Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

Lin Ran arrived at a deserted alley and carefully examined the beads in his hand.

The bead itself is pure black, but its surface has a five-colored halo flowing around it.

As the light and shadow shift, layers of colorful patterns unfold.

A bead capable of creating illusions should be called a mirage bead.

Since the Xuanhuang Cauldron reacts to this mirage pearl, it means that it has already met the requirements of the "Myriad Treasures Forging Spirit Technique".

In the future, it should be able to serve as a treasure for me to break through to the Golden Core stage.

Thinking of this, Lin Ran decisively cut his finger, squeezed out a little blood, and smeared it on the mirage bead.

The moment the blood seeped into the surface of the bead, an angry voice came from inside the bead.

"You audacious human! How dare you defile my precious pearl!"

Lin Ran paused slightly: "There are still survivors?"

"Insolence!" the voice rang out again, carrying a condescending tone: "I am the Lord of Xuan Chen! How dare you, a mere human cultivator, look down upon me!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ran curled his lip: "What Lord of Xuan Chen? Isn't he just a black dragon? Is this your dragon pearl?"

Xuan means black, and Chen means dragon, so Xuan Chen is also the black dragon.

Legend has it that the Mirage Pearl is the dragon pearl of the Mirage Dragon. This guy calls himself the Lord of Xuan Chen, which confirms Lin Ran's speculation about the Mirage Pearl.

"How dare you! How dare you comment on my identity?"

"Hmph!" Lin Ran scoffed. "Can you even get out of the bead?"

Upon being asked this question, the voice inside the bead immediately fell silent.

Sometimes not answering is also a form of answer.

"Looks like it won't work." Lin Ran became even more disdainful.

"You audacious human!" Lord Xuan Chen's tone was now tinged with exasperation. "Once I recover my cultivation, I will teach you a lesson!"

Lin Ran weighed the mirage bead in his hand and said nonchalantly, "It's been two hundred years since the spiritual energy has recovered, and you still haven't recovered your cultivation. You're simply a piece of trash."

"Damn it! How dare you humiliate me!" Lord Xuan Chen grew even more enraged. "I was merely maintaining the illusion and barrier; I was unaware of the spiritual energy resurgence outside!"

"I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you." Lin Ran tried to activate the Xuanhuang Cauldron, wanting to put the Mirage Pearl into the cauldron.

However, no matter what he did, the Xuanhuang Cauldron remained unmoved.

When he collected the ninth-grade golden lotus, he only had one thought, and the Xuanhuang Cauldron shot out a golden light, which took the golden lotus into its body.

This time, however, there was no reaction at all, which is truly perplexing.

Lin Ran pondered for a moment, then his gaze returned to the mirage pearl.

"Could it be because a soul resides inside this bead?"

The more he thought about it, the more sense it made, and he couldn't help but say, "It seems we need to find a way to refine this so-called Lord of Xuan Chen first."

"No! Absolutely not!" The voice of the Lord of Xuan Chen suddenly rose, his authority completely gone.

Clearly, he was quite frightened by Lin Ran's idea.

"Why not?" Lin Ran said indifferently.

What he needs is a treasure that can help him break through to the Golden Core realm, not some kind of personal old man.

Because the path to mastery of the "Myriad Treasures Spirit Forging Technique" has already been paved, he only needs to follow the established route.

The Xuan Chen Lord, whose spiritual energy has not recovered even after two hundred years of revival, might be able to offer him some help, but certainly not much.

Once he realized Lin Ran wasn't joking, the Lord of Xuan Chen changed his tune faster than flipping through a book: "I'm willing to acknowledge you as my master, but please don't refine me."

At this point, one has to say: those who understand the times are the wise ones.

Lin Ran leaned against the wall, holding the mirage pearl up to his eyes: "How do I know if you're loyal?"

"I swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao, and if I break it, may my soul and body be annihilated!" The Lord of Xuan Chen had an extremely strong will to survive.

Having barely survived until the spiritual energy was restored, who would willingly choose to die so easily?

Lin Ran pondered for a moment, then nodded: "If that's the case, then it's not impossible to spare your life. Then swear an oath."

Without hesitation, the Lord of Xuan Chen immediately swore: "Heaven bears witness, I, Xuan Chen, swear by my very soul, that I shall serve Lin Ran as my master and never betray him! If I disobey, may heavenly lightning strike me, and I be condemned to eternal damnation!"

"Very good, from now on we're all on the same side." Lin Ran's lips curled into a slight smile. "Now I need you to come out of this bead. What should I do?"

"I cannot come out for the time being, but I will be able to come out when my cultivation is restored." The Lord of Xuan Chen's tone was tinged with helplessness.

Hearing this, Lin Ran was slightly disappointed: "So, you're of no use to me right now."

"It works! It works!" Lord Xuanchen quickly tried to salvage the situation: "I can manipulate the Mirage Pearl to create illusions. You saw it just now; that underwater palace was my masterpiece!"

Lin Ran curled his lip: "What's the use? It can't even stop an octopus."

"That's because my cultivation hasn't recovered yet! In my prime, even a Mahayana cultivator couldn't break through my barrier!" Lord Xuanchen argued vehemently.

"The Mahayana stage?" Lin Ran caught another crucial piece of information: "Your peak condition is even better than the Mahayana stage?"

The cultivation realms are divided into Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation, Void Refining, Body Integration, Tribulation Transcending, and Mahayana. After that, one can condense an immortal body and ascend to immortality.

Therefore, those in the Mahayana stage are also known as Human Immortals. Except for the fact that they have not yet ascended to immortality, the methods of those in the Mahayana stage are almost indistinguishable from those of True Immortals.

According to the Lord of Xuan Chen, he was even stronger than a True Immortal in his prime.

"Back in the day, I was a powerful and influential figure, a friend of the Three Pure Ones, a companion of the Four Emperors, and an old acquaintance of the Five Elders and the Nine Luminaries..."

"Stop!" Lin Ran immediately stopped him. "If you can't keep your mouth shut, even if you escape death this time, you probably won't live much longer."

This guy is such a braggart. He talks about the Three Pure Ones and the Four Emperors all the time. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was Zhen Yuanzi himself.

"Cough cough cough..." Lord Xuanchen tried to cover up his embarrassment: "Well... I was also a Mahayana stage cultivator before, but my dragon race's talent is inherently stronger than that of the human race."

Lin Ran couldn't refute this point.

Some races are blessed with natural advantages and are born very powerful.

Dragons are among them.

Dragons at the Mahayana stage can easily defeat humans with their physical bodies alone. In addition, this guy has a knack for illusions, and even a True Immortal might be caught off guard and lose.

Lin Ran tossed the mirage pearl in his palm: "Then I'll keep you for now and see how you perform in the future."

"Thank you, Master." The Lord of Xuan Chen's tone carried a sense of relief at escaping death, as well as a hint of resentment at having to humble himself.

Lin Ran put the mirage bead into his backpack and walked out of the alley.

The street sign across the street indicated that he was located in the eastern suburbs of Xinhai City, more than 20 kilometers away from the sea as the crow flies.

When I was escaping, I was being careful and ended up running a little too far. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

He hailed a taxi by the roadside: "To Xinghu Villa."

The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror and silently started the vehicle.

Outside the car window, the setting sun bathed the buildings in gold.

Lin Ran leaned back in the back seat, closing his eyes and concentrating.

Hunting in the sea became feasible, and a stable source of crystal cores was established.

After breaking through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, you can also try hunting fourth-tier mutated creatures in the water.

As for dealing with fifth-tier mutated creatures, that's something to do after you've reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

The car stopped outside the villa gate, Lin Ran paid the fare, and got out of the car.

As soon as I entered the foyer, Song Yishu poked her head out from the living room, her tone carrying a hint of reproach.

"Why are you back so late? Have you eaten?"

"I'm not hungry," Lin Ran replied casually.

"You have to eat, even if you're not hungry." Song Yishu's tone left no room for negotiation: "I'll have someone make it for you."

Lin Ran reluctantly agreed, "Alright, I'll go upstairs first."

Having said that, he took three steps at a time and went upstairs.

"Then hurry up and come down!" Song Yishu shouted towards the stairwell.

Lin Ran returned to his room, locked the door behind him, poured the third-tier crystal cores from his backpack onto the bed, and carefully counted them.

There are forty-seven in total, which should be enough to break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.

He put the crystal core away again and was about to go downstairs for dinner when he suddenly remembered the time Liu Xiulan stuffed things into his wardrobe.

Although the person has been kicked out, the fact that anyone can enter this room is indeed a potential hazard.

Lin Ran took out the Mirage Pearl from his backpack and casually asked, "Hey, you there, do you know anything about formations?"