Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 405 The Scheme of Zen Master Fenghua and Zen Master Tinghai
"Squeak~!"

The side door was pushed open halfway before stopping.

Then, a round-faced monk wearing a light gray robe walked in with a smile.

He then closed the door again.

Xiao Chen looked closely and realized that the person who came was actually Zen Master Fenghua from Jiaye Temple!
He had only seen the other party once before, from afar, when he was dealing with the demon's body at the beach.

Only when you get closer do you realize that although the other person looks like he is only middle-aged, his aura is actually already showing signs of decline.

It's probably already seven or eight hundred years old.

"Amitabha!"

Upon meeting, Zen Master Huiming first put his palms together and softly chanted a Buddhist mantra before politely inquiring, "Layman Xiao, I hope I haven't disturbed you by coming so late?"

Do not know why.

Xiao Chen seemed to sense a hint of restraint in his movements.

It seemed that the old Zen master was somewhat reserved in front of him, a young man, due to their unfamiliarity with each other.

"Please have a seat, sir. I was just about to ask you for your opinion."

Xiao Chen took out the scabbard and placed it on the table: "You may have heard that I picked up a scabbard a couple of days ago, and it seems to be part of an ancient magic weapon."

"I've been looking for several fellow Daoists these past two days, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to identify their origins."

"It turns out that you arrived before we even had a chance to set off."

Since the other party seemed a little reserved, Xiao Chen decided to be a bit more enthusiastic.

As the saying goes, having more friends means having more options.

In any case, the other party is a fourth-level Zen master, and he may have just seen a record related to this ancient treasure in some rare book in Kassapa Temple.

Or rather, it's uncertain whether he will be able to obtain any useful information from the other party someday.

However, to Xiao Chen's surprise, the other party did not seem to be very interested in the ancient magic weapon.

Although after he took out the item, Zen Master Fenghua immediately took it and examined it carefully.

However, it was slightly different from the reactions of others before.

After carefully reviewing everything, demonstrating that they were not just going through the motions, they proceeded.

Zen Master Fenghua then politely placed the scabbard back on the table, saying, "It's a pity, this old monk also doesn't recognize the origin of this ancient treasure."

"But I've already memorized what it looks like."

"If we come across any relevant clues in the future, we will definitely inform Mr. Xiao immediately."

Hmm~, why are you taking this so seriously?
Xiao Chen was a little confused.

Logically speaking, when people come and visit each other, even if they can't have a lively conversation, shouldn't they at least try to make the atmosphere more relaxed during the chat?

Since we weren't familiar with each other at first, a few polite words were enough.

The subsequent formal and stiff conversations were not conducive to making friends, at least Xiao Chen was not used to it.

His silence immediately created a tense atmosphere in the room.

However, Zen Master Fenghua seemed more relaxed.

He reached into his left sleeve and pulled out two jet-black, rhomboid crystals, placing them directly on the table.

Then she nudged Xiao Chen closer and said, "I heard that Master Xiao has recently been collecting materials for refining defensive magical artifacts."

"It's quite a coincidence that I happen to have two pieces of millennium-old mystic crystals."

"Although it's not something particularly valuable, it's quite effective at reinforcing spirit shields or making spirit robes more durable."

"Although its reputation is not particularly prominent, there should be relevant records in some ancient books."

That is absolutely true.

When Xiao Chen borrowed books from the library, he had indeed seen the material Millennium Mystic Crystal in several different books.

According to classification, it should be considered a mid-grade fourth-tier spiritual material, and its quantity is relatively rare.

It is one of the raw materials that are suitable for many defensive magical artifacts.

But the question is, what does the other party mean by this?
Xiao Chen looked down at the Millennium Mystic Crystal on the table, then looked up at the smiling Zen Master Fenghua.

I'm getting more and more confused.

Surely no one would give him something so valuable for no reason?

Although Xiao Chen had already handled a lot of fourth-tier spiritual materials.

But you should know that this thing must have been quite valuable to Zen Master Fenghua.

The fact that he's willing to spend money on gifts suggests he probably has ulterior motives.

This is what Xiao Chen couldn't understand: what exactly was he after?
Judging from this, it doesn't seem like they're here to make a deal with me.

Surely they weren't intimidated by his domineering aura and came over to bow down in worship.

With the idea of ​​asking questions when you don't understand, Xiao Chen directly asked the other party, "What does Master Fenghua mean by this?"

"Are you looking to exchange some spirit stones with me, or have you taken a fancy to a certain spiritual material from a demonic beast?"

"Whatever it is, feel free to speak frankly."

The prey that Xiao Chen had captured was placed on the edge of the island, where it could be seen by the cultivators who came and went.

That's why he suspected that the other party might have their eye on something.

Unexpectedly, Zen Master Fenghua gently shook his head and then pursed his lips: "Everyone says that Layman Xiao has always been quite pragmatic and doesn't like beating around the bush."

"Therefore, I will speak directly about some things."

"If nothing unexpected happens next..."

"At the peace conference, we should follow the example of the ancient sages and adopt a voting system and the principle of majority rule to deal with the demands of different sects and thus eliminate potential conflicts."

"The reconstruction of Kasyapa Temple should also be put to a vote."

"I am here today in the hope that Mr. Xiao can help cast a vote of approval at that time."

"If this can be accomplished, I will be eternally grateful, and the tens of thousands of displaced disciples of Kasyapa Temple will surely remember the kindness of Layman Xiao."

Oh, I see.

After he said that, Xiao Chen finally understood.

No wonder Zen Master Fenghua seemed a bit strange from the time he came to visit to his every move after entering the door.

It turns out they were secretly campaigning for votes to rebuild Kasyapa Temple, a major undertaking.

Does this mean that all fourth-tier cultivators participating in the Peace Conference can vote?
Xiao Chen remembered that in one of the ancient histories of the Tiangang Sect, it was mentioned that only the sect leader could participate in the voting meeting for the conquest of the Wu tribe.

The rest, whether they were independent cultivators or senior elders, could only watch from the sidelines as witnesses.

Could it be that the rules are going to be changed this time?
However, the past is the past, and the present is the present.

As time goes by, it is reasonable to make appropriate adjustments based on current conditions.

Therefore, the current situation should be that Xiao Chen also has the right to vote under the new rules and has the ability to interfere with the decisions of the conference.

Therefore, Zen Master Fenghua wanted to use two pieces of Millennium Mystic Crystal to exchange for a vote of approval in advance.

Once you talk it out, the matter isn't complicated.

With the idea of ​​thinking things through before acting, Xiao Chen calmly considered the matter for three breaths and weighed the pros and cons.

Then he nodded without hesitation and agreed: "Now that we have repelled the sea creatures, we should naturally reclaim the lost territory."

"Rebuilding Kasyapa Temple is of course reasonable and justified."

"I believe everyone will agree with this, and if a vote is required, I am very willing to vote in favor. Please rest assured, Master Fenghua."

Although agreeing after only three breaths of thought seems a bit hasty, there's no harm in it, right?

At least for Xiao Chen himself, he couldn't think of any drawbacks.

It almost felt like a windfall, giving him two thousand-year-old mystic crystals for free.

"Amitabha!"

Upon hearing this, Zen Master Fenghua's face lit up with joy, and he immediately stood up: "Thank you for your support, Layman Xiao. This old monk is very grateful."

He then performed a Buddhist salute: "After the temple is renovated, you are welcome to visit us at any time."

"The entire Kasyapa Temple will certainly welcome you with open arms!"

Having settled the business, Zen Master Fenghua was no longer as reserved as he had been at the beginning.

The two chatted for a while longer, talking about all sorts of random things, and seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation.

Then he took his leave and left through the side hall.

Xiao Chen escorted him to the door before returning to the table, where he picked up the two thousand-year-old mystic crystals and examined them carefully for three breaths.

Then he happily put it away and continued to review his own spells.

After Zen Master Fenghua came out, he did not return to his own courtyard.

Instead, they went around in circles, first visiting the courtyard where Lianhua Temple is located, and then arriving at the small bamboo building where Juehai Temple is located.

But he neither knocked nor called out; instead, he stood quietly at the door.

As luck would have it, a short while later, Zen Master Tinghai returned from outside.

He was not surprised to see Zen Master Fenghua. Instead, they nodded to each other and then went into the bamboo building to talk in detail.

"How's it going?"

As soon as he sat down, Zen Master Fenghua couldn't wait to ask, "What is Zhang Shouquan's attitude?"

Zen Master Tinghai looked displeased: "That fellow is simply insatiable!"

"After hearing that a vote was needed, he actually complained that one thousand-year-old mystic crystal was not enough, and then he made an outrageous demand of 20,000 mid-grade spirit stones from me."

"And he also said that the Millennium Mystic Crystal could at most force him to abstain."

"If we want him to agree, we must first pay the spirit stones in full at once."

what?
Upon hearing this, Zen Master Fenghua was first startled, then his heart tightened: "Abbot Tinghai, so you finally agreed?"

Not to mention that 20,000 mid-grade spirit stones are equivalent to 2 million low-grade spirit stones, the key point is that this is a strategic resource.

But if Zen Master Tinghai has already agreed to the other party's request, then it seems that he has no other choice.

"Hmph, of course I won't let him blackmail me!"

Zen Master Tinghai snorted coldly: "A mere newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivator dares to take advantage of this opportunity and act arrogantly. Doesn't he even know his own limitations?"

"If the rules hadn't been changed this time, would he even be qualified to vote?"

"Back when Juehai Temple was at its peak, a wandering ghost like him wouldn't even deserve a seat; at most, he'd just stand by and watch!"

Juehai Temple was once wealthy, or rather, many of the sects that have survived to this day were once wealthy.

After all, no one can guarantee that every successor will be wise and capable, and that the handover will be smooth.

Without a relatively substantial family fortune, an unexpected event could cause the family line to end.

"Oh, so how did the final talks go?"

Zen Master Fenghua was clearly anxious: "Could it be that the talks have fallen apart?"

Although he was somewhat annoyed when he heard about the 20,000 mid-grade spirit stones, the thought of the subsequent vote at the conference made him anxious again.

The Taoist sect has many newly promoted True Lords this time, while the Buddhist sect has suffered heavy casualties.

If they fail to secure these two crucial individual votes, they may not be able to pass smoothly at the conference.

"Hey, I do know what you mean by that. I do know what's important and what's urgent."

Zen Master Tinghai raised his hand and pressed down, signaling him not to be impatient: "In front of Zhang Shouquan, I naturally did not hold a grudge against him."

I simply gave a general overview of my expenses over the past three years and told him that I was out of money.

"I also told him that I left in a hurry and didn't have time to take the spirit stones from the warehouse."

"Finally, after some shameless haggling, we managed to get the price down to 10,000 mid-grade spirit stones."

At this point, Zen Master Tinghai's face showed a hint of anger again: "Originally, I still felt that it was too high, but he insisted that he was unwilling to lower it any further."

"And they even made it clear that they were being asked to leave."

"Although I was certain that he was just pretending and trying to take advantage of me, I really didn't dare to gamble."

"When we arrived, I had no choice but to restrain my temper and agree."

Upon hearing this result, Zen Master Fenghua breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as it can be accomplished well, even if it costs an extra ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones, it's fine."

"The most urgent task now is to finalize the reconstruction of our two families from a strategic perspective."

"We can earn back these external gains in no time."

For them, earning spirit stones is not the most important thing, nor is it something they need to be particularly concerned about.

That's exactly what I think too.

Zen Master Tinghai nodded: "In the end, the most important thing is still the important business."

"By the way, I wonder what the situation is like on Master Xiao's side?"

The two of them were in the same boat, having both lost their original businesses, so they banded together for mutual support.

It was previously agreed that they would split up to find different cultivators to gather information, and then share the intelligence upon their return.

This allows for a unified pricing strategy, preventing meaningless bidding wars between companies.

Secondly, if the former fails to reach an agreement, the latter can make amends in time.

“Fellow Daoist Xiao is upright, righteous, and easy to talk to. He is not like Zhang Shouquan, who takes advantage of others’ misfortunes.”

Upon hearing this, Zen Master Fenghua immediately said, "After I explained the situation to him, he immediately stated that rebuilding the temple was reasonable and that he was very willing to support it."

“We didn’t argue about the price at all from beginning to end.”

"We had already reached an agreement almost as soon as we went in."

"It even made me feel that it wouldn't be appropriate to just leave, so I stayed and chatted for a while longer."

Even so, it only took me 15 minutes.

Hearing this, Zen Master Tinghai became even angrier: "Indeed, people are born different. That Zhang Shouquan bastard took me almost half an hour to finish."

"To be honest, I don't think it's a big deal to give Fellow Daoist Xiao two thousand-year-old Xuan Crystals."

"But I would feel like I was losing out if I gave Zhang Shouquan even a single cent."

Zen Master Tinghai seemed quite angry, and poured out his grievances to Zen Master Fenghua for a while.

The two then exchanged information about the rest of the situation.

The result was almost exactly as they had predicted before they set off.

Neither Lianhua Temple nor Pudu Temple needed to send gifts; they simply expressed their support directly.

However, none of the five major sects gave a definite answer.

They all made various excuses to postpone the meeting until the next one, clearly trying to reach a consensus.

"Sigh, I reckon they're probably trying to take this opportunity to expand and encroach on our Buddhist territory."

A worried look appeared on Zen Master Fenghua's face: "Now that there are no external enemies, and given the shift in the balance of power between the two sides, things are probably not going to be peaceful."

"Why did those damned sea creatures choose to launch their main attack from the east and north, instead of the west or south?"

Zen Master Tinghai deeply agreed: "That's exactly right!"

"And that Layman Xiao, who happens to be a Taoist, first went to help the western front, and then went to help the southern front."

“If he were a disciple of my Buddhist sect, perhaps the situation would be different now.”

"Alas, it's just fate playing tricks on us, there's nothing we can do about it."

Zen Master Tinghai was sighing deeply.

Suddenly, a thought struck him: "That's right, since Master Xiao is so easy to talk to, I should hurry up and pay him a visit."

"But I wonder if there are any taboos when speaking?"

Zen Master Fenghua shook his head: "There shouldn't be any problem. I feel that Layman Xiao is very unpretentious. There's absolutely no problem with normal interactions."

He opened his mouth as if to ask Zhang Shouquan, but after thinking about it, he didn't say anything.

There's nothing more to ask; it'll probably be another round of intense bargaining.

What he needs to do now is to prepare for a negotiation that will last for more than half an hour.

So the two encouraged each other again, then went their separate ways to campaign for votes once more.

Zhang Shouquan's side naturally engaged in another round of heated debate, which we won't go into detail about.

Xiao Chen was sitting cross-legged, reviewing his spells, when suddenly he heard a series of knocks on the door.

Then came a somewhat familiar phrase: "Mr. Xiao, is this a convenient time to talk?"

Huh, someone else has arrived?
And it's this unfamiliar timbre.

However, his reaction this time was much faster, and he immediately thought of Juehai Temple: "Of course it's convenient, please come in and sit down!"

Sure enough, after he agreed...

Zen Master Tinghai pushed open the door and entered, a smile that was clearly forced on purpose: "Layman Xiao, I hope I haven't disturbed you by coming so late."

……

No, did you guys plan this script in advance?

Xiao Chen was completely bewildered; he even wondered if he had returned to an hour earlier.

After a brief pause, he went straight to the point and asked, "Well, I'm the kind of person who likes to speak my mind, so let's not stand on ceremony."

"I wonder if Master Tinghai has come over in the middle of the night because there is something he wants to discuss?"

Ok?
His reaction caught Zen Master Tinghai somewhat off guard.

This is more than just being unconcerned with details; isn't it a bit too direct?

So what should he do now? He hasn't even had a chance to exchange pleasantries, should he just lay all his cards on the table right away?

However, Zen Master Tinghai was not an indecisive person.

After a brief moment of surprise, he spoke directly: "Since that's the case, then this humble monk will not beat around the bush."

"To be honest, I've come to visit Layman Xiao tonight with a request."

"This matter is related to the upcoming peace conference."

"Perhaps Layman Xiao has already heard that a vote will be held at the conference to determine the overall structure of the entire Compassion Sea after the war."

“Previously, my Juehai Temple was attacked and destroyed by the sea tribe, and the foundation of my ancestors was almost completely destroyed.”

"Tens of thousands of disciples were displaced and left homeless."

“Whenever I think of this, I am anxious and sleepless at night, for fear of failing my master’s entrustment to me.”

"The opportunity to rebuild the temple is now right in front of me, and I must do my best to seize it."

"Therefore, I came here tonight specifically in the hope that Mr. Xiao can vote in favor of rebuilding Juehai Temple at the Peace Conference."

At this point, he realized that because the process had been disrupted, a crucial step was missing.

He then quickly pulled out two pieces of millennium-old mystic crystal from his sleeve: "If Layman Xiao can support me, this humble monk will be eternally grateful."

"Unfortunately, after three years, I am penniless."

"There will be a lot of expenses to come, and we really don't have any extra spiritual items. Only these two thousand-year-old mystic crystals are worth mentioning, and we can consider them as a form of repayment."

"I hope you won't find this too offensive, and will accept this small token of my appreciation."

As he spoke, he unconsciously added some complaints.

There was nothing I could do; I had just spent half the day pouring out my troubles to Zhang Shouquan, and I told him I was used to it.

Fortunately, Xiao Chen didn't mind his words and paid more attention to his specific actions.

Seeing two more pieces of millennium-old mystic crystals, he was almost certain that Zen Master Tinghai and Zen Master Fenghua had discussed it privately.

However, for him, whether there was a plan or whether there was communication was not important.

After all, he wasn't planning to raise the price arbitrarily.

So he immediately nodded in agreement: "Oh, so that's what it is. I have indeed heard about it before."

"Please rest assured, Master Tinghai, I will definitely support the peace conference and agree to the recovery of lost territory and the reconstruction of Juehai Temple."

Although they had already realized that they were in cahoots.

But the specific situation outside is not important.

Xiao Chen only knows that if he raises his hand in a few days, the number of millennium crystals in his pocket will increase by two.

I wish there were more of these good things.

However, this invasion by the sea creatures destroyed a total of four temples, plus one Zhaokong Sect.

At most, you can only get two benefits; there probably aren't any more spiritual items you can get for free.

Of course, Xiao Chen is not a greedy person.

He wouldn't mind having even one such good thing, but he would be very satisfied with two.

So I happily chatted with Zen Master Tinghai for a while longer, deepening our feelings and trust for each other.

Subsequently, the other party also took the initiative to leave, just like before.

They also left two pieces of millennium-old mystic crystals on the table.

Xiao Chen naturally saw him off politely, and they said goodnight to each other.

Coincidentally, his side hall was in front, and the small courtyard where the other True Lords lived was behind it.

Therefore, after seeing off Zen Master Tinghai, they unexpectedly saw the gate of the courtyard where True Lord Iron Fan was located open.

Then, True Monarch Crane Cry came out from inside and went directly to the next room, gently knocking on the gate of the courtyard where True Monarch Cloud Peak was.

Wow, it looks like tonight will be quite lively.

Many people didn't rest; instead, they were busy running around.

Xiao Chen was even a little curious about what True Monarch Crane Cry was doing.

Chongzhen Temple is definitely not involved in the issue of reconstruction, so what could it be?
(End of this chapter)