Mu Gu Toils, Ruoruo Reaps

Mysterious Wood Spirit Platform, inner grounds.

In an unnoticed corner, an old man stood hunched before his platform. Though he was refining medicinal ingredients, his gaze repeatedly swept toward Yao Xing Ji, faint greed glinting within it.

This man was Old Man Mu Gu, who had vanished without a trace for a long time.

Compared to before, Old Man Mu Gu seemed even more restrained now. His aura was completely contained within his body, making him exceedingly inconspicuous.

Yet upon closer inspection, there was something hidden beneath the surface.

In Old Man Mu Gu's hand, a flame carrying a faintly profound aura churned like a demonic spirit. Its might was so great that it was no weaker than the Nine Nether Wind Flame!

"Heh heh, he finally took the bait."

Watching Yao Xing Ji toss the Earthly Core Mother into his pill furnace, Old Man Mu Gu gave a cold smile. His aura grew even more concealed, to the point where he would not stand out at all even amid a sea of people.

And this was precisely part of his plan.

Back in the Pill Realm, Mu Gu had used the scramble for treasures as a pretext to deliver the switched Earthly Core Mother into Yao Xing Ji's hands. He had done it all for this very moment.

Everyone knew that eighth-grade pills, Dou Zuns, and Spirit Realm souls—things that seemed utterly unrelated—shared one thing in common, in a certain sense—

Spiritual energy.

Advancing to a Spirit Realm soul required spiritual energy, and refining an eighth-grade pill was no exception.

That was why the Earthly Core Mother was especially precious to Alchemists.

Not only could it grant a cultivator a chance to advance to the Spirit Realm, it could also greatly infuse an eighth-grade pill with spiritual energy, elevating