The road leading to Lanruo Temple was lined with many street vendors, including not just humans but also ghosts selling goods. Ning Caichen and Xiaoqian strolled leisurely as they made their way toward the temple.
"Husband, do you think this looks good on me?" Xiaoqian picked up a silver hairpin from a roadside stall and showed it to Ning Caichen.
A chill ran down Ning Caichen's spine. He was no longer the naive scholar he once was. Without hesitation, he replied, "It looks great! Xiaoqian, you're so beautiful—anything you wear will look good on you!"
Suddenly, he felt warmth spreading through his body. At that moment, Xiaoqing approached and saw the two browsing the market. She greeted them with a smile. "Xiaoqian! Senior Ning! Long time no see!"
Xiaoqian was delighted to see an old acquaintance. "Xiaoqing? What are you doing here? It's been three months already! This place has changed so much!"
For the past three months, Ning Caichen and Xiaoqian had stayed in the city without leaving. Though they had heard some news about this place, they hadn't come to see it for themselves.
"Of course! All thanks to that lord! Life is much better now, and Grandmother isn't as strict as before!" Xiaoqing said cheerfully.
"Oh, by the way, Grandmother keeps mentioning you! She thinks all these changes happened because of you, but since you never came back, she didn't dare to look for you. Now that you're here, she'll be so happy!"
Xiaoqian was confused. Why would Grandmother be thinking about her?
"Senior Ning! Come to Lanruo Temple with me! Hero Yan is there too!" Xiaoqing warmly invited them.
Hearing that both Grandmother and Hero Yan were at the temple, Ning Caichen hesitated for a moment before agreeing to go with Xiaoqing.
Before long, the three of them arrived at Lanruo Temple. Just as they reached the entrance, the door swung open from inside.
The tree demon Grandmother, her face glowing with joy, stepped out and greeted them enthusiastically. "Xiaoqian! You heartless girl! You left and didn't even come back to visit me! Do you have no conscience? Senior Ning, you're here too! Come in, come in, have a seat!"
Xiaoqian was so stunned that she didn't know how to respond. What was with this affectionate grandmotherly act? Wasn't she the one who had tried to kill them before? Why was she acting so differently now?
Ning Caichen, however, had a pretty good idea of what was going on. It was nothing more than Grandmother finding a better opportunity and gaining more benefits.
He shook his head but didn't say much—after all, people die for wealth, and birds die for food.
Xiaoqian turned to Grandmother and asked, "Grandmother, what happened? Why does Lanruo Temple look so different now?"
Grandmother didn't hide anything and explained everything.
"Xiaoqian! Don't you remember? The lord that Senior Ning brought here went to the underworld and wiped out Black Mountain! When he came back, he started talking to me about 'sustainable development' or something like that. After listening to him, I had an epiphany! Everything suddenly became clear to me!"
"He was right! If I keep killing ten people a day to absorb their energy and blood, fewer and fewer people will come here. And sooner or later, righteous cultivators would come to eliminate me. So now, I've started all kinds of trade and cooperation with humans, just as he suggested. That's how things turned out this way."
"Now, the roads connecting Lanruo Temple to nearby cities are patrolled by both us and human warriors. As long as people stay within this area, they can live peacefully without worrying about being harmed by demons or ghosts."
Xiaoqian was even more puzzled. Ghosts and demons rely on absorbing human energy and blood to cultivate. If they don't, their progress slows down significantly. And some of them can't even control their instincts—they need to harm people to grow stronger. After all, not everyone is like her husband, who nourishes her soul and body with his own spiritual energy.
Grandma, what about cultivation?
Hearing Xiao Qian's words, Grandma laughed even more happily.
"After listening to the master's advice, Lanruo Temple has started a lot of new business. Now, you only need a little bit of yang energy or blood! The back area has been transformed into Dream Pavilion. As long as you pay a little yang energy, your sisters can use Genjutsu to let you enjoy the experience directly! And it only takes two days to recover. It's really popular now, and you can even customize the illusions!"
Ning Caichen, already guessing some of it, couldn't help but think, "The group leader is really playing on another level!"
"There are also some high-yield crops left by the master. With magic, they mature in no time. We use the food to hire a large number of poor people for labor and also trade with the city's poor, collecting lots of yang energy and blood! You see, Grandma has not only fully recovered from the injuries caused by her transformation but has even advanced further in cultivation!"
Xiao Qian checked Grandma's condition and found that not only had her injuries healed, but her cultivation had indeed improved.
"If there are any stubborn demons, Yan Chixia and I will pay them a visit. If they refuse to repent, we'll just tie them up and bring them back for Yan Chixia's disciples to practice on!"
At this point, Xiao Qian didn't even know how to describe what was happening anymore.
But looking at the results alone, the people around them were living better lives, Grandma and the others had stopped harming people, and Master Yan had taken in many disciples. Everything seemed strangely harmonious.
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