This is a Gift Delivered to My Doorstep

Even so, compared to other mountain god temples, this one was already in a league of its own.

Word of mouth spread, and pilgrims from near and far all knew that this deity was incredibly responsive.

As long as you were pious enough, there was a chance you would receive a response.

Consequently, the incense at Lin Xiaoyao's temple became even more prosperous.

Lin Xiaoyao was happy to see this.

Because he discovered that this temple had three benefits.

First, the incense and merit could indeed help him increase his magic power and restore his cultivation.

Although the speed was very slow compared to checking in.

But even a mosquito's leg is meat, right?

He wasn't picky.

After all, since the commoners provided the incense, he didn't actually have to do anything; this merit for increasing his cultivation was essentially free.

Second, these temples, large and small, scattered throughout the towns and villages, acted as a substitute for the mobile phone from his previous life in a certain sense.

They allowed him to observe the various states of life with a smile, understanding the joys and sorrows of mortals, which was equivalent to reading novels or binge-watching shows.

As for occasionally manifesting to grant people's wishes, wasn't that somewhat similar to a wealthy fan tipping a streamer in his past life?

In short, Lin Xiaoyao thought it was quite similar.

Moreover, because there were so many temples, it was equivalent to him having countless eyes and ears; as long as he wished, nothing within a radius of ten thousand miles could escape his gaze if he wanted to know about it.

In short, being a deity was quite good.

As for the third point, it was that he had gained another alias, which allowed him to show off.

Lin Xiaoyao was prepared to lay low within the sect and would never emerge until he had restored his Saint-level cultivation.

Keeping a low profile was his guiding principle, and being an invisible background character was what he had always hoped for.

But then again, as a transmigrator, a life without showing off was clearly incomplete.

He couldn't endure the loneliness and wait until he had truly restored his Saint-level cultivation before going out to show off...

Yet, Lin Xiaoyao didn't want to attract the attention of big shots.

He needed safety and to keep his identity hidden.

So what to do?

It was simple.

Coming from the internet age, he had long known the optimal solution.

Wear a mask.

There was a saying in the gaming world of his past life: you never know if the teammate sitting on the other side of the screen is actually a dog.

That was why Lin Xiaoyao had gone to such great lengths within the Feathering Sect to create the persona of a senior ancestor who was unwilling to reveal himself.

Why go to such great effort?

It was just two words... showing off.

Showing off makes me happy.

The situation before him was the same.

Although this temple was an unexpected gain.

Lin Xiaoyao discovered that he had gained another layer of disguise.

And this disguise was even more useful, more covert, and easier to show off with.

This was the third benefit.

Therefore, during this period, Lin Xiaoyao had been living very happily, and passing the time was no longer boring.

Checking in every day, cleaning, connecting to the statues to watch shows, and if he was in a good mood, giving a tip... no, manifesting to grant the believers' wishes.

It really had a bit of the joy of playing with a mobile phone in his past life.

This life was... simply wonderful.

However, happiness is always fleeting.

How could the treacherous and unpredictable world of cultivation remain calm forever?

Early this morning, the peace was broken.

Lin Xiaoyao, who always liked to sleep until he woke up naturally, was awakened by a burst of ancient and melodious bell chimes.

"What is this?"

Lin Xiaoyao sat up, took a deep breath, and controlled the resentment of being woken up early in the morning.

After all, his current strength was extraordinary; if he really let this resentment run wild, he feared that by the time he came to his senses, the main headquarters of the Feathering Sect would have already been demolished.

Wouldn't he be crying his eyes out if that happened?

Where else could he find such a perfect place to quietly lay low and sign in?

Listening to the tolling of the bell, Lin Xiaoyao's expression cleared.

The Feathering Bell did not ring easily; could an external enemy have arrived?

He frowned, silently extending his divine sense outward.

It blanketed the entire area.

In an instant, every movement of every cultivator within the main sect—whether they were speaking loudly or whispering—was captured by his divine sense, down to the smallest detail.

Even the protection of the formations was useless.

No one could escape the eyes and ears of a Saint.

"Mist Moon Immortal Palace?"

"Dominating a hundred thousand miles..."

"They have long-standing grievances with our sect."

"The Young Master is visiting."

Lin Xiaoyao chewed on these keywords.

A playful look appeared on his face, and he sneered, "It seems these visitors are truly not here with good intentions."

However, there was not a hint of fear or anxiety on his face.

On the contrary, he felt a bit eager.

After all, he had been peaceful for so long. Although he could connect to Wi-Fi—bah, he meant his own statue—to pass the time, even a smartphone from his past life would get boring after a while, let alone that object.

Lin Xiaoyao cracked his neck and chuckled to himself, "This group is here with ill intent. Could it be they've delivered themselves to my doorstep just so I can show off?"

That would be truly interesting.

Of course, despite his thoughts, he didn't intend to act immediately.

He would go watch the show first.

He would wait for the critical moment, preferably at the very last second, before jumping out to steal the spotlight.

No, wait. He couldn't jump out.

He had to continue being a nobody in the sect; he was merely a small cultivator at the Qi Refining stage.

This act had to be performed brilliantly, and he had to remain in the shadows. No matter what, the persona of the mastermind behind the scenes could not be broken.

Thinking this, Lin Xiaoyao became instantly spirited.

He felt the sky was clear and the sun was shining; the resentment of being woken up early in the morning had vanished.

He didn't even bother to eat, trotting off happily to watch the spectacle.

After all, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory. You couldn't just show off whenever you wanted; you had to seize the right moment to achieve the best effect.

"The sun is shining bright, the flowers smile at me, the little bird says, 'Early, early, early, why are you in such a good mood to show off...'"

Lin Xiaoyao hummed his modified lyrics while walking briskly forward.

Unlike his excellent mood—feeling as if someone had come to deliver their heads on a platter—the high-ranking members of the Feathering Sect were gloomy and grave.

The visitors were not here with good intentions!

The various elders were, of course, aware of the feud between their sect and the Mist Moon Immortal Palace.

Although they hadn't openly torn off the mask of civility, the opponent's strength was far beyond their own. Now that the Young Master had arrived, even though the visiting card was written with polite words, no one was a fool. Everyone knew this was like a weasel paying respects to a chicken—it was nothing but trouble!

Yet, knowing it didn't help. The enemy was strong and they were weak. Even though they knew the visitors were malicious, before the situation turned hostile, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and welcome the party inside.

The journey was filled with sharp, biting words.

On the surface, it was all harmony, but they had already exchanged several probing verbal blows.

Lin Xiaoyao mingled among the disciples, looking toward the distant main hall to watch the excitement just like everyone else.

However, unlike the others, the magnificent and ancient building directly in front of him was shrouded in a pale blue light barrier that blocked all divine sense.

Therefore, the fellow disciples around him could only see a blur, and their ears caught not a single word.

Consequently, everyone could only whisper and guess, their expressions filled with anxiety.

There is no such thing as an airtight wall. Although they didn't know the details, they understood that the Mist Moon Immortal Palace was at odds with their sect, and this visit was likely ill-intentioned.

While Lin Xiaoyao's expression matched theirs, it was all just a performance.

The restrictions around the main hall might have been able to block the divine sense of others, but to him, they had no effect at all.

At this moment, Lin Xiaoyao could see everything in the hall clearly, and not a single word of their conversation escaped him.