Junior sister, I really need to control you.

Inside the Xuanzhen Temple.

Qi Jiushan descended from the sky and landed in the courtyard, putting away the Vajra Pestle, a magical artifact used for flying.

In a short while, the surprise he had felt from encountering the divine sense transmission was hidden from his face, but his expression clearly became more solemn.

"Qi Jiushan, steward of the Demon Subduing Hall of Huangzhu Temple, greets Fellow Daoist Li." He cupped his hands in greeting to Li Yinsheng.

He was solemn and businesslike, as if he had never met Li Yinsheng before.

Li Yinsheng thought for a moment before remembering that he was wearing a bamboo hat when he met this fellow Daoist Qi at Baoguang Temple.

"Fellow Daoist Qi, speaking of which, we have met once before. I owe you a favor back then, so why be so formal?" Li Yinsheng said with a smile.

Qi Jiushan was taken aback.

The surprise he had suppressed resurfaced on his face: "Fellow Daoist, could it be that we know each other?"

When the person in front of me transmitted their voice just now, it did sound as if they knew each other.

But when Qi Jiushan saw Li Yinsheng, he really had no impression of him at all—that didn't make sense, such a handsome face, if he had really seen him before, he should have a deep impression of him.

Li Yinsheng didn't keep anyone in suspense. He took out a bamboo hat from his Qiankun bag and put it on his head.

"Fellow Daoist Qi, take another look. Does it look more familiar?"

Qi Jiushan suddenly realized, clapping his hands: "Is this the fellow Daoist who sought a formation master at Baoguang Temple three months ago?"

Li Yinsheng put away his bamboo hat, nodded, and smiled, "That is indeed me."

"No wonder you wore a bamboo hat back then. I thought you were trying to hide your identity, but now it seems you were probably worried about being stared at by the young female cultivators?"

Since they had a past relationship, Qi Jiushan immediately relaxed a bit and joked.

"That's a small matter," Li Yinsheng said with a smile. "Fellow Daoist should know what the situation is like at Xuanzhen Temple. My identity is special, and if I were recognized, there would probably be more than just female cultivators watching."

"As for the situation of Xuanzhen Temple... I have heard many rumors before, and at that time I did think I knew something about Xuanzhen Temple."

Qi Jiushan exclaimed in astonishment, "However, after hearing Fellow Daoist Meng mention it a few days ago, and seeing Fellow Daoist Li today, I realize that the rumors are truly unbelievable!"

"Oh? What rumor?" Li Yinsheng asked curiously.

"It's widely rumored that the True Person of Xuanzhen Temple has been crippled, and the only remaining cultivator is of mediocre talent. Xuanzhen Temple has no chance of making a comeback, so the lineage is going to disband Xuanzhen Temple..."

At this point, Qi Jiushan shook his head repeatedly: "Only after meeting you today did I realize that all of this was just alarmist talk!"

"Fellow Daoist's age and cultivation level are extremely rare, not only among the various Daoist temples but also within the lineage itself. How come you have only mediocre talent?"

"As for the claim that the lineage should disband the Xuanzhen Temple because they see no hope for its future, that's utterly absurd!"

"With fellow Daoists here, to say that Xuanzhen Temple has no chance of revival is simply blatant lying."

Qi Jiushan spoke from the heart.

A genius whose cultivation is so profound in his twenties that he can transmit his thoughts with divine sense is a rare talent that only appears once every many years in a lineage of immortals, and he is a seed of immortality that needs to be nurtured with great care!

"In my opinion, most of these rumors were spread by Shouyi Temple. They have always loved to do these underhanded things!" Qi Jiushan sneered.

Li Yinsheng thought to himself that although Shouyi Temple had always had a bad reputation, they were probably really wronged in this matter; it wasn't a rumor.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Anyway, when you reveal your cultivation level, these rumors will all fall apart on their own."

Qi Jiushan's gaze shifted, landing on Mu Xiaoyu practicing her martial arts not far away. He said, "Look, Xuanzhen Temple has even started accepting new disciples. It's not like they said it was declining!"

"Hey, little girl over there!"

Qi Jiushan called out to Mu Xiaoyu, "Since there are new disciples in Xuanzhen Temple, he should give them a gift as a greeting."

He swiped his Qiankun bag and pulled out a thick stack of yellow talismans, sending them all over using his object manipulation technique: "These are talismans I drew in my spare time, consider them a small gift."

Mu Xiaoyu stopped practicing her martial arts, took the stack of talismans that flew towards her, glanced at them, and was full of question marks.

What are those drawings on it? They look crooked and messy.

The cinnabar seal script twisted and crawled on the yellow talisman paper, like a group of earthworms intertwined and overlapping.

However, that bearded cultivator seems quite powerful. Not only can he fly, but he also knows his senior brother. He probably wouldn't try to cheat people with fake goods, right?

Perhaps... that's really how talismans work?

After hesitating for a moment, Mu Xiaoyu bowed and thanked them, put the stack of talismans into her Qiankun bag, and then continued to practice her skills without stopping.

We're not far from the fourth floor!

Be diligent! Work hard! After reaching the fourth level, you can cultivate solely through meditation!

Looking at the diligent Mu Xiaoyu who refused to slack off for a moment, Qi Jiushan nodded approvingly.

The disciples of Xuanzhen Temple are both talented and diligent; how could they not revive the temple?

If only those lazy, gluttonous, and cunning disciples of Huangzhu Temple could be as hardworking as that little girl!

If all his disciples were capable, why would he need to lower himself to ask for help from others during the time when he was reaping the rewards of his training?

Thinking of the important matters concerning his own Taoist temple, Qi Jiushan immediately became more serious.

"Fellow Daoist Li, I have come here with an important matter to discuss with you," Qi Jiushan said. "I wonder if you have any free time in the next half month?"

"Hmm..." Li Yinsheng rubbed his chin. "Fellow Daoist Qi, why don't you tell me what's the matter?"

If he had to say, he really didn't have anything he had to do. All he had been doing lately was watching his junior sister cultivate.

Qi Jiushan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Very well. I wonder how much Fellow Daoist Li knows about my Huangzhu Temple?"

"I am ashamed to say that I am usually engrossed in cultivation and do not know much about the outside world," Li Yinsheng shook his head.

"Then I'll start from the beginning," Qi Jiushan said, not surprised at all, and began to speak slowly.

"Fellow Daoist Li should know that each Daoist temple's mountain peaks have spiritual veins allocated by the lineage. Although these spiritual veins vary in quality, they are all complete and can be used to establish Daoist temples and train disciples."

"But apart from these complete spiritual veins, there are some mountains within the range of the Dharma lineage that also contain spiritual veins, but they are difficult to use directly."

Qi Jiushan said, "Within the territory of this lineage, at the edge, there is a mountain peak with a broken spiritual vein inside."

"Because the spiritual veins are broken, this mountain peak does not have a single large spiritual eye, but it has tens of thousands of tiny spiritual eyes."

"Tens of thousands?" Li Yinsheng was taken aback.

"That's right. These tiny spiritual eyes are scattered throughout the mountain, and each spiritual eye can only emit a small amount of spiritual energy. Therefore, it would be a waste to build a spiritual gathering array, so it is not advisable to build a Taoist temple there."

Qi Jiushan nodded and explained.

"But it is, after all, a mountain with spiritual energy, and to leave it empty like this would be a waste of its resources."

"Fortunately, one of the elders of my Huangzhu Temple came up with a solution."

"In Huangzhu Temple, there is an eight-hundred-year-old sacred bamboo. Its roots can produce several different kinds of bamboo shoots, and after the shoots grow into bamboo, they have different uses."

"Among them happens to be a variety called 'Suyun Bamboo,' which can produce a fruit called 'Lian Shi,' which can cleanse the soul and greatly benefit the growth of spiritual consciousness."

Li Yinsheng was somewhat surprised: "So amazing?"

"However, one or two pills are not enough to achieve this effect. You need to be persistent and take them year-round. Usually, you have to take at least several hundred pills to see any results," Qi Jiushan explained, shaking his head.

"May I ask if this practice of cleansing the soul and enhancing consciousness is useful for True Immortal cultivators?" Li Yinsheng asked casually.

Qi Jiushan looked somewhat embarrassed: "Ha... Fellow Daoist Li is joking. True cultivators are already beyond the mundane world; I'm afraid only rare and precious treasures can catch their eye."

"I apologize for my presumption, Fellow Daoist Qi, please continue." Li Yinsheng cupped his hands in greeting.

"Although it is not of great use to true cultivators, for ordinary cultivators, the only way to improve their spiritual sense is by increasing their mana. This refining material can help increase spiritual sense, so it is naturally very valuable. One piece can be sold for hundreds of talisman coins."

Li Yinsheng was genuinely surprised when Qi Jiushan said this.

One hundred talismans isn't much, but if you have to consume hundreds to be effective... wouldn't that cost tens of thousands of talismans?

"However, although these fruits are precious, they are also very rare. A single Suyun Bamboo plant takes twenty or thirty years to flower and bear fruit, and at one time it can only produce a mere twenty or thirty fruits."

As Qi Jiushan spoke, a hint of reverence for his ancestor appeared on his face.

"But a venerable master from several generations ago created a method to assist the growth of the Plain Cloud Bamboo with spiritual energy!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yinsheng realized what was happening.

"So, that mountain peak with the broken spiritual veins is perfect for growing Autumn Cloud Bamboo and producing Refined Fruit?"

"Fellow Daoist Li is clever; to be precise, he has been planting it for a long time," Qi Jiushan nodded.

"That mountain peak is densely covered with tens of thousands of spiritual eyes. Although they are too scattered to be used by the spirit-gathering array, they are not a problem for Su Yunzhu."

"Simply plant a Plain Cloud Bamboo in each of the small spiritual eyes, and the spiritual energy overflowing from them can be perfectly absorbed by the Plain Cloud Bamboo."

"With the blessing of the spiritual energy, the time for the Suyun Bamboo to flower and bear fruit was immediately shortened to ten years, and the number of fruits produced by each plant more than doubled."

After Qi Jiushan finished speaking, he paused, seemingly giving Li Yinsheng time to process what he had said.

"Ten years, tens of thousands of Plain Cloud Bamboo trees, each tree can produce dozens of talisman coins, and each talisman can be refined into a hundred talisman coins, wouldn't that be..."

When Li Yinsheng calculated this, he couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

"That's right. The alchemical fruits harvested by Huangzhu Temple every ten years are worth tens of millions of talisman coins," Qi Jiushan readily admitted.

Li Yinsheng felt that as a real person, he should not lose his composure because of the talisman money.

But when he heard the number "tens of millions of talisman coins" come out of Qi Jiushan's mouth, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Let alone tens of millions of talisman coins, he had never even seen tens of millions of cash in his previous life.

"Of course, this is just the total price of the talisman coins produced. In order to cultivate these, Huangzhu Temple has to rent a mountain from the lineage, or rather, the spiritual veins within the mountain."

Qi Jiushan said, "The value of the training materials at Huangzhu Temple is not a secret, but I cannot disclose the cost of renting spiritual veins from the lineage."

"I understand, I understand," Li Yinsheng nodded.

This is something that's hard to talk about with outsiders, but he figured that since the lineage was renting out spiritual veins, not doing charity, the rent would definitely not make him lose money.

"Moreover, aside from the cost of renting the spiritual vein, the Suyun Bamboo takes ten years to flower and bear fruit. The expenses during this period are not small either, as money is required in every aspect and at every stage."

At this point, Qi Jiushan finally revealed his purpose.

"For example, right now, the Refining Essence is about to mature. Not only is the Refining Essence highly beneficial to cultivators, it is also extremely attractive to demons, attracting demons from dozens of mountains within a radius of hundreds of miles."

"If we can't guard against the demons that are attracted when the Refining Fruit is ripe, the amount of Refining Fruit we harvest will naturally be greatly reduced."

"By then, we might not even be able to recoup our costs."

Qi Jiushan shook his head and sighed.

"Why not eliminate the surrounding monsters beforehand?" Li Yinsheng asked.

"That mountain is already on the edge of the Zhengyang lineage's influence, far away from all Taoist temples, including my Huangzhu Temple. Every year, a group of disciples take turns to take care of those Suyun bamboos."

Qi Jiushan smiled wryly, "Under these circumstances, it's already quite difficult to take care of all those bamboo plants. How could we possibly have the energy to thoroughly clean up dozens of mountains one by one?"

"Moreover, far from the Zhengyang Dharma lineage, the number of demons that breed there will be far greater than within the lineage's boundaries, making them impossible to eradicate."

"Therefore, every harvest season, we can only draw as many people from the temple as possible to set up magic arrays on the mountain, waiting in ambush to guard against those demons that come to steal our food."

"However, there aren't many disciples in my Huangzhu Temple, and most of them have other responsibilities. It's impossible for them all to take care of Lian Shi all at once, otherwise no one will do other things."

"So at this time of year, we hire disciples from other Taoist temples at high prices to help us guard against demons."

"Ordinary disciples are easy to hire, as long as you're willing to pay the talisman fee. But among the attacking demons, there will inevitably be some with great strength, and we can't let ordinary disciples deal with them."

Qi Jiushan looked at Li Yinsheng: "Therefore, in order to guard against those demons, the temple needs to find some fellow Daoists with profound cultivation to guard the mountain."

"It's a pity that those with high cultivation levels are either devoted to cultivation or hold important positions in their own temples and cannot leave their posts. Even though my Huangzhu Temple is generous with its talismans, it is still very difficult to invite them."

"We are still one short of a fellow Daoist to oversee things this year, but the harvest of our practice is just around the corner. I am so anxious that I can't eat or drink and I can't sit still."

At this point, Li Yinsheng had completely figured it out.

"So, Fellow Daoist Qi was in dire need of manpower, and since you happen to know Fellow Daoist Meng, she recommended me?"

"Not bad!" Qi Jiushan nodded, "However, Fellow Daoist Li is not quite right about two things."

"The reason why Fellow Daoist Meng recommended you is not because she knows me, but because she is the expert whom my Huangzhu Temple invited from Yutan Temple to set up and preside over the formation."

"Secondly, we've already hired enough disciples from other Taoist temples, so we're not short of manpower. What we really lack are experts like Fellow Daoist Li!"

Li Yinsheng was taken aback, then teased, "Fellow Daoist Qi has such an upright and righteous face, I didn't expect you to be able to use flattery."

"Hey... I was just in a hurry," Qi Jiushan said, a little embarrassed. "I was really in a rush."

"If Fellow Daoist Li is willing to lend a helping hand, my Huangzhu Temple will absolutely not hesitate to offer my gratitude."

Qi Jiushan said solemnly, "Fellow Daoist, you only need to stay and oversee things for about half a month. Afterwards, Huangzhu Temple will offer you 100,000 talisman coins plus 1,000 refining fruits."

"So generous?" Li Yinsheng was somewhat surprised.

In half a month, the actual harvest was equivalent to 200,000 talismans.

After a moment's thought, Li Yinsheng's gaze fell on Mu Xiaoyu, who was still practicing her sword.

Two months ago, after a fierce battle with a demon, my junior sister's mindset has changed.

However, in terms of practical combat experience, a single battle can certainly offer limited help.

But whether it's the nearby Shifeng Gathering or the more distant Shaoyang Dao Examination, you have to compete with others, so practical experience is still very important.

Thinking of this, Li Yinsheng asked Qi Jiushan.

"Fellow Daoist, I wonder how many demons come up the mountain to steal food during the mature stage of cultivation?"

"Uh... quite a few," Qi Jiushan quickly said, "but Fellow Daoist Li need not worry about this. Ordinary demons are dealt with by ordinary disciples."

"I believe that we have already hired disciples from many other Taoist temples, in groups of several, to patrol the mountain day and night. Most of them have less than twenty years of cultivation."

"Most minor demons and monsters are dealt with by the patrolling disciples."

"For slightly more powerful demons, there are also those of a higher level, which are dealt with by carefully selected demon-slaying disciples. When patrolling disciples discover powerful demons, they inform the demon-slaying disciples to go and capture them."

"Only when encountering extremely powerful demons is it necessary for a highly skilled expert to intervene. But demons of this level are extremely rare."

Qi Jiushan seemed afraid that Li Yinsheng might have reservations and refuse, so he kept saying, "Including myself, there are four of us here. If Fellow Daoist Li also comes, then there will be five."

"Moreover, our Huangzhu Temple also has a deputy abbot who personally oversees the overall situation and sits at the core."

"If a truly powerful demon comes, we don't need to talk about morality with it. We should just swarm it and attack. No matter how powerful it is, it won't be able to withstand us."

"Even if some unexpected monster appears and threatens everyone, you can all leave on your own. There's no need to risk your lives for a little bit of talisman money..."

"Hey, that's not important." Li Yinsheng waved his hand to interrupt, "I'm asking, how often do ordinary patrolling disciples encounter demons?"

"That's quite a lot. I encounter them almost every day, but these will never trouble you, fellow Daoist," Qi Jiushan said.

"Well, I can go then," Li Yinsheng nodded slightly, "but there's one condition."

"Fellow Daoist, please speak. As long as it's not too difficult, I can agree immediately!" Qi Jiushan's eyes lit up and he said immediately.

In order to have a highly skilled expert like Li Yinsheng before we can fully master the technique, it's worth paying a higher price!

Li Yinsheng pointed to his junior sister who was diligently cultivating and smiled.

"I wonder if Fellow Daoist Qi could also hire my junior sister as an employee?"

Qi Jiushan: ? ? ?

Mu Xiaoyu, who was engrossed in practicing her martial arts not far away, suddenly shivered for some reason.