Tang Chuanwu was certain that there were no gold beans on the table an hour earlier.

He became wary. After practicing martial arts for over six months, his five senses had improved considerably. Even a Level Six Qi Training cultivator couldn’t have silently appeared and placed gold beans on the table without being detected.

Who was it? Are they friend or foe?

Previously, the leader of the local Great Desert Gang had discovered that his little sister possessed a spirit root. Wanting to use her root to cultivate a sinister technique, he had sent men with silver, calling it “life-purchase money.” When his little sister refused, one of the underlings with cultivation accidentally used too much force and beat her to death. He lunged forward and was hit to death as well.

During the many loops, he continuously gathered information, allowing him to uncover two crucial pieces of news: the vice gang leader of the Great Desert Gang had long coveted the position of gang leader, and the gang’s arch-enemy, the Wolf-Slaying Gang, had always eyed their territory.

By provoking a clash between the two gangs, the vice gang leader had taken advantage of the chaos to kill the gang leader and become the new head of the Great Desert Gang. No one knew about his little sister’s spirit root, and that had helped her to survive this calamity.

Tang Chuanwu called out, “I do not know which great master has aided us siblings. Please leave your name, so that we can erect a longevity stele for you and repay your kindness.”

No response.

After a moment, he called out again.

Still no response.

“Could this be ‘life-purchase money’ again?”

Unable to gauge the other party’s intentions, Tang Chuanwu was extremely uneasy.

“Let me see who gave these gold beans!”

He took a kitchen knife from the chopping board and thrust it into his own heart!

~~~

After leaving behind the gold beans, Lu Yang returned to Kaihuang Temple.

“Old Lu, you look happy. What did you do?” Meng Jingzhou asked, puzzled. This brat had sneakily followed Tang Qiaoqiao. Why did he return in such high spirits?

Lu Yang smiled, humming a little tune. “I did a good deed. Doesn’t Buddhism teach that good people are rewarded with good fortune? This is called accumulating merit—”

Before he could finish his sentence, darkness swallowed his vision. Then, he heard the first pilgrim tearfully pouring out her grievances to Master Duanchen.

“Great Master, on my wedding night many years ago, my fiancé ran away with my maidservant...”

Lu Yang. “...”

So this is what they mean by “good people are rewarded with good fortune?”

Why has time reversed again for no reason?

Has the user of the Epoch Dao Fruit encountered some trouble again?

Although Lu Yang already knew that Master Duanchen would spend the entire day filling and emptying a bottle with water and exactly which pilgrims would come, he was already observing him from behind. Leaving now would give the impression that he found it too boring to watch, which would be discourteous to the abbot.

Thus, he had no choice but to stand there, watching the rest of the day unfold like a recording, unable to fast-forward.

After the last pilgrim, Tang Qiaoqiao, departed, the day’s “recording orb” had finally finished replaying.

Initially, Lu Yang had considered simply giving the gold beans to Tang Qiaoqiao to take home, but he worried that the young girl might inadvertently reveal her wealth on the way back. To be safe, he decided that delivering them directly to her home was the most appropriate.

This time, without needing Tang Qiaoqiao to lead the way, Lu Yang headed straight to her home. Tang Chuanwu had just finished practicing a set of fist techniques and was sitting at the table, resting and drinking water.

Lu Yang considered his options. He figured that placing the gold beans directly on the table would likely startle Tang Chuanwu. Hence, he left them by the stove and departed quietly.

Tang Chuanwu waited until Tang Qiaoqiao returned. The siblings chatted for a while, with him keeping a close watch on the table. But from beginning to end, no gold beans appeared.

“Strange. Why haven’t they appeared yet?”

It was only when Tang Qiaoqiao went to the stove with the fish bones that she exclaimed in surprise, “Where did these gold beans come from?”

A chill ran down Tang Chuanwu’s spine. He had deliberately sat by the table to find out how the other party would appear.

The gold beans appeared by the stove. This suggests that the other party had seen me sitting at the table. To avoid being detected, they changed the location of the gold beans.

“To be capable of this, the person must at least be a Foundation Establishment expert or even a Golden Core old ancestor.”

Tang Chuanwu ruminated on the manner in which the gold beans had been left. The other party doesn’t seem to harbor malicious intentions.

If they wanted to use money as a medium for a spell or ritual, they would hide it more carefully to prevent it from being found. If it’s “life-purchase money,” they would have placed it right in front of me.

“Could it be that they saw how pitiful we siblings are and gave us alms?”

Perhaps it was a Golden Core old ancestor playing around in the mortal world and acting on a whim. I was overly tense, treating even the trees and bushes as enemies.

Tang Chuanwu couldn’t be blamed for being overly cautious. He knew his meager strength was nothing before a Foundation Establishment expert. Having the ability to reverse time was no excuse for arrogance and recklessness.

Time reversal was not invincible; it had its flaws.

After hundreds of loops, some voluntary and some forced, he had long since figured out two key characteristics of this ability: his death was required, and it could only reverse time to the hour of the dragon, never rewinding by more than a day.

If a diabolic cultivator noticed something unusual about him and directly performed a soul search, thereby learning of his experiences, he would be in a desperate situation. A soul search would not kill him; it would only rob him of his sanity, turning him into a fool.

After the soul search, the diabolic cultivator could imprison him, killing him whenever they wished to reverse time. After each time reversal, he would remain in that demented state, utterly reduced to a tool.

He wouldn’t even have a chance to turn the tables.

~~~

“Benefactors, two months remain until the Buddha Bathing Festival. May I publicize your presence?” Early that morning, Master Duanchen waited outside Lu Yang’s and Meng Jingzhou’s guest rooms.

The letter had only invited them to visit Kaihuang Temple. The idea of “lending prestige” had been Lu Yang’s conjecture, but now it was confirmed—they were indeed here to lend their prestige and attract cultivators from outside.

Meng Jingzhou patted his chest and gave a thumbs-up. “Of course. We, senior and junior brothers, are of upright character. You may publicize us as you wish, Great Master.”

“Then, this humble monk shall thank you in advance, benefactors. In my opinion, to spread one’s reputation quickly, we must rely on ‘events.’”

Under Master Duanchen’s management, Kaihuang Temple’s incense offerings had flourished. He had developed his own tried-and-true methods of publicity.

“For example, Kaihuang Temple’s reputation matched that of surrounding temples. Pilgrims basically went to whichever was closest; there was no distinction between the temples.

“To remedy this, I captured numerous malevolent spirits and insidious entities, placing them not far from Kaihuang City and making it appear as though they were about to launch a full-scale assault on the city. That was when I stepped in and eliminated them all. Naturally, our temple’s reputation surpassed the others.

“I would like to ask the two of you to pretend to encounter these evil beings within the city and deal with them. That way, your appearance will be tied to a memorable event, the very kind people love to discuss over meals and tea. I believe news of your arrival in Kaihuang City will spread far more swiftly.”

The two didn’t need long to consider the proposal before agreeing.