Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 820 Above the Nascent Soul Stage
Deep in the Yellow Maple Valley, a newly renovated hall gleams in the sunlight.

The palace door slid open a crack without a sound, and a hunched figure, dressed in faded yellow maple valley outer disciple's robes, quietly walked in.

The person who arrived was Xiang Zhili, whom Fang Yu had summoned.

Xiang Zhili raised his cloudy old eyes and looked at Fang Yu, who was sitting in the main seat of the hall, wearing a moon-white robe with golden light inside. A faint glint of light flashed in his cloudy old eyes.

His wrinkled lips moved slightly, as if he were about to perform the grand ceremony of a Qi Refining disciple meeting a Nascent Soul ancestor, according to his status.

"Oh, I'll go!"

The "Old Master Fang" seated there reacted quickly.

With a flash of golden light, Fang Yu transformed into a blurry afterimage, almost "bounced" off the throne.

Before Xiang Zhili could even bend down, Fang Yu had already rushed in front of him, his posture just like a junior clerk meeting a leader on an inspection tour.

Then, something even more shocking happened—this newly promoted Nascent Soul Ancestor, the towering figure of Yellow Maple Valley, actually bowed deeply and respectfully to a Qi Refining stage "old good-for-nothing"!
"No, no, no! Please, sir! Please, have a seat here!"

Fang Yu spoke hurriedly while deftly stepping aside, and very naturally, even with a hint of ingratiation, led Xiang Zhili to a cushioned rosewood armchair next to him.

His movements were so practiced, and his attitude so humble, that it was as if Fang Yu was the outer disciple, and Xiang Zhili was the Nascent Soul Ancestor sitting high on the clouds.

If Li Huayuan, Zhong Lingdao, or any other disciple of Huangfeng Valley were to witness this scene, half of them would probably go insane on the spot, while the other half would likely suspect that they had fallen under a high-level illusion, or that Old Ancestor Fang had simply gone mad from practicing his cultivation.

Old Ancestor Fang was moving a stool for a useless Qi Refining stage cultivator?

Bowing?
This isn't just outrageous, it's practically headline material for unsolved mysteries in the cultivation world!

But Fang Yu knew exactly what was going on.

This old codger in front of me is no Qi Refining stage trash.
That's a damn old monster at the Nascent Soul stage!

In other people's eyes, this newly formed, glittering Nascent Soul stage of mine is probably just a glowing, slightly sturdy toy. If they really got involved, they would disassemble it into parts in no time.

Xiang Zhili was a little stunned by Fang Yu's smooth little combo, and his eyelids twitched.

He slowly sat down in the armchair as instructed, his withered fingers twirling his sparse beard. His cloudy old eyes scanned Fang Yu's excessively youthful face, a half-smile tugging at the corners of his lips, his voice dry as sandpaper:
"How strange, how strange! Ancestor Fang, aren't you being a bit too polite to an old man like me who is only at the Qi Refining stage? These old bones of mine can't withstand such a bow from you."

Fang Yu plopped down on the chair next to him, his posture completely lacking any of the demeanor of an ancestor. Hearing this, he rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively.
"Alright, Lao Xiang, it's just the two of us here. Who can see us if we close the palace doors? Aren't you tired?"

He leaned forward slightly, his nonchalant expression softening somewhat. He lowered his voice, adopting a accusing tone: "Tell me, what exactly is this Crimson Forbidden Land? It's a truly sinister place! And when that man-eating Nascent Soul flower with legs was chasing me, where the hell were you? Watching the show? Just standing there watching me get chased like a grandson? You could at least lend a hand! Old Xiang, you're such a disloyal Nascent Soul expert!"

Xiang Zhili chuckled, a sound like a leaky bellows, but a glint of shrewdness flashed in his cloudy eyes: "This old man doesn't act rashly, besides..."

He paused, looking at the immense power that could still be felt even when Fang Yu's dantian was restrained, and said, "I know you're tough as nails, you won't die. That little storm is nothing to you."

"Wow! You've got complete confidence in me!" Fang Yu curled his lip, looking disgusted. "So you're actually enjoying watching me get chased around like this?"

Xiang Zhili didn't take the bait. He stroked his beard and slowly asked, "You specifically called this old man to this deserted place today just to ask this? Are you here to interrogate me?"

"How could that be!" Fang Yu immediately put on a smiling face, rubbed his hands together, and looked like a cunning merchant trying to get information out of someone. "Asking for punishment? I wouldn't dare! I just wanted to ask you some questions about things above the Nascent Soul stage."

"Above the Nascent Soul stage?!" Xiang Zhili's usually composed expression instantly crumbled.

He sprang up from his chair like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his turbid eyes wide open, filled with the horror of "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Those few sparse goat whiskers were so angry that they moved on their own without wind, trembling as if they were electrified.

"You brat! Do you know how many years it took me, a mere mortal, to climb up to the Nascent Soul stage, enduring countless hardships and life-or-death trials?! How much suffering did I endure?! How many layers of skin did I lose?! You son of a bitch, you son of a bitch!"

Old Xiang was so angry his beard stood on end. He pointed at Fang Yu's dantian, which was glowing with golden light, his fingers trembling. "You haven't even warmed up the taste of your Nascent Soul yet! You haven't even settled into your seat! And you're already eyeing the threshold of the Divine Transformation Realm?! Do you think this is like eating candy? You want the next one after finishing one?! Greed knows no bounds! You...you're simply outrageous!"

Seeing Xiang Zhili's furious and exasperated expression, as if his worldview had been shattered by a single sentence, Fang Yu not only didn't back down, but instead burst into laughter, his body trembling with mirth in his chair.
"Hahaha! You're getting anxious! Old Xiang, you're getting anxious! Hahaha." He wiped away the tears of laughter and pointed at Xiang Zhili, "Look, look, you've been exposed, haven't you? 'Climbed to the Nascent Soul stage'? Tsk tsk tsk, Old Xiang, you've essentially confessed that you're a Nascent Soul stage monster, haven't you?"

The laughter echoed in the empty hall, sounding particularly jarring.

Xiang Zhili's face flushed red and then turned pale as he was laughed at. His hand, which had been pointing at Fang Yu, fell limply to his side, finally turning into a deep sigh that seemed to drain all his strength. He slumped back into his chair, looking as if he had shrunk in size.
"Sigh, there's just no way to deal with you, you slippery little rascal."

He raised his eyelids, his cloudy eyes filled with an intense, unyielding confusion and inquiry as he stared intently at Fang Yu. "How...how did you see through me? Absolutely impossible! I'm confident in my ability to conceal my aura; even a fellow Nascent Soul cultivator might not be able to easily see through it. Unless..."

He paused, lowering his voice even further, tinged with a hint of surprise and uncertainty: "You brat, are you really some ancient monster who has slumbered for countless ages, reincarnated and starting anew?!"

Fang Yu's laughter gradually subsided. He casually waved his hand, his gesture carrying an all-knowing languor, as if brushing away non-existent dust from his eyes.

A meaningful smile curved at the corner of his lips, and within his Sharingan, now incorporating the Jogan, a nine-tomoe Sharingan, seemed to shimmer with a galaxy of light, reflecting the cool moonlight within the hall.

"Save your breath, Lao Xiang. Don't overthink it. You'll never figure out the answer, no matter how hard you try."

Xiang Zhili waved his hand, "Alright, everyone has secrets. You have yours, and so do I. I won't pry."

He then changed the subject, "However, you can't simply assume that you're invincible in this world just because you've had good luck and reached the Nascent Soul stage."

Fang Yu cupped his hands in greeting, "Of course I know that Elder Xiang is the pinnacle of the human realm."

Xiang Zhili shook his head, held up his finger, and made a "V" sign.

Fang Yu laughed, "Old Xiang, what's the point of all this fuss? Taking a picture? What's with the peace sign?"

Xiang Zhili snorted coldly, "There are at least two digits of people in this world who can kill you."

"so."

"Come on, kid."

Just as the mortal Fang Yu was bewildered, Laozi in his mind laughed and said, "He's just a pitiful person desperately searching for the path to ascension. Take his words with a grain of salt, only use them when necessary."

'What is necessary?'

"You'll know how powerful you are when the time comes."

(End of this chapter)