Wei Qianqing’s choice was risky. Just one wrong move might implicate her clan as well but she had made up her mind.

“Let’s get started then.” Li Qiye smiled, gently raising his pole and reeling. The string was quite long so the loud reeling noise lasted a while.

Once finished, he grabbed the bronze ring from the end of the string. It looked colorful and moist, brimming with life after it was empowered.

Qianqing didn’t expect this at all, thinking that it would be a hook. Why was this guy using a ring as the bait? What was he trying to do if not fishing?

Meanwhile, Xu Cuimei watched with great amusement and interest, especially in the bronze ring. She didn’t say anything but her eyes flashed with wisdom, clearly aware of the underlying reasons.

Li Qiye put the ring back on his finger. “Buzz.” It suddenly became bright because thousands of Buddha images suddenly appeared.

A supreme world of Buddhism materialized, capable of saving all living beings and enlightening three thousand worlds. Each Buddha had enough power to derive wondrous things with a snap of the fingers.

People wanted to prostrate and had the urge to join Buddhism. All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Once the light dispersed, everything returned to normal. The ring was just another ordinary ring - unadorned and seemingly worthless.

Qianqing felt all the pressure during the visual phenomenon. Her legs trembled as she wanted to kneel before him.

She took a deep breath, thinking about the terrifying item. She gandered again and didn’t see anything special about the ring now.

Even the smiling Xu Cuimei became serious after seeing that phenomenon. Qianqing might not know the power contained within this ring but Xu Cuimei did.

Moreover, the special girl also understood that everything was within Li Qiye’s grasp. He was the ruler and the ultimate existence of the holy ground, able to call for rains and clouds. 

“Okay, little girl, follow me. I need a coolie.” Li Qiye got up and stretched.

“I am ready to obey and offer my service, Young Master.” Cuimei stopped thinking about the implications and bowed respectfully.

Qianqing disagreed with this but had to find the right words. She quietly said: “I, I don’t think this is proper.”

“Why not?” Li Qiye nonchalantly replied.

“Because… Miss Xu is a disciple of Righteous Sect.” Qianqing spoke her mind.

This concern was warranted because taking a statue from the palace was sacrilegious enough. Now, to bring Xu Cuimei along? It could absolutely be considered as traitorous - a crime punishable by clan extermination, hence her worries.

Xu Cuimei only shrugged, looking ready to follow Li Qiye’s orders.

“I’m afraid that no one will be able to help you if something were to happen, Young Master.” Qianqing warned.

“I’ve decided, it’ll be fine.” Li Qiye didn’t care at all and smiled.

Qianqing was overwhelmed by his confidence and actually believed that he could take charge in this matter. This feeling caught her off guard.

***

Meanwhile, no one paid attention to Minor Sacred Mountain because they were fixated on Righteous Scion.

After defeating Hu Ben, he traveled uncontested across the holy land. He visited many holy locations and no one stopped him.

Though he never did anything disrespectful, it seemed improper for him to visit these sites because of the competition. The intent seemed provocative in nature.

Nonetheless, being annoyed was one thing but challenging him? No one was strong enough.

“The scion is at Buddha Emperor Plateau now!” This news caused quite a stir.

The plateau was the core of the holy ground with all the central powers. This challenge has escalated to the next level.

“Who will be the next to fight?” All eyes were on this region.

The five divisions of the plateau were immensely powerful. Most geniuses came from the various sects in this place as well. They had to do something in order to uphold the holy ground’s reputation.

“Maybe Phantom Sacred Child?” One person murmured.

Phantom came from Divine Ghost Division and was the strongest genius there. He was a top candidate to fight.

“I don’t think so, he might be waiting to help Dugu Lan up in Minor Sacred Mountain.” Someone else speculated.

“Yes, I heard he managed to borrow a supreme weapon from Myriad-blood Sect. He’ll fight together with Dugu Lan, it’s more advantageous to wait for the right moment.” A big shot with a good information network explained.

“Right, show patience now and reap the result later.” Many agreed with this: “Since he has a top weapon, he needs to conserve his strength for the final battle. That’s how to use it to its fullest potential.”

Sure enough, Phantom didn’t show up as the scion traveled across Divine Ghost Division. Nonetheless, the members of the holy ground still felt quite oppressed.

“Rumble!” The scion’s chariot continued to soar through the air. His aura and dao laws descended like waterfalls as he looked down on the world.

He has made it to the border of Heavenly Dragon Temple - a place filled with monks.

His oppressive aura didn’t garner a response. The entire domain seemed rather quiet as the chariot moved slowly forward. 

On top of a particular peak was a bodhi tree. Its branches swayed to the wind. Despite a lack of radiance, its ample Buddhist affinity made it seem ready to turn into a Buddha.

A young monk was sitting beneath this tree. His kasaya was dirty and disorderly as he held a large piece of meat with both hands and chomped down.

A monk like him didn’t fit the sacred image of Heavenly Dragon Temple and the bodhi tree. 

However, the scion’s chariot stopped at the base of this peak.

“Righteous Scion stopped?” The keen spectators who have been paying attention to him wondered why since they didn't notice the monk.