Guanyin Bodhisattva: "???"
G-going to our home?
Her mind couldn't quite process it.
"Yeah!" Xiruan said matter-of-factly. "You can't afford to pay us back, so you'll have to take us to your home to ask your boss for the money!"
"Your boss must be rich! I just heard that old lady say you abducted several thousand people from our home!"
"So many people must be worth lots and lots of money! Your boss has to come and pay us back in person!"
Xiruan thought her logic was flawless. If the underling couldn't pay, then they'd go straight to the boss! It was only right!
Nearby, Holy Mother Wudang trembled with excitement when she heard this.
G-going to their home?
Did Senior mean... going to the Western Religious Sect's headquarters, the holy land of Spirit Mountain?!
Oh my heavens!
Senior wasn't satisfied with just teaching Guanyin a lesson!
She was going to... strike straight at the heart of the enemy, storm Spirit Mountain, and settle the whole score right in front of the Two Saints of the West!
What courage! What spirit!
"Disciple... Disciple is willing to guide Senior!" Holy Mother Wudang immediately declared, without a moment's hesitation.
She felt this was a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!
With this unfathomable Senior here, perhaps they really could rescue all their fellow disciples who had been forcibly converted!
Guanyin Bodhisattva listened to the two of them and nearly fainted on the spot.
Take her... to Spirit Mountain?
What kind of joke was this?!
Taking this Little Devil King back to Spirit Mountain was no different from inviting a wolf into the house.
A wolf wasn't even as terrifying as she was!
It was like leading a starving Chaos beast straight to the dinner table!
Forget the two sect leaders—even the whole of Spirit Mountain would probably be torn apart by her!
"N-no! Absolutely not!" Guanyin Bodhisattva refused sharply without a second thought.
"Oh? You won't?"
Xiruan narrowed her eyes and threatened her, looking fierce despite being so small:
"So, would you rather I beat you until even your own mother couldn't recognize you, or take us to your home and let your boss take the beating for you?"
"I'll give you three seconds to think about it."
"One..."
Guanyin Bodhisattva looked at the terrifying Milk Bottle, which shimmered with Chaotic Ghostly Light, and rapidly weighed her options.
On one hand, she might die right here and now, and have all her treasures stolen.
On the other, she could dump this hot potato on the two Saints back home and let them deal with the headache.
Though she would surely be punished for leading the Little Devil King to Spirit Mountain, at least... she could save her life, right?
Besides, the two sect leaders had vast supernatural powers, and the Saints' abilities reached the heavens and earth. Surely they could handle one little child?
That was right! It had to be!
I'm drawing out the enemy for the sect, giving the two sect leaders a chance to permanently eliminate this grave threat!
I'm making a sacrifice for the sect!
At this thought, Guanyin Bodhisattva felt much better.
"Three!"
Xiruan had finished counting down.
"I'll take you! I'll take you there!"
Just before the Milk Bottle came down, Guanyin Bodhisattva let out a cry of humiliation and helplessness.
"Hmph! That's more like it!"
Xiruan happily put away the Milk Bottle, then waved a little hand at Holy Mother Wudang and announced with great bravado, "Old lady, stay close!"
"Let's go! To Spirit Mountain!"
"The debt-collection journey begins again!"
The Chaos Void stretched on without end, gloomy and desolate.
Under normal circumstances, even a Da Luo Golden Immortal wouldn't want to stay in a place like this for a moment longer than necessary.
But Xiruan was in high spirits, her little face full of anticipation.
"Baldy, fly faster! Didn't you eat?"
She carried the Milk Bottle on her shoulder and kept urging the unsteady figure flying ahead.
Guanyin Bodhisattva had no way to explain her predicament.
Her Natal Treasure was damaged, her primordial spirit was shaken, and most of her magic power was gone...
Just keeping her lotus throne from falling out of the sky was already hard enough. How could she possibly fly faster?
She could only grit her teeth and drive her magic power with all her strength, flying toward the Western Paradise.
All she wanted was to deliver these two calamities to Spirit Mountain as soon as possible, then find somewhere to hide and never come out again.
"Senior, slow down and wait for your disciple!"
Holy Mother Wudang stayed close behind Xiruan. Her injuries were also severe, but her spirits were unusually high.
The thought of storming Spirit Mountain and demanding justice in front of the Two Saints of the West made her tremble with excitement.
"Old lady, you're so slow too," Xiruan said, glancing back at her with mild disdain.
She thought for a moment, then fished a golden pill out of her red bellyband and held it out.
"Here, eat this. It'll make you stronger."
Holy Mother Wudang stared at the pill, which was fragrant with medicinal energy and swirled with the Dao, her eyes nearly popping out of her head.
A Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir?!
And one in such perfect condition?!
Even Saints treasured this sort of thing!
Senior... had just casually taken it out and given it to her?
"Senior... This is far too precious. This disciple could never..." Holy Mother Wudang's voice trembled.
"Oh, would you stop fussing?"
Xiruan impatiently shoved the elixir into her mouth. "I said eat it, so eat it! You'll need your strength to argue with them!"
The Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir melted in her mouth, and Holy Mother Wudang felt a warm current course through her limbs.
The energy nourished her meridians, which had been drained dry, and her damaged primordial spirit, restoring them at an incredible speed.
In the space of just a few breaths, her injuries had largely healed, and her magic power had returned to its peak!
Holy Mother Wudang was completely stunned.
She examined herself inwardly, sensing the pure and domineering aura of Taiqing in her body. Her reverence for Xiruan reached a height it had never known before.
She could casually produce a Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir as a snack... There was no way she could explain this as her Master's incarnation!
Senior's true identity was probably ten thousand times more terrifying than she had imagined!
She had to be the embodiment of the Great Dao's will, sent to save the Interception Sect!
"How do you feel? Got your strength back?" Xiruan asked, pleased to see color returning to Holy Mother Wudang's face.
"Th-thank you for granting me the elixir, Senior!" Holy Mother Wudang once again bowed to Xiruan, prostrating herself on the ground.
"All right, all right, get up already." Xiruan waved a little hand, thinking that this old lady was far too polite.
After this little detour, the group finally picked up speed.
With Guanyin Bodhisattva leading the way, the three of them soon crossed the endless Chaos and arrived in a peaceful, radiant world filled with chanting and Buddhist hymns.
This was the Western Religious Sect's holy land—the Western Paradise.
"Wow!"
The moment she entered this world, Xiruan couldn't help but gasp in amazement.
The ground before her was paved with colored glaze, the roads were built of gold, and the palaces and pavilions in the distance were all made from the Seven Treasures. Under the glow of Buddha Light filling the sky, they shone with a dazzling brilliance.
The air was filled with sandalwood incense that calmed the mind. From time to time, auspicious cranes, peacocks, and other sacred birds flew overhead, singing profound Buddhist verses.
The whole world reeked of nouveau riche extravagance.
"S-so magnificent!" Little stars were already sparkling in Xiruan's eyes.
In her simple worldview, the prettier the house, the richer its owner.
"Pretty" wasn't enough to describe this place. It was practically a city piled high with gold and jewels!
"This village... is so rich!"
Her little mind raced.
A village this rich had to have squeezed its people dry!
They owed her Daddy so much money, and they'd even kidnapped Daddy's employees and made them work, yet they lived in such beautiful golden houses!
It was outrageous! Unforgivable!
"Baldy! Your family is so rich, yet you were just crying poor!" Xiruan turned and glared fiercely at Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Guanyin Bodhisattva's face couldn't have looked worse.
What could she say?
Should she tell her that all of this had been formed from merit and the Power of Faith, and wasn't made of mortal gold and jewels?
Would Xiruan even understand?!
"Hmph! I'll settle the score with you later!"
Xiruan couldn't be bothered with her. Her attention had already been caught by the tallest, grandest, most magnificent palace ahead.
That palace was the Great Thunderclap Temple on Spirit Mountain.
"Come on! Let's go check out that biggest golden house!"
Like a bandit chief about to rob a place, Xiruan charged straight toward the Great Thunderclap Monastery.
As soon as she got close, she caught a fragrance even more enticing than the 9000-Year Peaches.
Following the scent, she passed around the Great Thunderclap Monastery and came to the rear of the temple.
Then she saw a sight she would never forget.
There was an enormous pool, filled with immortal water that shimmered in seven colors.
At the center of the pool grew a gigantic golden lotus. It had twelve grades, and every petal bore mysterious Buddhist Runes, radiating a supreme majesty that could suppress the ages.
Many smaller lotuses floated around it—nine-grade, seven-grade, five-grade... Each vied for beauty, shining with brilliant light.
The enticing fragrance came from these lotuses.
Xiruan drooled despite herself.
"Wow! S-so many lotuses! They smell so good!"
Her money-loving nature fully awakened. She pointed at Jieyin Daoren's Twelve Grade Merit Golden Lotus, her eyes gleaming green.
"I'm gonna pull it out and take it home for Daddy to sleep on!"
Before you continue