Chapter 277: Sorry, My Ambition Isn't in the Wushen Temple

Everyone in the house listened to the Great Witch's announcement, and everyone's eyes were filled with excitement.

Su Li looked at Lin Manzhi with mixed feelings.

She had once seen that woman in a cheap linen cloak in Kuangsha City, and now she would one day rise to the most prestigious Great Witch position on the entire continent.

Sigh… truly favored by the Beast God.

After the Great Witch's words, the room fell silent for a few seconds; Su Li did not hear any delighted sound from Lin Manzhi, and stared at Lin Manzhi's motionless silhouette by the bedside.

Could she be so happy she's become foolish?

Indeed, if it were me, hearing that I'm about to become the Great Witch and that the Wushen Temple would be under my control, I'd be ecstatic to the point of madness.

With that thought, Su Li stepped toward the bedside, gently patted Lin Manzhi's shoulder, and said softly, "Congratulations… As for alchemy, I will do my best to teach you."

The dozen or so Shamaness elders also nodded; they looked at Lin Manzhi, their eyes brimming with joy to the point of overflowing, for compared with Lin Ling, her medicinal plants far outnumbered the varieties of their elixirs!

How wonderful—now that she's become the Great Witch, matters of medicinal plants… won't they be far more convenient than now!

Just thinking about it is beautiful.

Everyone shared the same belief that no one would refuse the supreme Great Witch position, all assuming Lin Manzhi was so happy she had lost her voice.

Therefore, everyone waited patiently and respectfully for the new Great Witch Lin Manzhi to pause.

Lin Manzhi lowered her head, her long lashes shielding the hesitation in her eyes.

If she had just arrived, she would have immediately accepted the news of becoming the Great Witch.

After all, at that time she needed to meticulously calculate planting medicinal plants to buy a cure for Mo Lie's Spirit Core, restoring his strength, and then the two would sit down to discuss dissolving the Marriage Contract, allowing both to freely choose the life they desired.

But now…

She placed a hand on her heart and said that she certainly did not want to part from Mo Lie.

And becoming the Great Witch would surely mean staying at the Mountain Classic Beast Temple, right?

She knew that the Mountain Classic Beast Temple island was the Shamaness' sacred ground, that all Great Witches must reside there; the original novel's heroine Fang Yue Dan lived there after becoming the Great Witch, and the several Beast Husband lords, who spent most of their time in their own territories, would only come to the Mountain Classic Beast Temple to see her at set times, thereby keeping a harmonious relationship among the Beast Husband lords and preventing them from fighting.

Putting aside the issue of separating from Mo Lie, Lin Manzhi thought that becoming the Great Witch would require learning from scratch to recognize various medicinal plants and brew elixirs, handling affairs of the Wushen Temples across the continents, and explaining the Huo Mother Elixir to the outside world… and other troublesome matters.

And after becoming the Great Witch? She would gain extremely high status and power, as well as vast wealth and the favor of outstanding, powerful male beasts, but in the end, she already lacked none of those now.

Kuangsha City and Ansen City, two continents, could be said to be the most powerful among the various territories.

Money? Just the revenue from crops sold in the Spiritual Field, if the cultivated area expands, it will eventually rival the Wushen Temple, not to mention she also has pasture and medicinal herbs.

Outstanding, powerful male beasts—she felt no one was more excellent, stronger, or more to her liking than Mo Lie.

After such analysis, the Great Witch position held little appeal for her…

She still preferred her current relaxed and carefree life.

Lin Manzhi lifted her gaze, looking at the Great Witch who held her hand; her jet‑black eyes carried a hint of apology, yet she sincerely refused, saying, "Sorry, I have no intention of becoming the Great Witch; please choose someone else."

As soon as her words ended, the air fell dead silent.

Su Li's hand on Lin Manzhi's shoulder froze, eyes widened in disbelief as they stared at her, and the Shamaness elders wore almost identical stunned expressions.

The Great Witch, who considered herself able to stay calm no matter what charm she faced, found her inner Qi surging uncontrollably, growing stronger and faster.

…What?

Someone actually refusing to become the Great Witch?

The Great Witch's absolute confidence that she would accept vanished at that moment, and looking at Lin Manzhi, she thought she understood nothing.

She slowly spoke, "Do you know what becoming the Great Witch represents?"

Lin Manzhi sat with a calm expression, looking earnestly into the Great Witch's eyes, and said, "I never came here intending to stay; regarding becoming the Great Witch, please forgive my refusal."

The Great Witch: "…"

Su Li and the others in the room: "…"

Truly, truly refused!

The Great Witch, bewildered, slightly opened her mouth, intending to sternly reprimand the clueless female before her, but suddenly realized the woman was not a Wushen Temple female; moreover, Lin Manzhi currently possessed the largest territory and even held more medicinal plants than the Wushen Temple's elixirs.

Realizing this, the Great Witch lost confidence in the Great Witch position she had always taken pride in for the first time.

She stared at Lin Manzhi seated by the bedside for a long time, seeing no hint of reluctance or attachment in her jet‑black eyes.

Lin Manzhi spoke from the heart.

Then the Great Witch let out a heavy sigh; the plans she had arranged, believing them foolproof, never anticipated such a rejection.

The Huo Mother Elixir matter, the Wushen Temple must provide an explanation to the outside.

In her original scheme, she intended to use the Cuan Qiong that Lin Manzhi would present; its medicinal effect could replace the Huo Mother Elixir.

Cuan Qiong can improve female health and increase the likelihood of bearing strong offspring, and crucially it works for all females.

Thus, by presenting the Cuan Qiong medicinal plants, the Wushen Temple could conceal the public's focus on the "Huo Mother Elixir scandal"; the temple's reputation would not only remain intact but become even more sacred in the eyes of Beastfolk.

But…

Lin Manzhi, who possessed the Cuan Qiong, refused.

The Great Witch fell silent for a moment, and the Shamaness saints also knew that urging Lin Manzhi would not succeed.

Su Li withdrew her hand, and after extreme shock, suddenly thought of something, a faint secret joy rising within.

In a moment of silence.

Lin Manzhi looked at the pale‑faced Shamanesses in the room, gave a relaxed smile, breaking the silence: "Great Witch, I came to see you this time also to make a deal with you."

Although she refused the Great Witch position, one matter is one matter; there's nothing awkward about it.

The Great Witch snapped out of her reverie: "What?"

Lin Manzhi: "You know the Cuan Qiong medicinal plants are precious; I want to trade the Cuan Qiong for your Dragon Essence."

"Dragon Essence is equally rare and precious," the Great Witch thought for a moment, then quickly said, "The Dragon Essence passed down through the ages of the Wushen Temple diminishes by a portion each time; how much Cuan Qiong can you provide?"

Lin Manzhi, prepared in advance, took a whole, uncut Cuan Qiong from her waist pouch and said, "One Cuan Qiong can be sliced into 32 portions; after consumption, the effect mirrors the condition of those dozen females you saw a few days ago who had taken the Huo Mother Elixir."

She placed the Cuan Qiong into the Great Witch's hand, "I have only twenty‑four Cuan Qiong; one Cuan Qiong for one portion of Dragon Essence."

A yellow‑brown, wrinkled root stem emitting a strong medicinal‑plant fragrance, under the Great Witch's hand, instantly drew the gaze of every female in the house.

This—this is Cuan Qiong!