Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 60 Shi Haisheng's Return

As night fell, darkness enveloped the Cloud Hidden Sect, and the enticing aroma of food wafted from the kitchen, dispelling some of the chill of the daytime when everyone had left and the tea had gone cold.

The four students, a senior and a junior, sat around a round table in the hall.

Chen Anran held her chopsticks, but seemed to have no appetite. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her gaze kept drifting to the dark night outside the window, as if she were preoccupied with something.

"Hey, junior brother!" Feng Xiaolu poked Chen Anran's arm with the other end of her chopsticks, chewing on a tender bamboo shoot, and mumbled, "You've been absent-minded since this afternoon, not even eating properly. What are you thinking about? Still pondering Master Shi Haisheng's matter?"

She swallowed her food, picked up the water glass beside her, took a sip, and continued, "If you ask me, could it be that we've made a mistake? Look at this past month, Master Shi Haisheng hasn't done anything out of line except for talking a bit more during meetings. He's always smiling at everyone, and even gave that troublesome disciple from Qingya Cave a couple of pointers. He's highly respected; maybe he simply admires our Yunyin Sect and is just helping out. Are we perhaps a little... um, what's that word again? Right, paranoia?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Qingyi paused slightly in her chopsticks, a hint of hesitation appearing on her face. "What Xiaolu said... though unpleasant to hear, makes some sense. After observing Master Shi Haisheng for over a month, his words and actions are indeed impeccable. If he truly harbored ill intentions, why did he remain inactive when our defenses were weakest within the sect? Instead, he facilitated an alliance and established what appears to be a fair set of rules for all parties."

She looked at Chen Anran, her tone reassuring: "Anran, perhaps we are just overthinking things. Now that the Righteous Alliance has just been established, and the Yunyin Sect has been preserved without being forcibly confiscated, it is already the best possible outcome."

Even the usually most wary Second Senior Sister began to waver, but Chen Anran's unease only intensified. He put down his chopsticks, shook his head, and said in a low voice, "Eldest Senior Sister, Second Senior Sister, Third Senior Sister, it's not that I'm deliberately insisting on dwelling on it. It's just... how do you explain the ghost flight?"

"The plane full of resentful Buddhist amulets, the eerie Buddha statue with blood flowing from its seven orifices, and the mournful questions of the departed souls—'Monk, why did you harm us?'—was all just a coincidence? Master Shi Haisheng was on the plane at the time. With his Foundation Establishment stage cultivation, if he truly wanted to resolve the matter, would he have allowed the evil spirits to run rampant, even leaving behind so many evil objects closely related to his Buddhist sect?"

The atmosphere in the hall, which had just eased, froze again.

Feng Xiaolu opened her mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back, her brows furrowing.

Wei Qingyi remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "This matter is indeed strange, and it is the only point of doubt that cannot be explained by 'good intentions'."

Su Wan sighed softly and finally spoke, "An Ran's worries are not without reason. That's why I didn't say anything when you asked Xiao Man to take Xiao Ling'er down the mountain."

As Su Wan finished speaking, only the occasional clinking of bowls and chopsticks remained in the hall.

The four ate their meal in silence, the previous relaxed feeling completely dispelled by Chen Anran's question. Feng Xiaolu also stopped chattering and ate her rice much more slowly, occasionally stealing glances at Chen Anran and then at Su Wan.

The meal ended in an almost dull silence.

"I'm full," Wei Qingyi said softly, putting down her chopsticks first.

"I'm all better now." Feng Xiaolu, unusually, didn't ask for a second bowl of rice.

Chen Anran and Su Wan also put down their chopsticks one after the other.

Without a word, Wei Qingyi and Feng Xiaolu got up and started clearing the dishes from the table. Chen Anran silently joined in. Just then, a gust of wind blew into the room, and the next second, Su Wan, Wei Qingyi, and Feng Xiaolu went limp, closed their eyes, and fainted, scattering dishes all over the floor.

"Senior sister?"

Before Chen Anran could react, a Buddhist chant rang out from outside the door.

"Amitabha."

Chen Anran's alarm bells rang, and he turned around abruptly. He saw Shi Haisheng, who should have left, standing quietly at the entrance of the hall. He was still wearing that red kasaya, but the usual compassionate smile was gone from his face. In its place was a deep calm, and his eyes were as deep as the sea.

"Master Shi?" Chen Anran suppressed the turmoil in her heart, moved slightly, and stood in front of her three unconscious senior sisters, her meager spiritual energy rapidly circulating within her. "You've returned, what is your purpose? What happened to my senior sisters?"

Shi Haisheng's gaze swept over Su Wan, Wei Qingyi, and Feng Xiaolu, who were lying on the ground, his eyes filled with lewdness.

"Young friend Chen, there's no need to be nervous. The three female benefactors are merely in a dream; I haven't harmed them in the slightest." He walked slowly into the hall, his footsteps silent. "Originally, I intended to proceed gradually, using cultivation resources to coerce them later."

Shi Haisheng stopped a few steps away, his gaze returning to his three senior sisters. His tone was tinged with regret, "It's a pity. After observing you for over a month, I've noticed that you seem completely indifferent to cultivation resources. No matter how fiercely the competition among the various factions rages, you always remain so calm and collected, as if your Yunyin Sect has its own resources and doesn't need to seek external help. This really makes it difficult for me to make any follow-up arrangements."

Chen Anran's face darkened. "What do you mean by that?"

Shi Haisheng suddenly revealed a crazed look, a wicked smile on his face, "Don't you know?"

Chen Anran remained silent, and Shi Haisheng immediately understood, realizing that Chen Anran truly knew nothing.

"Young friend Chen, you're guarding a treasure trove without realizing it! You're squandering such a golden opportunity!" Shi Haisheng's expression grew increasingly crazed. "Therefore, this opportunity is destined for this old monk!"

Chen Anran frowned even more as he looked at Shi Haisheng, who was acting like a madman.

Shi Haisheng's eyes were bloodshot, and a powerful spiritual force erupted from his body. "Fifty years ago, I learned this by chance from a scroll in my temple's scripture library."

"The female cultivators of the Cloud Hidden Sect practice the 'Ice Pure Jade Snow Technique.' Women who cultivate this technique are all perfect vessels for cultivation! As long as one cultivates with them, one's cultivation level will greatly increase! Furthermore, one can break through the shackles of cultivation!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Anran was shocked and finally understood why Shi Haisheng had gone to such lengths to get close to Yunyin Sect.

Shi Haisheng looked pleased with himself and didn't take Chen Anran seriously at all, so he didn't mind chatting with the dying man a few more times before "enjoying" the furnace.

"Before the spiritual energy was exhausted, female cultivators and righteous cultivators of the Yunyin Sect flocked to it, while demonic cultivators coveted it even more! Unfortunately, the Yunyin Sect has always been reclusive, with few disciples, and their members are of fierce character, preferring to die rather than surrender, causing this supreme cauldron to almost become a legend. Unexpectedly, at the end of this Dharma-ending Age, this old monk has encountered three of them! Hahahaha, it's fate! This is fate helping me, Shi Hai, to realize the great path!"