127: The unintentionally misled, the life-saving duo

On the fourth layer of the island Secret Realm, battles were frequent.

Disciples of various Sects fought around their respective Elders or Peak Masters. The top combat forces of the sixteen Sects were basically all on this layer; some had formed alliances, while others had committed betrayals.

"Amitabha." Heartless pressed his palms together, shaking his head repeatedly as he looked at the corpses of the various Sect Disciples lying around.

Jiang Yan walked ahead and asked without looking back, "Monk, did Dragon Elephant Temple only send you to the central island?"

"Yes." Heartless silently recited the Rebirth Mantra. "To be precise, for this Great Sect Secret Realm, there is only This humble monk from Dragon Elephant Temple."

Hearing this, Jiang Yan gave a thumbs up, thinking: 'This bald donkey is even more ruthless than I am, daring to come alone to snatch an Opportunity!'

While Jiang Yan was secretly grumbling, a sudden surge of spiritual energy came from ahead. Five or six Sects were in a chaotic battle, with various Magic Treasures and Talismans flying everywhere.

"Is that... the Azure Phoenix Banner of the Xuantian Sect?" Heartless narrowed his eyes. "Why are they fighting Chilian Mountain?"

Jiang Yan chuckled: "Who cares? It's just a dog-eat-dog world."

Saying so, he pulled a handful of melon seeds from his robe and shared half with Heartless.

"Enjoy the show!"

The two squatted at the edge of the battlefield, snacking on seeds and critiquing the fight.

"That move's no good, the Sword Qi is too scattered..."

"Chilian Mountain's Earth Fire Great Method has been practiced incorrectly..."

Just as they were getting into it, a black shadow crashed down in front of them with a "thud"—it was actually an Elder of Red Refining Mountain who had been sent flying by a sword strike from the Xuantian Sect!

The Elder, face covered in blood, saw the two eating seeds and his eyes lit up: "Fellow Daoists... save..."

Before he could finish, Jiang Yan and Heartless struck simultaneously!

Jiang Yan snatched the Storage Pouch from his waist, while Heartless skillfully stripped three rings from his fingers.

They looked at each other and suddenly broke into smiles.

"Thank you for the gift~"

They spoke in unison, their movements fluid and their cooperation seamless.

The Elder of Red Refining Mountain's eyes bulged, and he fainted from sheer rage.

"Tsk tsk, what a pauper." Jiang Yan weighed the Storage Pouch. "Such meager resources."

"Amitabha." Heartless pressed his palms together with a serious face. "Benefactor Jiang, that's where you're wrong."

Saying so, Heartless pulled a "Voluntary Donation Form" from his sleeve, grabbed the unconscious Elder's hand, and pressed a thumbprint onto it... Jiang Yan was shocked by this slick operation: "Holy crap, monk, you actually carry those around?"

"Amitabha." Heartless remained unfazed. "This is incense money this benefactor has voluntarily offered to this temple. This humble monk is willing to recite the Rebirth Sutra for the donor."

"Brilliant! Truly brilliant! I'm not your match!"

Jiang Yan gave a thumbs up, full of admiration.

He snatched the "Voluntary Donation Form" and examined it closely.

"Today, I voluntarily offer my entire net worth to Dragon Elephant Temple, praying for the Buddha's blessing to be reborn as a wealthy person in my next life..."

Below was a bloody thumbprint, with a note on the side: [Rebirth Sutra recited 108 times].

"Monk, you're quite experienced in this business, aren't you?" Jiang Yan winked.

"Amitabha." Heartless pressed his palms together and solemnly tucked away the document. "How can a monk's deeds be called a scam? This is called delivering all sentient beings. Besides, Benefactor Jiang is the one who taught This humble monk these things!"

"Hey, let me tell you, that's slander. Do you understand slander?" Jiang Yan pouted.

Heartless smiled slightly, pulled out a stack of blank donation forms, and looked at Jiang Yan: "Benefactor Jiang, our last collaboration was very pleasant. Would you like a share of the profits? A fifty-fifty split."

"Monk, you've learned all this?" Jiang Yan was shocked, spilling half his seeds. "When did I ever teach you such a wicked... no, such an exquisite routine?"

Heartless unhurriedly picked up the scattered seeds and said slowly, "After the destruction of the Blood Cloud Sect, This humble monk went back and did some accounting. Although it seemed like This humble monk made a lot on the surface, in reality, Benefactor Jiang was the true winner, wasn't he?"

Hearing this, Jiang Yan almost choked on a seed. He widened his eyes and said, "Monk, that's a false accusation! I, Jiang Yan, act openly and honorably, and the plans were all mine, how could..."

Before he could finish, Heartless pulled a thick Ledger from his sleeve and slowly flipped to a page.

"This poor monk only transcended four Peak Masters and twelve Elders, totaling twenty-four Storage Pouches, ten Golden Cores, one Nascent Soul Realm Divine Soul, and one Soul Transformation Stage one. Whereas Benefactor Jiang killed seventy-three people..."

Cold sweat dripped from Jiang Yan's forehead as he snatched the Ledger: "Stop, stop, stop! Fifty-fifty split, right? I'm in!"

"Amitabha." Heartless pressed his palms together, a hint of cunning flashing in his eyes. Like a magician, he produced another contract: "Words are fleeting; let it be written."

Jiang Yan looked down and almost laughed in anger. This bald donkey even included a clause saying "the violator must be ordained as a monk"!

"Monk, you're doing this on purpose to target me, aren't you?" Jiang Yan asked.

"Amitabha." Heartless smiled. "This humble monk said he would transcend Benefactor Jiang's hostile Aura."

Jiang Yan jumped in anger, pointing at the contract and cursing: "You thieving baldhead! You were waiting for me here, weren't you?"

Heartless's smile grew even more benevolent as he pulled a razor from his sleeve: "If Benefactor Jiang doesn't sign... this poor monk can ordain you right now."

"Fine! You're the boss!" Jiang Yan gritted his teeth, then his eyes darted around and he grinned: "Fine, I'll sign!"

With a grand flourish, he intentionally signed "Jiang Yan" as "Jiang Yan" using different characters.

Heartless looked at the contract and his face turned ashen: "You..."

"Oh my~" Jiang Yan spread his hands innocently. "I've recently suffered a Qi Deviation from training; it's normal for my hand to shake and write the wrong character~"

While the two were sparring, a roar came from afar: "You two little thieves! Give back our Elder's Storage Pouch!"

A Chilian Mountain Disciple led over a dozen fellow Disciples, charging forward with Killing Intent. The leading Disciple held a Recording Stone high, showing the full process of Jiang Yan and Heartless "enthusiastically helping" the unconscious Elder!

Jiang Yan and Heartless looked at each other and shared a knowing smile.

"Monk, looks like we need to stretch our limbs." Jiang Yan cracked his neck, a Spirit Treasure longsword suddenly appearing in his hand.

Heartless pressed his palms together, looking solemn: "Amitabha, today This humble monk shall transcend the greedy and hateful thoughts of these benefactors."

Before the words finished, both struck at once!

Jiang Yan used an unorthodox sword move, a wave of Sword Qi sweeping out and splitting the Recording Stone in two.

Heartless waved his wide sleeve, and a dozen "Voluntary Donation Forms" fluttered toward the Chilian Mountain Disciples like falling petals.

"Run!" Seeing this, the Chilian Mountain Disciples turned to flee.

"Trying to run?" Jiang Yan sneered, instantly throwing out a stack of Talismans. "Since you're all 'Wealth-Distributing Children,' why be in such a hurry to leave?"

"Swish swish swish..."

Dozens of Talismans flew like a swarm of butterflies, accurately sticking to the backs of every Chilian Mountain Disciple.

To their horror, they found themselves uncontrollably... starting to do a striptease!

"What... what kind of evil technique is this?!" The lead Disciple wailed while twisting his waist, watching helplessly as his outer robe, belt, and Storage Pouch flew one by one into Jiang Yan's hands.

Heartless the monk walked toward the group with his palms pressed together benevolently: "Benefactors, please press your thumbprints. Thank you for your donations to this temple."

While picking up the gear, Jiang Yan added: "That's right, wealth is just a worldly possession~ You can't bring it with you when you're born, and you can't take it with you when you die. It's better to donate it all."

Suddenly, a Disciple accidentally stepped on his pant leg while dancing, with a loud rip.

"Holy crap! My Undergarments!"

Jiang Yan and Heartless turned away at the same time, covering their eyes in unison: "We really don't want those..."

Just as the two were preparing to move to another spot, a loud shout rang out.

"You two little brats! Stop right there!"

Seeing an old man dressed as an Elder of Red Refining Mountain in a crimson robe, Jiang Yan and Heartless looked at each other and chuckled.

The Elder of Red Refining Mountain charged aggressively, his spiritual energy surging, clearly enraged to the limit.

But when he was still three zhang away, the Elder of Red Refining Mountain suddenly slipped, falling forward and face-planting into the mud!

Jiang Yan and Heartless looked down to see a puddle of sticky liquid on the ground, emitting a faint fishy smell... "Oh, why is this Great Sect Elder performing such a grand bow?" Jiang Yan feigned surprise.

"Amitabha." Heartless pressed his palms together, looking merciful. "The Elder must have felt regret and is repenting to the Buddha."

The Elder struggled to get up, face covered in mud, his beard bristling with rage: "You... you dare..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly realized the Storage Pouch at his waist was gone!