In Xianxia With The Investment Return System, Starting My Journey by taking Demon Empress as a Disciple (Patreon)

Chapter 110: Farming Merit, A Belated Arrival by Lord Tian

Hearing Li Yurong’s words, Chen Daoxuan couldn’t help but rub his forehead in exasperation.

“Forget it. Just make sure to take some time to study it properly. It’s for your own good.”

Seeing her self-reproachful expression, Chen Daoxuan decided not to chastise her further.

“Well, since Yurong hasn’t learned it, the merit points for this task will all go to Yanran.”

“Go ahead and perform the rites for the Ren family. Since you’re acquainted, let’s give them a friendly discount. And don’t forget to collect all the treasures from the Ren family’s vault and any rare resources you can find as payment.”

He patted Leng Yanran on the shoulder as he spoke.

“Huh?”

“Oh, understood, Master!”

Leng Yanran was momentarily stunned before quickly understanding her master’s intent.

She remembered that her master had once mentioned that performing rites to help souls pass on would grant a bit of merit. While the amount was trivial, it could accumulate over time. If more kind deeds were done in the world, the merits gained could still be substantial.

On the side, the two elders of the Holy Mountain gave a silent thumbs-up, marveling at the ingenuity of this approach.

They’d never seen anyone earn merit this way!

First, you annihilate a clan, and then you send your disciple to perform rites for their souls, earning merit from the same people you killed. Could there be anything more ruthless than this?

With a wave of his hand, Chen Daoxuan extinguished the dragon flames still burning the Ren family. To everyone's surprise, despite the intensity of the flames, none of the buildings were damaged—not even the fabrics showed signs of scorching.

The only thing missing was the people...

Leng Yanran descended into the Ren Family Residence, calmly seated herself in a meditative position, and began chanting scriptures aloud.

As Leng Yanran’s chanting echoed, faint ghostly figures began to appear around her. Their faces bore a striking resemblance to the deceased members of the Ren family.

However, these ghostly figures showed no signs of hatred or awareness. Instead, they bowed deeply toward Leng Yanran before dissolving into specks of starlight.

The Ren family had been massive, and Leng Yanran’s rites assisted the passing of thousands of souls.

When the chanting concluded, a faint golden light descended from above, enveloping Leng Yanran briefly before vanishing.

“Unbelievable... she actually drew a trace of heavenly merit.”

“This... this is beyond words,” the Grand Elder muttered, his voice filled with disbelief.

Though faint, the trace of merit was real. If accumulated over time, it could even help one forge a body of golden merit, granting immunity during tribulations.

However, the source of Leng Yanran’s merit left the elders feeling conflicted.

This merit... it didn’t feel clean at all.

Who earns merit by slaughtering people and then performing rites for them? It was downright dirty!

Still, given Chen Daoxuan’s terrifying power, the elders dared not voice their thoughts. Otherwise, they might end up becoming another source of merit for Leng Yanran...

Performing the rites took little effort. After a single round of chanting, which lasted less than a minute, Leng Yanran rose to her feet.

She returned to her usual cold demeanor, exuding an aura tinged with killing intent.

If not for witnessing it firsthand, no one would believe that this seemingly ruthless demoness could chant Buddhist scriptures and assist souls in passing on!

After standing up, Leng Yanran didn’t rest. She signaled to Li Yurong, and the two disciples began collecting all the rare treasures and resources they could find in the Ren Family Residence, storing them in their jade pendants.

Fortunately, their master had enhanced the storage capacity of the jade pendants before this trip. Otherwise, the Ren family’s wealth would have required hundreds of storage bags to hold.

Just when everyone thought the farce had ended, a voice suddenly echoed in the air.

“Who dares to abduct my son? Return him to me at once!”

The city lord of Xuantian City had finally arrived. His voice reached them before he did.

In an instant, everyone turned their heads toward the source of the voice.

From beneath a towering tree, Tian Gou crawled out, trembling.

“Father, father, I’m here!”

At that moment, Tian Gou felt as though he had narrowly escaped death.

He had thought he would die at the hands of the Ren family, but to his astonishment, the two female cultivators had pushed the Ren family into a corner. When the Ren family revealed their trump cards, the master of these two women turned out to be even more terrifying!

Effortlessly exterminating the Ren family, casually suppressing and collecting the exploding spiritual vein, and even delegating the task of performing rites for the deceased to his disciple!

It was a perfectly orchestrated one-stop process—though the sequence was slightly unconventional, as it began with cremation followed by the rites...

“Gou’er, are you okay?”

The city lord rushed over to Tian Gou upon hearing his voice, checking him up and down with concern. Seeing that his son was unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief.

But as he thought about offending the Ren family, his brows furrowed deeply. Considering the Ren family's temperament, it was certain that his position as city lord would be lost.

He only hoped to keep his life.

“By the way, where’s the person who kidnapped you?”

“Were they killed by the Ren family?”

The city lord assumed Tian Gou’s trembling was from fear of the Ren family, but Tian Gou shivered even more violently at his father’s words.

“Father, listen to me—this situation is way over our heads.”

“Here’s what we’ll do: you come with me and kowtow to that senior. I think he won’t hold a grudge against us.”

“As for the Ren family... they’re gone.”

Tian Gou shuddered as he spoke, patting his father’s shoulder solemnly, his tone utterly serious.

“You brat, are you out of your mind from fear?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“The Ren family’s gone? Did they move away?”

“That’s perfect! If we haven’t offended the Ren family, I can keep my position as city lord.”

Hearing this, the city lord was nearly moved to tears. His son must have been so terrified that he was talking nonsense.

Damn the one who did this!

If he caught the culprit—

“You there, you’re the city lord of Xuantian City, aren’t you?”

“I remember you.”

Suddenly, a voice sounded, and the Grand Elder of the Holy Mountain appeared behind the city lord.

The city lord found the voice somewhat familiar but couldn’t place it immediately. He turned around to look.

Thud

As soon as he saw the face of the Grand Elder, he fell to his knees.

“Grand Elder, you—you wouldn’t happen to be the one who brought my son here, would you?”

In that instant, a flood of thoughts flashed through the city lord’s mind. He finally understood why his son had insisted they kneel and beg for forgiveness. His son had offended the Grand Elder of the Holy Mountain!

This—this was disastrous!

This was even worse than offending the Ren family.

The Holy Mountain stood at the pinnacle of power in the Eastern Region, towering above all noble families and sects.

“No, that wasn’t me,” the Grand Elder said with a slight shake of his head.

“Oh, thank goodness. That’s a relief.”

Hearing this, the city lord let out a long sigh and began to rise, relieved that his son hadn’t provoked the Grand Elder.

“I suggest you stay kneeling,” the Grand Elder said, his voice calm but firm. “You might find yourself back on your knees anyway...”

“Take your son’s advice—go kowtow and apologize to that senior.”

“We’re all people of the Eastern Region. I don’t want to see you end up being transcended...”