In the private box, there were about three or four people: a young nobleman, an elderly hunchback, a middle-aged man with red hair and beard, and a lady-in-waiting accompanying the nobleman.
The elderly hunchback, upon hearing the nobleman's summons, stood up from his chair, closed his eyes to sense the situation, and said, "Young Master, it is indeed my trained evil spirit. It didn't return after casting the curse, which seems to have been restrained."
The nobleman frowned, "Who dares ddle? Even cursing a tiger demon needs interference? Is soone deliberately opposing ? Use divination to find out who interfered and make them apologize in person. I'll forgive them once."
"Please continue enjoying the show, Young Master. I will handle this imdiately," said the elder known as Elder Si, rising and preparing chicken bones, turtle shells, and other items for divination.
He began by burning chicken bones, but they cracked open and shattered into two halves. Shocked, he switched to forty-nine thin bamboo sticks symbolizing the forty-nine days' cycle, but they instantly withered and turned to ash.
His expression grew grave, but he didn't stop. He then took a tile, struck it apart, and examined its texture, only to find it smooth as a mirror without any signs of impact.
Now genuinely worried, he quickly took out a turtle shell, bit his tongue, spat blood onto it, and solemnly held the shell facing south. He then burned it with intense fire, but the shell remained unchanged.
Imdiately, he approached another person in the room and presented the turtle shell with both hands, saying gravely, "Fla Lord, please assist ."
The man called Fla Lord was surprised but cooperated imdiately. He chanted, "I use the flas of human life to burn this turtle shell, aiding you with the power of human fate."
A fla appeared in his hand, representing the entire Clear Mist City, including soldiers, officials, dancers, musicians, and rchants. The whole city was reflected in the fire, and when the fire entered the turtle shell, it showed various scenes flickering within the light, shadow, smoke, and fire, making it hard to distinguish between the real city and the image within the fire.
However, the turtle shell remained still despite Fla Lord's efforts.
"I'll add more; using my spiritual beast!" Fla Lord declared, releasing several pigeons from a cage. Each pigeon emitted flas from its wings, intensifying the fire. Yet, the turtle shell remained unmoved.
"Human and beast fires are insufficient; I'll use earth fire!" Fla Lord said, pulling from the void. A small crack appeared, leaking hellish energy. Despite his best efforts, the scene revealed a hellish landscape filled with tornted souls enduring endless suffering under fiery hail.
Fla Lord grabbed a piece of hellfire and threw it into the turtle shell. Combining human, beast, and hell fires, the shell finally started to shake.
Relieved, Fla Lord and Elder Si sighed, but the shaking intensified until the shell exploded into fragnts!
The quick-reacting lady-in-waiting waved her hand, summoning silk that wrapped around the explosion, containing it. Though the explosion wasn't powerful, the contained flas burnt the silk and left Fla Lord and Elder Si covered in soot.
Elder Si, ignoring the ss on his face, jumped up and bowed deeply to the nobleman, "Young Master! Either this person is of a very high rank, unapproachable, or possesses a treasure protecting their destiny and fate, causing my curse to fail and divination to be impossible!"
The nobleman frowned, understanding the situation. Both Fla Lord and Elder Si were eighth-rank experts, especially Elder Si, who had learned so genuine witchcraft thods despite not being able to join Wu Deity Mountain. His abilities far surpassed ordinary witches and was highly trusted by the nobleman.
"If they were truly that powerful, you wouldn't just have the turtle shell explode but would already be discovered. However, if they saw , they'd likely back off, especially given my father's influence here," the nobleman mused. "So, it must be a treasure protecting them."
"Such a treasure belongs to soone worthy, not a re tiger demon!" He decided to investigate personally, leading Fla Lord, Elder Si, and the lady-in-waiting downstairs to follow the ghostly aura.
---
anwhile, Li Qi felt nothing unusual.
As a ninth-rank orthodox witchcraft practitioner, he could survive without food or water for a year, and even breathing wasn't necessary for him anymore. Holding his breath for several days wouldn't affect him much, though speaking required air to vibrate his vocal cords.
Advanced witchcraft practitioners could create living beings within their bodies, forming independent worlds. Attempting to divine Li Qi was like trying to divine a miniature world, making it extrely difficult, especially since he practiced Outer Path arts.
Recently, Li Qi had studied related knowledge and realized not all Outer Path practitioners were as elusive as him. The farther one was from their native world, the harder it beca to divine them due to the involvent of the corresponding world's heavenly dao.
For instance, ninth-rank diviners could easily divine things in Oil Realm, but divining Li Qi was beyond their reach because Earth was unimaginably distant.
Li Qi focused on selecting Wind-Travel Talismans. There were too many options. These talismans were beginner-level products for most talisman masters, requiring ordinary paper, ink, and the master's qi, sold mainly for craftsmanship.
Almost every shop sold Wind-Travel Talismans with varying effects based on the maker's style. So enhanced speed, others durability, and so even granted temporary flight. A master proficient in all eight winds could create talismans with multiple effects.
Prices varied accordingly, and Li Qi, inexperienced in such markets, relied on Shen Shuibei's keen eye to spot flaws and negotiate prices. Piaoxu also provided advice on reputations, making the selection process smoother.
Eventually, Li Qi chose three talismans optimized for maximum acceleration, negotiating down to two gold pieces each, leaving him with just one gold and so change.
Though cheap, these talismans were fragile, considered consumables. Experienced masters could produce dozens daily, benefiting Li Qi who needed quantity over quality.
"Two gold is quite affordable..." Li Qi remarked, reflecting on how a year ago, he struggled for copper coins, yet now found two gold reasonable.
Piaoxu looked puzzled, wondering why such a high-ranking individual would bargain and express surprise at the price.
Shen Shuibei, returning to her usual dazed state, seed unfazed, likely due to her isolated nature, having spent millennia in Luofu Mountain.
"Now, we need to think about earning money for cultivation thods. Perhaps a trip to Green Mountain Kingdom?" Li Qi pondered future plans, knowing such thods were prohibitively expensive.
After purchasing the talismans, Li Qi suggested returning to avoid disrupting Piaoxu's business. They had been out for nearly an hour and a half.
Suddenly, Shen Shuibei, previously distracted, reacted sharply, grabbing Piaoxu in alarm.
"Sir, what is it?" Piaoxu asked, assuming Shen Shuibei had sothing important to say.
But Shen Shuibei's action prompted Li Qi to act, channeling the Five Great Mountains' qi into a shield. However, a xiao(flute) sound pierced through, alarming Li Qi.
Xiao(flute) sounds represented invisible killing intent, akin to sound penetrating solid objects. The xiao's qi easily passed through Li Qi's defenses.
Reacting swiftly, Li Qi punched his liver and gallbladder areas, invoking their qi—Liver for vitality and Gallbladder for shock. Like thunder dispelling autumn chill, his shout, "Ha!", echoed, dispersing the xiao's sound while causing him minor injury.
"Who is it?" Li Qi dismissed the Five Mountains Shield, scanning for the source of the xiao(flute) sound.
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