“Hey, that’s a brilliant idea! Why didn’t I think of that?!” Jin Caiwei immediately recognized the feasibility of this idea. She produced a token and contacted Chieftain Jin, instructing him to get in touch with the Qiongqi Tribe’s overall person in charge of the Buddhist Kingdom.

Lord Shi swallowed hard, trembling uncontrollably. What did the Little Ancestor just call him? Young Creed Leader?

So this is the legendary Young Creed Leader of the Heavenly Court Creed?

“Alright, you’re no longer needed here. You may withdraw.” Jin Caiwei waved her hand, sending Lord Shi away.

“Y-yes, yes!”

Lord Shi ranked among the top five most powerful cultivators in Jin’an City and could command the wind and rain. However, both the Little Ancestor and Young Creed Leader Lu were far beyond his league. Being in their presence put immense pressure on him. He was actually relieved to leave.

His mentality is really not up to standard. No wonder his cultivation has stalled at the Golden Core Stage. Lu Yang shook his head. Back when I was at the Foundation Establishment Stage, I stayed with the Everlasting Immortal Fairy every day and never felt any pressure at all.

Chieftain Jin worked with remarkable efficiency, quickly retrieving the purchase records from around the time the recording orbs appeared.

“Seven individuals made bulk purchases during that period?” Lu Yang studied the documents thoughtfully. It seems there’s no other option; we’ll have to investigate them one by one.

“Let me see which one is closest. It should be this one—Hongfa Temple.[1] A young monk from Hongfa Temple purchased five hundred recording orbs.”

“Why would a young monk need so many recording orbs?”

“We’ll know once we take a look. Let’s go.”

“Behave yourself and stop using female ghosts to scare people every day!” Jin Caiwei warned Lord Shi before transforming into a pattern on Lu Yang’s robe, leaving Lord Shi nodding frantically.

“That said, filming terrifying Dreamlike Bubble Mirages is a pretty good idea. You can keep working on that,” Lu Yang added.

If Lord Shi actually manages to develop something worthwhile, the spirit stones he can earn will be enough to propel him all the way to the Nascent Soul Stage.

~~~

Hongfa Temple, secret chamber...

“Junior Brother Zhijie, it would be best if you voluntarily withdraw from this abbot selection."

Zhijie was momentarily stunned, then burst into uproarious laughter, as if he had just heard the most absurd joke in the world. “You’re asking me to withdraw voluntarily? Senior Brother Zhikai, I’ve known you for so many years, yet I never realized you had such a sense of humor.

“Although you and I are both at the Fusion Stage, when have you ever won me in a dharma debate? And how many monks in Hongfa Temple actually support you? Let me tell you plainly—the position of abbot will definitely be mine!”

“Joking, you say? It seems your memory is rather poor, Junior Brother. Allow me to remind you. One month ago, you broke the precept against lust and offered your physical body as Dana to a chaste maiden.”

Zhijie stared at his senior brother in disbelief, his voice cracking. “Impossible! How do you know about that?!”

“I don’t just know about that; I even captured it all with a recording orb. Do you want to have a look?”

Before Zhijie could respond, Zhikai produced a recording orb from his sleeve and played it. It was the very scene from a month ago, when Zhijie had violated the precept against lust. It was an extremely salacious spectacle.

The evidence was as irrefutable as a mountain. With the existence of this recording orb, Zhijie wouldn’t even qualify to run for abbacy.

Crack.

In a fit of rage, Zhijie smashed the recording orb.

“Junior Brother, surely you don’t think I have only this one recording orb?” Zhikai chuckled, revealing a hundred recording orbs in his storage ring, all playing the same scene.

Crack.

“Junior Brother, if you find smashing just one unsatisfying, feel free to shatter all these as well. Why not guess how many more recording orbs I still have in my possession?” Zhikai said, utterly unruffled.

Zhijie resembled a provoked fighter bull, his eyes bloodshot as he fixed a deathly glare on Zhikai.

“Fine, I give up. But you must promise that these recording orbs will never be leaked outside!”

“Of course.”

Zhikai maintained a confident smile throughout. He had long anticipated Zhijie’s reaction. For this reason, Zhikai had instructed his youngest disciple to duplicate the recording orb over a hundred times, just so he could shatter Zhijie’s psychological defense.

“I’m guessing you still have four hundred recording orbs left.” A third voice echoed through the secret chamber.

“Who goes there?!” The two brothers immediately went on guard. This is a secret chamber in Hongfa Temple. How could anyone possibly have entered?!

A young man suddenly appeared in the secret chamber, clad in a white robe adorned with dragon and phoenix patterns.

He looked at the two monks helplessly. Following the trail of the young monk from Hongfa Temple, he had ended up here.

“You two will come with me to Xitian Temple,” Lu Yang stated. Since this is a matter of the Buddhist Kingdom, it’s best to let the Xitian Temple handle this.

Lu Yang’s gaze settled on Zhikai. Judging from the shooting angle of the recording orb, Zhijie’s transgression had clearly been the result of a premeditated setup. It would be a disaster if someone like that became abbot.

“Arrogant claptrap!”

Both brothers panicked. Xitian Temple absolutely mustn’t learn of this matter!

They unleashed their cultivation at full power, causing even the secret chamber to shake precariously.

“Vast Yellow Heavenly Fist!”

“Demon-Subduing Eighteen Forms!”

“Two Basic Fusion cultivators, huh...” Lu Yang’s tone remained flat. “I hereby establish Rule: Within this chamber, the use of spirit qi is prohibited.”

Deprived of their spirit energy, both brothers’ techniques dissipated midway, and the chamber returned to silence.

Panic etched across their faces. “This level of rule suppression—you’re definitely not at the Fusion Stage. W-who are you?!”

~~~

“Vice Holy Lord, these are the recording orbs from the bulk purchase. As usual, the Qiongqi Tribe’s receipt shows the original price, but we acquired it at eighty percent of the price. The remaining twenty percent goes to us.”

“No one found out, right?”

“Absolutely no one!”

“Not bad. I can rely on you to get things done.” The vice holy lord nodded.

“The two of you will come with me to Xitian Temple as well.” The young man clad in white robes with dragon and phoenix patterns suddenly appeared.

“Who are you?!” The vice holy lord was alarmed, unleashing a mighty ability at Lu Yang.

“Intermediate Fusion Stage, huh? That’s passable.”

~~~

“Big Boss, here are the earnings from this smuggling run...”

“The two of you will come with me to Xitian Temple.”

“You dare threaten this old man? You’re courting death!”

“Advanced Fusion Stage? Also passable.”

~~~

In a damp cavern, a disheveled cultivator clutched a recording orb, laughing maniacally. “Yes, this is it! My curse art has ascended another level. Now, who in this world can still be my match?!”

“I’ve finally found the right person.” A white-robed young man appeared. Resembling a banished immortal, he was utterly incongruous with this damp, filthy environment.

“Who are you?!” the disheveled cultivator bellowed, shaking the bell in his hand. The eerie sound of a bell rang out, sending chills down one’s spine.

Lu Yang discerned the disheveled cultivator’s cultivation level at a single glance. “Basic Divine Transfiguration Stage?” He sighed and began counting on his fingers. “Do you have any idea how many wrong people I’ve tracked down while trying to find you?

“Along the way, I’ve caught one Void Refinement cultivator, three Basic Fusion cultivators, two Intermediate Fusion cultivators, and one Advanced Fusion cultivator.”

1. “Hongfa” means propagating Buddhist teachings. ☜