Chapter 109
Chapter 109
Not long ago, the Mystic Studies Association began distributing practical Talismans of all kinds to department heads and elders, including Teleportation Talismans, Invisibility Talismans, Misfortune-Dispelling Talismans, and more.
Daoist Quede held an honorary position in the association as well, so he had received one too.
Outside, people had already driven the prices of these Talismans to astronomical heights.
Because they were so rare and valuable, Master Quede had never been willing to use his.
Who would have thought this little girl would use a Teleportation Talisman right off the bat? Her family must be extremely wealthy if she could afford to burn through Talisman Paper so casually.
He had no idea which rich and powerful family had ended up with such a spendthrift.
Daoist Quede’s words dripped with disdain, but Xia Sheng didn’t bother arguing with him.
Because when the chandelier had come crashing down just now, it was Daoist Quede who had protected everyone.
If he hadn’t been trying to shield the others, he wouldn’t have gotten those injuries on his face.
The man charged normal rates for his work, and aside from being a little arrogant, there wasn’t really anything wrong with him.
Now that Daoist Quede had been hurt while saving people, Xia Sheng couldn’t be bothered to hold it against him.
She turned to look at Song Huaiming. “Has your hotel renovated any of its landscaped greenery in the past few months?”
Song Huaiming thought for a moment, then said, “A few palm trees were planted by the backyard pool a few months ago.”
Xia Sheng said, “Take me there.”
Song Huaiming nodded and led Xia Sheng toward the backyard.
When Master Quede saw how readily Song Huaiming was listening to a little girl, he couldn’t help frowning and followed along as well.
There were plenty of frauds out there in the jianghu. They picked up a few superficial tricks and then went around showing off before true experts. That was exactly how the Mystic Sect’s reputation had been tarnished.
He had to keep an eye on her. If this girl was another swindling charlatan putting on an act, then he needed to warn Song Huaiming to be on guard.
The group arrived in the backyard. After looking around for a bit, Xia Sheng pointed at one of the palm trees and said, “This tree is wrapped in Yin Energy. There has to be something underneath it. Dig this tree up first.”
Daoist Quede let out a cold snort. “Cut the act. What Yin Energy? Why didn’t I sense anything?”
Xia Sheng glanced at him lightly and said, “Your cultivation is still too shallow. The Yin Energy here is thin, so naturally you couldn’t sense it.”
Xia Sheng was only stating a fact, but to Daoist Quede, it sounded like the little brat was belittling him.
He had cultivated under his Master since childhood, and by now sixty years had passed. While he couldn’t compare to a genius like Lan Chenghai, he was still a respected figure within the Mystic Sect.
And yet this little girl had just said his cultivation was shallow!?
Daoist Quede was so angry his beard quivered and his eyes bulged. “Little girl, didn’t your parents ever teach you not to be so arrogant? Be careful, or you’ll end up eating your words!”
Xia Sheng replied seriously, “I was orphaned from a young age and have always lived with my Master, so my parents really didn’t teach me that.”
Daoist Quede: “…”
Fine. You’re the vulnerable one. You win.
Faced with a little girl with no parents, Daoist Quede couldn’t very well keep pressing the issue.
Meanwhile, during their exchange, Song Huaiming had already sent someone to bring over tools and had the palm tree dug up on the spot.
The palm tree was enormous. When it toppled over, dirt flew everywhere with a tremendous crash.
What shocked everyone was that once the tree was separated from the soil, it began to wither at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the end, all that remained was a dry, dead trunk and a ground covered in blackened, scorched leaves.
Aside from Xia Sheng, everyone who saw the scene was stunned.
And with the fall of that palm tree, a vast tide of Yin Energy surged up from underground.
Only then did Master Quede realize that something was wrong. His expression changed again and again as he looked at Xia Sheng in alarm and uncertainty, unable to believe that everything this little girl had said was actually true.
As the Yin Energy leaked out, everyone nearby felt a chill run through their bodies. One of the frailer men even started sneezing on the spot.
Xia Sheng tossed a Talisman onto him, and warmth immediately spread through his body.
She had prepared plenty of Talisman Paper before coming, so she used one on everyone present.
Watching Xia Sheng throw out Talisman Paper as if it were free, Daoist Quede suddenly realized something and asked, “Little Fellow Daoist, did you draw all this Talisman Paper yourself?”
Even the way he addressed Xia Sheng had unconsciously changed.
Xia Sheng nodded. “Yes.”
Her answer was casual, but it set off a storm in Daoist Quede’s heart. “Do you know Lan Chenghai? Did he buy all those Talismans from you?”
Xia Sheng nodded again.
Daoist Quede no longer knew how to describe what he was feeling.
No wonder.
Some time ago, Lan Chenghai had suddenly started handing out items like the Invisibility Talisman and Teleportation Talisman within the association, saying he had bought them from someone else.
At the time, Daoist Quede had assumed Lan Chenghai was just being modest and had only said that as an excuse.
Who would have thought that he really had bought them from someone else-and from such a young girl standing right in front of him.
At such a young age, this little girl already possessed such cultivation and skill. Her future was beyond measure.
Xia Sheng had no idea Daoist Quede had so much going on in his head. After finishing their conversation, she turned her attention to the workers digging nearby.
The pit was dug deeper and deeper until someone finally hit something hard.
“President Song, there seems to be a piece of jade here!”
As he spoke, the worker reached out to touch it.
“Don’t touch it!” Xia Sheng shouted sharply.
Her voice was light and youthful, yet it carried an inexplicable pressure.
The worker froze in fright, not daring to move.
Song Huaiming asked, “Little Celestial Master, is there something wrong with the jade?”
Xia Sheng replied, “This is the Formation Eye of the Fortune-Sealing Soul-Devouring Formation. It’s saturated with extremely heavy Yin Energy. If an ordinary person touches it, all the life force in their body could be sucked away in an instant.”
Hearing Xia Sheng’s explanation, the worker who had just been about to pick up the jade shuddered all over and hurriedly backed away several steps, putting as much distance between himself and the thing as possible.
Master Quede could also sense the Yin Energy coming from the jade, and he couldn’t help frowning. “Who set up a Fortune-Sealing Soul-Devouring Formation here? Could it be that President Song’s business rivals planted it on purpose to ruin the hotel?”
Xia Sheng said, “Probably not. The Fortune-Sealing Soul-Devouring Formation is mainly used to seize someone else’s fortune and transfer it to the Formation’s owner. Most likely, some evil cultivator set this up here for the sake of cultivation.”
“Is there any way to track down that evil cultivator?” The moment the question left his mouth, Daoist Quede felt it was unnecessary.
There was only one complete Formation at the scene. Other than that, there were no clues at all. Probably not even an immortal could find that evil cultivator.
Yet in the next second, he heard Xia Sheng say with certainty, “Yes. This jade still carries the aura that evil cultivator left behind.”
Master Quede was stunned. “How?”
Xia Sheng said no more. She sent out a Paper Figurine. “Go. Find that evil cultivator for me.”
The Paper Figurine nodded its tiny head, jumped down from Xia Sheng’s hand, sniffed at the jade like a little puppy, and then flew off in a certain direction.
Master Quede had already been shocked too many times tonight. By now, he was almost numb to it. “Little Fellow Daoist, what exactly is this Paper Figurine?”