With a single Side Effect Return, Li Yan didn't even have to move throughout the whole process. One-Eyed Immortal Elder's flesh and blood simply rotted away until he died.
A Mahayana Stage cultivator had actually killed One-Eyed Immortal Elder, a True Immortal Realm expert, without making a sound.
That display of power left all the strange immortals standing guard before South Heaven Gate drenched in cold sweat.
How had Li Yan done it?
What method had he used to make One-Eyed Immortal Elder's flesh and blood rot away, turning him into a puddle of meat?
Everyone racked their brains, unable to figure it out. Yan Po Shan, who stood among the crowd like a lowly lackey, was even more stunned.
"He... He actually has such power? Could it be that Li Yan was hiding his cultivation?"
The immortals kept speculating about Li Yan. After watching silently for a moment, Li Chang Sheng immediately began to applaud.
"Interesting! I never expected Immortal Li's understanding of Dao Patterns to surpass ours."
With that, Longevity Siming raised a hand toward One-Eyed Immortal Elder's soul. One-Eyed Immortal Elder immediately begged, "No! Please, Siming!"
But no matter how much One-Eyed Immortal Elder pleaded, Li Chang Sheng compressed his soul into a soul pill.
A dignified True Immortal Realm immortal had been condensed into a single pill just like that.
With a thought, Li Chang Sheng sent the soul pill floating toward Li Yan.
"Immortal Li, please accept this small gift as a token of our meeting."
Li Yan, his eyes narrowed, took the soul pill and examined it carefully in his hand.
One-Eyed Immortal Elder had been compressed into a pill just like that. He probably never dreamed that after spending over ten thousand years living in fear in White Jade Capital, he would still one day be refined into a pill.
A lackey would always be just another stray dog by the roadside.
In the eyes of these Simings, lives and souls were nothing but resources for their cultivation.
To them, the strange immortals in White Jade Capital were no different from livestock to be fattened before slaughter.
Li Yan didn't refuse. He simply put the soul pill into his Storage Ring.
"Thank you."
Li Chang Sheng smiled and stepped aside to clear the way. "Immortal Li, please!"
"I've wanted to discuss Dao Patterns with you for a long time. Could you give me some pointers on understanding them?"
Li Chang Sheng spoke sincerely. He truly wanted to learn a few tricks from Li Yan.
But Li Yan's knowledge was all half-baked. How could he possibly give anyone pointers?
He relied entirely on Side Effect Return to nullify or transform Dao Patterns.
Yet Li Chang Sheng had mistaken those tricks for profound mastery of Dao Patterns.
Li Yan knew full well that when dealing with these arrogant, inhuman Simings, the kinder you were to them, the more they looked down on you.
In response to Li Chang Sheng's question, he answered coldly, "No comment."
That single response made Longevity Siming's expression stiffen and darken.
The anger radiating from Li Chang Sheng nearly overflowed.
But in no time, Li Chang Sheng changed his expression again. "Ha! Immortal Li, you do love to joke. We have plenty of time. Sooner or later, we'll have a chance to discuss this in depth."
Plenty of time? Discuss this in depth?
The two phrases gave Li Yan a chill. And with Li Chang Sheng acting so bizarrely, he couldn't help worrying that the man might have questionable tastes.
"Immortal Li, please, come with me into Longevity Hall."
Li Chang Sheng, his hair hanging loose, strode ahead to lead the way. Li Yan and Eclipse Moon followed behind him.
This was Li Yan's first time officially entering White Jade Capital. He saw its many-layered halls, while countless strange immortals busied themselves refining pills.
Off to one side stood a workshop dedicated to pill refinement. White "snowflakes" kept drifting out of a towering copper chimney.
It looked beautiful. A thick layer of "snow" had piled up along the workshop's eaves.
But upon closer inspection, what fell wasn't snowflakes. It was the pure-white ashes of ascenders.
Curses and roars echoed from inside the pill-refining workshop. It was as if countless vengeful spirits were wailing and screaming.
Unfortunately, no souls remained here.
Every ascender was eaten down to the bone, all their value squeezed out of them.
From their hair and skin to their flesh, kidneys, and bones, and finally their souls, everything was thrown into the furnace to be refined.
Nothing from an ascender went to waste. The only thing that came out of the pill-refining workshop was ash.
Li Yan rubbed his chin as he looked at the workshop where ascenders were rendered down. He casually remarked, "They're eaten down to the bone. They don't even spare the souls."
"The cultivation world ruled by White Jade Capital is unsustainable. They're draining the pond to catch all the fish."
If this continued for long, the souls of the entire cultivation world would eventually be exhausted. What would be left to reincarnate?
Without souls, there could be no new mortals.
Even chicken farmers knew to leave a single egg for their hens. But White Jade Capital's approach was like cutting off the source, sparing not even the souls of ascenders.
Li Chang Sheng, walking ahead, paused and muttered to himself, "Unsustainable, draining the pond to catch all the fish? Immortal Li, that's a very apt description."
Eclipse Moon, following behind Li Yan, added, "The Four Gods never intended to make this sustainable. They only want to strip the cultivation world of everything."
"That's also why Her Excellency Moon Princess wants to eliminate the Four Gods."
Longevity Siming and Eclipse Moon spoke in tandem, both hinting to Li Yan that the Outer God Moon Princess was the true savior.
Listening to them, Li Yan found their words utterly laughable and hypocritical.
The Four Gods ate people. Did that mean Moon Princess didn't?
They made it sound as though Moon Princess had come to benefit the cultivation world.
Once she drove away the Four Gods, wouldn't she just devour the cultivation world all by herself?
On the contrary, the Ancient Gods and Outer Gods tearing into each other—that would be a real show.
If he'd been naive enough to believe them, Li Yan would have died on the very first day after transmigrating!
Li Yan didn't reply. He simply followed them into Longevity Hall.
But Li Chang Sheng didn't know that Li Yan had secretly sent Shadow Puppet Zhang Deng away.
At that moment, Shadow Puppet Zhang Deng's clones appeared in the Sitiān Hall of Great Exorcist, the Glutton Hall of Glutton Head, and the Compassion Hall of Dysentery Butcher.
The three Simings, meditating in different halls, all saw Zhang Deng's clone.
"Oh? Zhang Deng, what brings you here?"
Even now, the three Simings had no idea that Li Yan controlled Zhang Deng. They had no guard up when Zhang Deng came to visit.
Zhang Deng's clone said nothing. Instead, he raised the lantern in his hand and cast a projection onto the white jade wall.
The projection showed only one person: the Outer God Moon Princess.
Moon Princess appeared to be speaking with someone. "Go and slay the gods for me. Eliminate the Four Gods."
The moment those words rang out, shock and confusion spread across the faces of the three Simings in their separate halls.
Great Exorcist, who was recovering from his injuries in the Sitiān Hall, slammed a hand down on the table. "Outrageous! The Outer God Moon Princess is so brazen—she actually wants to slay the gods!"
"If she wants to slay the gods, the Simings will surely be her first target. We need to contact the other Simings."
"Quick! Summon Longevity, Glutton Head, Dysentery Butcher, and the others!"
"We must join forces and eliminate Eclipse Moon!"
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