Chapter 657: Pagoda Suppresses Snake Demon

Meng Jingzhou felt that ever since he started selling his blood, nothing good had ever happened to him.

First, there was Shi Chan testing his Zen heart in a brothel, then Xu An's harem causing chaos. The crucial thing was that both of them had used his blood!

He had mentioned he smelled blood in the ganoderma lucidum soup Liu Xiangyu served, and it turned out to be his own!

What to do when a harem was in turmoil? Eliminate the culprits, and everything would be fine. Alternatively, he could spare Xu An's life and just perform a 'bachelor's curse' punch.

In the courtyard, the snake demon, ghost cultivator, fox demon, and artifact spirit were fighting in a chaotic mess. Fortunately, a formation temporarily concealed the situation, otherwise, street patrol constables would have long since come to investigate.

Liu Xiangyu transformed, becoming a white snake dozens of yards long, its body thicker than a water vat. It hissed, flicking its tongue, its cold pupils fixed on the three maids.

"My husband and I felt like old friends the moment we met, and we pledged our lives to each other amidst the Spring Rain during Qingming! How dare you demons and monsters interfere!"

The snake body thrashed, shaking the earth and mountains, causing cracks to appear on the ground. It opened its gaping maw, intent on swallowing the three maids.

Xiaocui spread her arms, and countless shadowy black ghosts merged into the darkness, their forms indistinct. Her Nascent Soul emerged, blocking the white snake's gaping maw.

"What does 'old friends at first sight' count for? Love that hasn't endured life-and-death trials is mere empty talk! That day, my identity was exposed, and I was pursued by the authorities. Fortunately, I encountered Benefactor, who allowed me to hide my form using his vast righteous energy, which is how I survived! If not for my special identity, which would have affected his imperial examinations if I revealed my true self to Benefactor, I would have married him long ago! How could it be your turn to become the legal wife!"

Xiaozhu revealed her true demon form: a snow-white fox, like a spirit of the snow, light and agile. "Snow, come forth!"

Suddenly, heavy snow fluttered down in the courtyard, the temperature plummeted, and cold air exhaled from her mouth froze water instantly.

"I am a snow fox spirit. Over a hundred years ago, Benefactor's ancestor rescued me from a trap. I accidentally trespassed into a forbidden area, consumed an unknown fruit, activated an ancient bloodline, and used the inherited power within it to cultivate a human form. I had intended to seek out Benefactor's ancestor to repay my gratitude after I transformed into human form, but by the time I arrived, his ancestor had already turned to dust. Since that was the case, I decided to repay my gratitude to Benefactor himself! If I hadn't worried that Benefactor wouldn't accept my identity, I would have confessed my feelings to him long ago!"

Liu Xiangyu sneered, "You two-faced hussies sneak around at night, exhausting my husband, and yet you act so righteous! I found out about the ganoderma, and I bought the pure Yang blood. What did you three do?! If it weren't for all three of you showing up tonight, I wouldn't have known you weren't human. You even made my husband invite three Golden Core cultivators from outside!"

The white snake conjured a fierce gale, the bone-chilling wind howling as it swept in, sending shivers down their spines.

Xiaoqiu erected a barrier, temporarily blocking Liu Xiangyu's attack. Her true form was a jade pendant, a defensive magical artifact.

"Mistress, please calm your anger. Master awakened me, but I didn't know how to face him, which is why I delayed revealing my identity. It was not intentional concealment."

Just as the second round of fighting was about to erupt, a Buddhist chant startled all four, causing them to halt simultaneously.

"Amitābha, might the four benefactresses please cease fighting for the sake of this humble monk?"

Shi Chan walked purposefully into the courtyard, his two protectors by his side, one holding a sword, the other clenching a fist.

"You three are awake—no, you weren't unconscious all this time?!"

Liu Xiangyu and the three others' expressions subtly changed; they were somewhat flustered. None of them had realized that the three people invited by their Benefactor had been conscious all along.

"This—this shouldn't be! The soporific I released would knock out even an unsuspecting early Nascent Soul cultivator for three hours!" Xiaocui reacted the most; she knew how potent her soporific was. It was definitely not something Golden Core cultivators could resist.

More importantly, these three people knew their true identities! What should they do if their husband found out?

"You've been feigning sleep all this time!"

The four women's cheeks flushed crimson. So, everything that happened between them and Xu An in bed tonight was seen clearly by these three?

Infuriated, the four women attacked simultaneously. The white snake thrashed, a hundred ghosts paraded at night, the snow fox conjured snow, and the jade pendant manifested its power.

"This humble monk has no intention of provoking conflict."

Facing the combined assault of the four women, Shi Chan calmly took out a nine-storied pagoda, tossing it into the air. The pagoda emitted a pale golden light, enveloping the four women and rendering them immobile.

"What—what kind of magical artifact is this?"

The four women were greatly astonished, having never seen such a miraculous artifact. Xiaoqiu, the jade pendant, felt an even stronger suppression from a higher-tier artifact.

"Four benefactresses, you cannot defeat the three of us."

Shi Chan sighed, withdrew the suppression on the four women, and a golden Dharma form appeared behind him, holding a vajra scepter in his left hand and a Dharma wheel in his right, a most orthodox eighteen-foot golden body.

Lu Yang's Qingfeng Sword gleamed with cold light; even a glance felt like a thousand needles pricking the eyes. Its sword qi was like a sharp ray, impossible to stare at directly.

Meng Jingzhou manifested his three heads and six arms. His six powerful arms were poised to strike, capable of punching through the sky with one fist and splitting the earth with another. His three faces were ferocious, eyes wide with fury, displaying a great wrathful appearance.

"Nascent Soul... no, is it Spirit Transformation stage?!"

Liu Xiangyu and the three maids' faces instantly turned pale. Although these three seemed to have similar cultivation levels to them, the aura they were now exuding was clearly the power of the Spirit Transformation stage! Even without the nine-storied pagoda, any one of them could subdue her! Weren't there only two Spirit Transformation cultivators in Spring River City, both from the government? Where did her husband invite three Spirit Transformation cultivators from?

Seeing that the four women had calmed down, Shi Chan withdrew his eighteen-foot golden body. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou likewise retracted their forms.

"This humble monk was entrusted by Benefactor Xu to resolve his issue of insufficient yang energy. I kindly ask the four benefactresses not to make things difficult for this humble monk."

The four women naturally agreed, behaving extremely docilely.

Liu Xiangyu transformed back into human form and invited the three masters to the main hall for a discussion.

"Before we discuss further, allow this humble monk to introduce himself. My Dharma name is Shi Chan, and I am a disciple of Hanging Temple."

The four women's expressions changed again, and they all grew tense. It turned out he was an eminent monk from Hanging Temple. Hanging Temple had very few disciples, and rumors about them were rare. To the outside world, Hanging Temple was extremely mysterious, and the four women couldn't gauge Shi Chan's intentions. Xiaocui was the most panicked. She was a helmsman of the Nine Nether Sect, and if her identity were exposed, she feared she wouldn't be able to escape.

"Benefactress Liu, if this humble monk's observation is correct, are you from the White Snake clan of the Demon Realm?"

"Master is truly insightful."

"Benefactress Liu, please heed this humble monk's advice: your relationship with Benefactor Xu is quite improper."

Liu Xiangyu's face turned ashen; she had a bad premonition. "Master, are you saying that my husband and I, being human and demon, are destined to be apart?"

Shi Chan shook his head. "Not so. This humble monk means that during marriage registration, one's race must be verified. Benefactor Xu has been unaware of your true identity, which implies that while you two have the reality of a married couple, you lack the official status. This humble monk suggests that you two go to the authorities to register your marriage."