After speaking, Ye Lan led Shen Yi towards the towering Shenxu Mountain, encircled by the Eight Peaks.

After the two had left,

Jin Xue the Taoist couldn't help but look aside helplessly: "Elder Brother, why bother? You clearly know that place is one she will never forget..."

Jin Lei the Taoist's expression was serene, without the slightest ripple: "Since she chose to stay on Shenxu Mountain, she must learn to let go."

The other Peak Masters sighed softly but really couldn't say much more.

They could only hope that the events of the past would not recur.

Meanwhile,

Ye Lan landed in front of a cave entrance on Shenxu Mountain.

She slowed her pace and entered with Shen Yi.

The cave was dark but not damp, like a corridor leading straight to a spacious stone hall.

The stone hall was like an Alchemy Workshop, with alchemy tools neatly placed everywhere, and at the deepest part of the hall stood a large, tightly sealed arch door made of red copper.

From the moment she stepped into the hall, Ye Lan's expression became somewhat distracted.

She paced around the hall, her fair fingers gently brushing over the pots and jars, and even the Pill Furnace, as if she could vaguely see those familiar figures busily moving around in front of every empty table.

Perhaps her emotions were a bit disordered.

Ye Lan didn't notice that the expression of the young man in black behind her had also become extremely ugly.

Shen Yi clenched his palms and stared intently at the red copper door.

On the heavy door, a gray mist seemed to emerge, depicting the appearance of the Taixu Realm.

And within the swirling mist, a pair of huge eyes emerged.

They were lifeless eyes, yet they seemed to be able to peer through all things in the world.

"Heh—"

Shen Yi's breathing quickened, feeling as though his entire being had been seen through.

That gaze went through his body, landed on the Taixu Dao Fruit within the Cangmu Silver Wheel, and pierced straight into it, unabashedly probing the round Golden Pill inside.

The next moment, a strong greed began to grow within those lifeless eyes.

Like a glutton beholding the rarest of delicacies.

"That is the retreat of our Ancestor."

Ye Lan finally snapped out of her daze, and as if she didn't see those eyes at all, noticed Shen Yi staring at the copper door and thus offered an explanation.

Outside, she usually referred to the other as Shenxu Ancestor, but here, despite her many emotions, she had to call him Ancestor.

Even though he was likely still in a murky and silent stupor.

As a Daluo Immortal Venerable, listening to all creation is one of the most basic techniques.

Gods, Immortals, Venerables, they are no longer human.

"Don't linger here; let's begin," said Ye Lan as she took a deep breath to cast aside the clutter in her mind.

Without sufficient strength, any hatred and grievances were meaningless.

She joined the Demon Slayer Bureau in the hopes of relying on the Imperial Qi Golden Pill bestowed by the Imperial Court to no longer need the resources of Shenxu Mountain.

Someday, if she could ascend to the Immortal Venerable realm, she would return here with her sword free of any distracting thoughts.

"..."

Shen Yi watched those eyes recede back into the mist until the mist swirled and dissipated, returning the copper door to its normal appearance, as if everything before was just an illusion.

But the feeling of being like a lamb awaiting slaughter still echoed endlessly in his mind.

He knew full well that those on the path of cultivation were no different from the common people in the mortal realm, with the same greed and unscrupulous methods.

Even the relationship between master and disciple was not as unbreakable as it seemed.

Shen Yi could understand a master "consuming" his disciple, such as exploiting them to the extreme, even imprisoning their Divine Souls to refine Magic Treasures, but he never considered it to be literal consumption.

That was primal greed for food!

So that's how it is.

Shen Yi glanced at Ye Lan, and at that moment, he finally understood what great calamity Dan Peak had experienced.

Under the leadership of the Peak Master, a group of fellow disciples entered this stone hall, as usual, starting Alchemy until that Ancestor opened his mouth and swallowed them whole.

Ye Lan likely survived to this day because she was not proficient in Alchemy and therefore did not come inside.

And now, his situation was even more perilous.

He guessed that Ye Lan never imagined that Shen Yi's cultivation of the Taixu Pill Dao would transform his own body into a fragrant and appetizing Golden Pill.

What was more desperate was that there was only a gap between Fourth Grade and Third Grade...

But just by being observed for a moment, Shen Yi became aware of his current plight; if that being so decided, no matter whether he chose to turn and run or to fight to death, the outcome would not change.

"Hu."

Shen Yi exhaled gently.

He walked as usual to the side of the Pill Furnace, reached out to take the prepared herbs.

With a puff, the furnace fire lit up the stone hall.

Since he was powerless to change anything, it was better to let nature take its course.

...

Eight Extremes Valley.

Many fierce-looking Divine Generals surrounded the Demon Cave, their coordination in the continuous assault was flawless.

Among the many figures, a streak of golden light was particularly conspicuous.

True Gods, nurtured by the Heavenly Dao, represent law and order, can be resurrected from a drop of blood, and are nearly indestructible.

With such Divine Skills, they are naturally fearless.

Yet among such a group of monsters, Qian Qing Immortal General managed to stand out, not only always rushing to the front line but also displaying an attitude of trading life for life in the battle against Demons!