Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 102 It's all because Buddhism has such a bad reputation

Before Wanfu Cave, monks gathered in great numbers.

Even the most meticulously maintained flowerbeds were utterly ruined in front of these hundreds of visitors.

After all, not every cultivator can levitate. One trampled two blades of grass, while another crushed a small flower.

Despite seeing their hard work ruined, the three members of Fu Lu Shou couldn't stop smiling.

All visitors are guests, and they are also comrades who have shared hardships and life-and-death experiences.

The three of them had been cultivating in Hundred Seas Valley for many years and had never had so many friends before.

Although most of them came for Chen Ye, in the past few days, the connections of the three men, Fu Lu Shou, have expanded tenfold.

Chen Ye is now standing in front of the flower garden to see off the guests. The banquet just ended, and the guests and hosts were all happy. Every visitor left satisfied.

Standing to the side, Lü Fusheng said to his two brothers, "I originally thought that Brother Chen's ability to turn the tide and save our lives in a crisis was already extremely impressive. But after spending these past few days with him, I've discovered that his social skills are truly astonishing. How did he develop such abilities at such a young age?"

Hou Lu nodded slightly, agreeing wholeheartedly, and said, "He is indeed very capable. Perhaps he was a businessman before he began his cultivation, which is why he is so shrewd and resourceful."

Most cultivators live in seclusion, as a period of seclusion often lasts for years.

Many times, after clearing customs and meeting friends, I forget how to speak.

Although there are many cultivators in Hundred Seas Valley, most of them are in seclusion and only gather together during assemblies. As for spending time with a few close friends, that's not difficult at all.

But with a hundred tables set up for the banquet, and every detail to be taken care of, ordinary cultivators simply cannot manage it.

Chen Ye, however, was quite different. Even at such a large event, he was able to take care of everyone and ensure that no one felt neglected.

The group of independent cultivators, who were already grateful to Chen Ye, wanted nothing more than to become sworn brothers with him amidst the toasts and drinks. Many female cultivators even sent him flirtatious glances, practically begging him to return to his cave for a chat.

Chang Shou couldn't help but say, "It's our good fortune to have met Brother Chen."

Hou Lu nodded repeatedly, agreeing wholeheartedly, and said, "I told you changing your name would be useful!"

This time, Lü Fusheng didn't refute it. He even began to think that the three characters "Fu Lu Shou" (福禄寿, meaning fortune, prosperity, and longevity) were truly mysterious. He thought that if he didn't change his name to Lü Fufu, his fortune would double.

Chen Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief when the guests reluctantly left.

Although I had experience in the workplace in my previous life, this was my first time facing such a big scene, and I did a pretty good job.

Fu Lu Shou and his two companions arrived with a pot of fine tea and sat down with Chen Ye amidst the mess to enjoy the tea.

Chang Shou poured Chen Ye a cup first, and said gratefully, "I'll use tea instead of wine. Thank you, Brother Chen, for saving my life."

Chang Shou had wanted to express his gratitude for the past few days, but Chen Ye had been too busy, and only now had he had a little free time.

Chen Ye did not refuse and drank the tea in one gulp.

After Chen Ye finished his drink, Chang Shou asked again, "However, there is one thing I don't understand. Brother Chen, you called on the independent cultivators to form an alliance, so why did you pass the position of alliance leader to someone else? Besides you, who else can sit firmly in this position?"

Chen Ye smiled and said, "Brother Chang, are you wondering why I invited that Daoist Shan Heng to be the leader of this alliance?"

Master Shanheng was also a rogue cultivator in Hundred Seas Valley, but he was at the Nascent Soul stage. It was he who went to the five major sects to question them about how to deal with the harm caused by the Crimson Serpent.

In the end, he was only given a few perfunctory words by the five major sects before returning to his cave to begin seclusion.

Once the matter was resolved, Master Shanheng no longer pursued it.

When Chen Ye proposed forming the Loose Cultivator Alliance, everyone thought that Chen Ye wanted to be the leader of the alliance. Unexpectedly, he personally went to the Taoist priest's door and invited him to come out of seclusion and become the leader of the alliance.

Many people harbored resentment, feeling that Master Shanheng hadn't put in any effort and had simply taken advantage of the situation.

Changshou had the same thought, and now that he finally had some free time, he wanted to ask for clarification.

Chen Ye laughed and said, "Brother Chang, do you really think that this matter can be resolved because of my efforts?"

Chang Shou asked in confusion, "If it weren't for Brother Chen, we would have been buried in the earth long ago. If it's not your doing, then whose is it?"

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "No, I just happened to be there. How could a mere Qi Sea Realm cultivator really make the five major sects bow down? The real reason this matter was resolved is that the five major sects all wanted to save face, and there's also Zhang Qi, the leader of the Qinghe Sword Sect. Everyone knows that Zhang Qi hates evil and will never allow anyone to kill innocent people indiscriminately."

“We may look numerous, but none of us can withstand a single palm strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator. They dare not kill because they too cannot withstand a single sword strike from Zhang Qi. In the cultivation world, ultimately, those with higher cultivation levels have the final say.”

Chang Shou frowned and said, "What does that have to do with Daoist Shan Heng? Is it just because he has the highest cultivation level?"

Chen Ye nodded and said, "High cultivation level is one thing, but if one's cultivation level is insufficient, it will ultimately be difficult to protect everyone from the wind and rain. However, I recommend Daoist Shan Heng because he is trustworthy."

Chang Shou scoffed, "Trustworthy? He's been hiding the whole time." Chen Ye replied, "Brother Chang, you're mistaken. The rogue cultivators of Hundred Seas Valley aren't a single family. Daoist Shan Heng's willingness to ask a question on everyone's behalf at the beginning shows his compassion. With his level of cultivation, how could the Crimson Serpent bite him? This matter has nothing to do with him. It's quite remarkable that he stepped forward to question the five major sects."

"As for his later seclusion and ignoring of the situation, that was only natural. We were strangers, why should he die for someone else?"

Chang Shou laughed and said, "Brother Chen, you have no relation to us either. You can find peace and quiet at the Qinghe Sword Sect's headquarters, so why take the risk? Isn't this more righteous than Daoist Shan Heng?"

Chen Ye said helplessly, "That's because I'm willing to do it. If Brother Chang uses me as the standard, most of the cultivators in Hundred Seas Valley would probably be criticized. There is great terror between life and death. I am willing to take the risk, which is my own business. To demand that of others would make me a villain."

"Moreover, Daoist Shanheng wouldn't gain any advantage by becoming the leader of this alliance. On the contrary, he would have to protect everyone from the wind and rain. He knows this principle, yet he still agreed to become the leader of this alliance, which shows that this Daoist is indeed benevolent and righteous. We are already blessed by heaven to have such a leader."

Rogue cultivators are all poor, and when a group of poor people unite, they don't charge any fees. The leader of the alliance not only has to balance the various forces, but also stand up for the rogue cultivators against the five major sects. Even without risking their lives, it is still a very difficult task.

Chen Ye was already very impressed by the Taoist priest's magnanimity that he agreed.

Hearing Chen Ye's explanation, Chang Shou finally understood, but still sighed and said, "I still think that Brother Chen is the rightful leader of the alliance."

Chen Ye laughed and said, "I'm busy cultivating, so I don't have much time to deal with alliance matters. But Brother Chang, now that you've passed the Gang Sha Realm and gained several hundred years of lifespan, you're perfect to assist Daoist Shan Heng in handling alliance affairs. It was you who rallied the rogue cultivators back then."

Changshou could be considered to have benefited from misfortune, as the five major sects quickly sent compensation after apologizing.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chang Shou exchanged tens of thousands of Azure Pearls for a Vajra Powder. In the past few days, he has made progress in body refinement and broken through to the next realm. Finally, he no longer has to worry about his lifespan.

In this uprising, if Chen Ye had the highest reputation, then Chang Shou was second, and he had become a household name in Baihai Valley.

Under Chen Ye's persuasion, Chang Shou accepted the fact that Daoist Shan Heng would become the leader of the alliance, but he couldn't help but say, "Brother Chen, rest assured, I will do my best to help you with the matter of collecting incense and prayer power."

This time, Chen Ye did not refuse and returned the cup of fragrant tea.

The alliance of rogue cultivators was merely going with the flow; what Chen Ye truly desired was the incense offerings and prayers.

Mo Ci needs to become a Buddha to repair the damage to his soul. But this is not something you can collect by simply finding some ordinary people and tricking them into praying to gods and Buddhas.

The souls of mortals are too weak, and the amount of willpower they can provide is far less than that of cultivators.

Moreover, mortals ask for so much. You must bless them with peace, ensure their wealth, and fulfill their many wishes before they will believe in you.

However, in doing so, what is collected is mostly various kinds of greed.

They either want wealth or promotion, or beautiful wives and concubines or a house full of children and grandchildren.

Spending decades developing tens of thousands of followers, all you get in the end is greed and desire. And Buddhism is already considered a heretical sect, or even a demonic path. Who knows, one day your temple might be destroyed by righteous cultivators.

That's exactly what the monk Ku'e did. He hid in a remote place and pretended to be a god in front of ordinary people. Before he could develop many followers, he was killed by Su Chunyi.

If it were really that simple, there wouldn't be only two Buddhist sects in the world: Nirvana Sect and Cixin Temple.

Therefore, if Chen Ye wants to collect the power of incense offerings and prayers, he can only do so by finding a way among cultivators.

Unfortunately, Buddhism still has a terrible reputation, and with the trouble caused by the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect, Chen Ye wasn't the only one who could connect the Golden Flame to Buddhist supernatural powers.

Therefore, when Chen Ye proposed to build a new Buddha statue, less than half of the independent cultivators immediately agreed to help.

Chen Ye didn't blame them.

The root of all this lies with the Nirvana Sect. This demonic sect has long used the banner of Buddhism to harm countless people, causing Buddhism to lose its reputation. Under such circumstances, it is only natural for independent cultivators to have concerns.

Moreover, to create a Buddha statue, the power of incense and prayers alone is not enough; a lot of time must be spent on preliminary preparations.

Chen Ye planned to go back and contact Cixin Temple to ask for their help.

It seems that Cixin Temple also wants to take this opportunity to clean up the image of Buddhism and prevent its disciples from being universally condemned.

Chen Ye couldn't help but yawn and said to the three of them, "I've been busy for several days and I'm really tired. I'll go and rest first. We can talk about other things another day."

He stood up to say goodbye, whistled, and Black Whirlwind obediently landed in front of him.

Chen Ye flipped himself onto Black Whirlwind and slowly flew towards his cave.

A gentle breeze caressed his face, making his eyelids droop, and he drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

Just as his consciousness began to fade, Chen Ye felt his body plummeting rapidly, and a pair of scarlet vertical pupils appeared in the darkness.

The Crimson Serpent entered Chen Ye's dream again and said, "Last time you said that you had some connection with my Crimson Serpent Holy Sect. Now that you have time, let's talk about it in detail."

(End of this chapter)