Just as Liu ng was pondering how she might enter Luo Feng City, the cold token in her arms — the Transmitting Moon Order — suddenly lit up with a gentle white glow.
Her thoughts stirred. Channeling spiritual power into it, she imdiately heard Qin Shuang's voice, carrying a trace of fatigue.
"Liu ng, I've finished dealing with things here. Just a few fools who didn't know their place — all cleaned up now."
Though Qin Shuang spoke lightly, Liu ng did not believe it had been so effortless.
Otherwise, Qin Shuang would not have disappeared for so long without word, only to now make contact again.
But since Qin Shuang was unwilling to speak of the details, Liu ng would not press. At the mont, her mind was occupied with other concerns.
"Senior Sister Qin, so long as you are unhard, I am relieved."
After the courtesy, her tone shifted.
"There is sothing I wish to ask, Senior Sister… have you ever heard of a place called Luo Feng City?"
Though Liu ng had already learned how to draw the guiding talisman, her understanding of Luo Feng City remained a blank slate.
The old shopkeeper of the Three Talents Market was clearly unreliable. Before sending a clone there, it was better to gather as much information as possible.
"Luo Feng City?"
On the other side of the token, Qin Shuang's voice abruptly sharpened, laced with wariness.
"How do you know of that place? From whom did you hear it?"
"Three Talents Market. Treasure Pavilion," Liu ng replied calmly. "The old shopkeeper there claid that at midnight, if I went to a certain place and ignited the guiding charm he gave , I could enter Luo Feng City."
"Don't believe a word of their lies!" Qin Shuang's tone instantly turned cold. "Those black-hearted swindlers delight in deceit. Countless have been tricked by their sches, ending up as sleepless drudges, enslaved in that market forever."
Her voice grew solemn.
"You didn't actually attempt their thod yourself… did you?"
"No." Liu ng's tone was flat. "I rely lost an expendable puppet."
At this, Qin Shuang exhaled lightly.
"Good. It seems you've taken my lessons to heart. Rember this — in this demonic sect, one must never lower their guard."
"As for Luo Feng City… I know little. But what they told you — nine parts false, one part true. To enter, one must indeed offer a guiding talisman at the dead city, beneath the ancient locust tree. That much is correct."
Her voice grew heavier.
"But the true talisman needed to open Luo Feng City? They would never hand it out. Never sell it. The Three Talents Market and Luo Feng City have always been at odds. Even I have no ans to enter. That matter… you must solve yourself."
"And—" Qin Shuang added with emphasis, "even if you do one day find a thod, never trust it at once. More often than not, such a thing is rely another trap. Be cautious. I've no wish to see a newly gained ally perish so soon."
Liu ng frowned, a doubt rising in her heart.
"Senior Sister… if even you cannot enter Luo Feng City, then how did you acquire your Soul Banner?"
A soft laugh ca through the token.
"Have you forgotten? That secret art of mine — it too ca from the remains of an ancient cultivator. This Soul Banner, and the jade pendant as well, I simply stumbled upon by chance."
So that was it.
Liu ng felt a tinge of disappointnt. It seed she could not glean more clues to the Soul Banner from Qin Shuang.
Fortunately, she already possessed her own thod of entering Luo Feng City — one gained through her system's clone, impossible for others to anticipate or to use against her.
If she wished to obtain another Soul Banner, she would have to brave Luo Feng City herself.
As she pondered, Qin Shuang suddenly shifted the subject.
"By the way, of those ten n you took from the cave, two are already gone, aren't they?"
Her tone carried faint amusent.
"You've handled it correctly, but at this pace, your stock of servants will soon run dry. It's ti to replenish. And maids as well — you are now the mistress of a cave-dwelling, yet not a single handmaiden waits upon you. Hardly fitting, is it?"
Qin Shuang was right.
Whether for cultivation or daily chores, Liu ng indeed needed more hands.
Yet… she had no idea how to recruit mortals.
This wasn't a ga; mortals would not respawn like NPCs. She would have to select them herself. But where?
As if sensing her confusion, Qin Shuang continued.
"What's so difficult? Mortals who long to join our sect and seek immortal fate are countless. Just walk once through a mortal town at the mountain's foot — you'll find crowds begging to follow you. Why, weren't you yourself once 'invited' up the mountain by Su i'er's people?"
Her voice grew leisurely.
"As it happens, I know of a place. The mortals there are born with much better roots than most. You might find so fine seedlings."
She then imprinted a precise location into the Transmitting Moon Order.
"Go quickly. If you delay, others may take the good ones first."
"Thank you for the guidance, Senior Sister," Liu ng replied, committing the location to mory.
"Since we are allies, there's no need for thanks." Qin Shuang's tone smoothed back into calm. "Take care of yourself. Unless it is urgent, do not contact again. I must enter seclusion and stabilize my cultivation."
With those words, the token's glow faded completely, the connection cut.
Liu ng stood silently, holding the cold order in her hand.
Truthfully, she could not bring herself to fully trust Qin Shuang's words.
After all, this was a woman who, at their very first eting, had tested her with a lethal trap. Who could guarantee that this new location was not yet another snare?
"Never trust anyone."
Hadn't that been Qin Shuang's own warning?
More importantly, Luo Feng City still awaited. That concerned her ability to obtain a Soul Banner — the foundation of her survival here. Nothing could outweigh it.
Recruiting followers, crafting talismans, probing Luo Feng City… one task after another pressed down. For the first ti, Liu ng truly felt the weight of her lack of manpower.
Even the once-a-day summoning of her clone was no longer enough.
As for sending her true body out to take risks? Impossible.
Her body was the core of everything, the heart of her plans. It must never be exposed to danger. At present, her true self sat hidden in a secret chamber she had carved out; unless soone searched her cave residence inch by inch, they could never discover her.
She herself had to remain in the cave, guarding her true body from opportunistic threats.
Which ant… she could only wait until tomorrow.
A headache pressed against her temples. Then suddenly, a thought struck her.
Wait. She had always used her clones to scout… but what about the n locked up in the prison?
Couldn't they be used as well?
Sending one to the Three Talents Market to purchase materials for talisman-making shouldn't be too dangerous… right?
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