One-Eyed Immortal Elder was completely arrogant and disdainful in front of outsiders.
But when facing these female immortals from White Jade Capital, he was extremely respectful.
The few female immortals who had come to deliver a message asked about Li Yan's situation.
"One-Eyed Immortal Elder, the lord above asked whether Li Yan's cultivation has improved after more than ten days."
Bowing low, One-Eyed Immortal Elder clasped his hands and replied with utmost respect, "In answer to you ladies, that cultivator named Li Yan is already close to the second level of the Spirit Transformation Stage."
"With his current speed of cultivation, supplemented by the Spirit Liquid I carefully prepared for him,"
"within a year, he will certainly break through the Spirit Transformation Stage and reach the Void Refining Stage."
"Once he reaches the Void Refining Stage, he'll be able to ascend to immortality!"
As he spoke, One-Eyed Immortal Elder's eyes darted around, and he cautiously asked,
"May I ask, ladies, why the lord above cares so much about Li Yan?"
"Although he has outstanding talent, that lord comes asking every few days. Isn't that a little..."
One-Eyed Immortal Elder voiced the confusion in his heart: why did that lord come to ask about him every few days?
It made no sense at all...
It was like a regular at a restaurant who loved its signature roast chicken. Would that customer go around asking about the free-range chickens in the farmyard all day?
Of course not.
Who spent every day worrying about a free-range chicken before going to a feast?
At One-Eyed Immortal Elder's question, the few female immortals gave a cold snort. "How dare you, old servant, presume to guess at our lord's thoughts?"
At those words, One-Eyed Immortal Elder immediately bent even lower and replied with utmost humility,
"I spoke out of turn. I shouldn't have presumed to discuss her thoughts."
"This old servant will take every possible care of Li Yan. I absolutely won't let anything happen to him."
Seeing One-Eyed Immortal Elder bent over so far that he looked like a roasted shrimp, the female immortals finally nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.
As he watched them drift away, One-Eyed Immortal Elder let out a long breath.
"That lord is so strange, taking such an interest in Li Yan, this immortal pill."
"Looks like I'll have to speed things up and get Li Yan into her hands as soon as possible."
"I'll send Li Yan some more miraculous pills and medicines. I'll try to get him to ascend within half a year."
With that, One-Eyed Immortal Elder suddenly gave a sinister smile.
"Send Yan Po Shan over to deliver the medicine to Li Yan, and let Yan Po Shan reunite with his daughter."
"That dog, Yan Po Shan, needs to be tamed slowly. Let him see his daughter, and in the end, he'll still work for me."
Watching One-Eyed Immortal Elder grin to himself, the Alchemy Boy beside him asked curiously,
"Master, why are you so fixated on Yan Po Shan?"
"Aren't there plenty of people who'll obey if they want to live?"
One-Eyed Immortal Elder's lips curled up. "You don't understand. If someone willingly serves me, there's no fun in it."
"It has to be a man of unbending resolve like Yan Po Shan. Seize his weakness, guide him step by step, and eventually turn him into White Jade Capital's most loyal servant."
"Tell me, isn't that fun?"
"Hahaha, it's great fun!"
Hearing One-Eyed Immortal Elder laugh as he asked and answered his own question, the other Alchemy Boys shuddered.
They knew their master was a psychopath, but they hadn't realized he was this twisted.
Abyss of the Netherworld.
When Li Yan returned to this place, bringing Yuan Xu, an enormous tortoise shell, with him,
the Heaven's Soldiers and Heaven's Generals of the Old Heavenly Court all drew in sharp breaths.
"It's one of the Four Evils..."
"One of the Four Evils, Yuan Xu?"
"Why can I sense Xing Mu's aura, too?"
While everyone was talking, Li Yan stood on the tortoise's back, facing Ao Jiao.
Ao Jiao had thought a lot during the journey, and her attitude had softened somewhat.
"Little Bean Sprout, I know you might have grown up among the humans."
"But don't forget, your soul carries the aura of the Yanhuang Dragon Clan."
"I think one of the Dragon Clan's elders might have protected you, hiding you inside a human. You're actually a member of the Dragon Clan."
Ao Jiao was still trying to brainwash Li Yan and get him to admit that he was a member of the Dragon Clan.
Li Yan could only laugh helplessly. The Yanhuang Dragon Clan...
It seemed impossible to explain away.
Just then, a line of text appeared before Li Yan's eyes.
[An above-Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator has been detected near your physical body. Please return your soul to your body as soon as possible.]
Li Yan had no choice but to say, "Ao Jiao, I have something to take care of. I'll be going."
"Wait a moment!"
Ao Jiao still wanted to say something, but Li Yan's soul had already vanished into thin air, leaving her standing dazed at the entrance to the Abyss of the Netherworld.
Meanwhile, Li Yan returned to his physical body and woke on the Golden Patterned Lotus Platform.
He had been transformed into a golden-bodied dragon soul the whole time, so returning to his own body felt a little strange.
Looking at his physical body, Li Yan murmured to himself, "I didn't even realize more than ten days had passed. Meditating cross-legged got me through to the second level of the Spirit Transformation Stage."
"I've been cultivating a little too quickly. I'll have to slow it down again..."
"Now that I've learned the Void Breaking Claw, I'll be able to escape this prison as soon as I get a better grasp of it!"
Just as Li Yan was working out how to master the Void Breaking Claw's long-distance teleportation within a few months,
someone suddenly shoved open the door and burst into the room. It was a young woman, Yan Po Tian's daughter, Yan Qing Qing.
The soul of the Misty Moon Immortal was also residing inside Yan Qing Qing's body.
Yan Qing Qing came running over excitedly. "Brother Li! My father's back from White Jade Capital!"
"He even brought us gifts. Come and see, Brother Li!"
Yan Qing Qing took Li Yan by the hand and excitedly led him outside.
Li Yan already knew what Yan Po Shan was going through. Frowning slightly, he followed Yan Qing Qing to the plaza outside Forget Dust Hall.
A large crowd of cultivators had gathered outside Forget Dust Hall.
They had all heard that Yan Po Shan had ascended to White Jade Capital half a month ago. None of them had expected him to return so soon!
Many respected elders had come to offer their congratulations.
"Immortal Yan!"
"I never thought you'd return to the mortal realm, Immortal Yan."
"Immortal, what's White Jade Capital like? Does the river really flow with Spirit Liquid, with milk and honey drifting on the breeze?"
Facing the questions from a crowd of familiar faces, Yan Po Shan felt conflicted.
He knew the truth: ascension was all a scam.
He had seen the names on the White Jade Bamboo Slip. Most of the people gathered here were on the list for alchemy.
They were human-shaped immortal herbs that White Jade Capital had raised in the mortal realm, waiting to ascend to immortality before being sent into the Alchemy Furnace.
The immortals of White Jade Capital fed on the flesh and blood of our human cultivators. Yan Po Shan wished he could shout those words aloud.
But after witnessing One-Eyed Immortal Elder's methods, Yan Po Shan knew...
He thought of all these old companions, desperately cultivating to become immortals. Some had even abandoned their wives and children, caring nothing for their families.
They had worked and trained with all their might, endured countless hardships and trials, only to end up as immortal pills for someone else to swallow. Was it worth it?
But if he revealed even half the truth today, not a single person here would leave alive.
Rather than tell them the truth, it would be better... better to let them live a little longer.
The words he wanted to say were swallowed back down.
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