Chapter 1
"Creak, creak..."
Deep in the mountains outside the bustling city, a majestic gate stands atop the mountain, with a tattered plaque hanging above it, swaying in the wind.
The plaque is inscribed with the three characters "Lingju Temple".
An elderly man with a full head of white hair descended from the sky with a calm and composed gait, glancing at the plaque out of the corner of his eye.
Instantly, the creaking sound stopped.
"Master, a strange phenomenon has suddenly appeared!"
Ye Zi walked out of the temple with a sword in her left hand and greeted the old man.
In the past, when extraordinary phenomena were about to occur, the master would always foresee them.
But this time, it happened without any warning!
The old man looked up at the sky and made a hand seal with his fingers.
The biting mountain wind stopped abruptly, and the surroundings became deathly silent. After a long while, the old man frowned slightly and slowly spoke: "It all started because of you!"
Ye Zi remained calm, only slightly tightening her grip on the sword before slowly loosening it.
"Deathly Calamity?" Ye Zi looked up at the sky above, her cold eyes revealing a hint of mockery.
The boundless tranquility completely concealed the scene of "blue flames burning white bones, dragons dying and phoenixes perishing, and souls vanishing."
On my coming-of-age day, such an unusual phenomenon is truly unlucky!
"A love tribulation..." But the divination revealed not a glimmer of hope.
The old man, who had a dignified and otherworldly air about him, now seemed to show signs of fatigue between his brows.
Ye Zi's eyes turned cold. Heaven really does love to play tricks on people!
How could she, at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, encounter a love tribulation that she would only face upon ascension?
"Little Yezi, you were born at the Foundation Establishment stage, possessing an innate immortal body. Your path to immortality should have been smooth, allowing you to ascend all the way. Yet, after 18 years, you are still only at the early Foundation Establishment stage. This is something your master cannot..."
Before the old man could finish speaking, his mouth was suddenly covered by his disciple, causing him to choke on his words.
Old man: "......"
Seeing that her master had stopped nagging, Ye Zi let go of his hand, looked down at the saliva on her hand, and calmly wiped it on her clothes.
Old man: "........."
"Master," Ye Zi said, pointing her sword at the boulder in front of the door, her tone teasing, "Master, your Dao heart is in turmoil."
"Cultivators defy the heavens, disregarding life and death!"
It is the sword intent left behind by the founding ancestor.
It is a life-or-death decision that disciples of Lingju Temple must make before entering the temple.
Old man: "......"
"What, you've only just come of age and you're already all grown up? You dare to use your ancestor to intimidate your master." The old man conjured a ruler out of thin air, raised it high as if to beat someone.
Suddenly, the spirit sword flew out, and Ye Zi teleported upwards, transforming into a long rainbow that soared into the sky.
"Disciple wouldn't dare!" A hint of a smile appeared in Ye Zi's eyes. She stopped on her sword, bowed deeply to the old man, left a sentence, and flew deeper into the mountains and forests.
"Master, there's no need to worry. It's just a tribulation of love; you'll overcome it soon enough!"
"That's enough." The old man waved his hand, put away the ruler, looked in the direction his disciple had left, and shook his head with a helpless smile.
Since the arrival of her junior brothers, the sometimes willful Xiao Yezi has become overly composed.
Ye Zi was born in a small mountain village. Her birth was accompanied by strange phenomena. Rare purple energy gathered above the rooftop for a long time. Her first cry was filled with spiritual energy, which attracted the village's livestock to run out of their pens and kneel down to worship the sky.
The village elders were ignorant and claimed that Ye Zi was an incarnation of misfortune.
Fearing misfortune, her biological parents abandoned the newborn Ye Zi in the deep mountains overnight.
Ye Zifei flew to the highest mountain and sat down on the edge of the cliff.
The spirit sword, without returning to its sheath, skillfully flew into the bottomless abyss to play. Ye Zi raised her eyes and looked out a thousand miles away.
My vision broadened, and my mind became clearer.
Ye Zi has been cultivating diligently for 18 years. His cultivation has not made any progress; on the contrary, he has made rapid progress. However, every time he tries to advance, he is suppressed by the Heavenly Dao and forced back to his original level.
This is the Heavenly Dao that controls all things! A cold smile flashed in Ye Zi's eyes.
If her master hadn't predicted that a celestial being would descend upon the small mountain village and arrived in time, she wouldn't have had those next 18 years.
Life and death are separated by a single moment; what is there to fear in death?
Lingju Temple has a rule: disciples can only go down the mountain to gain experience when they reach adulthood!
Ye Zi is eighteen years old and will be able to descend the mountain tomorrow.
Ye Zi took out her phone to check the trending topics. Her master had said that although they lived deep in the mountains, they still had to keep up with current events and understand market developments in order to adapt to the times.
Besides Ye Zi, Lingju Temple has three other junior brothers. The eldest junior brother is only 12 years old, the youngest junior brother is only 5 years old, and the youngest junior brother is not even 3 years old.
For the past 18 years, the master has been going down the mountain alone to earn money to raise his child. Just look at the dilapidated state of Lingju Temple to know how difficult it is to raise a child.
Ye Zi's primary task upon descending the mountain: to earn money to repair the temple!
The Taoist temple, which has been in disrepair for many years, is mostly in ruins except for the main hall, which is still intact. Some of the side halls have been collapsed and remain in ruins.
Ye Zi had checked urban prices online and found that the entire renovation of the Taoist temple would cost a considerable sum of money.
Money is very important in this era, and it is no exception for Ye Zi.
The thought of being short of money made Ye Zi's eyes flash sharply across the sky. Not only was there no coming-of-age ceremony on her birthday, but she also encountered a strange love tribulation.
This ill-fated love affair is better sold to raise money for incense offerings!
Love tribulation...exchange for money...
Ye Zi suddenly had a flash of inspiration and remembered that she had recently stumbled upon a very popular platform for substitute marriage.
Ye Zi opened the substitute marriage website, her fingertip tracing the incredibly handsome face at the top of the list, and then carefully checking the substitute marriage amount next to it.
I quickly scanned the bottom once and then returned.
The top spot is the top spot, it's valuable!
Ye Zi clicked to enlarge the photo of the top-ranked person again and sighed once more, "No wonder he's at the top!"
Luo Hengzhi's face... just by looking at it, you can tell she's destined for a tragic love affair!
The bride price is 2 million. We can renovate the main gate and the main hall first, which should be enough.
Ye Zi decisively clicked the group order button.
After uploading the required information, the other party sent a message asking me to go to the Li family's old residence in Qingyong City the next day to sign a substitute marriage contract in order to receive the substitute marriage payment.
Ye Zi was very satisfied with the money she had made, and a slight smile crept onto her lips.
Making money isn't that hard.
Unbeknownst to Ye Zi, after she clicked on the group-buying link, the entire online forum... exploded.
"The top-ranked member on the substitute bride website has another suicide bomber joining a group order! Come and see!!!"
"Anyone dares to challenge Luo Hengzhi? Are they not afraid of death? One person was killed in a car accident last night, and today, someone else dares to come again. In this day and age, people are practically lining up to die..."
"Two million, practically handed to you for free, who wouldn't want to strike it rich? You, you, you, none of you here want to?"
"Don't point at me, I don't want to, I'm afraid of dying."
"I didn't want to either. I already said it was windfall gains. Someone just died a violent death yesterday. Is money that you can live to take but not live to enjoy still money?"
"Speaking of which, aren't you curious whether any of the people involved in the previous incidents managed to touch that 2 million?"
"I'm curious, does the original poster have any inside information? Share it here, this seems like a very complicated situation."
"I'm still more curious about who this daredevil is??? So brave."
"Summary: So far, of all those who joined group buying with Luo Hengzhi, three are paralyzed, one is brain dead, and the other is completely dead."
Prediction: There's one more that's about to die completely.
"Prediction: This person probably didn't see today's news. Once they find out, they'll likely cancel the order. Just wait and see."
"Just cutting in line, I want to admire Luo Hengzhi's looks, *slurp*"
"Flirting with his face, flirting with his face"
"Bold prediction: This guy... will succeed, getting both the money and the person."
"Beauty and money are ultimately too tempting."
"A beauty? Luo is just a cripple."
"Luo is crippled, but there's still a rich and handsome guy upstairs. What's upstairs? A keyboard... hahaha."
......
When Ye Zi returned to the Taoist temple, her junior disciples had just finished cleaning the courtyard and were having tea with their master.
"Senior Sister, come quick! There's something interesting happening online." The junior brother stepped forward, grabbed Ye Zi's hand, and looked excited.
Ye Zi sat down, poured herself a cup of tea, and watched her junior brothers engrossed in their phones. She casually asked, "What's so interesting?"
"Senior Sister, do you know about the Substitute Marriage website? Someone just placed a group order and topped the list." The junior brother handed his phone to his senior sister.
Ye Zi: "......"
"Not afraid of death?" Are you referring to her?
Ye Zi took the phone, opened the trending topics, and saw that the discussion area was full of accident pictures. Anyone who had joined a group order with Luo Hengzhi was either dead or dead.
Ye Zi: "......."
"I wonder which greedy person dared to risk Luo Hengzhi. They're too reckless." The eldest disciple shook his head as he spoke. "The fact that the Luo and Li families could arrange a marriage and that Luo Hengzhi could be listed on the substitute marriage website already shows that the Luo family has abandoned Luo Hengzhi. That's why the Li family dares to trample on Luo Hengzhi. The price tag of 2 million is an insult to Luo Hengzhi from the Li family."
"Moreover, the Li family will keep the top spot on the substitute marriage website forever, and no one will be able to successfully place a group order, because the fate of everyone who places a group order has already been arranged."
Ye Zi: "........."
Ye Zi looked at her senior brother, who was speaking eloquently, with a blank expression, and suddenly praised him, "Hmm, very well said."
The junior disciple, rarely receiving affirmation from his senior sister, beamed with a wide smile and bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you, Master..."
Before her junior brother could finish thanking her, Ye Zi spoke again: "I did it all myself."
Upon hearing his senior sister's words, the junior disciple's bright smile froze on his face. He was unsure whether to laugh or cry next, his heart pounding with inner turmoil. His lips twitched, but he couldn't utter a sound.
Upon hearing Ye Zi's answer, the master spat out a mouthful of tea and looked at his usually composed eldest disciple with eyes full of shock.
Ye Zi also looked at her master and nodded calmly.
Just like you thought, it's a group purchase to marry someone else and overcome a love tribulation.
After confirming his disciple's meaning, the master simply wiped his mouth and calmly continued drinking his tea, as if his earlier lapse in composure had never occurred.
Seeing her master's reaction, Ye Zi knew that her master had tacitly approved.
Sure enough, her master approved of her way of making money!
"Senior Sister, why?" The junior brother walked to his senior sister's side and said with a sob in his voice, "The internet is saying that Luo Hengzhi is crippled and that he will bring bad luck to his parents and brothers."
"How can a cultivator follow the crowd blindly!" Ye Zi reprimanded coldly. "If your physiognomy skills are weak, double your studies!"
"Ah? Yes, Senior Sister." The junior brother obediently accepted the lesson and immediately admitted his mistake, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have spoken of my brother-in-law like that. My brother-in-law has a noble appearance and the ability to create the world."
Ye Zi thought of Luo Hengzhi's face and nodded consciously: "Yes, brother-in-law, very good!"
Master: "......" Uh, your disciple is working very hard to overcome this tribulation!
Junior brothers: "..." Senior sister is a husband-obsessed girl?! Got it!
"Senior Sister, having a brother-in-law is a great joy for the temple. Are we going to get some candy?" The little junior brother opened his big, watery eyes, and smacked his lips greedily at the thought of candy.
"Yes, there's candy." Ye Zi smiled as she thought of the 2 million, and raised her hand to wipe the drool from her little junior brother's mouth.
"Yay!" The little junior brother happily hugged his two senior brothers and cheered.
City center, Tianlong Pavilion villa area
Luo Hengzhi woke up with a start, covered in cold sweat, having had that dream again.
Recently, Luo Hengzhi has been plagued by nightmares every night, looking exhausted. Today, she wanted to lie down for a while, but she fell into a deep sleep and had that dream again.
In his dream, Luo Hengzhi's heart was ripped out by his beloved wife. Luo Hengzhi couldn't see his wife's appearance in the dream, but he knew that his wife in the dream was a cultivator.
In his dream, his beloved wife deliberately approached him and made him fall in love with her. Luo Hengzhi was even able to clearly recognize in his dream that he loved his wife very much.
After Luo Hengzhi died with his heart ripped out, he heard the cultivator say that only if he truly fell in love with the cultivator would his heart be useful to the cultivator, refined, and able to help the cultivator ascend to the realm of gods.
At first, Luo Hengzhi thought it was just an ordinary nightmare and didn't pay much attention to it, but having the same dream every day was unusual.
"Boss." There was a knock on the door from the outside.
Luo Hengzhi did not respond, and the person outside the door remained there.
Luo Hengzhi changed out of her soaked clothes before slowly getting up, skillfully moving herself into her wheelchair, and calling for someone to come in.
"Boss." The person who came in was Luo Yi, who had appeared beside Luo Hengzhi ten years ago. Luo Yi was both close to Luo Hengzhi and respectful. "Someone else is joining a group order."
Luo Hengzhi had said that we should just keep an eye on the online substitute marriage thing, and since Luo Yi came to report it specifically, it means that the person who joined this group order is unusual.
Luo Hengzhi tapped the wheelchair with her fingertip, signaling to continue.
"This time, I think... it will work." Luo Yi's tone was a little guilty. He subconsciously looked up at Luo Yunheng. Seeing that Luo Yunheng's expression was normal, he continued, "This time, the people joining the group are from Wuming Mountain and Lingju Temple."
"A Taoist nun?" This identity is indeed unusual. Luo Hengzhi revealed a sneer. The Li family only spent 2 million, yet they could attract even a nun.
“I’m afraid she’s not…an ordinary Daoist nun.” Luo Yi added, afraid that he hadn’t explained clearly, “The Yunqing Zhenren who appeared at the Huo family half a year ago was very likely also from Wuming Mountain.”
Upon hearing the name of Master Yunqing, Luo Hengzhi's expression changed drastically, and the image of the cultivator from her dream appeared in her mind.
Master Yunqing only appeared once, but that appearance shook the entire Qingyong City.
Six months ago, at the Huo family funeral, Master Yunqing performed a life-saving technique in full view of everyone, bringing Huo Zhongkui, the head of the Huo family, back to life from his coffin.
After this incident, everyone knew of Master Yunqing.
Reversing life and death—this isn't some ordinary charlatan, this is a god descending to earth!
During that period, the Huo family's residence was bustling with visitors, all eager to take the opportunity to make their mark and get to know Master Yunqing.
Luo Hengzhi also visited Huo Zhongkui, hoping to find a good remedy for his leg injury.
However, they were told that Master Yunqing usually used incarnations to enter the world, and ordinary people would find it very difficult to find him unless he appeared on his own.
They were also told that the reason the real person appeared in the Huo family was due to ancestral karma.
"Nameless Mountain, Lingju Temple." Luo Hengzhi's gaze was deep and cold as he looked at Luo Yi. "Are you sure?"
Luo felt a chill and quickly stepped forward, handing over a document: "This is the information filled out by the person who joined the group purchase."
"In the past six months, our people have secretly followed two Taoist priests who were exceptionally skilled, but they both disappeared at the foot of Wuming Mountain. I think they are very likely incarnations of Master Yunqing."
“These were all just guesses, because we didn’t have any evidence, so we didn’t dare report them to the boss.” Luo Yi explained cautiously, “Until I saw the nameless Lingju Temple that the person who placed the group order filled in. I’ve never heard of any Taoist temple on the nameless mountain, and no one who has been up the mountain has ever seen it. It can’t be found on the map either.”
Luo Hengzhi stared at the short document, reading it over and over again for a long time: "Tell me first, how... did they disappear?"
“Our men followed him closely, keeping a distance to avoid disturbing him, but they all witnessed it with their own eyes. The man disappeared mysteriously when he reached the foot of the nameless mountain.” Luo Yi handed over another video. “The first time, the brothers thought it was just their eyes playing tricks on them, or that the trees were blocking the view.”
"This was the most recent surveillance. After zooming in and processing the video, it was confirmed that he simply vanished into thin air," Luo Yi stated calmly.
After watching the video, Luo Hengzhi leaned back in her wheelchair, closed her eyes, and looked somewhat tired.
He had read in ancient books that some deep mountains were inhabited by immortals. When ordinary people entered, the path would automatically change, and ordinary people would never be able to find or see the immortals' dwelling place.
Luo Hengzhi processed her emotions. Could the cultivators who had appeared in her dreams recently be related to this Ye Zi?
Just thinking about it made Luo Hengzhi's heart ache. The pain of having her heart ripped out in her dream was too real, as if she had experienced it many times before.
Unexpectedly, the Master Yunqing, whom he had been searching for for half a year, could not cure his leg, but could take his life.
Luo Hengzhi suddenly sneered, rubbed his leg, and thought about how ridiculous his life was.
"Boss." Luo couldn't understand why his boss was suddenly laughing, but he sensed that something was wrong with his boss's mood.
"Tonight, please have Master Qiu from Yonghe Temple go to Wuming Mountain and see if there are any formations there." Luo Hengzhi pinched the bridge of his nose and waved for Luo Yi to leave.
"Yes, boss." Luo Yi immediately took out his phone to make the call.
Luo Hengzhi looked at the documents in her hand again. They were too short to understand anything. She looked up and found Luo Yi was still there: "Is there anything else?"
Luo Yi had just finished sending the message and asked someone to invite Master Qiu.
"Boss, you haven't mentioned the group-buying people... no, tomorrow, what about the Li family? Shouldn't we do something about this?" The Li family dared to insult their boss; Luo had wanted to take action for a while now.
Luo Hengzhi knew perfectly well that Luo Yi and the others had long wanted to take action against the Li family, but they weren't in a hurry.
What Luo Hengzhi is more curious about now is whether the prerequisite for a cultivator to extract a heart is that the cultivator must fall in love with the cultivator.
But what if he doesn't love you?
Can cultivators still ascend to immortality?
What happens to cultivators who, despite their best efforts, cannot ascend to immortality?
Luo Hengzhi's gaze was calm and deep. Thinking about it this way, things finally became a little more interesting.
tomorrow.
Wait for tomorrow!
As Luo Hengzhi's fingertips traced the name Ye Zi on the document, he found himself impatient to meet his soon-to-be "beloved wife."
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