Junior sister, I really need to control you

“Such as Shouyi Temple, which has ten True Persons and two Great True Persons.”

"At least one Grand Master will be transferred to the front line of the Dharma lineage to resist the demon race, and most of the ordinary Masters will also be transferred there."

She laughed and said, "It is actually quite rare for each Taoist temple to have at least one venerable master who has been sitting in the temple for a long time, as is the case now."

"Most of the time, if a Taoist temple only has one True Person, then the True Person is mostly involved in the lineage and the confrontation with the demon race."

"Therefore, nowadays, Taoist temples all have the tradition of having a true master who does not serve as the abbot and does not concern himself with worldly affairs."

"Because in the past, the True Man was often not in the temple, so naturally he could not become the abbot."

Li Yinsheng suddenly realized: "I thought that the true people did not concern themselves with worldly affairs because they wanted to focus on their spiritual practice."

“That’s part of the reason,” Shangguan Ling’er said, “but the main reason is that a hundred years ago, the Dharma lineage never stopped conscripting True Persons, so even if True Persons wanted to manage the Taoist temple, they couldn’t do it.”

"Of course, not being recognized by the lineage is not entirely a good thing for a true person."

"The spiritual veins and resources of the lineage alone are far superior to the offerings from a Taoist temple, not to mention the opportunity to exchange ideas with many fellow practitioners."

“True cultivators who go to the Dharma lineage will improve their cultivation faster, and their own Taoist temples will receive more Dharma lineage resources, making it easier to cultivate new true cultivators.”

"The number of true masters in various Taoist temples now is significantly less than it was a hundred years ago, with Shouyi Temple being the only exception."

Li Yinsheng was not surprised by this: "Everything has two sides, good and bad, which is normal."

"By the way, everything I just mentioned that is different now from what it was a hundred years ago was all told to me by my master!"

Shangguan Ling'er seemed to suddenly realize something and quickly added, "I'm not that old myself!"

Li Yinsheng then asked, "May I ask Miss Shangguan's age?"

Shangguan Ling'er subconsciously revealed a smug look on her face—every time she told others her age, she would be amazed because she was too young for her cultivation level.

But the next moment she realized that the person in front of her was a freak who had become a Great Immortal in his early twenties.

"Why...why are you asking so many questions!"

Shangguan Ling'er's expression immediately changed.

Li Yinsheng couldn't help but scratch his head.

What's going on? Whether it's my martial uncle or Miss Shangguan, they both change their expressions as soon as their age is mentioned.

He knew that age was a taboo subject for women, but that should only apply to mortals, right?

With their exceptional talents, both Shishu and Miss Shangguan should be among the youngest Great Masters.

Why should we be concerned about age?

……

In the following days, Shangguan Ling'er would come to Li Yinsheng every day to explain some common sense that real people should know.

As a result, he learned about many questions he had been curious about before.

For example, the status of Taihao Immortal Sect in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

If you take any one lineage out of context, it wouldn't be considered a very strong force in the Hundred Thousand Mountains; it would only be considered second-rate.

However, if we consider the entire Taihao Immortal Sect, as well as the three major Dao Palaces and twelve Dharma Lineages under the Taihao Immortal Sect, then it is one of the three strongest forces on the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

These three families all came from the most prosperous places in the cultivation world to the Hundred Thousand Mountains and have continued to this day.

Below the three major powers, there are about a dozen other large forces that can be considered as strong as, or even surpass, a single Dao Palace. They are also top-tier, but not as strong as the three major powers.

Further down are second-rate forces like the Heavenly Demon Palace and the Thousand Insect Valley.

Shangguan Ling'er also gave him a brief explanation of the relationship between immortal sects, Taoist palaces, lineages, and Taoist temples.

The Taihao Immortal Sect, which initially came to the Ten Thousand Mountains, actually consisted only of the sect itself and three Dao Palaces.

The three major Dao Palaces absorbed a large number of independent cultivators at that time, each forming four lineages, which are now the twelve lineages.

After the lineage grew and expanded, it absorbed more independent cultivators and even incorporated some of their small forces, each developing dozens of Taoist temples.

Many Taoist temples have almost no connection with the lineage itself; the lineage is simply that a true Taoist practitioner once absorbed a wandering cultivator, and the wandering cultivator developed the lineage on his own.

Or some small, existing forces may have all joined the lineage, completely transforming themselves into a Taoist temple belonging to the lineage.

Some Taoist temples were established by true masters within the lineage who, for this reason, did not remain within the lineage but instead established their own temples under the lineage's name.

That's why the Taoist temples under the lineage appear so fragmented, because they were originally the result of the lineage integrating many independent cultivators and minor forces.

In addition, Shangguan Ling'er also told him that there are ten sacred mountains in the entire Ten Thousand Mountains, all of which are places where the essence of heaven and earth of the Ten Thousand Mountains converge.

Five of them are located in the inner perimeter and are still occupied by the demon race.

The three sacred mountains are located on the outer perimeter and belong to three major forces, including the Taihao Immortal Sect.

There are two more located at the boundary between the inner and outer perimeters, but the situation is special; neither humans nor demons have any influence there.

Chapter 101 Concealed Edge View, Sparring

After spending another month observing the casting furnace, Li Yinsheng took his leave with Mu Xiaoyu and Shangguan Ling'er.

With only one month left until the Shifeng Conference, he had to take Mu Xiaoyu to the Cangfeng Temple, the organizer of the conference, to register.

Besides registering, he also needed to go to Yutan Temple to get some books on formations.

Otherwise, after the Sword Test, when his junior sister has mastered sword intent and he receives the reward, the Chess Soul will have no new knowledge to deduce, which would be a great waste.

Moreover, they've been staying at the Casting Furnace Temple for two months, so it's time for them to go back and visit their martial uncle.

Although he had gone out for a period of time before to hunt monsters or search for medicinal herbs, he had never gone away for two months straight.

This is the longest I've ever been away from home.

Before leaving, Master Yanyu gave Li Yinsheng a Qiankun bag.

There were two piles of things in the Qiankun Bag: one pile was books, and the other pile was also books.

The difference is that the pile was huge, with hundreds of books, forming a small mountain. It was because Master Yanyu had most of the weapon-refining books in the Forging Furnace Temple copied.

The other pile was small, containing only a dozen or so books, which were the weapon-refining insights of Master Yan Yu and three other Masters.

With these two stacks of books, he estimated that he wouldn't need to worry about his junior sister's weapon-refining textbooks for a long time.

The four masters' insights into weapon crafting even contained a great deal of knowledge related to crafting magical artifacts, which can be described as them sharing their knowledge without reservation.

In return, Li Yinsheng gave Yan Yu Zhenren the withered and flourishing spiritual energy he had recovered during his two previous cultivation sessions in the cave, to extend his lifespan.

He originally intended to share some with the other three True Immortals, but all three insisted on giving it all to True Immortal Yan Yu.

After all, for a Taoist temple of the size of Zhulu Temple, it wouldn't make much sense or use for the three immortals to live a few more years.

However, allowing Master Yanyu to live a few more years would be extremely beneficial to the Zhulu Temple.

It is worth mentioning that before leaving, Shangguan Ling'er also commissioned a magic weapon at the Casting Furnace Temple.

This girl is incredibly wealthy; Li Yinsheng felt that it was easier for her to customize a magic weapon than for him to customize a high-grade magic artifact.

Since Master Yan Yu had already waived all their expenses, Li Yinsheng, feeling a little embarrassed for not spending any money on talismans, also placed an order.

He asked the weapon refiners at the Forging Furnace Temple to help repair the fist mark he had left on the brass incense burner.

After being repaired, the brass incense burner regained its original grade. Although it is also a high-grade magic weapon, it is clearly superior to the Cold Bright Sword.

With these two magical artifacts, my junior sister's Shaoyang Dao test will be basically complete.

In any case, according to Shangguan Ling'er, among the top-ranked geniuses who passed the Shaoyang Dao examination, very few were able to produce quasi-magic treasures; most of them used high-grade magic artifacts.

The requirement for aspiration in spiritual practice is simply a "top-tier evaluation." As long as it is top-tier, it makes no difference whether one is ranked near the bottom or near the top.

"Don't be nervous about the Shaoyang Dao Examination. It's just a contest of magic with your fellow practitioners. If you win, you'll advance."

On the brocade hairpin, Shangguan Ling'er rubbed Mu Xiaoyu's head and said casually.

“I also took the Shaoyang Dao examination back then, so there’s nothing to be nervous about.”

"Sister Shangguan participated too?" Mu Xiaoyu's eyes lit up. "What place did Sister Shangguan get?"

"First place, of course. What else could it be?" Shangguan Ling'er retorted.

"Wow! Sister Shangguan is so amazing!" Mu Xiaoyu exclaimed, her face filled with admiration.

"It's just so-so," Shangguan Ling'er said without any pride, but looked at Li Yinsheng and said, "It's just that your senior brother hasn't participated, otherwise he would definitely be number one."

When she arrived, it was autumn, and Li Yinsheng was only twenty-two years old.

He spent five months at Xuanzhen Temple and two months at Zhulu Temple. Now it is the spring of the following year, and Li Yinsheng is twenty-three years old.

A twenty-three-year-old Great Master, at least he was a Great Master when he was twenty, right?

She couldn't even imagine what a miserable scene it would be like on the arena if Li Yinsheng were to participate in a Shaoyang Dao examination when he was twenty years old.

It is likely that widespread suffering will ensue.

Hearing Shangguan Ling'er's words, Li Yinsheng smiled but said nothing.

"Senior brother is too modest!" Mu Xiaoyu said, hands on her hips.

As she put her hands on her hips, she pulled up her sleeves slightly, revealing a silver bracelet on her wrist.

Shangguan Ling'er glanced over them, her eyes looking somewhat strange.

That silver bracelet was a low-grade defensive magic weapon that Mu Xiaoyu had crafted for herself, and it looked very similar to Li Yinsheng's magic weapon.

To be precise, apart from the colors being reversed and the bracelet being a size smaller to better fit Mu Xiaoyu's wrist, the two bracelets were practically identical.

Li Yinsheng's bracelet has a pure black background, but it slowly shimmers with bright silver specks.

Mu Xiaoyu's own bracelet was pure silver with speckled black spots.

Shangguan Ling'er also asked Mu Xiaoyu why she made such a similar bracelet, and Mu Xiaoyu's answer was perfectly reasonable—

Since I've already refined it, it's easier to replicate it exactly than to come up with a new one.

Although this answer doesn't seem to have any problems, many low-grade magical artifacts are indeed standardized and look almost the same.

But seeing Li Yinsheng and Mu Xiaoyu wearing almost identical bracelets, she still felt something was off.

Riding the Qiluodian, Shangguan Ling'er soon arrived at Cangfeng Temple with Li Yinsheng and Mu Xiaoyu.

The registration fee for the Shifeng Society is very high. Although it varies depending on the age of the participants, it is at least tens of thousands of talismans.

Therefore, no one will sign up just to join in the fun, unless they think they have too much money to spare.