Honghuang: My understanding is beyond belief. I am the first immortal of Jiejiao.

"I...I understand! Fellow Daoist Lin Zhu, I was wrong! Utterly wrong!"

Gu Yang suddenly raised his head, his face filled with self-reproach and guilt as he realized his mistake. He tightly grasped Lin Zhu's hand and said excitedly.

"Thank you for your wake-up call, fellow Daoist! If it weren't for your sharp rebuke, I would have almost become complacent in this brief comfort and turned into a sinner who hindered my master's great cause for all eternity! I shouldn't rest! Not even for a moment! I must strive!"
I will seize every moment to serve my master, burning myself out for his great cause of conquering the three realms! The faster I act, the sooner my master can reign supreme! The sooner the world can be reborn!

He gripped Lin Zhu's hand tightly, shaking it vigorously, his eyes gleaming with a light of complete brainwashing... no, complete enlightenment.

"Fellow Daoist, I am deeply grateful! Your teachings will be etched in my heart and I will never forget them!"

Looking at Gu Yang's "enthusiastic" eyes, Lin Zhu felt nothing, and even wanted to laugh a little. She just wanted to say...

Tool Wolf... Oh no, my good friend, it's good that you've figured it out!

A look of satisfaction, as if he had found a promising student, appeared on his face. He gently withdrew his hand, which had been gripped so tightly by Gu Yang, and casually waved it away.

"Yes, it is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. Your awareness is commendable, and all my efforts have been worthwhile."

Lin Zhu's tone became much "peaceful" as he pointed in the direction of Thunder Valley.

"In that case, there's no time to lose. You should go ahead and head to Thunder Valley to investigate the situation and make preliminary preparations. I'll stay here to clean up the mess at Moonflower Valley and adjust my own condition before joining you."

He certainly wasn't genuinely trying to clean up the mess, nor did he need to adjust his mindset.

He just needed some time alone to properly take stock of and digest the massive amount of pills refined from the "monster materials" he had just processed, and to make thorough preparations for continuing to "harvest" the "leeks" in Thunder Valley.

After all, sustainable exploitation requires careful methods and a measured approach.

Gu Yang was already filled with "fighting spirit" and had no doubts about Lin Zhu's arrangements. On the contrary, he felt that Fellow Daoist Lin Zhu was very thoughtful and even took the initiative to take on the cleanup work.

He nodded emphatically and said loudly.

"Alright! Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I'll go right away! I won't keep my master waiting a moment longer!"

Having said that, he dragged his still somewhat tired and injured body, but with an indomitable spirit, he transformed into a streak of light and sped straight toward Thunder Valley, his back view filled with the resolute determination to "dedicate everything to the master's cause".

Lin Zhu watched Gu Yang disappear into the horizon before finally letting out a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but smile, revealing a joyful expression of accomplishment.

He rubbed his hands together and began to happily recount the fruitful gains from his trip to Moonlit Stream...

Gu Yang, who had transformed into a streak of light, had not flown far when he seemed to remember something. He suddenly paused, turned back, and looked at Lin Zhu, who was preparing to "clean up the mess," with a pure look of confusion on his face. He then asked Lin Zhu.

“Fellow Daoist Lin Zhu, are you... are you not coming with me to Thunder Valley? The journey is not far, but the situation inside the valley is unknown. If you travel with me, we can look out for each other.”

Moreover, you were just engaged in a fierce battle... uh, capturing the demonic beast was mentally taxing. If you're left alone, wouldn't you need to... rest?"

This time he learned his lesson and didn't dare to say directly that Lin Zhu needed to rest, but only expressed his concern in a roundabout way.

However, to Lin Zhu, this concern was nothing short of a provocation! A question! A sign of inadequate ideological awareness!

He suddenly turned his head, his eyes wide open, glaring at Gu Yang with a look that seemed to spit fire, and shouted sharply.

"Gu Yang! How can you still be so stubborn?! Didn't you hear a single word I just said to you?!"

He pointed at Gu Yang with great distress, his spittle almost hitting the other man's face.

"The key point! The key point is self-reliance and self-improvement! It's about creating a future for our masters with our own hands and sweat! What kind of glorious worker is it if you always rely on others to help you?"
What kind of qualified contributor am I? I'm not staying here to be lazy, much less to rest! I'm adjusting my state! I'm adjusting myself to my most perfect peak to face any challenges that may arise next!
This is also a crucial and paramount part of the entire process! Do you understand?!

Lin Zhu became more and more agitated as she spoke, as if she had been subjected to a tremendous insult.

"If I were to make a mistake in the upcoming operation because of poor condition, or even collapse as a result, that would be the greatest crime against the master's great cause! It would be an unforgivable dereliction of duty! You've asked me to go with you now, are you deliberately trying to make me face the tasks assigned by the master in an imperfect state? What are your intentions?!"

This barrage of questions, like hailstones, completely stunned Gu Yang, leaving him utterly humiliated and utterly humiliated.

He hurriedly waved his hand and explained repeatedly.

"No, no, no! Fellow Daoist, please calm down! I had no such intention! I... I'll go right away! I'll set off immediately! I dare not delay even a moment longer!"

All he wanted to do at that moment was escape Lin Zhu's "righteous" judging gaze.

"Humph!"

Lin Zhu snorted coldly, but did not let him off the hook. She began a deeper level of workplace manipulation.

"I see that you don't really care about the master's grand ambitions at all! You are so concerned about personal gains and losses, and whether there are other people to accompany and take care of you, but you can't see the hardships and risks I have to go through to adjust my condition on my own!"
Do you know how much pressure I'm under? How many expectations I bear? You don't care! You only care about your own insignificant little bit of so-called 'safety' and 'ease'!

Gu Yang felt his scalp tingle and cold sweat pour down his face, his heart filled with fear and unease.

He felt as if he had truly become a selfish, petty person who disregarded the bigger picture.

He dared not linger any longer, and while fleeing in disarray toward Thunder Valley, he nervously replied without turning his head.

"Fellow Daoist, I understand your good intentions! It was I who was narrow-minded! Fellow Daoist, please rest assured and adjust yourself. Leave the matter of Thunder Valley to me! I will do my utmost to collect the demonic beasts and dedicate everything I have to my master's great cause, without reservation!"

Before he finished speaking, his figure had already disappeared into the horizon, even faster than when he came, as if he was afraid that if he was a step too slow, Lin Zhu would pin some terrible crime on him again.

Watching Gu Yang disappear completely, the angry look of "disappointment" on Lin Zhu's face vanished instantly, replaced by a smile that mixed with laziness and slyness. He stretched lazily and let out a long yawn.

"Sigh, dealing with such a simple-minded guy is such a waste of breath."

As he muttered to himself, he leisurely strolled through the blood-stained ruins of Moonflower Stream, finding a relatively clean, open, and secluded large rock. He casually set up a few simple warnings and aura-concealing restrictions, and then lay down without any regard for appearances.

As a skilled worker who is adept at slacking off and advocates the "nine-to-five" routine, Lin Zhu is well-versed in the capitalists' tactics of making empty promises, spouting motivational platitudes, and manipulating subordinates, and he uses them with great ease.

Now, he only used a little bit of his power to fool Gu Yang, this naive and innocent wolf who was only focused on his master, into being completely lost and willingly becoming a laborer.

He called it "for justice," but deep down he did have this consideration—to delay the emergence of that unknown great demon as much as possible, and to maintain the existing, at least superficially stable, order of the Three Realms.

Of course, you can also harvest a huge amount of monster materials to refine into pills, strengthen yourself and your subordinates. Why not do something that kills many birds with one stone?

"I'm not exploiting anyone, I'm contributing to world peace, I'm using magic to defeat magic..."

Lin Zhu closed her eyes with a sense of peace, comforting herself, and soon drifted off to sleep, her soft snores contrasting sharply with the chaotic scene around her.

While Lin Zhu was sleeping soundly, Gu Yang, who had arrived at Thunder Valley ahead of him, found himself in an unprecedented predicament.

Thunder Valley, as its name suggests, is a place in Beiju Luzhou where thunder rages year-round. The valley is filled with violent lightning power, and ordinary immortals and demons who step into it will be instantly electrocuted into charred remains.

The monsters living in this place are all ferocious beings with thick skin, violent temperament, and extremely strong resistance to the power of lightning.

As soon as Gu Yang stepped into the Thunder Valley, he felt immense pressure. The thunder in the valley was not only incredibly powerful, but it also seemed to contain some strange power that could interfere with divine consciousness and incite inner demons.

Before he could investigate properly, he was surrounded by an endless array of monsters of all shapes and sizes!

These monstrous beasts, ranging from fist-sized lightning insects capable of unleashing deadly plasma to towering rhinoceroses covered in lightning scales, seemed to be under unified command. They surged out from every corner of the valley, their eyes bloodshot and filled with an aura of savagery and destruction, launching a clear attack on Gu Yang.

And the one who commanded all of this was the overlord who resided in the deepest part of Thunder Valley—an ancient thunder dragon that had already reached adulthood, whose strength was comparable to the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal, and which could even unleash the power of a half-step Quasi-Saint by taking advantage of the terrain!
This thunder dragon was thousands of feet long, its entire body covered in purple-gold scales, each scale crackling with terrifying arcs of lightning, and between its horns condensed a continuously compressing ball of lightning that emitted destructive waves.

Its cold, vertical pupils were fixed on Gu Yang, the intruder.

Under the unified command and bloodline suppression of the Ancient Thunder Dragon, the Thunder Valley monsters, who usually fought independently and even devoured each other, now displayed astonishing unity and cooperation.

They were no longer a disorganized mob, but rather like a well-trained army, with clear division of labor and tacit cooperation. Some launched a frontal assault, some harassed from the flanks, some ambushed from underground, and some unleashed long-range lightning spells from the air... launching a relentless siege against Gu Yang!

As a half-step Quasi-Saint, Gu Yang's strength is beyond doubt. If he goes all out and fights with all his might, even with the large number of demonic beasts and the Ancient Thunder Dragon commanding them, he is confident that he can slaughter most of them and escape.

But the problem is—the master needs a "live" monster!

This order acted like a tight band, firmly restricting Gu Yang's movements.

He couldn't kill them, couldn't inflict fatal wounds, and even had to try to avoid severely damaging the foundation of these monsters, so as not to affect their subsequent "vitality".

This undoubtedly raises the difficulty of the battle by several orders of magnitude!

He could only fight back with all his might, blocking and deflecting the surging attacks one by one.

His magical energy was being rapidly depleted, and new wounds were constantly appearing on his body.

Some were torn apart by lightning claws, some were burned by plasma, and some suffered internal organ tremors from brute force impacts... But he always kept his master's instructions in mind, and every counterattack was carefully controlled, precisely so that he could only incapacitate the monsters without taking their lives.

Even so, Gu Yang did not harbor any resentment or doubt towards Lin Zhu.

On the contrary, he became even more convinced that Fellow Daoist Lin Zhu, like himself, held an unwavering belief in his master.

He believes that Lin Zhu's inability to come at this moment must be because the previous "adjustment" has reached a critical moment, or he has encountered other important matters that must be dealt with.

He felt he had to shoulder this responsibility and buy enough time for fellow Daoist Lin Zhu!
"Fellow Daoist Lin Zhu must be making even more important preparations... I absolutely cannot fall here! I must buy time for him, for my master! Even if it costs me my life!"

With a resolute flame burning in his eyes, Gu Yang faced the seemingly endless horde of demonic beasts. He gritted his teeth and pushed his half-step quasi-saint cultivation to its limit, maneuvering among the thousands of demonic beasts and striving to carry out the difficult task of "capturing but not killing".

When Lin Zhu woke up naturally, he stretched lazily and watched the sun rise in the east, its rays spreading across the sky. Then, he leisurely tidied himself up and set off on a cloud towards Thunder Valley.

When he arrived at the outskirts of Thunder Valley, even though he was mentally prepared, he was still slightly shocked by the scene before him.

Thunder Valley, which was already charred and teeming with lightning snakes, now looked as if it had been scalded by blood.

In the valley, the river had long been stained dark red, and the broken bodies of demonic beasts were piled up like mountains. But strangely, most of these corpses were not killed by fatal attacks, but rather had broken legs and limbs, shattered teeth, or were simply stunned by the enormous force and bound tightly by tough demonic ropes...

In the core area of ​​that mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood, a figure covered in blood, whose demonic energy was already somewhat dim and unstable, was engaged in an extremely difficult battle with an enormous purple-gold thunder dragon.

That was Gu Yang!
At this moment, Gu Yang's face was as pale as paper, his breathing was disordered, and his once majestic white fur was now covered with dried blood and charred marks, making him look extremely disheveled.

His body was covered with crisscrossing wounds, some so deep that the bone was visible, and residual lightning flickered, hindering the healing of the wounds.

His movements were noticeably slower than in his prime, and each block or dodge appeared extremely strenuous.

In contrast, the ancient thunder dragon, though also bearing numerous wounds and with many broken scales, and its aura somewhat weakened, was clearly in much better condition than Gu Yang. (End of Chapter)