Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 9 A Complete Transformation

"Having circulated the Small Heavenly Circuit, chanting incantations and making hand gestures, I, a humble Taoist, am originally a minor immortal from Longhu Mountain who has attained the Dao..."

A clear and melodious song drifted over, its carefree spirit causing even the passing patrol horses to slow their pace and glance at it sideways.

This young Taoist priest was so handsome that men felt ashamed of their own appearance, while women couldn't help but take a second look.

The melody was quite pleasant to listen to, but the lyrics sounded rather arrogant.

You should know that there are real immortals in Cui County, in the Qinglian Taoist Temple on Xiaoyan Mountain. Legend has it that a sword immortal has descended, able to wield flying swords and take people's heads from a thousand miles away.

Where did this young Taoist priest get the audacity to shamelessly call himself a deity?
However, the young Taoist priest who was singing seemed oblivious to everything around him, his eyes still lightly closed, immersed in his own song.

Behind the young Taoist priest stood a white banner with two lines of large characters prominently displayed: "For divination and consulting spirits, one should believe in their existence. For prayers for blessings and peace, sincerity is key."

Everyone then realized that he was a fortune teller, no wonder he was boasting like that, probably to attract business.

The soldiers riding by saw this scene and wanted to go and intervene, but just as they were about to get closer, Old Yu, the leader, grabbed them.

Old Yu frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Don't meddle in other people's business."

The soldiers under his command were full of doubt and asked, "Boss, why are you ignoring it? This is the main road, and according to the rules, setting up stalls is not allowed."

Old Yu stroked his half-white beard and said softly, "Take a look at that white banner."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers all frowned and examined the writing carefully. After a moment, one of them muttered, "These characters are really quite ugly."

Upon hearing this, Old Yu raised his hand and slapped his clueless subordinate on the head, saying angrily, "Who asked you how your handwriting is? I'm asking you to look where that white banner is planted!"

After this shout, the soldiers were startled to realize that the white banner pole had been driven straight and deeply into the bluestone slab.

Old Yu's face was solemn as he said in a deep voice, "Everyone be on guard. The news of the county magistrate's collection of young boys and girls has spread, and heroes from all walks of life are gathering in the city. We are just patrolling; arresting and interrogating are the duties of the constables of the yamen. Remember, children, women, the elderly, and monks are not to be trifled with. Just report the truth."

In recent days, Cui County has become increasingly chaotic. The county government's abduction of young boys and girls has aroused the indignation of the martial arts world. Self-proclaimed heroes have come to "help the public and uphold justice," and in the past half month, there have been several murder cases in the town.

Having spent most of his life in this line of work, Old Yu was well aware of the importance of self-preservation. He spurred his horse and rode off first. His soldiers, seeing this, hurriedly followed. They thought to themselves, "It's good to follow a boss as experienced as Old Yu. Look, we've escaped with our lives again."

As the young Taoist priest listened to the receding, hurried sound of horses' hooves, his singing abruptly stopped. He could only sigh helplessly, "Another business deal gone. Doesn't anyone want to consult a fortune teller these days?"

This person is naturally Chen Ye.

He had been in Cui County for two days and had roughly figured out the situation.

Cui County was unusually large, far exceeding the size of an ordinary county. This was because Cui County was the fiefdom of a royal relative who was greatly favored by the current emperor.

She was a princess of noble birth, with the title Hongyu. Legend has it that when she was born, her tiny hand tightly clutched a ruby, and in an instant, a rainbow of light enveloped the entire palace. The emperor was overjoyed, regarding this as an auspicious omen, and from then on, he doted on this princess immensely.

Princess Hongyu seemed to possess some kind of magical ability. From the moment she was born, the land enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests for over a decade. On her birthday, the sky was always filled with colorful clouds. The emperor became even more convinced that she was a divine gift, and his affection for her grew ever stronger.

Thus, the prosperous and bustling Cui County became the fiefdom of the county lord early on.

With the princess's connection, Cui County had everything it needed in the imperial court, and in just over a decade, it developed into its current size.

Even though Princess Hongyu still lives deep within the palace and has never set foot in her fiefdom, her palace in Cui County is the most magnificent and luxurious place, with countless rare treasures flowing into it every year.

This is why, although the magistrate of Cui County was called a magistrate, his status was far higher than that of other officials of the same rank. It is no wonder that the magistrate dared to forcefully collect young boys and girls without fear of triggering a popular uprising, because he was fearless and could use the princess's guards to suppress the rebellion. Those guards were much more powerful than the constables of the county government.

Chen Ye was not very knowledgeable about these mundane matters. Cultivators had long lifespans, while mortal dynasties changed hands frequently. Some lasted two or three hundred years, while others lasted only a few decades. With the Central Plains and numerous small countries on the borders, it was impossible to remember them all. Mo Ci was much older than the current dynasty. If Chen Ye's cultivation went smoothly, he would probably have experienced several dynastic changes as well, so he naturally wouldn't take it to heart.

But now that he was going to Cui County, he naturally had to find out the situation clearly. Fortunately, Zhao Hezhou was a local of Cui County, and Chen Ye had inquired about a lot of information before setting off, keeping the names of the high-ranking officials and nobles in Cui County in mind, so he wouldn't be completely clueless.

In order to enter the city smoothly, he changed his identity, no longer a disheveled little beggar, but a handsome young Taoist priest.

If there's anything to brag about in my past life, it's definitely this face.

Before he transmigrated, everyone, from friends to family, said he could make a living off his looks. But Chen Ye was arrogant and didn't understand that the other side of forbearance is wealth. He plunged headlong into the cutthroat world of studying, wasting his youth.

Now that he has become a cultivator, he has no need for this face anymore.

After all, Heaven treats everyone equally, regardless of beauty or ugliness.

After two days in the city, Chen Ye inquired carefully and learned that the county magistrate was still collecting young boys and girls, and the number was getting larger and larger.

This puzzled Chen Ye greatly. The Qinghe Sword Sect cultivators had arrived several days earlier, so why did they turn a blind eye to such evil deeds?

Could it be that I've misunderstood, and the collection of young boys and girls was indeed done by cultivators of the Qinghe Sword Sect?

Although he had doubts, Chen Ye did not intend to meddle in other people's business.

As a minor cultivator in the Qi Awakening Realm, I have no right to concern myself with such a major matter that harms the people; it would be better for me to focus on cultivation.

Now that the side effects of the Beast Blood Pill have been resolved, he can focus on alchemy and cultivation once he buys enough livestock. Chen Ye calculated that at least eight thousand sheep would be needed for him to cultivate his dantian and qi sea; if he used cattle or horses, which are larger, the requirement could be reduced to two or three thousand.

But cattle and horses are much more valuable than sheep. Chen Ye doesn't have the ability to sweep the world up with a flick of his sleeve. Slaughtering thousands of livestock would be exhausting and time-consuming.

After much thought, Chen Ye decided to acquire a ranch so he could instruct his servants to help with slaughtering and bloodletting, which would save him a lot of effort when refining pills.

This requires money, and a lot of money.

The silver left by Mo Ci was far from enough, so Chen Ye had to find a way to earn some money.

Anyway, it's impossible to work. Ordinary people can't afford even half a cow even if they work their whole lives.

But after setting up the stall for half a day, not a single person has come to ask for a fortune telling.

"That doesn't make sense. The people of Cui County are in a state of panic, and chaos is already evident. How come no one wants to have their fortune told?"

Chen Ye stroked his chin, somewhat puzzled.

At noon, when the sun was at its most scorching, a portly man finally came before Chen Ye.

The fat man asked in a deep voice, "Fortune teller, are you accurate?"

Chen Ye glanced at the man and asked, "What do you wish to ask, sir?"

The fat man retorted, "If you could calculate it accurately, would you need to ask me?"

The sound was loud and clear, attracting passersby to look in Chen Ye's direction.

(End of this chapter)