When Li Niansheng seemed to have taken an interest in Ikkyu, the Linglong Sect's leader quickly devised several plans.
"Ikkyu, my dear nephew, how is your master, Master Huaihai, doing recently?"
Seeing the Linglong Sect leader greet him so warmly, Ikkyu was a bit bewildered.
He couldn't understand why the usually aloof Fairy Changsheng would be interested in such an ordinary wooden carving.
Moreover, it seemed everyone had misunderstood something.
"Replying to the Sect Leader, my master is in good health. He recently had some insights, which is why he sent me here."
"Neither humble nor arrogant, truly a testament to a great teacher producing a fine student.
The matters of you young people, we elders won't interfere.
In a hundred years, once your realm stabilizes, remember to come to Linglong Sect to propose."
Ikkyu: ???
"Sect Leader, you've misunderstood, I'm not..."
Hearing this, Ikkyu panicked and hurriedly tried to explain.
But before he could finish, the Linglong Sect leader interrupted him.
"Oh dear! You young people shouldn't be so hesitant, and don't feel embarrassed just because your strength is temporarily lacking.
Although my last disciple is fifty years older than you, for cultivators, that's not a big issue.
As for your master, I'll personally speak to him, Zhao Dezhu. Your Heavenly Buddha Temple isn't without precedent for forming Dao partnerships, your master will have to give me this face, after all, we've known each other for over three hundred years."
Seeing the situation getting more complicated, Ikkyu decided to stop explaining.
The only solution now was to clear things up when he met with Uncle Changsheng alone.
Li Niansheng returned to the elders' seat, and the Linglong Sect's ceremony continued.
***
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Linglong Town.
"Uncle, that's how it is, this wooden carving isn't mine. This place really used to be a coffin shop, you have to believe me."
Looking at the empty coffin shop, Ikkyu was on the verge of tears.
Chen Changsheng, that bastard, suddenly disappeared, and now even if he had a hundred mouths, he couldn't explain it.
After the ceremony ended, Ikkyu hurried to find Li Niansheng to explain.
To make Li Niansheng believe him, Ikkyu truthfully recounted all his encounters with Chen Changsheng over the years.
But just as Ikkyu brought Li Niansheng to see Chen Changsheng to prove his innocence, the coffin shop was gone, and all traces of Chen Changsheng's life had vanished, leaving only an empty storefront.
It was as if Chen Changsheng had never existed.
However, in the face of Ikkyu's anxiety, Li Niansheng remained calm throughout.
After a long pause, Li Niansheng spoke, "Ikkyu, do you want to form a Dao partnership with me?"
At these words, Ikkyu's eyelids started twitching wildly.
"No, I don't want to now, and I won't want to in the future."
"That's for the best," Li Niansheng nodded and said, "If you dare have such thoughts, I'll take your bald head off your shoulders. From now on, no matter who asks, you are not to mention the name Chen Changsheng.
If you dare reveal even a word, your life won't be safe."
Faced with Li Niansheng's threatening aura, Ikkyu immediately realized something was amiss.
Uncle Changsheng seemed to know Chen Changsheng, and it looked like they had known each other for a long time!
"Rest assured, Uncle, I promise not to reveal a word. But I often come here, if someone investigates, they might find some clues. What should I say then?"
Hearing this, Li Niansheng thought for a moment and said, "You can tell the truth about your experiences, but omit his appearance and name. If someone insists on asking for his name, just say he called himself the Funeral Escort."
"I understand, but will I be able to see him again?"
"You probably will, after all, he's someone who cherishes old ties."
With that, Li Niansheng turned and left.
Watching Li Niansheng's departing figure and the empty coffin shop, Ikkyu had many questions, but no one to answer them.
The only way to unravel these mysteries might just be time.
***
Somewhere in the wilderness.
"Left is the Orient Loong God, right is the White Tiger, front is the Rosefinch, back is the Basalt."
"Truly a feng shui treasure land."
After observing the compass in his hand again, Chen Changsheng was so excited he slapped his thigh.
After the teleportation array activated, he was sent to this wilderness.
Upon arriving, Chen Changsheng immediately began searching for a feng shui treasure land.
It took eight years to raise Niansheng, fifty years to reach Linglong Sect.
After arriving near Linglong Sect, Chen Changsheng stayed in Linglong Town for another twenty years.
Eighty years of lifespan, now only two years remain.
About to enter a deep sleep, Chen Changsheng naturally wanted to find a "good place."
After confirming the location, Chen Changsheng immediately began digging.
However, this digging took an entire year.
***
"Tsk tsk! Simply perfect, how could I come up with such a clever idea?"
As he paced back and forth in the cave, Chen Changsheng couldn't stop smiling.
Chen Changsheng spent a year carving out a cave in the mountainside.
To prevent disturbances during his sleep, Chen Changsheng made foolproof camouflage at the cave entrance.
Above the entrance, he piled a large amount of soil, mixing in many seeds.
Whenever it rained, the loose soil above the entrance would wash down.
The washed-down soil would adhere to the stones blocking the entrance.
After a year or two of natural growth, the traces of human excavation would disappear without a trace.
Feeling a bit proud of his design, Chen Changsheng took out a jade coffin from the system space.
The jade coffin was filled with liquid exuding a medicinal fragrance.
This was the second thing Chen Changsheng had to do before his sleep: creating an artificial spiritual root.
"System, will this method really work?"
"You'll know if it works once you try, Host."
"The worst result is just wasting the sleep time you don't care about."
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng nodded and said, "True, even if it fails, I won't lose anything."
With that, Chen Changsheng stripped off his clothes and climbed into the jade coffin filled with medicinal liquid, beginning his eighty-year slumber.
After obtaining the Blood Demon Ancestor's autobiography, Chen Changsheng had been pondering the creation of an artificial spiritual root.
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After ten years of contemplation, he finally devised a safe and reliable method.