Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 51: Shape-Shifting Talisman

After Ming Liu Sha, Xiyu, and Xia Er left, the remaining six people each went about their own routines.

Since Guizong City was a gathering place for talisman cultivators, there were few sword cultivators around. With no place to practice swordsmanship, Lu Jiu eventually asked Xu Chengyu and the other two to help correct her sword techniques in the inn’s backyard.

But calling it "correction" wasn’t entirely accurate—it was more like an exchange of techniques.

Lu Jiu had come from a poor, remote area, a sword cultivator with no teacher, no sect, and no resources. All her sword techniques weren’t necessarily refined, but they were extremely practical—every move was a killing strike.

If her killing strike wasn’t fast enough, she'd be the one to die.

Sometimes, when Lu Jiu launched an attack, even Xu Chengyu had to treat it cautiously.

They were direct disciples of the Sword Sect, always equipped with magical tools and treasures. Life-and-death situations were rarely a concern for them. Some of their sword techniques looked elegant but weren’t necessarily useful in real combat.

"What are you looking at?" Ye Su walked into You Fushi’s room and, surprisingly, found he wasn’t sleeping for once. Instead, he was standing by the back window. Following her junior’s gaze, she looked down:

Below, Lu Jiu was swinging her sword continuously. Her right hand struck toward Ma Congqiu, then suddenly released the sword. As it dropped, she caught it with her left hand and, in one smooth motion, thrust it forward, holding it horizontally at his neck.

Ma Congqiu was startled and instinctively stepped back.

"You lost, junior brother," Xu Chengyu said from the side.

They weren’t using spiritual power—just comparing sword moves. Clearly, Lu Jiu had the upper hand.

"Can you beat her?" You Fushi turned and asked Ye Su.

Ye Su chuckled. "Yes."

Beating Lu Jiu would be easy. The techniques unfamiliar to large sect disciples posed no challenge to Ye Su.

Dirty tricks, proper moves—Ye Su saw them all as means to win, and all were valid.

Just from Lu Jiu’s last set of sword moves, Ye Su could already think of several ways to counter her. She had even predicted what techniques Lu Jiu would likely use next.

The two stood side by side at the window, watching the four sword cultivators exchanging moves below. Xu Chengyu sensed someone watching and looked up, smiling at the two of them.

Ye Su nodded to him and watched as he turned to give pointers to Lu Jiu and Ma Congqiu. Then she suddenly said to the person beside her, "I won’t question your identity, but you’d better show some restraint. Sleeping all day and not cultivating—no one can advance realms out of nowhere."

He had no money for pills. So how had he reached the Golden Core stage in just a few days?

"Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me." Ye Su turned to look at You Fushi. "You’re now a disciple of Qianji Sect. Everything you do represents our sect."

"It wanted to break through on its own," You Fushi leaned his elbow on the windowsill and replied lazily. "I couldn’t stop it."

Senior Sister gave a short laugh, clearly exasperated by her junior.

Ye Su had come with serious matters to discuss. She took out the two torn talisman pages and said, "I’ll be going in for a while. At the latest, the Wasteland Secret Realm will open next month. In the meantime, Huang Erqian might send over some spirit stones—keep them for now."

"Ten days," You Fushi said, tugging up his sleeve to reveal the Mistflower Fang underneath.

"…"

Even if his reasons weren’t sound, he still spoke with conviction. He did things entirely based on his own preferences.

"If I have time after I come out, I can upgrade the Mistflower Fang’s grade," Ye Su said.

She had been thinking about this for some time.

The Mistflower Fang had once managed to fool even a cultivator at the Soul Formation stage like Xin Shenzi—clearly, it had an imposing presence. But its offensive power was still lacking.

After all, when she had crafted it, Ye Su was only at early Foundation Establishment. Now that she had reached the Golden Core stage, putting in some effort should be enough to raise its rank.

……

The third time she entered the Dark Realm, spiritual energy instantly surged from Ye Su’s fingertips as she began drawing the third luminescent talisman.

In order to draw these talismans in a single stroke, Ye Su had to release a steady, consistent stream of spiritual power. The countless failures she'd endured in the Dark Realm had only made her control over spiritual energy more refined.

When the third glowing talisman was finally completed, sure enough, a second light wall lit up in the darkness—right next to the first, slightly dimmer one.

Now that she had experience, Ye Su immediately walked toward the wall of light. Both walls were the same—talisman patterns on the front, and nothing on the back.

A Shape-Shifting Talisman?

Ye Su looked up at the first talisman with interest, then reached out and tapped it.

【Shape-Shifting Talisman – Based on the user's cultivation level, it allows the wearer to transform into anyone. One talisman per transformation.】

"Based on cultivation level" meant that since Ye Su was now in the Golden Core stage, the talisman she had drawn would work on cultivators at the Golden Core level or below. If she reached a higher realm and redrew the talisman, its effective range would increase as well.

Standing in front of the light wall, Ye Su began drawing talismans one after another. She only stopped when the final talisman dimmed, and finally let out a breath of relief. With a shift of her mind, her consciousness returned to her body.

"You’re awake," You Fushi said from across the table, tossing a qiankun bag of spirit stones to her. "Huang Erqian had someone send these over."

Ye Su caught it and got up from the bed. "How many days was I in meditation?"

"No idea." You Fushi removed the Mistflower Fang from his wrist and handed it to her seriously. "Upgrade this."

"…."

Ye Su took it and placed it into her qiankun bag, then pulled out ink and brush. Standing at the table, she channeled energy into the brush, focused her mind, and drew a talisman on yellow paper.

Once finished, she placed it on herself. The moment she activated it, her appearance completely changed.

You Fushi didn’t react at all, which made Ye Su doubt whether the talisman had worked. She walked over to the mirror—and sure enough, she saw a completely different face.

Ye Su turned back toward her junior brother. "You’re not just at Golden Core level, are you?"

You Fushi shook his head, totally clueless, and when asked further, only wanted to sleep.

Ye Su didn’t expect anything from him anyway. She opened the door and went to find Lu Jiu, who lived on the same floor.

"Fellow Daoist Ma, I was just looking for you." Lu Jiu wasn’t in her room but had just come up the stairs and bumped right into Ye Su. "I’ve figured out how to counter your sword move from yesterday."

"I look that much like Ma Congqiu?" Ye Su asked.

Hearing her voice, Lu Jiu blinked in confusion. "Ye Su?"

The Shape-Shifting Talisman could only alter appearance, not voice.

At that moment, Ma Congqiu, Zhou Yun, and Xu Chengyu came down the stairs and saw the transformed Ye Su.

Zhou Yun instinctively turned to look at the real Ma Congqiu behind him, completely unable to tell the two apart.

"Who are you?!" Ma Congqiu froze at the landing, staring at Ye Su’s face as he gripped his sword—already slightly drawn.

Xu Chengyu gently pushed his hand down and looked at the second Ma Congqiu below. "Ye Su?"

At first glance, he’d also thought it was Ma Congqiu standing there. But when he used his spiritual sense, he recognized it was Ye Su.

"I learned a new talisman and wanted to test it," Ye Su said, and the moment she spoke, Zhou Yun and Ma Congqiu on the stairs recognized her.

Lu Jiu gave her a wide-eyed, country-girl stare. "This is the first time I’ve seen this kind of talisman. Ye Su, is it from those beginner-level talisman books you bought at the auction? Doesn’t seem so bad. Not as useless as those talisman cultivators claimed."

"It’s not bad," Ye Su replied. She didn’t plan on telling anyone about the incomplete talisman scroll. She had already attributed all the talismans she’d learned to those basic books she’d purchased, so Lu Jiu naturally assumed this one came from there too.

Ye Su peeled off the talisman paper, revealing her original face. The talisman immediately turned to ash and scattered in the air.

"The Wasteland Secret Realm has been stirring the past few days. It probably won’t be long before it opens," Xu Chengyu said. "Ye Su, you and Young Master You should get ready."

"I know." With the opening of the Secret Realm approaching, Ye Su didn’t plan to re-enter the Dark Realm. She wanted to focus on upgrading the Mistflower Fang and drawing more talismans.

She’d just learned so many new ones—there were plenty to work on.

……

Wuxing Sect.

"Although the Wasteland Secret Realm is a place where nine out of ten who enter die, it's filled with countless magical treasures. Lianlian, you're going in this time with Huai'an, so at least you’ll have some protection," said Sect Master Lian Qi of the Wuxing Sect. A deep vertical crease marked his brow as he tried to persuade her patiently. "Huai'an isn’t overly ambitious, and he treats you well. If you see any treasure you like, just ask him for it."

"You want me to ride on his fortune?" Lianlian twisted a lock of hair from her shoulder around her red-painted fingertips, then let go and gave a cold laugh. "If I want something, I’ll fight for it myself."

Lian Qi looked at his daughter disapprovingly. "Lianlian, don’t speak in anger. You’re at the Golden Core stage now only because I forcefully raised your cultivation with pills. Both you and Huai’an are personal disciples of our sect. What’s his is also yours."

"I’m tired. I’m going back." Lianlian turned to leave, expressionless.

Behind her, Lian Qi shouted angrily, "You must go this time. If your strength were enough, why would I need Huai’an to take you along?"

Lianlian strode out of the hall without once looking back.

"Senior Sister."

Cheng Huai’an stood outside the hall. When he saw Lianlian come out, he straightened up and greeted her.

Lianlian ignored him completely and walked straight toward her courtyard. Cheng Huai’an quietly followed behind.

Inside the courtyard, Lianlian sat down at a white jade table. She looked at her fingernails—some of the red polish had faded. She removed the polish from all ten nails, then picked up the box of polish from the table and began reapplying it.

She held the red jade-handled fine brush made of wolf hair, intending to paint a fresh layer of bright red onto her nails, but her hands were shaking badly. The red lacquer dripped onto her pale fingers, running down like blood.

In that instant, Lianlian stared at her hand. Her face went ghostly pale, her breathing grew erratic, and her entire body began to tremble.

"Let me do it." Cheng Huai’an walked over from behind and sat across from her. He gently took her hand, used a handkerchief to wipe the dripping polish from her fingers, then picked up the red jade brush and began painting her nails himself.

His movements were practiced, as if he had done it many times before.

Cheng Huai’an lowered his gaze and said, "If you don’t want to rely on my fortune, then improve your cultivation. The Wasteland Secret Realm is a good opportunity."

"Have you ever seen a talisman cultivator reach the Tribulation Stage?" Lianlian suddenly asked, her tone sharp and cutting.

"No," Cheng Huai’an said slowly. "But someday, someone will. Maybe it’ll be you, or me, or another future talisman cultivator."

"Naive," Lianlian sneered. "There has never been a Tribulation Stage talisman cultivator, and there never will be. That’s why the rest of the cultivation world looks down on us."

Cheng Huai’an looked up calmly. "You studied swordsmanship once, didn’t you? And how did that turn out?"

Lianlian abruptly pulled her hand back. "Get out!"

"…I’m sorry." Cheng Huai’an took a deep breath and stood up. "I’ve never believed talisman cultivators are inferior. The senior sister I knew never believed that either."

As he reached the courtyard gate, he stopped and said, "Lianlian, I’ll be waiting for you in the Wasteland Secret Realm."