In the courtyard of the quadrangle.
Chu Xingchen had just returned not long ago when someone came to visit. At this time, even Li Xingtian hadn’t returned yet.
Li Yingling was also not in the quadrangle at the moment, presumably still wrapping things up with Li Xingtian.
If they were to return, they would likely come back together.
“Did you arrange all of this?”
Yaoqin sat on a stone chair, sipping tea brewed by Chu Xingchen himself.
Chu Xingchen’s expression was blank: “What are you referring to?”
Yaoqin put down her teacup and spoke seriously: “The Qingfeng Sect.”
Chu Xingchen sighed: “Originally, yes. But after investigating further, I realized it wasn’t necessary. The Qingfeng Sect probably won’t last much longer anyway.”
From the moment he saw that Blood Qi Spirit Stone, Chu Xingchen understood.
The Qingfeng Sect was likely just a main course on the demonic cultivators’ feast table.
However, this main course had thorns—the Nascent Soul stage Grand Elder.
This forced the group of demonic cultivators to take their time scheming.
Chu Xingchen asked: “Did Zhao Wanqing show you the Blood Qi Spirit Stone she brought back?”
“Yes.” Yaoqin’s expression also turned serious. “We’ve already reported it to the Central Continent. Specialists should arrive in about half a month to handle it.”
“This matter is too dangerous. You should stay out of it for now and wait for the Central Continent’s people to clean it up.”
Hearing this, Chu Xingchen couldn’t help but chuckle lightly but didn’t respond.
Yaoqin held her teacup: “I’ve also told Zhao Wanqing to stop. Her brother has passed the critical stage and is just waiting to wake up.”
Chu Xingchen sighed, seemingly losing interest:
“I understand.”
Yaoqin nodded slightly upon receiving his answer, then turned her beautiful eyes to the clear blue sky.
She didn’t say anything, just held her teacup.
Chu Xingchen gave her a strange look.
She was usually the type to finish talking and then shoo people away. Why was she so quietly staying here today, gazing at the sky?
After a moment of thought, Chu Xingchen suddenly realized: “Are you here because you want to eat my cooking?”
Yaoqin glanced at him but still didn’t speak.
She did feel like eating, but that wasn’t the main reason she was here.
Yaoqin unconsciously twirled the teacup in her hand:
“Are you free tonight?”
Chu Xingchen propped his head up with his hand: “Tonight? I’ll be free later. I promised my disciple we’d go to the temple fair together.”
“Then it’s nothing.”
Having received her answer, Yaoqin stood up and walked toward the gate.
As she reached the gate, she turned back and added as if to reassure him:
“I’ll pay you for Zhao Wanqing’s Spirit Stone. Don’t get involved in this matter anymore.”
After all, back when Chu Xingchen was poor, he had done countless dangerous things for Spirit Stones.
If this guy thought there was profit to be made, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t go off chasing it again.
The previously listless Chu Xingchen suddenly perked up, unable to hide his delight:
“Got it! Rich Lady Sister, I promise I won’t get involved.”
Yaoqin frowned at this, displeased: “What ‘Rich Lady Sister’?! That sounds awful! Don’t call me that!”
Chu Xingchen argued: “What’s so awful about it? Back in my hometown, everyone loves someone like you—beautiful and generous, a rich lady sister.”
“I don’t care, I don’t like it! Don’t call me that!”
Yaoqin glared coldly at Chu Xingchen, then snorted and left.
With Yaoqin’s departure, the courtyard fell quiet once more.
Chu Xingchen looked down at the teacup in front of him, then drank it all in one go.
Although the situation had taken some unexpected turns, everything was still more or less under control.
“Master! I’m back~”
The gate was pushed open excitedly by Li Yingling, who ran in holding a shovel, beaming with joy.
Li Yingling proudly announced: “Mission accomplished!”
Li Xingtian followed closely behind her: “Master, everything went smoothly.”
Chu Xingchen first clapped enthusiastically and praised:
“Well done! You truly are my beloved disciples!”
Hearing this, Li Yingling lifted her head proudly.
After praising them, Chu Xingchen abruptly changed the subject: “But let’s put those preparations aside for now. We’re meeting up tonight for the temple fair!”
Li Yingling quickly reacted:
“Did something happen?”
Chu Xingchen shrugged: “Seems like it’s a pretty big deal. Yaoqin told us not to get involved.”
Li Yingling sighed at this. Was all their effort wasted?
Oh well, going to the temple fair with her master wasn’t a bad alternative.
Li Xingtian, on the other hand, nodded indifferently.
Chu Xingchen nodded in satisfaction:
“Good! The sect’s first team-building event is about to begin!”
The temple fair was essentially a prelude to the Lantern Festival.
The venue was at Yuzhou City’s largest Buddhist temple—the Zen Forest Temple.
To be honest, the original Lantern Festival had little to do with Buddhist temples.
At first, there wasn’t even a temple fair.
The Lantern Festival was about writing wishes on lanterns and letting them float down the Yuzhou River, symbolizing smooth sailing for those wishes.
The wishes on the lanterns were usually simple—promotions, wealth, finding a partner.
It was all very down-to-earth.
But as for why there was a temple fair now, it’s worth mentioning how the Zen Forest Temple became Yuzhou City’s top Buddhist temple.
In this world, since the path of immortality was a real and tangible thing, most religious beliefs were held by mortals who couldn’t cultivate.
And even then, the number of believers wasn’t particularly large.
After all, what true cultivator didn’t believe in the mantra “My fate is my own, not Heaven’s”?
So unlike in Chu Xingchen’s previous world, where monks were exempt from taxes, here, without the advantage of widespread faith, even monks had to pay taxes!
First and foremost, monks were people. Secondly, monks also needed to eat, and eating required money.
Even gilding Buddha statues required money.
Relying solely on the offerings from believers was barely enough to get by.
If they wanted to gild the Buddha or Bodhisattva statues, it was nothing but a pipe dream!
As it turned out, even monks, when driven to desperation, could abandon their doctrines.
The monks of Zen Forest Temple set their sights on Yuzhou City’s most popular festival—the Lantern Festival.
The original intention of the lanterns was to make wishes, but wishes didn’t necessarily have to be made with lanterns!
Buddha could grant wishes too! Spending money on a lantern was one option, but lighting an incense stick was another!
And the cost of an incense stick was far cheaper than a lantern.
In any world, the poor always outnumbered the rich.
There were always people who couldn’t afford a lantern to make a wish, but the much cheaper incense became an alternative.
From then on, Buddha, who once taught people to abandon greed, also began to bless people with wealth.
And the Zen Forest monks had some clever minds among them.
The temple widened the roads outside the temple and rented out the space to vendors, charging them for the venue.
As long as no one brought skewers of roasted meat into the temple, Buddha could tolerate anything, and this attitude indeed attracted many vendors.
They even understood the concept of scarcity marketing, holding the fair only a few days before the Lantern Festival and never extending it, keeping the event’s popularity high.
It was through piggybacking on the Lantern Festival that the Zen Forest Temple made a fortune.
And the Buddha statues grew larger and more gilded.
esick Sect? Well, at least it's considered a respectable orthodox sect. Wait a minute— What kind of vibe are you all giving off? Shouldn’t this be a love-struck, romance-obsessed sect? Why does everyone here sound more like demonic cultivators? "Master, today he’s getting married. This disciple wishes to descend the mountain and crash the wedding, then toy with him to death right in front of his wife..." "Elder, I only got into your sect through connections, so why won’t you teach me anything?" "Because I also became an elder through connections." Thankfully, Su Ji was just an outer sect labor disciple. Surely, nothing too crazy would— "Junior Brother, you’ve broken through to Qi Refining. Once you sever your useless spiritual root, you can officially become an outer sect disciple." "The Great Dao is merciless. Don’t let a worthless spiritual root waste your essence and spirit, hindering your cultivation." Is this really the Lovesick Sect? ... Three years later, Su Ji sat in the seat of the Lovesick Sect’s sect master, sighing with emotion. His rise to this position all started when his junior sister adamantly insisted on preserving his "spiritual root." "Mmm... Senior Brother, what’s our relationship now?" "Stop talking. Keep going." "By the way, that newly promoted top-tier sect—didn’t they come to buy our Love Beans?" "One top-grade spirit stone per Love Bean—is that really so expensive?" "I suspect they’ve eaten too many Love Beans." "Now they’re lovesick." Well, this really is the Lovesick Sect after all.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
