Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the air, shadows were passing by. Many of them did not know one another. When they exchanged looks, they would judge each other’s appearances and compare.
Meanwhile, an elder was sitting on the back of a flaming bull. He was drinking beer and looking like he was challenging the others that were passing by. He had a smile on his face.
Below his buttock was a flaming bull with wildfire. Its four hooves were running, not on clouds but flames!
With every step, the air shook with a loud sound. Furthermore, flames were lashing out in the surrounding area. Its speed was not only quick, but it was also spraying fire. Its temperament was very shocking, and it was definitely a rare sight in the air.
The elder looked down on the others. He said proudly, “In terms of flying, who can be more eye-catching than I?”
Meanwhile, the flaming bull suddenly widened its eyes. It said in shock, “Master, someone’s traveling on golden clouds up ahead. How are they doing it?”
“What? Clouds? Golden?”
The elder was stunned. He looked down and almost jumped. His scalp was itching and he almost dropped his drink.
“Gasp…that’s Deluxe Merit! This…this…this…how’s there such a big Deluxe Merit Cloud?!”
He had blood in his eyes. He growled, “Flaming bull, quick, turn off your flames! Don’t let your flames touch any part of those clouds! Not even a flint! Quick, turn it off! Slow down! Change direction, we’ll go the other way round!”
This was happening all over the sky.
They were all peacefully showing off their wealth. However, they all started retreating, even reigning in their temperaments. They were afraid of offending this Deluxe Merit Saint and causing a misunderstanding.
Those riding on Spiritual Beasts instantly sealed their beasts’ mouths. If they growled too loudly and hurt the ears of the Deluxe Merit Saint, they would be destroyed!
On the way, Li Nianfan and the rest faced no obstacle. Everyone made way for them and quietly left.
As they said, nobody would compete when he used his merits!
Li Nianfan nodded at the crowd, satisfied with how they were making way for him.
After passing mountain after mountain, they saw a golden light in front. It formed a light pillar shooting up into the sky. Vaguely, one could hear the chanting of a sutra, calming one’s soul.
Moving forward, on top of a tall mountain, there were some temples. Each tower was built in gold. A golden glow was shining from within the architecture.
The mountain was made into stairs. At the lowest steps, there was a big golden door. Two monks were guarding it while greeting the visitors.
The steps stretched from the bottom, all the way up to the top of the tall mountain. Every nine steps, there would be two monks on each side with their palms clasped together. Their eyes were closed while they kept on praying.
They seemed like they were asking the visitors to ‘step up’.
The temples were very eye-catching. However, upon Li Nianfan’s arrival, he took away all of the attention.
Compared to the Deluxe Merit Clouds, these golden temples were instantly not as good. Not only were the Deluxe Merit Clouds more apparent, they even had a type of temperament.
In comparison, the gold of the temples was duller and cheaper looking.
“We unintentionally stole the attention, how embarrassing.” Li Nianfan felt embarrassed. As he landed, a figure in the clouds landed before him. It was Yuecha.
She clasped her palms together and said, “Greetings to Mr. Li.”
Li Nianfan smiled, “Tara Yuecha, long time no see. You’re the main host this time. Why did you come out alone?”
“Mr. Li’s here, and one of you is more important than everything else.” Yuecha looked sincere. “No matter what it takes, Yuecha must come out to greet you in person.”
She made a gesture and said, “Mr. Li doesn’t have to climb the stairs. Please, just fly into the temple.”
So, she came to make way for him!
Li Nianfan nodded and followed Yuecha as they flew into the temple.
Below them, those who were climbing the stairs had to look up. Watching the golden clouds floating above their heads, it was as if they were thinking, ‘We’re different…’
On the way, Li Nianfan thought for a while and finally said, “Tara Yuecha, I met a monk recently. However…he couldn’t make it.”
Yuecha halted and asked, “Did something happen?”
Li Nianfan merely sighed. He told her the story and finally shook his head. “The most difficult thing in the world is emotions. Nobody can get involved. They’ll have to work it out themselves.”
Li Nianfan wanted to help, but as an outsider, he was unable to step in. If he insisted on helping, it would have a negative effect as well. He could only step to the side to think of a solution.
He had watched many romantic movies in his past realm. Now that this happened, he did not even know how to come up with a comforting sentence. Chicken Soup was never enough when needed.
“Amitabha.” Yuecha’s tone sounded complicated.
She continued, “Jiese’s unable to get past this catastrophe.”
Following that, Yuecha fell silent as if she was thinking of something.
Soon, the crowd arrived at the main hall. The hall was spacious and it was glowing in gold. There were no extra decorations, only a few pillars supporting the hall. Monks were welcoming the crowd.
There were quite a lot of visitors. It seemed that Buddhism was well-respected. Since the religion had spread to a wide area, they were higher up than the Sects. This was an independent religion.
Of course, Li Nianfan did not pay close attention to all these visitors. He simply glanced at them. However, he was very eye-catching. It was difficult for him not to attract attention to himself. Soon, many familiar faces gathered around him.
Ziye, Immortal Linzhu, Xiao Chengfeng, Pei An, Gu Changqing, along with his grandson were all invited. They had arrived earlier on. They made a pact and when they saw Li Nianfan here. They walked over to greet him, “Mr. Li.”
Li Nianfan smiled in return. “Ha-ha-ha, so you all came as well.”
Yuecha suggested, “Mr. Li, why don’t I arrange a room for all of us to catch up.”
Li Nianfan nodded. “Good idea.”
Soon, the crowd left the main hall and went to a room in the back hall.
Everyone looked strange. It was not until Li Nianfan had left that they dared to start discussing.
“What was that? How does anyone have so much Deluxe Merit? Where did he gain so much Deluxe Merit!”
“I’ve lived for a long time and this is the first time I’ve seen a Deluxe Merit Saint.”
“How unfair. I always save ordinary men from demons. Why don’t they give me some?”
“Most importantly, he’s an ordinary man. How can an ordinary man gain so much Deluxe Merit?”
“Perhaps he saved the world in his previous life?”
…
Li Nianfan did not have time to care about the shocked and gossiping crowd. He followed Yuecha to a quiet room.
The room was different from the golden hall outside. It exuded a sandalwood scent. It felt like someone’s home. There were wooden chairs and tables in the room which instantly made Li Nianfan feel at ease.
He had seen so much gold that it hurt his eyes. Ordinary settings suited him more.
“Mr. Li, please, have a seat,” Yuecha invited sincerely. Then, she asked for tea to be served.
Compared to the others, Yuecha’s place was quite disappointing to Li Nianfan. Whether it was the Underworld, the Carp Palace, or the Xia Kingdom, there were always some beautiful ghosts, some stunning Clam Demons, or alluring palace ladies. They were all alluring and beautiful, making one’s experience memorable.
Here, however, there were only a bunch of bald monks. Their heads were so shiny that they even reflected light.
It seemed that the Buddhism religion was not suitable to be a good host.
Li Nianfan made a mental note. In his future tour, he would change places to visit.
Other than the bad servers, the food was bad, too. It was a table full of vegetarian dishes—plain and tasteless.
“Yuecha, I have no choice but to say it,” Pei An could not help saying. “Since we’re all friends, if you’re too poor, you can tell us. These dishes just aren’t presentable.”
Most importantly, the expert was here! He was so high above! How could she serve him these dishes?
“My Buddhism does eat poorly indeed.” Yuecha was slightly embarrassed. She said bitterly, “However, we planted these ourselves in the temple. We also collected the Spiritual Fruits from the surrounding area. The taste should be okay.”
Immortal Linzhu, being the foodie that she was, did not speak. She picked up a green vegetable and put it into her mouth.
“Argh, mm….”
Her mouth moved a few times and instantly, her pupils dilated. She was stunned.
Her mouth pouted, and with a sound, the vegetable flew out from her mouth.
“Oh, no! Oh, no…” She was crying, leaning onto Ziye.
She was even slapping her own mouth with regret. She said listlessly, “I’ve lived for so long, but I’ve never eaten something so disgusting before. The vegetable’s…poisonous! I can’t live anymore!”
Everyone quietly retracted their chopsticks. They looked at Immortal Linzhu with respect.
‘Thank you, Sister, for testing it out for us.’
Ziye was speechless. She said in a low voice, “Alright, get up! Can poison even kill you?”
“Disgusting food is the most poisonous drug to me in the world. Only good food can save me now.” Immortal Linzhu hugged Ziye. She asked sincerely, “Sister Ziye, I know you still have an orange. Save me, save me!”
“Ha-ha-ha, what a foodie.” Li Nianfan could not help smiling and shaking his head.
“The one thing I don’t lack is good food. On the way here, I did get some Kirin meat. You’re in luck!”
With that, he made a wave and two Kirin thighs appeared on the table.
Since there was too much Kirin meat, to store them conveniently, Li Nianfan preserved the meat like cured bacon. Who would have thought that it would taste surprisingly good?
The cured meat did not have much of a smell and it was more of a self-contained texture. Everyone looked at the meat with sparkling eyes. The food presented by the expert was surely the most enjoyable in the world.
“Wow, thank you, Mr. Li!”
Immortal Linzhu did not hold back. Her eyes lit up as she launched herself to grab onto one of the two thighs. She started munching away alone.
The others were stunned and stared at her blankly.
What was that? There were only two thighs. She took one whole thigh for herself? How selfish!?
“Quick!” Ziye knew Immortal Linzhu well enough. She pestered, “Don’t daydream, we must distribute the remaining thigh quickly. If not, she might start eating this as well when she’s done with hers!”
“What, so fierce? What are we waiting for!?”
“Quick! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!”
The crowd no longer looked like Immortals. They looked like robbers, more energetic than when they were distributing Spiritual Treasures. They stared at the meat as their cheeks flushed red.
With one bite, the crowd was instantly won over by the texture. They could not help closing their eyes to enjoy it.
Immortal Linzhu instantly felt the poison in her body being cleared out. She stuffed the food into her mouth. Her words were muffled as she said, “Kirin meat’s indeed different! I haven’t tasted Kirin meat all these years!”
“Ha-ha-ha, this Kirin’s a stupid one. It looked so arrogant at first, but in the end, it was burnt by its own thunder,” Nanan said. She retold the story with laughter.
The others were eating while listening engagingly. They all laughed in the end.
Except for Yuecha.
She was eating happily with the crowd. However, she quietly put down the meat in her hand. She then spat out the meat from her mouth. She pouted and had tears in her eyes.
She almost collapsed.
Why could they not just eat quietly? Why did they have to mention that? Why could they not let her eat happily?
The meat was already in her mouth and now she had to spit it out!
Was there something more painful in life than this?
Immortal Linzhu stared at the piece of meat. She gulped and said, “Eh? Tara Yuecha, why aren’t you eating it?”
Yeucha said bitterly, “I can only eat meat if I don’t know how it was killed. I heard the killing process, I…”
Immortal Linzhu was excited. She cut her off, “Wonderful, if you’re not eating it, I’ll eat it!”
Yuecha was speechless.
“Amitabha.”
Following that, the crowd was munching on Kirin meat happily. Only Yuecha was sadly munching on her vegetables.
After the meal, everyone looked relaxed and happy.
Xiao Chengfeng wiped his mouth and started to show off, “Mr. Li, how dare the Kirin attack you. That’s because I wasn’t there. If I was, I’d have killed it with one sword!”
The crowd naturally neglected his arrogant claims.
Ziye frowned and said, “The last major catastrophe was related to the Kirin family. Even back in the ancient times, we only heard about Dragons and Phoenixes. We rarely heard about Kirins. They had stayed hidden for long enough.”
Immortal Linzhu was licking the thigh that no longer had any meat left as she spoke, “I thought all Kirins were killed long ago.”
Li Nianfan suddenly said, “If I’m not mistaken, the Kirin family was involved with the ‘Investiture of the Gods’.”
Ziye’s face straightened right away. She said, “Please, do tell us more.”
“There was a Godly Beast mentioned in the ‘Investiture of the Gods’ with the name Four-Wrongs. You’d probably remember. Four-Wrongs was the mistress of Kirin.”
