At this moment, Lu Yang was unaware that Lan Ting had struck a big deal. He was using an invisibility talisman and hiding technique, following the officials to search for the Reverse Lifespan Talisman.
The three of them split up to find as many locations of the Reverse Lifespan Talismans as possible.
It was clear that the government took the Reverse Lifespan Talismans very seriously. They mobilized everyone to turn Yanjiang County upside down.
The officials first figured out where the public usually felt tired or drowsy and divided the area into sections to search.
The head constable, Fang Qingyun, even created two clones. His real self and the two clones spread out their senses, leading a large group to search for the talismans.
Fang Qingyun was very powerful, so Lu Yang and the others didn’t dare follow him too closely.
Before long, an officer found a Reverse Lifespan Talisman hidden in a dark spot. Lu Yang quietly noted the location.
By evening, the three of them gathered and took out a map of Yanjiang County, marking the locations of the Reverse Lifespan Talismans.
“One at Dashi Bridge, one at the rouge shop on Qianmen Street, one at the pawn shop… These are the six locations we’ve found so far.”
“With just this little information, we can’t be sure if they’re arranged according to the Reverse Lifespan Formation. Let’s check again tomorrow.”
When the three returned to the barbecue shop, they saw Lan Ting wearing a tofu mask, focused on improving the automatic barbecue formation.
Skewers floated above the table, roasting under high heat.
Two ghostly figures knelt on the ground, crying and thanking Lan Ting for saving them from endless barbecuing.
Lu Yang was confused. They had only been gone for a short afternoon—what had happened?
“Where did you get that mask?”
Lan Ting said proudly, “Oh, it was given to me by the tofu shop owner you saved last night. She also said she wants to hold an event with our barbecue shop during the Spring Festival.”
“This is the event plan we wrote together.”
“I noticed while working yesterday that there were only two ghostly figures barbecuing, and they were too slow. Some customers were getting impatient, so I designed this automatic barbecue formation to greatly improve efficiency.”
“This automatic barbecue formation is something that’s never been seen before. It’s innovative, and when I return to the Immortal Palace, I can use this to exchange for contribution points.”
“This formation is simple, and maybe it can be promoted on a large scale in the future.”
The Moon Laurel Immortal Palace, like the Wenda Sect, has similar long-term tasks.
Lu Yang thought, “…”
It seemed the rapid development of the barbecue shop couldn’t be stopped.
Meng Jingzhou, grinning, took the tofu mask: “This tofu mask looks pretty nice. Here, let’s each have one. Lu Yang, look, this tofu mask suits you so well; you look just like it!”
Lu Yang rolled his eyes at the square tofu mask, not wanting to stoop to his level, and accepted the mask.
Lan Ting added, “I also set up a spirit gathering formation and soundproof formation on the second floor for easier cultivation.”
This was the only good news Lu Yang had heard since entering the shop: “That’s quite extravagant. Setting up formations must have used a lot of spirit stones. How much did you spend? We should split it three ways.”
Lan Ting waved her hand: “It didn’t use much spirit stones, just pocket money.”
Meng Jingzhou suddenly looked up, watching Lan Ting warily. For the first time, he felt he had a rival in showing off wealth.
Lan Ting’s arrival made life much easier for the three of them, allowing them to focus on searching for talismans during the day.
After ten days, they located over two hundred talismans, and the nodes matched perfectly with the Reverse Lifespan Formation.
After finding the pattern, they searched other node locations and indeed found more Reverse Lifespan Talismans.
“What should we do? Should we tell Captain Wei?” Meng Jingzhou asked.
Lu Yang hesitated. If they told Captain Wei about the locations of the Reverse Lifespan Talismans, his superior would surely find out someone was secretly helping them. If Master Chu learned of this, he might suspect the three of them.
But if they didn’t tell him, the talismans scattered around Yanjiang County would still pose a risk.
“Waiter, two hundred lamb skewers and two hundred beef skewers!” A bold voice rang out, clear even to the ghosts in the back yard.
Normally, this voice would scare them out of their wits.
But now, with the automatic barbecue formation, their workload had greatly decreased. They wouldn’t be afraid even if someone ordered two hundred pork skewers!
“Another two hundred pork skewers!” The bold voice continued, sounding like a wealthy person.
Lu Yang squinted, feeling the voice was somewhat familiar: “It’s Yi Zhanghong, who participated in the selection for disciples. The two people behind him are also at the Foundation Establishment stage.”
These three hadn’t passed the selection.
“Will they recognize us?” Mangu asked, recalling how they had disguised themselves as examiners to trick Yi Zhanghong.
Lu Yang shook his head: “No, the master said that to maintain the secrecy of the branch, those who didn’t pass the selection had their memories wiped by headquarters. They don’t remember anything about the disciple selection.”
Yi Zhanghong, seeing no one attending to him for a long time, shouted hoarsely, “Where is everyone? Are you deaf?”
“I’m coming, I’m coming! What would you like, sir?” Lu Yang rushed out.
Yi Zhanghong had a rough attitude: “Two hundred each of pork, beef, and lamb skewers. You decide on the rest. I heard your food is good, so I came. If it’s not good, I’ll smash your shop!”
Clearly, he hadn’t recognized Lu Yang. If he had, he would have smashed the shop already.
Lu Yang greeted him with a smile, bowing slightly: “Don’t worry, our skewers are so delicious you’ll want to eat them for a lifetime.”
Yi Zhanghong snorted coldly, ignoring Lu Yang.
Yi Zhanghong’s two companions squinted, looking down on Lu Yang.
Lu Yang sent a message to Meng Jingzhou: “Inform Captain Wei that there are three Foundation Establishment demon path loose cultivators here. He should bring people over to catch them.”
These demon path loose cultivators were ruthless, and according to the law, they would face execution multiple times. Lu Yang wouldn’t show any mercy.
Time to show them the demon path’s methods—reporting them!
Meng Jingzhou was taken aback and replied, “But we don’t have evidence. How can we tell they are Foundation Establishment demon path loose cultivators? Will Captain Wei believe us?”
Lu Yang sneered: “What’s there not to believe? Just say we noticed he has talismans that seem to make people fall asleep.”
Meng Jingzhou understood Lu Yang’s meaning. They had a few Reverse Lifespan Talismans on hand, which could be used to frame them.
“Alright, I’ll be right back.” Meng Jingzhou jogged out.
When Captain Wei heard that three Foundation Establishment demon cultivators had appeared and were suspected of holding Reverse Lifespan Talismans, he knew it was serious and quickly reported to Fang Qingyun.
Fang Qingyun didn’t hesitate upon hearing this. He immediately led a large group to surround the three.
Regardless of whether they held Reverse Lifespan Talismans, just the presence of three Foundation Establishment demon cultivators warranted this level of response.
Fang Qingyun arrived at the barbecue shop, releasing his Golden Core pressure, rendering Yi Zhanghong and the others unable to move. He waved his hand and commanded, “Arrest them and search them!”
Before Yi Zhanghong and the others could understand what was happening, they were captured by several Foundation Establishment constables and pinned to the ground.
What’s going on? Is eating skewers in Yanjiang County a crime?
Then Captain Wei found a large number of Reverse Lifespan Talismans on Yi Zhanghong, far more than the few Lu Yang had tried to frame them with.
“It really is your Reverse Lifespan Formation!” Fang Qingyun glared at Yi Zhanghong, blaming him for not having a moment’s rest these past few days.
Lu Yang: “…”
Meng Jingzhou: “…”
Seriously, do you all have to cooperate so well?
Yi Zhanghong and the others were even more confused. They thought they had done everything perfectly, leaving no clues. Why were the constables here to arrest them?
Where did they go wrong?
(End of Chapter)