As the thought crossed her mind, Lü Niangrong tightened her grip on the longsword in her hand.

At the same time, members of the three great merchant guilds had completely packed the main street, both inside and out. But they immediately parted to form a path, and three old men walked forward, side by side.

The leading elder leaned on a cane, his eyelids lowered. His voice was neither loud nor soft, neither sharp nor mild.

“Miss Lü the Elder, by order of our superiors, we must ask you to come with us.”

“Where to?” Lü Niangrong gripped her longsword, her focus sharpening as she took a stance.

“To see Lü Buwei, of course.” The leader, Elder Bai, smiled. “Lü Buwei is truly impressive. He’s fighting against the ancestors of my Bai Family and the Fan Family, yet he’s not losing any ground at all.”

He paused, then chuckled again.

“It’s just a pity that the ancestor of the Duanmu Family is currently traveling the states with Master Kong. Otherwise, I imagine he could have easily suppressed Lü Buwei… But it matters not. Everyone knows that Miss Lü the Elder is the apple of Lü Buwei’s eye. With you in our hands, I’m sure Lü Buwei will give up resisting, won’t he?”

“In your dreams!”

A dangerous light flashed in Lü Niangrong’s eyes as she swept her longsword across her shoulder. “You want to use me to threaten my father? Absolutely not!”

“I’m afraid that’s not up to you, Miss Lü the Elder.”

The elder from the Bai Family’s merchant guild stroked his beard and smiled. His gaze swept over the others, showing a flicker of surprise at the fat monk and old Daoist who were acting as if no one else was around. He then glanced at the young man beside them, who was holding a little girl and seemed to be trembling.

Lü Niangrong noticed his gaze, and her expression darkened.

“This matter has nothing to do with them! Don’t drag innocent people into this. Your business is with me!”

As her voice fell, Elder Bai simply smiled without speaking, but the Fan Family elder at his side spoke with a smirk.

“Oh? It seems these are people Miss Lü the Elder cares about a great deal. If you come with us quietly, they naturally won’t be involved. But if you don’t…”

The Duanmu Family elder picked up where he left off, smiling.

“If you don’t, with your Cultivation being so close to the Earth Immortal realm, a fight is bound to have some… collateral damage.”

Lü Niangrong’s lips trembled slightly, revealing her extreme inner turmoil. She gritted her teeth and said:

“The ancestor of the Duanmu Family was one of the Ten Sages among Kongzi’s disciples! Aren’t you afraid that Zi Gong will hold you accountable for doing something so despicable!”

The ancestor of the Duanmu Family was Duanmu Ci, courtesy name Zi Gong. He was a favorite student of Master Kong and was ranked among the Ten Sages along with Yan Hui and others.

The Duanmu Family elder spoke, his eyes crinkling into a smile.

“Our ancestor stopped involving himself in the merchant guild’s affairs long ago. You needn’t trouble yourself with it, Miss Lü the Elder.”

Lü Niangrong gripped her sword hilt, caught in a dilemma. ‘I reckon I might have a chance to fight my way out, but that would only work if I were by myself.’

‘But Daoist Lu and Brother Zhao are right beside me. And while I have a vague sense that they’re both formidable, the most crucial factor is Little Jianxue…’

‘If a slaughter breaks out, what if she gets caught in the crossfire…?’

Lü Niangrong bit her lip, hard.

Nearby, Zhao Zheng’s expression was extremely complicated. There was terror, but also a strange look of bewilderment. His heart was heavy with anxiety.

‘These so-called merchant guilds, what on earth are they stirring up?’

He wanted to speak but didn’t dare open his mouth. After all, a Buddha was right there, facing off against the venerable Daoist he so respected!

「At the same time,」

The old Daoist seemed oblivious to the tense, sword-point atmosphere on the street. He raised his eyelids to look at the large, fat monk before him and spoke as if no one else existed.

“You seem quite confident… If I truly take refuge in the Buddhist Sect, can you bear the consequences?”

The large, fat monk fiddled with a string of one hundred and eight massive Buddhist Beads in one hand and patted his enormous belly with the other. He too spoke with a cheerful laugh, ignoring everyone around them.

“Mm, you needn’t trouble yourself over that, Benefactor. After you take refuge with me, you can continue to be a Daoist. The Buddhist Path and the Dao are of the same origin, after all…”

Saying this, the fat monk yawned, then smiled again.

“So, have you considered it, Benefactor? Have you made a decision?”

Lu Xuan’s heart began to beat rapidly. He could feel the twelve hundred portions of Human Dao Fortune within his body churning sluggishly, as if stuck.

He hadn’t even felt this way when he deposed the West Pole Celestial Court. In other words…

‘The status of this large, fat monk before me is likely even higher than that of the West Pole Celestial Court.’

‘That makes sense. To dare interfere in the battles of the Supreme Venerable, to dare oppose my three masters… only another Dao Fruit Cultivator would be capable of such a thing!’

‘Now this is truly troublesome. A Dao Fruit Cultivator has appeared in person, standing right before me, wanting to convert me…’

Lu Xuan had heard of the methods of the Buddhist Sect. Once converted, one was said to attain great joy, but it could also be described as eternal damnation!

With this in mind, he remained outwardly calm and said:

“Didn’t you say this humble Daoist could take ten days or half a month to consider it? How about five days?”

Maitreya Buddha’s eyes crinkled into thin slits as he smiled.

“Five days? You seem quite sure of yourself, Benefactor… Do you believe you have some method to avoid conversion? And this method requires five days?”

As he spoke, the smile on his face grew even brighter.

“Then let this humble monk see. Let me see…”

As his voice fell, Lu Xuan saw a River of Time rise and fall within the fat monk’s eyes!

Upon that River of Time, the fat monk’s figure sat, casually manipulating Time as he surveyed this entire stretch of Years!

‘This kind of power…’

A chill ran down Lu Xuan’s spine. ‘I don’t know if he’s a Dao Fruit Cultivator, but he has to be a Daluo at the very least!’

Everything happened in an instant.

The River of Time in Maitreya Buddha’s eyes dissipated. He sighed.

“There’s nothing out of the ordinary… Or is it that I can’t see it because you, Benefactor, are an ‘uncertain number’? Five days…”

He smiled.

“Very well. I will give you five days, Benefactor. However, I must ask you to leave with me. Leave this Spring and Autumn Period. How about it?”

Lu Xuan’s scalp tightened. ‘If I really leave, I’ll be completely out of options!’

‘My three masters haven’t noticed what’s happening here. If this fat monk is truly a magnificent Dao Fruit Cultivator, I have only one solution, one way out!’

‘But if I leave the Ancient Times, leave this era, that one solution will be lost!’

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind. Lu Xuan looked up, meeting the fat monk’s gaze directly.

“And if I refuse to go, what will you do?”

As he spoke, his mind reached out to the Jade Void Glazed Lamp and the Heaven-Reaching Fishing Drum, and to the Qing Ping Sword that hung high within his consciousness. A thin sheen of sweat formed on his back.

“If you refuse to go, Benefactor…” Before Maitreya Buddha could finish his sentence, suddenly—

“Silence!”

A short distance away, Elder Bai shot a displeased glare at the old Daoist and the fat monk. This Daoist and this Buddhist were being ridiculous, acting far too much as if no one else was around!

He snorted coldly. After glaring at the Daoist and the monk, his gaze returned to Lü Niangrong.

“It seems this won’t be resolved peacefully today. Weapons will be drawn. Miss Lü the Elder, with your Cultivation so close to the Earth Immortal realm, we can’t stop you if you’re truly determined to leave. But…”

A sneer appeared on Elder Bai’s face.

“…we *can* stop the others.”

Lü Niangrong’s expression changed slightly. Elder Bai waved his hand, pointing at Zhao Zheng, Lu Xuan, and the fat monk as he gave the order:

“Subdue them! Bind them with Divine Locks, and let’s see if our Miss Lü the Elder, so famous for her kind heart, will truly look out only for herself!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep