Lu Xuan was stunned and about to refuse, but the exquisite woman had already turned her head, her gaze falling upon the Emperor Corpse on the cliff and the Buddha on the peak.

The Emperor Corpse and the Buddha both started. The former’s eye twitched.

"Goddess, the Heaven and Earth Chessboard is already the best thing I can offer! Anything else is impossible, absolutely impossible!"

The Dying Buddha also gave a wry smile.

"Goddess, I’ve already handed over the Human Lamp that was born with me. I truly have nothing left. You can ’see’ that for yourself."

The exquisite woman pouted, not bothering to correct their titles. She said resentfully,

"One of you is the Celestial Emperor, the other is Spirit Mountain’s Past Buddha, and you’re both completely useless. How boring."

The Dying Buddha shrugged. The Emperor Corpse’s face twitched again as he said helplessly,

"Goddess, you..."

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Tch." The exquisite woman muttered under her breath before looking at Lu Xuan, falling into thought as she considered what she could give him.

Lu Xuan smiled wryly.

"Lady, there’s truly no need. I’m not lacking anything..."

"I’ve got it!"

The exquisite woman’s eyes suddenly lit up. She clapped her hands and said with a joyful smile,

"I remember now—my blood! I can give this to you!"

"What?" Lu Xuan was stunned, but the expressions of the Emperor Corpse and the Dying Buddha changed drastically.

The exquisite woman smiled sweetly, saying triumphantly,

"My blood. Even those with the Dao Fruit covet it. Houtu and Shangqing have both begged me for it, but I didn’t give it to them. A Buddha Lord once tried to take it by force, but he couldn’t even scratch my skin."

As she spoke, she casually slit her finger, and a drop of seemingly ordinary, bright red blood trickled out.

The exquisite woman held it in her palm as if presenting a treasure, offering it forward as she said cheerfully,

"Here! For you! I can’t discern things related to myself, so I don’t know what my blood is used for. But those with the Dao Fruit have gone to great lengths to get even a single drop, so it must have some wonderful use. Take it!"

As soon as she finished speaking, without another word, she sent the drop of blood—which looked no different from a mortal’s—flying straight into Lu Xuan’s palm.

Lu Xuan was astonished. Cradling the blood, he was about to say something when he saw the Emperor Corpse on the cliff speak up, his eyes filled with desire.

"Xuanqing, I am the Celestial Emperor and possess countless Supreme Treasures. Is there anything you desire? Let’s make a trade. The Haotian Realm, the Celestial Emperor’s Sword, even The Investiture of the Gods which can control Immortals and Buddhas..."

"Get lost!" The exquisite woman’s almond-shaped eyes glared. "Don’t even think about swindling my child."

The Emperor Corpse resentfully shut his mouth.

Lu Xuan carefully put away the seemingly ordinary drop of blood and performed a solemn, deep bow to the exquisite woman.

She just waved her hand dismissively, with magnanimous flair.

"Just take it. Oh, right, don’t give it to those with the Dao Fruit... You can give it to The Three Pristine Ones; those three are pretty good to you. But no one else. If you need more in the future, just come and ask me!"

Lu Xuan said nothing, only performing another solemn, deep bow. The exquisite woman accepted it calmly.

The two spoke for a while longer before Lu Xuan stood up to take his leave. Under the exquisite woman’s reluctant gaze, Lu Xuan’s figure slowly vanished into the raging fire.

"What a terrible waste, a terrible waste of a treasure..."

The Emperor Corpse was heartbroken.

"Goddess, we’re old acquaintances. I’ve been here keeping you company for twenty or thirty thousand years. Look, how about..."

"Go away, go away!" the exquisite woman said with disgust. "I can see all the filth in your heart. You might not be evil, but you’re no good thing either!"

As she spoke, she grumbled to herself and turned around, picking up the perfectly ordinary case of milk and fruit basket as if they were priceless treasures.

Unwilling to drink or eat them, she instead used brute force to tear apart the flow of Time on their surfaces, forcing them into a state of absolute stasis, making them immortal and incorruptible. Then, she placed them ever so carefully behind her.

"This is the first gift I’ve ever received," she said solemnly.

"Actually..." The Emperor Corpse couldn’t hold back. He fidgeted, shamelessly putting on a fawning smile. "Goddess, I can give you a second gift. Do you want a Peach of Immortality? Or perhaps..."

"Go away!"

The exquisite woman, relying on pure brute force, tore off a huge chunk of the firmament and hurled it viciously at the Emperor Corpse, who let out a scream.

The Dying Buddha watched this scene, somewhat speechless.

’What a disgraceful immortal.’

He shot a disdainful glance at the Emperor Corpse. The great Celestial Emperor, an Ancient One who possessed half a Dao Fruit, the ruler of all Immortal and Divine Officials...

His image completely collapsed in the Dying Buddha’s mind.

***

After leaving the Stone Stele, Lu Xuan and Yang Jian headed straight for the Guangcheng Daoist Palace.

Upon reaching Kongtong Peak, they were met with dead silence. Not a single sound came from the vast Daoist Palace.

"This is..."

Lu Xuan and Yang Jian exchanged a glance and pushed open the Daoist Palace’s main gate, only to see Qing He and Qing Ping coming forward to greet them.

"Lu Ancestor!" Qing He glanced at Yang Erlang, then bowed respectfully to Lu Xuan.

"I was wondering where you two had run off to. So you came back to Guangcheng Palace."

Lu Xuan smiled warmly and asked,

"What happened here? Where is everyone else?"

"In response to Lu Ancestor, they’ve all been sent down the mountain to travel," Qing He said with a smile, gesturing for them to enter. "Brother Qing Xuan is waiting inside."

At these words, Lu Xuan paused. ’Qing Xuan? The current Palace Master of Guangcheng Palace?’

He narrowed his eyes. ’I’m on a completely different level now, yet it seems Qing Xuan anticipated my arrival and has been waiting for a long time? Interesting.’

Lu Xuan buried his doubts deep in his heart. After exchanging a look with Yang Jian, he followed Qing He and Qing Ping deeper into the Daoist Palace.

When they arrived before a quiet chamber, Qing He and Qing Ping bowed and took their leave. The chamber door swung open, revealing the scene within.

It was the very same chamber where his Second Master had met with him last time. Daoist Qing Xuan was sitting cross-legged on a cattail cushion as always, wisps of Chaos Qi coiling around him, shrouding him in Chaos and obscuring his Form.

Even the current Lu Xuan was still unable to see through to his Form.

The expressions of both Lu Xuan and Yang Jian changed, but they quickly returned to normal as they stepped inside.

Daoist Qing Xuan had already risen to his feet. He bowed and said calmly,

"Greetings, Lu Ancestor. Greetings, True Monarch Erlang."

"You know me?!" Yang Jian’s pupils shrank. Lu Xuan’s gaze also grew deeper, though he wasn’t overly surprised.

’Last time, it was this very person who told me to visit Gouxian Town again, saying I would make some discoveries... This means he probably knew about the situation in Gouxian Town all along. Could he be an Ancient Immortal or Buddha as well?’

Daoist Qing Xuan now smiled serenely at Yang Jian.

"I do."

With that, he turned to Lu Xuan and smiled again.

"Lu Ancestor, it has been a while. I know you may have many questions, but this junior cannot resolve your doubts for the time being..."

Lu Xuan’s eyes gleamed.

"Last time, you told me that going to Gouxian Town would clear up some of my confusion. Does Daoist Qing Xuan have any advice this time?"

Hearing this, Yang Erlang’s expression changed once more.

The Daoist Qing Xuan, shrouded in Chaos, smiled faintly.

"As a matter of fact, I do... The Bronze Divine Mountain is descending. If Lu Ancestor takes a nap here, perhaps you can resolve a few more of your questions."

"Is that so."

Lu Xuan stared at Qing Xuan for a long moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Then let’s give it a try."

With that, he strode to the cattail cushion, sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and entered a dream in the blink of an eye.

In the dream, he put on his mask. Guided by the half Bronze Fragment, he once again fell back into Ancient Times, into the era of the Qin Dynasty, appearing on Taishan beside the thatched hut.

"You’re here?"

The old man tilling the field smiled gently.

Meanwhile, in the [Current World].

The Bronze Divine Mountain trembled, unleashing a hundred rays of light that descended upon the heads of a hundred beings, including Zhu Wuneng, Li Changgeng, Nezha, Yang Jian, and Yan Huang...

In Guangcheng Palace, the expression of Yang Jian, who had been warily observing Daoist Qing Xuan, changed drastically. He tried to resist the pull but found himself powerless. Under its influence, his figure grew illusory and vanished on the spot, leaving only his Fish Basket to fall to the ground.

Under the Heaven-Reaching light, the other ninety-nine beings either had no time to react or, like Yang Jian, were unable to resist. Their forms all became illusory, their vision went dark, and they were thrown into the River of Time.

Thrown into the era of the Qin Dynasty.