Xiao Baichuan had yet to react.
A wisp of white smoke suddenly flew out of the jade pendant against his chest.
The white smoke gathered in midair, taking the form of a white-haired old man with the bearing of an immortal.
The old man stretched his illusory body in midair, stroked his beard, and let out a long breath.
"Ahh~"
"After sleeping for three years, I can finally come out for some fresh air."
Xiao Baichuan stared at the translucent old man before him, froze for a moment, then his pupils abruptly contracted.
White hair, a soul body, and a sleazy look-this old bastard was Yao Chen!
Mystery solved!
He finally knew why Xiao Yan had been able to resume cultivating after his cultivation regressed for only half a year.
He finally knew why he had ended up with the Flame Emperor's script!
The corner of Xiao Baichuan's mouth twitched, and the first thing out of his mouth was:
"Old geezer, did you sleep well?"
Yao Chen answered without thinking.
"Quite well."
Then he immediately caught himself and pointed at Xiao Baichuan, his beard bristling and his eyes bulging.
"You brat! Don't you know anything about respecting your elders and caring for the young?"
Xiao Baichuan paid him no attention whatsoever.
Something suddenly occurred to him, and he immediately asked Ling Xi in his mind.
"Ling Xi, is my cultivation so mediocre because this old man's been absorbing my Dou Qi?"
Ling Xi's reply was blunt.
"No."
"This old geezer has been staying in the Twin Fish Jade Pendant to nurture his soul. The Twin Fish Jade Pendant can absorb Dou Qi and perform Soul Nurturing and Soul Condensing."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have carried this jade pendant with me."
Xiao Baichuan looked crestfallen.
Outside, Yao Chen saw that the young man before him was ignoring him, and his temper immediately flared.
"Hey! Brat, I'm talking to you! Are you even listening?"
Only then did Xiao Baichuan come back to his senses. Without paying any heed to what Yao Chen had just said, he asked him directly:
"Old man, were you living inside Xiao Yan and absorbing his Dou Qi before?"
Yao Chen froze.
He had not expected the young man before him to be so clever, guessing the truth so quickly.
Yao Chen immediately put on the air of an immortal again, stroked his beard, and nodded slightly.
"To think you're actually rather clever, brat. You figured it out so quickly."
Xiao Baichuan was speechless and asked another question.
"Then what did you come to me for? Have you been absorbing my Dou Qi?"
He still refused to accept it!
He really hoped his cultivation was progressing so slowly because Yao Chen had absorbed his Dou Qi.
Hearing this, Yao Chen gave a disdainful laugh.
He had, after all, once been the Continent's Number One Alchemist. Being repeatedly ignored by this junior had naturally roused his temper.
He mocked him without mercy. "Absorb your Dou Qi to recover?"
"With that cultivation talent of yours, I might not recover even a tenth of my strength if I kept absorbing it until I died in meditation."
"If not for that miraculous jade pendant of yours, do you think you'd even get to see me today?"
Xiao Baichuan finally cracked.
Holy shit! Get the script right! You gave me the Flame Emperor's script, but not his cultivation talent?
Ling Xi also sensed Xiao Baichuan's despondent inner turmoil.
She had occupied Xiao Baichuan's body, so she naturally knew his cultivation talent was quite ordinary, and she knew why he was dejected.
She immediately spoke up to comfort him.
"Lecher, what are you getting so worked up for?"
"One look at the strength of this old man's soul tells you he's a high-tier Alchemist."
"Just have him guide your cultivation when the time comes. Failing that, you still have me."
Xiao Baichuan heard her and thought she had a point!
He now had both an Ancient Dou Di from ten thousand years ago and the publicly acknowledged number one Alchemist of the present-day Dou Qi Continent at his side.
With a lineup like this, even a pig tethered to them could take flight.
He refused to believe he could not outperform a pig!
Xiao Baichuan took a deep breath, and his dim eyes lit up again.
The bitter curve of his lips slowly straightened, then rose little by little.
His face, which had looked like a frost-wilted eggplant just moments ago, glowed with life once more.
The dejection in his eyes faded, replaced by boundless yearning for the future.
"You're right!"
"With such a mighty thigh as yours to cling to, Ling Xi, what am I panicking for?"
"Anything that trickles out between your toes would be enough for me to cultivate for a lifetime!"
Hearing this, Ling Xi snapped at him.
"Are those damned eyes of yours blind? What part of my legs is thick?"
Xiao Baichuan stole a glance at Ling Xi's fair legs and immediately corrected himself.
"Not thick, not thick! Long legs! Beautiful long legs!"
Looking at Ling Xi's fair legs, Xiao Baichuan recalled a famous saying.
Sometimes, what rests on a man's shoulders isn't necessarily responsibility.
In the room, Yao Chen saw how crestfallen Xiao Baichuan looked after his cutting remarks, and immediately grew smug.
That'll teach you not to respect your elders and care for the young. A greenhorn brat like you dares pit himself against me!
When I was taking the Dou Qi Continent by storm, you hadn't even been born!
Just as Yao Chen was basking in his triumph, he discovered that the dejection on Xiao Baichuan's face had vanished in an instant.
In its place was that boundless yearning for the future.
Yao Chen had never expected this young man's mind to be so resilient.
For a moment, he could not help seeing him in a new light.
Having been comforted, Xiao Baichuan stared at Yao Chen with eager eyes.
This immediately gave Yao Chen a bad feeling.
Xiao Baichuan suddenly spoke.
"Old man, what do you think of my Twin Fish Jade Pendant? Is it comfortable to live in?"
Hearing Xiao Baichuan bring up the jade pendant of his own accord, Yao Chen immediately became interested.
Although he was the Dou Qi Continent's number one Alchemist, this was his first time seeing a jade pendant that could absorb Dou Qi to nourish a soul.
"It's quite comfortable."
Yao Chen nodded, a note of satisfaction in his voice.
Then Xiao Baichuan abruptly changed tack.
"Since it's comfortable, shouldn't you pay some rent?"
Yao Chen froze.
"What?"
Xiao Baichuan counted on his fingers and spoke with a perfectly straight face.
"Even inns outside charge for a room. You've lived in my jade pendant for one Kun year. Surely you don't expect to freeload?"
In his mind, Ling Xi chimed in.
"This old geezer sucked up all the Soul Force the jade pendant accumulated over three years. Make him pay for it."
"Also, what does one Kun year mean?"
Hearing her, Xiao Baichuan immediately replied.
"OK."
"One Kun year means two and a half years of practice."
Ling Xi looked puzzled, wondering why Xiao Baichuan kept using words she could not understand.
Could this be a peculiarity of later generations?
Hearing this, Yao Chen's expression turned rather ugly.
He really had found the jade pendant comfortable to live in.
To be honest, if he could, he would have liked to buy the jade pendant from the young man before him.
After all, a jade pendant capable of nourishing the soul was undoubtedly immensely attractive to an Alchemist.
Seeing that Yao Chen had no rebuttal, Xiao Baichuan began tallying the bill right in front of him.
"First, there's two and a half years of accommodation."
"A top-class room at an inn outside would cost at least a few thousand gold coins a night."
"With such excellent conditions here, I'll give you a discount: five thousand gold coins a day. For two and a half years, a flat price of four and a half million gold coins."
Yao Chen stared at him with wide eyes.
This greenhorn brat was actually tallying up a bill for him?!
Xiao Baichuan ignored him and continued calculating.
"Then there's soul nurturing. The effects were pretty good, weren't they? We'll calculate that at one stalk of seven illusory azure spirit saliva every ten days. You owe ninety stalks in total."
"Then there's compensation for emotional distress, lost working time, labor, sanitation, and food, drink, and toilet expenses..."
Watching Xiao Baichuan actually tally up the bill, Yao Chen was left utterly dumbfounded.
Before you continue