Junior sister, I really need to control you

The smile on his face couldn't help but have a hint of mischief. It wasn't that he was malicious; it was just that the scene he had just witnessed reminded him of a plant called the Timid Mushroom in a classic game from his previous life.

The glass lamp rose from the ground, and Miss Shangguan also stood up at the same time, looking just like a mushroom growing from the ground.

Moreover, they are brightly colored mushrooms.

Shangguan Ling'er glared at Li Yinsheng: "When exactly did you achieve the Dharma Form? Why did you deliberately hide it from me? Were you trying to make a fool of me?"

The thought of how she had proudly boasted about her cultivation level in front of Li Yinsheng not long ago made her ears burn.

No wonder Li Yinsheng could see through her cultivation level the moment she entered the room.

At the time, she only thought it was because Li Yinsheng had a strong spiritual sense, and because she had not deliberately hidden it.

But now it seems that Li Yinsheng might have already been a True Man with an Imperial Title back then, or at least he was just one step away from becoming one.

Thinking about it this way, she felt even more ashamed and annoyed.

When Shangguan Ling'er asked him when he would condense his Dharma form, Li Yinsheng did not answer. Instead, he changed the subject and spoke with a smile.

"Speaking of which, now that I've started calling you Senior Sister Qin, shouldn't you, Miss Shangguan, be calling me...?"

Shangguan Ling'er's eyes widened immediately: "You wish!"

"It won't be long before I also condense my Dharma form. At that time, we'll still be equals!"

“When Fellow Daoist Shangguan had not yet condensed his Dharma form…” Li Yinsheng said.

"We're on equal footing!" Shangguan Ling'er put her hands on her hips, looking like she was about to explode. "Don't forget I'm still your martial aunt's best friend. Do you still want to deny Ningzhi as your martial aunt?"

Li Yinsheng shook his head and chuckled: "From now on, Miss Shangguan and I will continue to be equals."

Hearing him say that, Shangguan Ling'er finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"In three or four months, the Hidden Dragon Valley will open. I'll go with you then. If we can find a decent rare and precious herb in the Hidden Dragon Valley, my cultivation will be sufficient to attempt to condense a Dharma body."

She said with a determined look on her face, "Once I have mastered the supernatural powers of my Yuan Meridian, I will be able to steadily condense a top-grade Dharma Image."

"Does the divine power that comes with the divine vein also need to be cultivated?" Li Yinsheng was somewhat surprised.

"It can't be called cultivation. It's just that the power of this supernatural ability is too great, and I can't control it skillfully yet. When I condense the Dharma form, I may not be able to transform it into a foundation smoothly. So, to be on the safe side, I still need to practice some more."

Shangguan Ling'er explained.

Li Yinsheng nodded in realization: "I see."

“Miss Shangguan, why don’t you come with me and Senior Sister Yue to Zhelong Valley this time? The three of us can search for medicine separately, but we shouldn’t stray too far from each other, so we can look out for each other,” he suggested.

“Okay, I was thinking the same thing even if you hadn’t said it,” Shangguan Ling’er said with a smile.

Firstly, although searching for medicine separately would be faster, the precious spiritual herbs and rare treasures in Zhelong Valley are often accompanied by miasma beasts.

While finding the elixir itself is not easy, the accompanying miasma beasts are even more troublesome.

The strength of miasma beasts ranges from close to that of a True Person to that of a Great True Person. It is said that the strongest miasma beasts are so dangerous that they are comparable to True Persons with the title of Imperial Decree.

However, the "Yearly Eclipse Miasma" in Zhelong Valley suppresses the strength of cultivators. Therefore, even a True Person with the title of Imperial Decree would be in a sorry state when encountering the highest-level miasma beast.

Although she thought that she was young and would be less affected by the miasma, she had not yet formed a Dharma body. If she encountered a very powerful miasma beast, she could only avoid its sharp edge.

But with this devilishly handsome man by my side, there's nothing to worry about.

Anyway, Elder Yue is going to travel with Yin Sheng, so what's wrong with adding her?

Given Elder Yue's aloof nature, she probably wouldn't have any objections as long as I don't interfere with her picking spiritual herbs.

Seeing Shangguan Ling'er agree without hesitation, Li Yinsheng stroked his chin and looked at Mu Xiaoyu, who was eating snacks.

How about we bring our junior sister along too?

He had already learned about the Hidden Dragon Valley; every time it opened, many cultivators would enter it.

After all, due to the existence of the eclipse miasma, young cultivators with shallow cultivation levels also have a certain advantage.

Each time the Hidden Dragon Valley opens, many of the cultivators who enter have only sixty or seventy years of cultivation, but most of them only dare to wander around the outer perimeter and collect some medicinal herbs.

With her junior sister's cultivation level, following them into the core area would naturally not be of much help in the battle.

But her sense of smell is really strange. There are many rare and precious spiritual herbs in Zhelong Valley. Maybe she can smell something special.

Having made up his mind, he then took out a gold box.

"This is... a gift from the Ninth Elder?" Shangguan Ling'er recognized it. "I found it strange at the time. He has some connection with Shouyi Temple, so why would he give you such a nice gift?"

Li Yinsheng smiled and lightly flicked his finger on the gold box: "Miss Shangguan, please take a look."

The hidden compartment of the gold box was opened, revealing a simple talisman.

This talisman was a size larger than ordinary talismans, but its aura was not strong, and it was not activated.

"This is..." Shangguan Ling'er was somewhat puzzled.

“I was just about to study what the Ninth Elder left behind,” Li Yinsheng said with a smile.

He prepared himself by first setting up several arrays around him, and then tried to infuse the talisman with an extremely subtle amount of magical power and divine sense.

The magical power that even roadside talismans might not be able to activate surged in, and the talisman in his hand immediately ignited without fire, transforming into a figure.

Although the figure was semi-transparent, it was very clear and was none other than the Ninth Elder himself.

"Hahaha, Junior Brother Li, you've finally activated this talisman."

The Ninth Elder's face, which looked quite young, had a very lively expression and eyes, indicating that he was communicating in person, rather than taking a picture.

However, the smile on his face looked somewhat surprised and awkward.

"However, I did not expect that Junior Nephew Shangguan was also in Junior Brother Li's room. Was I being presumptuous?"

His gaze swept back and forth between Shangguan Ling'er and Li Yinsheng, a mixture of embarrassment, surprise, and a touch of oddness in his eyes.

Shangguan Ling'er's heart skipped a beat, but her face remained calm. She cupped her hands and said, "This junior only has some questions about the Five Elements and would like to ask Elder Li... Elder Li for guidance."

"Ah... I understand, I understand!" The Ninth Elder nodded, as if he didn't need to say anything more.

“However, Junior Nephew Shangguan, could you please take that young friend Mu out first? I have some private matters to discuss with Junior Brother Li.”

Shangguan Ling'er looked at Li Yinsheng, and seeing that Li Yinsheng nodded, she pulled Mu Xiaoyu out.

Li Yinsheng looked at the Ninth Elder: "Senior Brother Qi, why did you leave this talisman? Is there something important you wish to instruct me on?"

"I wouldn't dare presume to offer guidance, it's just that..."

The Ninth Elder hesitated for a moment, but his actions were not hesitant. Under Li Yinsheng's somewhat surprised gaze, he cupped his hands and bowed to him.

“Junior Brother Li, with Junior Nephew Shangguan and Young Friend Mu present, it was inconvenient for me to speak frankly…”

……

A quarter of an hour later, after Li Yinsheng and the Ninth Elder said their goodbyes, the talisman burned out, and the Ninth Elder's figure also disappeared.

Li Yinsheng's expression was somewhat strange.

To summarize what the Ninth Elder just said to him:

He did have some close contact with Shouyi Temple in the past, but recently he learned that his relationship with Shouyi Temple was not good.

As the senior disciple, he immediately decided to stand on his junior disciple's side and severed all ties with Shouyi Temple.

If Li Yinsheng were to have any dissatisfaction with Shouyi Temple in the future, or if he wanted to give Shouyi Temple a warning, he would never stand up for Shouyi Temple.

These words were certainly embellished to maintain appearances, but the intention to curry favor was unmistakably obvious.

Li Yinsheng was somewhat surprised by the Ninth Elder's reaction and decision, but upon reflection, it made perfect sense.

After all, for an elder, although the offerings from a major temple are of some value, it is not worth making an enemy of another elder for this.

Moreover, the lineage has its own rules, and as an elder of the lineage, one cannot openly support or even control the Taoist temple.

Otherwise, if the elders of the lineage gather the Taoist temples below them as their own private factions, chaos would ensue.

The Ninth Elder's close relationship with Shouyi Temple was merely bordering on the edge of the lineage and precepts.

During their casual conversation, the Ninth Elder also subtly revealed this.

The connection with Shouyi Temple is mainly because when he first attained enlightenment, his foundation was weak and he had no real roots. In the early stages of trying to manage his own temple, he inevitably encountered some difficulties.

That's why he became closer to Shouyi Guan and had Shouyi Guan do some trivial things for him.

But now that his own temple is on the right track, Shouyi Temple is no longer of much value to him.

So he simply cut ties with Shouyi Temple, since he didn't owe Shouyi Temple anything over the years anyway.

Of course, when these words came from the Ninth Elder's own mouth, they were much more tactful.

This blatant exchange of benefits, in his words, was mainly due to his "personal relationship" with certain "friends" in Shouyi Temple, and his "appreciation" of "outstanding juniors."

But in any case, from today onwards, he has nothing to do with Shouyi Temple anymore.

He even subtly reminded Li Yinsheng—

As an honorary elder, Li Yinsheng cannot encroach on other Taoist temples, but if, in order to develop Xuanzhen Temple, some conflict or friction arises with other Taoist temples over their interests...

As long as things don't escalate too much, the lineage will maintain a fair and impartial attitude and will not interfere in minor conflicts between Taoist temples.

Li Yinsheng understood the meaning behind it, but he had no intention of expanding Xuanzhen Temple.

At least not now.

However, I still need to collect the rewards from Shouyi Temple.

……

The next day, a beautiful and dignified female cultivator, who seemed to have been specially trained as a maid, respectfully presented Li Yinsheng with the mountain deed and register of Xuanzhen Peak, as well as the Dharma seals and Daoist certificates of the abbot and deputy abbot.

In this way, all future appointments and removals of Dharma positions at Xuanzhen Temple will be decided by his single word, without needing to concern himself with the lineage.

"Come, junior sister, drip your blood on the abbot's seal and Dao tablet."

Li Yinsheng rubbed Mu Xiaoyu's head: "From now on, you will be the current abbot of Xuanzhen Temple."

Chapter 161 The Second Floor of the Treasure Vault, Nine Yang Spiritual Fire

"Senior brother, can I become the abbot now?" Mu Xiaoyu asked nervously. "I've only been in the abbot's temple for a little over a year."

"But in terms of cultivation, you are already no less than the abbots of many other Taoist temples."

Li Yinsheng said, "If we're talking about combat strength, there are many more Taoist temple abbots who are inferior to you."