Chapter 146 – From Ancient Times, the Ren Clan Produces Jiangshi. A Blessed Land! A Boon for the Innate Dao Body!
Lottery.
Ignoring the thoughts of those behind him, Renji silently chanted the word in his heart.
Ever since drawing the Merit Ring last time, Renji had considered it his most powerful ability. After destroying the royal jiangshi, he could feel a faint increase in his merit.
Was it because he had saved this group of people?
Although in the film, Attendant Wu and the others practically went out of their way to get themselves killed, saving people destined to die would still earn one merit.
After drawing the Merit Ring, his interest in the lottery system had only grown.
[Ding! One lottery chance used. Congratulations, you've received: Minor Blessed Grotto-Heaven]
[Minor Blessed Grotto-Heaven]: Select a location to convert into a minor blessed grotto-heaven. As long as the dragon vein remains intact, it will supply spiritual energy for cultivation.
This was far better than gaining another active ability!
A trace of joy flashed through Renji's eyes. Ever since awakening the Innate Dao Body, cultivating had become extremely difficult for him.
The Innate Dao Body required an immense amount of spiritual energy, yet this world's spiritual energy was nearly exhausted. He had to rely on merit to boost his cultivation.
Ren Tingting, for example, relied purely on her natural talent.
But this blessed land completely solved his current problem. With the spiritual energy issue resolved, the Innate Dao Body was no longer a burden. His disciples could also cultivate more effectively.
Even after he ascended and left this realm, the grotto-heaven could remain as a legacy treasure of the Divine Firmament Sect.
"Master! That move just now was so cool! Once I'm done with talisman training each day, can I learn thunder arts from you?"
Ren Tingting ran up excitedly to Renji. She had already made up her mind: after finishing her talismans each day, she would follow Renji and study thunder arts.
She wanted to be a woman who could summon lightning at will!
"You can. Thunder arts are something every disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect must learn."
Even if she hadn't asked, Renji would've taught her anyway. No disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect should be unable to wield thunder.
If you couldn't use thunder, could you even call yourself a disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect?
Even Old Grandpa Next Door would laugh himself to death.
As for how proficient she'd become in thunder arts, Renji wasn't sure.
After all, he combined thunder arts with the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, which naturally gave him control over lightning.
Behind them, Qingqing listened to their conversation with a twinge of envy.
But then she reminded herself—she really couldn't compare to Ren Tingting. The two had talked before. Out in the world, Tingting was a noble lady, while she was just a village girl.
Even so, she had it pretty good now. At least she had a peaceful life.
"What's wrong with you? Why did two bolts of lightning come down?"
In a certain ritual hall, a group of black-robed Daoists stared speechlessly at the charred remains of the royal jiangshi's paper effigy.
What the hell was that?!
They had clearly said to use yin-type five thunders to activate the jiangshi's potential—no one told him to use yang thunder!
"You think I can use yang thunder?"
The old Daoist glanced sideways at the speaker. If he could use yang thunder, he'd have struck himself first. People like them, lacking virtue, couldn't possibly control such forces.
They had sacrificed ten virgin boys and girls to summon yin thunder and conceal their actions from heaven, all to ensure the royal jiangshi's successful emergence.
"Could it be that kid from the Divine Firmament Sect again?"
"He's not the only one who can use thunder!"
"But a royal jiangshi's emergence defies the heavens—it's bound to draw nature's wrath. We already shielded this from heaven, and the dragon vein has been severed. The will of heaven in this world isn't as strong as it used to be."
"He should be at Maoshan, right?"
"Then it's definitely that brat from the Divine Firmament Sect!"
In this world, those who could use thunder were rare.
Old Master Ren had been struck down by that same lightning.
Judging by that, they all agreed this was Renji's doing again.
"That brat—again?! That's twice now!!"
Once with Old Master Ren, once with the royal jiangshi. These were all means they'd planned to use against the orthodox Daoists, and Renji had destroyed them both.
"So what do you propose? He's up on a mountain alone—wanna go fight him?"
"Fight my ass. That guy's lightning—take one hit and I'm dead!"
The demonic path feared thunder above all, followed by fire.
Those two forces not only harmed them greatly but also countered many of their techniques. Fire could still be dodged or countered.
But thunder was different—high damage, instant strike.
"Doesn't he have disciples? Can we start with them?"
Can't beat the master—what about the students?
"Using that trick again?"
"Won't work. Shi Jian's heart was corrupt, so we could manipulate him. But Ren Tingting doesn't seem like a wicked person. We'll have to try something else. If we can't get to him, we'll go after his disciples. We'll find our chance!"
Since they couldn't touch Renji directly, they would target those close to him.
As his disciple, Ren Tingting was naturally the first target.
For now, the two orthodox figures they most needed to eliminate were:
Shi Jian, senior disciple of Maoshan.
Renji, sect master of Divine Firmament.
Both were masters of thunder arts—what the demonic path feared most. Unless those two were removed, they wouldn't dare act rashly.
They had countermeasures, but no one wanted to die for someone else's interests. Each had their own goals.
"Heh. Let's settle it then. We need to deal with that guy soon, or he'll ruin everything. Lately, I've discovered something interesting—injecting hormones into jiangshi seems to—"
"Daoist Renji, are you leaving today?"
At dawn, Renji prepared to bid farewell to Daoist Simu. Simu had originally hoped he'd stay a while longer.
They hadn't even properly hosted him. After an entire night of Daoist discussion, they'd run into that mess the next day. Even when they got back, no one could sleep, so they had some food. Renji had helped a great deal—leaving now made Simu feel a bit guilty.
Seeing this, Master Yixiu quickly added, "Why not stay a few more days, Daoist Renji?"
Already leaving?
Master Yixiu felt reluctant too—perhaps this was the camaraderie between fellow cultivators?
"Yes. I felt something on this trip, so I came down the mountain and used the chance to pick up some supplies. But the matter's not done yet. We'll meet again in the future."
Renji only wanted to finish shopping and return quickly. His new blessed grotto-heaven needed to be set up. If he hadn't drawn that reward, he wouldn't be in such a hurry.
Such is fate.
"True. We'll see you at the next gathering, then. Let's not delay you further."
Simu thought for a moment and nodded, no longer trying to keep him.
Renji had his own matters. Anything more would be impolite.
"Um…"
"He already said he's busy. Why are you still trying to stop him?"
Just as Master Yixiu seemed about to say something else, Simu interrupted, muttering that Yixiu must have something wrong with his head.
Still trying to hold him back?
Didn't Renji clearly want to leave?
"No, I actually have something I'd like to ask of Daoist Renji… but I feel awkward about it."
The reason Master Yixiu hesitated was because his request felt like emotional blackmail.
But he couldn't keep taking care of Qingqing forever, and so he was torn.
"Stop dithering like some old woman! Just spit it out!"
Simu was annoyed by Yixiu's hesitation—it was like the emperor being calm while the eunuch panicked.
Just say it already! What's the holdup?
"If there's something, just say it, Master."
"In that case, I won't hold back then!"
Master Yixiu clenched his teeth. Since Renji had said so, he no longer held back.
"I'd like to ask Daoist Renji to take Qingqing as a disciple. You should have noticed during the last Dao discussion that Qingqing has talent for cultivation. So I hope you'll consider it."
In Master Yixiu's mind, if Renji agreed, it would be best for Qingqing to go with him.
Of course, if he refused, that was fine too. He wouldn't try to force the matter.
"Master, I—"
"Qingqing, I know what you want to say. But I've told you before—I won't take on a disciple. My skills aren't worthy of being passed down. Even if I did take one, you wouldn't be suited to inherit my path. But Daoist Renji is different."
Before Qingqing could finish, Master Yixiu interrupted. In his view, having Qingqing follow him any longer was a waste of her youth.
Either she could cultivate and remain in the mountains for life, or she needed to find a good family to marry into, so she wouldn't be left lonely in the end.
Right now, a rare opportunity had appeared. Of course he would try to fight for it. This girl had lived a hard life.
If he hadn't encountered her by chance that day—when her parents were killed by bandits—those same men were about to attack her. After he drove them off, Qingqing had insisted on following him.
Back then, he agreed only because it was too dangerous for a young girl to be alone. But he never meant for her to stay here forever.
"What do you think, Daoist Renji?"
After Master Yixiu spoke, everyone turned their gaze to Renji.
Qingqing herself was also slightly moved. What Master Yixiu said was true. She couldn't cling to this mountain forever. He wasn't going to take her as a disciple, and she could only do servant chores.
Once, that might've felt acceptable to her.
But after witnessing Renji's power, she began to yearn for cultivation too.
She wanted the power to protect herself. She didn't want to be as helpless as before. If she hadn't met Master Yixiu back then… she didn't dare imagine what would've happened.
"What does Miss Qingqing think?"
Renji didn't answer right away but turned to Qingqing.
He was a bit surprised that Yixiu would ask him to take her in.
But thinking further, it made sense. Since the events of the film hadn't occurred, Qingqing hadn't developed feelings for Jiale.
Originally, Master Yixiu had never planned to make her a disciple.
His cultivation method wasn't suited to women, so taking her in wasn't realistic.
At this point, Master Yixiu had only two options: send her elsewhere to cultivate—not viable, since he lacked the contacts or knowledge to assess her aptitude—or help her find a good marriage match, like Jiale.
But since Qingqing had shown promising talent during their Dao discussion, he'd naturally developed this idea.
And now that an opportunity for her to embark on cultivation had appeared, he wouldn't let it slip away.
Qingqing hesitated. She glanced at Master Yixiu, unsure if it was wrong to leave at this time. But when she saw his encouraging eyes and gentle nod, she gathered her courage and looked at Renji.
"May I?"
She hoped for the power to protect herself. Even if she followed Renji, she could always return to visit Master Yixiu.
If there was such a chance before her, she had to wonder—could this be the only one in her life?
"You may."
"Then hurry and acknowledge your master!"
Seeing Renji agree, Master Yixiu beamed. Even Daoist Simu was moved.
Qingqing's talent was indeed solid. Another excellent disciple had joined.
At this rate, the next generation of the Divine Firmament Sect would surely be formidable.
"Wait until we return to the Divine Firmament Sect. Now is not the time."
Renji shook his head and gently stopped Qingqing as she was about to kneel.
"Alright."
Qingqing nodded, then turned toward Master Yixiu and knelt with a deep bow, knocking her head firmly to the ground three times.
"Master, thank you for saving my life. One day, I will repay you!"
She had no means now. But when she returned successful in cultivation, she would repay his kindness.
"Enough, enough. It's what I should've done. Get up."
Master Yixiu sighed with emotion and helped her up, then turned to Renji with a bow.
"I'll leave Qingqing in your care."
"You can count on me, Master."
Renji nodded.
"Qingqing, that means you're my junior sister now!"
Ren Tingting's eyes sparkled with excitement. Finally, she wouldn't be alone up on the mountain anymore!
She had already gotten along well with Qingqing before. She was sure mountain life would be much more lively now.
"Yes, senior sister."
Qingqing also felt moved. The person she once saw as a noble swan was now her senior sister. And she herself had stepped onto the path of cultivation. It left her deeply stirred.
"By the way, Qingqing, what's your surname?"
Ren Tingting asked curiously. She only knew her as Qingqing, never her full name.
"Ren."
"Huh?"
"Something wrong, senior sister?"
"I'm Ren too!"
The Ren Clan has always produced jiangshi…
A strange look flashed across Renji's eyes—Ren Tingting, Ren Qingqing… and later, there would be Ren Zhuzhu.
[Ding! Changed Qingqing's fate. Reward: One lottery chance.]
But at least there was good news—another lottery opportunity.
Meanwhile, Jiale, watching the three of them, felt reluctant.
They were leaving—everyone was leaving!
Qingqing, whom he'd started to like, had become Renji's disciple. The fairy-like Ren Tingting was going too!
Damn it!
His romance had ended before it even began.
He was overwhelmed with sorrow.
"What are you still staring at? They're gone. If you work hard on your cultivation, who knows—maybe they'll look at you differently next time. By the way, the exchange conference is coming up soon. I won't be corpse-driving for a while. Don't say I never look after you!"
"Thank you, Master! I'll definitely train hard!!"
Jiale lit up with joy. He'd always found cultivation dull, but now, for the sake of his goddess, he was ready to give it his all!
He'd never fought this hard for anyone before!
"Women really do have a way of triggering motivation in simple-headed young men… No wonder my senior once said Qiu Sheng only changed because of a woman. Looks like I'd be the same if I were younger. Ah, love—what is it truly…"
Daoist Simu watched Jiale's excited expression with a sigh.
He'd just wanted to prod the boy a bit—but hadn't expected to ignite his fighting spirit.
Still, that wasn't bad.
Daoist Simu didn't want this generation to be a dead end. If Jiale could cultivate well, that was the best outcome.
(End of Chapter)
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