“Just growing a beard… you scared me, Senior Uncle.”

Jiu Jiu retrieved the wooden ladle and sniffed the wine in the jar again, saying with lingering fear: “I thought it would cause yin-yang imbalance, turning someone neither male nor female.”

Li Changshou smiled and shook his head, always admiring his Junior Uncle’s logical reasoning.

“Senior Uncle, after completing this batch of pills today, I’ll need to go into seclusion for six months to a year to cultivate the Sanmei Zhenyan.

I’ve prepared a year’s supply of those wines for you in advance, but drinking too much isn’t good. Please consume in moderation, Senior Uncle.

They’re in the usual place, on the shelf next to that medicinal wine jar.”

“Six months?”

Jiu Jiu put away the wine bottles, casually placing the empty ones on the shelf, then walked over with hands behind her back, seriously advising: “Although the Sanmei Zhenyan can be cultivated from the Returning Void realm, it initially requires burning essence, qi, and spirit to condense flame seeds!

Don’t be hasty – practicing techniques until you damage your vital energy, ending up depleted in spirit, qi, and essence, would be terrible!”

Li Changshou smiled and nodded, continuing to sort the herbs.

Jiu Jiu yawned boredly, mumbling: “I’ve been stuck at a bottleneck these past few years, making breakthrough cultivation troublesome.

But I’ve experienced this several times before, being stuck for years and then mysteriously breaking through.

After the breakthrough, I’ll need to seclude myself for years, possibly decades. You might not see this Senior Uncle for a long time.”

Li Changshou smiled: “Senior Uncle is now primarily cultivating the Wuwei Scripture, right?”

“Yes,” Jiu Jiu pulled over a bamboo chair, sitting by the table, resting her head boredly on it, “When you become an immortal, you can also cultivate the Wuwei Scripture. If your aptitude is good enough, you can start at the Returning Void realm.

But sadly…

Oh right, I heard from Fifth Senior Brother that your Master seems to have started comprehending the Wuwei Scripture too.”

“Mm, Master received the scripture from a sect steward two months ago,” Li Changshou casually said. “Senior Uncle’s mindset is most suited for cultivating the Wuwei Scripture – not forcing things, not seeking too much.”

Jiu Jiu blinked, “Little Changshou, you sound just like our Master.”

Li Changshou said: “Earlier, Senior Uncle Jiu Wu also gave this disciple the first volume of the Wuwei Scripture. Aren’t these words straight from the scripture?”

“Oh, so that’s why.”

Jiu Jiu murmured, sitting quietly watching Li Changshou sort herbs, gradually becoming lost in thought…

Moments later.

“Little Shou Shou… you’re quite handsome… hehe… how didn’t I notice before?”

“Hm?”

Li Changshou, who was about to start pill refining, turned his head to look, finding his Senior Uncle had fallen asleep at the table, sleep-talking.

After becoming immortal, with an unblemished immortal body, Junior Uncle’s medium-length hair remained silky smooth and glossy black even without regular care.

With just a simple phoenix-tail braid, wearing no ornaments or makeup, she gave off such a simple and pure feeling.

The sleeping Junior Uncle truly embodied the description ‘skin like jade and congealed cream, heart clear as crystal.’

Unfortunately, she was too jumpy when awake.

Shaking his head with a smile, Li Changshou quietly walked outside the Elixir Chamber, admiring the spirit fish he raised in the yin-yang-shaped pond, waiting for Jiu Jiu to wake from her nap.

After all, he needed her help, borrowing her pure immortal power for pill refining. He couldn’t be too harsh with Junior Uncle.

Two days later.

After finishing the pills, Li Changshou temporarily sealed the Elixir Chamber, only activating formations within three li of it.

After seeing off Jiu Jiu, he went to inform Ling’e about his upcoming seclusion.

This seclusion was for formally condensing the Sanmei Zhenyan’s flame seed, which would take about half a year.

Ling’e, wearing loose practice clothes and studying poison-spreading techniques under a willow tree, became puzzled…

“Senior Brother, aren’t you going into seclusion at the Elixir Chamber this time?”

“Cultivating the Sanmei Zhenyan risks explosion,” Li Changshou smiled. “I’ll make a small wooden raft later and seclude myself on the lake. That will be safer.”

Ling’e blinked lightly, seeming to have something to say.

Li Changshou placed several porcelain bottles in her hands, instructing her on each pill’s usage and dosage.

After much consideration, Little Ling’e quietly asked:

“Senior Brother, the Sanmei Zhenyan… doesn’t need to be hidden?

Isn’t this technique very powerful?”

Li Changshou casually tapped his sister’s head, naturally using no force.

Though face-to-face, Li Changshou used voice transmission to explain in detail:

“You’ve just stopped having classes for a few years, and you’ve already forgotten what I taught you?

The Sanmei Zhenyan was bestowed by Senior Uncle Jiu Wu and Jiu Jiu’s Master. Deliberately hiding it would instead raise suspicion.

What others can’t think of or guess, what they can’t associate with your daily displayed information – that’s what counts as a trump card, not merely judging by power level.”

Ling’e stuck out her tongue tip, lowering her head to obediently accept the teaching.

Li Changshou took out two more porcelain bottles, transmitting: “Place these two bottles in front of the Master’s door. These are immortal pills refined for Master, with the effect of purifying turbidity.

Don’t taste them secretly – you’ll burst from the pill power.”

Ling’e immediately brightened, “Then won’t Master be able to…”

“Difficult,” Li Changshou shook his head, sighing lightly as he walked into the forest, preparing to make the small wooden raft he would need.

Lan Ling’e opened the jade bottle for a sniff, and a rush of pure vital energy hit her face.

She took a light breath, feeling dizzy and light-headed. She hurriedly returned to her room to meditate and dissolve the medicinal power.

Seeing this, Li Changshou smiled lightly, found an old grove, rolled up his sleeves, and began working hard.

Two days later…

“What’s that noise?”

Lan Ling’e, just waking from meditation, got up to look out her wooden window. Her mouth fell open as she let out several light exclamations, her pretty forehead covered in black lines…

‘I’ll make a small wooden raft later.’

Her Senior Brother’s words echoed in her mind as she looked at the fifty-zhang-long ‘simple’ mansion boat that had just entered the water. Lan Ling’e couldn’t help but pat her forehead.

Did Senior Brother have some misunderstanding about the words ‘big’ and ‘small’?

Lan Ling’e looked down at the curves of her practice clothes, her mouth twitching slightly.

Stupid Senior Brother…

Lost his normal size standards after being influenced by Senior Uncle Jiu Jiu!

Actually, Li Changshou wasn’t someone who cared about luxury. When making small items, he focused more on practicality.

The small wooden raft was simply wood joined together, without any restrictions. In terms of construction difficulty, it truly counted as a small item.

A seclusion location must have basic warning formations, sound-isolating formations, and anti-detection formations. Some space was needed to place and hide these formation bases.

Besides these, he had some small designs.

The two-story boat mansion had seven identical-sized rooms, all interconnected, each with a cushion.

Later when he went into seclusion and activated the surrounding formations, he would place several paper humans in various rooms.

If someone triggered the formations, the restrictions on these paper humans would immediately activate, transforming into his form, capable of perfectly deceiving!

It was truly an excellent tool for preventing sneak attacks!

Unfortunately, this design was still imperfect, with a one-in-seven chance of being assassinated…

“Ling’e, I’m starting seclusion now.”

Receiving Li Changshou’s voice transmission, Lan Ling’e hurried to the door, waving her small hand at Li Changshou standing on the ‘mansion boat’.

Li Changshou formed hand seals, and layer upon layer of formations activated on the small wooden raft, covering a large area of the lake surface below. The small wooden raft became increasingly blurry within layers of light membranes…

Soon, some white mist appeared on the water’s surface, and Lan Ling’e could no longer see where her Senior Brother was.

Li Changshou placed paper humans in each room, then quietly went to a secluded cabin. After feeling around in a corner, he opened a hidden compartment revealing the clear lake water below…

Forming a seal, he used an illusion technique to transform into a spirit fish, silently diving into the water, heading toward the multiple formation-covered lake bottom, leaving only seven paper humans lying in various cabins.

The reason for making the raft so large was mainly to allow these layers of formations to cover the underwater area.

Below was Li Changshou’s third seclusion location.

When Master brought Little Ling’e up the mountain that time, he had secluded himself here, refining the Youming Lenghuo to minor completion…

Among the five elements, water overcomes fire. Cultivating fire techniques underwater was an excellent method to prevent fire qi from accumulating too much and causing self-explosion.

It’s just…

The originally lush and densely forested Small Jade Peak suddenly became bald in one small patch.

…

Eastern Sea, Crystal Palace.

‘Audacious Ao Yi!

Daring to speak such wild words, showing no respect for elders, disgracing our clan’s might, slandering our clan’s glory!

Do you know – do you know what crime this is!’

In the empty Second Prince Hall, the young dragon Ao Yi was bound to an iron pillar with chains, eyes tightly closed, his ears faintly echoing that day’s angry rebukes.

He smiled coldly at the corner of his mouth, enduring the pain in his back, but his gaze remained as firm as that day.

Ao Yi now felt that this Crystal Palace was absurd and utterly laughable.

When he stood at that celebration banquet, facing his father king who had been pretending to sleep with narrowed eyes, and said:

‘Your child wishes to become a disciple at a celestial sect, to cultivate the Three Teachers’ sage methods!’

Those dragon faces – shocked, disbelieving, then quickly twisting…

Those shouts of ‘rebellious’, ‘shame of the dragon clan’, ‘nonsensical’…

The surging auras of those dragon experts nearly flattened him, a small dragon barely ten years old!

Those who berated him that day were all his father’s brothers or even older dragons – they had the right to scold their nephew.

But those sea clan ministers and dragon clan generals not of royal dragon blood didn’t dare speak, though their eyes conveyed disdain.

Seeking discipleship at a sage’s gate would be considered rebellious;

Going out to seek a master for cultivation would be treated as dragon clan treachery.

This was laughable, truly laughable…

“Utterly ridiculous!”

Ao Yi couldn’t help but burst out in anger, his delicate face full of pain!

The iron pillar behind him emanated a ghostly cold force, ice spikes piercing into his clean smooth back, making Ao Yi’s whole body tremble in pain.

But his gaze remained clear, the determination within not retreating one bit!

Moments ago, the Dragon Mother had just left after earnestly trying to persuade him to admit his mistake early…

‘My son, are our clan’s methods not enough for you to learn?

Are our clan’s treasures not enough for you to use?

Why must you do such an outrageous thing, and speak such absurd, unorthodox words before so many clan uncles?

You want to seek discipleship at a sage’s gate – do you know that besides the Severing Sect, all sage gates refuse dragon clan disciples?

Those Alchemist Sect masters even took in a bastard evil dragon as a disciple back then, borrowing supreme treasures to strip away our dragon clan’s last fortunes and place them on this evil dragon.

How can the clan forget such humiliation?

My son, who has bewitched your heart?’

How could Ao Yi not know these words from the Queen Mother, not know their truth and falsehood?

Among the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Alchemist Sect, Yellow Dragon True Person was clearly of ancestral dragon bloodline. Back then he had just fallen wounded onto Kunlun Mountain by mistake and was kept in the courtyard by the Three Pure Ones before they became sages, serving as their ornamental dragon.

Before the ancient sages emerged, the dragon clan considered this shameful and cut ties with Yellow Dragon True Person, removing his name from the dragon register.

Later when the Three Pure Ones became sages, the dragon clan couldn’t lower their face to curry favor with Yellow Dragon True Person and instead began spreading rumors within the clan, branding him with the ‘bastard’ stigma.

As for sage gates not accepting dragon clan disciples…

After the Three Pure Ones became sages, a group of dragon experts brought young dragons to Golden Tortoise Island seeking discipleship, being extremely respectful to the sages.

But when they heard that Lord Tongtian, who had the lowest requirements for accepting disciples, would only let the most outstanding dragon disciples join under the sage’s disciples rather than directly under the sage himself, the dragon experts turned and left, feeling the sage intended to humiliate them…

What was absurd?

This was truly absurd!

Ao Yi’s whole body trembled lightly as the iron pillar’s light gradually weakened.

I, Ao Yi, must endure.

Only he, the Second Prince of the Dragon King, by completely lowering his stance to seek discipleship at the mid-to-lower ranked Du Xian Men among the three immortal sects…

Even if he had to kneel indefinitely before Du Xian Men, entering as a registered disciple…

Only then could he break the dragon clan’s meaningless pride, and tear apart their twisted self-respect!

If such humiliation still couldn’t wake the drunken dragon clan, then he would use sage methods to stand at the peak of all beings!

At that time, he would question these ancient respected ones…

What, truly, was the dragon clan’s path forward?

Taking a breath, Ao Yi opened his mouth and called out loudly:

“Let me out—”

“I want to see Father King!”

“I want to go to Du Xian Men to seek discipleship and learn the Dao!”

Outside the hall, a group of palace maids with tears in their eyes, their pretty faces full of heartache, but they were blocked by immortal flood dragon soldiers, unable to approach the Second Prince half a step.