Chapter 243: Jiang Li’s Persuasive Talk

The Luban Sect wasn’t actually trying to register marriages in Great Zhou; they just wanted public approval.
Through his conversation with Lu Yu, Jiang Li came up with a general solution.
……
Inside the Luban Sect’s Grand Hall, the Sect Master and three elders were discussing the matter of relocating the sect.
“How’s the preparation going? Are there any items that haven’t been listed yet?”
“We’re still doing the inventory. Everything should be accounted for within two days and stored into the storage rings,” the Grand Elder was in charge of this part.
“Good.”
“It’s just… what should we do with the buildings like our Book Pavilion, Training Ground, and Testing Grounds? Should we leave them or put them into the storage rings and take them to Great Zhou?” The Grand Elder had deep feelings for these buildings—they were built with his own hands, every brick laid with effort.
“Leave them. In a few days when we move to Great Zhou, this place will be considered the old site of the Luban Sect. We can’t leave it completely barren, right? I know what you’re thinking—you don’t want to leave the Tianyuan Dynasty, do you?”
The Grand Elder let out a long sigh.
The Sect Master was helpless. If they could stay, who would willingly leave the Tianyuan Dynasty and move to Great Zhou?
They were being forced.
“Second Elder, have you secured a location in Great Zhou?”
“I have, but the cost is thirty percent higher than we estimated.”
“Third Elder, do we have enough spirit stone reserves?”
“If it’s just thirty percent, we can grit our teeth and afford it, but the next few years might be tough. We’ll be in a new place, unfamiliar territory, and there will be unavoidable expenses. We probably won’t be able to pay our disciples’ monthly stipends until things stabilize.”
The Third Elder continued, “Or we could borrow from the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce, but the interest rate would be higher than usual.”
The Sect Master gritted his teeth. “Our disciples are in the prime of their cultivation years—we can’t let them suffer. Borrow from the Feiyun Chamber!”
None of the four had ever handled a sect relocation before. Now that they were dealing with it, they realized just how many problems there were. It was almost enough to make them want to give up.
But once they thought of the outside world’s doubts about the Luban Sect, a fire lit in their chests. It was that fire that drove them to insist on going to Great Zhou—to prove to the world the legitimacy of their bond with puppets.
We like puppets. We’re even willing to marry them. The laws of Great Zhou agree with it—what reason do you have to mock or question us?
The world can say we’re weird, but they can’t question our relationship with puppets, and they absolutely can’t laugh at us for it!
That’s the bottom line.
“You all really want to give up your homeland and move to Great Zhou? Maybe think it over again?” Jiang Li strolled into the hall with a smile. Walking beside him was Yu Yin, with a gourd strapped to her waist.
“Human Sovereign.”
“Your Majesty.”
The four quickly stood up and bowed.
“Are you here to persuade us to stay?”
Yu Yin said, “Sect Master Gongshu, do you really believe that just because you go to Great Zhou to marry and get legal recognition, people will stop talking about you?”
The four fell silent. Indeed, even if the marriage is recognized in Great Zhou, the gossip probably won’t stop.
Maybe people will say the Luban Sect found a loophole in the law and forced it through, becoming a laughingstock.
Jiang Li said, “You are the decision-makers of the Luban Sect—how can you make such a huge decision out of spite? Relocating a sect is no joke.”
Sect Master Gongshu thought for a moment, then clasped his fists and said, “We understand what you mean, Human Sovereign, but as cultivators, even if we don’t fight for immortality, we must fight for our pride. Please forgive us.”
The four of them did feel like they were being a bit unreasonable. A Tribulation Stage cultivator and a Mahayana Stage cultivator came to see them—the message was obvious: don’t relocate the sect.
They also knew there were issues with their approach.
But still, as the saying goes, cultivators don’t fight with the heavens, don’t fight with the earth, but they do fight with people—for their pride, for their beliefs.
Jiang Li smiled and waved his hand. “Why don’t you hear my perspective first?”
The four frowned slightly but sat quietly to listen.
Yu Yin was also curious to hear what Jiang Li had to say.
“I understand your love and devotion toward your puppets. I understand your decision to marry them. After all, puppets have intelligence and souls, so naturally they can be Dao companions—there’s nothing wrong with that.”
The four relaxed a little, their expressions no longer so tense.
“It’s just that your thinking is far too advanced for most people to accept—like when I reached the Mahayana Stage. Many people couldn’t believe it. The last Mahayana appeared thirty or forty thousand years ago—only Immortal Elder Changcun had seen one.”
“But facts are facts. Even the most narrow-minded had to accept that I’m Mahayana, and that spiritual treasures can become sentient. We can’t treat them as we did in the past.”
“Even so, there are still many fools who haven’t realized the era of sentient treasures has begun—and fools are the majority.”
“Acceptance—from nothing to something—takes time. It can’t be rushed.”
“What the Luban Sect is going through is just like what I went through becoming Mahayana. Being close to spiritual treasures is the trend. You’re at the crest of the wave, but more waves are coming behind you.”
“You’re not wrong—you’re just ahead of your time. So why not pause for a moment and wait for the others to catch up?”
Yu Yin sent a voice transmission to the Wishful Gourd: “Take notes.”
“Take notes on what? How to marry spiritual treasures?” The Wishful Gourd was overjoyed, but also a little insecure—just having its master step on it already made it feel ecstatic. How could it possibly…
“I meant learn Jiang Li’s persuasive technique!” Yu Yin glared with beautiful eyes. She had no idea what kind of mind that gourd had, always thinking weird thoughts.
“Jiang Li keeps emphasizing that the Luban Sect didn’t do anything wrong—that’s the key. It implies he’s on their side, so they’ll listen to what he says next without feeling dismissed.”
“Then he uses himself as an example—the Mahayana breakthrough. It gives the Luban Sect a huge sense of recognition, as if they’re worthy of comparison.”
Yu Yin silently added: They may have heard of Mahayana before, but she had never heard of anyone marrying spiritual treasures—let alone organizing a group wedding.
More than just comparison—they’ve practically surpassed it.
“Then Jiang Li says it’s most of the Nine Provinces who are wrong. The Luban Sect will feel like they’re the wise ones. And as wise ones, they should be compassionate enough to wait for the fools.”
“Jiang Li also subtly shifts the language. He changes ‘marrying spiritual treasures’ to ‘being close with spiritual treasures.’”
“Being close with spiritual treasures is the trend, but marrying them is not. But the Luban Sect is so flattered, their heads are spinning—they won’t notice such small details.”
“Why change the wording?” The Wishful Gourd didn’t understand.
“To make sure he doesn’t contradict himself later—so if it comes up again, he can justify it without hesitation.”
“So is that what he really thinks?” The Wishful Gourd had been convinced by Jiang Li’s speech, but now, after its master’s breakdown, it wasn’t sure if Jiang Li had meant what he said.
“Does it matter?”
The Wishful Gourd fell silent.
It figured—with an artifact brain like his—there’s no out-talking humans. Good thing the Yin-Yang Heaven Seal big bro gave up quickly and never brought up founding a Spiritual Treasure Empire again. Otherwise, once it’s built, who knows whether the family name would be Lingbao or Human.
“Did you learn anything?”
“I learned too much.”