Outside the glass case, Heyu turned off his phone.
Finally managed to get through it. Reading novels is a pleasure, but reading them aloud to others is pure torture.
Heyu picked up the lowest-grade storage pouch on the table. Due to its low level, even mortals could use it, but the space inside was pitifully small.
Inside was a bag of low-grade spirit stones. Although the Great Wildlands wasn't wealthy, getting some of the lowest-grade spirit stones was still doable.
To cultivate, one must absorb spiritual qi, but this world had none. The only way was to extract it from spirit stones.
Heyu had tried taking back the meat he placed in the glass case, but once retrieved, it had no spiritual qi left.
Only things originally from the Xuanyuan Realm retained their original effects when taken out.
This left Heyu somewhat disappointed.
"I want to become an immortal, happy as can be!"
Heyu took out a spirit stone and looked around.
After some thought, he put it back.
Although this place was far from the urban district, it was surrounded by residents. Causing any commotion would be troublesome.
Just then, Heyu's phone rang.
"Hey, bro, what's up?"
It was a call from Li Yang.
"Let's go out for a drink. It's been a while since we brothers drank together."
"Sure."
A phone call between men lasting over a minute was considered a long chat.
Looking at the seven flying swords, Heyu decided to put them all into the storage pouch.
The only regret was that the glass case couldn't be stored in the pouch.
Over the past month, Heyu realized the importance of the glass case. He planned to find a new place to safely store it soon.
For now, he'd make do.
Before long, Heyu arrived at a barbecue stall near their residential area entrance.
It was already evening, and the barbecue stall was doing good business. Li Yang was already sitting there, clearly having come specifically to drink with Heyu.
"Bro, you don't look so good. What's wrong?"
Sitting across from Li Yang, Heyu noticed there was soda on the table instead of alcohol. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
"Been focusing on health lately, so no alcohol."
Li Yang handed a bottle of soda to Heyu and then took a big gulp himself.
"Refreshing!"
"Your brother here is getting married."
Heyu almost spat out his drink. It had only been a month.
"The Daoist monastery got shut down last week. Someone reported it for spreading feudal superstition, so I'm out of a job."
What the hell, reporting a Daoist monastery for feudal superstition?
Li Yang took a big gulp, feeling frustrated:
"My family never wanted me to be a Daoist priest. This time they caught me, and they arranged a match with a wealthy girl, saying she'd support me."
Heyu wasn't sure if his cousin was boasting or complaining.
"I worked in engineering for eight years! Eight years! Finally got a few days of freedom, and now they're tying me down again. Ugh, it's frustrating."
Now Heyu understood; he was indeed complaining.
Back in the day, Heyu had also worked on construction sites with his cousin for a few months. The environment was, well... you wake up and work, finish work and sleep, no such thing as a day off, and wages were settled annually, with no possibility of leave.
"Was it those monks?"
"No, it wasn't. Master Yingxiang is actually a good person. Even though he's now the CEO of a listed company, he built Guangyang Temple through his own skills."
Li Yang downed another can of soda and burped.
"It was those rich folks, especially those who made dirty money. Motherfucker, they all believe in Buddhism. Seeing young people flocking to Daoist monasteries, they feared it would disrupt the Buddha's aura, so they reported us."
"Those people have power, and we're just a small Daoist monastery. We couldn't withstand it, and the Daoist Association couldn't support us either. Nothing we could do."
Now Heyu understood.
Indeed, many people who made dirty money would feel uneasy and turn to Buddha for protection, donating money to ease their conscience.
It's no wonder temples are thriving these days.
"Wait, didn't your Daoist monastery have quite a few visitors? They just watched?"
"Ah, it was just a temporary enthusiasm. Our monastery doesn't have a true immortal. Once the hype dies down, who would still come?"
The traffic brought by the internet comes quickly and goes just as fast.
Moreover, young people today are generally rational. No one would believe there are true immortals on Vast-Expanse Mountain. They just come for the excitement, take a photo, and post it on social media.
"Let's not talk about this. Drink!"
"Bro, you just don't want to get married and want more freedom, right?"
"Of course, I was stuck on construction sites for eight years. Even prisoners get yard time!"
The two chatted on and off.
"By the way, what have you been up to lately? Found a job yet?"
"I'm doing independent media, shooting some short dramas and stuff."
Over the past month, Heyu occasionally recorded scenes from the glass case and posted them under the guise of tilt-shift photography.
In a month, he had gained 300,000 followers.
Mainly because Heyu didn't post frequently, often going ten days without an update.
However, Heyu had found the key to gaining views. He discovered that whenever he recorded videos of half-demons, especially cat demons and fox demons, the view count skyrocketed.
To be honest, the appearance of half-demons was truly striking.
Especially that half-demon fox, doing nothing but grooming its tail for a mere ten seconds, and now it had nearly five million views.
Many comments were clamoring to see the fox lady take a bath.
Some wealthy individuals even left comments, wanting custom storylines, with offers in the tens of thousands.
This clearly showed that the perverts weren't Heyu, but the world.
Unfortunately, Heyu's standards had risen, and he wasn't interested in money anymore.
"Independent media? So you're making a living off the internet too."
The two chatted for a full two hours.
That's how it is with men; they can't string together a sentence on the phone, but once they meet, they have more to say than anyone.
They talked about everything from marriage and children to world affairs.
"Alright, remember to come to the wedding. I can't escape this time. You should delay getting married as long as possible. Marriage is a cage!"
Li Yang patted Heyu on the shoulder, then glanced at the sky, as if longing for freedom.
"You're exaggerating."
"You'll understand when you're my age."
Then, Li Yang took a cab and left.
Heyu's lips twitched. Seeing that dawn was approaching, he headed to the station.
To Vast-Expanse Mountain, to seek the Dao and cultivate immortality!