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

There was no dense fog.

There was no wind or snow.

This is a very ordinary farmhouse courtyard.

Green bamboo sways, and the wooden gate is half-closed.

Zhou Ran sat at the stone table.

On the small red clay stove in front of me, a kettle with its lid on top was making a puffing sound.

Sitting opposite him was the ancient monk who had once taught him the "Mahavairocana Buddha Purification Mantra" in Jiangcheng.

The ancient monk had a gentle face. He picked up the kettle and poured the water into a rough earthenware teacup.

The tea was crystal clear, without the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy.

It's just a glass of boiled water for an ordinary person.

"Your path has been filled with bloodshed, and your hands are stained with the blood of gods and demons."

"Can you still drink this cup of coarse tea?"

The ancient monk pushed the teacup in front of Zhou Ran.

Zhou Ran picked up the teacup, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

The tea enters the mouth.

It wasn't piping hot.

It wasn't cold.

There was no feeling, yet there was a refreshing Taoist charm.

The tea entered my stomach.

The three-colored embryo that was raging wildly within Zhou Ran's dantian suddenly stopped spinning.

The domineering nature of the Great Wilderness, the vitality of the Dragon Essence, the destruction of the Heavenly Tribulation, along with the Demon Emperor's origin that was just devoured.

They were all forcibly suppressed by this cup of coarse tea.

"Good tea."

Zhou Ran put down his teacup and sighed sincerely.

"Master, how have you been since we parted ways at Laoshan?"

The ancient monk smiled.

He picked up the kettle and poured another cup for Zhou Ran.

"This is how I, a poor monk, have always lived."

"And you, benefactor, how have you been these days?"

Zhou Ran pouted angrily; his days had been anything but peaceful.

But just as he was about to speak, he gave a self-deprecating laugh.

How could one hide what one has done from the master's eyes?

"Not bad, we killed quite a few who deserved to die."

The ancient monk nodded.

The two remained silent.

The kettle on the stove lifted its lid again, making a soft sound.

Zhou Ran drank three cups in a row.

The embryo was now quiet, the four forces within its body completely suppressed and no longer churning.

Zhou Ran stared intently at a thin crack on the teacup.

"master.

If you hadn't shown up today, I probably would have torn the whole prison mountain to shreds and then gone back.

Either wait for those four forces to blast me apart.

If you force your way into the underworld, you'll take a few down with you before you die.

It's just a pity...

Zhou Ran downed the herbal tea in one gulp, and the image of Ye Futian's arrogant demeanor when they first met involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

In the illusory realm, the Moon Emperor glanced sideways at his own indifference, which was as insignificant as an ant.

It's just a pity.

He thought he would never have the chance to reach that state of complete freedom.

The crackling of the charcoal fire brought him back to his senses.

No one answered him.

Zhou Ran raised her head.

The stone table opposite was empty.

The teacup is still there, and the tea is still hot.

"master?"

Zhou Ran stood up, walked around the yard, and pushed open the low wooden gate in the corner of the yard.

It was a small hut inside.

There was only a futon and a wooden fish, covered with a thin layer of dust.

There was a slight dent on the cushion.

Zhou Ran went inside and sat down cross-legged on the prayer mat.

If Heaven cannot tolerate you, why do you still try to conform to it?

He looked at the dusty wooden fish in front of him.

The elixir of this world is made by borrowing the furnace and cauldron of heaven and earth, compressing the origin into a core according to the rules of heaven.

But Heaven does not recognize his elixir embryo.

The furnace of Heaven cannot contain him.

He reached out and flicked the wooden fish.

笃.

A muffled thud.

If we can't borrow it, then we won't.

A dazzling purple-gold light burst forth from Zhou Ran's eyes.

There were originally no roads in the world.

He doesn't lack the essence; what he lacks is the arrogance to overturn the table!

I do not follow the will of Heaven.

I am the Way of Heaven!

He is the furnace cauldron!

He is the rule!

Zhou Ran raised his right hand and made an extremely crazy move.

Instead of channeling his power to soothe his dantian, he directly punched it hard into his own dantian!

boom!

The three-colored embryo that had been suppressed was shattered by his own punch!

The four violent forces instantly lost their restraints and were about to explode within his body.

"Gather them!"

Zhou Ran shouted sternly.

He no longer borrows the laws of heaven and earth.

Instead, he uses his own Primordial Origin Bone and heart as the core to control these four forces.

The energy from the pulverization did not dissipate.

Under the crushing force of absolute "idealistic" will, they began to collapse and coalesce again.

A golden pill, the size of a fist, as black as ink yet radiating a lustrous sheen, steadily took shape within the dantian.

The Golden Elixir of the Mind!

It's a world unto itself!

The moment Zhou Ran successfully formed his core, an indescribable chaotic light emanated from his body.

The spatial textures before his eyes became clearly visible, like a piece of paper that had been cut open.

Zhou Ran stood up from the futon and walked out of the small house.

The yard was empty; the kettle had stopped boiling water, and the charcoal had burned out.

A thick layer of dust had settled on the tabletop.

He pushed open the wooden door and stepped out.

The sensation under my feet has changed.

The soft soil disappeared, and the feeling of weightlessness subsided.

When the colors before him coalesced again, Zhou Ran realized that he was not standing on the bluestone cliff of Laoshan Mountain.

The ground beneath our feet is uneven rock.

A biting cold wind, mixed with ice particles, lashed his face.

This is a dry cave that was carved out by man.

Several crude defensive formations were carved on the stone wall, and the spirit stones in the core of the formations were almost exhausted.

Outside the cave.

There was no thick fog during the sweltering heat.

The sky was a gloomy, leaden gray, and large, feathery snowflakes were swirling down, accumulating to knee-deep.

From deep within the cave came the crackling sound of burning firewood.

Aning and Xiaorou, wrapped in heavy military overcoats, were gathered around a dying fire.

Ah Ning's hands were red from the cold.

Xiao Rou held a dead, frozen insect in her hand, her eyes vacant.

Zhou Ran strode forward, his footsteps making a crisp sound as he stepped on the gravel.

The two women by the fire looked up at the same time.

Xiao Rou froze for a full three seconds before scrambling over to him.

"Owner!"

Xiao Rou knelt on the ground, her hands covered in blood, the backs of her hands covered in cracked frostbite.

She clung tightly to Zhou Ran's leg.

"You're back!"

Zhou Ran bent down, grabbed her by the collar of her military coat, and lifted her up.

Xiao Rou has become extremely thin.

"How long have I been in seclusion?"

Zhou Ran's voice was slightly hoarse, yet possessed a penetrating power that commanded respect without anger.

When Xiaorou saw that familiar face and heard that indifferent tone, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Ah Ning, who was standing to the side, stood up, her hands trembling violently.

She looked at Zhou Ran as if he were a monster.

"Six months."

Ah Ning gritted her teeth and spat out two words.

"We were pulled into an illusion, and when we woke up, we found you in a meditative state."

We dared not move you too far, so we dug a hole in the back mountain to guard you.

It's been a full six months!

Zhou Ran raised an eyebrow slightly.

But he clearly remembered that he had only drunk a few pots of tea with that old monk!

"Who exactly is this master?"

His gaze was deep, and he murmured to himself.

"Where is Bai Xuan?"

Aning lowered her head:

"That mushroom..."

Bai Xuan has lost its intelligence...

Zhou Ran loosened his grip and put Xiao Rou down.

He took the flowerpot from Aning's hand.

I felt an incredibly familiar Daoist aura wash over me.

The mushroom just grew quietly in the flowerpot, unremarkable.

Yet it inspired a sense of reverence in him.

Perhaps he sensed Zhou Ran's gaze.

The white cap swayed, and a melody of chanting entered the mind.

"Congratulations, boss..."