Chapter 239: That’s Right! Wait for the Old Ancestor!

The Great Joy Temple is located in a remote corner of northern Fozhou.

The common people of the dynasties in this region were not considered too poor, but they were certainly not wealthy either.

The Great Joy Temple dominated the area, sweeping aside all nearby cultivation Sects and controlling a total of six mortal dynasties in this region.

The six mortal dynasties were left with no choice but to revere the Great Joy Temple as their state religion.

It could be said that within a ten-thousand-mile radius of the Great Joy Temple, they were the absolute overlords.

The place Lin Xun arrived at was the main temple of the Great Joy Temple.

In addition, the Great Joy Temple had various subordinate temples, large and small, throughout the ten thousand miles under its control.

The monks in these various temples were all Outer Sect Disciples of the Great Joy Temple.

The monks of the Great Joy Temple would select certain wishes of the believers to fulfill, thereby building a reputation. They would then have those whose wishes were granted spread the word, encouraging more people to go to the Great Joy Temple to worship Buddha.

The most ironic part was that the Great Joy Temple even claimed to be ‘the most effective for praying for children,’ which attracted many women to come and offer worship.

The monks of the Great Joy Temple would take these women into a separate room, claiming it was for a ‘private ritual’ or to ‘pray for her individually.’

As for what kind of ‘ritual’ was actually being performed, one didn’t even need to think to know.

After the ‘ritual’ was over, the monks of the Great Joy Temple would tell the woman’s husband that these few days were the best time and not to miss the opportunity.

In the end, the wife would indeed become pregnant, but as for who the father was, that remained unclear.

Initially, many chaste women returned home and, once the Soul-Confusing Incense and Soul-Confusing Technique applied by those monks wore off, felt they had betrayed their husbands and took their own lives.

The husbands would go to the Great Joy Temple in a rage to demand justice, but the outcome was predictable.

Not a single one of those men who went to demand justice ever returned alive.

Later, after ‘performing the ritual’ on a woman, the monks of the Great Joy Temple would simply tell her, ‘If you dare to take your own life, your husband’s life will not be spared either.’

Left with no choice, many women lived with the guilt they felt toward their husbands, some spending their lives in resentment, while others died of grief.

Every year, these small temples of the Great Joy Temple would also select the most beautiful local virgins and offer them to the main temple under the guise of ‘offering them to our god.’

If this was how they treated mortal women, it was even worse for Cultivators; countless female Cultivators fell victim to their foul hands.

Many Cultivators came seeking revenge, but what did it matter if you wiped out a small subordinate temple?

As long as the Great Joy Temple existed, they could have as many of these small temples as they wanted.

Furthermore, the Great Joy Temple’s strength was indeed formidable. For some Sects seeking revenge, they would even take the initiative to attack, claiming to ‘avenge’ their subordinate temples.

The male Disciples of these Sects would all be eliminated, and the female Cultivators would all be tied up and taken back to the main temple.

Before long, even if their Disciples were seized by the Great Joy Temple, these Sects would swallow their anger and endure in silence. This only resulted in the Great Joy Temple becoming even more lawless.

As for the dynasties controlled by the Great Joy Temple, that goes without saying.

Basically, the concubines and queens of those emperors, and even the princesses—as long as they had some beauty—all fell victim to them.

The Great Joy Temple even dispatched so-called Immortal-Seeking Monks to these five dynasties.

Any woman with the skeletal structure for cultivation would be taken to the Great Joy Temple.

Under these circumstances, the Great Joy Temple became even more arrogant, even planning in the Heiwu Secret Realm to capture the Zilin Saintess and others to use as Cauldrons!

After the Great Joy Temple’s plan in the Heiwu Secret Realm failed, it triggered a genuine siege by many Cultivators, and countless small temples of the Great Joy Temple were targeted for revenge.

If a Disciple of the Great Joy Temple dared to descend the mountain, they were killed.

However, these Cultivators did not dare to go to the main temple of the Great Joy Temple.

For no other reason than that even when the four Sects, including the Zilin Holy Land, wanted to crusade against the Great Joy Temple, they had to plan repeatedly and even prepare for countless sacrifices.

For these Cultivators to seek revenge at the main temple of the Great Joy Temple was nothing more than seeking death.

So, even if countless subordinate temples were destroyed, they were not worried at all. They could just recruit more Outer Sect Disciples and rebuild the subordinate temples.

In the eyes of the Great Joy Temple, as long as their main temple in this mountain range remained, once these Cultivators left, they could still take root everywhere.

“How is the situation lately? Are those Cultivators still wandering around our territory?”

Inside the main hall of the Great Joy Temple, the Abbot of the Great Joy Temple, Wanghuan, stroked the slender waist of the woman beside him while sipping the tea she served.

This woman was a direct Disciple of a small Sect. After her Sect was destroyed, she too was captured and brought up the mountain.

“There are still many Cultivators who aren’t afraid to die, but compared to the beginning, there are far fewer people,” an Elder nodded.

Another Enshrined Elder of the Great Joy Temple smiled wickedly and said, “In a couple of days, we should take the initiative to attack. We’ll kill all the men and tie up all the women. Those female Cultivators are hard to come by.”

The Second Elder of the Great Joy Temple, Wangshen, shook his head. “Don’t think about that for now. I’ve heard that the four Sects—Zilin Holy Land, Tianji City, Medicine King Valley, and Bodhi Holy Land—are watching us like hawks. It’s better not to stir up trouble lately.”

“The Zilin Holy Land and those other Sects coming for revenge? Hahaha.”

An Elder with the dharma name Wangchi laughed loudly.

“In the Heiwu Secret Realm, we lost nearly half of our Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators and two Yupu Realm Elders. Their Saintess was fine, wasn’t she? Isn’t that enough? Besides, to attack our Great Joy Temple, they have to be prepared for people to die—lots of people!”

“Indeed,” an Elder with the dharma name Wangnian spoke up. “If we had succeeded, it would be understandable if they charged in regardless of their lives. But since their Saintess is safe and sound, it’s unlikely they’ll fight us to the death.”

“Jie jie jie jie jie…”

An evil monk named Wangjie let out a laugh.

“If we had succeeded, and if the Old Ancestor could have used Jiang Qingshang and the others as Cauldrons, he would surely have achieved Ascension! With our Joyous Grand Formation and the Immortal Weapon, the demon subduing pestle, anyone who comes will just be walking into a trap.”

“Hahaha, that’s true. It’s a pity. The Old Ancestor is currently at the half-step Ascension stage; otherwise, if that Jiang Yuerou came, he could definitely capture her!”

“Tsk tsk tsk,” an evil monk licked his lips. “That Jiang Yuerou was already the number one beauty under heaven, and now she has even more mature charm. If we could have both master and Disciple serve us together, I’d be willing to die for it.”

“Hahahaha, alright, stop dreaming. Once the Old Ancestor attains Ascension, we’ll try again to capture those high-and-mighty Saintesses!”

“Wait for the Old Ancestor!”

“That’s right! Wait for the Old Ancestor!”

Everyone raised their wine glasses and toasted toward a distant mountain peak; that was the place where the Huanxi Sect’s Old Ancestor was in secluded cultivation.

Boom!

Just as they were about to drain their wine, a sudden, loud explosion echoed through the mountain peaks.

The wine glasses were shattered by the shockwave, and wine splashed all over their faces.