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

Lin Qingxue removed her white veil, revealing a pair of unfocused eyes.

She groped her way into the pool and placed her palm on Zhou Ran's back.

The power of annihilation precisely cut into the boundary between the demonic energy and the dragon energy, forcefully separating the two forces.

Without saying a word, Xiao Hongli pressed down on Zhou Ran's shoulder.

The chilling energy of the vengeful ghost's constitution poured in and collided with the primordial yang energy, causing a layer of white mist to rise from Zhou Ran's skin.

Su Qingling and Su Qingwu were the last to move over.

Su Qingling blushed, biting her lip until it left white marks.

Her hand rested on Zhou Ran's left arm, and the gentle water power of the Tidal Holy Body surged into it—

The surging energy in his dantian immediately subsided.

Su Qingwu pressed against the other side, and the two sisters' sacred bodies resonated, smoothing out the four forces within the dantian wave after wave.

The pool water was churning.

Waves of spiritual energy crashed against the wall.

The heat turned the entire room into a sauna.

But just as the nascent soul was about to completely settle down, the source of demonic energy suddenly rebounded violently.

Zhou Ran frowned.

The black energy surged back into Taihuang's left arm through his meridians, causing the black and gold totem on his shoulder to instantly radiate outwards.

A wave of scalding heat exploded from his skin, sending Lin Qingxue's hand flying with a soft "plop."

"Don't let go!"

Zhou Ran snorted softly.

Chen Ya gritted her teeth and desperately increased her wood-type spiritual power to suppress the power of the heavenly tribulation.

Xiao Hongli reacted the fastest, her chilling aura immediately enveloping the gap and sealing it.

Su Qingling's burned fingertips were still trembling, but instead of pulling back, they moved forward half an inch.

The resonance frequency of the two sisters' sacred bodies suddenly increased.

The rebounding demonic energy was forcibly suppressed back into the dantian.

The pool water churned and surged.

All five women were panting.

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:

"Master...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."

Come in and help me finish up.

The door opened.

Xiao Rou, dressed in a thin black veil, stepped into the pool with a nimble movement, more agile than a water snake.

She went directly behind Zhou Ran, hooked her fingers around his shoulder blades, and pressed her whole body against him.

The Gu energy seeped into her meridians through her fingertips, working in conjunction with the primordial Qi and blood to cleanse the cracks on the surface of her dantian.

He worked with incredible speed and precision, almost to an extreme degree.

"Master, where is the blockage?"

here……

Still here?

He brought his lips close to her earlobe, his breath brushing against Zhou Ran's neck.

Like a seasoned veteran who frequents brothels and brothels.

Chen Ya's eye twitched.

Although Lin Qingxue is blind, she is not deaf.

She turned her face to the side, and the curve of her lips tightened.

Xiao Hongli snorted coldly and tightened her grip on Zhou Ran's shoulder by a third.

Su Qingwu glared at Xiao Rou's shameless attitude and nudged her sister with her elbow.

Su Qingling pushed her elbow back into the water, her face even redder than before.

It took most of an hour to figure it out.

The embryonic development has stabilized.

Zhou Ran opened her eyes.

The pent-up phlegm that had been stuck in his mouth for so long was released through his nasal cavity, spraying onto the water and creating a ring of white mist.

The pool water had turned a murky grayish-white, and the six women all had an unnatural flush on their faces and were breathing erratically.

Su Qingwu slumped against the pool wall, muttering weakly:

"Is this considered cultivation or...?"

"Shut up."

Su Qingling covered her sister's mouth.

Zhou Ran stood up from the pool and wrung out the water from his trousers.

My temples are still throbbing, but the four colors of the original essence of the dantian have temporarily stopped fighting.

The fire has been temporarily extinguished.

But this is not a long-term solution; there will come a time when the six of them can't hold on any longer.

It took until noon to finish.

After washing up, Zhou Ran changed into a clean set of black casual clothes and sat in the study.

There was a knock on the door.

Ah Ning changed into a tight black leather jacket, holding a brown paper bag in her hand, and walked to the large desk with utmost respect.

"Master Zhou, the clue you asked me to investigate has yielded some results."

Aning handed over the top-secret file with both hands.

Turning to the first page, there was no complicated information, only the address of an alleyway in the old city of Jiangcheng.

"You previously mentioned that the employer who plotted against me in Mangshan is in Jiangcheng."

Zhou Ran leaned back in his leather chair, tapping his fingers on the table.

Ah Ning swallowed hard, her voice very low:

"Yes.

He calls himself a 'reincarnator'.

It is not under the jurisdiction of the underworld, nor does it enter the cycle of reincarnation in the mortal world.

They are ferrymen between the realms of Yin and Yang, constantly reincarnating throughout the great calamities of each era.

The current ferryman is Feng Xi.

this……

He's already retired.

"retire?"

"After retiring, I remained in the mortal realm."

His name is Xu Changsheng.

He has lived for countless eons, without friends or relatives, and even chose his own name.

After Feng Xi took over the business, he opened a watch shop in the old town of Jiangcheng and never moved from there.

At this point, Aning slowed down her speech.

She looked up, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Their goal is to find someone who can stabilize the rules of the plane.

You pulled out the Primordial Bone, killed Richard, and even withstood the giant hand of the Void Realm.

You are his chosen ultimate target.

After a pause, Ah Ning added, her voice even lower:

"When he planted the death curse on me, I wanted nothing more than to tear him to pieces."

But after checking all this information...

I'm not sure if he's an enemy anymore.

Zhou Ran paused for a moment on the table with his finger.

Immortal and indestructible, watching one era after another slip through their fingers.

There wasn't a single living person around to talk to.

What's the difference between this life and living in a grave?

However, to be fair, this retired ferryman, all alone repairing clocks in the alley, was secretly plotting something quite grand.

Using Richard's hand, he delivered the Primordial Bone to her door, planted a death curse in A Ning's body, and gradually led himself into Mangshan.

What's the point?

"Whether they are enemies or not, I'll decide for myself. Prepare the car."

Twenty minutes later.

Instead of using the flashy supercars in the garage, Zhou Ran took A Ning and the rejuvenated Xiao Rou into an extremely low-key black minivan.

The car drove away from the western suburbs and into the old city district, which has the most historical feel of Jiangcheng.

The asphalt road has been transformed into a bumpy, uneven cobblestone road.

The alley was narrow, and the walls on both sides were peeling and covered with moss.

The van was parked at the deepest part of the alley, in front of an inconspicuous shop without even a sign.

Push open the rusty wooden door.

The room was dimly lit, and the smell of engine oil and rotting wood was overwhelming.

The walls and ceiling are covered with hundreds and thousands of antique clocks of various shapes and sizes.

Tick-tock

Tick-tock

Tick.

The sound of countless second hands ticking together creates the illusion that time has been fragmented.

Behind the counter, an elderly man with white hair wearing a monocle stopped what he was doing.

Xu Changsheng.

Two rough ceramic teacups were placed on the counter.

One cup was clean and faced the guest, while the other had a thick, black tea stain on the inside.

Only one cup had tea stains.

This old man has been drinking tea alone in this shop for who knows how many years, and has never seen a second person come.

He put down the tweezers, looked up at Zhou Ran, and wore a peaceful smile.

"Keep the change, please.

"I don't have the kind of Core Formation method you're looking for."

He paused, took off his monocle, and wiped it with a cloth.

"but……

I know someone who can help you.

However, he is elusive and rarely seen.