother exclaimed, clapping his hands. "It's not a big problem. I'll go outside to find it, and you all stay here. How about that?"

"You alone?"

Lin Jue's eyes widened.

Not only him, but everyone in the ancestral hall was surprised and looked at Third Senior Brother.

"Don't worry about me. Can you handle it?"

"I am not afraid."

Lin Jue's expression also turned serious.

"Then it's settled!"

Third Senior Brother unfastened a cloth bag from his waist. In the light of the many torches, he selected a few beans and threw them on the ground.

"Go!"

The beans grew the moment they left his hand, transforming into human figures upon landing.

In an instant, they turned into several armored warriors, each with a different appearance and style. Two were burly, clad in armor, and wielded long halberds. Two were short and stout, also wearing armor, holding a round shield in one hand and a long saber in the other. The remaining four were taller, holding powerful bows, with quivers full of carved feather arrows hanging from their waists.

Lin Jue was stunned.

Not only him, but the two from Mount Qi Yun were also shocked, and the villagers looked as if they had witnessed a miracle.

"Scatter Beans to Soldiers!"

The Taoist priests from Mount Qi Yun exclaimed.

"It's not the legendary one," Third Senior Brother said, looking at Lin Jue. "Don't be too surprised. There's something even better! My armored soldiers can be seconded. I'll leave two archers for you! Speak simply, and they will understand. Don't be too complex!"

He pointed to the two archers and then to Lin Jue:

"Brave warriors! Listen to him!"

"Chichi……"

The two archers immediately turned and strode forward, their heavy footsteps and the friction of their armor as they walked up to Lin Jue and stood at attention, staring directly at him.

"Regretting following Second Senior Brother to learn alchemy? What's so fun about that stuff!"

"Third Senior Brother, be serious……"

"Haha! Then be careful of everything!"

"Senior Brother, you be careful too."

"Got it……"

Third Senior Brother took out his wine gourd, shook it, saw there was still half a pot of fruit wine inside, and smiled in satisfaction before walking out.

"Evil creature! Grandpa's here to invite you for a drink!"

He walked out of the ancestral hall in a few steps, leaving the range of the firelight. Lin Jue saw him off at the entrance of the ancestral hall, faintly hearing him chant:

"Vast heaven and earth, spirits of this place, heed my command! Spiritual light like cleansing water, illuminating the darkness of eternity! Demonic ghosts, come forth, do not hide your forms from the light! Yin and Yang, three realms, my curse shall reveal your shape!"

He then saw him sprinkle a few beans, which transformed into armored soldiers to accompany him. The group grew larger and larger, armor clashing, footsteps heavy.

Lin Jue was both surprised and worried.

By now, he had heard that because their Sect Ancestor had lived a long life and died late, their Master was already quite old when he took over Floating Hill Temple. Only after becoming the temple master could he take disciples, so several of the Senior Brothers hadn't actually cultivated on the mountain for a particularly long time. Senior Brother had only been on the mountain for a little over ten years, and Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother for at most ten years.

Therefore, many of the Senior Brothers' Cultivation wasn't very high.

It was just that through his conversation with Daoist Wang Ji Zi of Immortal Source Temple, he had roughly guessed that there was another skill in the temple, which should only be passed down to the eldest disciple. This skill could help Floating Hill Temple select disciples with good talent.

Wang Ji Zi had always been very sour about this.

He hadn't expected that this Third Senior Brother would possess such a skill and such courage.

Lin Jue withdrew his gaze and looked at the two archers beside him. He saw that their bodies had a subtle wooden texture, while their armor gleamed with a metallic luster. He didn't know how they were made. Coupled with their robust and powerful builds, their steps felt solid and heavy, giving a strange sense of security.

Weren't they perhaps even more formidable than the elite soldiers in the imperial court?

He felt truly marvelous and pointed at Junior Sister. Thinking of Third Senior Brother's phrasing, he said to them:

"Brave sirs! Stand on either side of her!"

"Chichi……"

The two Bean Soldiers immediately stepped forward, positioning themselves on either side of Junior Sister, standing ready.

Magic was truly wondrous.