I'm already a Great Luo Golden Immortal, how come you're only Martial Saints?

The patriarch didn't even turn his head, his words carrying a hint of disappointment and frustration.

"You wicked disciple, you've gained an enormous advantage and you still act innocent! The path of cultivation requires wealth, companions, methods, and environment—all four are indispensable to even hope of glimpsing the true face of the Great Dao!"

"This little princess of the West Sea Dragon King is a noble of the four seas' dragon clans, possessing the dual bloodlines of the ancient Ice Dragon and Fiery Flood Dragon. In terms of innate talent and endowment, she is first-rate in the world! In terms of character and appearance, she is also a top choice! She is an excellent companion on the path of cultivation!"

"The Dragon Palace of the Western Sea is wealth, and combined with the Dharma and land I possess here, you've acquired all of these in just one visit to the Dragon Palace!"

"Do you think such an opportunity is like roadside weeds, something you can pick up anywhere? You've clearly gotten a great deal, so why do you feel like you've been taken advantage of?"

The patriarch turned around, his eyes becoming profound.

"Furthermore, if I were to explicitly state that this trip would require you to forge a karmic bond with the Dragon Girl, would you still be willing to obediently descend the mountain and attend the banquet at the Dragon Palace?"

Uh... Ning Chen was speechless. If Bodhi Patriarch had told him clearly before he left the mountain that he should go to the West Sea Dragon Palace to cultivate with that little dragon girl, he would have subconsciously thought that the Patriarch had gone mad.

This is like you being an ordinary person.

It's as absurd as someone suddenly telling you that you should go to the West Gate Restaurant at the west entrance of the village for dinner tomorrow, and while you're at it, get to know Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of the Eagle Kingdom, and then go to a hotel together.

Bodhi Patriarch stroked his long beard, looking as if he had seen through the ways of the world.

"As the saying goes, heavenly secrets must not be revealed! To know something before it's done is like a flower in a mirror or the moon in water—it has the form but lacks the spirit, and is therefore not beautiful. In the future, I will teach you the method of predicting the future, and you will understand my good intentions!"

Ning Chen was speechless after being lectured by his ancestor. He opened his mouth, wanting to argue a few more words.

But the patriarch had already impatiently waved his sleeve, giving the order to leave.

"Alright, alright, stop making a racket and disturbing my peaceful cultivation. Go back to your humble abode and pour out your troubles to that monkey!"

Before he could finish speaking, the cave door slammed shut with a bang, and all was silent.

Ning Chen was left alone, facing the cold, unyielding door, feeling both amused and exasperated.

What the patriarch said seems to have a bit of a twisted logic.

Ning Chen shook his head helplessly, dusted off his Taoist robe, and got up to walk towards the disciples' simple hut.

Presumably, only his monkey senior brother could listen to his bellyful of complaints at this moment...

Back at the shelter, the monkey listened for a while, then burst into laughter, rolling around on the stone bed with glee.

"I've heard you tell me the story of the undead knight Ning Caichen and the rough-and-tumble hero Xu Xian. I never imagined that you, junior brother, would become such a wonderful son-in-law!"

"Hahaha, please allow me a little longer, senior brother!"

"Junior brother, when will you bring back a little dragon for your senior brother to play with?"

"You bastard senior brother, I'll fight you to the death..."

Ning Chen watched his senior brother gloating and laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight, and couldn't help but clench his fist and tickle the monkey's quirks...

The monkey begged for mercy repeatedly.

"Hahaha, junior brother, junior brother, spare me! Senior brother was wrong..."

High above, the wind howled fiercely!

Senior Brother Dayan, looking worried, was riding on an auspicious cloud.

The clouds were moving so slowly, almost like an old tortoise crawling on earth.

At this moment, the area above the tortoise-shaped cloud is anything but peaceful.

Dozens of huge, gilded and jade-inlaid boxes, gleaming with precious light, were piled up on top of it!

Although the lid of the box was not fully open, the radiant light and precious glow emanating from the gaps were already astonishing.

Baskets of fist-sized luminous pearls were stacked, shimmering with light; thousand-year-old purple jade lingzhi mushrooms exuded spiritual energy; and deep-sea cold iron and stardust piled up like mountains.

The ancient coral tree is fiery red, the large pearls are perfectly round and flawless, and the gold, silver and jade artifacts are countless.

This was Ao Run, the Dragon King of the West Sea, who, out of gratitude for Ning Chen's saving of his daughter, insisted on giving it to his senior brother Dayan as a token of his filial piety and to bring back to Fangcun Mountain.

When Senior Brother Dayan was escorted back to the Dragon Palace by the shrimp soldiers and crab generals, he thought he was in grave danger.

As a result, the old Dragon King not only did not make things difficult for him, but also gave him a lot of gold and silver treasures, and repeatedly gave him instructions when they parted.

"Master Qiufeng, if Immortal Ning changes his mind, this old dragon is willing to offer ten magical treasures to redeem the towering white jade pillar! Please, Master, be sure to convey this message..."

At this moment, Senior Brother Dayan showed no joy at making a fortune; his face was contorted into a bitter expression.

As he exerted all his strength, dragging the auspicious cloud towards Fangcun Mountain, he inwardly wailed.

"Grandmaster! You are all-powerful, couldn't you have taken your disciple back with you? Leaving me alone on this snail-shaped cloud, carrying these dozens of boxes of treasures, when will I ever be able to climb back to Fangcun Mountain!"

Inside the cave in Fangcun Mountain, Patriarch Bodhi seemed to hear Senior Brother Dayan's request and slightly opened his eyes.

"Not being able to return to the sect is a small matter. This disciple is tough and resilient; enduring wind and rain is nothing to me..."

Senior Brother Dayan was heartbroken and started counting the days on his fingers.

"But the Antarctic Immortal's birthday banquet is fast approaching! If I, your disciple, miss this precious opportunity to gather from all corners of the world for this feast, it would be a catastrophe! My path to enlightenment would be severed... my path to the Great Dao would be hopeless!"

"Furthermore, Junior Brother Ning Chen is quite talented in banquet etiquette, and I would like to bring him along. I hope the Ancestral Master will grant me this favor..."

Inside the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars, the Bodhi Patriarch, sitting upright on his cloud bed, seemed to hear the thoughts of Da Yan, and his lips twitched slightly.

Immediately afterwards, a cold snort was clearly heard through the cave entrance.

The patriarch waved his hand, and the cave gate closed even more tightly, leaving not even a crack, completely isolating the inside from the outside, and the sound of Senior Brother Dayan's wailing could no longer be heard.

.......

Ning Chen had just finished playing around with Monkey King when the Divine Realm chat box popped up in front of him.

[Zhou Tao] "Brother Ning, you ran too fast! We didn't even have time to say goodbye properly before you disappeared in a flash. We're all wondering if the Dragon King is trying to take you as his son-in-law?"

[Tang Hao] "That's right, that's right! Since you and Little Dragon Girl have been so intimate, she'll probably marry no one but you in this lifetime!"

Ning Chen quickly replied.

"Don't talk nonsense. I was just helping Xiaolongnu clear her meridians. There was no physical intimacy whatsoever. She's the Dragon King's daughter, our statuses are worlds apart. It's impossible!"

Sun Rongrong's mood brightened considerably upon seeing Ning Chen's reply.

[Sun Rongrong] "Brother Ning, you left even faster than Zhang Tianshi, who was delivering the imperial edict! At least he finished reading the Jade Emperor's decree before saying he had official business to attend to, but you acted like you'd seen a ghost, grabbing your senior brother and running away. Is the Dragon King of the West Sea really that terrifying? You and Zhang Tianshi are both running faster than each other!"

Zhang Tianshi!

Ning Chen's pupils contracted. The scene was in complete chaos, and he hadn't noticed Zhang Tianshi's presence.

[Ning Chen]: "Zhang Tianshi, which Zhang Tianshi? Is it the official-robed man standing next to me?"

Ning Chen still harbored a sliver of hope, thinking that perhaps it was just a case of sharing the same name.

[Qian Quan]: "Could it be that Zhang Tianshi, the founder of the Zhengyi sect, Zhang Daoling, the Zhang Tianshi!"

boom!

Ning Chen felt as if a bolt from the blue had struck his mind!

He recalled what the Bodhi Patriarch had said: "This baby girl will surely cause trouble in the future."

He knew this day would come sooner or later, but he never expected it to come so quickly!