Chapter 149 - 131: Descendants
「Five months later.」
Thousand Lakes Island, eight thousand meters underground.
Qin Xuan sat cross-legged in meditation, deliberately activating the curse.
The sinister Demon Patterns slowly emerged, crawling across his entire face.
Under the powerful backlash, the Divine Soul Little Man seated in his Spirit Platform Sea of Consciousness felt as if it were being slowly corroded by an immense force.
"Zuo’e erodes gold, Sinful Mirror Punishment..." Qin Xuan’s hands formed a seal as he barked a command.
BOOM!
A perfectly smooth, translucent golden mirror materialized out of thin air.
Ripples spread through the underground rock cavern.
As light flowed across its surface, Qin Xuan’s complete, flawless face appeared within the Mirror of Evil.
The next moment, a ball of golden light shot out from the mirror’s surface!
An immense suction force emanated from it.
Something miraculous happened. The sinister Demon Patterns on Qin Xuan’s face were drawn out, strand by strand, and appeared instead on the face of the reflection in the mirror.
Although the Demon Patterns had only faded slightly, the curse’s power had been genuinely diminished.
"As expected of a Positional Divine Technique!"
A strange light flashed repeatedly in Qin Xuan’s eyes.
The Demonic Essence roiling around him shook the dust from the cavern ceiling, causing it to rain down.
The Divination had been right after all.
After several months of research, Qin Xuan had discovered that the third Attribute of the Zuo’e·Heart-Eroding Nail, ’Sinful Mirror Punishment’, could manifest an illusory Mirror of Evil before him to negate the curse’s backlash.
His Cultivation was now approaching the Foundation Establishment Seventh Level.
He wasn’t worried about being discovered while using his Positional Divine Technique.
He was in a cavern he had spent months excavating, and the outside was reinforced with the power of Arrays and Talismans.
Even if a Golden Core Cultivator’s Divine Sense were to sweep over the area, they wouldn’t be able to detect a thing.
Having found a preliminary solution to the curse’s backlash, Qin Xuan began to chant, reciting an ancient, obscure, and special Spell.
HUMMM!
As the last tongue-twisting syllable fell, a speck of cyan light suddenly flared between Qin Xuan’s eyebrows.
It was a fragment of the Cyan Profound Void Blessed Land.
"Now that I’m in Daqian, far from the Holy Sect, it’s about time I took out some of Ye Lan’s treasures and sold them off."
’I can convert them into personal assets to cover my tracks.’
Back in the Holy Sect, Qin Xuan hadn’t dared to open the Blessed Land, terrified of being discovered by those Nascent Soul Demon Monarchs.
Now, here in Daqian, he was finally free from those constraints.
However, he was a Demon Cultivator. In the past, he could cultivate without the resources of the Righteous Dao, but things were different now.
He had already spent all his Spirit Stones on openly buying and selling materials for Magic Talismans and bribing people up and down the ladder.
He urgently needed another large sum of Spirit Stones as a cover.
CRASH!
The moment the Blessed Land fragment opened, the entire cavern was instantly filled with a myriad of radiant lights and auspicious colors.
A dazzling array of Pills, Treasure Talismans, Magical Artifacts, and more filled the underground Cave Mansion nearly to the brim.
"Let’s see what I can pass off as something from the Qi Cultivation Stage..."
He was currently disguised as Wei Chusheng, a Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer Talisman Cultivator. If he took out items of too high a quality, he would inevitably attract attention.
Poor Qin Xuan had to pick and choose from a pile of treasures that pulsed with brilliant light and overwhelming Spiritual Qi.
His Divine Sense swept over numerous resplendent Spiritual Artifacts and Treasure Pills, but in the end, he only managed to find two small white jade bottles labeled "Spiritual Essence Pill" that barely fit the level of a Qi Cultivation Cultivator.
"Damn it, how was that bastard Ye Lan so rich?"
Spiritual Essence Pill, a Tier One Top-grade Pill, could instantly restore a Qi Cultivation Peak Cultivator’s full True Essence.
It was also greatly beneficial for Human Dao Foundation Establishment. Out in the world, Qi Cultivation Cultivators would fight to the death for it.
Here, it was somehow the most "shabby" item.
Helpless, Qin Xuan could only raise his standard for sellable items slightly to "usable by those below Foundation Establishment Third Level."
He searched again for a good while.
This time, he found a few more things.
Two Top-Grade Flying Sword Magical Artifacts that glinted with a cold light, their blades faintly inscribed with writhing dragon patterns.
A stack of Tier Two Low-Grade Golden Gang Protection Talismans, brimming with Spiritual Qi, their talisman paper edged with faint golden threads.
There were also seven or eight jade bottles and porcelain jars containing Tier Two Low-Grade Pills commonly used by early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators, such as Stabilizing Pills and Nourishing Pills.
’As expected of a Prince of Daqian. His wealth is so profound, it’s beyond the imagination of ordinary people!’
Qin Xuan sighed inwardly.
If these resources were given to an ordinary Cultivator, they would be enough to forcibly raise someone to Human Dao Foundation Establishment from scratch!
And yet, this wasn’t even one percent of the treasures left behind in Ye Lan’s Blessed Land.
Just as Qin Xuan was pondering how to launder these items on the black market, a delicate female voice suddenly echoed in the cavern.
"Master, the Patriarch has summoned you for a meeting. This servant was sent to inform you."
A timid young woman’s voice came from outside the door, transmitted through a Communication Array Qin Xuan had secretly set up.
"I understand. This old man will go as soon as I finish drawing this Talisman."
Qin Xuan gave a neutral hum, showing neither pleasure nor anger.
He put away the Blessed Land fragment once more.
As a Tier One Talisman Master, Qin Xuan did not allow anyone to enter his personal courtyard while he was drawing Talismans. The entire Wang Family knew this.
Not a single person dared to overstep this boundary.
A moment later, the aged-looking Qin Xuan pushed the door open and walked out.
Outside the courtyard gate, a lovely young woman in a Water Green Silk Skirt stood waiting with her hands by her side.
The young woman looked to be about sixteen, but her figure was already well-developed and curvaceous. The relaxed look in her eyes suggested she was no longer a virgin.
"Lanmeng greets you, Master."
The moment she saw Qin Xuan, Wang Lanmeng couldn’t help but recall the night she lost her virginity, and a blush crept onto her youthful face.
’Don’t be fooled by Elder Wei’s aged appearance,’ she thought. ’His body is actually vigorous, and he has great strength.’
Wang Lanmeng was one of the bed-warming maids the Wang Family had assigned to ’Talisman Master Wei’. However, unlike the other mortal maids, she had faint fluctuations of True Essence, indicating she was a low-level Qi Cultivation Second Layer Cultivator from the Wang Family who possessed a Spirit Root.
She was nominally a concubine-maid, but in reality, she was a spy and a tether placed by the Wang Family. Qin Xuan saw this as clearly as if looking in a mirror.
If she could give birth to a child with the Wang surname and trick him into passing on his Talisman inheritance, that would be more than they could hope for.
But Qin Xuan had no intention of letting them get their way.
"Lanmeng, how many Tier One Top-Grade Magic Talismans has the family requested this old man to inscribe this month?"
Qin Xuan spoke casually, his withered hand habitually resting on the young woman’s supple waist.
The young woman clutched the corner of her skirt and said timidly, "Replying to Master, ten... ten Talismans."
"Why has it increased by three?" Qin Xuan frowned slightly.
Wang Lanmeng’s face paled with fright, and she immediately knelt. "Master, it was the Patriarch’s request! This servant doesn’t know..."
From five per month at the beginning, to seven later on, and now to ten Top-Grade Magic Talismans per month.
The Wang Family’s appetite was indeed growing.
For Qin Xuan, however, it was a trivial matter. If he put a little pressure on Chen Lixuan, he could produce several hundred Qi Cultivation Talismans in a single day.
His feigned anger at this moment was just to maintain ’Talisman Master Wei’s’ persona of being ill-tempered.
"I don’t mean to blame you. Since this old man has joined the Wang Family, I will naturally work for the family... But the Patriarch can’t just treat me like a beast of burden. When I have time, this old man will have to have a word with him."
Qin Xuan pulled the young woman into his arms, smiling and revealing a set of very yellow teeth. "I just drew a few Flame Talismans. Take them and have some fun."
As he spoke, his large hands took the opportunity to climb the towering peaks, which felt delicate, warm, and surprisingly supple.
"Thank you for your consideration, Master!"
Wang Lanmeng let out a long sigh of relief, her delicate body trembling slightly under Qin Xuan’s hands as she accepted the Talismans.
She took a closer look and saw they were Tier One Middle-Grade Flame Talismans, worth a full six Spirit Stones each on the market.
The young woman’s beautiful eyes lit up, her pretty face filled with joy.
Her younger brother was at the critical juncture of breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer. With these Talismans, he would surely have a better chance of winning in the family’s grand competition.
At this thought, she even found Wei Chusheng’s old, ravine-filled face to be much more pleasing to the eye.
She proactively pressed her plump body closer into his withered embrace and, like a startled bird, quickly pecked a kiss on his wrinkled old face.
Then she shyly lowered her head, a pink blush spreading even to her neck, looking utterly delicate.
"Hahaha!" Qin Xuan roared with laughter.
...
「The Family Council Hall」
Qin Xuan slowly strolled in with his arm around Wang Lanmeng.
In a corner, a boy in his early teens watched the short, old, ugly man with his lovely, tall sister in his arms. The boy’s eyes were bloodshot with hatred, his fists clenched tightly.
’Wei Chusheng, you’ve ruined my sister’s life! One day, I’ll kill you with my own two hands!’ the boy swore to himself through gritted teeth.
When the Patriarch, Wang Runsheng, saw Qin Xuan, he took the initiative to approach him.
Glancing around, Qin Xuan couldn’t help but frown, a chill running through his heart.
Except for the ancestor Wang Zezhou, who was in seclusion, every single core figure with authority from the three branches of the Wang Family was gathered here.
"Elder Wei has arrived as well. I will now announce the news we just received from the Governor’s Mansion."
Wang Runsheng cleared his throat, his voice tinged with exhaustion.
"The annual tribute is about to begin. As you all know, because the Blood Demon Sword Sect deliberately instigated a war in the Cultivation Realm, the amount of this year’s tribute has increased by several tenths..."
"But our Qixing Royal Family has shallow foundations and an empty treasury. How can we afford such a high tribute..."
Wang Runsheng sighed.
"Therefore, the Governor’s Mansion has issued an order: this year, our Wang Family must provide three Late-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivators to go to the front lines in Canglin Country and be integrated into the Court’s punitive expedition army... We will now decide on the candidates. Each of the three branches must send one person!"
As soon as these words were spoken,
an uproar erupted in the council hall!
Everyone looked at each other and began to whisper amongst themselves. Expressions of shock, worry, and calculation intertwined on their faces as a flurry of discussions broke out.
Go to the front lines in Canglin Country?!
Those beasts from the Demon Sects are bloodthirsty and murderous. What’s the difference between going there and committing suicide?
Qin Xuan was also stunned.
’Fuck, so I came all this way to You Province just to have peace for five months?’
’Dammit, whoever wants to go can go.’
Qin Xuan remained perfectly calm, staring at his nose and contemplating his heart, acting as if it had nothing to do with him, pretending he hadn’t heard a thing.
However, at that moment, something Wang Runsheng said caught Qin Xuan’s attention.