Chapter 145: Accepting the Quest 4

Seeing that Yuan Kui had used a talisman seal and successfully escaped her sure-hit attack using the Earth Escaping Technique, Yao Xueqing was extremely displeased.

At this moment, Yao Xueqing was so irritated that she was gritting her teeth. The reason she had declared earlier that she would not use spells to spar with Yuan Kui was because she assumed he didn't know any spells, and using them against him would feel like bullying the weak.

Never had she expected that this fellow, despite not knowing spells, had pulled out a talisman seal and instantly dodged her attack. How was she supposed to fight like this? The more Yao Xueqing thought about it, the angrier she became.

"Little Yuan, get out here right now! How dare you use spells?!"

Upon hearing Yao Xueqing's voice, Yuan Kui immediately burrowed out from beneath the ground, shook the dirt off his body, and said, "Sister Xueqing, you said you wouldn't use spells to spar with me, but you never made a rule saying I couldn't use them. This is also my means of self-preservation. I just wanted to show it to you both so you'd believe I can take care of myself."

Yao Xueqing was instantly left speechless.

Just as Yuan Kui had said, his reasoning made complete sense; she had clearly been tricked. She had suffered in silence while he held the upper hand in the argument, which only deepened her depression.

If they continued the spar, he would undoubtedly use this trick again. Since the dignified young master of the Yuan family had already used such a talisman seal, he naturally possessed more. Continuing the fight this way would lose all suspense and merely consume more talismans. Although the Yuan family was not short on money, these talismans were truly not cheap.

With this thought, Yao Xueqing gritted her teeth, retracted her Tianya Sword, and forced a smile onto her face. "Little Yuan, well played. You actually dared to play tricks on me."

Seeing Yao Xueqing withdraw her Tianya Sword and knowing the fight was over, Yuan Kui put away his steel saber as well. Yet, seeing that particular smile on Yao Xueqing's face sent an involuntary shudder down his spine. "Sister Xueqing, how could I ever dare?"

Yao Xueqing let out a cold snort. "It's good that you know better. Tell me, where did you learn the method of using talisman seals? If you dare deceive me, I won't let you come along."

Although these talisman seals were purchased, mastering the incantation to activate them was mandatory; otherwise, they were nothing more than pieces of paper imbued with a trace of spiritual energy and remained completely unusable.

Hearing this, Yuan Kui did not dare to conceal anything. "Reporting to Sister Xueqing, this was taught to me by an immortal master hired by my old man. He said that mastering them can save your life, so that's why I learned them." With that, Yuan Kui scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He knew there was still a chance now; this might even be the final hurdle, and he couldn't help feeling a bit excited.

Yao Xueqing nodded. This answer seemed to align with her expectations, which made its credibility somewhat higher.

"Very well then. Since you have such a means of self-preservation, I trust you won't hold us back. You can come along with us and see what it's like, just consider it a learning experience."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Kui was overjoyed and hurriedly nodded in gratitude.

"Thank you, Sister Xueqing!" "Thank you, Brother Li!" "Thank you..." Previously, he had only wanted to tag along out of playfulness and couldn't find anyone suitable to accompany him. Now, he had unexpectedly found two companions—how could he not be thrilled?

Before he could finish, pausing for a moment as if she had thought of something, Yao Xueqing continued, "Later on, you must stay right behind your Brother Li and not leave his side for even a step. I'll cover your rear to ensure your safety. Do you understand?"

Yao Xueqing's tone was resolute, leaving no room for argument.

Seemingly sensing the shift in her tone, Yuan Kui nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Li Siming had been watching the good show unfold from the side all along. The moment those talisman seals were brought out, his curiosity had been thoroughly piqued. Seeing that they had finished negotiating, he stepped forward immediately and said,

"Brother Yuan, would you mind letting me take a look at those talisman seals?"

Without hesitation, Yuan Kui generously pulled out a stack of talisman seals and handed them to Li Siming. Upon seeing the sheer quantity of talismans Yuan Kui produced, Li Siming felt a wave of secret astonishment.

Holding the stack of talismans in his hand, Li Siming couldn't help but marvel inwardly. The paper used for these talismans appeared to be ordinary small yellow paper, inscribed with various patterns corresponding to different effects. As long as one mastered the incantation, even individuals with low cultivation levels could use them. Thus, it was known as the fastest way for low-level cultivators to master spells.

Of course, because these talisman seals were consumable items and rather troublesome to produce, their price was quite high. Only those with deep pockets could afford to use them in combat.

Within the Xuantian Sword Sect, it was said that only a handful of masters still taught this skill. Due to strained financial resources, very few others had the opportunity to come into contact with such talismans; after all, mistakes during the crafting process were inevitable, and the waste of large quantities of materials was something ordinary people could not bear.

Li Siming carefully inspected the talismans in his hand. There was the Earth Escaping Technique just used, as well as Water Escaping, Wind Escaping, Thunder Escaping, and others. What surprised him the most was a Flight Talisman among them.

The variety was quite complete, though the quantity of each specific talisman was small.

Clicking his tongue in wonder, Li Siming handed the talismans back to Yuan Kui, glanced at Yao Xueqing, and asked, "Shall we set off then?"

Yao Xueqing nodded, and the three of them walked toward the North Gate of Tianyuan City.

Because of the earlier delay, the day was now fully bright. Although the city gates were open by now, since this gate was the closest to Fuyuan Slope and the City Lord had given prior instructions, the North Gate remained tightly closed, guarded by a squad of soldiers.

Although two of the three were descendants of the Four Great Families and leaving the city would be as easy as turning over a hand, neither of them seemed willing to expose their identities here and attract unnecessary trouble. Therefore, after a brief discussion, the three of them secretly found a spot to scale down the city wall.

Though they could not yet fly, as cultivators, a city wall of this height was nothing to them. Before long, they slipped out successfully.

Once outside the city, all three of them felt their moods lift considerably. Dispensing with further idle talk, they began their journey toward Fuyuan Slope.

Their pace along the way was not particularly fast, clearly to accommodate Yuan Kui. After an hour of travel, they had only covered half the distance.

Right now, because of Yuan Kui, the three were resting beneath a large tree. Yao Xueqing began to complain somewhat impatiently that Yuan Kui was too slow, causing his face to flush red and white. Driven by embarrassment, he actually wanted to use his single and only Flight Talisman to drastically speed up their travel.

"No way! The Flight Talisman is meant for saving your life. Although the flight duration isn't long, its advantage lies in its speed, allowing you to rapidly escape an encirclement. Have you lost your mind, wanting to use it just for traveling?" Hearing Yuan Kui's suggestion, Yao Xueqing flatly refused. True to form, this Yuan Kui still had the brain of a pig, utterly incapable of distinguishing what was important from what wasn't.

At that very moment, Li Siming suddenly spoke up, "Someone is coming. Hide quickly."

Yao Xueqing and Yuan Kui were both startled. Looking around hastily, they spotted a small dirt trench nearby, crawled into it without hesitation, concealed their auras, and froze without daring to make a sound.