Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 115 The Art of Exchanging Money with Green Cicadas (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Three figures suddenly appeared in the scene: one woman and two men, with the young woman in the middle being the main one.

The woman was dressed in a white robe, styled like men's clothing, with a silver crown on her head and long, flowing hair. She looked quite dashing, but her brows were cold and arrogant as she looked down at everyone in the room as if they were chickens or dogs.

Among the crowd, the leaders of various dojos, such as the Dojo Master, were the first to notice the arrival of the three.

The owners of these museums showed no impatience or anxiety; instead, they stepped forward and respectfully bowed to the three people on the high platform.

"Greetings, Immortal Sect Envoy!"

Amidst the shouts, everyone's attention was drawn to the figure on the platform, their expressions varying, and some even exclaimed in surprise.

The three people on the platform did not reply immediately. The woman in white first looked each of the masters in the arena over before speaking calmly:
"You all come from the same immortal sect, so you are my seniors. There is no need for formalities. I am sorry that I am late today."

Although the woman said "excuse me," she still stood up straight with her hands behind her back. She didn't even bother to bow or lower her eyelids; she simply closed her eyes and ignored everyone else.

Seeing the newcomer's demeanor, the owner and the others did not find anything amiss; on the contrary, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

They exchanged glances, their eyes revealing thoughts like "This year's luck is alright" and "The person who came is quite easy to talk to."

"You flatter us, envoy. We are truly unworthy of the title 'senior'."

"The envoy is young and has an outstanding appearance. He must be a talent within the immortal sect. It is truly a blessing for our Guling Town that he could take time out of his busy schedule to come here today."

Even the usually cold-faced owner of the restaurant was now being flattered by her.

This scene, witnessed by Fang Shu and his fellow disciples and juniors, left many of them looking at each other in bewilderment.

In an instant, the examinees felt a sense of awe towards the immortal sect disciple, especially the woman surnamed Zong, and dared not make a sound.

On the contrary, the other spectators outside the arena, ignorant and fearless, even jeered: "Hurry up, hurry up, come out and see the immortal!"

"When are we going to start? What are you dawdling about?"

Furthermore, the Immortal Sect envoy not only ignored the flattery of the various pavilion masters, but also found it noisy.

The two men flanking the woman surnamed Zong immediately rebuked her:

"Stop arguing, let's get this over with quickly."

"Quickly step back and let the Taoist boys in the town come out."

There was a slight commotion inside, and the masters of the various halls quickly stepped back, giving their seats to the disciples who were going to take the exam.

Once Fang Shu and the others had taken their positions, the inner area was divided into two layers: the inner layer was for the examinees, and the outer layer was for the family and friends of the headmaster, his second uncle Yu Le, and Du Yu'er.

Another steward from the market, carrying a silk scroll, stepped forward quickly and read aloud:

"Reporting to the three envoys, this year our town has a total of ninety-two Daoist novices, all eighteen years old, having completed three tribulations of cultivation, and of impeccable character, who are eligible to enter the imperial examination. Today, all ninety-two have arrived."

Upon hearing this, the woman surnamed Zong remained standing still, eyes downcast, like a statue.

This woman seemed to be just there to make an appearance; she wasn't responsible for any actual tasks. The other two messengers, however, exclaimed in surprise:

"There are nearly a hundred people now. The harvest in Guling Town this year is not bad. I expect the second harvest will be even better by the time of the autumn examination. You've managed this town quite well."

The market manager hurriedly nodded and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency is too kind."

But one of the two envoys let out a cold laugh:

"But what's the use of having more people? This is the spring imperial examination, not the autumn one. The number of people allowed in this town is limited; at most, only eighteen people can go up the mountain in advance."

Fang Shu and the other young Taoist disciples stood in the center of the field. Although they already knew about it, their expressions still changed slightly when they heard that there were a total of ninety-two people taking the exam this year, and only eighteen of them could go up the mountain.

Soon after, the words spoken by the two immortal sect envoys caused Fang Shu and the others, especially some of them, to suddenly turn pale.

The two messengers, one speaking and the other countering, commented:
"With so many people, comparing them all would be troublesome. Using the usual methods, it would probably take all night."

"Heh, do you really think that all ninety-two people who have come here are of impeccable character and have solid cultivation? I have my own way to speed things up."

As the two men spoke, they turned their heads as if to say something to the woman surnamed Zong. After she nodded slightly, the two envoys from the immortal sects turned their heads back to her.

Their gazes were now fixed intently on Fang Shu and his group, no longer filled with impatience. Before the market manager could ask anything more, the two managers interrupted him, saying, "All irrelevant people, leave immediately, or you'll be implicated later. Don't blame us for not speaking up."

The market manager looked embarrassed, and there was even a hint of anger in his eyes, but when he saw the robes on the two men's bodies, he chose to bow his head, clasp his hands, and silently retreat.

With the imperial examination about to begin, but no signs of a competition being set up or people being organized, Fang Shu and the other candidates grew increasingly uneasy.

In particular, those envoys from the immortal sects have yet to announce the rules for this year's spring imperial examinations, or how they will select candidates.

Finally, the two messengers made their move.

Buzz!
They each patted their waists, and tiny, bluish-green flying insects, as small as mosquitoes, flew out from their waists.

Fang Shu, mingling in the crowd, witnessed this scene and was immediately stunned, even suspecting that the two newcomers were both Gu Masters.

The next moment, he heard the mature-looking envoy from the immortal sect speak:
"This is the Qingfu, which is the 'Qingfu' in the Qingfu blood money that you are familiar with. It is not a pest and there is no need to be afraid."

Next, we will use the Green Cicada Money-Exchange Technique to examine your qi and blood, and to determine your cultivation level, so as to eliminate those who are merely pretending and are all show and no substance.

Many people were puzzled upon hearing this: "Qingfu blood money, money-changing technique?"

One candidate even dared to ask, "May I ask you two seniors, insects are weak; what should we do if we accidentally hurt them?"

Hearing the doubts of the crowd, the two disciples of the Immortal Sect exchanged a glance, both of them wearing broad smiles.

Neither of them answered; instead, they both flicked their sleeves and said, "Fall!"

The next moment, the green worms buzzed and landed on the ninety-two examinees, one on each of them.

Immediately, some candidates mustered their courage and even took out talismans, trying to block the attacking green worms.

But a cold snort rang out: "Listen to my command! Everyone use your bodies to carry the load. Anyone who dares to use magic weapons or talismans will be eliminated immediately!"

Helpless, the examinees who were holding talismans and magical artifacts could only reluctantly withdraw their hands and dare not make any rash moves.

Immediately afterward, all ninety-two examinees paled. Fang Shu, among them, was no exception.

The green insects landed on them, consuming their life force and even crawling directly onto their skin, sucking their blood like mosquitoes.

No, they're not like mosquitoes. These Qingfu are actually made from mosquitoes or fleas. They love to eat blood essence and can instantly multiply from one to two, and from two to many, becoming densely packed!
Fang Shu and the others immediately tried to extinguish the green worms on their bodies.

But then, with a soft beep, an envoy from the Immortal Sect took out a small bone flute from his sleeve and gently blew it. This caused all ninety-two examinees to experience a sharp pain in their heads, making it difficult for them to move.

A chilling aura emanated from the immortal sect envoys, coiling around their necks like venomous snakes, making it difficult for them to breathe.

In this way, without exception, all ninety-two examinees were possessed by the Qingfu, which greedily devoured their essence and blood.

After half a cup of tea.

More than half of the examinees in the room had pale complexions, and the green worms attached to them had swelled up from the size of mung beans to the size of peanuts, or even quail eggs.

These insects all had round, bulging bellies, clearly indicating they had eaten their fill and were quite fat.

I don’t know when.

An envoy from a celestial sect descended, looking at the examinees around him as if he were looking at a lush field of crops.

In everyone's sight, the man casually picked up a fat, green-bellied cicada, flattened it with a snap, turning it into a thin worm cake, and then put it to his lips and whistled.

Amidst the buzzing sound, there was the trembling of the coins.

The green cicada cake in the man's hand had transformed into a blood-red talisman coin.

Looking at the quality of the talisman coins, the envoy from the immortal sect nodded in satisfaction. He then took a number of green insects from the examinees, flattened them one by one, and turned them into jingling, blood-red talisman coins.

By drawing upon human essence and blood, insects are transformed into money; this is the "Art of Changing Money with Green Cicadas".

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(End of this chapter)