Alone on top of a small hill, one golden temple stood erect. Statues of herculean monks fronted the entrance, each rippling with blazing Yang Qi. Xinzi couldn't understand the point of Yang-Qi equipped statues, but then again, the Green-Hat village had no shortage of peculiarities, this was only one of them.
Without delay, our monk waltzed into the temple, entering an extravagant hall with greek-style statues of green men kneeling at the feet of strapping golden men whose empty eye sockets burned with golden flames. The men glanced towards Xinzi, and immediately, a golden halo formed above his head, discharging an ancient formation that scrutinized his fleshly body.
[Gender: Male]
[Skeletal Age: 18]
[...Establishing Ratio...]
[Ratio Establishment: Complete]
[Blood Energy: Over the Top]
[Yang Qi: Over the Top]
[Dual Cultivation Constitution: Over the Top]
[Yin-Yang Acumen: Over the Top]
[Final Grade: Inestimable]
In a flash, these words appeared above Xinzi's head, making him stroke his chin in admiration.
"Wow, outstanding eyesight. I already love this place. Makes me wonder why I had such prejudice towards this hall's founder. Clearly, he is a man of culture," Xinzi said, nodding in approval of the hall's appraisal.
"Suspicious levels of excellence detected. Trigger the assessment of upper realm background." Our monk was still indulging in the praise when mild tremors shook the hall, and these words resounded. Black lines formed on Xinzi's forehead, with veins pulsing on his temple.
"Never mind, the hall's founder is a scumbag, and this place sucks," Xinzi said and tapped his storage ring, summoning a Diabolic Shard. The Five Elements Transmutative Technique kicked in, supplemented by the Heaven-Trampling Runes as Xinzi stretched his hands out, hijacking the assessment so the Golden Immortal Hall would only see what he wanted it to.
Right afterward, a stone pillar rose from the ground, breaking into holy light particles as a 2.0-meters-tall golden statue appeared before Xinzi. Its eyes shut close, and its hands joined in a mudra, the golden statue's face and body mirrored a more masculine version of Qiu Meng. Powerful muscles supported the face, painting a picture of uber masculinity.
"Oh...it's a corpse." Xinzi didn't let the statue's metallic hue fool him, instantly recognizing it for what it was: the Golden-Haired Immortal Lord's corpse.
As mentioned previously, unlike Qiu Meng and the Green-Hat Immortal, the Golden-Haired Immortal Lord didn't die in battle, instead committing suicide following Xue Lin's death. However, Xinzi never expected it to turn its fleshly body into a legacy. Perhaps, deep down it hoped that Qiu Meng would find his way back to life and regain his rights. Or maybe the original controlled the avatar's final actions from afar. Xinzi would never know.
His Spiritual Sense studied the corpse, and his eyes widened, marveling at the result.
"The Golden Lotus be praised. What an outstanding constitution. It seems like a male version of the Good Fortune Sacred Body. Better, it can fuse with any dual cultivation physique and become a bonus, rather than a replacement," Xinzi said, impressed by the Golden Immortal Physique.
Sitting in the lotus position, Xinzi put his hands on the corpse's shoulders, starting the refinement. It broke down into waves of golden winds, pouring into his body. In that instant, Xinzi became the true village chief of Green Leaf Village, only missing the High Command Seal to become the absolute master of these lands.
The Spring of Eternal Youth returned to silence, accepting Xinzi as its new owner.
'You can come in. I will be refining the physique though, so I won't be available for a bit.' Xinzi sent his gals and troops a mental message, then shifted his focus back to refining his gains.
Not long afterward, 10,000 assembled at the Golden Immortal Hall's doorsteps. The Green-Hat Farmers shivered at the statues, not daring to look them in the eyes or climb the stairs leading into the Golden Immortal Hall. Unless Xinzi commanded them to, they could never defeat that fear.
The rest had no such mental barriers, taking their time to observe the statues and tall golden pillars as they sashayed into the hall.
"Wow, whoever built this place likely didn't know how to dress. What terrible tastes. Why is it that so many think that building everything in gold will mesmerize the audience? It's just an eyesore. Senior sister, don't you agree?" Dong Ling, who'd just waken up from unconsciousness, held a Mini Overlord in her hands, standing at Chun Xu's left.
"Agreed. Gold shows its beauty when used sparingly, or in conjunction with other metals and precious stones. This just looks like the blend and tasteless parade of a second-generation ancestor." The Sword Fairy too had a Mini Overlord with her, but on her right shoulder instead.
The remaining four split between the Zhi-Zhu twins, Yan Le and Tusha, occasionally nodding at Zi Feng as if to say, "Sorry, you already had ample petting time. It's their turn now."
Zi Feng nodded right back, agreeing with the Mini Overlords' silent words.
More than a hall, this was a vast temple, with altars to the Golden Lotus standing in all corners. The superficies defied common sense, with over 10,000 rooms standing behind a metallic gate, all equipped with golden-leaved sheets.
It wasn't long before the girls got bored of the Golden Immortal Hall, forming circles around Xinzi instead. The White-Winged Demons stood on the sidelines, with a silent Guang Fanghu and Lord Hanxing who had to muster the full power of his common sense to not try and attack Xinzi mid-breakthrough. Needless to say, before he took one step forward, the White-Winged Demons would tear him to shreds.
Yan Le and Tusha faced one another, standing in awkward silence.
"I don't know why our abbot had me take you as a disciple. I have no patience and am overall terrible at teaching others," Tusha broke the ice, her eyes shifting between the Heavenly Slayer and Yan Le.
"Our abbot never does things for no reason. I'm sure he has his considerations. Let's just do our best. Master, your disciple greets you!" Yan Le said and gave Tusha the triple kowtow customary for new disciples.
'Actually, he might have just done it for fun and giggles.' Yan Le and Tusha both thought, but would never say that out loud.
At that time, Xinzi's eyes opened wide. One blinding flash of golden energy spread out, marking the completion of his corpse refinement.
His physique improved again, now equipped with nigh indestructibility and outlandish healing powers. It still maintained all the perks of Xinzi's previous physique, with the bonuses that came from the Golden Immortal Corpse.
"Let's call it the Immortal Golden Dragon Physique." Xinzi baptized the new constitution, and stood up, stepping out of the Golden Immortal Hall. The girls and troops followed suit, and as soon as the last straggler left the hall, Xinzi snapped his fingers, making the temple-like building collapse into rubble and dust.
"Wow, I know that it wasn't ideal, but you could clearly feel the unique cultivation environment. Are you sure you're not going to miss it?" Dong Ling asked, speaking the mind of her peers.
"I don't like it. Too gaudy for my taste, and in any case, I can build a new one in less than three days."
Truth be told, Xinzi only needed minutes to build a new temple. But three days sounded a lot more poetic—prophetic even.
