Chapter 645: Did Anyone Else See This Scripture?

"..."

Ye Lan had never expected to receive such a straightforward and decisive reply.

In fact, last time she hadn't fully trusted this young man; the main reason was that she felt this person had just joined the Zhan Yao Si, was still quite inexperienced, and would likely be restrained and unable to act freely.

In short, relatively obedient.

Moreover, this trip to Bai Yun Cave was a joint operation by the three prefectures' Zhan Yao Si.

Ye Lan knew the demon-hunters' character well; they would most likely treat Shen Yi as a mere figurehead going through the motions, and would not offer any so-called respect due to his status as a demon-hunting official.

This was a good thing.

She hadn't originally expected Shen Yi to perform well as a demon-hunting official; where would a young cultivator have the realm, strength, and judgment for that? The other party only needed to become an obedient spy to keep an eye on Meng Xiuwen for her.

To make the surname Meng one restrain himself slightly.

But the current situation clearly exceeded Ye Lan's expectations.

If Shen Yi could truly cause such a huge commotion under the noses of the other two demon-hunting officials, it would no longer be a simple matter of disobedience.

It seemed she had personally promoted a second Meng Xiuwen, and judging by the other party's attitude just now when responding to her, this child might be even worse than the surname Meng one.

"Huff."

Ye Lan exhaled a clear breath lightly, turned slightly to the side, and rubbed her brow.

Due to the special nature of the Zhan Yao Si, there was no concept of dismissal for them; the imperial court could not allow someone who knew the Zhan Yao Si to return to the outer wilds, let alone join the Rusan Sect, or become an official in heaven.

But she couldn't, because of her momentary misjudgment, truly throw Shen Yi into a great prison or even execute him; that would be purely insane.

As for letting Ye Jing serve as this demon-hunting official again... she couldn't even control one Meng Xiuwen, let alone two; there was absolutely no point.

That left only one path to take.

Fortunately, this young man had only just shown the first signs, unlike Meng Xiuwen who had already become an old hand; there was still a chance to teach him properly.

"Considering this is your first offense, let it pass this time. In the future, unless it is absolutely necessary, under normal circumstances, you must investigate first, report to the superiors, and only act after receiving orders."

Ye Lan's voice softened slightly, even squeezing out a barely perceptible smile, which was rare: "Do you understand?"

"Understood." Shen Yi nodded slightly.

"Hmm?" Meng Xiuwen was stunned for a moment, turned his head to look at the two of them; this wasn't right, when he caused trouble before, Ye Lan didn't have this attitude.

"You, follow me."

Ye Lan turned and walked towards the distance, bringing Shen Yi to an open and secluded place, then turned around: "Sit down."

Speaking, she took out an iron plaque, ran her fingertip over it, and a wisp of dense yellow mist appeared.

Holding this wisp of mist, Ye Lan looked at Shen Yi: "This is the salary of the Zhan Yao Si. Although your actions this time were rash, you did solve a disaster for the Divine Dynasty, so you can claim one tribulation of Imperial Qi."

"To use this object to cross the Heart Tribulation, one must prepare many things in advance to avoid sinking into it forever."

"Therefore, this time I will first use it to regulate your realm for you... your foundation is too poor."

Ye Lan seemed to see through the Cangmu tree within Shen Yi's body at a glance; she instinctively frowned, but then thinking of the hardships of a loose cultivator, her brow relaxed again.

Being able to use heterodox methods to cultivate to the Taiyi Zhenxian perfection realm is already extremely difficult; how can one demand too much?

In an instant, she loosely clenched her five fingers, and that wisp of Imperial Qi instantly scattered, turning into thousands of threads that entered Shen Yi's body.

Imperial Qi is formed from the willpower of all living beings.

Ye Lan closed her eyes, concealing the momentary dullness in her gaze; soon, she had digested the tribulation power within for the other person, and the remaining most pure yellow mist had seeped into that withered Cangmu tree.

The power of one tribulation made the Cangmu tree turn green again, new buds sprouting, sprinkling down specks of silver light.

"..."

Shen Yi sat cross-legged, feeling the mighty spiritual energy contained within that Cangmu tree surge again.

For the Seventh Realm, six tribulations are already perfection; this extra tribulation of Imperial Qi did not allow the realm to break through, but rather completed the previous defects.

At this moment, relying solely on Taiyi Zhenxian magic power, he could finally rival that Bai Xi Great Seal.

"Do well, don't be impatient; the things you can obtain are even envied by disciples of the Rusan Sect."

Ye Lan withdrew her hand; based on the matter at Bai Yun Cave, even without making a mistake, it would be impossible to obtain as much as one tribulation's worth of Imperial Qi, and the difference was vast; this was a private gift from her.

Last time she hadn't thought it through too well; to make people obey, one must first give some benefits.

"Thank you."

Shen Yi carefully felt the changes and raised his eyes slightly.

One tribulation of Imperial Qi meant nothing to him; it was just something equivalent to the lifespan of demons and monsters; he still had over one hundred and sixty tribulations tucked away, so there was no need to digest any tribulation power.

But this method of using Imperial Qi to regulate the realm was something the current Shen Yi could never access.

"Whether it is Taiyi Zhenxian or the Heavenly Immortal who goes a step further, actually, they are all preparing to pluck the Dao Fruit."

Perhaps because she had expended some mental energy just now, Ye Lan simply sat down on the ground decisively; whether in her dress or her conduct, she had a valiant and heroic flavor, only after sitting down did the action of holding her knees with both palms reveal a touch of tenderness.

"Taiyi Zhenxian has six tribulations; if one does not pursue an overly powerful Dao Fruit, then the Heavenly Immortal has only three tribulations; you have already completed most of the way."

"But even the most ordinary Dao Fruit, the kind at the very end, requires at least dozens of tribulations, millions of years, to cross the Flesh Tribulation; just think about how many times you must reincarnate, how many life-extending items you must seek."

Ye Lan sighed lightly; perhaps because there was only a newcomer beside her, who didn't understand the affairs of the Zhan Yao Si, she relaxed in a rare way, placing that Bai Xi and pretty face on her knees, looking sideways: "The Zhan Yao Si is a good opportunity for you; grasp the chance well, accumulate enough Imperial Qi, and don't cause trouble again."

"I really am a bit stretched too thin."

Speaking of this, a hint of helplessness flashed in the woman's eyes.

It is true that subordinates work hard, but after finishing the task, a simple sentence of "someone is handling it" represents her having to deal with those existences who have also plucked the Dao Fruit.

In front of those people, she is still too young, and occasionally feels exhausted.

"Tell me, who did you provoke this time? Was it that Bai Yun Ancestor? How did you get things done under the eyes of the Immortal Officials?"

Provoking a Seventh Realm Immortal Official; the difficulty of this matter depends on exactly what aspect of affairs the other party is responsible for, and how extensive their connections are within the Immortal Court.

Of course, the simplest method is to directly isolate this news from the mortal world.

"It's nothing."

Shen Yi shook his head; the short two words made Ye Lan stunned for an instant.

After she came back to her senses, General General Yan Lan instinctively knit her brow. Causing trouble wasn't frightening — what was frightening was causing trouble and then hiding it, until it brewed into a great disaster. This was an absolute taboo within Zhan Yao Si.

But before she could even begin to scold him, she saw Shen Yi ponder for a moment, then turn his head to look at her: "At least for now, there's no problem."

Their eyes met.

Ye Lan pressed her lips together. On the surface these two sentences seemed to be saying the same thing, but the meanings they carried were entirely different.

The latter showed that Shen Yi had his own judgment on this matter, and wasn't merely talking empty talk.

But a Taiyi Zhenxian who had just joined Zhan Yao Si — what did he have to judge with?

A Zhan Yao official did indeed hold the authority to garrison a prefecture, but it was best for him to be certain he could bear the corresponding responsibility.

Ye Lan was silent for a long while, then slowly rose to her feet: "If something goes wrong with this matter, your head will roll, and even I won't be able to stop it. But if nothing goes wrong…"

Most Zhan Yao people, after causing trouble, would simply leave the cleanup to their superior.

Eat as much imperial Qi, do as much work.

Someone like this who saved her superior the trouble — this was the first time she'd encountered one.

"Many thanks."

Ye Lan took a letter from her bosom, bent down and placed it on the ground, then turned and headed toward the earth god temple: "I do indeed have important duties, and for the next stretch I won't be able to attend to Jianyang Prefecture. When the time comes, I'll take you along with me. Jing'er said you cultivate the Practitioner's Dao, so I imagine you'd be very interested in the matter of a Puti Sect grand figure expounding the Dharma."

This letter from her younger sister briefly described the events of this trip, but not very clearly — it seemed certain key pieces of information had been concealed.

There was only one thing she wished to convey: that the Shen Yidi in her sister's mouth was a good man, and quite capable, and she should not be too harsh.

For this reason, today Ye Lan had sought Shen Yi out for a private talk.

As if she enjoyed playing wet-nurse, meddling in everything — and on top of that, being looked down on for it.

Fine, then. Let's hand over the authority.

Since the other party wanted to be a true Zhan Yao official, there was no objection — he simply needed to prove whether or not he had the ability to garrison a prefecture.

Ye Lan did not look back, and shot straight up into the sky.

"What the hell…"

Shen Yi silently watched the woman depart, his expression gradually growing strange.

This General General Yan Lan seemed to have misunderstood.

The reason he had wanted to remind her that things were fine for now was simply that the matter of White Cloud Grotto was being handled by Lady Qinghua, and if Zhan Yao Si were to inexplicably get involved, it might instead invite other troubles.

But he couldn't say so outright.

After all, Shen Yi really had no way to explain — he couldn't exactly say that he had a seventh-rank immortal official up in the heavens serving as a Bimawen, and moreover a stabilizing stone, so the two of them could exchange information anytime and anywhere, and react at the first moment before anything went wrong.

What was this "won't be able to attend to Jianyang Prefecture for now," acting as if she was washing her hands of the whole thing?

Wasn't this a joke?

Tossing the entire Jianyang Prefecture straight to a newcomer who had just arrived.

Shen Yi had never intended to prove anything. In fact, the very reason he had joined Zhan Yao Si was because he wanted to find a big tree to lean on for the time being.

And now this "big tree" had simply patted its backside and walked away?

"There shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Thinking of this, Shen Yi's eyelids twitched slightly. It was, after all, beneath the Divine Dynasty — two incidents in a row was already absurd enough; surely things should be calm for a few months now.

Enough, no need to worry about hypothetical disasters.

Look on the bright side.

Earlier, this General General Yan Lan had mentioned the matter of the Puti Sect grand figure expounding the Dharma. If she really did take him along, then there would be a chance to complete the Practitioner's path.

When the time came, supported by the lifespan of a demon with over a hundred tribulations, he could seize that Dragon-Tiger fruit-position and step into the fifth-rank Arhat realm. By then, most troubles would no longer count as troubles.

……

Jianyang Prefecture, the far end of the long street.

It was the height of noon, and the street was a noisy, surging crowd. Two figures with their right shoulders bared slowly stepped onto the scorching bluestone slabs. The straw sandals on their feet were already tattered beyond recognition, and their frames were thin and gaunt — the appearance of ascetic monks.

They walked through the streets and alleys, but did not beg for alms.

Until they entered a residential lane.

Outside a certain low-roofed house, one ascetic monk was earnestly trying to persuade an old woman. Before he could finish speaking, two rough palms had already landed on his shoulders from either side.

That monk turned his head to look, and his face immediately lit up with pleasant surprise: "Zhu Shixiong Zhiming! Zhu Shixiong Zhiqing! How did you two get here?"

It was none other than Master Zhikong, who was still collecting the golden booklets.

"Come."

The two men smiled at each other, gently shook their heads, then beckoned him and led him into an empty corner at the lane's end.

"Our elders worried you were too green and might be deceived by that Ling Guang. The Dragon-Tiger Great Scripture is a matter of grave importance, so they sent the two of us to assist and take him back to the Sect together." Monk Zhiqing stood firm and slowly stated their purpose.

As he spoke, the two of them were closely watching Master Zhikong's reaction.

"The elders worry too much. I've already taken back the Dragon-Tiger Great Scripture from Zhu Shixiong Lingguang. Once the matter here is settled, I'll send it straight back to the Sect." Master Zhikong suspected nothing, and immediately began with a smile to recount what had happened earlier.

Hearing these words, the two newly arrived Puti Sect disciples clearly relaxed. They exchanged a glance, and in the end it was still Zhiqing who spoke: "Hard work, junior brother. But that Dragon-Tiger Great Scripture is too important — if you've already taken it back, could you let the two of us have a look? It would set our minds at ease."

"But of course!"

Master Zhikong directly took out that gold-paged book from his tattered monk's robe and handed it to the two of them.

Seeing the Dragon-Tiger Great Scripture with his own eyes, Monk Zhiming hurriedly reached out with both hands, his eyes full of fervor as he cradled it in his palms. He carefully stroked and examined it for a long while, then reluctantly raised his head: "Junior brother shouldn't have opened it, have you?"

As this question was asked, the fire in the two men's eyes could no longer be concealed, and the anticipation in their pupils nearly spilled out of their sockets.

Yet Master Zhikong's reaction was like a basin of cold water poured over them: "What kind of talk is that, senior brother? The elders sent me here to retrieve the scripture. Without the Sect's permission, how could I possibly open this thing?"

The two men quietly clenched their fists, with more than a hint of "failing to appreciate a good intention."

If it had been anyone else, they would have assumed the person was lying to them — even if they'd read it, they wouldn't admit it. But this was Master Zhikong… this was a fool!

If the other party had checked it once, they could have used that as a pretext to ask to check it again. But now—

Zhiqing forced a smile: "Good that you haven't read it. We spoke out of turn. But I see junior brother still seems to have other matters to attend to. Why not hand this scripture over to us, and let the two of us escort it back to the Sect, so nothing unexpected…"

Before the words had even faded, the booklet was already snatched back with a whoosh by Master Zhikong: "Forgive me, Zhu Shixiong. Before I left, my elders instructed that I must deliver it back personally. Please don't worry, Zhu Shixiong — I will be careful."

Zhiming stared at his empty palm, the tips of his fingers twitching faintly.

He raised his head sheepishly and could not help but grumble: "From what Yan Shidi said earlier — first you invited some Dao companion from the Purple Cloud Sect, then some Shen Xianyou — you trust outsiders, yet you don't trust your own fellow disciples in the sect."

Hearing this, Master Zhikong's face suddenly shifted a little, revealing a hint of guilt: "Zhu Shixiong, you're misunderstanding. Zhikong didn't mean it that way."

Zhiqing keenly caught this detail, narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, then suddenly cut in: "Yan Shidi, no one else should have seen this Dragon Tiger Great Scripture either, right?"

What seemed like a casual question plunged Master Zhikong into silence.

He lowered his gaze slightly, staring fixedly at the tip of his shoe.

His throat bobbed several times.

After a moment, Zhikong finally pressed his palms together, closed his eyes, and said: "No."

(End of chapter)