My Master’s Daoist Heart is Unstable - Chapter 4

“What’s this?”

“It’s a talisman.”

“Am I blind? Of course I know it’s a talisman! I’m asking what it’s used for!”

“My guess… is that it’s used to kill us.”

“Kill demons? It couldn’t have already killed one, could it?! This talisman has already been used.”

The incessant chattering finally roused Li Shangyuan from his slumber.

He opened his eyes, feeling utterly drained, and saw two demons, already in their humanoid forms, poking at the spent teleportation talisman on the ground with a twig.

He was bound tight in vines that reeked of demonic energy.

How did I end up in such a pathetic state the moment I left the Sect?

He had assumed the Mortal Realm within a thousand li of the Sect would be demon-free, so he’d used a teleportation talisman to send himself to a region hundreds of thousands of li away.

He hadn’t realized the talisman’s power was so immense. His own spiritual power couldn’t sustain the journey, and he’d passed out halfway. When he finally woke, he found himself in this predicament.

Ignoring the faintly glowing demon core hidden in his sleeve, Li Shangyuan quietly observed the two demons, who had yet to fully complete their transformation into human form.

“Maybe we should wake him up and ask how to use this thing?” A girl with a tuft of soft white feathers on her head crouched on the ground, cautiously examining the talisman.

“I think you’re right,” a scrawny young man replied, crouching beside her. His triangular ears and the fluffy tail at the base of his spine twitched occasionally.

Li Shangyuan watched the demons’ backs, his mind racing. His gaze lingered on the straight, white tuft of hair standing up on the girl’s head. What kind of demon is she? he wondered.

“You agree with everything I say. Are you stupid? Won’t he kill us if he wakes up?” The girl shoved Tail Man flat on his back.

Tail Man scrambled to his feet as if this were a daily occurrence, his face screaming, But you’re the one who said it! Of course, he didn’t dare say it aloud. He just silently righted himself.

His narrow eyes met Li Shangyuan’s in an unexpected clash of gazes.

Tail Man froze for a moment, then silently retreated two steps. The girl looked at him, bewildered. What’s wrong with him? she wondered, her eye twitching.

After he repeatedly gestured with his eyes, she finally understood. Keeping her back to Li Shangyuan, she waddled forward on all fours like a clumsy duck until she was beside the man.

After a moment, he slowly turned in a circle on the ground, finally facing them.

The two parties stood about ten paces apart in the ruined temple, their six eyes locked in a tense standoff.

After a pause, Li Shangyuan asked politely, “Fellow Daoists? May I ask why you have bound me here?”

The white-crowned girl and the man with the tail quickly exchanged a glance.

“What is this talisman for? How did you end up here? What is your purpose?”

The girl finished speaking, her gaze fixed on the branches binding Li Shangyuan. Only after confirming the demonic aura hadn’t dissipated did she use a withered branch to swiftly sweep the spiritually drained talisman off the ground. She only seemed to breathe a sigh of relief once the paper had flown out of the temple.

Li Shangyuan stated plainly, “This is a teleportation talisman. I was accidentally transported here, just passing through.”

The two demons exchanged suspicious glances, their eyes darting between him and the talisman.

Li Shangyuan’s brow furrowed slightly, his once-soft features tightening. He spoke again, his voice still patient, “I was teleported here, and then immediately bound by you two without any explanation.”

Seeing the two demons still wearing expressions that said they didn’t believe a word he was saying, Li Shangyuan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

“How can I prove to you that I am telling the truth?” he asked.

The girl actually seemed to consider the question seriously. “Let me think…”

The Tail Man glanced at her, then quietly reached behind her and poked her, a silent reminder.

The girl’s wandering thoughts were yanked back to the matter at hand. “Hand over all your talismans and magical artifacts,” she snarled, “and we’ll let you go.”

She held out her palm, facing up, waiting. Then she added, “We’re as good as our word.”

Li Shangyuan struggled to shuffle his body up the pillar, stabilizing himself before speaking in a gentle tone.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. First, I don’t know what you would use them for. Second, I’ll still need them for the rest of my journey.”

“Then why waste your breath?” the girl snapped, trying to look menacing but not moving an inch. “We’ll just kill you, then take your things.”

Seeing that Li Shangyuan’s expression remained gentle and showed no sign of fear, the girl’s frustration turned to rage. She shoved the Tail Man. “You go!”

The Tail Man swallowed hard and shook his head. “I won’t.” His thin shoulders hunched as he repeated, “I don’t know how to kill.”

The girl froze. The two sides stared each other down in a tense standoff.

“Then… then just give us half,” the girl conceded, offering a compromise.

Li Shangyuan’s eyes narrowed in question. “What do you actually need these for?”

“What’s it to you?”

The girl’s expression faltered, and she was about to retort when the man suddenly grabbed her arm. He pointed at the sky and whispered urgently. The girl looked up, following his long, thin arm. The sky was about to turn gray.

The two exchanged a glance. “We’ll kill you and take the treasure when we get back. Just stay put and don’t run off.”

With those hasty words, the white-crowned girl and the Tail Man bolted out of the temple.

In an instant, the ruined temple fell silent.

Li Shangyuan looked up at the dilapidated roof, riddled with holes, and said softly, “Martial Nephew, come down. Stop watching the show.”

The moment he finished speaking, the broken tiles on the roof rattled and clattered. Having seen enough of the spectacle, Dian Chao leaped down, landing with a gloating look at Li Shangyuan.

“Tsk. How embarrassing. And could you stop calling me your martial nephew?”

It was nauseating to hear! Two half-transformed demons had managed to capture him. Not only was his cultivation level lacking, but he was also so indecisive in his actions. How did he even deserve to be called my Martial Uncle? I can’t even fathom what Ancestor Qiewei saw in him.

Li Shangyuan hid his slight embarrassment before asking in surprise, “Dian Chao, why are you here?”

If his Identity Jade Token hadn’t automatically alerted him to a fellow disciple’s presence, he likely wouldn’t have noticed with his current cultivation level.

Hearing the question, Dian Chao’s expression immediately darkened.

His Sect Master, knowing that he had trapped Li Shangyuan in the formation and nearly caused a disaster, had ordered him to accompany Li Shangyuan. This was partly to make up for his mistake and partly, as the Sect Master claimed, to temper his impulsive nature. Dian Chao, of course, was resentful, but he couldn’t disobey his Master’s orders.

“I came to watch you suffer, obviously,” Dian Chao snorted coldly.

Li Shangyuan had already guessed the reason. He could only say helplessly, “Then please untie me first.”

“I’ll deal with those two little demons first. As for you… that depends on my mood.”

Dian Chao deliberately dragged out his words as he summoned his Natal Sword and turned to leave.

“Wait.” Li Shangyuan stopped him immediately. “There’s no need. They didn’t actually hurt me.”

Li Shangyuan’s once-neatly tied topknot had mostly come undone. Loose strands of hair fell over his sharp jawline, and his entire figure was covered in gray dust. Only his eyes remained bright and sincere, reflecting the clear sky above the ruined temple.

Dian Chao met his gaze, but for once, he didn’t offer a sharp retort. Instead, he said with a strange expression, “They’re demons, after all.”

Li Shangyuan smiled and nodded. “It’s already difficult for a demon cultivator to achieve form transformation.” This was clearly another firm attempt to stop him.

He regained a bit of strength, pushing himself up with his knees to lean firmly against the pillar. He said nothing more, simply watching Dian Chao and waiting patiently.

Dian Chao lowered his gaze, his eyelashes hiding the unreadable darkness in his eyes.

After a moment, he slowly approached. With a light wave of the Chaomu Sword in his hand, the demonic energy dissipated, and the branches binding Li Shangyuan snapped clean in two.

“Tsk, such a soft-hearted fool.”

Li Shangyuan looked at the man, who stood with an arrogant expression yet had failed to object, and murmured his thanks. He then used the pillar to push himself to his feet.

He calmly took out a pill and swallowed it. His Dantian’s spiritual power restored in an instant, and only then did he slowly straighten his robes and cap.

Watching this series of unhurried movements, Dian Chao somehow caught a fleeting glimpse of Ancestor Qiewei’s shadow within them.

He immediately crushed the thought and rolled his eyes inwardly.

Low cultivation is one thing, but trying to emulate Ancestor Qiewei at every turn? How utterly tasteless.

“Dian Chao, why don’t we follow them and see?” With that, Li Shangyuan walked toward the door, acting as if Dian Chao had already agreed.

Dian Chao was speechless.

…If I didn’t want to go see too, who would ever listen to you?

The two stepped out of the ruined temple, only to find themselves surrounded by a dense bamboo forest. A few scattered huts stood beside the temple, somewhat dilapidated, yet the paths in front of them remained clean, without a single blade of grass.

They walked without pause for nearly half an hour, yet still found themselves circling within the bamboo forest.

“Don’t tell me you couldn’t fly your sword this whole time? I’m done with this. Let me go up and check.”

Dian Chao, his face a mask of impatience, summoned his flying sword and leaped into the air. A golden arc shot into the sky, vanishing from sight in an instant.

Li Shangyuan had no time to stop him and could only stand there helplessly. He knew Dian Chao would be back in a moment anyway.

When Dian Chao landed, he met Li Shangyuan’s “I knew it” expression and immediately bristled.

“If you knew it was an illusion, why didn’t you say so earlier?”

He had been forced to fly in circles in the air, taking several laps before he finally realized what was happening.

“I hadn’t even opened my mouth before you vanished. Truly decisive action,” Li Shangyuan praised sincerely.

At the praise, Dian Chao’s expression looked as if he had been forced to swallow something he couldn’t keep down or spit out.

“Wait here. I’ll break the array.”

Li Shangyuan effortlessly dismantled the formation. Watching from the side, Dian Chao had to admit that this man was indeed stronger than him in the art of formations… just a little bit.

The illusion array shattered instantly. It turned out they had been circling the edge of the bamboo forest all along.

This time, it took them only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to successfully pass through the bamboo forest. What met their eyes was a series of earthen mounds, some large and some small, numbering at least a dozen.

The two exchanged a glance, both showing confusion.

The Fierce Beast demon core remained dim, and the golden bell at Dian Chao’s waist did not ring, indicating there was nothing unusual here. They withdrew their searching gazes and continued forward.

After Li Shangyuan had walked some distance, he couldn’t help but reflect on it, those earthen mounds looked like…

Following the trail of the two small demons, they finally stopped outside a quiet town.

The demon core in Li Shangyuan’s sleeve glowed continuously, and Dian Chao raised his hand to press down on the ringing golden bell at his waist.

Li Shangyuan looked up at the three large characters “Zhuxian Town” carved on the stone pillar by the town entrance, his eyebrows slightly raised, and then he fell into deep thought.

Since ancient times, the Cultivation Realm and the Mortal Realm have always been clearly separated, and it is a consensus in the Cultivation Realm that cultivators should not excessively interfere in the mortal world. Moreover, mortals have always kept a respectful distance from cultivators. To so openly name a mortal town “Zhuxian,” meaning “Immortal Dwelling,” made the strangeness of the matter self-evident.

Both of them realized this point and immediately walked into the town.

Strange.

The surrounding houses were all built from tree branches, their walls woven from twigs of uniform thickness, tied together in a crisscross pattern. The bark hadn’t been stripped away, leaving the original texture exposed. The roofs were layered with massive, overlapping leaves.

These branches bore a striking resemblance to the ones that had bound him, yet they lacked any trace of demonic energy.

The auras of the two small demons had vanished completely upon entering the town, as if they had evaporated into thin air.

And yet, outside the town, their demonic presence had been unmistakable.

The pair ventured deeper. The town’s few inhabitants were scattered sparingly, mostly emaciated women, children, and elderly men, all with uniformly ashen, numb expressions.

This town… seems rather peculiar.

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