Chapter 28: The Old Demon and the Little Demon

Magical treasures, magical arts, talismans, formations... for cultivators, the essence is actually the same.

The foundation of the Heavenly Dao was long ago set: Yin and Yang are divided, the Five Elements are complete, and all things in the world exist within it.

All things under heaven and earth are the canvas, while spiritual Qi is the paint.

Whether it be divination signs, runes, or shamanic spells, they are all ways for cultivators to paint with spiritual Qi.

The basic colors are all here; what picture can be drawn depends entirely on one's own skill.

The reason magical arts are difficult to practice is because one must paint in the void.

Spiritual Qi is inherently ethereal and unanchored; sketching it into shape with a casual gesture is extremely difficult. If one focuses all attention and controls it carefully, that is one thing, but in magical duels, life and death are at stake; a hair's breadth of difference is the distinction between life and death.

Therefore, one must not only be fast, but also accurate.

This Immobilization Spell was not originally complex, consisting of only seventeen runes in total; it is just that painting in the void to be both fast and accurate is not easy.

Chen Ye followed the records in the scripture, carving runes with the spiritual Qi in his body, but before the first rune was even finished, the spiritual Qi left behind earlier had already scattered.

This was to be expected; how could magical arts be so easy to practice? Without years of time, how could one master them proficiently? Therefore, cultivators in duels rarely throw out a messy pile of various magical arts.

The truly usable ones might only be three or five. High-level cultivators have longer lifespans and master more magical arts, but they mostly use the ones they are most proficient in.

Chen Ye was not impatient, nor did he slack off; maintaining a normal state of mind, he practiced while walking, and instead made progress very quickly.

Several hours passed; from originally not being able to draw a single rune, he could now continuously draw two correctly, which could be said to be obvious progress.

It was just that he didn't know where he was practicing incorrectly; when Chen Ye cultivated this Immobilization Spell, he always felt his dantian sea of Qi was being affected.

As spiritual Qi was consumed, this sea of Qi turned sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

According to what Hearing Mo Ci taught, once this sea of Qi is formed, it is very difficult to affect it again through external forces. When the sea of Qi completes one cycle, it absorbs a portion of spiritual Qi; when spiritual Qi flows into it, it makes the sea of Qi grow a portion larger, repeating like this.

Later, when the sea of Qi completes one cycle, it might absorb ten percent or a hundred percent of spiritual Qi; the Sea of Qi realm is cultivated this way.

A few rare natural treasures can shorten this process, but most lone cultivators can only endure the time and accumulate slowly.

Without the aid of pills, logically speaking, for the Sea of Qi realm to be cultivated to its extreme, it would take thirty years at the fastest, or a hundred years at the slowest.

It is very difficult to use one's will to push the sea of Qi to rotate; only great sects and families have secret methods passed down. It is rumored that the famous Qinghe Sword Art has a method to accelerate cultivation; back then, that Qinghe Sect Master went from Awakening Spirit to Penetrating Mystery in only half a year.

Su Chunyi is at least at the Penetrating Mystery realm; looking at her appearance, she is not some old person of several hundred years. Whether it is relying on secret arts or pills, it is truly enviable.

But Hearing Mo Ci is just a lone cultivator and knows nothing of such secret arts; Chen Ye naturally does not know them either.

If a cultivator finds a feng shui treasure land and closes themselves off for decades, ignoring outside affairs and not consuming spiritual Qi, then naturally it would be faster. If one is like Chen Ye, practicing both magical treasures and magical arts, then one does not know how many years and months will be wasted.

However, sharpening the axe does not delay the woodcutting. If one perfects the means of magical dueling, as long as one seizes suitable natural treasures, one can open the furnace to refine pills; taking medicine to cultivate is much faster than quiet meditation.

How to choose specifically depends entirely on the individual.

Chen Ye would definitely choose taking medicine, because no matter how good one's talent is, merely enduring time cannot reach the realm of Harmonizing with the Dao and Immortality.

One will have to fight others for natural treasures sooner or later; it is better to practice more now, so that when the time comes, one does not lose the fight and can only watch enviously as others take medicine and ascend.

And this Immobilization Spell is truly strange; it is very difficult for cultivators to actively urge the sea of Qi to absorb spiritual Qi, yet drawing a few runes oneself makes the sea of Qi turn fast and slow?

Although the change is not obvious, at least it is useful. If one can figure out the principle, wouldn't it mean one can go fast or slow as one wishes?

"Isn't it a secret art that acts on the soul and spirit? How is this done?"

Although Chen Ye had read many books, he could not figure it out in the short term; he could only practice for now and ponder it carefully later.

With such divided attention, Chen Ye had already descended the mountain and was proceeding along the small path.

Practicing while walking, Chen Ye did not feel bored; instead, he found some joy in it.

Unknowingly, he arrived at the Cui Xian city gate again.

It had been several days since Chen Ye left Cui Xian. Before, Chen Ye had deliberately let Su Chunyi cancel the illusion, and in full view of everyone, he rode a sword light flying into the high sky. At that time, many people gathered at the teahouse to watch; after so much time, the story of the immortal riding a sword must have spread in dozens of versions.

Returning to Cui Xian now, he should be able to smoothly break into the circle of nobles, making investigation much more convenient.

This bustling county town is always full of carriages and horses, but seeing it again today, something felt wrong.

Chen Ye looked around and discovered that the number of guards at the gate had doubled, and the patrols on fast horses were even more frequent.

When Chen Ye approached the city gate, he, a young Daoist Priest holding a black-and-white long banner, was quite conspicuous; immediately, soldiers began staring at his every move.

Chen Ye did not avoid them; instead, he smiled and approached, wanting to ask around.

This small soldier was originally looking at Chen Ye with a wary gaze, but when Chen Ye approached and he saw his appearance clearly, his eyes went momentarily blank, as if seeing something incredible.

Chen Ye noticed his gaze and immediately felt something was wrong.

He flicked the long banner, blocking the person's gaze; when the banner moved away, Chen Ye had already wrapped his face tightly, revealing only a pair of eyes.

The small soldier finally came to his senses, but still stared at Chen Ye in disbelief, as if wanting to confirm whether what he just saw was real.

Chen Ye thought: "Master said to cover my face; it seems he was not joking. But what exactly is wrong with my face?"

Seeing the small soldier looking him up and down, appearing ready to lift his face veil, Chen Ye quickly stuffed a few pieces of broken silver over and asked: "This military lord, this humble Daoist Priest is new to your precious land. Why is the guard in Cui Xian so strict? Has something major happened?"

Perhaps sensing the weight in his hand, this small soldier, although still puzzled, whispered to Chen Ye: "Lady Hongyu is about to arrive; we are all respectfully welcoming the Lady's phoenix carriage. If you want to enter the city, hurry up. We do not know when the Lady will arrive; once the messenger soldier arrives, the city gate will prohibit idle people from entering or exiting."

"Lady Hongyu?"

Chen Ye remembered this name; the reason Cui Xian was particularly wealthy was because it was Lady Hongyu's fief. However, that Lady was still young and had always lived deep in the palace.

Why, at this critical moment, would Lady Hongyu come to her own fief?

Could it be that the forced conscription of young boys and girls is truly related to the imperial court?

Chen Ye dared not linger; lowering his head, he blended into the crowd and walked into Cui Xian.

Proceeding along the way, Chen Ye quickly arrived at the previous teahouse.

When Chen Ye left before, he deliberately left a bundle here. Inside there were no special treasures; Chen Ye only wanted the teahouse owner to remember him, to remember the sight of him and Su Chunyi riding a sword light flying into the blue sky.

Coming back now, retrieving the bundle was false; verifying his fame was the truth.

However, to verify this, he would probably have to reveal his face.

"What exactly is wrong with my face?"

Chen Ye dared not act rashly; first, he bought a mirror at random, then found an empty corner, removed his face veil, and carefully examined his appearance.

Chen Ye looked for a long time and could only frown to reach one conclusion: "I am still as handsome as before."

In Chen Ye's view, camping out in the wild for a few days had brought him no change, nor had his five senses altered in any way.

Chen Ye, helpless, could only wave the long banner and call out, "Master, wake up quickly. What exactly is wrong with my face?"

Mo Ci seemed to be roused from sleep by Chen Ye's pestering and couldn't help but scold, "Wicked disciple! I am nearly dead, and you won't even let me sleep peacefully!"

"Master, you said yourself that in this current state, it makes little difference whether I sleep or not."

Mo Ci roared in anger, "Traitorous disciple who betrays his master and destroys his ancestors! If my cultivation were still intact, I would surely refine your very soul!"

Chen Ye would not fall for such tactics; after all, it was not him who currently held the ten thousand soul banner.

"Master, why can't you just say it in one sentence? You must hide and conceal it. If you had explained clearly, I wouldn't have had to wake you. Tell me quickly what is wrong with my face. I see no fault, yet the way others look at me is very wrong."

Hearing this, Mo Ci laughed heartily, "You brat! I told you to cover your face, but you wouldn't listen. Now you've run into trouble, haven't you?"

Chen Ye hurriedly said, "Master, stop playing coy. It would be better to tell me plainly, so you can go back to sleep."

"Hmph! You didn't listen to your master's words; it serves you right." Though Mo Ci mocked him twice, he still explained to Chen Ye, "You have just condensed your Qi Sea. Spiritual Qi naturally gathers and drills into you from your limbs, bones, and even your skin and hair, constantly refining your fur and washing your marrow.

"Mortals cannot see the Spiritual Qi, but since your wretched mortal body is constantly bathed in it, to them you appear as if you are glowing. Moreover, during this fur-refining and marrow-washing process, the turbid air you exhale retains traces of Spiritual Qi. Ordinary people cannot smell this scent, but once inhaled, it will naturally make them feel fond of you.

"If your appearance were merely ordinary, it would matter little; at most, it would add a touch of immortal grace. But your face... indeed possesses the same charm I had in my day, making the enchanting effect especially pronounced. When ordinary people see you, they feel as though a heavenly god has descended; one glance and they will never forget you for the rest of their lives.

"If you encounter a woman with weak willpower and a feeble soul, you need only approach her and smile, and she will be utterly bewitched, completely obedient to you. Many demonic sects' methods of stealing Yin to supplement Yang are particularly effective at the Qi Condensation stage. Once your physical body is tempered, this light will vanish, this fragrance will vanish, and to enchant again, you will have to resort to spells."

Chen Ye listened in shock. Wasn't this just a beauty filter? No, not just a filter; it also came with an enchanting, body-scented fragrance.

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

Mo Ci replied, "You are of a Pure Yang Body and still young, with few impurities in your body. It will last at most one month."

Chen Ye pondered, "One month, then. That is enough."

What wicked scheme does this brat have in mind now?