Li Yingling's cultivation was not weak, but her foundational knowledge of immortal cultivation was rather lacking.
It wasn't that Chu Xingchen hadn't tried to guide her—he had tossed some basic textbooks her way for self-study.
However, Li Yingling seemed completely uninterested in those purely educational books.
After all, those books were nothing more than dry tutorials, far less entertaining than the cultivation novels she enjoyed.
Moreover, the book was incredibly thick, with the monster classification index alone taking up four or five pages, not to mention the rest of the content.
After flipping through it for two days, Li Yingling decided it was useless and promptly left it to gather dust.
Chu Xingchen didn't force her to finish it either.
After all, cultivation was something you naturally picked up as you practiced.
So, at this moment, Li Yingling had no idea what "wish power" was, but she noticed the slightly disdainful expressions on her master and junior brother's faces.
If both her master and junior brother were disdainful of it, it couldn't be anything good.
But Yaoqin had specifically come to see it, which clearly meant it wasn't so simple.
Chu Xingchen glanced at his disciple's somewhat confused expression, sighed, and gave her a casual explanation.
"You can think of it as a counterfeit cultivation pill. Once you stop using it, your cultivation will plummet."
Li Yingling suddenly understood.
Yaoqin shook her head slightly and said, "If it were just that, I wouldn't have come. But this Zen Forest Dharma Assembly seems to be an experiment—they've apparently discovered other uses for wish power."
Chu Xingchen chimed in, "My guess? They're probably trying to infuse wish power into magical artifacts."
After a moment of thought, Li Xingtian offered his own idea:
"Even if they can infuse wish power into artifacts, it wouldn't provide much of a boost. It would be better to capture a spirit beast, feed it wish power, and use it as a guard."
Li Yingling, not caring about the details, just wanted to see the excitement and quickly said,
"Why don't we just go and see? I heard this year's funding is the highest ever—they can even put the spirit plaque on the Zen Forest abbot's head!"
Chu Xingchen was shocked. "What the hell? How shameless is this abbot? How much money did they spend?"
"This time, it's spirit stones," Yaoqin said, hiding the lower half of her face with a fan, though her voice couldn't hide her amusement. "Apparently, the spirit plaque is huge this year—it'll be very noticeable."
"..." Li Xingtian was also speechless. In his past life, he had never encountered such shameless behavior.
How did he end up surrounded by so many shameless people after following his master?
Is there really something to the saying "bad company corrupts good character"?
If Chu Xingchen knew his second disciple was thinking such things about him, he would definitely give the rebellious disciple a lesson in respecting one's master.
Compared to the debate over how wish power should be used, watching the Zen Forest abbot make a fool of himself was far more entertaining.
The four of them quickly reached a consensus and headed toward the Zen Forest Temple together.
Although the temple fair was crowded, Yaoqin's Golden Core-level techniques cleared the way, and they moved through the throngs without issue.
Li Yingling seemed to genuinely enjoy such lively gatherings, her face lit up with joy as she looked around.
Along the way, she bought quite a few things she liked.
A small pouch embroidered with lotus flowers, a hairpin with a peculiar design.
She even bought four masks.
Li Yingling wore a little fox mask herself.
She gave Yaoqin a cute little white rabbit mask.
For her master, she picked a monkey mask.
And for her junior brother, she chose a pig mask.
Yaoqin examined the mask. Though the craftsmanship wasn't great, it looked quite cute at a glance. Without much thought, she graciously put it on.
Chu Xingchen, looking at the monkey mask, frowned and said,
"No way! The fox is cuter. I want the fox."
Li Yingling burst out laughing and quickly put the fox mask on herself:
"No! Master, you're as clever as a monkey—you should wear the monkey mask."
Li Xingtian looked at the pig mask in his hands, then turned to his master and said,
"Master..."
Chu Xingchen glanced at his second disciple's mask and immediately refused:
"No way! I'm not swapping with you."
Li Yingling turned around, her eyes brimming with joy as she looked at the other three.
Her master reluctantly put on the monkey mask.
Her junior brother, at the master's insistence, also reluctantly wore the pig mask.
Even though Yaoqin's face was hidden behind the cute rabbit mask, her cool, aloof aura remained undiminished.
But it was clear she was also amused, watching the other two put on their masks so unwillingly.
Seeing this scene, Li Yingling felt an inexplicable urge to shout something.
Perhaps it was because she had never been to such a lively temple fair before, or perhaps it was because she had only felt this kind of warmth from others in this sect.
She shouted out:
"Master!"
Chu Xingchen glanced at his eldest disciple, who was wearing the fox mask. Her voice seemed to tremble slightly, so he asked curiously:
"What is it?"
Li Yingling laughed and replied:
"Master and I are the best in the world!"
Chu Xingchen replied in a very perfunctory tone:
"Sure, sure, master and you are the best in the world too."
Li Yingling, satisfied, turned back around.
Li Xingtian felt a bit helpless. In a sect of only three people, if the two of them were the best in the world, did that make him redundant?
Chu Xingchen, of course, wouldn't neglect his second disciple, so he patted his shoulder with a mix of frustration and affection:
"Originally, you and I were the best in the world, but since you didn't report this earlier, you've been demoted to second place."
Li Xingtian inwardly complained but still put on a grateful face: "Thank you, master. Second place is enough."
"Good. Since you have no ambition, you've dropped another rank. Now, Big Yellow is above you."
Li Yingling, confused, asked, "Big Yellow? That sounds like a dog's name."
Chu Xingchen confirmed, "Exactly. Your junior brother is now ranked below the dog."
Li Xingtian didn't react much. His master's way of speaking was always a bit odd, but he knew his master had a sharp tongue and a soft heart.
However, Yaoqin's gaze from behind the rabbit mask turned icy.
If the dog was second, and Li Xingtian was third, where did that leave her?
Had all her help been for the dog?
Chu Xingchen suddenly felt a sense of impending doom. His spirit stones were still in the hands of this wealthy woman, so he quickly said:
"You and I are the best in the heavens."
Yaoqin nodded in satisfaction, though she refused to soften her tone:
"You're only my two-hundredth best in the world."
Hearing her master's quick response, Li Yingling gave him a thumbs up!
As expected of her master—she still had a lot to learn!
Li Yingling walked up to Chu Xingchen and whispered with a laugh, "Master, you're the most shameless in the world!"
Chu Xingchen whispered back, "It's not shamelessness—it's wisdom! She's holding the spirit stones for our entire sect!"
Li Yingling nodded in agreement, though her laughter behind the mask didn't stop.
Rebellious disciple! She was absolutely a rebellious disciple!
After the mask incident, the four of them continued toward the Zen Forest Temple, laughing and chatting along the way.
The road was lined not only with vendors but also performers like acrobats and storytellers.
Li Yingling's eyes sparkled with curiosity as she watched the acrobats.
She especially loved the fire-breathing act, clapping enthusiastically at their stall.
Chu Xingchen, meanwhile, could only sigh in exasperation.
Although Li Yingling was at the Foundation Establishment stage and possessed a single water-element spiritual root, her mastery of the Five Elements allowed her to manipulate fire as well.
If Li Yingling were to step forward and breathe fire, it would undoubtedly be far more impressive than any street performer.
Perhaps it was just a fleeting novelty to watch.
The Zen Forest Temple had eight grand gates, each of them enormous.
With Yaoqin's assistance, Chu Xingchen and the others easily squeezed through the temple gates.
Li Yingling raised her gaze toward the center of the temple, her expression one of astonishment. She seemed to sigh as she apologized:
"Master, I spoke too soon. The title of 'Most Shameless in the World' must belong to him..."