Nickname

He Yuqing saw Shi Xuan looking at her and quickly lowered her head, stammering, "I just wanted to assist you, senior..."

Shi Xuan sighed helplessly. There was nothing he could do about such coincidental events. Fortunately, he had a backup plan. He took out a Soul Sealing Ghost Summoning Talisman from his hidden pouch and walked around Liang Shenglou in the pattern of the Heavenly Dipper, chanting incantations. The talisman in his sleeve emitted a soft glow, then sank slightly. Shi Xuan knew the soul had been successfully collected.

He Dahai and He Yuqing watched Shi Xuan walk around Liang Shenglou with strange steps and mutter to himself. They found it a bit odd but didn't think too much of it. After all, the talisman's glow wasn't strong and was mostly hidden by his sleeve. It was normal for seniors with profound martial arts to have peculiar behaviors; it would be abnormal if they didn't.

Returning to the campfire, Shi Xuan looked at the "Longevity Treasury" he had tossed onto the ground. He thought of Liang Shenglou's crazy eyes just now, and the betrayals, murders, and schemes of people in the past for this treasure. For some reason, he remembered a joke he had read before and immediately made a decision.

Picking up the "Longevity Treasury," Shi Xuan flipped it open. He silently mobilized the Five Elements power within his body and performed an imprint technique. This was a very basic spell, so it didn't require soul power or incantations. It was mainly used by cultivators to imprint ancient texts.

Shi Xuan concentrated and imprinted eight characters on the blank space at the beginning of the first page. Reading them in order, they were: "To practice the divine art, swing the knife and castrate yourself." Well, this ancient text is already difficult to get started with. If one actually castrates themselves, they might achieve a state of purity and detachment, and perhaps it would even be effective. Anyone who stumbles upon this book in the future will have to fend for themselves.

After imprinting, Shi Xuan closed the treasury and threw the book more than two zhang past the campfire. Seeing the confused expressions of He Dahai and He Yuqing beside him, he slowly said, "This secret manual is of little use to me. I was just observing the different paths of martial arts taken by seniors to verify my own learning. Now that I've finished, I'm naturally discarding it."

Upon hearing this, not only He Dahai and He Yuqing beside him, but also the rest of the escort agency who had been paying attention to this side were utterly shocked. Then, their expressions turned fervent, and they stared intently at the "Longevity Treasury" on the ground. If not for Shi Xuan's other arrangements, they would have likely started fighting over it.

Seeing their expressions, Shi Xuan shook his head and smiled. "You should all think carefully. If you truly obtain this secret manual, you might not be able to enjoy your current lives anymore. Furthermore, you'll be hunted everywhere, unable to eat, sleep, or drink in peace. No matter where you hide, you'll be found. Your fathers, mothers, wives, sons, and daughters will be captured to threaten you. Are you sure you can escape? Even then, you might not be able to cultivate it successfully. Alright, do you really want this secret manual?"

Shi Xuan's words were like a splash of cold water, extinguishing some of the desires in everyone's minds. However, looking at the treasury on the ground, they felt unwilling. While they hesitated, a figure lunged forward and snatched the "Longevity Treasury," rushing towards the door. It was Du Yuhan, who had retreated to the corner earlier.

Everyone watched Du Yuhan snatch the secret manual and was instantly enraged. However, Du Yuhan's Lightness Skill was indeed extraordinary, and his martial arts were superior to everyone else's. Within a few breaths, he had rushed out the door and disappeared into the torrential rain.

Seeing that they couldn't catch up, He Yuqing turned to look at the majestically seated Shi Xuan and said somewhat petulantly, "Senior, look, he stole the secret manual!"

Shi Xuan laughed, "Since he obtained it, it's his destiny. Ha! Haha!" The more he thought about it, the funnier it became, and his previously gloomy mood improved greatly.

Unsure what Shi Xuan was laughing about, the escort agency members felt both lost and regretful. The night's experience was like an unbelievable dream, starting with terror, then shock and relief, followed by ecstasy, and finally a mixture of disappointment and regret. In this situation, they hadn't even noticed Cheng Ying, the young pageboy, secretly escape through the window. Shi Xuan had noticed but had no intention of intervening.

By the time the escort agency members came to their senses, the person was long gone. They returned to the campfire dejectedly. In the following hours, He Yuqing thought of coming to Shi Xuan several times, but seeing him meditating with his eyes closed and ignoring everyone, she couldn't muster the courage.

Unknowingly, the sky began to lighten.

Seeing that the rain outside had stopped, Shi Xuan waved his hand, extinguished the campfire, and stood up. He nodded slightly at the escort agency members looking at him, cupped his fists, and said, "Everyone, we met by chance on the road. I bid you farewell here."

He Dahai suddenly had an epiphany and rushed to kneel before Shi Xuan, kowtowing repeatedly, "Please take my daughter as your disciple. Please take my daughter as your disciple." He kept pulling He Yuqing's sleeve. After He Yuqing came to her senses, she gritted her teeth and also knelt down, "Please take this junior as your disciple..."

Shi Xuan was startled. He never expected to be asked to take a disciple. However, he barely had enough time for his own pursuit of immortality and cultivation, and he didn't want to take on a disciple to make things difficult for himself. Moreover, he didn't like He Yuqing's personality, so he had no intention of teaching her the "Returning to Truth Scripture." After some thought, he slightly raised his hand to stop He Dahai and He Yuqing from kowtowing and said, "This humble Taoist prefers the mountains and wilderness, free from restraint, and has important matters to attend to. It is inconvenient to take a disciple. Besides, I received some secret manuals yesterday. Why doesn't Miss He choose one to cultivate?"

Seeing Shi Xuan's firm attitude, He Dahai and He Yuqing dared not insist. After all, his martial arts were incredibly high, and if they angered him, their lives would be in danger.

After standing up, He Yuqing walked obediently to Shi Xuan's side and then half-squatted to search among the few secret manuals. After a moment of hesitation, she chose one and said to Shi Xuan, "Senior, this junior will choose this one."

Shi Xuan glanced at it. It was the "Sun Gazing Swordsmanship" found on Gao Wenqi. He casually took it and flipped through it. It was indeed a good secret manual that cultivated both internal energy and swordsmanship. He then handed it back to He Yuqing and pointed out several crucial points of the martial art. He Yuqing, filled with gratitude yet also a hint of unwillingness, retreated after receiving his guidance.

Shi Xuan looked at the remaining four secret manuals at his feet and said to the escort agency members, "Why don't Chief Escort He, Escort He, and Escort Xu each choose one? The last one can be cultivated by all the escort guards together."

Everyone was overjoyed. He Dahai chose Peng Tianxiao's saber manual, while He Xiangshan and Xu Ying each took a secret manual found on the black-clothed men. For them, these were exactly what they lacked to further improve their martial arts, and they were immensely grateful to Shi Xuan. As for the remaining escort guards and porters, they worshipped Shi Xuan. In their lives, they had never expected to get their hands on an internal energy secret manual, but now they had obtained a profound manual that could cultivate them to the Minor Heavenly Cycle realm, where all Eight Extraordinary Meridians were unblocked. The turning point of their lives was right before them.

"Now that you have the secret manuals, I'll take the silver. This is my reward for my efforts." Shi Xuan bent down and put the silver into his pouch. It was about a hundred taels. Perhaps because they were out on a mission to hunt someone, they hadn't brought much silver, so Shi Xuan's gains were not substantial.

Everyone said that the senior wanted them to feel at ease taking the secret manuals, unaware that Shi Xuan was genuinely short on money.

After taking the silver and putting his pouch back on, Shi Xuan didn't say goodbye again. He turned and walked out of the temple. The crowd waited until the Taoist senior was nearing the temple gate before realizing they hadn't asked for his name. He Yuqing quickly stepped forward, "Senior, may I know your esteemed name? Please tell us so we can be eternally grateful in our hearts."

Shi Xuan had no intention of telling them his name. He then remembered how, during his university days, his roommates would jokingly call him "Evil King" after reading "The Legend of the Tang Dynasty Double Dragons," teasing him. What evil king? His name is just one character off.

The escort agency members watched the senior walk out gracefully, his figure disappearing into the distance, leaving only a lingering sentence behind.

"Just call me 'Evil King'."

He Dahai came back to his senses and said hesitantly, "Could it be that the senior is from a demonic sect? No wonder we've never heard of such a person in the martial arts world. Demonic sects have always been secretive."

He Yuqing savored the memory, "Regardless, the senior saved our lives. Today, I realized what heights martial arts can reach. I was truly too arrogant before."

"Yes, niece Yuqing is right. Boss, why should we worry about this?" Xu Ying said happily, holding the secret manual.

"I'm somewhat fearful. Fortunately, we knew our limits before and didn't bother the senior. You know, people from demonic sects are unpredictable," He Dahai recalled the situation of begging to be taken as a disciple earlier.

He Xiangshan, who had been silent, suddenly said in a low voice, "Boss, should we...?" His gaze pointed towards the escort guards and porters who were happily, and even starting to recite the secret manual, nearby.

He Dahai was silent for a moment before replying in a low voice, "No. After all, our secret manuals are more precious. There's no need to covet that one. Once they cultivate that secret manual, they will be even less likely to reveal what we obtained today. Besides, what if the senior decides to visit us on a whim someday?"

He Yuqing finally realized what they were talking about and found it incredible. She never imagined human hearts could be so complicated. Her mind was in turmoil, and she didn't know what to say, yet she felt as if she had grown up a lot overnight.

He Xiangshan nodded, "Boss, you're right." Secretly, he exchanged a look with Xu Ying behind He Dahai's back. The two then revealed relieved and relaxed smiles.

After leaving the dilapidated temple, Shi Xuan sprinted towards the forest. He stopped only when he found a place so dark that no light could penetrate. He took out the talisman from his hidden pouch, chanted an incantation, and then threw the talisman forward. A puff of black smoke erupted, and Liang Shenglou's figure flickered within the smoke.

Because he was bound by the Soul Sealing Ghost Summoning Curse, Shi Xuan didn't need to activate his heavenly eye to see Liang Shenglou's ghost. Seeing that Liang Shenglou's ghost was still in a daze, Shi Xuan said loudly, "Mr. Liang, now you should tell this humble Taoist about Guangyang Hermit, shouldn't you?" PS: The power is back.