Chapter 1196: Chapter 1195: The Second-in-Command Is So Awesome

"Buddha’s blessing!"

Dai Bufan kowtowed three times in a row, a clear sign of his sincerity.

Then he looked up and saw the three sticks of incense, which had already burned out, miraculously come back to life, their ashes reassembling into their original form.

"?"

Dai Bufan emerged from the Mahavira Hall, and the curious Ming Yu Abbot approached to ask, "Amitabha, how effective was Benefactor Dai’s prayer?"

Dai Bufan fell silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Buddha manifested himself."

"Oh?" Ming Yu Abbot’s surprise was genuine, not feigned.

Dai Bufan spread out his hands, revealing three incense sticks, intact and undamaged: "The Buddha gave the incense back to me."

Seek Dao Sect, Sky Gate Mountain.

"Look, don’t the fruits look more appetizing when they’re cut like this?"

"Although only the shape of the fruit has changed and not the flavor, it really reflects the Spirit Chef’s intent."

"Indeed, it does."

Atop Sky Gate Mountain, right beside the Soybean Dynasty Ancestral Temple, Yun Mengmeng and Qinghe were studying fruit plating.

Qinghe taught Yun Mengmeng everything she knew without reservation, and Yun Mengmeng, eager not to disappoint, studied with great diligence, giving her mentor Qinghe a strong sense of accomplishment.

Suddenly, Yun Mengmeng looked up keenly, as if spotting something, causing Qinghe to become curious, "What is it?"

"Second-in-command’s scent!"

With that, Yun Mengmeng dropped everything and dashed straight down to the mid-mountain slope.

Lu Yang, just about to ascend the mountain, looked up to see Yun Mengmeng charging towards him.

He was swiftly knocked over by her.

"Second-in-command, you’re back safe and sound! I was so worried!"

Yun Mengmeng lay atop Lu Yang, her big watery eyes gazing at him: "Tell me, why did you and the Chief Housekeeper just disappear from Buddha Country all of a sudden? We searched high and low and couldn’t find you."

"Later, Xiao Zhi told me you went to the Extreme Northern Lands to train. I said I wanted to go too, but Xiao Zhi wouldn’t let me!"

"Naughty Tao Zi, I was so mad I didn’t speak to her for days," pouted Yun Mengmeng, visibly annoyed.

Immortal Fairy floated out from the Spiritual Space, feigning a cough twice, and said, "Third Boss, the Immortal Lineage has a clear hierarchy. What sort of decorum is this, you hugging Little Yang like that?"

"Ah? Oh." Yun Mengmeng, not quite understanding how her actions related to hierarchy but knowing better than to question, got up from the ground. After all, whatever the Chief said was right, so it was best to listen.

Pink lotus petals fell from the sky in a fluttering cascade, heralding a divine and auspicious welcome—Qinghe’s unique way of greeting the Immortal Fairy.

"You’ve returned, my lord."

"Fairy, speaking of Senior Qinghe, if her true form is a lotus, why is she called Qinghe instead of Qinglian?" Lu Yang whispered.

This question had been in Lu Yang’s mind ever since he had learned about Qinghe’s true form back in Buddha Country, but it was temporarily put aside during his journey to the Extreme Northern Lands. Now that he saw Qinghe, he remembered again.

"As it turns out, that issue was due to me, Immortal," the Fairy admitted.

"Back when Immortal saved Little Lotus, I was quite young and couldn’t tell lotus from water lily, so I thought Qinghe was a lotus and named her Little Lotus. Later, when I figured it out and wanted to change her name, she refused to change it, so she has been called Little Lotus ever since."

"Little Lotus, it’s been so long," Immortal Jiuchong greeted with a smile, having seen many old acquaintances these past few days.

"Big Brother Jiuchong," Little Lotus smiled faintly. After a separation of 300,000 years, it truly had been a long time.

Lu Yang arrived at the peak of Sky Gate Mountain, surprised to find that the Ancestral Temple of the Great Bean Dynasty, originally built in Buddha Country, had been moved to Sky Gate Mountain.

"After the Chief Housekeeper and Second-in-command disappeared, Sister Ling, Sister Lianyi, and Sister Caiwei all wanted to move the temple to their territories, but they couldn’t persuade me and Little Lotus. We staunchly moved the temple back to our Sect!" Yun Mengmeng explained with a giggly smile.

"Second-in-command, you’ve been to the Extreme Northern Lands for such a long time, were there any fun stories?" Yun Mengmeng brought over a plate of fruit, eagerly asking, the shape of the Spirit Fruits made up on the spot.

Lu Yang ate a piece of Spirit Fruit shaped like the Green Peak Sword. He didn’t know what kind of Spirit Fruit it was but it tasted pretty good.

"The Extreme Northern Lands are chilly and rather dull, not much fun there. I did meet a few interesting students, though," Lu Yang gestured dismissively. The Extreme Northern Lands, apart from ice blocks, had nothing more interesting than Buddha Country, so he wouldn’t recommend Yun Mengmeng go there for fun.

"But there are many good people in the Extreme Northern Lands. Our Martial Arts Hall’s door broke twice and was replaced for free."

"There’s also someone called the Carefree Guest in the Extreme Northern Lands, who committed many evils. I guess he thought he had done too much wrong and committed suicide. Guess that makes him half a good person."

"And then the Ruthless Sect came knocking. I have no idea why they would come to me. It’s truly a plague on the pond. What do they want with me, a Red Dust Mortality who teaches?"

"Right, the Ruthless Sect is really hateful!" Yun Mengmeng indignantly spoke up for Lu Yang. Nothing had happened while they were in Buddha Country.

"Even though Yang Kongdong is quite strong, a Semi-Immortal, he is still not as strong as me. I took him down in a few moves," Lu Yang said proudly. Defeating a Semi-Immortal in the Transcendance Tribulation Stage was a first throughout history. Once he returned, he would definitely publicize his heroic deed widely in newspapers.

Interviewing himself wasn’t ideal, it lacked credibility, so he’d have Old Meng from the audience interview him.

"Second-in-command is so impressive, what happened next?" Yun Mengmeng listened, starry-eyed. Every time the Second-in-command did something she couldn’t, proving once again why he was the Second-in-command.

"Then the Main Priest of the Great Qian Dynasty called by Yang Kongdong before he died, luckily Immortal Jiuchong stepped in at the crucial moment, and I was spared."

Immortal Jiuchong revealed a satisfied smile. Little Friend Lu knew how to talk. Although the details weren’t quite right, it was close enough.

"Immortal Jiuchong overcame the Controller and then took the initiative to spar with Eldest Senior Sister, who gladly accepted."

"At the beginning of the fight, even the Martial Arts Hall was damaged. After the battle, Immortal Jiuchong kindly offered to repair the hall, truly a model of virtue."

Immortal Jiuchong listened more comfortably, for amongst the birth conditions of the Five Ancient Immortals, he was indeed the most polite.

Yingtian Immortal had escaped from burial goods, Fairy Eternity was from a small tribe, Time Immortal was an enlightened piece of wood, and Qilin Immortal was a natural spirit. Only he was born in the great tribe of the Lianshan Clan of the Human race.

"Did Xiao Zhi win?" Yun Mengmeng was most concerned about the outcome of the fight.

Lu Yang was about to embellish the result a bit on behalf of Immortal Jiuchong, but he heard Jiuchong smack his thigh, his tone filled with regret, "Oh, if Daoist Yun Zhi and the Controller hadn’t joined forces against me, how could I have... Never mind, let’s not talk about it anymore."

Lu Yang: "..."

You’d better say the same when Eldest Senior Sister comes back.

Little Lotus was quite happy to see Immortal Jiuchong, but then she suddenly recalled a problem.

It seems Yingtian Immortal and Time Immortal were both found by Lu Yang.

Ashy Bean had been searching for 300,000 years and hadn’t found a single one; how did Lu Yang manage to find them all in just a few years?

If Lu Yang had followed Ashy Bean back then, wouldn’t Ashy Bean have achieved Transcendence much sooner?

Thank goodness Lu Yang stayed with the adults.

Wait a second, why was she thinking this way?!