Jiang Yin had a good idea.
The next day, around noon, while she and Tang Muxi were preparing food, a figure suddenly appeared behind them without them noticing.
The person was dressed in a dark gray Taoist robe, with silver-gray hair tied up with a simple wooden hairpin.
He appeared to be slightly older, with wrinkles on his forehead and the corners of his eyes, but his demeanor was still imposing, maintaining a dignified and benevolent appearance.
This person was Zhang Xu, the Elder in charge of teaching, who had taken Tang Muxi as his disciple two months ago.
Zhang Xu, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, was responsible for teaching and solving doubts.
Many disciples and newly promoted elders in Tianji Sect had received his guidance.
Despite not having the highest cultivation level, he was highly respected for his virtue.
Recently busy, he had somewhat neglected his disciples and felt guilty, so he took the time to bring some self-protective talismans to advise them on the distribution of monsters and precious spiritual plants in the Tianji Secret Realm, not expecting to encounter such a scene.
He didn’t pay much attention to Jiang Yin, only knowing she had no talent for cultivation and lived a hard life in the sect.
He didn’t expect her to get along well with his new disciple, which reminded Zhang Xu of the days when he and his fellow disciples supported each other, and he nodded with a smile, “Not bad, not bad.”
Zhang Xu stroked his beard, startling the two who were cooking.
Seeing her master, Tang Muxi exclaimed with joy, “Master, why are you here?”
In her past lives, although she had been forced to commit many wrongs and had a strained relationship with this master, he had stood up for her multiple times when Jiang Yin returned for revenge, so Tang Muxi held great respect for Zhang Xu.
However, thinking of the precious spiritual plants she had stolen, she couldn’t help feeling guilty.
“Greetings, Elder.”
Jiang Yin didn’t have much affection for him, just respecting his upright character.
Now that she was a Demon Lord, she couldn’t even utter the word “master.”
“I’ve brought you some talismans for protection and to see how you’re doing,” Zhang Xu said, taking out two jade talismans from his storage ring and handing them to the two, “These contain my full strength and can save your lives in a moment of crisis.”
“Here are three talisman papers, each representing a different formation: illusion, trapping, and killing. They’re not as powerful as the jade talismans but can handle most situations in the secret realm.”
After handing over the talisman papers, Zhang Xu also gave them a bottle of healing pills, nodding with satisfaction.
Tang Muxi was about to thank him when she suddenly looked eagerly at Zhang Xu.
Frowning, Zhang Xu asked, “What, are these not enough?”
Tang Muxi quickly shook her head, cautiously asking, “It’s not that they’re not enough… but, do you have any spirit stones?”
Zhang Xu, taken aback by the bold request for spirit stones from his disciple, thought about how he hadn’t paid much attention to her recently and huffed lightly before taking out twenty mid-grade and twenty low-grade spirit stones to give to them, “Is this enough now?”
Tang Muxi, feeling the weight of the spirit stones, was relieved and cheekily thanked her master, saying, “Thank you, Master. You’re always so good to us.”
Even the usually cold-hearted Jiang Yin thanked him this time.
Zhang Xu briefly explained the situation in the Tianji Secret Realm and, feeling there was nothing more to say, added, “Be careful tomorrow. I won’t disturb you further.”
As he was about to leave, Jiang Yin gave Tang Muxi a look, prompting her to hastily call out, “Master, wait!”
Seeing Zhang Xu’s wary look, as if afraid she would ask for more spirit stones, Tang Muxi awkwardly laughed, “I don’t want spirit stones, I just… had something to tell you.”
Zhang Xu then lowered his guard and asked, “What is it?”
“Have you been to the medicinal garden recently?”
he asked, his expression becoming serious, “I haven’t.”
“Oh, that’s strange. This morning when I went to buy ingredients, I clearly saw the garden’s protective formation wide open. I thought you had gone in and forgotten to close it,” Tang Muxi lied confidently, even convincing Jiang Yin.
Shocked, Zhang Xu exclaimed, “What?! The formation was open? Was anything stolen?”
Tang Muxi innocently shook her head, “I thought it was you, so I didn’t dare to look closely and don’t know the condition of the garden.”
With that, she cleared herself of any suspicion.
Zhang Xu, now deeply concerned, left immediately.
The medicinal garden contained spiritual plants he had painstakingly cultivated for years, and he had recently been too busy to reinforce its protective formation regularly.
If something had happened, he would deeply regret it.
Tang Muxi, seeing his anxious departure, felt guilty, especially while cooking.
Jiang Yin, noticing her mistakes, asked, “Afraid of being exposed? Don’t worry, he won’t find out it was us.”
Tang Muxi bit her lip, “I just feel sorry for Master.”
After receiving so many things from him and listening to his advice, she felt guilty for stealing his herbs and blaming others.
Jiang Yin smirked, “So, are you going to confess and apologize now?”
“No, no, no… I was just saying,” Tang Muxi quickly refused, fearing a severe punishment if her actions were discovered.
Jiang Yin found her cowardice amusing and mischievously said, “You were so bold when you bullied me before, but now you’re nervous about doing something bad. You really are fickle.”
Tang Muxi was startled, afraid of being caught, and defensively said, “Where? Besides, I’ve reformed. Sister, you’re so annoying, always joking.”
After that, she focused on cooking and eating, afraid of bringing up the past.
She realized Jiang Yin hadn’t truly forgiven her, calling her “sister” affectionately when teasing her but showing no kindness otherwise, addressing her coldly.
A demon is a demon, inherently wicked.
That afternoon, the entire Tianji Sect learned about the theft in the Elder’s medicinal garden.
The thieves were several outer disciples who denied their actions until the stolen items were found in their quarters, claiming they were framed.
But with the evidence against them and their history of theft, many disciples testified.
The Elder, furious, stripped them of their cultivation and expelled them from the sect.
Tang Muxi, hearing this, was terrified and didn’t dare to leave her room all afternoon.
The theft was a serious matter, and following the incident, several elders reinforced their gardens’ protective formations and assigned disciples to guard them to prevent further thefts.
Tang Muxi, worried about how to free Duan Yurong from Wang Qu’s control, seized the opportunity to recommend Duan Yurong to her master as a guard.
Guarding the garden was not an ordinary task, and if Duan Yurong could take on the role, she would live on Juling Peak under the elders’ supervision, beyond Wang Qu’s reach despite being an ordinary disciple.
Initially reluctant, Zhang Xu eventually agreed after Tang Muxi’s persistent pleading.
Delighted, Tang Muxi went to tell Duan Yurong the good news after dinner.
At night, the sect was quiet, with most disciples resting and those with higher cultivation meditating.
Unlike towns, there were no patrols at night, and the path to the servants’ quarters, where Duan Yurong lived, was secluded.
Tang Muxi, new to the sect, almost got lost in the dark but managed to find her way with a map.
Servant disciples shared rooms, and when Tang Muxi knocked, an unfamiliar woman answered, still sleepy.
“Who are you looking for?”
the woman asked.
“Is Duan Yurong here?”
Tang Muxi inquired, peeking inside.
“She left half an hour ago and hasn’t returned,” the woman replied.
“Oh… Do you know where she went?”
Tang Muxi asked, not wanting to leave empty-handed.
The woman, annoyed at being disturbed, replied irritably, “How would I know? If you have no further business, I’m going back to sleep. I have to get up early to chop wood.”
Tang Muxi apologized and left, wandering aimlessly under the dim moonlight, unsure where to go.
Since then, Duan Yurong hadn’t contacted her.
With the Tianji Secret Realm opening the next day, Tang Muxi wondered if she had given up, feeling something wasn’t right.
Lost in thought, she found herself in an unfamiliar bamboo forest, unsure of her location.
Trying to find her way, she heard a man and woman arguing.
Tang Muxi, not one to eavesdrop, recognized Duan Yurong’s voice and approached cautiously.
“A waste with a Five Elements Root can’t even be killed. How can Manager Wang trust me?”
“Hmph! She was just lucky this time. If I had acted personally, she wouldn’t have escaped!”
“The secret realm opens tomorrow. Manager Wang failed to kill that waste and didn’t get the token. Are we just making empty promises?”
“Ha, who says I don’t have the token? Look, what’s this?”
“This… You killed them?”
“They were already expelled from the sect. What does it matter if I kill a few fools who dared to steal from the Elder’s garden?”
Was Wang Qu involved?
Tang Muxi realized Duan Yurong had persuaded Wang Qu to target Jiang Yin, and even the expelled disciples were now dead.
Shocked, Tang Muxi wondered if Duan Yurong knew Wang Qu had turned to the dark side or if she had been led astray as well.
Eager to hear more, Tang Muxi accidentally snapped a bamboo stalk, alerting the pair.
As they shouted, “Who’s there?”
a spell flew towards her.
Tang Muxi ran for her life, knowing she couldn’t outrun Wang Qu, a cultivator near the Golden Core stage.
Just as Wang Qu was about to catch her, a hand pulled her into the bamboo forest.
Ready to fight, Tang Muxi swung her hand, only to be stopped by the person who whispered, “Don’t move if you don’t want to die.”
It was Jiang Yin’s voice!
