Chapter 2053: Our Sect Doesn

Speaking of Xu Jie's character, he is notoriously sly.

Once something enters his pocket, getting him to hand it over willingly is almost impossible—harder than climbing to heaven.

Noticing Xu Jie silently stepping back several paces, Ye Zhangqing immediately understood that retrieving anything from him was hopeless.

Thus, Ye Zhangqing could only sigh helplessly.

In the end, he could only give a verbal reminder.

"Third Shī xiōng, let it slide this time, but from now on, if you see treasures on the ground, you must never pick them up casually."

Hearing this, Xu Jie widened his eyes, his face full of unwillingness, muttering.

"Huh? Even picking up treasures from the ground is forbidden? What kind of reasoning is that?"

Seeing Xu Jie's demeanor, Ye Zhangqing's expression grew increasingly stern and serious, so he emphasized again with a heavier tone.

"Third Shī xiōng, I'm being serious—absolutely no more picking up."

Faced with Ye Zhangqing's solemn attitude, Xu Jie, despite any lingering dissatisfaction, dared not say more and simply nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"Okay, okay, I got it."

After all, although Xu Jie usually appears carefree and irresponsible, when Ye Zhangqing gives him a serious instruction, he generally follows it faithfully.

After settling this matter, Ye Zhangqing did not linger in the Sect any longer.

He personally went to the kitchen and carefully prepared a hearty, delicious meal for everyone in the Sect.

The group sat together, lively and cheerful, enjoying the meal; then Ye Zhangqing led Bai Hua Xianzi and several other women back on the return journey, heading together to the bustling town.

When Ye Zhangqing returned to the Canteen, night had already fallen silently, the ink‑black sky seeming like a huge black silk cloth draped over the earth.

Faint moonlight filtered through the clouds, barely lighting his way forward.

Ye Zhangqing dragged his slightly fatigued body into the Canteen, casually found a seat and had just sat down—his rear not even fully settled—when the silhouettes of those few people from yesterday appeared again before his eyes.

Anticipating their arrival, Ye Zhangqing remained composed and gestured to Li Chengshan nearby to bring them in.

Once the few had taken their places, before they could speak, Ye Zhangqing spoke first.

"I say, seniors, your behavior is clearly a trap—who would be foolish enough to toss their own treasures onto the ground like that?"

Faced with Ye Zhangqing's question, those few were momentarily taken aback, a hint of embarrassment appearing on their faces.

However, being seasoned veterans of the jianghu, they quickly adjusted their emotions, putting on an act of clueless innocence, and one of them responded solemnly.

"This… really happened? We don't recall any such incident."

Another quickly echoed.

"Yeah, yeah, maybe the treasure was just accidentally dropped."

Yet another nodded seriously, indicating agreement.

"Hmm, it's highly possible it was lost unknowingly sometime, somewhere."

Hearing these far‑fetched explanations, Ye Zhangqing couldn't help but feel speechless.

But he knew arguing further with them would be futile, so he could only sigh helplessly and then speak slowly.

"Forget it, forget it—since the treasures are now in the hands of our Dao One Immortal Sect, let's handle them according to the terms we previously agreed upon with the Wang Family Head and the others; you seniors should have no objections, right?"

Before his words even finished, their faces instantly broke into delighted smiles, and they nodded eagerly in agreement.

"Of course no problem—settling it this way is simply the best possible outcome."

"There's truly no issue at all—in fact, they had originally hoped to handle it exactly this way."

"Now that they see Ye Zhangqing nodding in agreement, how could they possibly be unwilling?"

"If they truly were reluctant, they wouldn't have rushed here in such haste upon hearing of Ye Zhangqing's return."

Although he felt a hint of resignation, Ye Zhangqing still agreed to the matter.

After seeing them off, he turned and went to rest and adjust himself.

However, unexpectedly, in the following days, someone leaked and spread this matter.

Once the news got out, it immediately caused a major uproar throughout the town.

Upon hearing that such a remarkable method existed, the townspeople could no longer restrain their inner agitation, and they all began to imitate it, following the example closely.

After all, a ready‑made success case lay plainly before them; they only needed to replicate it exactly.

Thus, not long after, the scene outside the Dao One Immortal Sect became extraordinarily spectacular—various treasures piled up like mountains, too many to count.

Whether enormous immortal vessels, astonishingly powerful magical artifacts, or delicate spiritual fruits and efficacious pills of various kinds—everything was dazzlingly abundant, everything one could desire.

For a time, this place was virtually an inexhaustible mysterious treasure trove, dazzling the eyes and overwhelming the gaze.

Faced with the mountains of treasure before them, glittering and fragrant, the people of Yun Xiantai and others felt an unbearable itch in their hearts, their eyes fixed greedily on those rare gems, their saliva flowing like a breached dam.

Yet, despite their hearts brimming with desire and greed, they still remembered Ye Zhangqing's stern warning, knowing the consequences of defying his orders were unimaginable; thus, no matter how tormented they felt inside, they could only desperately suppress the impulse and force themselves not to reach for those treasures within arm's reach.

As for Xu Jie, he displayed an even more exaggerated reaction.

He simply retreated straight into the Dong Fu to begin closed‑door cultivation, hoping to distract himself from those treasures this way.

Yet, even inside the Dong Fu, his thoughts remained as uncontrollable as a wild horse breaking free, his mind constantly fixated on the mouth‑watering treasures outside.

On that very day, Zhao Zhengping came to visit Xu Jie.

Upon entering the Dong Fu and seeing Xu Jie, he couldn't help but be startled by the other's utterly exhausted appearance.

Xu Jie's face was as pale as paper, his eyes bloodshot, his whole look as if he had endured a tremendous ordeal.

"Junior Brother, what on earth happened to you? Just a few days without seeing each other, how did you reduce yourself to this state?"

Zhao Zhengping asked, his face full of shock.

Xu Jie, wearing a bitter expression, shook his head and let out a long sigh, saying:

"Senior Brother, don't mention it—it's all because of those treasures outside causing trouble. You say there are so many valuables lying around, it's practically treasure everywhere, yet we can only stare helplessly, not even allowed to touch them."