We made you practice martial arts, and you've mastered the Great Golden Body?

"Whoosh~ La la—"

As the wind blew, the waves collided with the iron ship, producing a crisp sound. As time passed, the mist on the water's surface seemed to solidify, remaining unchanged.

"What's going on today? It's so strange, how come there's such a large fog over West Lake?"

"Yes, this has never happened before, it just suddenly got foggy."

"..."

At this moment, a large group of people had gathered on the shore of West Lake, including ordinary citizens, merchants, and officials from the Lin'an County Government dressed in their official robes.

Li Gongfu also mingled among them.

He originally intended to return home and rest for a day, taking the opportunity to have a good talk with Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen about Xiaoqing's important life event.

He had barely reached his doorstep when he was pulled back.

Despite feeling utterly helpless, Li Gongfu still put on his official robes and rushed back. After all, he could go against anything but money.

The county government office in Lin'an City was in charge of distributing salaries.

"It's just a thick fog, what's so strange about it?" Li Gongfu stretched and yawned, looking at the thick fog that lingered on the surface of West Lake, and muttered to himself:

"It might just be those monsters hiding in Lin'an City deliberately putting this up."

Sudden.

"A monster, it's definitely a monster!" A short man heard Li Gongfu muttering to himself and was immediately startled. He exclaimed in alarm, "Captain Li said that this thick fog is the work of a monster!"

"What?! A monster?!"

"Yes, Officer Li said that this thick fog was caused by a monster, and there is a monster in Lin'an City right now."

"What?! You're saying there are three monsters in Lin'an City, and West Lake is where those monsters live? It's over, it's all over..."

"..."

Before Li Gongfu could even speak to stop him, his muttered words spread far and wide, becoming increasingly outrageous. By the time they reached a distant place, they had spread to the claim that there was a monster in Lin'an City with thousands of years of cultivation.

"Everything is going wrong!" Seeing this, Li Gongfu helplessly rubbed his forehead, speaking almost word by word, gritting his teeth as he tried to find the short man who spread the rumors.

however.

The short man wasn't stupid. Seeing that things had gotten out of control, he simply fled from Li Gongfu's sight.

'Luckily I had a backup plan, otherwise I would have really been tricked today.' Li Gongfu looked left and right but couldn't see the short man, so he cleared his throat, used his inner energy, and said loudly, 'Fellow villagers, please be quiet and keep quiet.'

All of a sudden.

As the sound spread, many noisy civilians quieted down, and even many constables who wanted to watch the excitement stopped making a fuss.

Although many constables in the county government office in Lin'an City were somewhat envious of Li Gongfu.

However, due to their limited strength and the relationship between Li Gongfu and Shen Bailian, they could only sabotage him from behind and dared not do anything else.

Therefore, no one wants to be the chicken that gets killed as a warning to others.

"Well, I have something to say, but please don't be alarmed," Li Gongfu continued loudly. "There are indeed monsters in Lin'an City, but with Master Fahai of Jinshan Temple here, we only need to wait a few days, and the monsters will be suppressed by Master Fahai."

"That's right, I almost forgot about Master Fahai. There's really nothing to worry about then."

"No wonder those constables all seemed so calm and collected; it turns out our Lin'an City has powerful backers..."

"..."

Suddenly, everyone involved in generating the rumor seemed to have transformed into a "smart person," analyzing it with remarkable clarity and logic.

Seeing this, Li Gongfu smiled slightly and thought to himself: The name of Master Fahai of Jinshan Temple is really useful, but it's a pity that he's not a very good person.

And at this time, on West Lake.

"...That's roughly how things are. I don't know any more specifics." Xiaoqing picked up a grape from the plate, put it in her mouth, and chewed it gently, a look of enjoyment appearing on her face.

"Hey!"

“I’m not called Hey, I’m called Shen Lian,” Shen Bailian joked.

“I didn’t ask you to feed me, I just hadn’t finished speaking, Lao Shen, why are you in such a hurry?” Xiao Qing continued to ask, “Where did you get these grapes? Why didn’t you bring them out sooner?”

"You didn't say anything either," Shen Bailian said innocently, shrugging helplessly.

"Alright." Seeing the young man's completely indifferent attitude, Xiaoqing could only nod helplessly, then crossed her legs and continued casually:
"To be honest, I advise you not to provoke that vixen, especially you old bald monk, otherwise I'll be offering incense to you both around this time next year."

"Of course, if you, you old bald monk, insist on rushing forward, I don't mind." After saying that, Xiaoqing looked at Fahai, who was deep in thought, with great interest.

After a period of peaceful coexistence, although it was very short, Xiaoqing discovered that the old bald monk, Fahai, was not a bad person overall.

However, in Xiaoqing's opinion, her impression of Fahai was only slightly better than before.

If the other party becomes curious about the fox spirit's strength and wants to test it, Xiaoqing would naturally be happy to see that happen.

After all, all she wanted to do was warn Shen Bailian; Fahai was just an incidental byproduct.

"Hehe~" Fahai just smiled and didn't reply, because he now understood that Xiaoqing's temperament was just like a little kid's. The more you paid attention to her, the more she would take it.

Therefore, the best approach is to use passive-aggressive tactics on Xiaoqing. After a while, Xiaoqing will naturally calm down.

However, after Xiaoqing's explanation, he gained a clear understanding of why Bai Suzhen would choose an ordinary mortal and marry him.

It turns out it was to repay a debt of gratitude.

However, even though we know why Bai Suzhen did this, it doesn't mean that Fahai will stop trying to capture Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing, these two snake demons.

The reason is also very simple.

Buddhism and Taoism emphasize the concept of "karma".

Bai Suzhen interfered in Xu Xian's marriage for no reason, which means that the other woman who belonged to Xu Xian was destined to be with him but not to stay together.

This goes against the predetermined fate and should be corrected.

It was a matter of timing and fate. The fact that Fahai came to Lin'an City by chance meant that someone was secretly guiding him to correct this mistake.

Therefore, once the agreed-upon time period has passed, Fahai will swiftly bring Bai Suzhen, Xiaoqing, Xu Xian, and his child to Jinshan Temple to receive the baptism of Buddhism. A moment later...

"Boring." Xiaoqing looked at the expressionless bald monk and immediately pouted. If he didn't argue back, she really wouldn't be able to keep up the conversation. So she turned her head to Shen Bailian beside her and continued to ask:

"So, you were spying on that vixen because you actually have something on your mind?"

If it were a month ago, she would never have had such a strange thought. After all, what good is a mere mortal martial artist no matter how powerful he is?

But now, times have changed, and Xiaoqing has gathered more and more information.

Especially Fahai, who truly lived up to his reputation, had captured no fewer than five ancient demons. Xiaoqing felt fortunate that she had been able to escape from Fahai's clutches with Shen Bailian's help.

After all, talk is cheap; in this world, you need real strength, powerful tools, and a good background to survive.

The fact that Shen Bailian could remain calm and sit there when Fahai saw her, a snake demon, and agree to a ceasefire demonstrates that she possessed the power to persuade Fahai.

So, is Shen Bailian really just a simple mortal martial artist?

Now it's clear that this isn't the case.

Now that I think about it carefully, it's highly likely that Shen Bailian was interested in that fox spirit; otherwise, he would never have wanted to get information about her from her.

'Ah, human nature is hard to change...' Xiaoqing sighed almost imperceptibly.

The greatest human instinct is not greed or jealousy, but the curiosity that drives human civilization forward. Xu Xuan, hundreds of years ago, was no exception, and ultimately lost his life.

Xiaoqing wanted to persuade them, but she knew that once these ordinary martial artists, especially a prodigy like Shen Bailian, made up their minds, not even nine oxen could pull them back.

Talking too much will only annoy people.

Rather than doing that, it would be better to wait until Shen Bailian has been thoroughly tormented by that unfathomable vixen, and then she could go to her door and use her connections to save the hero.

After all, if Bai Suzhen could persuade the owner of Baoqingfang in Shapi Lane, there's no reason why she, as Bai Suzhen's sister, couldn't persuade that fox spirit.

However, what Xiaoqing didn't know was that she really couldn't persuade the owner of Baoqingfang in Shapi Lane to come.

After all, Bai Suzhen played the role of Xu Shilin, Wenquxing's mother in this incarnation, during the tribulation of Wenquxing descending to earth.

Furthermore, Guanyin Bodhisattva had already appeared in Bai Suzhen's dream long ago.

It can be said that after this tribulation is over, Bai Suzhen will be able to attain immortality and ascend to heaven in broad daylight, but she does not have the ability to bring her relatives and friends to immortality.

Because Bai Suzhen was to become a pageboy under Guanyin Bodhisattva, or more accurately, one of her many mounts.

As for Xiaoqing?
He was merely an insignificant supporting character, and the Heavenly Merit he ultimately received was less than what Li Gongfu obtained.

Furthermore, for their unauthorized act of flooding Jinshan Temple, they will be punished by Heaven, causing their cultivation to be damaged out of thin air.

Becoming an immortal? Forget about it in this lifetime!

"I have some ideas, but not many." Shen Bailian's answer was exactly what Xiaoqing had expected.

Shen Bailian looked at Fahai and continued, "At that time, I may need Master Fahai to lend me a hand."

To be precise, what Shen Bailian needed was not Fahai, but the golden-haired beast that resided on the Buddhist beads inside the purple-gold alms bowl.

It has to be said that the fox spirit's strength was indeed ridiculously high.

Shen Bailian used his Divine Eye with all his might many times, trying to see through the fox spirit, but to no avail. Now, his only advantage is that the fox spirit cannot sense the detection of the Divine Eye.

However, this is considered normal.

When Shen Bailian had nothing to do, he liked to use his divine eye to scan the sky, trying to find the location of the Heavenly Court, but of course he didn't find it.

However, he could observe a ball of light above Lin'an City every day, which must be Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Or rather, it is an external manifestation of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

After all, a great deity like Guanyin has many things to do every day, and she also needs to cultivate. How could she have so much time to pay attention to matters of the mortal world?

As long as the major aspects of the calamity of Wenquxing descending to earth do not go wrong, Guanyin will not easily intervene.

"Hmm." Fahai nodded calmly upon hearing this: "If Benefactor Shen doesn't mind, I can do some work within my capabilities, but there's one condition..."

He hasn't finished speaking yet.

"I can give you that fox spirit after I've finished studying it." Shen Bailian had already anticipated what Fahai's conditions would be, after all, this monk had almost no ulterior motives, and his thoughts were all written on his micro-expressions.

It's just that it's difficult for the average person to observe.

"Very well! Benefactor Shen is so generous."

Shen Bailian and Fahai quickly discussed how to divide the spoils afterward, showing no sign of taking the vixen seriously.

"No, didn't you hear me?" Xiaoqing was immediately shocked. Was it really okay to plot so loudly? After all, in order to make the thick fog cover the entire West Lake, she didn't have any extra demonic power to block out sound.
"The cultivation level of the owner of Baoqingfang in Shapi Lane is not just that of a thousand-year-old demon; it is at least five thousand years! Are you two deaf to human language?!"

"Okay, okay." Shen Bailian casually replied to Xiaoqing, then continued to chat with Fahai about the details.

After all, when it comes to catching demons, Fahai is truly skilled. If this hadn't been the tribulation of the God of Literature descending to earth, Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing would have been captured and taken to Jinshan Temple long ago.

Shen Bailian's greatest strength is his love of learning and his willingness to ask questions.

His desire to deal with that fox spirit was purely out of envy. The two swords he casually gave her were both quite valuable, which meant that the other party had many other good magical treasures.

In Shen Bailian's view, these magical treasures were all pure white divine matter.

As for whether this robbery is moral or not?
That is of course immoral, but it is perfectly normal for humans to deal with monsters. After defeating them, wouldn't it be reasonable to collect some spoils of war?

Sapi Lane in the distance.

"Achoo~" Baoqingfang's owner lay listlessly on the chair, swinging her legs, touching her nose, and said softly with a slight upturn of her lips, "I'd like to see which fool is plotting against me."

A thousand-year-old demon, one that survived the great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods, wouldn't catch a cold.

Time passed slowly, and the baby in Bai Suzhen's belly suddenly grew faster due to some unknown stimulus, causing her belly to swell up quickly.

More than a month passed quickly, and it was time for Bai Suzhen to give birth.

"Wow!"

"It's born! It's a big, healthy boy!" (End of Chapter)