owing your mother has a lover. I underestimated the status of the Rodman family and overestimated my own charm.”I think that as long as I offer my heart to your mother, she would accept me. Sadly, unt...The Guo Temple is the only officially recognized temple in Dawan Dynasty because the founding emperor received help from monks in this temple during his conquest.

The predecessor of the Hguó Temple was just an ordinary temple, but the abbot was a capable man. He recognized that Taizu was the emperor destined to end the chaos, so he sent three of his disciples to help Taizu establish his dynasty.

After Taizu ended the chaotic times and ascended the throne, Fang Zhang's three disciples all returned to the temple. They could be considered as having accomplished their mission and retired gracefully. There were no incidents of them taking advantage of their benefactor or seeking revenge. They left with great ease.

The Taizu Emperor was also a man who knew how to repay kindness. Since the three had cultivated their next lives, as the founding emperor of the Great Huan Dynasty, he directly issued an imperial decree to rebuild the dilapidated temple and personally inscribed "Hu Guo Temple" on it and sent it to the temple. It could be seen as a promise in disguise: as long as the Great Huan Dynasty did not perish, Hu Guo Temple would always have flourishing incense.

The abbot became more and more low-key, only appearing during the royal family's prayer ceremony every five years. Not long after the Taizu passed the throne to the crown prince, the abbot passed away. The current abbot of Guocheng Temple is the third disciple of the old abbot, said to be a highly accomplished and enlightened monk.

Since the ripples came to the foot of the Guogong Temple, she felt that the spiritual energy was much more abundant. She also sighed that Master Fangzheng had chosen a good place. Practicing in such a place would definitely be twice the result with half the effort. It would be difficult for the incense to not flourish here.

When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, everyone got off the carriage. This was Ripples insistence; she said that since it was a pilgrimage for blessings, there had to be sincerity. She wanted to walk up the mountain herself.

After hearing the ripples' words, not only Grandma Sun's face turned gloomy, but also Hongqi and Lǜcuì's faces grew dark. Only Cherry remained silent. She had to perform well now, besides, she had lived on the estate for seven or eight years, so she still had some physical strength.

Ripple clasped her hands together in a show of reverence, bowing theatrically before striding towards the Guóji Temple atop the mountain. Behind her trailed Grandmother Sun and a retinue of maidservants.

Because the Xiangguo Temple is very popular, many people come to pray for blessings. Some, like ripples, choose to walk up the mountain, so their group doesn't seem out of place.

She's just different now, as the young lady of a marquisate, naturally with guards from the marquisate separating her group and the common people nearby.

The ripples on the surface of the water are covered by a thin veil, revealing only a pair of beautiful eyes. The face beneath the veil is sometimes visible and sometimes hidden, which gives it a sense of hazy beauty. Along the way, people keep stealing glances at Ripples.

Lian Ri was very strong, especially in this place where spiritual energy was abundant. As she walked and circulated her cultivation method, she broke through the first layer of Qi Refining before even reaching halfway up the mountain.

When the ripples were about to break through, she stopped her steps, closed her eyes tightly, and clasped her hands together, muttering:

"May the ripples of faith reach Buddha, and may he bless my younger sister with an early release from suffering. I pray that in her next life, she will have a healthy body, be born into a wealthy family, and enjoy a life of prosperity."

Pleasant words cost nothing, just speaking them out. However, Grandma Sun felt a little uneasy listening to it. Isn't this cursing Miss to die early and be reborn quickly

But she couldn't say anything, after all, it was because the young mistress wasn't able to that the eldest miss took her place and married into the Lin family.

After Liàn Yī finished muttering, she felt that her cultivation level of the first layer was already stable. She continued to move upward.

Besides the guards, the maids and servant girls following Ripples took advantage of this opportunity to catch their breath. They were truly exhausted. They wished Miss Ripples would stay a while longer, but Ripples was intentionally tiring them out. How could she possibly care about their thoughts

So, after her Qi cultivation reached the first level and stabilized, she continued to ascend the mountain. The servants behind her followed with pained expressions.

The ripples didn't speed up; instead, she deliberately slowed down. She wanted to maintain her persona after all, a young lady from a wealthy family shouldn't be too physically capable, that would raise suspicion.

Even though her speed was gradually slowing down, she didn't stop. The people following behind could only resign themselves to climbing upwards. After a full two hours, they finally reached the peak, and Lian Yi successfully broke through to the second layer of Qi Refining.

The current abbot of Guoshi Temple, Master Huiyuan, sensed the turmoil in the surrounding atmosphere long ago and felt something was amiss. He calculated with his fingers for a long time, but couldn't figure anything out.

When the second tremor of spiritual energy passed, he couldn't bear to wait any longer. He took Little Shami with him and waited at the entrance of Guoshi Temple. He wanted to see who could cause such a stir in the temple's atmosphere.

Because of the host's appearance, more people's attention was drawn to him. All those who went up the mountain to pray for blessings and pay respects flocked to Huiyuan to bow, and for a moment, he was surrounded by a crowd so dense that there was no room to move. He didn't notice Lianri's abnormality at all.

Before even reaching the temple gates, Lian'er noticed the commotion. Knowing the head abbot was involved, she didn't immediately approach him. After all, she was a legitimate daughter of the Hou Mansion, and even if she wanted to meet with the abbot, it wouldn't be under these circumstances. So, her guards escorted Lian'er to the guest quarters for women at Guoguo Temple instead.

Ripples entered an ordinary box room, supported by Sakura as she sat down. She took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her temples that wasn't there, before finally speaking:

"Grandma Sun, you all have worked hard accompanying me up the mountain. Please arrange for someone to make some tea. I'll go bathe and change first, then we can go to the main hall to incense and pay respects."

Yes, Miss.

Grandma Sun, after all, was getting up in years. She just managed to catch her breath and, without bothering to wipe the sweat from her brow, turned and went out to make arrangements.

"Cherry, why don't you go take a look around What are some nice views at this temple Once we finish praying for blessings, we can relax for two days."

The ripples lowered their voices and instructed Sakura.

Yes, Miss.

The cherry was very happy and immediately called out to Hongqi, asking her to come out.

Green tea then prepares the ripples bath and dressing needs outside.

This time, the young lady went out with three carriages following her. One carriage carried people, one was loaded with clothes, jewelry, makeup and similar items, and the last one held snacks, meals, and commonly used teacups and trays. These were just the basics.

Lian'yi took a comfortable bath and changed into a more simple dress. She only wore a few pieces of plain jade jewelry and, accompanied by Sun Mama, went to the main hall to listen to evening classes.

At this time, the main hall was filled with people who came to pay respects to Buddha. Men and women sat on opposite sides, and in the middle were monks chanting sutras while striking a wooden fish.

Lian Yi sat cross-legged on the cushion in the main hall, then closed her eyes and began to listen to the monk chant sutras. In fact, she was running her internal energy exercises inside, not missing a beat as she absorbed spiritual energy. It wasn't easy to come to Guo Temple once, so she quickly absorbed the spiritual energy here, lest she regret it after leaving.

As a result of the evening lesson, Lian Ri ascended another level, successfully raising her cultivation to the third layer of Qi Refinement.

For the past three months, Ripples had been practicing diligently every night without any respite. As a result, she moved from places of depleted spiritual energy to those overflowing with it, and her breakthrough was remarkably smooth.

Of course, the spiritual energy here is abundant compared to Hou Mansion, but it's still far from truly abundant.

After finishing her evening lessons, Lianyi took off a gold bangle from her wrist and handed it to Grandma Sun.

"Grandma, this is a little something from me. After donating it to the temple, I'll have a perpetual lamp lit in your honor."th nimble eyes and quick hands, he collected some things. Then he stopped before a stone wall, ceasing all motion, as if he had discovered something.Ling'er had been secretly observing Lian Xiye. Seei...