"Thank you!" Ye Qingxue still didn't turn her head, quietly making people feel like she didn't belong to this world. While speaking, she had already drawn a vertical stroke on the snow-white paper. When everyone was waiting for her to continue writing, wondering what character she would write next, she put down her pen instead.

  Everyone was puzzled, especially the old Taoist. However, when he looked closely at that vertical stroke, his eyes narrowed instantly, and even the hand that had been gently stroking a strand of yellow whiskers stopped moving. It wasn't until Ye Qingxue put down her brush that he slowly said, "What a heavy killing aura."

  "Hmph……" The dandies standing behind Ye Qingxue burst out laughing, and the young master in front shook his lotus fan and said with a smile: "Indeed, it's deceitful. This girl is as gentle as a willow in the wind, her fingers are like jade scallions, and her demeanor is quiet and elegant. Even the heavenly fairy can't surpass this. You, old Taoist priest, actually said there was killing intent. I think that except for the faint scent of the girl's fingertips, there is only a hint of calmness and serenity, where does the killing intent come from?" After finishing his sentence, he laughed loudly with satisfaction, and the people around him also followed suit, laughing loudly. Although they saw Ye Qingxue's eyes burning with intensity, they didn't dare to steal the spotlight from the young master.

  The old Taoist said, looking at Ye Qingxue: "This vertical stroke is like a flash of lightning falling from the ninth heaven, with killing energy condensed. People who practice thunder methods are generally hot-tempered and explosive in personality. Over time, it will be difficult to control one's own heart and nature, and the thunder method will also be difficult to make progress. This is why there are many people practicing thunder methods in the world, but not a single one has achieved great success. And you look gentle as water, no wonder the rumors say that your thunder method is subtle and has reached the realm of true form manifestation."

  Ye Qingxue didn't say a word, still quietly sitting there. The young master behind him heard the old Dao's words, how could he not know what kind of person Ye Qingxue was? One by one, their faces slightly changed, but it seemed they weren't ordinary mortals either. Their families were either wealthy or noble, so naturally, they had seen people who practiced with magical techniques before and weren't very afraid. They still surrounded him, only not daring to interrupt easily anymore.

  "This vertical stroke is clean and decisive, revealing your firmness when writing. From the font, the word resembles a sword, which is a killing instrument, symbolizing cruelty. The person being asked by Ye Zhangmen is in a life-or-death situation."

  "You don't need to tell me these things, I just want to know where the person I'm looking for is now." Yeh Qingxue's voice was still calm and serene, but like her clothes, it gave off a snowy white feeling.

  The old Taoist smiled and stopped talking, picked up the brush and started drawing on the folded paper where Ye Qingxue had drawn a vertical line earlier. His wrist rotated, the brush didn't lift, nor did it touch the ink, and with one breath, he finished. When he lifted the brush, a complex pattern appeared on the white paper.

  Ye Qingxue was astonished in her heart. Since she was a child, she had been raised by the previous master of Qianluomen and had learned various talismans from a young age. As she grew older, she read through various Taoist scriptures and rarely came across unfamiliar characters. However, the old Taoist's talisman was strange and mysterious, as if it were naturally formed, blending seamlessly with the one he drew before. All that could be seen was him putting down his brush, and by the time he lifted it again, it was already unknown where his first stroke had landed.

  The old Taoist picked it up with one corner after finishing the painting, and suddenly shook it in the wind. The talisman paper ignited at that moment. At the same time, only his lips were seen to be trembling rapidly, but no sound was heard. Ye Qingxue felt ripples rising from the void. The smoke rising from the talisman paper in the old Taoist's hand was originally straight up into the sky, but suddenly turned and drifted westward, with a very clear direction.

  Ye Qingxue closed her eyes, and the world seemed to have distorted, presenting a scene from another space in front of her, a scene that only she could see.

  In the blink of an eye, the old Taoist's talisman paper had burned out. He looked at Ye Qingxue, who was still sitting quietly and expressionlessly, and said: "The old Taoist thought that Ye Zhangmen had already reached the state of clarity and calmness, unobstructed by things, but unexpectedly there is someone he cares about, and it's so strong."

  Ye Qingxue opened her eyes, stood up and said: "He is my disciple from Qianluo Mountain, my only brother, whom I pulled out of the bloody waters on a snowy night to carry on my back. His life belongs to me, how can it be taken away by others? If you want to take it away, you must first ask if the thunder in the nine heavens will agree."

  She finished speaking and pulled out the purple wooden hairpin from her head, saying: "I have no valuable possessions on me, only this wooden hairpin is with me, I'll use it as a betrothal gift." After finishing speaking, she walked towards the city gate, the young nobleman who was following behind hurriedly shouted: "Fairy, fairy..."

  Ye Qingxue didn't even react, he stretched out his hand to pull him, but as soon as his hand touched the corner of his clothes, a spark of electricity flashed out, and he immediately fell to the ground convulsing, one arm charred black. The people around were shocked, and when they looked at Ye Qingxue again, she had already disappeared without a trace.

  The old man frowned, looking in the direction where Ye Qingxue had disappeared. At the moment when Ye Qingxue disappeared, he hastily took out a talisman paper from his bosom, wrapped the purple wooden hairpin and put it into his sleeve. The original appearance of that Taoist priest had long since vanished without a trace. He pulled up the flag standing beside him, got up and crossed over the Jade White Stone Bridge, turned several streets, exited from the east of the city, and strode away, his body shape as if weightless, floating close to the ground.

  However, not far after he left, a middle-aged Taoist priest suddenly chased after him on horseback. As he approached, it turned out that what he was riding was not a horse, but a paper horse. He sat on the paper horse and said to the old Taoist priest: "Brother, why are you leaving in such a hurry?"

  The old Taoist didn't stop or look at him, but simply said: "I have observed that this place already has an aura of evil and killing energy, it is not a place for spiritual practice, naturally we must leave."

  "I heard that the senior brother had just divined a fortune for Ye Qingxue, and accepted her wooden hairpin as payment. He wouldn't be afraid that she would regret it and take it back, which is why he left in such a hurry, right?" The middle-aged Daoist asked tightly.

  "Chai Mu's hairpin, this is the auspicious gold he gave me, how can I be afraid that she will take it back?"

  "Big brother, don't pretend anymore. Who in the world doesn't know that Ye Qingxue's purple wooden hairpin is actually Qianlu Men's sect leader's sword, Qingxin Town Demon Sword?"

  "What's the use of knowing!" The old Taoist's yellow goat-like whiskers fluttered in the wind.

  From the top of the city wall, a Taoist priest riding on a paper horse can be seen. His clothes are clean and embroidered with silk, his hair is neatly combed, and he rides on the paper horse like a piece of paper floating away into the distance. Beside him is an old Taoist priest holding a white flag with black characters, wearing tattered clothes and looking somewhat disheveled, yet he floats along with the paper-horse-riding priest towards the distant mountains without touching the ground.

  The Taoist riding the paper horse said, "Master brother, don't blame your junior for not reminding you. Today, a rumor has spread that Ye Qingxue's incredible thunder technique is due to this purple wooden hairpin, which clears the mind and calms the spirit, making her immune to demonic interference. This purple wooden hairpin is harmless in Ye Qingxue's hands, but it will bring disaster if it falls into your hands. You shouldn't have taken this Clear Mind Demon-Subduing Sword."

  "Heh heh, back in the day, my master calculated it for me once. The divination said that although I would have calamities in this life, I would ultimately meet a good end." The old Taoist said without even turning his head.

  "Senior brother, although the master has said so, but the master also said 'Disaster and fortune have no door, only people invite them by themselves.'" The middle-aged Taoist riding on a paper horse said.

  "A mere wooden hairpin, where did the trouble come from? I'll just leave here and disappear into the vast world, leaving no trace." The old Taoist suddenly accelerated, his body like a phantom fluttering, and disappeared in an instant. The Taoist riding the paper horse also stopped chasing, came to a halt, looked at the place where the old Taoist had disappeared, and muttered: "Brother, Master once said that you are too direct and confident in your actions, not subtle enough. I didn't expect that after so many years, it's still the same. If you had taken this opportunity to establish a good relationship with Ye Qingxue, there would have been a turning point in times of disaster. But now, taking her purple wooden hairpin, this good relationship may turn into a bad one, and it's inevitable that people will think you're taking advantage of the situation, which will bring endless troubles."

  The Taoist riding a paper horse looked in the direction where the old Taoist disappeared and said, "However, his senior fellow disciple was also saying something to him from a distant mountain slope: 'Junior brother, Master said you are too cautious and think too much. You can plan for a life of wealth and honor, but to become an immortal, you lack decisiveness. You always want to make connections with the world, and then have the world help you, how is that possible? I calculated the fortune-telling, it's already very fair, Ye Qingxue won't be difficult for me afterwards.'"

  The two of them were like they were separated by endless space, their voices carried away by the wind. The old Taoist didn't delve deeper into how Ye Qingxue knew him, for cultivators, ordinary people are just ordinary people, as long as the difference in realm isn't too great, and the higher side doesn't intentionally hide it, cultivators can all sense each other. Just like Chen Jing, no matter how well he hid, he could always be found by others, and after being found, a fierce battle would inevitably ensue.

  Although the Xian Tao is not complete in today's world, there are many strange and extraordinary people. Some hide in the mountains to meditate and practice martial arts, while others enlighten themselves and communicate with gods in the mortal world. Secret techniques are too numerous to count, and no one dares to say they have seen or heard all the secret techniques in the world. Just like that old Taoist's divination technique, Ye Qingxue only felt his aura was special, and the spiritual energy fluctuations on his body were different from those of ordinary cultivators, without knowing his true origin.

  Later, the method of calculation was found to be different from others, especially that sentence, "Seeking people relies on your own heart." At the moment he did it, a scene appeared in Ye Qingxue's eyes: "A starry sky, a space as bright as daytime, with spells all over the sky, and people standing on the peaks of mountains far and near. In the midst of the smoke-like spells, a sword light struggled to break free, but was blocked by various spells and treasures. Suddenly, a sword curtain swept away, killing several people nearby before flying away into the distance. This was only the first scene, and later he saw a person shaped like a skull, with a black body, white bones exposed on his face and hands, and already crippled."

  After seeing this, Ye Qingxue knew why the god statue in the River God Temple would peel off layer by layer, because his own skin and flesh were also peeling off layer by layer, and that leg really broke.

  And then Ye Qingxue saw a battle of demon-slaying, a struggle for survival.