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Chapter 522: Chapter 522: Is It Really Impossible for a Monster to Be Here...?

Since the other party wouldn’t take the bait, he had to take the initiative to display it.

Li Mo cleared his throat, took out a piece of talisman paper from his bosom, and began chanting.

With a soft whoosh, a pale blue flame ignited atop the paper, and as he released his fingers, the talisman paper didn’t fall; instead, it floated up gradually.

The eyes of the Wang couple widened immediately.

"A master indeed!"

"Is this the legendary spell?"

Exactly, Li Mo nodded repeatedly in his heart, this is how ordinary villagers should react.

"Correct." He replied with feigned indifference, "This technique is called ’Bestowing Fortune.’ It can be used when inscribed on a talisman, allowing one to dispel disasters and solve crises, as well as ward off evil and subdue demons."

Upon hearing the word ’subdue demons,’ the pair’s expressions changed dramatically again.

This time, their eyes betrayed not just surprise, but a hint of panic.

Li Mo clearly observed this reaction, oh? It seems this struck a chord with them. Then it will be easy from here on, "This ’Bestowing Fortune’ Talisman could sell for one or two taels of silver in big cities, but to be honest, that’s just ripping people off, as the cost is less than a hundred coins—"

"Strong man, please put it away!" Wang Ji hastily stood and snatched down the talisman, "There’s no demon fiend in Baihe Village."

Li Mo watched helplessly as his talisman transformed into a crumpled ball of paper.

"Oh, hurry up and finish eating, then go rest, you have to travel early tomorrow morning." Meng Gu chimed in.

The master and apprentice were thus sent back to their room.

The master stared at the apprentice, and the apprentice stared back at the master, then both spoke simultaneously, "Something’s off!"

"These people wouldn’t even buy a talisman from me!" Li Mo fumed, "Even if they aren’t scared of demons, they should at least want some good fortune, right?"

In the past, he didn’t even have to show the talisman.

Just announcing himself as a cultivator would make others seek his help. Whether it was predicting a child’s future or delivering messages and offerings for the deceased, these were all within his service scope, and regardless of quality, just putting up the facade could earn him money.

Yet, the reliable method backfired in Baihe Village.

Now the fifty coins he spent for lodging were a real expense.

"It’s all because of the Lotus Cloud Sect!" Li Mo couldn’t help but grumble, "Even in such a remote place, people know about the Immortal Master descending the mountain, so they think I’m performing petty tricks. Yet, when a demon appeared in Yongtang City, where is the high-and-mighty Immortal Master Lord?"

"Master, are you serious?" Li Ziyan glared at him, "Is this really what’s off? The reactions of those two were clearly unnatural!"

"Yes, it was unnatural, so what?" Li Mo snorted dismissively, "I’ve seen more salt than you’ve traveled roads, how could I not see the problem?"

"They were too flustered, especially when they heard the words ’subdue demons.’" The apprentice moved closer to the wall, using a finger to pry open the window pane, all was pitch-dark outside, the sound of rain also carried on incessantly, "It’s like they were being coerced by demons. And that Wang Ji, it’s suspicious that he could pull down the lamp talisman with one swift motion, his skills are comparable to a trained martial artist. No... maybe it isn’t that he is coerced, but that there’s a demon among them, which is why they were so panicked! Master, could Wang Ji be the Painted Skin Demon?"

"Demon, demon, demon! On your first venture down the mountain, must you view everyone as a demon?" Li Mo rolled his eyes, "Demons do have ambitions too, you know. Those that can disguise themselves as humans generally possess considerable cultivation; whether for pleasure or hunting humans, their preferred locales are big cities! Who would run to a rural place like Baihe Village?"

The village isn’t large, meaning neighbors know each other well. Any mishap at one home would be known by the entire village the next day. While killing a few people as they pass through is common for demon fiends, they usually don’t disguise themselves and settle down, let alone accommodate cultivators.

"But... they clearly seem to be hiding something..." Li Ziyan argued.

"Everyone has a secret, don’t they?" Li Mo leaned against the wall, cradling his sheathed sword—a habitual posture when sleeping outdoors, enabling him to draw the sword at a moment’s notice. "Actually, I have a guess. The bandits that suddenly appeared in Tugou Mountain likely hail from these villages at the foot of the mountain."

"Huh?" The apprentice said in surprise, "Are you saying their kids didn’t venture into the city, but instead became bandits in the mountains?"

"Most likely. After all, subduing demons also implies suppression; as soon as banditry becomes rampant, the government will definitely send troops to suppress it. By then, their kids won’t escape death, so as parents, they have a fear of that word." Li Mo whispered.

Li Ziyan thought for a moment, "So that’s it..."

"As for why the villagers turned to banditry, it’s a much more complex matter. But one thing is for sure, humans are often far more dangerous than demon fiends, causing far greater destruction as well. Thus, keeping the peace and supporting the nation is a task only the Immortal Masters can undertake, given their great prowess." Li Mo paused, "We just need to deal with some minor spirits and sprites for a bounty, and that’s sufficient."

In fact, their present journey to Yongtang City was to eliminate a demon.

"I understand." The apprentice nodded seriously.

"Since you understand, go extinguish the lamp and sleep now."

Li Ziyan suddenly blurted, "But what if...?"

Li Mo felt his temple throb; this kid, how irritating! "Are you that stubborn?"

"I just want to sleep soundly." She pouted innocently.

"Fine, take out the Eight-direction Lamp." Li Mo said gruffly, "I’ll deduct the oil from your meal allowance!"

The latter immediately complied, fetching a finely-crafted brass lamp from the bag, its design resembling an ethereal woman, her hands raised high, with a wick emerging from her hands.

This is considered a Dharma Artifact, quite valuable, having repeatedly contributed to demon hunts, and he had inherited it from his own master.

In simple terms, the Eight-direction Lamp could detect demonic energy within a hundred-step radius.

Although it couldn’t cover the entire village, it sufficed to exclude the suspicion from the Wang family.

Li Mo reluctantly lit the wick—it consumed not ordinary oil, but spirit oil crafted by mixing corpse fat and an apparition talisman, replenishing it always cost quite a bit.

But remembering that previously he only instructed the apprentice verbally, never letting her handle the Eight-direction Lamp herself, he wasn’t as annoyed.

Might as well consider it a practical training session.

"Observe the flame, remember how I taught you?"

"I remember." Li Ziyan eagerly watched the wick, "Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple... left is normal, right is abnormal, the deeper the color, the more alert we should be."

She recited the mantra quite smoothly. Li Mo could see, this girl, it’s her first time participating in demon hunting, she’s curious about everything, looking forward to a little demon showing up to test her skills.

The problem is, there aren’t that many demons.

If demons were everywhere, Loose Cultivators like them wouldn’t be so overshadowed by the Lotus Cloud Sect’s Immortal Masters.

The flame’s core showed a bright orange-red, indistinguishable from ordinary fire, an outcome Li Mo had anticipated completely. "See? If there was a demon next door, it’d change color almost instantly."

"Does the color change speed relate to the demon’s distance?" Li Ziyan diligently asked.

"Yes, so you could use it to roughly determine the demon’s location; count to a hundred, which is about its detection limit." Li Mo yawned, tilting the sword’s hilt at his shoulder, multitasking by checking his stock of talisman papers while instructing the apprentice, "Though, the larger the range, the faster the oil burns. If you don’t extinguish it, it won’t last more than half a quarter of an hour."

"Fifty-five, fifty-six..."

"No need to keep counting, for the next half month, you’ll be living on pickles and pancakes."

"Sixty... The lamp changed color."

Twenty-two sheets remain, should suffice. "What change, don’t mistake it dimming slightly for a—" Li Mo paused abruptly.

The talisman paper in his hand glimmered with a strand of blue light, causing the entire room to turn a tad darker.

He jerked his head up, and the flame’s color not only changed but deepened rapidly, from blue to dark indigo, from dark indigo to deep purple, until it became utterly black.

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