One-on-one
The Sect Leader's Hall.
When Mu Qing arrived, Elder Yun Ge was talking with the sect leader. Seeing him return safely, she asked, "Is the Ghost King really dead?"
The Ghost King was still quite powerful, and the sect leader still couldn't believe he died so quickly.
“Dead.” Mu Qing took out the divine box from the storage bag. “The Ghost King was bewitched by an unknown person and used this evil artifact to forcibly sacrifice his clansmen in a vain attempt to ascend to immortality.”
He had already sent word back about everything that happened to the Ghost Clan, and he took out the divine box hoping that the sect leader could see if he could find any clues.
The sect leader circled the divine box, examining it closely, holding it in his hands and looking at it again and again. "You said the person who bewitched the Ghost King was from the Immortal Sect. Do you have any clues?"
"No, but I got this." Mu Qing took out another mirror. The mirror was smooth and clear, but it couldn't reflect any image.
The sect leader's face darkened when he saw the mirror: "Did you get this mirror from the Ghost Clan?"
Mu Qing nodded, puzzled as to why the sect leader's expression had suddenly changed.
Elder Yun Ge was drinking tea when she saw the mirror. Her expression turned equally grim. She rushed over and snatched the mirror away, her fingertips touching the patterns on the edge of the mirror, her eyes blazing with anger.
The two's strange behavior made Mu Qing frown and say, "I have checked the mirror and found no trace of spiritual power. It should be a magic artifact used by people from the immortal sects."
"Of course I know this is a magical artifact used by immortals." Elder Yun Ge sneered.
When Qingling Daoist died, there was a mirror like this beside her. How could she not be familiar with it?
The sect leader coughed to interrupt Elder Yun Ge and asked Mu Qing, "During your time in the Ghost Clan, did you encounter anyone blocking your way?"
Mu Qing looked at him, puzzled.
The sect leader prompted: "Is there anyone who wants to kill Wen Zheng?"
Mentioning Wen Zheng, Mu Qing's expression turned serious. "Is there something wrong with Wen Zheng?"
Wen Zheng is just an ordinary disciple. The only difference is that her sword bone was stolen and there is a strange seal in her dantian. Are these things worth the sect leader's attention?
Mu Qing looked at the sect leader and Elder Yun Ge suspiciously, and said sternly, "What are you hiding from me?"
The sect leader and Elder Yun Ge looked at each other and winked, signaling for the other to explain.
The two men's hesitant attitude made Mu Qing even more certain that there was something wrong with them. She pointed her Taiqing sword at them and asked, "Why are you so interested in Wen Zheng? Is there something between her and my master?"
Recalling the secret she had shared with her master and Wen Zheng at the Ghost King's Tomb, Mu Qing's usually calm emotions finally began to stir.
The sect leader raised his hand to move Mu Qing's sword aside and sighed, "Put it down first, I'll talk to you."
Mu Qing moved the sword aside and looked at the two of them with a stern face.
The sect leader sighed: "Back then, your master suddenly perished in a tragic manner. He was, after all, the number one talisman cultivator. It's impossible that he didn't even have the ability to protect himself. So we carefully investigated the cause of his death and found a mirror similar to this one near where he fell."
"When I saw the mirror, I knew that your master must have discovered something, which is why he was silenced. We were worried about retaliation, so we concealed the cause of his death and buried him in a hurry."
Mu Qing looked puzzled: "What is Master investigating?"
The sect leader looked at him and continued, "When you were young, your sword bone was almost taken away. Your master saw that those people were ruthless and skilled, and guessed that there must be an organization controlling them. He sent you to the Immortal-Demon Battlefield and secretly investigated behind our backs, but in the end, something bad happened."
After hearing everything, Mu Qing stared blankly at the two of them, "Why didn't you tell me?"
The sect leader was saddened by the memory of his friend's tragic death and did not answer her question. Elder Yun Ge put down the mirror and spoke at this moment.
“What good will it do to tell you? You’re not the first person to have their sword bones stolen. Hundreds of years have passed, and those people are still stealing sword bones. Wen Zheng is the latest example. Have you seen the seal in her dantian? It’s the same as the one you had when you were a child.”
The vast main hall fell into a deathly silence after Elder Yun Ge finished speaking.
Mu Qing stared at the two of them in astonishment. He had been very wary of Wen Zheng in the Ghost Clan and had been curious about the seal on her dantian, but he never expected that she would also be one of the victims.
"Didn't anyone say it?" Qing's deep voice became hoarse, and Mu Qing felt extremely uncomfortable listening to the sound she made.
"It's no use." The sect leader shook his head. "The theft of the sword bone was done by the immortal sects. They can't find out. Those who do find out are all dead."
Just like Qingling Daoist, killing a powerful talisman cultivator was as easy as breathing for that group of people.
Mu Qing lowered her gaze and remained silent for a long time before asking, "You must have someone you suspect, right?"
Elder Yun Ge glanced at him and advised, "This is not your business. Go back to Aoxue Peak and rest first."
No matter how Mu Qing tried to speak, the sect leader and Elder Yun Ge refused to reveal any further information.
He returned to Aoxue Peak with a cold face. In the midst of the swirling snow, he stood in the pavilion, his eyes vacant, trying to clear his mind.
...
Wen Zheng bid farewell to Qu Hong and quickly ascended the mountain using the Flying Goose Stepping on Snow technique. Just as she was about to return to her house, a deep voice called out to her. She turned around and saw that Mu Qing's face was frighteningly pale, and he was holding a sword in his hand.
The shadows in the inn instantly tensed Wen Zheng's weary body. Pressing her back against the door, she asked nervously, "What do you want?"
While asking the other party questions, he also took out the newly drawn lightning strike talisman and earth escape talisman.
Her series of movements made Mu Qing pause, and she put down the sword in her hand: "I just want to ask you a few questions."
Seeing that the Taiqing Sword was sheathed, Wen Zheng carefully took two steps forward, and the two spoke from a distance of several dozen steps: "What do you want to ask?"
The two were too far apart. Mu Qing took two steps, but after receiving an even more wary look from Wen Zheng, she stepped back and asked, "How much do you remember about your amnesia?"
Is Wen Zheng's amnesia also related to that group of people?
Wen Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "Why are you asking this?"
Mu Qing avoided the topic: "I just want an answer."
"I don't remember anything at all," Wen Zheng replied as she pushed open the door and slipped inside while Mu Qing wasn't looking.
After successfully returning home, Wen Zheng carefully opened the door and peeked out to observe Mu Qing's unusual behavior, only to find that he had already gone back.
Wen Zheng pondered for a while, then went back to draw a talisman.
Time flies by.
Wen Zheng carefully put away the talismans she had drawn during this period, and took out the wealth-attracting talisman and the good luck talisman to keep close to her body.
I don't know why, but the probability of failing to draw these kinds of talismans that contain some of the laws of nature is very high, while other ones are successful on the first try.
After packing her things, Wen Zheng quietly opened the door to observe the outside. Seeing that Mu Qing's room door was tightly closed, she quickly ran out.
Mu Qing, who was meditating with her eyes closed, heard hurried footsteps outside. She was stunned for a long time before quietly following after using a spell to change her appearance.
At the foot of Danfeng Mountain.
Qu Hong and Mo Xin had just arrived and chatted for a while when they saw Wen Zheng sneaking over. They teased her, "What's wrong with you? Is a ghost chasing you?" After saying that, they looked behind her.
Wen Zheng took a breath and said, "More or less."
The two men laughed off her joke and took her to the sect's market.
It was Wen Zheng's first time at the market, and she was overwhelmed by the choices, wanting to check out every single stall.
Qu Hong and Mo Xin watched her with smiles as she wandered around the various stalls. After she had seen enough, they took her to an empty stall.
"This is our three-person stall. Take out your things and put them out there. If anyone is interested, they'll come and ask you," Qu Hong said, taking out the pills she had recently refined.
She spent a lot of money buying spiritual herbs to refine these pills, and now she can be described as penniless.
The stall space wasn't large, and the three of them looked a bit crowded standing behind it. After putting down his things, Mo Xin said to the other two, "You two keep an eye on things for me while I go look around."
Qu Hong nodded. Wen Zheng noticed the messy items he had taken out and called out to him, "If someone comes to buy them, how will we sell them?"
Mosin didn't turn around, and shouted, "Sell it as you like, I'm not short of money."
Watching him walk away, Wen Zheng glanced at his belongings and said resentfully, "From today onwards, I'm going to start hating the rich."
Qu Hong smiled and patted her on the shoulder: "Take your things out."
Wen Zheng nodded, took out the talisman she had drawn, and then took out the wealth-attracting talisman and the good luck talisman that she kept close to her body. She took out one of each and handed it to Qu Hong, saying, "These are the wealth-attracting talisman and the good luck talisman I drew."
Qu Hong accepted the talisman with delight and asked, "Is it effective?"
Bringing wealth and good luck—it sounds great!
Wen Zheng paused, took out two talismans and used them on herself, saying, "There is a certain probability that they will work."
She had used both talismans. The effect was that she could pick up spirit stones dropped by others on the roadside, but not in large quantities. If she wanted to have good luck, she could only use a luck-changing talisman, but Wen Zheng dared not try it because of its side effects.
These two cards aren't very useful, but they don't have any negative effects either; it all depends on luck.
Having understood her meaning, Qu Hong immediately used two talismans and sat down with Wen Zheng to wait for others to arrive.
The two waited until the sun was high in the sky, but there were very few people stopping in front of their stall. Qu Hong couldn't help but poke Wen Zheng: "Did you draw your talisman backwards?"
Good luck charms are drawn as bad luck charms, and wealth charms are drawn as money-losing charms.
"This shouldn't be the case," Wen Zheng murmured, taking out the two talismans she kept close to her body to examine them carefully.
As they were examining the items, someone stopped in front of their stall and asked, "What are these?"
The two turned around at the same time and saw that the newcomer was wearing magical artifacts. They exchanged a glance and went to meet him.
"What are you asking about?" Qu Hong asked.
"This, and these too." The man pointed to Qu Hong's pills and Wen Zheng's talismans.
"These are enhanced versions of the Spirit Gathering Pill that I refined. They restore spiritual energy five times faster than ordinary Spirit Gathering Pills. Those are talismans drawn by my friend. They are very effective. As for that pile, feel free to take a look."
Mo Xin's items were a jumbled mess, and Qu Hong really didn't know how to introduce them. Wen Zheng stood beside her, watching the man pick and choose at the stall, looking at him expectantly.
Can she earn her first pot of gold today?
After looking at it for a while, the visitor decisively took out money to buy Qu Hong's pills, and stopped when he turned to look at Wen Zheng's talisman.
The doubt in his eyes did not escape Wen Zheng's notice. Wen Zheng followed his gaze and saw that the messy stall was filled with talismans drawn on rough yellow paper. The cinnabar on the talismans was not even finely ground and was stuck on in clumps, making them look extremely unappealing.
Having grown accustomed to using inferior talisman paper and cinnabar due to poverty, Wen Zheng paused for a moment, then randomly pulled out one from the pile of talismans and handed it to the visitor: "You can try it out; if you're not satisfied, you don't have to buy it."
There's no other way; the product's appearance isn't appealing, so we have to rely on its effectiveness as a selling point.
The newcomer paused for a moment, then took the talisman from Wen Zheng and activated his spiritual power. Wen Zheng had given him a Wind-Riding Talisman, which would make one feel as if there was wind when walking, and its effect would be even better when combined with a Speed Talisman.
After using the talisman, the person quickly disappeared from their sight in a few steps. Qu Hong watched the person leave and felt a little sorry for Wen Zheng's talisman: "You didn't draw many to begin with, and you even gave one away for free."
Wen Zheng shrugged: "There's nothing I can do. It's my first time setting up a stall, I have no experience. Next time I'll spend money to buy something better."
Qu Hong glanced down, her eyes stung by the blood-red cinnabar and the messy yellow paper, and quickly looked away.
The two had just sat down when the man who had walked away returned, grabbing all the talismans from the stall: "How many spirit stones are there for all of these? I'll take them all."
When Wen Zheng was retrieving the talisman, she suddenly sat up, thinking someone was trying to steal it. But when she heard what the man said, her arrogance vanished instantly, and she stammered, "Ten low-grade spirit stones per talisman."
She inquired about the prices of other talismans at the market, and most of them cost seven or eight low-grade spirit stones each. Wen Zheng had seen the effects of those talismans and found them to be far inferior to her own, so she set this price.
The man glanced at her, counted the total number of talismans, put down the spirit stones, and left.
Wen Zheng held the thirty-odd mid-grade spirit stones she had just earned, shook them with satisfaction, and hearing the sound of the spirit stones colliding, she smiled and said to Qu Hong, "I'll treat you to dinner later."
Qu Hong placed Mo Xin's things in the empty space and replied with a smile, "Okay, I want to eat jujube cake from the foot of the mountain later."
Wen Zheng agreed to everything and chatted with Qu Hong behind the stall.
As the two were chatting enthusiastically, a group of people stood in front of the stall. Wen Zheng waved her hand and said, "Look at the things on the stall yourselves, and ask the price when you've chosen."
The group of people didn't even look at the items on the stall. Instead, they slammed their hand on it, causing the already precarious stall to collapse instantly, scattering the items all over the ground.
Wen Zheng and Qu Hong turned their heads to look at the group of people who had come from behind, and asked, "What do you want?"
The leader was a fat man who pointed at the two men with a resentful look on his face and said, "You're the one who stole our business!"
Wen Zheng looked at Qu Hong, her eyes filled with doubt, "Who is this?"
Before Qu Hong could answer, the fat man exploded, yelling, "What do you care who I am? I'm asking you, who drew these talismans on this stall?"
Knowing the visitor was hostile, Wen Zheng stood up: "It's me. What do you want?"
While the two were talking, Qu Hong picked up the things scattered on the ground. Just as she reached out her hand, someone stepped on her foot, causing her to turn pale with pain and cry out.
Wen Zheng's expression turned cold. She kicked away Qu Hongshou's foot, which she was stepping on, and said to the group, "I can't control your legs. Be careful, or I won't be polite."
The fat man helped the person who had been kicked by Wen Zheng to the point of staggering, and looked at Wen Zheng with fierce eyes: "Your talismans have stolen all our business. Today, you either lose money or you're not leaving."
Wen Zheng sneered: "Whether something is good or not is up to the buyer to decide. Do you think I can make them only buy my talismans and not yours?"
"It's not shameful to be less skilled than others; what's truly shameful is not realizing that you're less skilled than others."
The fat man was speechless with anger and was supported by the people behind him.
People browsing the market saw a large crowd gathered here and squeezed over to join in the fun. After hearing the argument between the two, they happily discussed it, with most of them siding with Wen Zheng.
Feeling humiliated by being watched by so many people, the fat man was furious. He pointed at Wen Zheng and said, "Do you dare to fight me one-on-one?"
Qu Hong stood behind Wen Zheng, holding her hand, and whispered, "Don't agree. That person's cultivation level should be Golden Core."
“Alright, a one-on-one duel it is.” Wen Zheng accepted the challenge, turning her head to Qu Hong and saying, “I am also a Golden Core cultivator.”
Qu Hong looked at Wen Zheng in surprise. Didn't she just forcibly break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage before going to the Ghost Clan?
Seeing that Wen Zheng had agreed, the crowd teased the fat man, "Where are we going to fight?"
"Why don't we settle it in the small open space outside the market? It won't be shameful to lose."
"That's right, that's right."
Hearing the jeers, the fat man's forehead veins bulged, and he shouted at Wen Zheng, "Do you dare to come with me to the open space to fight? The loser is not allowed to come to the market again."
"Of course I dare." Wen Zheng accepted the challenge and followed him.
After Qu Hong finished packing her things, she saw Mo Xin return and quickly pulled him aside, saying, "Quick, Wen Zheng is fighting someone one-on-one. Let's go help her."
Mosin asked, completely bewildered, "We can help in a one-on-one fight?"
Qu Hong: "If we lose, we'll put sacks over those people's heads."
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