The night was as dark as ink. Under the cold, pale moonlight, the dead city resembled a slumbering primordial beast.
Liu San stood alone at the center of the city, before him an ancient locust tree—long withered, its twisted branches clawing at the night sky.
This was the place the old shopkeeper had spoken of.
Taking a deep breath, Liu San pulled out a black talisman etched with the grotesque image of a blue-faced, fanged ghost.
With a surge of spiritual power, a tiny flame suddenly flickered to life, igniting one corner of the talisman.
Whoosh—
The talisman did not burn away. Instead, it dissolved into a wisp of eerie blue smoke that drilled straight into the center of his brow.
In an instant, Liu San felt the world spin. An overwhelming, chaotic force flooded his sea of consciousness. The world before him blurred, twisted, and finally collapsed into a hollow void of endless darkness.
His eyes lost all trace of vitality.
…
In a distant cave-dwelling, Liu Ming's eyes snapped open!
At that very moment, he realized something was terribly wrong—he had lost control over Liu San!
It was like a man suddenly discovering he could no longer lift his own hand. He could clearly "see" the existence of the arm, but could not move it at all.
The avatar was out of control!
Fortunately, he could still perceive the world through Liu San's eyes, observing whatever his double encountered.
What he saw chilled him. Liu San, like a mindless puppet, turned stiffly around and began to march out of the dead city.
His direction—straight back to the San Cai Market!
"So this is your so-called guiding talisman?" Liu Ming cursed under his breath. "Just what kind of road are you leading me on?!"
Sure enough, Liu San trudged tirelessly through the forests and mountains, finally returning to the edge of that bottomless abyss.
This time, without the slightest hesitation, he stepped directly into the void.
His body plummeted straight down into the endless darkness.
But just before he was devoured, a sudden flash of white light erupted from below—a gentle yet irresistible force surged upward from a cavern, catching his falling body with unerring precision.
The light wrapped around him, guiding him slowly, until he was delivered into a vast, oppressive workshop buzzing with noise.
Inside, countless cultivators worked like enslaved ants, their heads bowed in endless labor. The air was thick with the strange mingling scent of talisman paper and spirit ink.
Liu San was set before an empty stone desk. As soon as he sat down, an overwhelming flood of information surged into his mind.
It was a complete set of talisman-crafting knowledge—methods, techniques, and secrets. From the most basic Gathering Spirit Talisman to the more complex Sharp Metal Talisman—everything was laid bare, without omission.
Almost mechanically, Liu San lifted the talisman brush, dipped it in spirit ink, and began to draw talismans stroke by stroke. His movements were precise yet lifeless—no different from the countless other enslaved cultivators around him.
Watching through shared sight, Liu Ming narrowed his eyes as sudden clarity struck him.
That seemingly kind old shopkeeper had never meant to help them.
His true intent was to lure Liu San here—to enslave him, forcing him to toil endlessly for the San Cai Market!
Now it was clear—these immense workshops, teeming with cultivators… they were all filled with people deceived and trapped just like Liu San.
At that very moment, the door of Liu Ming's cave residence thundered with a sharp knock, knock, knock.
Startled, Liu Meng furrowed her brows and waved her hand, opening the stone door.
A boy in the robes of the Treasure Pavilion stood outside, holding a wooden box respectfully.
"Senior Sister, the hundred Yang-Attracting Pills you ordered have arrived. The cost is one San Cai coin."
At once, Liu Meng's gaze turned icy. An invisible wave of pressure surged from her body, bearing down on the boy.
"How dare your Treasure Pavilion!" she snapped. "You tricked away my people, and now you dare show up at my door delivering medicine?"
The boy staggered back half a step under her oppressive aura, briefly surprised that she already knew. But he quickly smoothed his expression into that trademark merchant's smile and chuckled.
"Senior Sister jests. In our sect, private fighting between peers is strictly forbidden. How could the Treasure Pavilion dare lay hands on your people? No, no—he simply made a foolish choice and voluntarily joined us. Who can be blamed for his stupidity?"
"If Senior Sister is so displeased, you may kill me right here. But I should remind you—if you lift a hand against me, the enforcers of the sect will arrive swiftly. And when they do… your punishment will be a hundred times harsher than mine."
"Of course…" His eyes glinted slyly. "If you truly cannot stomach this insult, you could always set a trap for me. Should I fall into your scheme, then no matter what you make me do, it would all be considered my own 'voluntary' choice."
Liu Meng's pupils contracted slightly.
At last, she understood—the true rules of the Demonic Sect.
After becoming a cultivator, one was forbidden to kill outright. That was iron law.
But as long as no direct violence was used, as long as deceit and schemes did the work, even driving someone to their doom—no one would intervene.
No wonder… No wonder Qin Shuang had tested her so cruelly from the beginning, warning her again and again not to fall into others' traps!
Suppressing her anger, Liu Meng finally pulled out a single San Cai coin from her storage pouch and tossed it over.
"The pills. Leave them."
"Gladly, Senior Sister. Please enjoy." The boy grinned as he pocketed the coin and departed cheerfully.
Closing the door, Liu Meng returned to the hall, for the first time her face showing a trace of regret.
She had been careless. Because Liu San was merely a clone, she had too easily trusted that old shopkeeper—and wasted the avatar completely.
Though Liu San only had Qi Refining cultivation, losing such a useful body was still a painful loss.
—Yet, if not for the clone, who else could she use to test dangers, to probe unknown paths?
This sect truly was no place for human beings.
In his private meditation chamber, Liu Ming cursed inwardly. But then, a smile slowly crept across his face.
For even as Liu San toiled away, vast streams of talismanic knowledge were being poured straight into his mind.
The San Cai Market surely thought Liu San was fully enslaved, incapable of escape. That was why they dared implant such precious knowledge into him, without reservation.
But what they never imagined—was that Liu Ming shared consciousness with Liu San. Everything the clone received, he too received.
And so, priceless talisman arts now belonged to him.
Among them—was the true talisman that could lead to Luo Feng City itself!
"If you don't want me entering Luo Feng City…" Liu Ming's eyes gleamed coldly. "Then I'll just enter on my own."
"The Soul Banner… it will be mine!"