Volume One: The Journey of the Useless Disciple Fiery Demon-Slaying Blade Chapter Seventy-One: Expelled from the Sect, A Special Transaction

Bringing back the ancestral artifact of the mountain should have been a joyous occasion, but upon their return to Dragon and Tiger Mountain, neither felt any happiness. The elders and junior disciples remained unaware of what had transpired, until the two recounted the events in detail to the Headmaster Celestial. He was greatly shocked—the price paid to retrieve the Heavenly Ruler was so steep. Had he known, regardless of whether the rumors were true, he would have descended the mountain himself to fetch it. Yet, what was done could not be undone, and regret was now futile.

As before, Mo Li took all the blame upon himself. According to the rules of Dragon and Tiger Mountain, when the Headmaster Celestial or elders send disciples to retrieve an item, they may bring it back but must not inspect it. After consulting with the elders, the Headmaster Celestial decided to strip Mo Li of his cultivation and expel him from the sect. Dongfang Shaoyan, being a junior disciple, was not punished. The Headmaster Celestial, acknowledging his own mismanagement, declared he would henceforth accept no more disciples.

Upon hearing this punishment, Dongfang Shaoyan was unable to accept it. It was far more severe than he had imagined. After all, they had returned the treasured Heavenly Ruler to the mountain; he could not stand by and watch his senior brother be stripped of his cultivation and expelled. He immediately revealed the true circumstances of the incident.

Learning that Dongfang Shaoyan was the one at fault, the Headmaster Celestial merely shook his head. “Let it be, let it be. The root of right and wrong lies with me, but you violated the sect rules and caused a grave mistake. From today forth, Dragon and Tiger Mountain is no longer your master. Take care of yourselves. You are both gifted and possess the arts of yin and yang—may you guard the living in other places, atoning for the catastrophe you have wrought.”

Dongfang Shaoyan, driven by greed, had retrieved the Heavenly Ruler but inadvertently released a calamity-bearing demon sealed for a hundred years. His merit could not offset his crime, and together with Mo Li, he was expelled from the sect. Mo Li remembered his master’s teachings and, as an ordinary man, quietly protected the people of the world. But Dongfang Shaoyan, young and arrogant, did not believe releasing the demon was his fault. Though he had broken the rule by inspecting the Heavenly Ruler, he thought the punishment should have been nothing more than copying scripture a hundred times as a warning.

As for releasing the demon, he felt that was not his responsibility at all. If only the Headmaster Celestial had told them that the demon was sealed within the Heavenly Ruler, this would never have happened. No matter how he pleaded, Mo Li would never have let him see it, and without seeing it, there would have been no opportunity to release the demon. Thus, he felt the punishment was unjust.

Though their cultivation and skills were not stripped, Dongfang Shaoyan felt only resentment, not gratitude or remorse. Of course, he never learned why the Headmaster Celestial had not told them about the sealed demon. From then on, Dongfang Shaoyan vanished, never again appearing within the bounds of Dragon and Tiger Mountain, nor ever mentioning his origins as a disciple.

For a living, he worked as a bodyguard and martial instructor, but these were not his true aspirations. It was only one day, by chance, that he comprehended a talisman.

This talisman bore uncanny resemblance to the formation laid by Monk Suichang—it could conceal both spiritual and evil energies. The difference, however, was immense. Monk Suichang’s formation could only be set in a fixed place, within which energies were hidden. But the talisman Dongfang Shaoyan understood had no such limitation; once affixed, it concealed energies and did not hinder movement.

Few in the world knew of this talisman, let alone its crafting and incantation. With it, Dongfang Shaoyan set his sights on magical artifacts. Artifacts possess spirits; the stronger the spirit, the greater the energy. Through his divine soul, he could sense the presence of powerful artifact spirits—unless shielded by formations or barriers, a sufficiently powerful soul could locate every artifact of strength in the world.

The Heavenly Ruler was a special case: Dragon and Tiger Mountain’s secret vault was sealed by a formation, making its existence undetectable from outside. Ever since the Heavenly Ruler forcibly sealed the calamity demon, all its energy was consumed in maintaining the seal. Even without barriers, its presence could not be sensed—this was why, for years after its theft, no one knew its location.

Powerful artifacts are rare and priceless, requiring strong souls to wield. Regardless of whether one could use them, every sect would go to any lengths to acquire such treasures—even at the cost of bloodless, casualty-free transactions, which was the least price to pay.

Owning one or more ancestral artifacts greatly elevated a sect’s status and deterred evil factions.

Dongfang Shaoyan began trading in artifacts: those he liked, he kept; those he did not, he sold to other sects for vast sums of silver.

Artifacts are the lifeblood of cultivators—losing one is akin to losing one’s life. The spirit of an artifact requires years of nurturing; no one would willingly surrender it except in dire peril, nor would anyone fail to try reclaiming it if stolen.

It is easy to imagine how ruthless Dongfang Shaoyan’s methods were in acquiring these artifacts. To avoid trouble, he always eliminated loose ends.

Tian Daqiao and Qu Ling possessed unique abilities and were taken under Dongfang Shaoyan’s wing. In a few years, the three became the renowned Spirit Commanding Sect. Due to the nature of their trade, they had no formal sect.

This time, the trio were tracking the powerful energies emanating from Chen San. Yang Chengzi’s necromancy might fool others, but not Dongfang Shaoyan, whose life was spent seeking artifacts. The spiritual energy was so immense; surely it belonged to an unparalleled artifact, one he could not afford to miss.

Over several days of following, they noticed that the strong energy would appear and disappear—by night, it was deliberately concealed. Clearly, someone was masking it.

Fortunately, Dongfang Shaoyan had discovered from the start that the energy would always reappear along the same route, so they followed it to this small town. Having just sensed the energy, it vanished again, clearly indicating it was somewhere nearby.

The three entered the town and soon stopped. Dongfang Shaoyan remained still, while Tian Daqiao took from his pack an incense stick, as thick as a chopstick, and lit it. Qu Ling also retrieved from her bundle a bamboo tube, as thick as an arm, opened it, and under the moonlight, two butterflies with a ghostly blue sheen crawled out, circled Qu Ling twice, then flew toward Chen San’s courtyard.

The incense in Tian Daqiao’s hand began to waft white smoke. Though late, the breeze carried the smoke in a tidy procession straight toward Chen San’s courtyard.

Dongfang Shaoyan frowned. “There are ghost spirits here—likely an evil sorcerer. Be careful.”

Tian Daqiao and Qu Ling nodded. The incense was Soul-Chasing Incense, a secret fragrance unique to Dragon and Tiger Mountain, usually used to guide the way for subduing demons. It was ineffective on ordinary ghosts, but could precisely track beings with strong demonic, evil, or spiritual energies, and, combined with the divine soul’s senses, could quickly pinpoint their hidden location.

There were no fearsome ghosts or demons in this town, yet the incense tracked directly to Wan’er. Soon after being lit, the smoke drifted toward her.

The bamboo tube in Qu Ling’s bundle contained butterflies she had meticulously cultivated—no ordinary insects. The cocoons were gathered from places rich in spiritual energy, and after feeding them her own blood for several days, they matured.

These butterflies possessed intelligence and ample energy; once released, they would seek out places abundant in energy to absorb it.

Their sensitivity to energy far surpassed human souls. With Chen San’s energy hidden, even the divine soul could not perceive it, but these butterflies could detect even the faintest leakage and trace it to its source. This was the secret of how the three found artifacts so accurately.

The energy surrounding Chen San was unmatched for miles—unless a master laid a formation, no other place could compare. Naturally, the spirit butterflies flew directly toward Chen San, and although Chen Wan’er had warned them, Yang Chengzi and Chen San never imagined their location had already been precisely discovered.

For Yang Chengzi, the newcomers could be friend or foe, but most likely they were after Chen San. By now, he was used to it—every event seemed to revolve around Chen San.

If they were after Chen San’s spiritual energy, as long as they were not evil sorcerers, a proper explanation would suffice. The righteous sects would not trouble Chen San. But if they were evil, a battle might be unavoidable.

Even as he pondered this, Dongfang Shaoyan and his companions appeared not far away, striding straight toward the courtyard. Yang Chengzi was startled—how did they know where they were? Even he, a senior disciple of Mount Mao, could not achieve that.

If Chen San hid within Monk Suichang’s formation and Yang Chengzi was not told the location, his own skills would not suffice to find him—it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

But the three newcomers walked as if directed, heading straight for the courtyard without hesitation. Yang Chengzi was baffled, until he saw the glowing butterflies enter the yard and realized what was happening.

Yang Chengzi did not go out; Monk Suichang’s maze was still active outside. He decided to observe their methods before acting.

Upon reaching the courtyard, Dongfang Shaoyan raised a hand to halt the group. They stopped, and it was clear he saw through the maze at a glance. He pulled a yellow talisman from his robe, formed a hand gesture familiar to Yang Chengzi, and threw the talisman into the maze.

The yellow talisman floated down, then ignited with a roar. The Buddhist beads at the heart of the maze shattered, and the illusion dissolved instantly. Yang Chengzi, rather than being shocked, felt a surge of hope and stood, bringing Chen San with him.

With a creak, the door opened, and Dongfang Shaoyan and his companions were momentarily surprised to see Yang Chengzi and Chen San step out. Dongfang Shaoyan stared fixedly at Chen San, barely glancing at Yang Chengzi.

Yang Chengzi cupped his hands in salute. “Fellow Daoist, I am Yang Chengzi of Mount Mao. May I ask if you have come following the trace of spiritual energy?”

Dongfang Shaoyan was taken aback by such directness—he had never encountered such a situation before. Awkwardly, he raised his hand in salute.

“Indeed, I followed the spiritual energy. What kind of artifact possesses such extraordinary power?”

“You misunderstand. It’s a long story. This young man is Chen San, a local of Chen Family Town. Not long ago, an anomaly appeared here and he was sent to invite the masters of Mount Mao and Cold Mountain Temple. Unfortunately, on the road we encountered a great demon. With no other option, I sealed the demon in his body with a soul-binding spell. Alas, his spirit could not suppress the demon. Luckily, a spirit fox assisted in sealing it, but the fox needed abundant spiritual energy, so I set a grand formation upon him. The energy you sensed comes from him.”

Dongfang Shaoyan frowned slightly, smiled, and cupped his hands to Yang Chengzi, then suddenly kicked at him.

“Do you take me for a child? Even ghosts wouldn’t believe your tale. Hand over the artifact, or you won’t leave this town.”

Yang Chengzi blocked the kick, pulling Chen San back, his brow furrowed. He had intended to explain, but now saw clearly—though this man used talismans from Dragon and Tiger Mountain, the woman beside him could not be from there. Dragon and Tiger Mountain had no female disciples. The three had followed the energy here; clearly, they were not sent by the mountain. He had been careless.