The so-called Tianxi Maiden, also known as the Twelve Stream Maids of Heaven, is similar to the Six Ding and Six Jia spirits, all being guardian deities summoned by Taoist practitioners through magical techniques. Legend says that the Jade Stream Maids reside in the ethereal realm of Mount Wu in the city of Hibiscus, hovering 3,600 miles above the earth. Each commands divine soldiers, capable of transforming into clouds large or small, and when they join hands, they can summon rain.
However, there is one key difference between the Tianxi Maids and the Six Ding and Six Jia spirits. While the Tianxi Maids are not as magically powerful as the Dingjia spirits, they excel in battlefield command. Therefore, among cultivators, it is rare for anyone to summon the Twelve Stream Maids as guardian deities.
Mei Qing had once witnessed the might of the Six Ding and Six Jia spirits summoned by Bi Zhen through magical seals, and had long admired such techniques, even seeking instruction from Zhang Shisan. However, Zhang Shisan bluntly replied that for Mei Qing’s current level of cultivation, attempting to summon the Six Ding and Six Jia spirits would be utterly pointless.
“That girl’s techniques are all top-notch,” Zhang Shisan had commented at the time. “What use would the average disciple’s Six Ding and Six Jia spirits have? These guardian spirits are only useful for beginners in cultivation. Now that you’ve reached the Qi Cultivation stage and are practically a minor immortal, why bother with such outdated methods? Summoning them once a day is already a hassle, consuming a lot of energy for little practical effect.”
Of course, Zhang Shisan didn’t just criticize—he also explained in detail the methods and drawbacks of summoning the Six Ding and Six Jia spirits, and even touched upon the Twelve Stream Maids of Heaven.
The methods for summoning both the Six Ding and Six Jia spirits and the Twelve Stream Maids are quite similar. They require crafting magical seals or other enchanted artifacts, burning incense, and performing specific rituals to invoke them. Once summoned, the spirits can be recalled using the appropriate seals and incantations, although certain sacrificial offerings are still required.
According to Zhang Shisan, the biggest drawbacks of these guardian spirits are twofold. First, the summoning process is cumbersome and time-consuming. In actual combat, battles are often decided in mere moments—there’s no time to chant incantations and summon spirits. By the time the spirits arrive, your life might already be forfeit. Second, the process consumes significant resources while providing limited usable time. Moreover, the summoned spirits aren’t necessarily all-powerful. In fact, most of these guardian deities have their own flaws and limitations. To truly skilled cultivators, they offer little practical use.
“These summoned guardian spirits can usually only be called once a day, and their duration isn’t long. Besides requiring offerings, they also drain the summoner’s vital energy. It’s simply not worth the effort. When a novice cultivator knows nothing else, these spirits may seem impressive, but as one advances in cultivation, no serious practitioner continues to study such techniques. If you ever encounter such a spirit, if you can fight, then fight. But if it seems difficult, just use the tactic of delay—drag out the fight until the opponent is exhausted and unable to maintain the summoning. Then you can win without a fight,” Zhang Shisan had explained the strategy for dealing with summoned spirits in a simple, straightforward manner.
After all, these summoned spirits are merely manifestations of the original deity, and their strength depends entirely on the summoner’s cultivation level. Regardless, their combat effectiveness is always significantly reduced. According to Zhang Shisan, unless the summoner is an expert on the verge of ascension, Mei Qing could safely ignore any summoned guardian spirit.
Now, hovering in midair before him, were two Tianxi Maids. The one on the left was five feet tall, wearing a golden crown adorned with flowers, and dressed in a green robe decorated with pearls. She held a silver bottle engraved with magical sigils in her hands. The second maid, slightly taller at five feet and three inches, wore a crown of fresh flowers and a pale yellow immortal gown, holding a dizi flute.
Mei Qing furrowed his brow. Based on their appearances, these two Tianxi Maids should be Han Renji, the First Stream Maid, and Zhou Qiongji, the Sixth Stream Maid. However, the misty shadows around them were filled with countless soldiers and weapons moving in and out, a sight quite different from what he had previously known about the Stream Maids.
Although the Tianxi Maids were known for commanding battle formations and leading divine troops, very few cultivators in the world could reach the level of summoning the Stream Maids along with their full armies. Therefore, even summoning a few of the main spirits was already considered a great feat. Yet now, these two Stream Maids had actually brought their divine soldiers with them, which caused Mei Qing no small amount of concern.
Before Mei Qing could react, the two Stream Maids launched their attack first. The First Stream Maid, Han Renji, on the left shook her silver bottle, releasing a single drop of celestial dew. The droplet transformed into a mist resembling rain, showering the soldiers around her. Then, in a sharp voice, she cried out, “Sacred Dew, General of the Jade Host! Vanquish the Yin Darkness!敕!”
As the mist spread, the previously hazy figures of soldiers and weapons became solid. Amid swirling clouds and mist, a troop of cavalry descended from the sky. Leading them was a female warrior wielding a large blade, charging straight at Mei Qing.
The warrior wore a colorful silk robe, with two pheasant feathers in her hair and eight protective banners fluttering behind her. She rode a pink horse and wielded a jade saber. Behind her, several other female warriors followed, some wielding twin swords, others swinging meteor hammers—clearly an all-female cavalry unit.
Unsure of their true nature, Mei Qing extended his spiritual perception, only to find their auras extremely vague and indistinct. Nevertheless, he knew that when faced with an enemy, one must strike back and could not simply wait to be attacked. With a flick of his fingers, he released a small talisman, formed a hand seal, and chanted, “Break the Vajra, Subdue Demonic Wrath!”
The talisman flared to life, and from it emerged a massive vajra club, a Buddhist relic used to vanquish demons, known for its unbreakable strength.
In recent centuries, the boundaries between Buddhist and Taoist techniques had become blurred, and the Vajra club had been adopted by certain Taoist masters for use against dark and malevolent forces, often yielding extraordinary results. Mei Qing, sensing that something was amiss with the enemy, employed this talisman partly as a test.
This talisman was considered mid-tier in power, and while Mei Qing’s cultivation allowed him to wield it with ease, his foundation was still relatively shallow, and he had not yet mastered higher-tier techniques.
The massive金刚club appeared, its ends shaped like skull heads connected by a bone rod. As soon as it manifested, the two skulls opened their black, gaping mouths, revealing gleaming white teeth, and let out a piercing roar.
Waves of sound rippled outward from the club, vibrating the surrounding air with a deep hum. Accompanied by this sound of divine wrath, the club spun like a whirlwind, crashing toward the charging cavalry.
As soon as the Vajra Club was unleashed, it drew the attention of the Tianxi Maids above. When the club released its deafening roar, the expression of the First Stream Maid grew more serious.
She quickly formed hand seals and chanted an incantation. Instantly, the previously charging cavalry changed formation. Five warriors took positions, forming a circular array based on the Five Elements.
By this time, the Gangjin Club had already descended upon them. The leading warrior, wielding the jade saber, raised her blade skyward and cried, “Metal!”
The other four warriors each brandished their weapons, chanting the names of the Five Elements, and released a brilliant array of elemental energy, forming a massive elemental formation that surged toward the Vajra Club.
Mei Qing couldn’t help but smirk inwardly. Had he not studied formations under Zhang Shisan’s guidance, he might have been overwhelmed by such a Five Element array. But now, with his knowledge of formations, he was no longer intimidated by such a basic array.
He clapped his hands together, assuming an immovable stance, and shouted, “Ma!”
At his command, the five warriors’ bodies suddenly stiffened, as if being pulled by invisible strings. At the same time, the Vajra club, which had been spinning horizontally, abruptly changed direction and stood upright. The skull heads faced forward and, with the force of a mountain collapsing, it struck the center of the Five Elements formation.
The Five Element array was based on the five elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—with Earth at the center as the array’s core. Earth was the most stable and defensive element, but once the array was activated, the Earth element could not receive support from the other four, making it the weakest point in the formation.
Mei Qing, proficient in formations, first employed the Huayan Secret Technique to disrupt the array’s flow with a single shout. Then, wielding the Vajra club, he struck a crushing blow directly into the heart of the formation.
With a thunderous crash, golden light scattered in all directions. The entire Five Element array wavered violently. The five warriors within the formation became blurred, and the female warrior at the center, wielding twin hammers, was struck so hard that she became as faint as mist. Her horse and weapons disintegrated into pieces of paper, scattering like snowflakes.
Paper figures? Mei Qing was startled. Suddenly, he recalled the paper figures and horses he had seen in the Changchun Palace. Could these warriors actually be paper figures? If so, they were likely created through some minor magical technique, such as the “Bean Soldiers” method, typically used only to counter ordinary soldiers. How could such paper figures, under the command of the Stream Maids, form a battle array and possess such combat power?
Although puzzled, Mei Qing did not hesitate. As the paper fragments flew, the Vajra club was already raised again, ready to strike. At the same time, he silently released another talisman.
“Scoundrel, how dare you!” cried the First Stream Maid, seeing her troops falter under Mei Qing’s金刚talisman. Her sharp voice rang out as she hurled her silver bottle into the air. Several cold rays of light shot forth from the bottle—droplets of sacred dew transformed into arrows of rain, crackling with thunder and wind, aimed directly at Mei Qing and the area where the battle was unfolding.
Mei Qing smirked. The Vajra club, which had been poised to strike the warriors in the formation, suddenly changed direction mid-air, spinning with a golden glow to intercept the rain of arrows. The Vajra club, conjured from a single talisman, had already expended much of its power upon colliding with the formation. As it struck the arrows, it shattered into countless golden sparks, scattering like stars. The rain arrows, though not completely destroyed, veered off course, flying away into the distance and missing Mei Qing entirely.
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