Chapter 40 - 28: You Guys, Give Me the Qiankun Bag!

Chapter 40: Chapter 28: You Guys, Give Me the Qiankun Bag!

Down below, the three people from the Jade Altar Temple also noticed the Yellow Paper Crane. But Meng Yu, who was leading them, only glanced up before lowering her head to continue busying herself with the Array.

"Master, those three down there are also disrespectful!" the White-faced Cultivator said.

"Ahem, those are people from the Jade Altar Temple. I imagine they are just doing a job for money. There’s no need to make things difficult for them, otherwise it would make our Yellow Crane Temple seem petty." The tall, thin old man gave a light cough, glossing over the matter.

The Yellow Paper Crane adjusted its course slightly and flew straight toward the Xuanzhen Temple.

"By the way, you two take these Netting Magical Artifacts and keep them safe." The tall, thin old man threw two spiderweb-like mesh nets to his two apprentices. "I borrowed these from my senior martial brother. When we arrive at the Xuanzhen Temple and I teach that brat a lesson, if he realizes he’s outmatched and tries to flee, you two must immediately cast the nets and trap him."

The two received the nets and looked at each other in dismay.

"This... Master, is it even possible for that person to escape your grasp?" The White-faced Cultivator gripped the net, feeling that his master was making a mountain out of a molehill.

"It is merely a precaution, just in case," the tall, thin old man said. Although he was extremely confident in his Cultivation and abilities, he wouldn’t underestimate the enemy so easily. Not only had he prepared the Netting Magical Artifacts, but even the Daoist Robe he was currently wearing was a refined Magical Robe. In terms of value, it was even higher than a typical Upper Grade Magical Artifact.

"Mm, we’ve arrived." Looking at the Daoist Temple becoming increasingly clear ahead and below, the tall, thin old man said. He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that ever since he got close to Xuanzhen Peak, he had been struck by an inexplicable sense of unease.

Meanwhile, in front of the main hall of the Xuanzhen Temple, Mu Xiaoyu was practicing her martial arts, her face clearly showing signs of being weighed down by worry. However, under Li Yinsheng’s strict guidance, every move she made, every breath she took, remained completely undisturbed.

That was, until she saw a rapidly growing dark shadow appear on the ground.

She immediately looked up. In the sky above, a massive Yellow Paper Crane with a twenty-foot wingspan was slowly descending. Standing atop the paper crane’s head was an old man with pure white hair and beard. His Daoist Robe fluttered in the wind, giving him somewhat of an immortal, transcendent aura.

Mu Xiaoyu immediately bared her teeth. The bad guys were here!

In a few quick steps, she ran over to the Cold Leaf Sword, picked it up, and stood by Li Yinsheng’s side. Li Yinsheng smiled and rubbed her head.

The Yellow Paper Crane landed. The tall, thin old man floated to the ground with his two apprentices, exuding the air of an enlightened master.

"I am the Vice Temple Master of the Yellow Crane Temple. My surname is Huang. Today, I have specifically brought my unworthy apprentice to the Xuanzhen Temple to thank you, young Fellow Daoist, for teaching him a lesson on my behalf."

Although the old man surnamed Huang spoke of "thanks," his imposing aura surged forward like a tidal wave, pressing down on Li Yinsheng. If it were a Cultivator with a lower Cultivation base, they would find their Magical Power stagnating when facing such an oppressive might.

However, Mu Xiaoyu, standing by Li Yinsheng’s side, didn’t feel a thing. She only thought that this old man sounded incredibly hypocritical. Holding her sword in one hand and grasping her senior brother’s hand with the other, she glared angrily at the old man.

A trace of surprise flashed across the old man’s face. First, he hadn’t expected that not only did Li Yinsheng possess such impressive Cultivation at a young age, but his methods of Concealing Breath were also incredibly ingenious. Even while protecting the little girl beside him from his oppressive aura, he didn’t leak the slightest trace of energy.

Second, he hadn’t expected that the Xuanzhen Temple actually had a new disciple. And a new disciple who had no Root Device and barely any Cultivation to speak of.

But he quickly tossed the second point out of his mind. There was no need to care about a mortal without a Root Device.

"Li, my inferior apprentice and the other four disappointing disciples of my temple have been ’taken care of’ by you," the old man surnamed Huang said.

"Vice Temple Master Huang is too polite," Li Yinsheng said with a chuckle. "We don’t have many bedrooms in the temple, so we had to wrong the four disciples from your temple by having them stay in the woodshed. Please forgive us for our poor hospitality."

The corner of the old man’s eye twitched. "Brat, you have a sharp tongue. You not only humiliated the disciples of my temple, but you even dismantled the Yellow Crane Temple’s Spirit Gathering Array. You might have some talent, but you are far too ignorant of manners!"

Li Yinsheng smiled. "Perfect timing. Since Vice Temple Master Huang mentioned those disciples of yours and the matter of Stealing Spirit Charm, you must have brought compensation and ransom, right? I wonder, where is the ransom? Let me be clear beforehand: I only accept talismanic coins for the ransom, and I want it in cash."

As soon as he said this, the two apprentices behind the old man glared furiously at Li Yinsheng. The old man also felt a surge of fiery anger in his heart. He decided it would be best to first teach this insolent brat a lesson before wasting any more breath on him; otherwise, a few more sentences might just boil his blood with rage.

"I brought it, I brought it," he sneered. "Why don’t you come closer, young Fellow Daoist, and I’ll personally show you the ransom!"

"Since Vice Temple Master Huang has brought the ransom, talking out in the open air is no way to treat a guest." Li Yinsheng chuckled, pointing toward the main hall. "How about we go inside to talk?"

"Senior Brother..." Mu Xiaoyu looked up at him, somewhat worried.

"I’m going to discuss the ransom and compensation with Vice Temple Master Huang. Junior Sister, you continue your practice. Don’t slack off," Li Yinsheng instructed, rubbing her head.

Mu Xiaoyu hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

The old man took all this in and sneered inwardly, "Heh, no wonder he wants to go into the hall. It seems he doesn’t want to lose face and surrender in front of his own junior sister.

"Very well. If this brat knows when to back down and acts tactfully once inside, I wouldn’t mind leaving him a shred of dignity.

"But if he lacks tact, I will beat him from the inside of the hall all the way out, making him crawl on the ground and completely lose face in front of his junior sister!"

Watching Mu Xiaoyu reluctantly walk back to her practice, looking back at him with every step, Li Yinsheng gestured to the old man. "Vice Temple Master, please enter the hall." 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

"Haha, very well!"

The old man followed Li Yinsheng toward the main hall. At the same time, his two apprentices received a voice transmission.

"You two guard the entrance to the main hall. If that brat breaks through the doors or the roof to escape, immediately throw the nets!"

The two couldn’t use voice transmissions, so they merely bowed to their master’s back, indicating they understood.

As Li Yinsheng and the old man entered the hall one after the other, the doors closed behind them. Not a single sound escaped from within.

The two apprentices guarded the doorway, one on the left and one on the right. Meanwhile, Mu Xiaoyu meticulously continued her practice in front of the hall.

"Junior Brother, how do you think Master will teach that brat a lesson?" the White-faced Cultivator asked. Without waiting for a reply, he continued, "When Master takes back the Cold Bright Sword, do you think he’ll bestow it on you again?"

Yang’s face twitched, and he changed the subject. "Senior Brother, look at that little girl. She’s practicing very hard."

"What’s the use of hard work? Junior Brother, is your Cultivation stagnating so much that your eyesight is regressing? Can’t you see that the little brat doesn’t have a Root Device?" the White-faced Cultivator sneered. "For someone so dull-witted and devoid of talent, what’s the point of working hard?"

"Sigh, that’s true," Yang sighed. "It’s just that seeing this little girl makes me think of you, Senior Brother. You are just like her—lacking in natural talent, but making up for it with diligence. It is truly admirable."

"You!" The White-faced Cultivator immediately spun around to glare at his junior brother, furious. "With all your snide remarks, do you want to have a Magical Combat?!"

"If we’re talking about making snide remarks, haven’t you been fighting me since just now, Senior Brother?" Yang retorted sharply.

It was still unclear what was happening inside the hall, but outside, the two were already growing heated and on the verge of coming to blows. But right at that moment, the doors to the main hall were suddenly thrown open.

The two of them froze in shock. They had never doubted that their master would teach Li Yinsheng a lesson, but they hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

They were just about to bow to their master and compete to flatter him when they saw him emerge. He was bruised and battered, his face swollen, his Daoist Robe missing, and he was limping out clad only in his inner garments.

The two guarding the door were utterly stunned. Forget teaching Li Yinsheng a lesson; the way their master looked right now, he was more like an ordinary old man who had been beaten up by street thugs.

"You two," the Cultivator surnamed Huang said, using the sleeve of his inner garments to wipe away the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His bruised eyes glared at his two apprentices. "Give me your Qiankun Bags!"

The two were even more bewildered. It wasn’t that they were being disobedient; their brains simply couldn’t process the situation.

Seeing that they had no reaction, the Cultivator surnamed Huang flew into a rage, kicking each of them right in the crotch. "Give me the Qiankun Bags!" he shouted.

The two snapped back to reality. After scrambling to dodge the kicks, they both hurriedly pulled out their Storage Bags and handed them over with both hands.

The Cultivator surnamed Huang grabbed one Storage Bag in each hand, turned around, bowed deeply toward the inside of the main hall, and spoke loudly.

"Elder Li, this is the entire net worth of the three of us! We are willing to offer it all to you, Senior!"