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

A fist-sized, purplish-gold demon core, its surface entwined with fine dragon patterns and seemingly containing flowing liquid lightning, lay quietly in his palm.

The demon core was intact, and because it had been separated from the self-destructing core, it was even more magnificent, exuding a pure and powerful aura of an ancient thunder dragon.

"Fellow Daoist..."

Gu Yang's voice was hoarse and dry, carrying the weakness of surviving a disaster and a hint of relief at completing the mission.

"Fortunately... I didn't fail in my mission... The demon core... has been retrieved..."

He handed the demon core, which he had risked his life to retrieve, to Lin Zhu.

Lin Zhu's gaze fell on the top-grade demon core, a barely perceptible glint of light flashing in his eyes, but his face instantly filled with "emotion" and "admiration." He reached out and took the demon core with utmost naturalness, as if it were the only right thing to do.

He patted Gu Yang's shoulder, which was almost completely unscathed, in an enthusiastic tone, full of praise.

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Fellow Daoist Gu Yang! You have truly impressed me! Faced with such a desperate situation, you were willing to risk your life to retrieve such a treasure for your master! Such loyalty and such bravery are truly a model for us all and an example for the world! If your master knew, he would surely be gratified!"

As he spoke, he casually tossed the demon core, still warm from Gu Yang's body and stained with blood, into the Shennong Cauldron floating beside him, as if it were just an ordinary object.

"Ding! Top-grade materials detected by the host."

A complete demon core of an ancient thunder dragon (top-grade) has been obtained, triggering the [Origin Refinement] event! Refinement successful, yielding 1 [Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Pill (Top-grade)]!

The pleasant system notification sounded in Lin Zhu's mind, making the smile on his lips even more genuine.

Meanwhile, Gu Yang, after handing over the demon core, seemed to instantly lose all the energy he had been holding onto. He coughed violently a few times, coughing up fragments of internal organs and arcs of lightning. He looked weakly at Lin Zhu, his voice barely audible.

"Fellow Daoist... I... I really can't hold on any longer, could you... allow me to rest for a moment... to regulate my breathing..."

Lin Zhu was still basking in the joy of obtaining another top-grade Great Luo Golden Pill when he heard this. His face immediately changed to a concerned expression of "empathy" and he pretended to agree.

"Of course! Fellow Daoist, you've worked hard. Quickly adjust your breathing and recover!"

However, his gaze "inadvertently" drifted to an inconspicuous elixir bottle that had just appeared in his hand, inside which was the [Good and Evil Five Poisons Powder]. He revealed a very "realistic" struggle and "reluctance," as if he was hesitating whether to take out something precious.

This subtle change in his expression was precisely noticed by Gu Yang, whose senses were heightened by his weakness.

Gu Yang's gaze instantly locked onto the pill bottle in Lin Zhu's hand, and he forced himself to ask.

"Fellow Daoist... is that... a healing pill in your hand? Could it be... prepared for me?"

His tone carried a hint of hope, yet also a subtle undercurrent of questioning.

He risked his life, could he really not even be willing to give away a single healing pill?

Lin Zhu seemed startled, quickly hiding the hand holding the pill bottle behind his back, his face showing an extremely "difficult" and "hesitant" expression, and stammered.

"what?

This...this...Fellow Daoist Gu Yang, please don't misunderstand!

This...this isn't some kind of high-grade elixir, just a little...a little something to restore mana and physical strength. I...I specially crafted it for you, but...the ingredients were too precious, so I...I dared not take it out, afraid you'd misunderstand and think I was embezzling...using my master's demon beast materials..."

His explanation only fueled Gu Yang's anger! A surge of strength seemed to rise from his weakened body, and he straightened his back abruptly, pointing at Lin Zhu with a voice filled with grief and indignation.

"Lin Zhu! I risked my life for you... for my master, nearly losing my body and soul! Now all I need is a single pill to recover, and you're so stingy? You won't even give me a single pill? Is I, Gu Yang, so worthless in your eyes?! Can't I get even the slightest reward for my sacrifices?!"

Upon seeing Gu Yang's anger, Lin Zhu seemed to have his "conscience" touched. He immediately put on a pained expression of being misunderstood and began his performance.

He sighed deeply, his tone becoming "sincere" and "bitter".

"Alas! Fellow Daoist Gu Yang, you...you have truly misunderstood me! Do you know that in order to refine a top-tier pill worthy of your achievements, I, Lin Zhu, have also faced countless dangers and exhausted countless efforts! This pill..."

He shook the elixir bottle in his hand, his face full of regret.

"It is true that I misappropriated some of the top-grade demon beast materials that should have been handed over to my master, and only by chance was I able to refine this one! The reason I concealed it and dared not show it was because I was afraid that if you knew the source of the materials, you would misunderstand me, Lin Zhu, as a treacherous person who steals from his own position!"

I'm even more afraid... even more afraid that if the master finds out, he'll take his anger out on you! I... I'm doing this all for your own good!

This heartfelt speech, interspersed with phrases like "risking your life for you," "thinking of you," and "afraid that you would be implicated," struck Gu Yang's innocent heart like a warm current.

The anger on his face froze instantly, turning into astonishment, emotion, and even... guilt.
Looking into Lin Zhu's "sincere" yet "restrained" eyes, he felt a lump in his throat, and his eyes even reddened slightly. He quietly wiped away any non-existent moisture from the corners of his eyes.

“I…I see…”

Gu Yang's voice choked with emotion.

"Fellow Daoist Lin Zhu, it was me... I misunderstood you! I never imagined you had silently sacrificed so much for me, and even... even taken such a great risk! I... I..."

Overwhelmed with emotion, his hands trembled slightly with excitement and weakness as he reached out to Lin Zhu, wanting to take the "precious" pill.

Just as Gu Yang's hand was about to touch the pill bottle, Lin Zhu seemed to suddenly wake up, abruptly pulling his hand back, his face showing an extremely "conflicted" and "fearful" expression, shaking his head repeatedly.

"No! No! I still can't give it to you! If... if you take this pill, and the master investigates later and finds out that the materials were missing, he will definitely think that I embezzled the money. At that time... at that time, my life will be in danger! Fellow Daoist Gu Yang, I can't harm you, and I can't harm myself!" The more he hesitated, the more anxious Gu Yang became, and the more convinced he was of the "preciousness" of the pill and Lin Zhu's "good intentions".

Seeing Lin Zhu back down, Gu Yang's guilt and gratitude for being fooled instantly turned into a strong desire to take it. He took a step forward and, almost instinctively, snatched the pill bottle from Lin Zhu's "not very firm" hand!
"Rest assured, fellow Daoist! This matter is known only to Heaven, Earth, you, and me! I, Gu Yang, swear to my inner demons that I will never reveal a single word to my master! I will never forget your kindness in risking your life to refine pills for me!"

Gu Yang spoke hastily, afraid that Lin Zhu would change her mind. Without even looking, he directly uncorked the bottle and swallowed the dark-colored, strangely scented [Good and Evil Five Poisons Powder] whole!
As soon as the pill entered his stomach, a warm current spread out, and his physical strength and magical power, which had been depleted by more than half, began to recover rapidly, which made him even more convinced of the "effect" of the pill.

Lin Zhu feigned surprise and pointed at Gu Yang.

"You...how could you eat it!"

But inwardly he was thinking to himself.

This silly wolf is so easy to fool. This is clearly garbage made from scraps of waste materials. If he knew the truth, I wonder if he would still be so "moved".
As Gu Yang felt the restoration of his internal strength, he believed that he had extracted the "secret" from Lin Zhu that he had "misappropriated materials to refine pills for himself." He was even more convinced that Lin Zhu had been completely bound to his cause and was now "one of his own" who was completely on his side.

He even began to coldly plot how to better utilize Lin Zhu's "alchemy skills" and "Buddha Kingdom in the Palm" to seize more benefits for his master and himself.

Lin Zhu caught a glimpse of the slightly foolish sneer on Gu Yang's face, and recalling the intelligence-reducing effect of the [Five Poisons of Good and Evil], she couldn't help but mutter to herself.

"It seems the brain-degrading side effect has taken effect? ​​But with his basic intelligence, he's probably already hit rock bottom, and there's not much room for a rebound..."

Just then, Gu Yang, who had swallowed the pill and felt his condition had improved somewhat, was about to take the opportunity to sit down and properly digest the medicinal effects and heal his injuries when he heard a stern rebuke from beside him before he could even sit down.

"Gu Yang! What are you going to do now?!"

Gu Yang was startled and turned around to see Lin Zhu staring at him with a look of "disappointment and disappointment".

"I...I want to take advantage of the medicine's effects to regulate my breathing for a while and digest it..."

Gu Yang explained, feeling wronged.

"Regulate breathing? Digest?!"

Lin Zhu interrupted him with a pained expression, her tone sounding just like that of an old father utterly disappointed in his good-for-nothing son.

"I defied the world and misappropriated my master's resources to refine elixirs to help you recover! And what do you do? You've barely regained a bit of strength, and all you want to do is sit down and rest? Do you think you're worthy of the sacrifice I made at the risk of my life? Do you think you're worthy of my master's great achievement of dominating the three realms? Time waits for no one!"

Opportunity is fleeting! Your mission is to accelerate! To clear all obstacles for your master and speed up the process of world unification! Every moment you rest, your master's great undertaking is delayed! Do you understand?!

This series of questions struck Gu Yang like a heavy hammer, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. The little bit of energy he had just regained thanks to the elixir was overwhelmed by his sense of responsibility and guilt.

Looking at Lin Zhu's extremely disappointed eyes, he lowered his head in shame and stammered.

"I...I know I was wrong...Fellow Daoist, please calm down. I...I'll set off immediately for the next location! The effects of the medicine...I can slowly digest them along the way! I will certainly not let down my master, nor will I disappoint your expectations!"

Seeing that Gu Yang was so "sensible", Lin Zhu's sorrowful expression eased slightly. He looked at Gu Yang with respect and couldn't help but feel moved.

"This awareness, this drive... even the donkeys in the production team would be moved to tears, feeling ashamed of their own inferiority! Worthy of learning, truly worthy of learning..."

Watching Gu Yang, though disheveled and battered, still carry a resolute air of "dedicating his life to his master's cause," disappear into the direction of the next gathering place of demonic beasts.

Lin Zhu slowly withdrew his gaze, then casually took out his exquisite tea set from his storage space and skillfully brewed a pot of fresh tea. The fragrant aroma of the tea filled the air, creating a stark contrast with the scorched earth and hellish scene of Thunder Valley below.

Completely disregarding the fact that Gu Yang had just survived a self-destruction of his primordial spirit and was still carrying severe injuries that would kill an ordinary Great Luo Golden Immortal several times over, he unhesitatingly restarted the cycle of "making empty promises, giving pep talks, and exploiting labor."

Gu Yang, bearing the aftereffects of the dementia caused by the [Five Poisons of Good and Evil] and the pain and injuries that urgently needed treatment, once again embarked on a journey to serve Lin Zhu.

Lin Zhu, perched high in the clouds, like the most shrewd capitalist, continued to remotely control this seemingly passionate but actually absurd "game of dedication" using rhetoric such as "blessings," "dedication," and "the big picture."

However, watching Gu Yang's disappearing figure, Lin Zhu's hand holding the teacup paused slightly, and a rare, almost imperceptible sense of guilt rose in his heart. Of course, this guilt did not stem from the exploitation itself, but from something else.

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue lightly, muttering to himself with a hint of annoyance.

"Look at how hard he's working, his will is as strong as steel, and he's putting in so much effort... I was so focused on getting him to work that I forgot to take the opportunity to charge him some 'guidance fee,' 'management fee,' or 'compensation for emotional distress.' What a loss, what a huge loss!"

But this feeling of "losing out" lasted only a moment before he put it out of his mind.

Who is Lin Zhu? How could he let this affect his mood? He put aside this small "mistake" and comfortably started a new round of slacking off.

After all, the previous gains in Moonflower Valley and Thunder Valley were simply too abundant. The massive amount of pills refined in the Shennong Cauldron were diverse in type and of extremely high quality.

Besides the common Nine-Turn Great Luo Golden Pill, Nine-Turn Taiyi Golden Pill, and Ten Thousand Year Cultivation Pill, there were many new versions of pills that he had never seen before. Although some of them had peculiar effects and might not be useful for the time being, the fragments of laws and the original energy they contained were of immeasurable value.

With these resources, he could build and arm a powerful law enforcement force that could roam the three realms and be feared by all forces!
Thinking of the future when he would have a strong and well-equipped army under his command, Lin Zhu felt that this "small regret" was not worth mentioning at all.

Perhaps because he had slept too much beforehand, or perhaps because he was too excited by the great harvest, Lin Zhu was wide awake at the moment.

His gaze swept over the ravaged Thunder Valley below. He felt that the evil aura here was too heavy and it was not a place to stay for long. So he slowly left the area on a cloud and found a relatively quiet mountain with decent spiritual energy to land on.

With nothing to do, he suddenly remembered a little creature he had been keeping close to his heart, almost forgotten about. With a thought, a crimson light flew out from his arms, landed on the ground, and transformed into a fledgling bird no bigger than a palm, with bright red feathers and nine tiny heads—nine phoenixes that had just been born.

Since Lin Zhu acquired this little creature, it had been in a state of bewildered growth. Lin Zhu had been preoccupied with many matters and hadn't paid much attention to it, simply keeping it casually. (End of Chapter)