I am a boss in the world of nine uncles

[You can withdraw the money, but the system still suggests that you use this merit to exchange for a life-creating vine in combination with filial piety points.]

The reason is that this vine already exists within the system, and it can be exchanged for a small amount of money.

However, if one were to create a life-creating vine out of thin air using the Fantasy House, it would require a much greater cost, making it a losing proposition.

In an instant, lines of characters flashed before Qin Yao's eyes.

Qin Yao pondered for a moment, then asked quietly, "How much of the filial piety value difference do I need to pay?"

[System calculation in progress...]

[Calculation complete. You need to add a total of 108,000 filial piety points.]

“One hundred and eight thousand…” Qin Yao slowly narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself, “There’s a reason behind this number.”

In Journey to the West, the distance from the Tang Dynasty in the East to the Great Thunder Temple is a total of 108,000 li, and one of Sun Wukong's somersaults is also 108,000 li.

The number 108,000 here is not a random, made-up number, but rather a reference to a Zen Buddhist classic.

The Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, Huineng, said that if one has ten evils and eight heresies in one's body, one should first eliminate the ten evils, which will allow one to travel 100,000 miles; then eliminate the eight heresies, which will allow one to travel 8,000 miles.

Coincidentally, at this very moment, he needed to add another 108,000, as if there was some mysterious force at play...

[Should I pay the difference for the exchange?]

After a long while, a string of system characters appeared again.

Qin Yao let out a soft breath and thought to himself, "Exchange!"

He didn't ask how many filial piety points were needed to condense the Creation Vine through the Fantasy House. It was meaningless, because it was destined to be an astronomical figure, at least several times the amount of 108,000!
[Transaction in progress...]

[This transaction deducted 108000 Filial Piety Points, leaving you with a Filial Piety Point balance of 21202.]

[The Creation Vine has been delivered to the Fantasy House; you may retrieve and view it at any time.]

Seeing this, Qin Yao felt inexplicably complicated.

If he weren't trapped in the cycle of reincarnation, unable to leave his host body, he would have had many ways to evade the Western Paradise's inspection and continue his mission.

Unfortunately, this seems to be an ironclad rule of parasitism, or perhaps an important factor in evading the scrutiny of Heaven, forcing him to grit his teeth and spend 108,000 filial piety points to complete the task through in-game purchases...

"Return to the main world, System." After a moment of reflection, Qin Yao spoke through his divine soul.

In this world, there's no one he needs to say goodbye to, so he can leave with a carefree attitude.

That said, this also proves that for him, "avoidance" is indeed the best way to resolve his emotional troubles.

As long as you hide until the end of the story, even the greatest emotional turmoil will vanish with his departure...

"Shh."

Suddenly, a white beam of light descended from the sky, completely engulfing Daoji's body.

After the white light dissipated, the Dragon-Subduing Venerable immediately took over the body, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds, clasping his hands together, and murmuring, "Amitabha, well done, well done..."

Uncle Jiu’s world.

In the study of the Qin residence in the ancient Shu Kingdom.

Qin Yao slowly opened his eyes from the futon, summoned the Creation Vine with a flick of his hand, and gazed at the countless green leaves on the vine, gradually falling into deep thought:
With my current abilities, am I capable of having a baby?

After much deliberation, he finally sent the green vine into the divine realm and temporarily abandoned his idea of ​​creating humans.

After all, judging from the examples of the primordial era, let alone Nuwa who created humans in accordance with the will of heaven, even Styx, who created the incomplete Asura race, was at the quasi-saint level when he did it. I am really far behind...

Lean less.

Qin Yao slowly got up, pushed open the door and went out. The warm winter sun shone on him, making him feel a faint joy.

The sun is shining brightly; perfect for a picnic.

Thinking of this, he immediately released his divine sense to sense the location of his wives, and then transmitted his voice to them, gathering them all in front of him...

"Husband, what is it?" Ah Li asked from the crowd.

Qin Yao smiled slightly, conjured a carriage with a flick of his sleeve, and said loudly, "Ladies, the sun is shining brightly today, how about we go for a stroll outside the city?"

"Yeah."

Nianying smiled and said, "I'm tired of wandering around the city these days. It's a good time to go outside the city to relax and breathe in the fresh air from the wilderness."

Qin Yao's gaze then swept over A Li, Bai Min'er, Cai Yi, Ren Tingting, and Xiao Wenjun, and he asked, "And you?"

Ren Tingting lightly landed on the carriage with her toes touching the ground, and waved, saying, "Sisters, if you don't want to go, I will go with Nianying to accompany my husband."

"Pah, who said we don't want to go?" Caiyi snorted, her body suddenly transforming into a streak of purple light, passing through the void and landing in the carriage. At the same time, she waved and said, "Senior sister, come quickly."

Bai Min'er smiled and shook her head, then turned to A Li and said, "Sister A Li, let's go."

"Okay~" Ah Li, who was becoming more and more like a mature woman, waved her hand and then flew into the car with the others.

A blink of an eye.

A few days later.

The carriage slowly flew over a deep blue lake when Caiyi suddenly suggested, "Sisters, let's go bathe in that lake!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Yao immediately stopped the carriage that was suspended in mid-air, while the other women all looked down. After seeing the clear blue lake and the surrounding scenery, they were immediately moved and agreed...

After a while.

Just as the women entered the water in their thin clothes, Qin Yao silently set up an array outside the lake, concealing the entire lake from the world, so as to prevent any immortals from passing by and seeing it, or even maliciously spying on it.

However, he did not go into the water with them, but instead waited silently in front of the lake.

The reason is simple: he knows perfectly well that with everyone present, it's impossible for him to have women on both sides.

If you continue down this path, you'll basically be unable to do anything except stir up your own anger, and in the end, you'll be the one who suffers...

More than half an hour later.

The women not only showed no intention of coming out, but even started playing around in the lake, while Qin Yao watched with a smile from the shore, finding it quite pleasing to the eye.

However, at that moment, the sky above the lake suddenly became turbulent, and two figures flew out from the clouds and landed swiftly in front of Qin Yao.

Based on their attire and appearance, Qin Yao immediately recognized them and asked with clasped hands, "May I ask if you are the Great God of Thousand Miles Eyes and the Great God of Wind-Following Ears?"

“Indeed.” The Thousand-Mile Eye, whose eyes shimmered with golden light, nodded and said solemnly, “Imperial Envoy Qin, Her Majesty’s decree.”

Qin Yao bowed and said, "Your subject obeys."

The Thousand-Mile Eye said, "The Lotus Lantern in the Qionghua Palace of the Seventh Heaven was taken down to the mortal world by the Third Holy Mother without her permission, and its whereabouts are unknown."

To prevent this sacred artifact from falling into the hands of demons and harming humanity, Qin Yao is hereby ordered to investigate and retrieve it immediately. A generous reward will be given upon successful completion.

Qin Yao was taken aback.

Qionghua Palace, Lotus Lantern?
"Imperial Envoy Qin, do you have any objections?" Just as he was stunned, Qianliyan suddenly changed the subject.

Qin Yao had no choice but to suppress his wandering thoughts for the time being, and cupped his hands, saying, "Your subject obeys..."

Thousand-Mile Eye nodded and said with a smile, "Then we will go to Yaochi to report back to the Empress."

"Wait a minute, you two."

Qin Yao quickly stopped the two, and with a flick of his hand, summoned two bottles of pills, smiling as he handed them forward: "You two have worked hard. There are two golden pills in this bottle. Please accept them."

Both the all-seeing eye and the all-hearing ear released their divine senses at the same time, sensing the quality of the golden pill. Then, with smiles on their faces, they took the porcelain bottle and said together, "Imperial Envoy Qin is too kind."

Without hesitation, Qin Yao replied, "Of course, of course... By the way, may I ask you two why the Third Holy Mother stole the Lotus Lantern?"

The two quickly put the porcelain bottle away, and Qianliyan explained softly, "It's the same old story, it's still about a fairy longing for the mortal world."

Qin Yao nodded: "There are so many powerful beings in the Heavenly Realm, why did this task fall into the hands of a minor deity?"

After listening intently to confirm that no one was around, Shunfeng'er whispered, "Because of Erlang Shen."

Qin Yao raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean by that?"

"This is not the first time the Third Holy Mother has descended to the mortal realm. In the past, the Empress turned a blind eye to it because of Erlang Shen's sake, but she never expected that this time she would be so audacious as to steal the magic lamp."

After the incident, the goddess immediately ordered Erlang Shen to pursue the enemy. However, unexpectedly, he not only failed to retrieve the Lotus Lantern, but also took it upon himself to suppress the Third Holy Mother under Peach Mountain, instead of bringing her back to Heaven to be punished.

The Empress was very dissatisfied with this, so she assigned the task to you, intending to use it as a way to give Erlang Shen a warning.

After all, you have a deep-seated grudge against Erlang Shen, and perhaps you can fulfill your supervisory duties in this process.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yao was basically certain that this was the beginning of "The Legend of the Lotus Lantern".

Compared to the numerous fan-made works of Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods, the IP and derivative stories of Lotus Lantern are much fewer. There are four relatively well-known film and television works: the CCTV version of Lotus Lantern and Lotus Lantern Prequel, the Lin Zhiying version of The Legend of Lotus Lantern, and the classic animated version of Lotus Lantern.

Of these four works, only the Legend of the Lotus Lantern fits the current situation perfectly!
In terms of content, unlike other "official" versions, this version is simply bizarre and wild. The core highlight is that Chenxiang travels through time and space, fights alongside his father, and saves his mother together.

In other words, the Lotus Lantern in this world must contain a complete law of time and space, which can travel between the past and the future within this world!

"Imperial Envoy Qin, Her Majesty takes this matter very seriously. She even demoted the Third Holy Mother to a witch for theft. If you can find the Lotus Lantern, you will at least be promoted one rank."

If Erlang Shen could be taught a lesson, then a promotion of two ranks and appointment as Imperial Censor would be within reach.

"I hope you can seize this opportunity and not let Her Majesty down." At this moment, Thousand-Mile Eye said softly.

Qin Yao nodded silently and said sincerely, "Thank you both."

Shunfeng'er waved his hand and said, "Is there anything else you want to ask?"

"That's all," Qin Yao said with a smile.

"Then we'll return to the palace to report. Imperial Censor Qin, I wish you all the best." Thousand-Mile Eyes clasped his hands in a salute.

"You two, walk slowly."

Qin Yao waved his hand, watching them disappear into the horizon, a cold glint quickly appearing in his eyes.

He originally planned to find a way to attack Erlang Shen after he had the strength to confront Yuxu Palace head-on.

But now that the Queen Mother has handed him the knife, if he doesn't even dare to use force, wouldn't he be incapable of shouldering such a great responsibility?
"System, search for the whereabouts of Agarwood in this realm."

After a long while, Qin Yao gradually calmed his agitated emotions and silently issued commands with his divine soul.

[Searching for Chenxiang's whereabouts across all dimensions requires 30,000 Filial Piety Points. Your Filial Piety Points balance is insufficient.] In the blink of an eye, a line of characters flashed rapidly in front of him.

Qin Yao raised his eyebrows slightly, only then remembering that due to exchanging for the Creation Vine, his Filial Piety Points were only a little over 21,000, which was indeed less than 30,000.

However, it doesn't matter. Even without system guidance, his precognitive ability regarding the story of the Lotus Lantern in the Legend of Heaven and Earth can help him successfully find Liu Chenxiang and the Lotus Lantern.

After all, although the original drama did not specify which dynasty or country Liu Chenxiang's family belonged to, it showed from the beginning that Liu Chenxiang was struggling to survive in Luzhou City.

Therefore, as long as we can find Luzhou City, we will surely be able to find the other party by following the clues!

Thinking of this, he suppressed the urge to leave immediately, silently waiting for his wives to finish washing and come ashore before dispelling the spell and softly saying:
"The Eye of a Thousand Miles and the Ear of a Thousand Hearings just came by with Her Majesty's decree, ordering me to find a treasure. Shall I send you back first?"

A-Li laughed and said, "We are not ordinary women, why do you need to escort us? Since Her Majesty has given the order, you should go and do it. I will take the sisters back."

Qin Yao pursed his lips and said sincerely, "I'm sorry I couldn't spend more time with you."

“Since our collective ascension, we’ve seen each other every day, if not every day. If that’s not a lot, then what is?” A-Li asked with a smile.

Qin Yao: "..."

He was once again immersed in the timeline of reincarnation, to the point that he instinctively felt that they were separated more often than together.

But the women didn't reincarnate; for them, it was basically the situation Ah Li had just described...

"I am leaving."

With a gentle exhale, Qin Yao rode the clouds into the sky and waved his hand, saying...

"Be careful," Bai Min'er said loudly.

"I'll wait for you to come home." Caiyi waved with a smile.

Qin Yao's lips curled into a slight smile, and he immediately manipulated the golden cloud, disappearing into the distance in an instant...

Seven days later.

After traveling through five kingdoms, Qin Yao finally found Luzhou City, which matched the description in the drama. He then walked on the bustling streets, listening to the sounds coming from all directions.

Half an hour later, although he did not hear the words "agarwood", he heard someone telling the story of the Huashan female demon. He then followed the sound until he arrived at an inn with a sign that read "Yuelaiju".

Does anyone know where the Lotus Lantern has gone?

Inside the inn, a storyteller stood before a group of people and asked in a rhythmic, expressive voice.

The crowd below was very supportive, asking one after another, "Where did you go?"

The storyteller smiled slightly and said, "The powerful female demon has fallen into Mount Hua, so the Lotus Lantern must have also fallen into Mount Hua."

These days, countless people have flocked to Mount Hua in search of treasure, but unfortunately, none have yet been fortunate enough to find it.

As he recounted the story, Qin Yao slowly stepped into the shop, looked around, but did not find the person he was hoping for.

But having heard the legend of the Lotus Lantern here, he was no longer in a hurry. He casually found a seat, ordered a pot of fine tea, a plate of melon seeds, and some dried fruit from the waiter, and waited patiently for the chosen one to arrive… (End of Chapter)