Rong Jiaojiao pushed open the door, and a faint scent of ink wafted towards her.

The shop was filled with various antiques and calligraphy and paintings, but Rong Jiaojiao was not interested in them.

Welcome!

As I was looking around, a gentle voice came from behind the counter.

A middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit stood up to greet her. When he saw the Xuanmen badge on Rong Jiaojiao's collar, a smile appeared on his face. "Comrade, you've arrived. Please follow me."

His tone was so familiar, as if they had met many times before. Rong Jiaojiao nodded slightly and followed him through a small door in the corner into the inner room.

The room was dimly lit, and various talismans, cinnabar, and talisman brushes were neatly displayed on an old wooden shelf.

The man then spoke: "I wonder what you would like, my friend?"

Rong Jiaojiao took out two boxes and opened them; inside were two mature spiritual herbs.

"Here is an Ice Spirit Grass and a Flame Grass, both used to aid cultivation. Please see how many high-level talismans we can exchange for them, senior."

The middle-aged cultivator was at the mid-stage of the Xuan Master realm, and Rong Jiaojiao didn't hesitate to address him as a senior.

The middle-aged man took the box, carefully examined the two spiritual herbs, and nodded in satisfaction: "These two spiritual herbs are of excellent quality. Ice Spirit Grass and Flame Grass are both rare auxiliary spiritual herbs that are of great benefit to cultivators."

He raised his head, a hint of seriousness in his eyes: "How many high-level talismans would you like to exchange, fellow Daoist?"

Rong Jiaojiao smiled slightly: "I need some high-grade talisman paper, the more the better. Also, if you have any, I'd like to see some mid-grade talisman paper."

The middle-aged man nodded, turned around and took out one or two wooden boxes from behind the counter. He gently opened them, and inside were neatly arranged talismans that emitted a faint spiritual aura.

“These are all made from the finest spirit bamboo. Each one contains powerful spiritual energy and is very suitable for drawing high-level talismans.” The middle-aged man handed the wooden box to Rong Jiaojiao. “High-grade talisman paper costs ten spirit stones per sheet, and mid-grade talisman paper costs three spirit stones per sheet. These can be exchanged for a total of thirty high-grade talisman papers and fifty mid-grade talisman papers.”

Rong Jiaojiao took the wooden box and carefully examined the talismans inside.

She discovered that these talismans were indeed of fine texture and had stable spiritual energy fluctuations, clearly indicating that they had been carefully crafted.

“These talisman papers are really good.” Rong Jiaojiao nodded in approval. “I’ll exchange them.”

She then took out some mid-grade Heavenly Thunder Talismans and Blazing Flame Talismans and said, "Senior, please take a look at these talismans of mine. I would like to exchange them for mid-grade talisman paper."

Upon seeing the talisman, the middle-aged man asked in surprise, "Could it be that you are from the Xuanqing Sect of the Snowy Immortal Mountain?"

Rong Jiaojiao asked in confusion, "How did you figure that out, senior?"

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "My Mo family has had business dealings with the Xuanqing Sect for many years, but we don't know who your master is, Fairy?"

Rong Jiaojiao felt there was nothing to hide about this, and thinking of her master, she said with a little pride, "My master is Leng Muqing."

This was the name of her master that she learned from her grand-nephew, Leng Tianyou.

Seeing the man deep in thought, Rong Jiaojiao added, "In the cultivation world, he's known as Qing Xuanzi."

The man exclaimed in sudden realization, "No wonder you have such a fine talisman, young friend. You are a disciple of Senior Qingxuanzi."

A hint of respect flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes. "Senior Qingxuanzi's mastery of talismans has already reached its peak, so his disciple is naturally exceptionally talented as well."

Rong Jiaojiao smiled and said modestly, "You flatter me, senior. I still have many shortcomings."

The middle-aged man took the talismans handed to him by Rong Jiaojiao, examined them carefully, and said, "These talismans are of superior quality, each containing powerful spiritual energy. There are fifty mid-grade Heavenly Thunder Talismans and fifty mid-grade Blazing Flame Talismans. According to market price, one can be exchanged for five. What do you think, young friend?"

Rong Jiaojiao nodded: "Okay."

He put the talismans away, then took out a larger wooden box from under the counter and handed it to Rong Jiaojiao: "There are five hundred medium-grade talismans here, plus the ones we exchanged before, making a total of five hundred and fifty."

He then put in thirty more high-grade talismans before handing the wooden box to Rong Jiaojiao.

Rong Jiaojiao took the wooden box and nodded in satisfaction: "Thank you, senior."

The middle-aged man shook his head slightly: "You're welcome. If you need anything else, you can come to 'Moge' anytime."

"good!"

Rong Jiaojiao put the wooden box into her storage bag, said goodbye, and left.

Back at the branch headquarters, Elder Li was still in seclusion, and Rong Jiaojiao had been in seclusion for another three days before someone knocked on the door.

Upon opening the door, Cheng Chun, a cultivator stationed at the garrison, greeted Rong Jiaojiao with a smile, saying, "Fellow Daoist Rong, Elder Li has emerged from seclusion and requests your presence."

Rong Jiaojiao nodded, guessing that they were about to leave for the next stop. She said, "Please tell Elder Li that I will come as soon as I put away the formation, Fellow Daoist Cheng."

Cheng Chun nodded in agreement and turned to leave.

Rong Jiaojiao returned to the house, quickly put away the isolation array and spirit gathering array she had set up, tidied up some miscellaneous items, and put them into her sleeve.

He probed the small secret realm with his divine sense and saw Zi Ling cultivating with her eyes closed. He transmitted his voice and said, "Let's go, Zi Ling, we're setting off again."

Zi Ling opened its eyes, stretched lazily, and Rong Jiaojiao led it out of the small secret realm. It immediately transformed into a beam of light and landed on Rong Jiaojiao's shoulder. The two of them walked out of the room.

Elder Li and Team Leader Zhang were all in the hall. When they saw Rong Jiaojiao enter, Elder Li nodded slightly and asked, "How is your recovery?"

Rong Jiaojiao replied respectfully, "Thank you for your concern, Elder Li. I have almost fully recovered."

Elder Li nodded in satisfaction: "That's good. We've received a new mission: an ancient tomb in the deep mountains of the southwest has been unearthed by tomb raiders, but all of them died after they returned."

"The artifacts they brought out were deadly to anyone who touched them. Fortunately, they didn't intend to hand them over after bringing them out, but instead planned to smuggle them to Japan. By the time they were discovered, several tomb raiders and smuggling gangs had died, along with several Japanese soldiers who had been lying in wait."

Rong Jiaojiao asked, "But what was found on those dead people?"

Elder Li said gravely, "Strange black patterns spread across the skin of all the dead, like some kind of curse spreading within their bodies. Most strangely—that person's eyes had turned completely jet black, yet the corners of their mouth were eerily upturned, as if in a smile."

"Where are those items now?"

After the incident, the police intervened and investigated. Someone had touched the containers and then began to develop black markings on their body. After they reported this, the Southwest Xuanmen Group took the items away, and they are now sealed and stored at the Southwest Branch.

"Were those police officers cured?"

"No."

"Why don't they put the artifacts back into the ancient tomb? Perhaps the curse would be lifted if they were put back."

Elder Li shook his head: "That's the problem. All the people who went to rob the tomb are dead, and we can't find the location of the ancient tomb for the time being. Moreover, the curses attached to those artifacts seem to have some mysterious connection with the ancient tomb itself. Once they are taken out of the ancient tomb, the curses will spread to the outside world and cannot be easily put back."