Talent Is No Match for Lying Flat

"Hey, hey, hey, who are you?"

Taking a small mirror from her Storage Ring and looking herself over, Cao Ying was amused by her current appearance.

Since officially becoming an alchemist at the age of seven, this was the first time she had ever blown up a cauldron.

Chu Xiao, that big bastard, had thrown her heart into turmoil and ruthlessly taken her first time.

"I heard Wind Venerable of Starfall Pavilion has been searching for Venerable Yao. If I bring him this news, wouldn't he owe me a favor?"

"It would be wonderful if I could take Venerable Yao as my master. I wonder what his current situation is."

Cao Ying grinned, revealing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth.

If Chu Xiao had been there, he definitely would have cried out, "The black toothpaste has come to life."

"Eww~"

Disgusted by how ugly she looked, she hurriedly took a cloak from her Storage Ring and put it on, then crept over to the door.

Seeing no one outside, she immediately used a movement Dou Skill and sprinted toward the hot spring pool behind her residence.

Splash!

After stripping off her clothes and diving headfirst into the pool, Cao Ying's thoughts raced.

Yao Chen, once the continent's foremost alchemist, had been missing for many years, yet his legends had continued circulating throughout the Pill Tower and Pill Domain.

Every alchemist regarded Yao Chen as a role model, while ambitious geniuses wanted to surpass him.

She had never expected to obtain information about him from the Diary Copy today.

"I wonder what Venerable Yao's current condition is."

Cao Ying turned her attention back to the Diary Copy.

She believed Chu Xiao would clear up her doubts.

Old Yao, that old lecher, had once been so glorious, yet now he could only cling to life in the form of a soul.

Had he not encountered Little Yan Zi, whose Soul Power was innately powerful enough to let him finally devour Dou Qi and restore his own Soul Power, he likely would have perished silently in this remote place.

"Could this be why Xiao Yan's cultivation regressed and he became useless?"

Yun Yun, who knew something of Xiao Yan's situation, finally understood and let out another sigh.

Who would have thought that after the fall of a former genius, he would gain such a heaven-defying opportunity?

If Yan Ran had not called off the engagement, then as Xiao Yan's fiancée, she certainly would have benefited from it as well.

Yet she had pushed all of it away herself.

"Disciple, you still have plenty of regrets ahead of you," Yun Yun murmured, shaking her head as she continued reading the Diary.

She was rather curious why Venerable Yao, with such status, position, and strength, had ended up in his current state.

Little Yan Zi spent three years as useless because of him, but his temperament was tempered, and he was no longer as impetuous as before. In the long run, that was a good thing.

With a former peak nine-star Dou Zun and eighth-tier high-grade alchemist personally teaching him, Little Yan Zi's future is limitless. He might even become more formidable than me.

The Women: "..."

In other words, even Xiao Yan, personally taught by Yao Chen, could not compare to you.

What kind of talent was that?

Fortune and misfortune—until the final moment, no one can say for sure.

That was true for Little Yan Zi, and it was actually true for Old Yao as well.

He ended up like this because, back then, he had kindly rescued an orphan, named him Han Feng, and taken him as his disciple. He treated him like his own son. When Han Feng was two, he even specially concocted Foundation Establishment Liquid to nourish his meridians, perfecting his already decent talent for alchemy.

Yet Han Feng was not satisfied. He colluded with outsiders to ambush him, all for the sake of obtaining a cultivation technique.

The Women:?

"Did I read that wrong?"

Xiao Yi Xian rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

"Shortsighted and laughable."

In Stone Desert City, Medusa, who had just bought a courtyard to settle down in, curled her lips disdainfully.

Lowering her head to look at her feet, she always felt as though something was missing.

"What kind of trash is this!?"

Feng Qing Er felt as though her intelligence had been insulted.

If it were anyone else, with an elder like Yao Chen—nominally a master but practically no different from a biological father—they only needed to obediently lie back and win.

Yet Han Feng had betrayed him just to obtain a cultivation technique he considered good. Wasn't that like picking up sesame seeds while throwing away a watermelon?

What cultivation technique could compare to Yao Chen, a peak Dou Zun and eighth-tier high-grade alchemist?

Repaying kindness with enmity, cold-blooded and ungrateful—death a hundred times over would not atone for it.

The Women nodded in agreement.

Although that cultivation technique was indeed powerful, and my future breakthrough into the Dou Emperor realm was inextricably linked to it, that still should not have been a reason for you, Han Feng, to betray him.

The Women:?

They respected no one but you.

That turn was so sharp it nearly threw out their backs.

"I wonder how many people are stirred up now." Chu Xiao smiled.

It was merely a cultivation technique related to breaking through to the Dou Emperor realm. It was nowhere near as valuable as him, a reincarnated Saint-Rank Heaven Supreme.

There was nothing to hide!

"A cultivation technique related to breaking through to the Dou Emperor realm?"

"Nothing special."

Feng Qing Er realized she had become a little too arrogant. She was unexpectedly not very interested in this cultivation technique.

Because if everything recorded in the Diary was true, then even being Chu Xiao's mount would allow her to reach heights far beyond the Dou Emperor realm.

What she wanted to hear now was information about Peerless Divine Abilities that could transform her bloodline.

But from the perspective of my later self, after reaching Saint-Rank Heaven Supreme, none of this amounted to much.

"Save those words until all your future memories have awakened."

Medusa folded her arms, curled her foot, and delivered a venomous remark.

Fortunately, Old Yao did not stumble in the same place twice. When he accepted Little Yan Zi as his disciple, he still devoted everything he had to teaching him, even nearly sacrificing his own life.

And under my guidance, Little Yan Zi also became a man who valued loyalty and righteousness, repaying even a drop of kindness with a gushing spring. Later, when we reached the Great Thousand World, Old Yao even had a place in my Ancient Heavenly Palace.

When I fell, he was only one step away from becoming a Saint-Rank Heaven Supreme.

The Women:!

At that moment, they truly understood Chu Xiao's words: "Fortune and misfortune—until the final moment, no one can say for sure."

Yao Chen's first disciple had caused someone of his stature to fall into the dust, nearly dying without a sound.

Yet his second disciple had brought him immense fortune, allowing him to ascend to the Great Thousand World in the future and become a Heaven Supreme of the Endless Fire Territory under the Ancient Heavenly Palace.

So, keeping one's eyes open and choosing the right person to invest in was very important.

Chu Xiao spoke those words from the bottom of his heart.

The Endless Fire Territory had Old Yao, while the Divine Realm did not have Yu Xiaogang.

A Fire Territory stood at the border—could the abyss turn people into humans?

Mu Chen had already reached the Dominator Realm; when would Yu Hao finally gain freedom?

Better to be Xiao Yan's little brother than Tang San's brother.

The living examples were right there.

Having good talent was not as good as choosing the right person to coast on.

Take Ya Fei, for example. Her cultivation talent was abysmally poor. No matter how hard she worked on her own, she would never become a Da Dou Shi in this lifetime.

But when the Xiao Family suffered persecution from the Misty Cloud Sect, with Hai Bo Dong's support, she led the Mite'er Family in providing them with full protection. Little Yan Zi and I both regarded her as a benefactor.

Later, Little Yan Zi and I gave her many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and medicinal pills to improve her physique and raise her cultivation. In the future, she also ascended to the Great Thousand World with me and became the chief steward of the Ancient Heavenly Palace.

"What!?" Yun Yun's expression changed drastically.

The Misty Cloud Sect would persecute the Xiao Family in the future?

Wasn't that cutting off its own path?

How could such a thing happen!?

Because of the three-year agreement between Yan Ran and Xiao Yan?

That should not be the case. She was not that overbearing in her actions.

According to Chu Xiao, she had once shared an ambiguous relationship with him.

For Chu Xiao's sake, she should not have allowed the Misty Cloud Sect to persecute the Xiao Family either.

And the Xiao Family had even needed the Mite'er Family, which required the Ice Emperor Hai Bo Dong's return, to protect them.

Had things already reached the point of an irreconcilable feud?

"What exactly happened?"