Junior sister, I really need to control you

"Not only that, even the list of patrol disciples and demon-slaying disciples, which was already almost finalized and had enough people, suddenly had a lot of the names of Shouyi Temple disciples added."

"Moreover, those disciples of Shouyi Temple who were added to the list haven't arrived yet. They're said to still be on their way. Their names need to be added first, and they'll be personally brought to the temple by the abbot tomorrow by flying boat..."

"Aren't they bullying honest people?!"

……

Meanwhile, in another bamboo house.

Although Meng Yu, a master of formations, was a level below the experts who were in charge, his treatment was no less than that of them.

She sat before a bamboo table, on which lay a geomantic map and a diagram of a formation, but she paid no attention to them; her delicate brows were furrowed.

She never expected that the people from Shouyi Temple would come.

Previously, when she talked to her master about Li Yinsheng, her master reminded her not to spread the news about Li Yinsheng to Shouyi Temple, so as not to make Shouyi Temple wary.

Ideally, one should secretly observe and wait for the right opportunity.

However, Huangzhu Temple was in dire need of experts this time. She thought that the position of overseeing the temple would not last long and would not require her to show her face in front of others, so there should be no problem. Therefore, she recommended Fellow Daoist Li to Huangzhu Temple.

After all, the reward offered by Huangzhu Temple this time was truly generous. Although the talisman money wasn't a huge amount, a thousand refined coins were priceless.

Although the harvested fruits are clearly priced, most of them have already been pre-ordered in large quantities by the Zhengyang lineage and several other lineages, and will be delivered quickly after harvesting.

Therefore, the practice materials rarely circulate in Taoist temples. Although one hundred coins for a single talisman is not expensive, it is easy to buy a few to try. However, it is not so easy to buy hundreds or thousands at once.

A reward of one thousand refined coins is already of great benefit to a cultivator's spiritual awareness; it would be a real pity to miss out on it.

But she never expected that the people from Shouyi Temple would forcibly come to her door yesterday to "help her enthusiastically".

In this way, there is a high probability that Li Yinsheng will be known to Shouyi Temple.

Although, in theory, with the constraints of lineage and precepts, Shouyi Temple should not dare to go too far on the surface, they have become increasingly arrogant and domineering in recent years, and some things are hard to say.

After hesitating for a moment, Meng Yu suddenly stood up.

No, I have to go check on Fellow Daoist Li and remind him!

Chapter 55 Elder of the Dharma Lineage

At the summit of Bamboo Forest Peak, in Li Yinsheng's bamboo house.

"So, besides many disciples, there are two stewards and a deputy abbot who are responsible for guarding the temple on the peak?" Li Yinsheng asked Qi Jiushan.

“That’s right,” Qi Jiushan nodded. “The deputy abbot of Shouyi Temple will be arriving tomorrow.”

"And not only will he come by himself, but he will also bring a group of young rascals from Shouyi Temple. Each of them will receive a reward from my Huangzhu Temple!"

“They really are here to take advantage of the situation,” Li Yinsheng shook his head. “Shouyi Temple acts so domineeringly, offending people everywhere. Aren’t they afraid of incurring public wrath?”

Qi Jiushan sighed: "Fellow Daoist Li, you are unaware of this. Shouyi Temple not only possesses great power, but also..."

He leaned closer and lowered his voice, saying, "They also have intricate connections with an elder in the lineage."

"Although that elder held a prestigious position and never admitted to having any explicit relationship with Shouyi Temple, but..."

"In private, everyone knows that Shouyi Temple has received a lot of kindness from that elder, and the temple has never stopped showing respect to that elder."

"Oh?" Li Yinsheng was somewhat surprised. "But as far as I know, the relationship between a lineage and a Taoist temple has always been very restrained."

“There are always exceptions,” Qi Jiushan said with a wry smile. “Although I don’t know how Shouyi Temple got in touch with a lineage elder, they have such a backer, so most of the time we have to be patient with them.”

Li Yinsheng nodded, indicating that he understood.

“Moreover, even excluding that lineage elder, there are at least ten True Persons in Shouyi Temple,” Qi Jiushan said with a wry smile. “This is something that no other Taoist temple can match, so naturally we must avoid their sharp edge.”

"Ten people?" Li Yinsheng was genuinely surprised this time.

Many Taoist temples only have one master presiding over them, such as Huanghe Temple.

Taoist temples with two venerable masters presiding over them account for less than half of those with a lineage of Taoist masters.

Many of the top ten Taoist temples only have two or three true masters among them.

There are at least ten true masters in Shouyi Temple?

This number is indeed a bit frightening.

Although I've heard that the number of true masters in the lineage is more exaggerated than all the Taoist temples combined, it is, after all, a lineage, so it's normal for it to be so powerful.

But Shouyi Temple is just a Taoist temple.

"It is said that the number of disciples in their temple had already exceeded a thousand several years ago, making it the largest of all Taoist temples in terms of scale." Qi Jiushan shook his head.

Li Yinsheng sighed inwardly, no wonder Shouyi Temple acted so domineeringly, it really did have the strength to back it up.

It's just unknown whether there's any connection between their relationship with that lineage elder and the abnormally large number of real people.

"Hey, we've been chatting for ages, and I've been pouring out my troubles. I almost forgot to tell you the important thing, Fellow Daoist Li," Qi Jiushan said, slapping his thigh.

"I came to find you about the matter of guarding Bamboo Forest Peak. The current arrangement is that Senior Brother Liang, as the deputy abbot, is in charge of all affairs, so he will not be directly involved in guarding against powerful demons."

"As a deacon of the Demon-Slaying Hall, I am responsible for overseeing matters related to preventing demons. All patrolling disciples and demon-slaying disciples are under my jurisdiction."

"In addition, I am also responsible for guarding the north side of Bamboo Forest Peak. If any demons that the demon-slaying disciples cannot deal with attack from the north mountain, it will be my turn to take action."

"We can't count on those three people from Shouyi Temple, so we ask Fellow Daoist Li and the other two to take charge of the other three directions."

"However, everyone will be given a communication talisman tomorrow. If you encounter a monster that you can't handle on your own, you can invite other fellow Daoists to help you."

"How about Fellow Daoist Li take charge of the East?"

Li Yinsheng nodded: "No problem."

There's basically no difference between the four directions, so there's not much to choose from.

"Fellow Daoist Li is straightforward!" Qi Jiushan smiled and reminded him, "However, although you can invite other fellow Daoists to help, if you can deal with the demon on your own, it would be best if you handled it yourself."

"After all, those demons with decent cultivation levels, their muscles, bones, skin, scales, and horns, while not reaching the level of treasures, still have some value and are good materials for alchemy or weapon crafting."

"If I kill it myself, I can just take it. But if I join forces with someone, there will inevitably be disputes when it comes to distribution, which may damage our harmony."

Li Yinsheng suddenly realized: "So this is also one of the reasons why the four regions—east, south, west, and north—were each responsible for a different area?"

“That’s good.” Qi Jiushan nodded generously in agreement. “This way, we can avoid disputes among fellow Daoists. Whoever’s territory a demon enters, that’s its territory; it cannot be taken away.”

"If you are unable to do so and have to ask other fellow Daoists for help, then you should voluntarily give up some valuable items so that the fellow Daoists who come to help will not suffer any loss."

"Of course, if we encounter extreme danger, then as I said before, all of us, including Senior Brother Liang, will go together!"

Li Yinsheng had no objection to this.

Before Qi Jiushan could say anything more, a woman's voice rang out from outside, interrupting him.

"Fellow Daoist Li, this is Meng Yu. Are you there?"

Li Yinsheng had already sensed Meng Yu's arrival, so he wasn't surprised and immediately said, "Fellow Daoist Meng, please come in."

Meng Yu pushed open the door and entered, dressed in a Taoist robe from the Jade Altar Temple, with a thin layer of frost in his eyes.

“Fellow Daoist Meng, it’s been a long time,” Li Yinsheng stood up, smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, “I must thank you for recommending me this time.”

Otherwise, where would such a good opportunity come from to find so many demons to give my junior sister more combat experience?

"No need to be so polite. Perhaps I meant well but did something wrong this time." A hint of guilt appeared on Meng Yu's face. "I didn't expect that the deputy abbot and the steward of Shouyi Temple would also come."

"It's alright, it's alright, it's no problem," Li Yinsheng said with a smile, waving his hand.

Meng Yu pursed her lips and, when she looked at Li Yinsheng's face, couldn't help but raise her hand to smooth her hair.

Qi Jiushan's expression turned strange.

His gaze first fell on Li Yinsheng, then shifted to Meng Yu, then back to Li Yinsheng, and then back to Meng Yu, repeating this several times.

He then gave a look as if he understood something, stood up, cupped his hands in farewell, and took his leave.

"Haha, I've just finished discussing important matters with Fellow Daoist Li. Since Fellow Daoist Meng is here, I won't disturb you two any longer. Farewell!"

As he spoke, he began to walk towards the door.

In this situation, it would be somewhat inappropriate for an "outsider" like him to remain.

Although Mu Xiaoyu was still inside, drinking tea and eating snacks, that was beyond his control. All he could do was leave and make room for someone who needed it.

Ignoring Li Yinsheng's invitation to stay a little longer and have a cup of tea before leaving, Qi Jiushan strode out the door, not forgetting to close it behind him.

Before leaving, he glanced at Li Yinsheng and Meng Yu through the crack in the door.

Fellow Daoist Li is so young yet his cultivation is so profound; it's almost a certainty that he will become a True Person.

Although Fellow Daoist Meng's cultivation is not as high as Fellow Daoist Li's, and he should be a few years older, he is still extremely talented, not to mention he is a master of formations.

These two should be considered a handsome man and a beautiful woman, right?

Qi Jiushan thought to himself as he walked into the distance.

Chapter 56 The Bamboo Grove Calamity, the Magical Grotto

Li Yinsheng and Meng Yu, who were inside the room, naturally had no idea what Qi Jiushan was thinking.

After Meng Yu arrived, he spoke to Li Yinsheng about the Shouyi Temple, reminding him to be wary of the people guarding it.

Since Qi Jiushan had already told Li Yinsheng most of the things about Shouyi Temple, Meng Yu didn't have much to tell him at this moment.

After a brief chat, Li Yinsheng turned his attention to Meng Yutong's Spirit Refining Array.

He now has more money in his pocket and thinks that if he can further strengthen the Transparent Spirit Refining Array, it should be of greater help to his junior sister's cultivation.

Unfortunately, according to Meng Yu, the Tongming Spirit Refining Array is already a very good spirit refining array. Further so-called "upgrades" are just expanding its scale.

In other words, if the number of disciples at Xuanzhen Temple increases in the future and the small-scale Tongming Refining Spirit Array becomes insufficient, it can be expanded to benefit more people.

However, given the current situation, my junior sister is already completely enveloped by the luminous spiritual energy at all times, so increasing the amount of luminous spiritual energy would not bring her any further benefit.

Ultimately, the fundamental difference between small and large spirit refining arrays is simply their size.

Small ones can only serve a dozen or so people, while large ones can serve hundreds of people.

However, for the Xuanzhen Temple, which only has three people, there is really no difference between the small and large versions of the same spirit refining array.

If one were to request a formation that is better than the Transparent Spirit Refining Formation and produces a special spiritual essence of higher quality, that would be beyond the capabilities of ordinary cultivators.

Even if Meng Yu's master, the current abbot of Yutan Temple, came, he would not be able to set up a formation of a higher level than Meng Yu's. He could only guarantee that the formation he set up would be more experienced and more refined than Meng Yu's, but in essence, it would still be at the same level.