"Oh the screams, what is going on inside those clouds?"
"You don't want to know."
"But I do, that's why I ask."
"Junior sister, I said you don't want to know. Why are you probing so hard? A'Zhi, A'Zhu, does she want to know?"
"Probably not."
"Yan Le, does she want to know?"
"Highly unlikely."
"Former sect master..."
"NO!"
"See? Everyone here agrees that you don't want to know, so stop trying to see through the nightmares that these colorful clouds have spared you from."
"Mhm...okay. I really don't want to know." As Xinzi waited for his Lianist Law to wring out the last sparks of mental fortitude the Green-Hat Farmers had to offer, Dong Ling and Chun Xu went back and forth, with the Zhi-Zhu twins and Yan Le chiming in occasionally.
Xinzi stood before the colorful clouds, his eyes shut tight, and his lips curled into a smirk. Our monk focused more on the chit-chatting between his girls than the Green-Leaf Farmers he concealed in the colorful clouds—never missing one bit of interaction.
At that time, the Green-Hat Farmers turned pale, more and they'd die from exhaustion. Xinzi chanted a Lianist mantra, dispelling his own Law. His eyes opened wide, releasing two streams of Klesha Haze that poured through the colorful clouds, converting the 5,000 men into Xinzi's loyal minions.
"A'Sha, heal them please," Xinzi who didn't want to waste his energy on 5,000 men, coaxed Tusha into doing it for him. With her sixth-order Blood Energy that stood infinitely close to the seventh order, Tusha could easily handle the issue.
More used to inducing dread than terms of endearment, the Infernal Nun's brain temporarily fried at Xinzi's words. Three seconds afterward, she regained her composure, surprised to see Dong Ling staring at her with dagger eyes.
"Hum, hum! At once, abbot!" Tusha said, and with one step, appeared beside Xinzi—aiming one finger at the colorful clouds. Her Blood Energy unfurled, pouring into the comatose farmers and mending their wounds.
"Mhm, talking about the abbot thing, since A'Xin has been kicked out of the Clear Heart Monastery, and his ordinance torn to shred, doesn't that mean that he longer has the qualifications to call himself 'abbot?'" Dong Ling pinched her chin, talking to herself more than anyone else.
"He is an Eminent Monk in his own right, no one can deny him the privilege to style himself 'Abbot.'" The Zhi-Zhu twins cut in immediately, rejecting Dong Ling's thoughts.
"But it's factually true. An abbot is an ordained Lianist Monk with the right to carry on his teacher's doctrine in a temple of his own. I have abandoned the Clear Heart Monastery's precepts, had my ordinance ripped by my teacher, and embraced my own Creed of Liberation. According to the Golden Lotus Temple's precepts, I can no longer style myself as Abbot Xinzi.
But who cares? It's just a name. My Humble Self has no shortage of honorifics. From now on, let's just go with Reverend." Xinzi chimed in, his words making the Zhi-Zhu twins and Yan Le, blink in a stupor.
"That...will not be easy to adjust to. Can we just keep calling you abbot?" Yan Le spoke her monastic sisters' mind, reminding Xinzi that to them, the "abbot" carried more than hierarchical implications.
"Reverend Ecstasy sounds better than Abbot Ecstasy. But Abbot Xinzi and Liberation Abbot do have a nicer swing to them. Sure, we will keep the reverend thing to the outsiders. Within temple doors, you can all keep calling me 'abbot.'" Xinzi stroked his chin, his eyes peering into a future of millions of ordained nuns chanting his name through Lianist mantras.
"Reverend Ecstasy? I knew that your faith couldn't be trusted. Another hoax for the common people, and a disaster for the cultivation world." Dong Ling shook her head, in her mind burning the millions of ordained nuns that dared to chant Xinzi's name.
Chun Xu preferred beheading techniques, and though her face betrayed no malicious intent, nuns getting backstabbed or executed on the chopping block succeeded one another in the Sword Fairy's mind. Of course, this would only stay in her mind.
One after the other, the Green Hat Farmer stirred from unconsciousness, still feeling weak, but already free of injuries—minus some lingering backdoor ache, of course. Their eyes shone with frantic fervor, all fixed on Xinzi who hovered before them all.
"Oh, Your Eminence, please forgive your servants for offending you!" They said in tandem, kowtowing in complete adoration.
"It was an honest mistake. Now that we are all on the same page, get dressed, and lead me to free the gals. The village needs more manpower. Hanxing, you are now the Head Farmer in charge of these 5,000 Greem-Hat Farmers. Congratulations on this much-deserved promotion. Your mom would be proud," Xinzi said, and for the imperceptible split of a second, Lord Hanxing balled up his fists—restraining murderous rage. Dong Ling burst out laughing, unprepared for the "generous" promotion.
The Li initiates too couldn't restrain their laughs, others didn't care enough to add insult to injury, but Hanxing could imagine the jeers, imagine Zi Feng's disinterested look, how her eyes focused on Xinzi and refused to give him the tiniest bit of consideration. His heart drummed in his chest. Still, he didn't dare to show the tiniest bit of dissatisfaction.
"Thank you, master, for this promotion!" Hanxing's back bent in a low bow, and satisfied, Xinzi nodded in approval.
One after the other, our monk sashayed into the green brick and mortar houses, freeing women that had stayed locked up for years, decades, and sometimes even centuries. The appearance of that herculean savior dressed in luxurious red and gold robes mesmerized all women. In the divine luster of Xinzi's eyes and fleshly body, they saw the incarnation of dominance and sanctity.
Their loins stirred immediately, their bloodlines urging them to embrace the thigh of this heroic deity. Having been bred for dual cultivation, and equipped with a Yin Constitution, the ageless women of Green Leaf Village were naturally all beauties. Like star-struck fangirls, these beauties followed on Xinzi's heels, after receiving energy blessings that rejuvenated their feeble bodies.
The farmers experienced mixed feelings. On the one hand, seething at their wives' sparkling eyes, but on the other, satisfied that the lord received due adoration.
Following hours of liberation, the 5,000 women assembled in a massive village square, kneeling towards Xinzi.
"Thank you, Divine One, for rescuing us! The women of Green Leaf Village swear to follow you across all lifetimes!" They pledged, making Xinzi nod, and his gals' cheeks twitch.
'Hussies. You wouldn't even be able to recognize him in your next lives, yet you dare promise to follow him even then? Pledges in the cultivation world are so over the top. There should be some kind of law to ban those hyperboles.'
'Agreed.'
'Humph, on account of their sufferings, let's turn a blind eye for now.' Dong Ling and Chun Xu exchanged their thoughts, for once in complete agreement.
Xinzi ignored this, focused on the villagers' numbers, his face twisted into a frown.
"So low. Although it's themed like a village, this place has enough land and resources to produce a supercity. With 10,000 years to develop, how did your numbers stay so low?" Xinzi asked. Had the Green Leaf Villagers been a secret clan, our monk could understand their current numbers. But a secret clan, they were not, and though they'd lost access to over 90% of the village's resources, what they had left was more than enough to ensure smooth population growth.
But to say nothing of growth, there wasn't even a single child on the scene.
