Even so, compared with other Mountain God temples, this one was already in a league of its own.
Word spread from person to person, and worshippers from far and wide all knew that this immortal lord was incredibly responsive to prayers.
As long as you were devout enough, there was a chance he would answer you.
And so the incense at Lin Xiaoyao's temple burned ever more brightly.
Lin Xiaoyao was delighted to see it.
He'd discovered that the temple had three great benefits.
First, the merit from the incense offerings really could help him increase his magical power and recover his cultivation.
It was slow compared with checking in, though.
But even a mosquito's leg was meat, wasn't it?
He wasn't picky.
After all, the common folk offered the incense, and he didn't actually have to do anything. The merit that helped him improve his cultivation was practically free.
Second, the temples large and small throughout the cities, villages, and postal stations had, in a sense, taken the place of the phone he'd had in his previous life.
They let him watch the many shades of life with a smile, and understand the joys and sorrows of mortals. It was like reading novels or binge-watching shows.
And when he occasionally manifested to grant people's wishes, wasn't that a little like some rich guy tipping online in his previous life?
Anyway, Lin Xiaoyao thought it was pretty similar.
Besides, with so many temples, he'd gained countless eyes and ears. As long as he wanted, nothing happening within a radius of ten thousand li, no matter how trivial, could escape his notice.
All in all, being an immortal lord was pretty nice.
The third benefit was that he'd gained another identity he could use to show off.
Lin Xiaoyao planned to lie low in the sect and not emerge until he'd recovered his Saint cultivation.
Keeping a low profile was his guiding principle. Being a nobody was what he'd always wanted, too.
But then again, as a transmigrator, a life without showing off was clearly incomplete.
There was no way he could bear the boredom and truly wait until he'd recovered his Saint cultivation before going out to show off...
But Lin Xiaoyao didn't want to attract the attention of the big shots, either.
He needed to stay safe and keep his identity hidden.
So what was he supposed to do?
Simple.
Having come from the internet age, he'd long known the optimal solution.
Use an alternate identity.
There was a saying in the gaming world of his previous life: You never knew whether the teammate sitting on the other side of the screen was actually a dog.
That was why Lin Xiaoyao had gone to such lengths in the Feathering Sect to create the identity of a senior founding master who never showed himself.
Why go to all that trouble?
For one thing... to show off.
Showing off made him happy.
And now it was the same.
The temple had been an unexpected windfall.
But Lin Xiaoyao had realized he'd gained yet another identity.
And this one was even more useful, more discreet, and better suited to showing off.
That was the third benefit.
So Lin Xiaoyao had been very happy lately. He'd even found ways to pass the time without getting bored.
Every day he checked in, cleaned, connected to his divine statues to binge-watch shows, and when he was in a good mood, he'd send a tip... no, manifest to grant his believers' wishes.
It really did bring back some of the joy of using his phone in his previous life.
Life was just... blissful.
But happiness never lasted long.
How could the turbulent world of cultivation possibly remain calm forever?
Early one morning, the peace was broken.
Lin Xiaoyao, who liked to sleep until he woke naturally, was roused by a deep, ancient, and melodious bell.
"What's that?"
Lin Xiaoyao sat up, took a deep breath, and kept his anger at being woken so early under control.
After all, his strength was extraordinary now. If he really let that anger run wild, by the time he came to his senses, the Feathering Sect's main headquarters might already have been demolished.
Wouldn't he be devastated?
Where else could he find such a fine check-in spot where he could lie low in peace?
As he listened to the bell, Lin Xiaoyao's expression cleared.
The Feathering Bell wasn't rung lightly. Had an enemy arrived?
He furrowed his brow and silently released his divine sense.
It spread across the four directions.
In an instant, he took in every cultivator at the main headquarters, every movement, whether they were speaking loudly or whispering. Nothing escaped the reach of his divine sense.
Even the protective formations were useless.
No one could escape a Saint's notice.
"Mist Moon Immortal Palace?"
"Renowned across a hundred thousand li..."
"Long at odds with our sect."
"The young lord has arrived."
Lin Xiaoyao turned these few key phrases over in his mind.
Then a knowing look appeared on his face, and he sneered. "Looks like they really are up to no good."
Yet there wasn't the slightest trace of fear or unease on his face.
If anything, he seemed eager to see what would happen.
After all, things had been peaceful for so long. He could connect to Wi-Fi... ahem, use his divine statues to pass the time.
But even a phone from his previous life got boring if you used it too long, let alone this.
Lin Xiaoyao rolled his neck and chuckled to himself. "These people have come with bad intentions. Could they have delivered themselves to my door just so I can show off?"
That would be interesting.
Of course, despite what he'd said, he wasn't planning to act right away.
First, he'd go watch the show.
Then, at the crucial moment—preferably when things were hanging by a thread—he'd make his entrance and show off.
No, he couldn't make an entrance.
He had to keep being a nobody in the sect. He was just a little cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm.
He had to show off with finesse, while staying hidden in the shadows. No matter what, he couldn't let his persona as the mysterious big shot behind the scenes fall apart.
With that thought, Lin Xiaoyao was immediately in high spirits.
The sky seemed clear, the sun bright, and his irritation at being woken early disappeared.
He couldn't even be bothered to eat. He hurried off to watch the show.
After all, knowing yourself and your enemy meant you'd never lose a hundred battles. Showing off wasn't something you could just do whenever you felt like it. You had to seize the right moment to get the best effect.
"The sun shines bright overhead, the flowers smile at me. The little birds say, 'Good morning, morning, morning! Why are you so happy to show off...'"
Lin Xiaoyao hummed his rewritten lyrics as he hurried along.
While he was in an excellent mood, thinking that someone had come to deliver themselves to him on a silver platter, the higher-ups of the entire Feathering Sect were shrouded in gloom, their expressions grave.
The visitors had come with bad intentions!
The sect's big shots, of course, knew about the feud between their sect and the Mist Moon Immortal Palace.
They hadn't fallen out openly, but the other side's strength far surpassed their own. The young lord's visit might have been couched in polite language in the letter of introduction.
But none of them were fools. Who couldn't tell that this was a weasel paying a visit to the henhouse, with no good intentions at all?
But knowing that didn't help. The enemy was strong and they were weak. Even though they knew the visitors had come with bad intentions, they could only swallow their anger and welcome the delegation inside before things came to blows.
Along the way, they traded barbs.
They maintained a show of cordiality, but there had already been several verbal exchanges and probes.
Lin Xiaoyao mingled among the disciples, gazing toward the distant main hall with everyone else as he watched the commotion.
The only difference between him and the others was this:
At that moment, a pale-blue barrier shrouded the magnificent, timeworn building before them, blocking all probing divine senses.
So the senior and junior disciples around him could see only a blur, and couldn't hear a single word.
They could only huddle together and speculate. Their expressions were all rather anxious.
There was no such thing as a wall without cracks. Though they didn't know the details, they understood that the Mist Moon Immortal Palace was at odds with their sect. The visitors had most likely come with bad intentions.
Lin Xiaoyao wore the same expression as everyone else, but it was all an act.
The restrictions around the main hall could block other people's divine senses, but they had no effect on him at all.
At that moment, Lin Xiaoyao could see everything inside the hall clearly, and he didn't miss a single word of the conversation.
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