Chapter 2739: Chapter 2739: Complicated Deals

The last time Zen came to the Sacred Mallow Temple, there were three groups of people waiting there.

The disciples of the small forces had managed to reach the Other Shore with a few soul pills to their names. However, the real obstacle standing in their way was the Other Shore Keys. Even those of Stage One were hard to get, so they would often try their luck at the entrances of the temples.

It was common for them to wait there for ten or fifteen days, sometimes even two months.

Compared to the last time, Zen was shocked to see over a hundred people were waiting outside of the temple.

As soon as he appeared on the scene, everyone directed their attention towards him.

It was a rare sight to see a physical body appear on the Other Shore, and they began to whisper among themselves while staring at his profile.

As Zen made his way towards the gate of the Sacred Mallow Temple, the people saw a glimmer of hope and followed close behind him.

When he looked back to see the swarm of people crowding up towards him, he couldn't help but frown.

Although the thing in the crack at the top of the temple couldn't be taken away by anyone else, he still didn't want anyone to see it.

“Sir, can you open the door of the temple?” a middle-aged man asked politely, bowing to Zen.

The group of Souls of Light knew their place in contrast to Zen. They were inferior in power, so they showed him respect.

Upon hearing his question, Zen turned around to look at the people surrounding him with hopeful eyes.

Once he opened the door for them, they would all flock inside.

“Yes, I can,” Zen replied with a slight nod.

At this answer, their eyes lit up with joy, and their faces relaxed.

They had been waiting for days. Finally meeting someone owning a key to the gate made them disregard everything. Amid their happiness, they even forgot about how Zen had entered the Other Shore with his physical body intact.

“That would be great, haha!” The middle-aged man laughed heartily, and everyone else got ready to head inside.

“But I will enter the Sacred Mallow Temple by myself. Please don't follow me,” Zen requested equally respectfully.

The rejection hit them hard as their smiles were wiped clean off their faces.

“But, the Sacred Mallow Temple is so big. We can go in together. I promise we won't get in your way.”

“Yeah, it's a waste for you to go inside all by yourself after using one Other Shore Key.”

“Sir, we are all from the same human race. I beg you to reconsider. We should help each other.”

Some people began to beg him with desperate eyes to allow them in with him.

But, nothing was going to move Zen into changing his decision. He was firm on going in alone.

While he studied the foundation of the dilapidated temple, a thought dawned on him. He turned to the people again and asked, “You haven't merged with any Other Shore Token, have you?” RἈΝố฿Ę𝙨

“Yes, we made it to the Other Shore not long ago.”

“I've only been here for two months, and I haven't found any proper Other Shore Token.”

“…”

Zen shook his head at their answers and pointed at the temple. “Look over there. The bricks and stones of the temple can be used as your Other Shore Tokens.”

Although the Sacred Mallow Temple was in Stage One, its bricks and stones still contained considerable Other Shore Power.

At least they held more value than the Other Shore Tokens of Stage One.

Zen had planned on knocking these stones and bricks down earlier, but now he had the chance of going through with it.

“Do you mean these bricks and stones?”

“Can you knock them down?”

“If you can get one brick, I will offer you a hundred soul pills for it!”

“Forget a hundred. I will offer two hundred for one!”

There were always some instances where people would obtain the bricks of rundown temples and used them as their Other Shore Tokens. However, although the Sacred Mallow Temple looked like it had weak foundations, it was hard for them to extract its bricks.

The group realized Zen was their only hope in obtaining the bricks since he had come with his body.

After a quick bid among the people, someone offered five hundred soul pills.

Since they had waited painfully long in front of the temple, they didn't have a lot of soul pills left in their possession.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zen walked to a corner of the temple, clenched his fists and began to summon his energy.

Bang!

As his bare-knuckle made contact with the brick, a crack formed all over it.

Bang!

After he threw in his second punch, half of a brick fell off from the temple and dropped near his feet.

Zen picked up the broken square brick and raised it before the crowd. “Well, I am not greedy. I will offer this brick for three hundred pills. What do you think?”

He barely even finished his sentence when a man quickly rushed to him and dropped three hundred soul pills at his feet. “Here are three hundred soul pills. I'll take it!”

These people had known the strength of these bricks. The Other Shore Power each of these bricks contained was at least five or six divine megatons, making them top-grade Other Shore Tokens of Stage One.

Zen raised the brick and waved it in front of the man. “I have another condition. You can't follow me into the temple. Instead, you must guard the door for me.”

“Understood, no problem at all!” the man swiftly agreed and nodded aggressively.

Initially, these people wanted to enter the temple to gather Other Shore Tokens. But since their purpose was fulfilled with the bricks, they had no desire to go inside. The temples were known to have many dangers inside of them. Going in there would mean inviting unnecessary risk to themselves.

Then Zen began to knock the bricks down one by one.

Since he merged with the Eye of Will, he had the help of the Dreaded Eye Demon race. Therefore, he didn't wish to demolish their temple. With careful hands, he knocked down only half of a brick along the periphery each time and then sold them for soul pills.

Not everyone was able to take out so many soul pills. Some people didn't want to miss this opportunity, so they quickly retreated from the Other Shore and stocked up on soul pills to give to Zen in exchange for Other Shore Tokens.

On the other hand, those who obtained the bricks couldn't wait to merge with them.

However, now Zen was faced with a new problem.

After more than ten deals, he had acquired too many soul pills but had no place spacious enough to store them.

He could put all the things, regardless of their sizes and amount, in his space ring in the Source World.

The Souls of Light could also store some items. For example, Zen had stashed candles in his.

Zen couldn't absorb these soul pills into his body. He had received Dorothy's help before, but because he had been away from the Other Shore for so long, she might have already left Stage One.

He also couldn't trust these people. If they took the soul pills he earned and left the Other Shore, retrieving them would be impossible.

The deals on the Other Shore were quite risky. The Mice League and some great commercial alliances had a full set of rules to avoid risks. Zen didn't know what their methods were, so he had to come up with other ways.

He thought for a moment before he stopped knocking the bricks. Then he put more than two thousand soul pills at the gate of the Sacred Mallow Temple and called out to the people, “Those who haven't obtained the bricks yet are going to guard these pills for me till I'm back.”

These people were waiting for the bricks impatiently. Although over two thousand soul pills was not a small amount, they were more interested in the bricks. They didn't want to offend Zen by stealing his pills, especially since he was the only one who could get them what they wanted.

After Zen exited the Other Shore, he took out the Other Shore Key and recited the Sanskrit words that Geoffrey deciphered for him. Tiny lines continuously orbited his palm.

Upon activating the Other Shore Key, Zen once again appeared in front of the Sacred Mallow Temple.

Calmly, he closed his eyes, put his hand on the door of the temple and opened it. Then he moved all the soul pills to a hidden corner of the temple and continued to knock the bricks.

Before long, most of these one hundred people received their respective square bricks.

Now, they had to keep their end of the deal and help Zen guard the entrance of the Sacred Mallow Temple.

Zen walked into the temple and left the Other Shore again.

Before he entered, he activated the Truth of Godly Way and went to the Other Shore with his Soul of Light.

The people outside had no clue that Zen's body had left, so they still guarded the door. He could only be able to take the soul pills if he entered the temple with his Soul of Light.

However, just as Zen's Soul of Light had stepped foot on the Other Shore, he encountered Dorothy's Soul of Light.

Zen looked at Dorothy, with his head tilted to the side dumbfounded. He never expected her to still be where they left last time.