Due to Xun'er's sudden appearance and her unannounced revelation of gossip, the chaotic battle came to an abrupt end.
Jadi instructed Sanya to clean up the aftermath while she led everyone to another room for tea.
At this point, Li Zhi found himself unable to express his anger. He merely concealed his face behind a light veil of smoke, though whether it was an act of coolness or a display of shame was uncertain.
In truth, this situation wasn't difficult to resolve—only that the cultivation practitioners from the Central Lands were somewhat resistant to outsiders, and Jadi's haughty attitude as a wealthy young lady had provoked Li Zhi and his companions who were investigating the matter.
Now, after hearing Chen Mo's detailed explanation, Li Zhi's expression softened slightly, though his gaze lingered on Xun'er, who was happily playing with Guo Guo and the others.
"Very well! Since it was Xun'er who was chasing the cow demon, let this matter be forgotten!" Without noticing Chen Mo's omission of the shattered jade incident, Li Zhi hesitated before nodding, but his gaze suddenly turned toward Jadi.
"However, Miss Jadi, I must set three rules—first, you are not to use divine power for missionary work; second, you must not intervene in human affairs with divine power; third, while searching for Pandora's box, do not disturb the peace of our Central Lands!"
"Pfft!" As Chen Mo was drinking, he almost spat out his tea. At that moment, he doubted his hearing—Pandora's box? That object from Greek mythology actually exists?
In fact, upon having her secret revealed so suddenly, Jadi's expression shifted as she stood up in shock. But after a brief pause, she silently nodded, as if contemplating, agreeing to the terms.
"Very good! Please keep your promise!" Li Zhi gave a slight nod of approval, then turned to look at Chen Mo. "As for you, Chen Daoist… frankly, I consider you an extraordinary being, so you're not under our jurisdiction!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Mo let out a sigh of relief. Yet, before he could rejoice, Li Zhi suddenly spoke again with solemnity, "However, those four electric devices of yours are considered demons. If they cause any trouble, we won't stand by idly!"
"Er… are they really demons?" Chen Mo was speechless and couldn't help but glance at Guo Guo and the others.
"Although I haven't seen them, I suppose they might qualify!" Li Zhi, too, seemed uncertain, but he patted Chen Mo on the shoulder. "Chen Daoist, you need to exercise control... Honestly, this world is not like it was two thousand years ago. Who dares to boast that they can survive a nuclear blast unharmed?"
"That's true!" Chen Mo paused, then admitted the truth—just as an example, while Guo Guo might be able to swallow bullets, if you had two hundred machine guns firing in unison, would it still come out unscathed?
Thinking this, he nodded slightly. Seeing his agreement, Li Zhi relaxed with a quiet sigh, then lowered his voice, "By the way, there's one more thing!"
"Hmm?" Chen Mo lifted his head slightly, his gaze seemingly drawn toward Xun'er with a premonition.
After a few seconds, Li Zhi raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a strange smile. "Xun'er seems quite attached to you, so for the time being, please take care of her!"
"Are you kidding? Do you think I'm a kindergarten teacher?" Looking at Li Zhi's strange expression, Chen Mo suddenly suspected that the man was trying to avoid responsibility.
However, he quickly recalled a more important question—why did Xun'er call him "Daddy"? And what about that photograph?
"I don't know either!" Upon hearing his question, Li Zhi shook his head in confusion. "The old man never mentions this, and I've never seen Xun'er's father. As for her mother..."
Seemingly feeling he had said too much, Li Zhi abruptly stopped, an awkward look crossing his face.
"Well then, I shall take my leave!" After a brief pause, he stood and pulled out a business card from his pocket. "This is my business card. Feel free to contact me if you need anything!"
"Wait, cultivators use business cards too?" Chen Mo was utterly baffled. But when he read the information on the card, he was even more stunned.
"Twelfth-generation Master of the Xuandao Sect, Manager of the Crafts Sculpture Shop… Specializing in Feng Shui, fortune-telling, bone analysis, and ensuring the peace of homes. Also selling a wide range of micro-sculptures, with favorable pricing!"
"What on earth is this? How does it even relate?" Chen Mo was dizzy and wondered what exactly this man did—he looked more like someone handing out flyers on the street.
"This..." Li Zhi looked somewhat embarrassed, his rigid expression slightly reddening. "These days, it's not easy to cultivate. Everyone has to find ways to make a living."
Fearing that Chen Mo might not believe him, Li Zhi hurriedly explained the situation. According to him, the energy in the world was now so thin that no one could achieve immortality anymore.
As a result, many cultivators and demons had turned to ordinary occupations to support themselves, some even bearing the heavy financial burden of running a sect.
For instance, Li Zhi, who had handed over the leadership of the Xuandao Sect thirty years ago, still had to care for the welfare of the hundreds of disciples, so it was inevitable that he would take on side jobs.
Furthermore, because spiritual energy was now scarce, after using their powers, these cultivators and demons needed time to recover their energy. Over time, they became reluctant to use magic unless absolutely necessary.
So when you saw Li Zhi using his mobile phone instead of a flying sword, don't be surprised...
In fact, many cultivators and demons who had no hope of immortality had entirely entered the mundane world, living like ordinary people.
Of course, some were doing well, while others were struggling. But one rule was universally enforced: magic and demon techniques could not be used in the mundane world, or they would be punished by the overseers.
"So, you see, it's not easy for immortals these days!" Li Zhi sighed deeply, shaking his head. "Everything costs money! Meals, jade, herbs, rent for the Daoist temple... Sometimes, when magic ruins buildings, we have to pay for the damage ourselves!"
Fearing Chen Mo wouldn't believe him, Li Zhi eagerly continued, his earlier sternness gone. "Alchemy? That's all a scam... Ascension? Who can ascend nowadays... Magic? Don't joke. When I use my shrinking spell, I need three hours of meditation to recover the energy!"
"Er… sounds worse than a migrant worker's life?" Chen Mo shook his head in disbelief, thinking this could be turned into a book titled The Miserable World—My Cultivation Tragedy.
But despite the humor, Li Zhi's words gave him an insight—unlike these struggling cultivators, Guo Guo and the others weren't affected by the scarcity of spiritual energy. As long as they absorbed the unique energy from the shattered jade, they could evolve!
In other words, if they truly were demons, there might be a chance they could ascend and become immortals in the distant future!
And so, in Lingxiao Palace, several electrical appliances had appeared and were now openly discussing robberies… At this thought, Chen Mo couldn't help but smile wryly, on the verge of laughing out loud.
"Chen Daoist?" Amid his thoughts, Li Zhi's voice suddenly sounded near his ear, filled with uncertainty.
"It's nothing, I was just thinking about how to take care of Xun'er!" Chen Mo quickly shook his head, then turned to look at Xun'er. At that moment, the little girl was sitting with a book, her ears perked up as she attentively listened to Nono's story.
Probably not used to someone listening to its grinding, Nono was excited and its screen flashed brightly. It raised its voice by an octave. "Alright! We already told the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl… So Xun'er, did you gain any insights?"
"Yes!" After a brief moment of thinking, Xun'er cheerfully raised her hand. "Mommy and Daddy should live together, just like Uncle Cowherd and Aunt Weaver Girl!"
"That's the simplest!" To Chen Mo and Li Zhi's surprise, Nono didn't praise Xun'er. "Guo Guo, you tell us what this story teaches us?"
"Why me?" Guo Guo lazily jumped out, shaking its head in frustration. "Fine, listen up, Xun'er. This story tells us... well, if we want to marry a beautiful wife, we need to have something to hold over her!"
"Correct!" In the midst of everyone's shocked expressions, Nono nodded vigorously. "For example, you can hide her clothes while she's taking a bath!"
"But that's not enough!" Seeing them enjoying the analysis, Cheche joined in. "Also, you should get her pregnant first, that way, no matter how angry her mother gets, she'll have to accept it!"
Within minutes, the once-beautiful folk tale had been completely transformed into How to Kidnap a Beautiful Wife by the electrical appliances.
In reality, if the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl truly existed, they would likely be wielding butcher's knives by now, fighting desperately!
"So…," In the strange silence, Chen Mo looked helplessly at Li Z