After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Pushing open the glass door of the backyard greenhouse, a wave of sweltering heat mixed with the pungent smell of grass and trees hit me.

Zhou Ran stopped at the door.

Above their heads, a ten-meter-long black-gold dragon was tightly bound by white mycelium as thick as a thumb and hung firmly from a load-bearing steel beam.

Its four claws thrashed about, spewing out black smoke with sparks, but all of it was blocked by a layer of transparent fungal mucus.

This true dragon, born with a golden core, was now whimpering in extreme grievance, looking just like a loach hanging on a rack of cured meat.

In the corner, the soil in the large blue-and-white porcelain flowerpot was churning.

A half-meter-tall mushroom was arrogantly shaking its huge cap, with strange golden patterns on the stem flickering on and off.

After absorbing the aftershocks of the heavenly tribulation, the dragon's energy, and the spiritual energy of Longhu Mountain.

Bai Xuan, who had exhausted his wisdom over a thousand years, finally came back to life.

"You little mudskipper, how dare you steal my spores?"

"Do you think this is a buffet?"

Bai Xuan's hoarse voice echoed through the flower room, arrogant beyond measure.

"When I was challenging a Nascent Soul stage expert in the prison mountain, you were still drinking amniotic fluid inside your eggshell!"

Believe it or not, I can use a single mycelium to tear apart your dragon scales, slice you up, and make you into dragon and tiger sashimi!

The black-gold dragon couldn't understand, but it sensed the provocation and let out an angry growl, twisting its body desperately.

Zhou Ran, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, strolled forward, extended two fingers, and flicked the huge mushroom cap on the forehead with a "clang."

"Holy crap!"

Who dares to criticize me?

The white fungus trembled, and its cap suddenly turned around.

Upon recognizing Zhou Ran's face, her tiny, beady eyes filled with tears, and she adopted a sickeningly obsequious expression.

"Boss!"

You've finally arrived, boss!

I've missed you so much these past few months, I've almost lost all my spores!

"Look at this little dragon cub, it's being unruly. I'm just giving it a little walk!"

Zhou Ran didn't reply.

Bai Xuan seized the opportunity to attach a golden spore thread to Zhou Ran's wrist.

The mycelium tip's perception was more delicate than any spiritual sense, and it burrowed along the skin into the meridians.

The spore strands suddenly snapped open.

The gold patterns on the white umbrella canopy shone brightly.

"Boss..."

What about the inside of that old coffin?

Bai Xuan lowered his voice, and for the first time, his playful smile was gone.

"That old man's demonic essence is still in your dantian, but his soul is gone."

hiss......

"You swallowed him?"

"Chew it thoroughly before swallowing."

Bai Xuan remained silent for two seconds.

The umbrella shook three times.

Bai Xuan, who had originally wanted to reminisce with Zhou Ran, became serious.

"Then you're in big trouble now."

Bai Xuan spoke twice as fast.

"I fought that old thing inside your body. That old thing's demonic energy is so domineering and evil that it will backfire once the divine soul is no longer suppressed."

The three-colored elixir in your dantian is already oozing black energy.

You can't feel it yourself, but my spores don't lie.

Zhou Ran's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He did feel a throbbing sensation in his temples starting in the morning.

Moreover, the area inside the dantian is now swollen considerably.

All the energy from the Core Formation stage had already been accumulated, and a considerable amount had even overflowed.

But it lacks that key to forming the core.

"At most three months."

The white fungus stalk is straight.

"If you don't form your core within three months, the demonic energy will devour your will."

"Then you won't be Zhou Ran, you'll be the second Ye Futian."

"How do we tie it?"

"Ugh...what a hassle!"

Bai Xuan shrank back to the size of a palm, and the spore silk pinched his chin, speaking slowly.

But you already have all four essential elements in your body; what you lack is not the ingredients, but the right timing.

You need to find an opportunity that allows you to 'make your own rules.' This is something that can only be understood intuitively—"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than footsteps echoed along the stone path outside the greenhouse.

Chen Ya walked at the front, her black suit dress accentuating her waistline, and she was still holding the tablet she hadn't had time to put down.

Lin Qingxue followed on the right, her eyes covered by a white veil. The injury from the backlash of her Dharma Eye had not yet fully healed, but her steps were very steady.

Xiao Hongli was on the left, her red hair tied in a ponytail, and there was gauze on her neck.

The three women saw Zhou Ran sitting peacefully in the wicker chair and didn't ask him anything.

Chen Ya stuffed the tablet into her pocket.

Lin Qingxue turned her head to the side, and the corner of her mouth curved slightly under the gauze.

Xiao Hongli crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, letting out a snort as a greeting.

Zhou Ran glanced behind them.

Su Qingling and Su Qingwu stood on the steps outside the flower room, not coming in.

The two sat shoulder to shoulder. Su Qingling bit her lower lip and peeked inside before shrinking back.

Su Qingwu was more direct, tugging at her sister's sleeve and whispering:

"Sister, eldest sister, second sister, and third sister are all here."

Let's not push our way in...

"Get in here."

Zhou Ran spoke.

The Su sisters were startled and quickly ran into the greenhouse with their heads down.

Zhou Ran scanned the five people.

The Qilin Arm and the area below both trembled slightly at the same time.

I woke up early this morning, just looking for a place to vent my frustration.

The overwhelming pressure of the Primordial Overlord Body, mixed with the demonic energy it had just absorbed from Ye Futian, swept across the entire flower room.

Bai Xuan shrank back in fright, but gave Zhou Ran a lewd smile.

"Come on, let me check your homework."

Zhou Ran stubbed out his cigarette and walked towards the hot spring villa in the backyard.

Bai Xuan's words "three months" were still stuck in his mind.

For every additional hour the four forces within the dantian stirred, another crack appeared in the meridians.

We need to stabilize this furnace first before we can talk about the road ahead.

The morning light shines into the swimming pool, reflecting a scene of ethereal beauty, tinged with the allure of neon lights.

Do we need to test our homework in a hot spring?

Also, what do you mean by inflating the waterbed?

The girls looked at each other, completely bewildered by Zhou Ran's intentions.

What are you still standing there for?

Come in!

Zhou Ran put down the inflatable bed and urged.

Chen Ya was the first to take a step.

Lin Qingxue listened carefully to pinpoint the location and followed.

Xiao Hongli pulled her shoulder off the door frame and walked at a leisurely pace, her heels clicking on the floor.

Su Qingling tugged at her sister's arm, and the two of them hunched over and followed at the very back.

The door to the hot spring villa was locked from the inside.

In the steamy pool, Zhou Ran took off his clothes, closed his eyes, and leaned against the pool wall.

The three-colored embryo in his dantian was throbbing violently, and the black energy of the demonic essence was rushing around along the meridians.

Bai Xuan is right, we need to vent our anger.

It is not the fire of the physical body, but the fire of the four elements fighting within the body.

The primordial chaos is supremely yang, the demonic energy is supremely yin, the dragon's aura rampages wildly, and the power of heavenly tribulation obliterates everything in its path.

The four beasts need an exit.

Chen Ya was the first to go into the pool.

She loosened her hair, and her long hair spread out on the water.

Zhou Ran reached out and grabbed her wrist, channeling his primordial energy into her through the point of contact.

Chen Ya groaned, and the wood-elemental spiritual power at her fingertips was guided back into Zhou Ran's dantian, enveloping the outermost layer of the Heavenly Tribulation power in his dantian.

"Bite down, don't let go."

Zhou Ran's voice was low and deep.

Chen Ya was sweating profusely and clung tightly to his arm.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the annex three times.

Xiao Rou's voice came in from outside the door, the last syllable rising in pitch, carrying a hint of desperate begging for a bone:

"Owner……

Did I come at the wrong time?

Zhou Ran glanced at the five slightly shy people in the pool and a smile played on his lips.

"You've come at just the right time."