Uncle Nine: You were supposed to drive corpses, so you summoned the Monkey King!

Second floor of Lijia Town Inn.

Lin Chen washed away the mud and the smell of medicine from his body, changed into a clean Taoist robe, and sat cross-legged on the wooden bed.

Outside the window, the night watchman struck a broken gong; it was midnight.

A system notification sounded in my mind.

[Ding! It's midnight. Begin settling today's cultivation daily tasks.]

[Defeat the mutated music zombie and avert the crisis in Li Family Town.]

[Rewards: Constitution +2, Strength +2, Agility +1, Spirit +1.]

[Triggering a kill against a higher-level opponent rewards: Increased proficiency in the Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture, and a 50% increase in maximum mana.]

A warm current arose within Lin Chen's body, flowing along his meridians.

The muscles began to reorganize, becoming stronger, and a cracking sound came from deep within the bones.

The cultivation path of the Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture automatically activated, increasing proficiency, and the vortex of magical energy within the dantian expanded by one circle.

The magical power that was originally only the thickness of a little finger suddenly increased to the thickness of a thumb.

The magical power flowed through his body, and the muscle soreness caused by using his full strength in the Savage Valley during the day was completely gone.

Lin Chen opened his eyes and clenched his fist.

The knuckles made a series of crisp cracking sounds, indicating a great deal of power.

The sound of hurried footsteps and the creaking of a wooden cart came from the backyard downstairs.

"Slow down! This is an offering to the gods. If you knock off even a single piece, I'll skin you alive!"

Captain Cao's voice echoed in the courtyard.

Lin Chen got out of bed, opened the window, and looked down.

Captain Cao acted quickly; a dozen security guards pushed two large flatbed carts to the backyard of the inn.

Thirty beggar's chickens wrapped in lotus leaves were piled on the cart, along with five large jars of Daughter's Red wine sealed in clay.

At the very front were two roast suckling pigs, roasted until golden brown and oozing with oil.

The aroma of meat wafted into the inn on the night breeze.

Lin Chen pushed open the door and went downstairs.

Master Si Mu and Uncle Jiu stood in the courtyard, while Ma Ma led Ah Hao and Ah Qiang out of the first-floor guest room.

"Oh, young Taoist priest, you've finally come down." Captain Cao rubbed his hands together as he greeted him.

"Everything has been prepared as you instructed. The chefs from the three restaurants in town are working overtime to prepare thirty beggar's chickens, two roast suckling pigs, and the wine is a twenty-year-old aged Nu'er Hong."

Lin Chen walked to the cart, lifted a lotus leaf to take a look, and nodded.

"Captain Cao, thank you for your trouble."

"Of course! Of course!" Captain Cao bowed repeatedly. "Reverends, please rest early. We won't disturb the immortals' meal any longer."

After saying that, Captain Cao led his men out of the backyard.

Mama leaned closer to the cart, sniffed, and stared at the two roast suckling pigs.

"Goodness, these nouveau riche in Lijia Town are really willing to spend money." Mama swallowed hard and reached out to pull at the hind leg of the roast suckling pig.

With a snap.

Master Simu slapped Mama's hand.

"What are you doing?" Four eyes stared at each other.

"What's wrong with taking a couple of bites?" Ma Ma rubbed the back of her hand, speaking with a straight face, "There are so many chickens and pigs, even the gods in heaven couldn't finish them all. I'm sharing some with the gods to avoid waste."

Four Eyes sneered: "You dare touch this offering? Believe me, a bolt of lightning will strike you down and turn you into charcoal!"

"Who are you trying to scare?" Mama pouted. "I also know a little about incantation magic. Gods only absorb the essence of incense. In the end, this physical flesh will just benefit you two, master and disciple."

Lin Chen ignored Ma Madi and walked to the center of the courtyard, bringing over an eight-immortal table.

He arranged thirty beggar's chickens and two roast suckling pigs on the table and opened the clay seals of five jars of Daughter's Red wine.

The aroma of wine wafted through the air.

Lin Chen lit three sticks of high-quality sandalwood incense and placed them in the incense burner.

He took a half step back and formed the Maoshan Invitation Seal with both hands.

Consciousness communicates with the South Heavenly Gate.

The incense smoke rose straight up, gathering in mid-air and forming a passage that only Lin Chen could see.

Outside the South Heavenly Gate.

The old soldier was dozing under the white marble pillar when he smelled the aroma and stood up.

"Brother Divine General, wake up, the tribute from the mortal realm has arrived," the Heavenly Soldier shouted to the side.

Hercules yawned and walked over carrying two Xuanhua battle axes.

"That kid is really efficient."

The backyard of the inn.

Lin Chen maintained the hand seal.

Mama stood two meters away, just about to laugh at Lin Chen for pretending to be a ghost.

His expression froze. The two roast suckling pigs on the octagonal table had shriveled skins, losing their color and aroma.

The thirty beggar's chickens were also shrinking, turning into dry, firewood-like pieces.

The wine in the five jars of Nu'er Hong sloshed around, the aroma was gone, and only murky white water remained in the jars.

The offerings were taken away by someone from another industry.

Startled, Mama took two steps back, pointing at the octagonal table and stammering, "This...this was really taken advantage of?"

Uncle Nine stood under the eaves watching this scene, his heart filled with unease. In the hundreds of years since the Maoshan sect was founded, no one like him had ever appeared.

The sound of Hercules burping came from the consciousness channel.

"Comfortable, this craftsmanship from the lower realm is quite interesting." Hercules' voice boomed, "Lin Chen, your temper suits my taste."

"If you encounter any creatures with iron shells or powerful demon kings in the future, don't hesitate to call for reinforcements."

"I'll give you a 20% discount next time, just for the sake of the roast suckling pig."

"Thank you, Brother Divine General," Lin Chen replied in his mind.

The channel is closed.

Lin Chen put away the magic seal and turned to look at Mama.

"Uncle Ma, the immortals have finished eating. Would you like to share some of the remaining dried meat?"

Mama waved her hands repeatedly and turned to walk towards the guest room: "I don't want to eat anymore, I'm afraid it will get stuck in my teeth."

Master Simu hummed a smug tune as he beckoned Lin Chen to go back to his room to sleep.

The next morning.

The lobby of the inn.

Uncle Nine sat at the octagonal table on the first floor, writing a letter with a brush pen. The letter was addressed to the Ren family.

The Nintendo mutation needs to be explained clearly. Uncle Nine has to clean up the mess left by the lost corpse.

Carrying a tattered bundle on her back, she led Ah Hao and Ah Qiang downstairs, looking dejected as they prepared to leave.

"Stop." Uncle Nine didn't even look up, his brush still in his hand.

Mama stopped in her tracks, chuckled dryly, and said, "Lin Fengjiao, is there anything else you need? I need to take my apprentice back to the mountains to lay low for a while."

Uncle Nine put the pen on the pen holder and picked up the bill from the table, slapping it in front of him.

"The inn room fee, plus the carriage fee for our brothers and I to rush here to rescue you last night, totals ten silver dollars. Settle the bill before you get out."

When Mama heard that money was involved, her face turned green.

"Are you robbing me? I didn't earn a single penny on this job, and now I have to pay out of my own pocket?"

Uncle Nine stood up and looked at him coldly: "If you don't pay the bill, I'll go to the yamen right now and find Captain Cao to accuse you of releasing a corpse and causing injury."

Mama gritted her teeth, pulled out an old money pouch from her bosom, counted out ten silver dollars, slapped them on the table, and ran out of the inn with her apprentice without looking back.

Master Simu sat to the side drinking tea, his hand stroking the fifty-pound bronze sword.

Despite smashing the Nintendo's outer shell yesterday, the sword didn't break. The hard-hitting hammering helped the red copper and bronze inside fuse even better.

The dark red flame patterns on the spine of the sword became clearer.

"Lin Chen, your weapon-forging skills are truly amazing. This greatsword is ten times better than before."

Lin Chen was eating a steamed bun when he casually replied, "Master, just do what you need to do. Next time we encounter a tough nut to crack, you can go first."

The smile on Si Mu's face froze. He coughed twice and lowered his head to drink his tea.

Uncle Jiu handed the letter he had written to Wencai and asked him to mail it at the post station.

Uncle Nine walked up to Lin Chen.

"Lin Chen, your physical body is strong, that's your strength," Uncle Nine said gently, "but the path of Taoism ultimately requires a balance of Yin and Yang."

"Yesterday, you used your physical body to draw a blazing fire talisman to repel the zombies, but that was too risky. You should practice with the Purple Bamboo Brush more often; talismans are the foundation of protection."

Lin Chen stood up and nodded: "I have remembered your teachings, Senior Uncle."

The more Uncle Nine looked at Lin Chen, the more pleasing he became. He cursed inwardly that Si Mu was incredibly lucky to have picked up such a prodigy disciple.

"Alright, the matter in Lijia Town is settled. I should take Qiusheng and Wencai back to Renjia Town now." Uncle Jiu turned around and told his apprentices to pack their things.

Master Simu stood up and carried the bronze sword on his back.

"Lin Chen, we should head back to the dojo. We've been away for several days. I wonder what that brat Jia Le has thought of our home."

The group walked out of the inn and went their separate ways.