I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals

Chapter 467: Encountering the Moon Demon Again, Finally Obtaining the Cultivation Method

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After the Nascent Soul cultivator of the Cai Clan retreated, Patriarch Xu Zhendong stepped forth to soothe the clan, slowly restoring peace to the shaken ancestral grounds.

Meanwhile, Xu Congfeng crawled into the ancestral shrine and prostrated before the memorial tablets of the Xu ancestors.

Before the tablet of the Xuan Ancestor,

Thud. Thud. Thud.

He kowtowed repeatedly, smashing his head until blood flowed freely.

“You two, come in.”

Hearing the senior’s voice in their minds, the old patriarch and Xu Qingge entered the ancestral hall.

Seeing the trail of bloody marks on the floor, and the kneeling Nascent Soul ancestor still prostrating again and again, both of them were filled with dread, their hearts racing. Neither dared to look directly.

This sight shattered Xu Qingge’s worldview.
Once high and mighty, a true Nascent Soul cultivator, the awe-inspiring Ancestor Congfeng who had long suppressed the Xu Clan, leaving the family breathless with unspoken resentment now grovelled in utter humiliation.

Lan Changʼan had deliberately staged this display to let the Xu Clan see the old monsterʼs fall from grace, to erode their deep-seated fear of him.

“Young friend Zhendong, this is the majority of Xu Congfeng’s possessions. As recompense for the clan’s years of nurturing, he has voluntarily offered his wealth to the family treasury.”

Lan Changʼan handed the storage pouches he had organized earlier to the patriarch.

Voluntarily?

The patriarch and Xu Qingge exchanged strange looks, stealing a glance at the endlessly kowtowing Xu Congfeng.

They knew this old ancestor’s character all too well, stingy to the bone. Since his return, he had not supported the clan but instead had drained their resources in secret.

Xu Congfeng’s kowtowing faltered for half a breath, then resumed.

“Many thanks for your generosity, Senior! And to Ancestor Congfeng, for his selfless offering…” The patriarch bowed first to Lan Changʼan, then turned to salute the kneeling elder.

Xu Congfeng forced a smile on his bloodied face.

“This is merely the clan’s rightful due. Had it not been for the Xuan Ancestor and the family’s support in my youth, I could not have reached Nascent Soul. This offering… is my atonement.”

“Good. A teachable child.”

Lan Changʼan nodded with satisfaction.

He turned his palm and produced a jade token sealed with a restriction.

“This item governs Xu Congfeng’s life and death. Should it be damaged, he will die instantly. If he leaves a five-hundred-li radius from the jade, the death restriction will also activate…”

“For the rest of his life, Congfeng will serve as a servant and atone for his sins in the Xu Clan. This jade token shall be held by either the patriarch or the strongest cultivator of the family.”

The patriarch’s hand trembled as he accepted the token that controlled the very lifeline of a Nascent Soul ancestor.

This meant the Xu Clan would now have a permanent Nascent Soul overseer.

Xu Congfeng’s eyelid twitched uncontrollably. From the corner of his eye, he dared not glance long at the jade token.

“Feng-slave, why are you still kneeling?”

Lan Changʼan snapped coldly.

“Senior, is there anything else you require?” Xu Congfeng struggled to his feet with a servile expression.

In their previous battle, Lan Changʼan had severely damaged his foundation, stripped him of his magical treasures, his strength was now less than half its peak.

“Write a confession and resignation letter. Send it to Riding Wind Sect.”

Lan Changʼan knew he had to provide an explanation to the sect, give them an exit.

Even if Riding Wind Sect ranked lower among Great Kun’s Ten Sects, they were not to be taken lightly.

“Yes, yes! I shall write it at once!”

Xu Congfeng knelt again, using his blood to pen a confession, begging for forgiveness and requesting retirement from Riding Wind Sect.

The document bore his soul mark and a binding oath.

That very day, the letter was sent to the sect.

Xu Congfeng was then detained beneath the ancestral hall, bound in place with fourth-rank spiritual chains.

“Senior Xiang, your grace to the Xu Clan is beyond repaying. If you do not mind, we wish to enshrine a memorial tablet in your honor.”

The old patriarch bowed deeply, uneasy in his heart.

He had briefly inspected the storage pouches, what they held was beyond his wildest dreams. Resources enough to support the clan’s future for two hundred years, to nurture an entire generation of prodigies.

Not to mention, the family now had a Nascent Soul servant to protect them.

This senior had avenged the Xu Clan and brought them fortune, yet asked for nothing.

That made the patriarch all the more uneasy.

“That won’t be necessary,” Lan Changʼan said coldly. “Once this matter is settled, I will be even with Fellow Daoist Xu Xuan.”

With that, he returned to his residence.

The patriarch subtly gestured to Xu Qingge.

She immediately understood, her head lowering, teeth biting gently into her lip, her cheeks flushed crimson.

Had it been anyone else, she would have walked away in fury at the arrangement.

But this time, she hesitated not a moment. With a flutter, she took to the air, silently following the cyan-robed man’s silhouette.

…

In the half month that followed, Xu Qingge served Lan Changʼan’s daily life like a handmaiden.

She arrived every morning, leaving only late at night.

Sometimes they drank tea and played music; sometimes she accompanied him on strolls. With a few casual words, he enlightened her cultivation.

Time flew by unnoticed.

To both her and the patriarch’s surprise, this cyan-robed guest never once overstepped bounds.

Though their interactions were cordial, everything remained proper.

Xu Qingge was not so prideful as to dismiss all affection.

But she had a strange feeling: this senior treated her not as a woman, but like a beloved granddaughter with an elder’s fondness and encouragement.

What she and the clan didn’t know was a few days prior, a mid-stage Nascent Soul elder from Riding Wind Sect had visited the Xu Clan in secret.

Before he even reached the clan grounds, he had a brief encounter with Lan Changʼan.

After a short exchange, the Riding Wind Sect elder left respectfully, without complaint.

Xu Congfeng, sensing his sect’s head cultivator leaving, fell into utter despair.

His remaining lifespan was limited, and his value to the sect was no longer significant.

The confession letter had given the sect a public explanation and cut off his last path.

Whatever remained now was between him and the Xu Clan. Riding Wind Sect would not offend a powerful and mysterious outsider from the deep seas for an aging Nascent Soul.

If he wanted to live, he could only protect the family.

“Born of the clan… and destined to die with the clan…”

Xu Congfeng, utterly disheartened, could only cling to that thought in his heart.

…

That day, Lan Changʼan quietly took his leave without alerting the many cultivators of the Xu Clan.

He only allowed Xu Qingge to see him off for a short distance.

“Senior, will you return to the Xu Clan in the future?”

Gazing at the retreating figure in cyan robes, graceful and unrestrained, Xu Qingge couldn’t help but ask.

In just half a month, this remarkable man who felt like a confidant and soulmate had carved an unforgettable mark on her heart.

The senior hailed from distant seas beyond their province, and to him, the Xu Clan was but a fleeting stop along the journey.

With this farewell, his debt to the Xuan Ancestor was repaid. From now on, he would likely have no ties to the Xu Clan.

Even if he was the reincarnation of the Xuan Ancestor, by aiding the Xu Clan in this life, the karma of the past was now severed.

“If Miss Qingge one day has hopes of reaching the Nascent Soul stage, then it is not impossible for us to meet again.”

Lan Changʼan’s smile was warm, leaving a lingering memory for the great-great-great-granddaughter of his past life.

Before departing, he entrusted Xu Qingge with two matters:

First, he taught her the secret art to control the Gu God Seal.

With it, Xu Qingge could secretly hold Xu Congfeng’s life and death in her hands, rendering him powerless in an instant or making him wish for death.

Thus, the Xu Clan would hold both overt and covert reins on their rebellious ancestor.

Lan Changʼan instructed her: should Ancestor Congfeng betray them even once, kill him without hesitation.

Second, he bestowed upon her a great opportunity.

In his previous life, at the peak of the Core Formation stage, Lan Changʼan knew he had little chance of advancing to Nascent Soul. Thus, he secretly prepared a hidden treasure vault for his next life.

However, due to the vast distance between Great Kun and Great Qing, the treasure had never been retrieved in this life.

He had sensed it, the vault was still untouched, undisturbed all these years.

And so, he chose to give it to Xu Qingge.

Setting aside his personal admiration for her, Xu Qingge was the most promising Core Formation cultivator of her generation in the Xu Clan.

With the inheritance of the Sound path from the Xuan Yin Pavilion and now this opportunity from his past life, the Xu Clan was assured of producing a late-stage Core Formation cultivator in the future.

…

A few days later.

In northern Great Kun, amidst the most prosperous hub of cultivation, the Tiankun Mountain Range.

This vast range, rich in natural blessings and filled with famous peaks and rivers, was home to a third of all fourth-rank spirit veins in the province, including the surrounding regions.

This remarkable geography had created the flourishing culture of northern Great Kun, drawing cultivators from all over.

“In my previous life, Yan Donglai’s cave-dwelling was tucked into the remote corners of these mountains.”

Lan Changʼan, now in the guise of an old man in a straw raincoat, flew across the skies of Great Kun’s northern ranges.

He glanced toward a certain direction in the mountains.

Most likely, Yan Donglai’s old cave-dwelling was nothing but ruins now.

But Lan Changʼan hadn’t come here to revisit old haunts.

His foremost goal was to investigate the descendants of Shao Chen from the Cangming Mansion, including whether the true monarch’s old abode held another volume of the Evergreen Technique.

Furthermore, since he had journeyed all this way into Great Kun, he intended to sell the cultivation materials he’d acquired in Great Yuan at high prices.

Buy low, sell high, he could turn a handsome profit.

He also sought top-tier earth-elemental spiritual items to aid the Lord Earthrock’s breakthrough.

Each region of the Heaven Honoured Continent had its own specialties.

Great Yuan bordered the sea, rich in marine resources.

Great Kun, mountainous and rugged, had a far greater abundance of earth-type treasures than Great Yuan or Great Qing, according to his reorganized memories.

Lan Changʼan, under the guise of a Nascent Soul cultivator, descended upon Great Kun’s foremost immortal city: Qiankun Immortal City.

Situated atop the peaks and nestled among sea-like clouds, the city exuded a majestic aura, as if overlooking the entire Tiankun Mountain Range.

Lan Changʼan knew a bit of the city’s background, it was not controlled by any single faction, but jointly overseen by several of Great Kun’s top clans and sects.

Every few years, Qiankun Immortal City hosted a grand auction, drawing factions and elite loose cultivators from all over Great Kun.

…

Though flaunting a Nascent Soul identity was high-profile, once within the city, Lan Changʼan could immediately begin negotiations with top-tier merchant guilds.

“How should we address the senior?”

“The old man’s surname is Jing.”

Those who met him were either fellow Nascent Soul cultivators or late-stage Core Formation guild masters.

As the central city of the region, the arrival of the occasional out-of-province Nascent Soul true monarch was not out of the ordinary.

Given Great Kun’s relative proximity to Great Yuan, some such cultivators might pass through Qiankun Immortal City en route, making trades or purchases.

Such powerful beings from other provinces were not to be underestimated.

Great Kun was an average province within the Heaven Honoured Continent, and with such unclear origins, local powers dared not provoke him lightly.

Thus, the identity of this cloaked, nameless Nascent Soul elder did not attract much scrutiny.

Lan Changʼan settled into a Nascent Soul dwelling within the city.

The Nascent Soul cultivators living nearby would serve as temporary contacts and expand his trading network.

Together with the Puppet Master Wei, Lan Changʼan acted.

While Lan Changʼan handled major deals and secretly investigated the missing second half of the Evergreen Technique,

Puppet Master Wei supported him in gathering intel. As a genuine fourth-rank puppet, he was almost like a clone of Lan Changʼan himself.

With both working in tandem, their efficiency soared.

…

Two years passed in Qiankun Immortal City.

Lan Changʼan’s trading ventures proceeded smoothly, his batches of Great Yuan goods were gradually sold off.

Puppet Master Wei also operated under an alternate identity, handling several transactions.

Progress was also made in acquiring rare earth-elemental treasures for Lord Earthrock.

At a tea gathering of Nascent Soul cultivators, Lan Changʼan managed to obtain a wisp of Earth Motherʼs Essence.

In the human world, Earth Mother’s Essence was a top-tier rare resource, known as the source of the earth itself.

It could solidify the foundation of earth-type cultivators, slightly enhance the success rate of breakthroughs, and also improve the quality of earth-elemental treasures.

If obtained in large quantities, it could even assist earth-elemental beasts in advancing to the late stage of the fourth rank.

Unfortunately, the wisp Lan Changʼan obtained was thin and diluted, not even enough for Lord Earthrock to taste.

Its expected effects paled in comparison to a mid-fourth-rank breakthrough pill, though its advantage lay in preserving future breakthrough potential.

Compared to his smooth trading, Lan Changʼan’s search for the second half of the Evergreen Technique bore far less fruit.

True Monarch Shao of the Cangming Mansion had vanished over a hundred years ago. From various clues, it seemed highly likely he had perished.

His cave-dwelling had been reclaimed by his sect, and any leftover possessions were plundered by his disciples and bloodline heirs.

His ancestral residence had long since been dug up and stripped bare.

There was nothing left for outsiders.

Lan Changʼan secretly investigated Shao’s disciples and descendants, but found no trace of the missing volume.

He even expended some of his lifespan to divine its whereabouts.

The divination revealed that True Monarch Shao had died overseas, and the remaining volume was either lost or destroyed.

With the man dead, many karmic threads were severed, making further divination far more difficult.

“I’ll wait until after the grand auction before making new plans.”

Lan Changʼan did not lose heart.

Though the Shao trail had gone cold, the presence of Yan Donglai’s cave in Great Kun suggested other copies of the Evergreen Technique might still exist.

Soon, a major auction would take place in Qiankun Immortal City.

Lan Changʼan had consigned several precious items for sale. After the auction, he planned to leave the city.

…

Two days later.

In the heart of Qiankun Immortal City, within a resplendent golden pavilion, the number one auction of Great Kun was nearing its grand finale. Only a handful of treasures remained.

At this stage, nearly all bidders were Nascent Soul-level elders.

“Fellow Daoist Jing has added another hundred catties of Heavenly Meteorite Iron. Is there a higher offer?”

The auctioneer’s resonant voice echoed through the hall.

“If not, this millennia-rare Stonecore Ganoderma shall go to the esteemed guest at VIP Seat Nine, Fellow Daoist Jing.”

The auctioneer, a Nascent Soul cultivator with flower-like whiskers, cast a friendly glance toward the elderly man in a straw raincoat.

This elder surnamed Jing had resided in Qiankun Immortal City for two years, showing off extraordinary strength and wealth. For this auction, he had even consigned several rare treasures himself, attracting high-level cultivators and earning the organizers’ favor.

“Haha! Since no one else is bidding, this Stonecore Ganoderma shall be mine with pleasure!”

The straw-coated elder burst into hearty laughter and swaggered backstage to complete the exchange.

With the acquisition of this Stonecore Ganoderma, Lan Changʼan’s goal for the auction had been achieved.

This was a powerful earth-element spiritual herb, now nearly extinct beyond Great Kunʼs borders.

Though not as rare as the legendary Earth Motherʼs Essence, within the fourth rank it was still considered quite scarce.

If nurtured long enough to reach the superior-grade fourth rank, it could increase Lord Earthrock’s odds of advancing to mid-fourth rank by at least ten percent.

The one Lan Changʼan had won was just at mid-grade fourth rank and had taken a fierce round of bidding to secure.

...

The auction came to an end.

Lan Changʼan received generous proceeds from the items he had sold and was in good spirits.

As he left the venue, several Nascent Soul cultivators greeted him, some from within Great Kun, others merely passing through from other provinces.

A wealthy Nascent Soul cultivator with access to rare goods would naturally attract respect from peers across the cultivation world.

Lan Changʼan was in the midst of a trade negotiation with one such cultivator when,

Hmm?

He suddenly sensed a subtle gaze upon him.

In public settings, being watched was hardly unusual.

But with Lan Changʼan’s keen spiritual sense and status as a fourth-rank divination master, he detected a faint trace of hostility in that glance.

He abruptly turned his head, spiritual sense sweeping quietly outward.

At the same moment, a full-figured female cultivator in a flowing blue-moon robe took flight from the auction exit, heading in the opposite direction.

Her pale blue eyes lingered on the straw-coated elder with a flicker of surprise.

She hadnʼt expected a mere early Nascent Soul cultivator to possess such sharp perception, able to sense her gaze in an instant.

Though separated by some distance, their eyes met briefly.

Both felt a strange sense of familiarity.

The Blue Moon True Monarch’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly averted her gaze, then vanished into the skies in a streak of silvery moonlight.

...

“Why does she feel familiar when I’ve never seen her before?”

Back inside his city residence, Lan Changʼan frowned in contemplation.

He was certain he had no memory of this Blue Moon True Monarch.

She was a native cultivator of Great Kun, and only ascended to the Nascent Soul realm within the past two centuries. By all logic, their paths shouldn’t have crossed.

“No... That’s not her real face!”

Lan Changʼan trusted his instincts. He began casting a divination.

He had encountered only so many Nascent Soul cultivators in his life. Of those who could still be considered enemies, fewer still remained alive.

“To fool even my cursory spiritual probe… She must be at least mid-Nascent Soul. And with extraordinary disguise techniques!”

As the threads of fate gradually unraveled, Lan Changʼan found the source of that familiarity: those pale blue eyes.

They traced back to the battle during the sealing of the Demon Abyss years ago.

He and Jing Wufeng had faced grave danger in that fight.

The Holy Sovereignʼs divine intent from the Demonic Peak Realm had invaded the realm and disrupted the sealing array.

After a brutal clash, two enemies had escaped the net.

One was the late-fourth-rank Shadow Demon, though heavily wounded while breaking through the seal, he had still managed to severely injure Jing Wufeng.

The other was a mysterious priestess of the Moon Demon Clan, seemed to be called Priestess Piao.

That Moon Demon Priestess had remained behind the front lines, casting the sinister divine art called Demonic Moon Over the Heavens, causing Lord Earthrock to betray its master and strike out wildly.

In the end, it was Lan Changʼan’s Barbed Arrow that pierced the distance, severely wounding her and shattering her powerful illusion spell.

“Demonic Peak Realm… the Moon Demon Priestess!”

A cold glint flickered in Lan Changʼan’s eyes as his expression turned grave.

From what he recalled, the Shadow Demon and Moon Demon Priestess had not yet recovered their strength when they were pursued by human Great Cultivators. Forced to split up and flee.

It now appeared that the Priestess had fled to Great Kun, assumed a new identity, and advanced to the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

“I wonder if she’s seen through my real identity.”

Lan Changʼan weighed his options carefully and ultimately chose not to pursue her.

The Moon Demon Priestess’s soul was stronger than most of her level, her identity and methods enigmatic. Now at mid-Nascent Soul, even Lan Changʼan might not be able to take her down.

Judging by how the Shadow Demon had risked everything to save her back then, her status in the Demonic Peak Realm was anything but ordinary.

Perhaps she bore a special mission entrusted by the Demonic Peak realm’s Holy Sovereign.

The Shadow Demon himself was likely an elite vanguard or top-tier scout, suspected to have reached peak late-fourth rank at his prime.

At his height, he would’ve been equivalent to a Great Cultivator-level assassin among human cultivators.

Someone that dangerous… Lan Changʼan dared not provoke for now.

Who could say whether that powerful Shadow Demon was still by the Priestess’s side or if the two had already reunited?

If this involved schemes at the level of the Demonic Peak Realm’s Holy Sovereign, Lan Changʼan wouldn’t dare pry into the karmic threads. One misstep, and he could bring disaster upon himself.

...

Since encountering the Moon Demon Priestess, Lan Changʼan once again adopted a new alias as a Fake Dan cultivator.

His original Nascent Soul identity vanished from the public eye in Qiankun Immortal City.

Privately, he investigated the background of that Blue Moon True Monarch.

The information showed she was, surprisingly, a native cultivator born and raised in Great Kun, from a respectable family. On the surface, she appeared to be at the early Nascent Soul stage.

Her background and origins were clean and without blemish.

If Lan Changʼan, a loose cultivator with an unclear identity, were to expose her publicly, wouldn’t that just be asking for ridicule?

He decided that the next time he encountered Jing Wufeng, he would reveal everything to him.

Of course, he wouldn’t let those foreign races from the Demonic Peak Realm have a good time either.

Before leaving Qiankun Immortal City...

Lan Changʼan sent denunciation letters to the representatives of the top family and leading sect of Great Kun.

Whether anything came of it didn’t matter, he’d reported it anyway.

There was nothing to lose.

If it could at least serve as a warning to the upper echelons of Great Kun, all the better.

That very night, as Lan Changʼan left the city...

A streak of moonlight-like escape light appeared over the distant Tiankun Mountain Range.

The graceful figure in the light was none other than the Blue Moon True Monarch who had appeared days ago.

Her features were exquisitely defined, her pale blue eyes deep and enigmatic. Under the moonlight, her creamy skin glowed with a soft radiance, lending her a foreign, holy allure.

Behind her, black mists billowed through a mountain valley, filled with swirling demonic energy.

“Priestess Piao, is that man still in Qiankun Immortal City?”

A low voice came from within the black mist, outlining two shadowy, indistinct figures.

One was a tall demon with a fierce, fanged face.

The other was a handsome man with wings sprouting from his back.

The inhuman and dangerous aura radiating from both of them was enough to make even a mid-Nascent Soul powerhouse wary.

Priestess Piao opened her eyes, forming seals with both hands as she performed a secret technique of the Moon Demon Clan.

A mysterious crescent moon mark shimmered between her brows, like a frosted moon, cold, elegant, and regal.

“He fled quite fast.”

After sensing for a long while, Priestess Piao opened her eyes with a cold snort, clearly unwilling to accept it.

…

After leaving Qiankun Immortal City...

Lan Changʼan shifted his focus to searching for the second volume of the Evergreen Technique.

The lead involving True Monarch Shao was set aside for now.

Instead, he followed another line of thought, tracing other cultivation techniques that had leaked from Yan Donglai’s cave residence.

Lan Changʼan didn’t believe that only one copy of the Evergreen Technique had emerged from Yan Donglai’s cave in Great Kun.

Unless that legendary great cultivator had planned for everything down to the last detail, ensuring every copy reached a destined heir.

”A great cultivatorʼs cave… the spread of cultivation techniques...”

One day, a flash of inspiration struck Lan Changʼan, he realized he had fallen into a mental trap.

Wasn’t the origin of all the Evergreen Technique clues precisely Yan Donglai’s cave in the past life?

If a destined individual with suitable talent wished to cultivate the Evergreen Technique, Yan Donglai would certainly welcome it.

Where would such a person go to seek the Evergreen Technique?

The answer was self-evident.

Lan Changʼan had subconsciously avoided the idea due to his wariness toward the legendary great cultivator.

But a great cultivator like Yan Donglai surely left behind more than one cave in the human realm, not just the one in Great Kun.

In his past life, he had overturned everything in that cave and triggered no dangerous restrictions.

After careful deduction, Lan Changʼan confirmed this approach was sound.

Of course, out of caution, he would not enter the cave personally, to avoid falling into any hidden trap.

…

Several days later, at dusk...

Lan Changʼan arrived at a remote area of the Tiankun Mountain Range.

It was still some distance from the ruins of Yan Donglai’s cave.

He found lodging in a local market town.

In his guest room, he sat cross-legged, surrounded by an array of divination tools designed to obscure heavenly secrets.

Once prepared...

Lan Changʼan manipulated a third-rank puppet clone, shaped like a man in green robes and sent it deep into the mountains.

An hour later...

The green-robed puppet, following its master’s memories, arrived at a valley buried deep in the mountains, where ruins lay hidden.

There wasn’t much left, not even fragments of the original structures. Nothing resembled a former cave dwelling.

“The ruins of the legendary cultivator Yan Donglai’s cave, one hundred spirit stones per exploration.”

The place had been taken over by a sect and turned into a tourist destination for exploration and sightseeing.

The green-robed puppet paid the spirit stones and entered the valley ruins.

Beneath the ruins was another world, a vast, man-made cave residence spanning over ten li.

The space was originally expansive, but much of it had collapsed over time, forming a labyrinthine underground maze.

Relying on memories from his past life...

The green-robed puppet made several turns, cleared a few blocked paths, and finally arrived at a quiet, clean stone hall.

“All these years, and the reinforcing and dust-clearing arrays here still haven’t failed.”

Through the shared senses of the puppet, Lan Changʼan felt as though he had returned to the place from his past life.

The stone hall now revealed itself as a study, with bookshelves carved directly into the stone walls.

The simple, spartan decor revealed it to be a temporary cave residence.

The puppet’s gaze shifted to the other side of the room, toward a stone table.

Bang! Bang!

Using the same method from his past life, the puppet tapped the stone table twice, seemingly by chance.

Buzz—!

The table trembled slightly, triggering some hidden mechanism.

At its center, a small stone platform rose, revealing an ancient volume atop it.

Familiar characters were etched on the cover, ”Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique.”

The green-robed puppet froze momentarily.

After scanning the surroundings to ensure no other presence...

He swiftly picked up the volume and carefully opened it to verify its authenticity.

At that moment, Lan Changʼan’s heart pounded wildly as he read through the Evergreen Technique inscribed on the ancient volume via shared senses.

“The complete Evergreen Technique!”

“Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation, Return to Void!”

Lan Changʼan was ecstatic, he had acquired it without the slightest effort.

In the legends of the human realm, above Deity Transformation lies the Void Refinement stage, a realm said to have existed only in ancient times.

Here, the Evergreen Technique referred to it as the ”Return to Void” chapter. Whether it was an archaic term or a different method of cultivation was unclear.

“The Eternal Evergreen Dao Body…”

At the end of the manual, the primary divine abilities of the Evergreen Technique were also recorded.

Lan Changʼan had no time to study them in depth.

Better to leave before anything went awry.

The puppet stored the complete volume and immediately left the ruins of the great cultivator’s cave.

…

Inside the stone study.

On a hidden beam above the stone table...

An old man stood with hands clasped behind his back, dressed in ancient robes, his hair tied with a bamboo pin, expressionless as he silently watched the green-robed puppet take the volume.

He bore the solemn demeanor of a strict teacher or venerable scholar.

With a single step, he seemed to cross thousands of years to arrive before the table.

A second copy of the Evergreen Technique appeared in Yan Donglai’s hand, which he placed on the stone platform.

As the mechanism activated...

The platform sank back into the table and seamlessly vanished, no trace of it remained.

As if waiting for the next destined one to appear.