In the back room, Xu Qing looked up from the Gold Core scorpion he’d been experimenting on. Checking on the situation outside and noting how considerate Ling’er was, he felt warmth in his heart.

The truth was that he really was starting to get sick of studying animals.

The scorpion wasn’t dead yet; terror gleamed in its eyes as it looked at the figure that had been slowly slicing it open. Of course, all fluctuations had been locked down, ensuring that no one outside of the back room could sense what was going on. Otherwise, that Qi Condensation cultivator from the Skull Syndicate would have gone weak in the knees from fear.

The time has come to see what the curse does to cultivators. Xu Qing crushed the scorpion’s head, ending its life.

That night, when the dusky sky turned pitch black, a dark streak shot out of the city. It was none other than Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior. He was flying the Spike of Misfortune right toward the headquarters of the Skull Syndicate.

That crappy shadow is always running around like an idiot. But it did one thing right. It started sucking up to our lady and mistress…. It was foolish of me to not do the same. I always assumed the girl was na?ve and innocent. But the reality is that her heart is as dark as that of the Fiendish Xu. In the books I’ve read, women like that are characters that cannot be trifled with. The crappy shadow has someone to rely on now, which is why it’s been getting so arrogant lately.

The patriarch thought back to everything he knew and remembered about Ling’er and came to realize that she definitely wasn’t as simplistic as she seemed. Going forward, he would need to focus more on currying favor.

I missed out on one opportunity… but that’s fine. Once we get back to Sea-Sealing County, there’s another lady and mistress I can suck up to. That way, if the Fiendish Xu starts to dislike me, I’ll have a secret weapon ready to go.

The patriarch was thinking about many things as he pierced through the sky and eventually closed in on the Skull Syndicate.

Even before he got close, his expression flickered as he detected the aroma of blood and gore.

The patriarch grunted in surprise. Although he was certain he could kill these cultivators with hardly any effort, he still felt the need to remain cautious. Moving undetectably, he eventually entered the Skull Syndicate. That was when he saw all the corpses on the ground.

Everyone in the entire Skull Syndicate was dead. The patriarch didn’t see one living cultivator. What was more, the entire place had been looted.

Looks like they died about an hour ago. The person who attacked them had to be in Gold Core at the very least. The killing was done very quickly. .

He turned and went back to the medicine shop, where he reported all of his findings and analyses to Ling’er and Xu Qing. Ling’er was shocked, and Xu Qing looked thoughtful. It all seemed too coincidental.

The explanation came the next day.

At around dawn when the Green Spirit Pharmacy opened for business, two people were waiting outside. Ling’er saw them as soon as she opened the shop. Both of them clasped hands and bowed to her.

“Well met, Shopkeeper. Is the grandmaster present?”

Ling’er blinked and examined the two people. She had seen one of them before. He was the very same young man who had asked for an antidote pill. The other person was middle-aged and dressed in a green robe that made him look scholarly and refined. It was clothing that set him apart from other residents of the city. His cultivation base was profound, being in the late Gold Core stage, though he clearly hadn’t been in that level for very long.

The person who had just greeted her was the middle-aged man. His young companion looked reserved as he glanced in the direction of the back room.

When the middle-aged man saw that, he clasped hands in the direction of the back room.

“Grandmaster,” he said respectfully, “yesterday people from the Skull Syndicate bothered you, so I got rid of them. Here are all the medicinal pills they stole from you.”

The man produced a bag which he handed to Ling’er.

Ling’er’s eyes lit up. Last night she had been thinking about the medicinal pills, and had assumed she just lost them. However, she didn’t immediately take the bag, but instead, waited to see what Xu Qing wanted to do. Given her Big Bro Xu Qing’s personality, she knew that she should let him make the decision.

“Please, come in,” Xu Qing said from the back room.

Ling’er backed up a few steps to let the two of them enter. They stepped inside respectfully, but didn’t make any attempt to open the door to the back room.

Seeing how polite they were being, Xu Qing couldn’t just stay out of sight. A moment later, he walked out.

The Gold Core cultivator was surprised to see how young Xu Qing looked. But that didn’t affect his respectful behavior. Looking very serious, he clasped hands and bowed.

“Well met, Grandmaster. I am Sect Leader Chen Fanzhuo from the local Epactic Soil Sect. This disciple of mine recently came to realize how skilled you are in the medicinal arts, Grandmaster. I took the liberty of coming here because all of the disciples in my sect have been poisoned. In fact, so have I. Grandmaster, is there any chance you have more antidote pills? I would be willing to pay handsomely for them.” 1 2

He knew that it was best to keep things simple and direct, and that he shouldn’t try to hide anything. His disciples had been falling victim to poisoning one after another, and even after seeking help from quite a few local alchemists, he hadn’t been able to help them at all. He had been getting increasingly nervous about the situation until he unexpectedly found that one of his disciples was cured.

After getting the explanation, he made the decision to personally come ask for help. He wasn’t convinced that a mortal could make medicinal pills like that. What was more, the person who made the pill had to have some skill in dispelling poisons. That all indicated that he was dealing with someone extraordinary. That was why he was being so courteous.

Xu Qing’s face remained expressionless as he looked at Chen Fanzhuo. He wasn’t inclined to try to find out if the man had actually orchestrated the situation with the Skull Syndicate just to earn some good will. His current attitude was enough for Xu Qing.

Xu Qing waved his hand, sending out a bag of antidote pills.

Chen Fanzhuo accepted the bag with both hands. After inspecting it briefly, he took out a bag of holding which he put off to the side. Then he respectfully left.

After he was gone, Ling’er quickly checked the bag of holding. “Wow, Big Bro Xu Qing. There’s a hundred thousand spirit stones in here!”

Xu Qing’s eyebrows shot up as he suddenly felt his estimation of Chen Fanzhuo improving. With that he beckoned Ling’er into the back room.

Ling’er wasn’t sure what was going on. Blushing a bit, she hurried to close the front door, then took a deep breath and followed Xu Qing into the back. Puffing out her chest, she said, “Big Bro Xu Qing, what are you calling me back here in the middle of the day for?”

Sitting down cross-legged, he took out a mirror fragment. “Ling’er, I want you to go into the Moonrebel Congregation.”

“Huh?” Ling’er said, stunned. Her mood immediately dipped. This wasn’t exactly what she had expected would happen….

“I’ve been doing a lot of tests, but I can’t get in.” No matter what Xu Qing did, when he tried to pass the second subtest, he failed. None of his ideas were working.

This was the final option that he hadn’t tried yet. If Ling’er could pass the test, then maybe he could use her life-sharing skills to do the same.

It was problematic because even the weakest people in the Moonrebel Congregation were in the Nascent Soul level. At the moment, Ling’er was only in Gold Core. Because of that, the first subtest was going to be a problem.

The first subtest required a blood tribute in the same cultivation level as the person offering it. If there was a level disparity, it would make it obvious the person had help. At the same time, the requirement placed some limitations on the cultivation bases of the people who could get into the Moonrebel Congregation.

Of course, that was an easy thing for Xu Qing to deal with.

After he explained everything, Ling’er understood. Shoving her disappointment into the back of her mind, she nodded earnestly.

“No problem, Big Bro Xu Qing,” she said, thumping her chest confidently. “I can do it!”

Xu Qing was now completely focused on getting into the Moonrebel Congregation. He had put a lot of thought into it, and based on all of his analyses, he was confident this wouldn’t be dangerous for Ling’er. After he explained the process to her, they got started.

First he had her activate the mirror shard. Then he took out two animals that were in the same cultivation level as her. After blessing them, he had her throw them into the mirror before the curse flared up.

With the first subtest out of the way, the next subtest was about faith. Because Ling’er had no connection to the red moon, she passed that subtest very easily.

At that point, the mirror made a cracking sound as a rift opened on its surface. A gravitational force instantly pulsed out.

Looking at the mirror, she said, “Big Bro Xu Qing, the voice from the mirror said that this is the way to the Moonrebel Congregation.”

Xu Qing looked at the rift, but didn’t attempt to go inside. If someone tried to unlawfully enter the Moonrebel Congregation, given the personhood of the people inside, it was likely they would kill trespassers instantly.

Xu Qing looked at Ling’er. Her eyes glittered with anticipation. Back when Xu Qing dispelled the life-sharing power that connected them, she had been very disappointed, though she never said anything. Now that she could do the same thing again, she was feeling very blessed. Without any hesitation, she turned into a little white snake and flew onto Xu Qing’s wrist. .

A moment later, a thread appeared.

The two of them were connected again. However, Xu Qing had changed a lot since the last time. He had the blessing of destiny aura now. What was more, this time the connection wasn’t one-sided. Both parties participated willingly.

The moment it was accomplished, Xu Qing could sense Ling’er, almost as if they were sharing a body.

“This is my Ancient Spirit innate ability, Big Bro Xu Qing. It works… for life. You can only be connected to one person. Even if the connection is removed, it can’t be switched to someone else. Going forward, our lives are connected. If you live, I live. If you die, I die. We’re connected in both life and death. In both the glow of dawn and the shade of the Yellow Springs, we are… companions!”

Xu Qing looked at the mark on his wrist and nodded. Taking a deep breath, he shot toward the mirror. The moment he neared, he turned into a streak of light that entered the rift. And found himself in a very strange land!

1. Epactic Soil Sect. The name of this sect is based on the word “epact” which is essentially a time period used to harmonize the lunar and solar calendars. It’s kind of complicated, and to be honest, the meaning of the word isn’t important to anything in the story. It’s not a super common character, but it actually sticks out to me because his same character can be found in the name of Chow Yun-Fat. Specifically the “yun” character in his name, which is actually pronounced “run” in Mandarin. So in Mandarin, Chow Yun-Fat is Zhou Runfa. And in even more useless trivia, this same character was in the name of a very random supermarket chain that I used to frequent in my early days in China. It was called Da Run Fa, which always reminded me of Chow Yun-Fat (Zhou Runfa). ☜

2. Chen Fanzhuo. Chen is #5 on the list of the 100 common Chinese surnames. Fan means “ordinary, mortal” and Zhuo means “outstanding.” Madam Deathblade says this sounds like the name of someone whose parents have high hopes for him, and expect him to accomplish great things. At the same time, it sounds kind of nerdy. ☜

𝘪𝑎.𝘤𝑜𝑚