Xinzi's return came without fanfare. One large space vortex opened in the Liberation Temple's Lotus Hall, spreading spatial fluctuations that alerted the gals who, in Xinzi's absence, spent most of their time in secluded cultivation.
In the new Liberation Temple, the Lotus Hall acted as an amphitheater for Xinzi's Lianist lectures and a greeting hall for foreign emissaries.
Over 600 silver lotus seats alined in ordered rows and columns, separated by one white jade aisle lit up by luminous orbs.
A golden lotus platform hovered at the end of the amphitheater, dwarfing the 600 lotus seats with its epic proportions. Xinzi landed on that platform, laying on his right side in a casual pose.
"Ouin!"
"Master..."
"Abbot..."
"A'Xin..."
"Xinzi..."
"...is back."
Instantly, from the Mini Overlords to Xinzi's gals, all noticed the return of the temple's abbot and left seclusion—rushing towards the Lotus Hall. Some went in as fast as they could, others tried to play the poised card, restraining their speed to avoid looking hasty and desperate. Still, they all left without delay, breezing through sinuous roads to step into the Lotus Hall.
With the Mini Overlords to lead the way, Dong Ling was the first to arrive. A'Zhi, A'Zhu, Yan Le and the Li Initiates arrived a second later, followed by Chun Xu and Tusha. Zi Feng arrived last, almost as if trying to stay out of the way.
"Hi, my beautiful children, disciples and partners. Your abbot is back!" Xinzi said and beckoned at the gals—conjuring irresistible suction forces that caught them without warning. Starting with Dong Ling, they flew towards Xinzi, their lips locking on his for a succession of passionate smooches.
Only Tusha could have resisted the suction force, but as a cultured nun, she dared not misbehave. Surprised by Xinzi's brazen move, the girls stared dazed at him. Some, like Chun Xu, stroked their lips while others, like Dong Ling, licked theirs flippantly.
"Ouiiiin!" At first, the Mini-Overlords used the girls' daze to rush towards daddy dearest. But as soon as they approached Xinzi, their noses twitched. Tears filled their eyes, and they rushed back, flying circles as their cries pealed continuously.
"What's wrong with them? Besides sneaking into the reserves and eating all the dragon meat, they've behaved themselves like a lazy mom's dream babies. Why are they acting like this with you?" Zi Feng, only one to not have gotten her brain fried by Xinzi's smooches, looked back and forth between the Mini Overlords and their daddy.
Xinzi naturally didn't return without precautions, keeping the flabbergasting phenomena that the Heavenly Dao equipped him with on lockdown. But to cheat Zi Feng's Greater Soul, that wasn't enough. She couldn't put a name on it, but from the moment that Xinzi had returned, Zi Feng could feel anomalies concealed behind his smiling face.
And that face...
Alerted by Zi Feng's words, starting with Tusha, the Zhi-Zhu twins and Chun Xu, the girls studied Xinzi's looks—only now realizing the extreme physical changes that he'd gone through.
"Long story short, my elders wanted me to go through a little makeover. I tried to fight it, but as we all know, resisting our elders' will often leads to awkward and excruciating challenges. But that can't be the reason why they're acting a fool. Probably angry that I left them without toys." Following a random explanation that mixed truth and falsehood, Xinzi tapped his storage ring, ready to deflect the topic.
"Never mind, I come bearing gifts—mighty gifts, might I add."
As expected by Xinzi, his energy concealment failed to fool the Mini Overlords and Zi Feng, who could both sense the Heavenly Dao's presence in him. The Mini Overlords, specifically, had seen through everything a first glance, and if they could speak, would have sold Xinzi out.
And while Zi Feng had no understanding of Heaven's supreme treasure, her Greater Soul could help her study all the hints. To prevent the girls' thoughts from heading in the right direction, Xinzi had to keep them busy and fulfilled.
Colorful rays shot out of Xinzi's ring, setting a large panoply of gifts on the ground. Except for a couple of items, all gifts shone with a divine luster, convincing the onlooker of their unfathomable background. At that time, the Armored Lion King, Xin Zhong, Lord Hanxing and Guang Fanghu, entered the Lotus Hall—from a distance gawking at the items' shine.
"Master, what an impressive array of gifts."
"Impressive isn't enough. Star-Glazed Glass, Nine-Revolution Obsidian, Heavenly Crystal, Immortal and Divine Jade; all in piles weighing at least 30 kg each. Abbot, how did you get your hands on...all this?" One after the other, Zi Feng and Tusha assessed the gifts.
Through her spiritual sense, Zi Feng could feel the colossal energies stored in each gram of these items. So while she couldn't identify them, she knew that these weren't goods that should appear on the Eastern Continent.
Tusha had it worse. As a former upper realm expert, she had a strong understanding of these items.
Star-Glazed Glass and Nine-Revolution Obsidian were tools used in the craft of Divine Artifacts. Immortal Jade was the Celestial Paradise's mainstream currency as well as a cultivation resource, while Heavenly Crystal and Divine Jade carried raw quantities of Divine Power. The only difference between the two was that Heaven created the former whereas Gods refined the latter.
Heavenly Crystals and Divine Jades were currencies and cultivation resources unique to deities. The average stone weighed 0.2 mg. Xinzi had just put out 30 kg of each—meaning 150,000 Heavenly Crystals and the same number in Divine Jades.
Wealth-wise, these gifts were enough to buy several Great Desolation Worlds—all the Mortal realm, even. Rarity-wise, these were goods that even the God-Monarch of the Eternal Night Dynasty shouldn't have access to—at least not in such quantities.
Tusha didn't see herself as the brightest mind under the sun, but she wasn't stupid. For Xinzi to be able to get such grants from his "elders," he had to be more—much more—than the God-Monarch of a branch clan.
Chun Xu, Dong Ling and co. didn't understand how outrageous these gifts were, but judging from Tusha and Zi Feng's reactions, they started forming their own conjectures. Satisfied by the impact, Xinzi flashed a radiant smile. His eyes, like a cluster of sparkling gemstones, pulled their gazes in.
"What can I say? For you girls, there is no mountain that I'm not willing to climb—no tribulation that I dare not challenge. Even if my soul burns out, my heart will go on...and put my everything at your feet," Xinzi said in a gentle, relaxing voice.
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