The camp of the Qingxiao Pavilion was like spilled spirit crystal powder, shining with a blinding white in the moonlight. Chen Mohen moved along the shadow of the tent, and the oil on the soles of his boots left fine marks on the ground - that was the "invisibility charm" Qin Tieluo had deliberately given, claiming it could interfere with psychic detection, but in fact it was a mixture of waste oil and a little fluorescent powder to trick him into calling it "ancient camouflage technique".
"A bunch of old diehards." He gritted his teeth and cursed, his fingertips pinching the edge of a sharp talisman paper.
In the open space in the center of the camp, Ling Yue was crushing a piece of mechanical dog's remnant with his foot, and the spirit condensed into a fireball in his palm, making the metal sizzle. The disciples around lowered their heads, no one dared to speak, only the crackling sound of the burning talismans seemed to be accompaniment to this farce.
"Can that girl's mixture save mechanical dogs?" " Ling Yue's voice was as cold as ice. "To pollute psychic powers with data is simply a desecration of the Daoist tradition! At the hour of tomorrow, I'll have that ruined fortress razed to the ground!"
Chen Mohen's hands suddenly itched. He recalled the look in Lin Banxia's eyes when she held the mechanical dog, as if protecting a rare spirit crystal; He recalled the warmth hidden in the blue-purple psychic energy when Feng Hao's mechanical arm stood in front of him; Remember the unfinished "logical conclusion" when Yan Yuanxiu's data stream exploded on the screen.
"Blasphemy?" He sneered and darted into the pile of talismans beside him like a raccoon cat.
There was a pile of freshly drawn "Qingxiao Talismans", the standard of Qingxiao Pavilion 符箓, which were said to purify all "evil spirits". Chen Mohen grabbed the top stack, and the psychic power at the edge of the paper pricked his fingertip, but made him laugh even more - this thing, modification is the best "gift".
As he retreated, he deliberately knocked over an incense burner, and the sound of the pottery shards shattering startled the patrolling disciples. Chen Mohen ran as fast as he could. The talisman in his arms hurt his ribs, but it was like a ball of fire burning him all over. Behind him came Ling Yue's roar and the sound of flying swords piercing through the air, but he suddenly turned into a side road, where on the rock wall there were still the psychic patterns drawn by Feng Hao's mechanical arm.
"Can't catch me ~" He made a face at the air and vanished into the darkness.
By the campfire of the scrap fortress, Lin Banxia was changing the dressing of the mechanical dog, Feng Hao was squatting beside him adjusting the mechanical arm, and Qin Tieluo was painting the toilet gun of Iron block red. Chen Mohen threw the talisman paper on the ground, crossed his waist and laughed: "Look what I brought back!"
Feng Hao's mechanical arm suddenly pointed at the talisman paper, and his blue-purple psychic energy drew crooked lines on it. Seeing this, Chen Mohen pulled out a piece of charcoal and drew a "BUG" on the paper with his fingernail - something he had stolen from Yan Yuanxiu's data stream, which could cause minor confusion in the logical chain of the runes.
"Look carefully." He picked up a modified celestial talisman and threw it into the air.
Instead of emitting the usual purifying light, the talisman paper turned into a swarm of fireflies, circling around Qin Tieluo's iron lumps and shining the toilet lid turret like a luminous night pearl. Even more amazing was the "Wind Talisman", which was supposed to make people fly, but instead made Feng Hao's mechanical arm suddenly dance strangely, and his blue-purple spirit energy left a string of funny footprints on the ground.
"This is called the 'performance art' of talismans." Chen Mohen shook the talisman with pride. "Don't the old stubbornly think that the talisman can only purify? I insist on making them sing and dance!"
Lin Banxia suddenly laughed and pulled out a bottle of psychic ink from her medicine bag: "Add this."
The ink splashed on the talisman paper, the glow of the BUG talisman suddenly became soft, the firefly swarm began to repair the cracks in the fortress, and the mechanical arm's dance precisely avoided the campfire. Chen Mohen was stunned, looking at the pale golden glow on the edges of the talismans, and suddenly realized that this was not nonsense - Lin Banxia's mixture was giving these "rebellious" talismans new meanings.
"Tomorrow, put on a show for them." Feng Hao's robotic arm stopped dancing, and his blue-purple psychic energy condensed into a "garbled symbol" on the talisman paper. "Use what they are most proud of."
The light was still on in the distant Qingxiao Pavilion camp, and no one knew that the sacred talisman they regarded had been turned into the key to breaking the rules in the hands of a talisman thief. Looking at the glowing talismans, Chen Mohen suddenly felt that compared to the stolen Qingxiao talismans, the crooked BUG talismans he had drawn seemed to understand the essence of "talisman art" better
The bonfire crackled and stretched Chen Mohen's shadow long. He crouched in front of the pile of talismans, the charcoal on his fingertips dancing over the Qingxiao Talisman, and Lin Banxia's psychic ink spreading along the lines, creating pale golden flowers on the talisman. Feng Hao's mechanical arm was suspended in mid-air, and his blue-purple psychic energy was like an invisible thread, guiding the flow of the ink, making those "bugs" no longer chaotic doodles, but like some new rune grammar.
So... Will it work?" Chen Mohen's voice tightened a little, and his fingertip accidentally scratched the talisman he had just drawn.
Qin Tieluo suddenly took the iron lump off the toilet seat cover and stuck a modified "defense talisman" on it. When the talisman paper lit up, the toilet lid floated into the air, spinning and blocking a falling piece of rock, with a circle of glin-like light at the edge. "What is this called?" He scratched his head. "Art Defense Array?"
Lin Banxia's mechanical dog suddenly barked at the talisman paper, and the green light of the electronic eye pointed in the direction of the camp. Feng Hao's mechanical arm stung, a sign of psychic resonance - Ling Yue's troops had set off, the smell of burning talismans wafted in the wind, with an unquestionable arrogance.
"It's time to go on stage." Feng Hao picked up a "substitute talisman" on which Chen Mohen had drawn a crooked smiling face. "Remember, don't burn the granary of the fortress."
Chen Mohen filled his pocket with the talisman paper and darted out of the fortress like a cat that stole fishy smell. He sneaked along the rock wall and heard Ling Yue's voice in front: "Set up the purification array! I'd like to see how long those sorcery spells can last!"
The disciples of the Qingxiao Pavilion held the paper of the talisman and laid a circle of golden light outside the fortress. The talisman flowed on the ground like a greedy snake. Chen Mohen suddenly laughed and threw out all the BUG talismans in his arms.
The moment the talismans burst in the air, Ling Yue's face turned pale instantly.
The Qingxiao Talisman, which was supposed to purify evil spirits, turned into a shower of light and exploded a firework on the purification array; The "restraint Talismans" in the disciples' hands suddenly turned around and tied themselves into zongzi; The most amazing thing was Zhang "passing notes", who was supposed to deliver instructions, but instead heard Qin Tieluo's out-of-tune singing: "Junk can be a magic weapon ~"
"Demonic!" Ling Yue's flying sword pierced through three BUG talismans without noticing that the talisman paper under his feet was already burning quietly. It was the "great gift" left by Chen Mohen - a Qingxiao talisman that had been changed to "Gravity Talisman", which was now making the movement of his psychic energy extremely heavy, as if trapped in a quagmire.
In the fortress, Feng Hao's mechanical arm resonated with the energy core, and the blue-purple psychic energy spread along the defense array, weaving a web with the light rain in the air. Lin Banxia's mixture exploded at the eye of the array, and the pale golden liquid brought the runes to life, forming a huge mechanical dog shadow on the ground and growling at the team of the Clearsky Pavilion.
"That's what talismans are called." Standing at the top of the fortress, looking at the panicked pursuers, Chen Mohen suddenly felt that those crooked BUG talismans understood "the meaning of psychic energy" better than any Fulu of qingxiao Pavilion.
Ling Yue's flying sword finally broke free from gravity, but was stopped by Dao Blue light before it could Pierce Chen Mohen - it was Yan Yuanxiu's data stream, extending from the energy core and forming a barrier in mid-air. In the snowflakes on the screen, the pale face of the young man could be faintly seen, facing Chen Mohen's direction, with a very faint smile.
"Retreat!" Looking at the chaotic procession, Ling Yue finally gritted his teeth and gave the order.
As the light rain gradually dissipated, Chen Mohen picked up a falling BUG token, on which the smiling face was still glowing. He suddenly remembered what Yan Yuanxiu had said: "Rules are not cages, they are codes waiting to be rewritten."
The campfire of the fortress was still burning, Feng Hao's robotic arm, Lin Banxia's mixture, Qin Tieluo's toilet seat cover, Yan Yuanxiu's data stream, and the crooked talisman he had drawn himself, all merged into a warm light in the darkness. Chen Mohen stuck the smiley face on the gate of the fortress and suddenly realized that no matter how exquisite the stolen paper was, it was not as real as the "BUG" he drew himself.