Chapter 3: The Language of the Demonic Race

"Ah!" Fu Haoyu beside her frowned, glanced at the scattered pieces of stone on the ground, and sighed, "So the monument broke again. This is not the first time." He had thought they might have encountered another top-tier spiritual root.

Seeing Qiu Ci still frozen in place, he assumed she was frightened and explained casually, "Don't be nervous. This Spirit Testing Stone Monument is an ancient relic, so it's normal for it to break after so many years. It has nothing to do with you. I'll just apply to the Immortal Alliance for a new testing tool."

In fact, these Spirit Testing Stone Monuments were ancient artifacts that should have been retired centuries ago. Only remote towns like Yanlin City still used them, while other places had switched to Spirit Testing Rulers.

"Judging from what just happened, you must also have a spiritual root. This is your certificate." He took out a white jade token and handed it to her. Seeing she hesitated to take it, he added, "Go on, take it! As for your bloodline, it can be awakened during the Immortal Sect selection; that's just as well."

Only then did Qiu Ci accept it, still somewhat dazed, with her entire mind focused on the sudden prompt that had sounded in her head.

A system?!!!

Was it the system she thought it was? Was her essential cheat for transmigrators finally about to arrive?

Qiu Ci suppressed the urge to cheer, took the jade token in a haze, and frantically called out in her mind.

"System?!"

"Are you there? What's going on?"

"If you're there, make a sound!"

"Hey?"

"Hello?"

But no matter how she called, there was no response in her mind, as if the voice had been an illusion.

What was going on?

Was the system stuck?

What happened to the promised successful binding?

"Wonderful, Sister Ci!" Feng Ting nearby came up joyfully, habitually grabbing her hand in excitement. "We both have spiritual roots, we can go to the Immortal Sect together!"

"Heh..." Qiu Ci really couldn't force a smile, her heart anxious and restless, but her mind still received nothing.

The bloodline awakening had ended, and people in the hall were leaving one after another, some happy, some worried. Feng Ting was the happiest, pulling Qiu Ci out the door and eagerly telling the waiting Niu Ma Village Chief about their spiritual roots.

The village chief was naturally delighted; after all, it meant the village would soon have two prospective immortal masters. Seeing that it was nearly midday, he happily decided to take the village children for lunch before heading back.

Qiu Ci's mind was entirely preoccupied with the system, and before she knew it, Feng Ting had dragged her onto the street. It wasn't until she was bumped by three people in a row that she realized the city seemed suddenly crowded.

Qingniu Village was not wealthy, so the chief could hardly take all the children to a restaurant. They went to a roadside porridge stall instead, but even such a humble stall was nearly full.

The streets were packed, and everyone was heading toward the city center, talking animatedly.

"Has something big happened in the city?" The village chief sensed something was off and asked.

The porridge stall owner handed them bowls as he replied, "Isn't it? A major event! I heard there's an evil cultivator in our city. Four immortal masters from the Azure Spirit Sect came to capture them, and today they're going to execute them publicly!"

"What is an evil cultivator?!" The chief was stunned. In the village, it was rare enough to see someone with a spiritual root, let alone an evil cultivator.

"Apparently, that person cultivated a forbidden book—something related to the ancient demon clan." The stall owner said mysteriously, "Nothing good comes from the demon clan; that's what makes someone an evil cultivator."

"Demon clan?" The system still silent, Qiu Ci's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but look up. Did this world have not only immortals but also demon cultivators?

"You haven't heard of them, right?" The stall owner saw their curiosity and eagerly continued, "I heard from the immortal masters that the demon clan appeared ten thousand years ago, a group of demonic people who wreaked havoc across the continent. It was a disaster for all living things. They say the 'Dark Tide' was their doing too."

"So the Dark Tide started with them. Didn't the border town just suffer from that?" The chief exclaimed.

"Exactly!"

Qiu Ci had heard of the Dark Tide—like floods or mudslides, common disasters in this world. She herself had been considered a refugee because of it.

"And then?" She couldn't help but ask. If the demon clan appeared ten thousand years ago, what happened afterward?

"Afterwards… They say the demon clan vanished overnight, just as suddenly as they appeared. That's when things got better for everyone. But the dangerous artifacts they left behind still exist; they're all forbidden now, sealed away by the immortal sects. If anyone tries to cultivate those things, every sect will punish them severely. They're afraid the demon clan might suddenly reappear."

So that's how it was. Qiu Ci listened while sipping her porridge, thinking this demon clan was unlike the typical villains in her imagination—they weren't driven out by the sects but simply disappeared on their own.

"By the way," the stall owner remembered something and pointed at the wall nearby. "Yesterday, the city lord had notices posted in all the shops. The forbidden book that evil cultivator practiced had a demon symbol on the cover. If anyone sees similar characters, they must report to the immortal sect immediately."

Qiu Ci looked in the direction he pointed, and indeed, there was a paper pasted on the wall, written in awkward strokes with eight bold characters:

"Three Years to Golden Core, Five Years Simulation"

Pfft~~~~

Qiu Ci instantly sprayed her mouthful of white porridge straight out!

What the heck?!

!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ

———

Something was very, very wrong—Qiu Ci felt this world was off in a dozen ways!

Never mind the system that had suddenly appeared in her mind, only to leave her with no response.

But a book title like "Three Years to Golden Core, Five Years Simulation"—was that really something from a cultivation world? This belonged in the college entrance exam, not here!

"What does it say?" The chief looked too and asked.

"Who knows!" The porridge stall owner shook his head. "These are ancient demon characters. Country folk like us can't understand them."

Demon script?!!

Since when did Chinese characters become demon script? So what did that make her, a demon clan member?

Wait!

They didn't recognize this script, didn't even realize it was writing!

Qiu Ci had never noticed this in the village, but now she looked around, especially at signs and name plaques, and found that the local script, though somewhat similar to Chinese, was obviously a different system.

It's normal for the writing to change when you enter a new world.

But why would Chinese characters appear here? And why would everyone treat them as forbidden, even calling anyone who read a Chinese book an evil cultivator?