Old Devil and Little Devil

Old Devil and Little Devil

Treasures, spells, talismans, formations... to cultivators, they were all essentially the same.

The foundations of the Heavenly Dao had long been set: yin and yang divided, the five elements complete, and all things in the world contained within them.

All things under heaven and earth were a canvas, and spiritual energy was the paint.

Whether divinations, runes, or witchcraft incantations, they were all ways for cultivators to paint with spiritual energy.

The basic colors were all there; what they could paint depended entirely on their own skill.

Spells were difficult to master because they required painting in thin air.

Spiritual energy was inherently elusive and without anchor, so shaping it with a few strokes was very difficult. It was manageable when one could focus completely and control it carefully, but fights between cultivators were struggles to the death. The slightest difference meant the difference between life and death.

So one had to be not only fast, but accurate.

The Immobilization Curse was not particularly complicated. It consisted of only seventeen runes, but painting them quickly and accurately in thin air was no easy feat.

Following the instructions in the scripture, Chen Ye traced the runes with the spiritual energy in his body. But before he could finish the first rune, the spiritual energy he had laid down earlier had already dispersed.

That was to be expected. Spells were hardly easy to master. Without years of practice, how could anyone wield them proficiently? That was why cultivators rarely hurled out a whole mess of random spells when fighting.

In truth, they might have only three or five spells they could actually use. High-level cultivators lived longer and knew more spells, but most of the time, they still relied on the ones they knew best.

Chen Ye neither rushed nor slacked off. Keeping a steady frame of mind, he practiced as he walked, and soon made progress.

Several hours passed. At first, he couldn't finish even a single rune; now, he could complete two in a row. It was clear progress.

He just didn't know what he was doing wrong. Whenever Chen Ye practiced the Immobilization Curse, he felt that his dantian and qi sea were being affected.

As his spiritual energy dwindled, the qi sea spun at varying speeds, sometimes faster and sometimes slower.

According to Mo Ci, once the qi sea formed, it was difficult to influence it through external forces. Each revolution of the qi sea absorbed a measure of spiritual energy. When that energy flowed into it, the qi sea grew a little stronger, and the cycle repeated.

Later on, each revolution might absorb ten or even a hundred measures of spiritual energy. That was how one cultivated in the Qi Sea Realm.

A few rare heavenly treasures could shorten the process, but most Rogue Cultivators could only endure and build up their reserves little by little.

Without pills to help, by ordinary reckoning, cultivating to the peak of the Qi Sea Realm would take thirty years at the quickest, a hundred at the slowest.

It was difficult to use one's thoughts to push the qi sea into motion. Only the great sects and clans possessed secret methods passed down through their lineages. It was said that the renowned Qinghe Sword Art included a way to speed up cultivation. The former Qinghe Sect Master had advanced from the Qiling Realm to the Tongxuan Realm in only half a year.

Su Chunyi was at least in the Tongxuan Realm, and she didn't look like some several-hundred-year-old crone. Whether she'd relied on secret techniques or pills, it was truly enviable.

But Mo Ci was only a Rogue Cultivator. He didn't know any such secret techniques, and naturally, neither did Chen Ye.

If cultivators found a blessed spot with good feng shui, secluded themselves for decades, and neither meddled in worldly affairs nor expended spiritual energy, their cultivation would naturally progress faster. But for someone like Chen Ye, who practiced both treasures and spells, who knew how many years he would waste?

Still, sharpening the blade wouldn't delay the chopping of firewood. Once he'd honed his fighting skills, he could set up a pill furnace as soon as he managed to seize suitable heavenly treasures. Taking pills to cultivate was far faster than meditating in seclusion.

The choice was up to each person.

Chen Ye would definitely choose pills. No matter how gifted he was, he couldn't just wait his way to Dao Integration and eternal life.

He'd have to compete with others for heavenly treasures sooner or later. He might as well practice more now, so he wouldn't be left drooling over other people taking pills and ascending after losing a fight.

And the Immobilization Curse was truly strange. It was hard for cultivators to make their qi sea actively absorb spiritual energy, yet tracing a few runes could make it spin faster or slower?

The changes weren't obvious, but at least they worked. If he could figure out why, wouldn't he be able to speed it up or slow it down whenever he wanted?

"Isn't this supposed to be a secret technique that acts on the soul? How does it do that?"

Chen Ye had read plenty of books, but he couldn't figure it out in a short time. All he could do was keep practicing and think it over carefully later.

Distractedly doing two things at once, Chen Ye had already descended the mountain and was following the path.

Practicing as he walked, Chen Ye didn't feel bored. If anything, he rather enjoyed it.

Before he knew it, he had reached the gates of Cui County again.

Several days had passed since he left Cui County. Before, Chen Ye had deliberately asked Su Chunyi to lift the illusion, then ridden the sword's light into the sky in front of the watching crowd. There had been plenty of onlookers at the teahouse then. After all this time, the story of an immortal riding a sword had probably spread in dozens of different versions.

Now that he was back in Cui County, he ought to be able to enter the circle of the rich and powerful without trouble, which would make investigating things much easier.

The prosperous county was always bustling with traffic, but seeing it again today, Chen Ye felt something was off.

He looked around and noticed twice as many guards at the gate, with mounted patrols passing by much more frequently.

As Chen Ye approached the city gate, he stood out at once: a young Daoist carrying a long black-and-white banner. A soldier immediately fixed his eyes on him, watching his every move.

Chen Ye didn't try to avoid him. Instead, he walked over with a smile, intending to ask around.

The young soldier had been watching Chen Ye warily, but when Chen Ye came closer and he got a clear look at his face, his gaze went blank for a moment, as though he'd seen something unbelievable.

Chen Ye noticed his expression and immediately felt that something was wrong.

He flicked the long banner across the soldier's line of sight. By the time it moved away, Chen Ye had wrapped his face up tightly, leaving only his eyes exposed.

The soldier finally came to his senses, but he still stared at Chen Ye in disbelief, as if trying to confirm whether what he'd just seen was real.

Chen Ye thought, Master told me to cover my face. He wasn't joking. But what on earth is wrong with my face?

Seeing the soldier sizing him up, looking as if he meant to lift Chen Ye's face covering, Chen Ye hurriedly slipped him a few pieces of silver and asked, "Good sir, I'm new to your fair county. Cui County's heavily guarded. Has something major happened?"

Perhaps feeling the weight in his hand, the soldier remained puzzled but leaned in and quietly told Chen Ye, "Princess Hongyu is about to arrive. We're all here to welcome her procession. If you want to enter the city, hurry. We don't know when the princess will arrive, and as soon as the messenger comes, the gates will be closed to ordinary people."

"Princess Hongyu?"

Chen Ye remembered the name. Cui County was exceptionally wealthy because it was Princess Hongyu's fief. But the princess was still young and had always lived in the imperial palace.

Why had Princess Hongyu come to her fief at such a sensitive time?

Could the forced conscription of boys and girls really be connected to the imperial court?

Chen Ye didn't dare linger. Keeping his head down, he blended into the crowd and entered Cui County.

He soon reached the teahouse he'd visited before.

When Chen Ye left last time, he'd deliberately left a bundle here. It contained no particularly valuable treasures; he'd only wanted the teahouse owner to remember him and remember how he and Su Chunyi had ridden the sword's light into the azure sky.

Now that he'd returned, retrieving the bundle was just an excuse. What he really wanted was to see how famous he'd become.

But to find that out, he'd probably have to show his face.

"What on earth is wrong with my face?"

Chen Ye didn't dare do anything rash. He bought a mirror, found a secluded corner, removed his face covering, and carefully examined his reflection.

After looking for a long while, Chen Ye could only frown and reach one conclusion: "I'm still as handsome as ever."

As far as Chen Ye could tell, spending several days sleeping rough in the wilderness hadn't changed a thing about him. His features hadn't changed at all.

At a loss, Chen Ye could only shake his banner and call out, "Master, wake up! What's wrong with my face?"

Mo Ci seemed to have been roused from sleep by Chen Ye's pestering. He couldn't help cursing, "You little wretch, your master's nearly dead, and you still won't let me sleep in peace!"

"Master, you said it yourself. At this point, sleeping or not sleeping hardly makes a difference."

Mo Ci snapped, "You ungrateful wretch! If I still had my cultivation, I'd refine your very soul!"

Chen Ye wasn't falling for that. He was the one holding the Ten Thousand Soul Banner now, after all.

"Master, why can't you just explain things in one go? Why do you always have to keep me in the dark? If you'd just told me clearly, I wouldn't have had to wake you. Now tell me what's wrong with my face. It looks fine to me, but people keep giving me strange looks."

Mo Ci burst out laughing. "You brat, I told you to cover your face, but you wouldn't listen. Now you're in trouble, aren't you?"

Chen Ye hurriedly said, "Master, stop stringing me along. Just tell me straight, then you can go back to sleep."

"Hmph. You deserve it for not listening to your master." Though Mo Ci mocked him, he still explained, "You've only just condensed your qi sea. Spiritual energy naturally gathers around you, seeping in through your limbs, your bones, even your skin and hair, constantly cleansing your body.

"Mortals can't see spiritual energy, but your stinking hide is being bathed in it every moment. To them, you look like you're glowing. And that's not all. As your body's cleansed, the foul air you breathe out also contains traces of spiritual energy. Ordinary people can't smell it, but once they breathe it in, they naturally feel kindly toward you.

"If you had an ordinary face, it wouldn't matter much. You'd just look a little more like an immortal. But your face... it really does have some of your master's old charm. The effect is especially strong. When ordinary people see you, they think a god has descended to earth, and they'll remember you for the rest of their lives.

"If you run into a woman with weak resolve and a frail soul, all you have to do is get close and smile at her. She'll be so bewitched she won't know which way is up, and she'll obey your every command. Many demonic sects' methods of harvesting yin to replenish yang work especially well in the Qi Condensation Realm. Once your body has finished being tempered, the glow will disappear, the fragrance will fade, and you'll need spells to bewitch anyone."

Chen Ye was stunned. It was like a beauty filter—no, not just a filter, but one that came with an alluring body fragrance.

Chen Ye asked again, "Master, how long will this last?"

Mo Ci replied, "You have a Pure Yang Body, and you're young, with few impurities in your body. At most, it'll last a month."

Chen Ye mused, "A month, huh? That should be enough."

What mischief was that brat plotting now?