The Textbook Example of a Divine Monk and a Bewitching Sorceress

Murong Xiao took the scripture, flipping through it casually with only partial comprehension. After asking Li Mo to inform his grandfather Murong Hai, he waved goodbye.

"Brother Li, take care."

"You too, Master Zang Ai."

"You damn..."

The farewell scene was filled with unspoken emotions, leaving Murong Xiao at a loss for words.

Li Mo chuckled and returned to the Water Clan's grotto to pack up his cooking utensils.

Ying Bing was lost in thought, so absorbed that she didn’t even notice Li Mo’s approach. A tea leaf floated unnoticed in her cup, her mind clearly wandering elsewhere.

"Ice Block."

"Hmm."

"Let’s visit the Matchmaking Tree again."

Ying Bing, who had been staring blankly, trembled slightly at his words and snapped back to reality.

"Why go back there?"

"I think I left something behind last time."

Alright.

Young Li wanted to see if he could fulfill his wish before leaving. Who knew when he’d get another chance to see that tree? The scene he witnessed in the Hundred Flavors Fruit yesterday had left him with a bit of PTSD.

"Then let’s go look for it."

Ying Bing patted the big-headed doll she carried and nodded.

The two stepped out of the Water Clan’s grotto.

"By the way."

"Hmm?"

"What do you think would happen if a True Dragon and a True Phoenix mated?"

Ying Bing, who had been walking gracefully, nearly stumbled at his question. Once she regained her balance, she grabbed Li Mo’s sleeve.

"Why ask that?"

"Just... pure curiosity. I’ve never heard of any offspring between a True Dragon and a True Phoenix." Li Mo pondered.

"That’s because a True Dragon and a True Phoenix have never coexisted."

The confused young Li grew even more bewildered.

Ying Bing, having studied the Jade Phoenix Empress and drawing from her own knowledge, explained softly:

"Due to the power of collective belief, True Dragons and True Phoenixes aren’t natural beings. They emerge in response to the faith of the masses."

"With the Great Yu still standing, its national fortune condenses into the Golden Dragon of Destiny, leaving no room for the True Phoenix to manifest."

"This shares similarities with the Divine Observation Art—without the devotion of the people, their power wanes."

After Ice Block’s explanation, young Li fell into deep thought.

In his memories of past lives, mainstream belief held that dragons were fictional constructs.

They were born from warring tribes, each worshipping different creatures, merging and assimilating until they became the totem of all descendants of Yan and Huang.

Well, his previous life lacked such mystical forces, let alone the barely understood "power of collective belief."

It might not be comparable.

Before long, the two arrived at the Matchmaking Tree.

"Huh? Did my wish come true?"

Li Mo distinctly remembered where he had hung his prayer pouch, but the spot was now empty. He circled the tree several times but found no trace of it.

"Ice Block, my pouch is missing. Any ideas?"

"Maybe someone took it?"

Ying Bing quietly turned her head away.

"How shameless! What kind of soulless scoundrel would do such a thing?"

Young Li was furious.

Squish—

A sudden sound reached his ears.

Ying Bing, expressionless, was squeezing the big-headed doll in her hands until it creaked.

"It’s fine. Just one pouch. I’ll hang ten or eight more later."

Li Mo’s anger instantly subsided.

The way she was kneading that doll made his scalp tingle.

The empathy was a bit too visceral...

Having already bid farewell to Wu Qing and her husband, Li Mo planned to leave the Southern Border with Ying Bing and return to the Clear Abyss Sect.

Their ride had gone back home, so Li Mo couldn’t rely on Ice Block to navigate. He took her map instead.

The two stopped at a small pavilion not far from the Matchmaking Tree.

But as soon as he unfolded the map, he froze.

"Li Mo Village... Li Mo Mountain... Li Mo River... Li Mo Tribe..."

The map was precise, but many locations lacked names—which was normal. Even maps bought from the Prosperous Trade Guild didn’t label every minor landmark.

But as everyone knew, Ice Block had no sense of direction.

Young Li couldn’t help but imagine the scene:

The ethereal Qingluan Goddess, lost and confused, pulling out a map to orient herself—only to grow even more bewildered, unable to pinpoint her location.

So she picked up a brush and...

"These places do exist."

Ying Bing took back the map, her clear eyes unwavering.

"Uh-huh, sure, of course."

Glancing at the hand still gripping the big-headed doll, young Li nodded obediently.

He then spread out his own map and began planning their return journey.

After a while, Li Mo rubbed his temples and looked up—only to spot two figures standing beneath the Matchmaking Tree in the distance.

Ying Bing followed his gaze.

There stood Shang Qinqing, the Qingluan Clan leader who always seemed delighted to see them.

But she wasn’t alone. Beside her was a monk wearing a bamboo hat—a "Pure Path Monk."

They were about fifty feet away from the pavilion.

A Pure Path Monk?

That was Divine Monk Huaikong!

Shang Qinqing gazed at Huaikong with a melancholic expression.

"Yikes..."

Young Li sucked in a sharp breath, sensing this was no ordinary encounter. He immediately held his breath and sealed his aura.

A world-renowned divine monk, intimately close to a demoness?

This was even more explosive than Elder Xue searching for alchemical bombs with a lantern. He’d better sleep lightly tonight.

Fortunately, the monk and Shang Qinqing seemed entirely absorbed in each other, oblivious to onlookers.

"You’re finally leaving."

"Benefactress, this humble monk does not know who you are..."

"Then have the courage to open your eyes and look at me."

"......"

Huaikong sighed deeply.

With that sigh, his eyes opened—his once-cloudy gaze now clear, his withered skin rapidly regaining vitality.

In an instant, he transformed into a middle-aged monk.

"I knew it... Otherwise, you wouldn’t have placed the Matchmaking Tree inside the temple."

Shang Qinqing glared at him through gritted teeth.

The Qingluan symbolized love.

So did the Matchmaking Tree—or rather, it gained its mystical properties because the world’s last pure-blooded Qingluan met her destined one beneath its branches.

The couples who prayed before it didn’t just manifest the Hundred Flavors Fruit through collective belief.

This was also why Shang Qinqing retained some of her power, allowing the Qingluan Clan to remain independent.

Huaikong opened his mouth but hesitated.

"Lie to me, and I’ll topple this tree. I’ll join the calamity beasts like the Great Wind and the Nine-Headed Bird."

"Don’t be reckless..."

Where were the other monks of the temple? Probably assigned extra chores by their abbot.

In any case, Shang Qinqing suddenly pulled the divine monk into a tight embrace and bit him.

Any monks witnessing this would’ve fainted on the spot—their revered abbot was being devoured by a demon! Was no one going to intervene?!

Li Mo leaned back in tactical retreat.

No wonder that Qingluan elder kept grinning at him and Ice Block—she was starved for affection, living vicariously through them.

See? This proved that bottling things up was unhealthy. Unlike Brother Murong, whose desires never had time to fester...

Ying Bing's serene eyes reflected the scene not far away as she lightly pressed her lips together.

She remembered that day.

She had taken advantage of his slumber to steal a...

Now, looking back, it hardly even counted as a kiss...

Was this... how it was supposed to be done?

She turned her head, her gaze involuntarily drifting toward the corner of his lips.