Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 11: Red Mantis

The secret realm hadn't even opened yet, but the area around it was already packed with people—mostly Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. Anyone in the Golden Core stage or above wouldn’t bother wasting time on such a nameless little secret realm.

Ye Su arrived near the secret realm flying on her sword, with her three junior disciples in tow. They found a spot on the ground like everyone else and sat down to wait for the entrance to open.

There was spiritual energy inside the secret realm, and best of all—it was free. Ming Liu Sha, Xiyu, and Xia'er were just a sliver of spiritual energy away from breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, which was why Ye Su had decided to take the risk and come.

She took out a stack of blank talisman paper, dipped a brush in cinnabar ink, and began drawing one talisman after another right on the ground.

Vajra Talismans, Sleep Talismans, Swift Movement Talismans... any useful talisman she could think of, she drew them all and handed them out to her juniors.

A cultivator meditating not far away had been watching for a long time. When he saw Ye Su drawing talismans all night until dawn, he couldn’t help scooting over to ask, "Fellow Daoist, are you drawing talismans?"

Ye Su turned her head to look. The speaker was a skinny cultivator in a yellow robe with shifty eyes—he didn’t exactly look trustworthy.

"I was just curious, that’s all," he scratched his face awkwardly. "Are you selling talisman paper?"

"What kind of talismans are you looking for?" Ye Su asked calmly.

The yellow-robed cultivator responded right away, "Protection charms, attack ones—anything works."

Ye Su said nothing and just stared at him.

The man scooted a bit closer and said earnestly, "Us rogue cultivators have it tough. No fancy gear, weak cultivation... just going into a secret realm is already a life-or-death gamble. But if fellow Daoist could spare a few talismans, I’d be deeply grateful."

"…We have Swift Movement Talismans and Sleep Talismans, both last for about a quarter of an hour," Ye Su said suddenly. "Interested?"

"Can I test one first?" the yellow-robed man tried his best to sound sincere.

Without a word, Ye Su pulled out a Sleep Talisman and turned to her juniors. "Sure."

Ming Liu Sha instantly tried to dodge, but Ye Su was faster. She slapped the talisman on his back.

"Again… it’s… me…" he muttered before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.

"What cultivation levels are these talismans effective against?" the yellow-robed cultivator asked, trying to stay calm despite his rising excitement.

Ye Su’s eyes lingered on his sneaky face for a second before she asked, "Fellow Daoist, what stage are you at?"

"Me? Nothing impressive—just early Foundation Establishment. Been cultivating for almost fifty years, no talent to speak of," he waved his hand humbly.

"Mm." Ye Su responded nonchalantly. The next moment, she flicked her fingers, sending another Sleep Talisman flying at him.

The man was sharp—much faster than Ming Liu Sha. But Ye Su slapped a Speed Talisman on herself at the same time, instantly closed the distance, pulled out another Sleep Talisman, and stuck it on him.

He froze and dropped like a sack.

Ye Su looked down at him, waited a few moments, then kindly bent down to peel the talisman off. When he woke up, she said calmly, "The Sleep Talisman works on Qi Refining and early Foundation Establishment cultivators. Swift Movement Talismans are pretty much effective across all stages. I just used one to catch you."

"……" the yellow-robed cultivator stared in stunned silence.

Ye Su pulled out a thick stack of Sleep and Swift Movement Talismans. "Want some, fellow Daoist?"

The man sat up immediately. "Yes. However many you’ve got, I’ll take them."

Ye Su gave the talismans a little shake. "Twenty mid-grade spirit stones per talisman."

"You’re robbing me!" the man cried out, shocked. "Even the talismans from Wuxing Sect only cost ten each at the Foundation Establishment level. Fellow Daoist, this is outrageous."

"You’ve seen what mine can do. Whether they're worth twenty mid-grade spirit stones or not—you decide," Ye Su started to put the talismans away. "In a secret realm, what matters more—your spirit stones, or your life?"

"W-wait! Fellow Daoist, can we… talk about the price?" the man said, clearly reluctant to give up.

Ye Su only paused briefly before continuing to pack up the talismans, even turning to head back.

The yellow-robed cultivator hadn’t expected this young girl—who looked fresh out of her sect and barely experienced in the world—to be such a savvy negotiator. He quickly chased after her, calling out, "Fellow Daoist! Alright, alright—twenty it is!"

Only then did Ye Su stop walking. She pulled the talismans back out and began counting them one by one. "Half Sleep Talismans, half Swift Movement Talismans. Forty in total—eight hundred mid-grade spirit stones."

The skinny yellow-robed cultivator handed over the eight hundred spirit stones with great reluctance, like his heart was bleeding. He grumbled the whole time, "Seriously, Fellow Daoist, this is way too expensive. You’re lucky you ran into someone like me."

Ye Su didn’t buy into his complaining. "You’re always welcome to buy talismans elsewhere."

The man left with the talismans in hand, clearly unhappy but with no better options.

Meanwhile, Ming Liu Sha, who had been knocked out earlier by the Sleep Talisman, had already woken up. He quietly stared at Ye Su, who had returned and gone right back to drawing talismans.

"I’ll give you a few extra later," Ye Su said without even looking up.

"Thanks, Senior Sister!" Ming Liu Sha immediately dropped any grudges and beamed, even throwing a smug look at Xiyu and Xia'er.

Xiyu clicked her tongue and lowered her head, flipping through the jade slip that Senior Sister had written. As for Xia'er, she hadn’t even looked up once—her eyes had been locked on Ye Su’s hands as she drew talismans the entire time.

……

Another day passed before Xiyu returned from making rounds and said, "Senior Sister, everyone’s saying the secret realm might open the day after tomorrow."

The opening time of a secret realm was always uncertain—only cultivators with high cultivation could vaguely sense the fluctuations.

"That means we’ll be stuck waiting out here for at least two more days," Xia'er said, resting her chin on her hand. "I heard the secret realm’s closing time is unpredictable. What if we miss the Po Yuan Sect’s competition by the time we come out?"

Ye Su had already looked into that. "Small secret realms never last more than a month."

She pressed her fingers against her temples. After drawing talismans nonstop for a whole day and night, her spiritual reservoir was completely empty.

Having depleted spiritual energy was extremely uncomfortable for any cultivator.

But Ye Su was already used to it. Her attention shifted to her brush—it had snapped after constant use. Fortunately, she had spares.

"Th-there should be enough talismans now…" Ming Liu Sha muttered slowly, squatting beside the growing pile of talisman paper.

"Secret realms are dangerous. One more talisman could make a difference," Ye Su replied calmly. Just as she spoke, a commotion erupted in the distance.

The cultivators who had been quietly meditating nearby suddenly stood up. Ye Su and the others were at the edge of the crowd and didn’t yet know what was happening. They only saw people pushing forward frantically.

Then someone finally shouted from within the crowd, "The secret realm entrance opened early!"

"Senior Sister?" Xiyu turned back to look at Ye Su.

Ye Su picked up the talismans and handed them out to the other three. "Let’s go in too."

The entrance wouldn’t stay open for long. Cultivators shoved and jostled to get through, and some even began fighting on the outskirts.

"Little Senior Brother, what’s wrong?"

At the entrance to the secret realm, a young, handsome cultivator withdrew his gaze. Maybe he was mistaken—there were too many cultivators in black robes. "...Nothing."

The two of them stepped forward and disappeared instantly.

Far behind them, Ye Su grabbed her junior disciples, slapped Swift Movement Talismans on their backs, and rushed through the crowd toward the entrance.

Ming Liu Sha, who lagged behind, was yanked forward by Xiyu and Xia'er. Being dragged with his back facing forward and wind whipping against his face, he muttered, "Senior Sister’s getting really good with Swift Movement Talismans…"

With Senior Sister hauling all three of them, they made it into the secret realm just before the entrance closed.

As soon as they arrived, the space around them twisted, and in the blink of an eye, they were in a different world.

In the distance, lush greenery filled the landscape. The forest was dense, and the breeze rustled through the leaves—there even seemed to be faint voices in the wind.

Ye Su immediately sensed the rich spiritual energy in the air. Her empty spiritual reservoir unconsciously began absorbing and circulating the qi, turning it into her own spiritual power. But instead of focusing on herself, she turned to the others and said, "Let’s find a place to cultivate first. This is your chance to reach Foundation Establishment."

All three of them only needed a bit more spiritual energy to break through. Now that the secret realm was full of it, they couldn’t waste the opportunity. Everything else could wait.

The four of them were all artificers—none of them had magic treasures or sword cultivators to protect them. Entering a secret realm like this just to try to break through would probably make Yu Shoumen scowl and call them reckless.

But their so-called reckless Senior Sister had already found a nearby hilltop. "You three absorb the spiritual energy here—I’ll stand guard."

Ming Liu Sha, Xia'er, and Xiyu sat back-to-back in meditation, palms facing upward, drawing in the surrounding qi that quickly flowed toward them.

Breaking through to Foundation Establishment was a serious matter. A single misstep—like qi flowing backward—could lead to internal injury or even death. Ye Su didn’t dare let her guard down for a second.

To prevent any interference from other cultivators or creatures, she took out a pile of Barrier Talismans and circled the three of them, plastering the talismans all over—front, back, sides. The only place she didn’t put one was on their faces.

A few hours later, all three of them had swirling vortexes of qi forming above their heads, funneling into their spiritual reservoirs. The influx was so strong, even Ye Su, standing nearby, felt affected.

She had already reached Foundation Establishment half a year ago, but now her spiritual energy was so full that it was pushing at her current boundary. Her cultivation realm was starting to loosen.

Ye Su quickly suppressed the overflowing energy to stabilize her realm, then stood quietly, waiting for the others to finish breaking through.

After about another half hour, the three finally began to stir.

"—Heaven and Earth align, spiritual power flows—Foundation Establishment achieved, the spiritual reservoir manifests."

Xiyu opened her eyes, looked down at her abdomen, and shifted uncomfortably. Then she looked up and said, "Senior Sister, I think… I have a spiritual reservoir now."

"If you have a spiritual reservoir, then you’ve successfully established your foundation," Ye Su said with a small smile, then turned to Ming Liu Sha and Xia'er. "What about you two?"

"Then I made it too!" Xia'er said excitedly.

Ming Liu Sha, though clearly happy, still spoke slowly, "Sh-should be… done."

It seemed coming to this secret realm hadn’t been a mistake—now that all three had successfully reached Foundation Establishment, they could begin crafting higher-grade magical tools.

"Senior Sister, let us stand guard while you cultivate," Xiyu said.

"Yeah! There’s so much spiritual energy here, it’d be a waste not to use it," Xia'er nodded eagerly.

Ming Liu Sha had already gotten up, ready to give his spot to Ye Su.

"Shhh—" Ye Su bent down, raised her hand, and motioned for Ming Liu Sha to crouch. She turned her head slightly toward the slope. She’d just heard something.

Xiyu and Xia'er immediately rose and crouched low, silently following Ye Su up the slope to look down.

In the distance, two sword cultivators were locked in combat with a Red Mantis. The creature was over a meter tall and two meters long, with bulging yellow-green compound eyes.

Its front limbs were crimson and lined with serrated edges, ending in hook-like claws with suction pads that allowed it to climb quickly. Its purple-red wings covered its bloated abdomen.

One of the sword cultivators failed to dodge in time. He tried to block the mantis’s attack with his sword, but the limb—like a giant blade—smashed through the weapon and cleaved the cultivator in half.

The other sword cultivator, dressed in green robes, seized the opening and tried to strike the mantis’s exposed abdomen from the side. But the beast noticed—swiftly retreating, it raised another limb and stabbed at the cultivator with brutal speed.

Just as the mantis was about to pierce the sword cultivator, a faint golden glow enveloped her body. In that brief moment, she barely managed to dodge death.

But the Red Mantis wasn’t about to give up. It continued chasing and attacking the green-robed sword cultivator relentlessly.

Xia'er, lying flat on the ground, finally recognized the woman below. "Senior Sister… isn’t that the one who first bought our talismans?"

"It is," Ye Su replied, suddenly standing up. "Get ready."

Ming Liu Sha quickly shoved Xia'er aside and quietly positioned himself within Ye Su’s arm’s reach.

Sure enough, the next moment, Ye Su grabbed the two closest juniors.

Xia'er hadn’t even fully processed the situation—his attention was still fixed on the green-robed sword cultivator.

"Run!!" Xiyu shouted, grabbing her younger brother as Ye Su activated a Speed Talisman, dragging all three of them away from the battlefield.

But—the Red Mantis could fly!

"Fellow Daoists?! It really is you!" the green-robed sword cultivator cried out. At first, she thought she was hallucinating, but as she ran closer, she recognized them. "Your Barrier Talisman saved my life!"

Typical talismans on the market could only block a mid-stage Foundation Establishment attack. But hers had just resisted a blow from a late-stage Foundation Beast!

"Don’t run toward us!" Xiyu shouted, totally abandoning decorum. "We’re not sword cultivators!"

"Sorry! I didn’t realize you were here!" the green-robed woman called back, flustered.

"It’s too late—it’s seen us now," Ye Su said calmly, glancing behind at the fast-approaching Red Mantis. She suddenly stopped and looked at Xia'er. "Fourth Brother, sword."

Without hesitation, Xia'er pulled a sword from his storage pouch and handed it to Ye Su.

Ye Su channeled her qi, leapt onto the sword, and rose into the air. "Fellow Daoist," she called to the green-robed woman, "cover me!"

Although confused, the sword cultivator knew now wasn’t the time to hesitate. She swung her sword at the mantis’s compound eyes, trying to draw its attention.

Ye Su maneuvered into the beast’s blind spot and began frantically throwing Sleep Talismans.

The Sleep Talisman worked on cultivators—but whether it would affect a beast, she wasn’t sure. Still, she had no choice. If it didn’t work, they’d be lunch.

Once a mantis underwent "Red Transformation," even the weakest could match early-stage Foundation Establishment. This one had fully scarlet front limbs—it could fight late-stage Foundation cultivators.

One talisman.

Two…

Three…

Finally, after the third talisman struck, the mantis’s wings faltered, and it crashed to the ground. It must have sensed someone behind it—it spun around and raised its hind limb to strike.

But Ye Su was prepared. She slapped two Barrier Talismans on herself and braced for the impact.

At that moment, the green-robed sword cultivator struck—gripping her sword in both hands and driving it straight into the mantis’s head.

The three disciples watching from the sidelines all let out long, shaky breaths.

"Senior Sister, are you okay?!" Xia'er ran to her.

"I’m fine," Ye Su waved him off.

Xiyu handed her a small mirror to fix her appearance.

Meanwhile, Ming Liu Sha whispered, "Ma…te…ri…als."

Ye Su turned to the green-robed sword cultivator, still kneeling beside the mantis. "Fellow Daoist, would you be willing to sell the forelimbs?"

"If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have survived—let alone killed it. I almost dragged you down too," the woman said as she stood up, wiping blood from her face. "This Red Mantis is yours."

Ye Su didn’t rush to claim the corpse. Instead, she asked, "Fellow Daoist, why did you come to the secret realm?"

"Practice my sword," the woman replied simply. "And earn some spirit stones."

When a secret realm closed, material merchants would gather outside to purchase monster parts and rare herbs. Many rogue cultivators made a living this way.

Ye Su asked, "Would you be interested in working together? I’ll provide talismans, you provide the sword. We split the loot fifty-fifty."

The secret realm was far too dangerous. She didn’t have many types of talismans available—what they needed was a sword cultivator.

The green-robed woman agreed without hesitation. "Deal."