The Power of Vows

Chu Xingchen glanced over and then turned his gaze away.

First of all, when faced with a situation, don’t panic—even if Yaoqin’s forced smile did look a bit terrifying.

But, strictly speaking, he and Yaoqin didn’t have any formal relationship.

She had no reason to meddle in his affairs. As long as he didn’t lose his nerve, he wasn’t in the wrong!

The most important thing was that simping never ends well—better to die than to simp.

Admitting fault was out of the question.

But clearly, Yaoqin didn’t see it that way.

Yaoqin took two steps forward, and the women surrounding Chu Xingchen automatically made way for her.

Yaoqin’s eyes locked onto Chu Xingchen as she said, “Didn’t you say you were taking your disciples to the temple fair today?”

As Yaoqin approached and spoke, the women around them suddenly noticed the stunning beauty who had arrived nearby.

And it seemed she was acquainted with the handsome young man before them.

But what did that matter?

The woman in the dress leaning against Chu Xingchen wasn’t willing to let go, speaking softly, “The master said he’d teach us how to read palms. We’re all his disciples~”

Yaoqin’s icy gaze shifted to the woman in the dress.

The woman felt a chill run through her entire body, her soul trembling under Yaoqin’s glare.

It was as if there was an insurmountable gap between them on a spiritual level.

Yaoqin coldly said, “Get lost.”

The woman in the dress didn’t dare argue, quickly lifting her skirt and pushing through the crowd to flee.

The other women also sensed trouble. While the gentleman was charming, their lives were far more important!

The woman before them was likely a cultivator—how could mere mortals dare provoke those who could fly through the skies?

Though reluctant, they quickly dispersed.

Chu Xingchen’s surroundings were suddenly empty.

Yaoqin’s gaze returned to Chu Xingchen, repeating her question:

“Didn’t you say you were taking your disciples to the temple fair today?”

Chu Xingchen pointed to the ground. “This is the temple fair.”

Then he pointed to his two wayward disciples in the distance, who hadn’t even bothered to greet him:

“Add those two disciples over there, and doesn’t that count as taking my disciples to the temple fair?”

Yaoqin watched Chu Xingchen’s confident demeanor, her hand tightening around the jade-handled fan she held.

“Why are you here?” Chu Xingchen chuckled. “I thought you didn’t like this kind of hustle and bustle. Did you come looking for me?”

“Hmph! Who’s looking for you?” Yaoqin turned her head away. “Who do you think you are?”

“Just an old friend,” Chu Xingchen said, waving his sleeve and placing his hands on his hips. “How do I look in this outfit?”

Yaoqin glanced him up and down. It had to be said, clothes really made the man. Compared to the slovenly Chu Xingchen of the past, he now exuded a completely different aura.

“Who bought you this outfit?”

“My eldest disciple, of course.”

Yaoqin sneered, “Hmph, you almost look like a decent person in that.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Chu Xingchen replied, completely unbothered.

Li Yingling approached from a distance, fan in hand, a smile on her face as she called out,

“Master~”

Chu Xingchen shot a glare at his troublesome disciple, then turned his gaze to Li Xingtian behind her, questioning why he hadn’t warned him.

Li Xingtian looked innocent, his eyes signaling toward his senior sister—it was her fault!

Though Yaoqin’s tone was cold, she wasn’t actually angry.

She knew Chu Xingchen’s personality well. As he would shamelessly put it—with a face like mine, they think they can enjoy it for free?

Before Yaoqin had even met Chu Xingchen, she’d heard he was a regular at the pleasure houses.

His MO was to rely on his looks to get in without paying, so the current situation was nothing new.

It was just a bit annoying—how could a Golden Core cultivator act so shamelessly?

What kind of Golden Core expert goes around holding hands with ordinary mortals and reading their palms?

Yaoqin gently fanned herself, a few strands of her bangs fluttering as she said, “The Water Forest Dharma Assembly today might be worth a look.”

Li Yingling, ever the social butterfly, hooked her arm around Yaoqin’s and asked curiously,

“Sister Yaoqin, is there really something special about this Water Forest Dharma Assembly?”

Chu Xingchen deliberately interjected, “What ‘sister’? Call her Aunt Yaoqin.”

Without hesitation, Yaoqin raised her fan and smacked Chu Xingchen with it, sneering,

“Do you not want your spirit stones anymore?”

Chu Xingchen immediately feigned amnesia about what he’d just said, his tone innocent as he replied,

“Sister Yaoqin, is there something special about today’s Water Forest Dharma Assembly?”

At the moment, Chu Xingchen was so poor he only had silver and gold—not a single usable spirit stone to his name. If the Blood Qi Spirit Stones couldn’t be reversed, the spirit stones Yaoqin had promised were his only hope for setting up a Spirit Gathering Array.

In the face of spirit stones, what was dignity worth?!

“Master… please, save some face for your disciple,” Li Yingling sighed. “If you keep this up, I won’t dare go out with you anymore.”

Li Yingling felt her master’s moral compass was far too flexible, especially when it came to things like spirit stones.

Chu Xingchen retorted, “Good disciple, don’t come asking me for spirit stones in the future!”

“Master! I was wrong!” Li Yingling immediately backed down.

Li Xingtian sighed inwardly.

His senior sister had learned her master’s shamelessness to a T.

Would they one day introduce themselves, only for others to nod in understanding—ah, you’re from *that* shameless sect.

Yaoqin watched the two clowns with mild exasperation. Truly, like master, like disciples.

Yaoqin explained, “The Water Forest Dharma Assembly isn’t just for fun. The Zen Forest Temple also uses it to gather the power of faith from the masses.”

Chu Xingchen and Li Xingtian immediately lost interest. They wouldn’t take the power of faith even if it were handed to them for free.

In this world, cultivation was the one and only path—a grand and absolute road to power.

But the world was vast, and besides the main road, there were naturally a few side paths.

For example, the martial path of refining one’s body, turning oneself into a weapon.

Or the scholarly path of understanding the Dao through learning.

The power of faith was another such path, a unique kind of spiritual energy.

But even demonic cultivators looked down on it.

Any power that comes for free comes with a price, and this was especially true for the power of faith.

Perhaps it was because the power of faith didn’t require innate talent, spiritual roots, or even a human body—even mountain spirits and beasts could harness it.

Most mountain spirits and beasts, upon awakening their intelligence, lacked cultivation methods. They could only breathe in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. No matter how talented they were, without proper techniques, they could never break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, no matter how long they practiced.

Thus, the power of faith became the clearest path available to them.

But the price was steep.

Once you used the power of faith to boost your cultivation, you could never be free of it. If you stopped absorbing it, the cultivation you gained from it would begin to decline.

And this decline was almost irreversible. Falling from Golden Core to Foundation Establishment meant it would be nearly impossible to reach Golden Core again.

Using the power of faith meant being trapped by it forever.

And to maintain a steady supply of faith, you had to fulfill the wishes of your believers. After all, who would keep believing in you if you didn’t deliver?

So, it was essentially a troublesome and unreliable path.