My cultivation is too warm

The Spirit of the Mystic Realm's attitude only fueled everyone's curiosity.

The spirit of the secret realm also sensed Xu Mo and his companions' intentions, and knew that he would definitely not be able to refuse them today.

Given their current attitude, they would definitely give up if I didn't tell them about Shennong Yandi.

But if he were to actually tell the story of Shennong Yandi in person, he couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart. Then, a thought suddenly came to him.

Haven't we already entered the Dharma-ending Age? Haven't Xu Mo and the others become mortals?

That being the case...

Thinking of this, the face conjured by the spirit of the secret realm smirked. Suppressing his smugness, he said to Xu Mo and the others, "Anyway, it's impossible for me to tell you about that old thing, Shennong Yandi. If you really want to know, then you can see for yourselves."

Upon hearing this, Xu Mo and the others' expressions changed immediately, and Liang Huanhuan was the first to jump out and say, "Then, senior, what should we think?"

Upon hearing this, the spirit of the secret realm suppressed the smile on its lips and said in a serious tone, "It's very simple. I will release my divine soul memories, and you can link your divine souls to my consciousness and directly view my memories."

After saying that, he put on a magnanimous act and said, "How about that? To satisfy your curiosity, I've even opened up my own memories. Isn't that generous enough?"

Then he conjured a hand, beckoned to Xu Mo and the others, and said, "Come, come, hurry up. Didn't you want to know about that old thing, Shennong Yandi? I've already released my consciousness, come and see."

Upon hearing this, the group exchanged bewildered glances. Xu Mo now realized that the spirit of the secret realm simply didn't want them to know about the Shennong Yan Emperor.

The spirit of the secret realm clearly knows that we have entered the Dharma-ending Age, which is why it speaks so confidently.

Xu Mo, Wang Er, Ye Qingyue, and even Ou Fenjin and his apprentice all sensed the spirit of the secret realm's intentions. However, Liang Huanhuan, being naive, remained oblivious, completely unaware of the spirit's sinister purpose. She innocently addressed the spirit, saying:
"But senior, we are now mortals, and we have no way to use our divine souls to examine your memories."

As Liang Huanhuan spoke, she pointed a finger at her chin, frowned, and said with a troubled expression, "Senior, is there any way to let us see it directly?"

The spirit of the secret realm was waiting for Liang Huanhuan to say something like this, so after hearing her words, he immediately put on a troubled look and sighed with some regret:
"I see. I was too careless. I forgot that you have all become mortals now."

After saying that, he pretended to be troubled and thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly, "Then there's no way, I can't let you directly view my memories."

Then he put on an apologetic expression and said in a very "sincere" tone, "It's such a pity. In order to satisfy your curiosity, I have already endured my discomfort to open up your memories, but you can't check them yourselves, so don't blame me."

"I really don't want to bring up the past of that old man Shennong Yandi again. I'm sure you won't make things difficult for me, right? And it's not that I'm unwilling to satisfy your curiosity. I've already done my best. It's just that you yourselves couldn't do it."

Although the spirit of the secret realm expressed great regret, Xu Mo and the others could clearly sense the barely suppressed smugness in his tone.

"This guy did it on purpose," the group thought to themselves.

Then, as Xu Mo saw a smug look in the eyes of the spirit of the secret realm, he suddenly spoke up: "It is so kind of you, senior, to open up your memories for us. I thank you for your help."

The spirit of the secret realm chuckled, conjured a hand, and waved it smugly a few times. Just as it was about to say "You're welcome," it heard Xu Mo continue:
"Now that we are in the Dharma-ending Age, we have become mortals and cannot use our divine souls to link with your memories. However... our technology has developed quite well, and we can already read a person's memories through various instruments. Since you say so, senior, we will send the instruments over later. At that time, we will trouble you to cooperate so that we can link with your memories."

The spirit of the secret realm froze upon hearing this, its lips curving upwards in disbelief. Then, it stared wide-eyed at Xu Mo.

Is that even possible? Oh no, he's gotten too cocky and hasn't left himself any way out.

The spirit of the secret realm felt incredibly aggrieved. What kind of technology was this? It was outrageous! How could it read memories? A demonic artifact, definitely a demonic artifact.

He cursed and shouted in his heart.

Xu Mo smiled slightly at the spirit of the secret realm's stiff expression, then slowly asked, "Why does Senior have such an expression? Is there something troubling you?"

Upon hearing this, the spirit of the secret realm hurriedly shook his head in denial, saying, "It's not difficult, it's not difficult." His tone sounded very forced, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Since I said it myself, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

Seeing the spirit of the secret realm's reaction, Xu Mo and Wang Er all tried their best to suppress their laughter, since the spirit had been so smug just now.

At this moment, the spirit of the secret realm suddenly remembered something, and quickly put on a worried look, looking at Xu Mo and asking:

"What kind of technology is that? Is it safe? Will there be any side effects? As you know, I am, after all, an alchemy furnace created during the time of Shennong and Yandi, which is countless years ago. No object can withstand the test of time. Don't be fooled by my seemingly vigorous appearance now; in reality, my furnace body is quite fragile."

The spirit of the secret realm put on a frail and aged expression and said, "Actually, there's really nothing interesting about the story of Shennong Yandi. It wouldn't be worth it to damage my alchemy furnace just to see what he's up to."

"Why don't we stop watching? I'll refine some pills for you first. It just so happens that we've entered the Dharma-ending Age, and you probably haven't seen pills in a long time. Today, I'll open your eyes and let you reminisce about the taste of pills."

Upon hearing the words of the spirit of the secret realm, Liang Huanhuan jumped up excitedly and said, "Great! Huanhuan hasn't seen pills in a long time, and I miss them quite a bit."

Then she asked hesitantly, "But now that there are no more spiritual herbs, can you still refine pills, senior?"

Seeing that it had successfully changed the subject, the spirit of the secret realm quickly replied with a confident look, "It's alright. Alchemy isn't limited to spiritual herbs; ordinary medicinal materials can also be used to refine pills."

He said with a hint of arrogance, "Other alchemists may not be good enough, but don't forget who I am. I have been practicing alchemy since the time of Shennong Yandi."

Upon hearing this, Liang Huanhuan became even more excited, and then she asked with great interest, "Great! Huanhuan wants to see pills made from ordinary medicinal herbs."

Then she asked curiously, "Senior, what medicinal herbs do you need? Huanhuan will go get them for you right now. Show us how you refine them." The spirit of the secret realm was even happier to hear this, thinking that finally Xu Mo and the others wouldn't have to see what that old Shennong Yandi had gone through.

After a moment's thought, he replied, "We don't need any complicated medicinal herbs. You should have grains at home, right? I'll make some Five Grains Pills for you to try first."

"Yes, yes, Huanhuan will go get it for you right now," Liang Huanhuan said, waving her little hand playfully.

But as soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly realized something and looked at Xu Mo and Ye Qingyue to ask for their opinions, "Junior brother, is this okay?"

As she spoke, she stared at everyone with her big, bright eyes, blinking them repeatedly, her fair face full of anticipation.

Hearing her question, the spirit of the secret realm opened its eyes and stared at Xu Mo with some nervousness in its heart.

Xu Mo smiled slightly upon hearing this, nodded, and replied, "Of course there's no problem. Senior Sister Huanhuan, go and get the grains."

"Yay!" Liang Huanhuan was overjoyed upon hearing this, and then waved her hands and skipped off to get the grains.

Hearing this, the spirit of the secret realm felt a sense of triumph, thinking that it had finally managed to appease Xu Mo and the others and no longer needed to show them the images of that old man, Shennong Yandi, from its memories.

Before he could even rejoice for long, he heard Xu Mo say, "Perfect timing. It will take a while for the equipment to arrive, and since you are a pill furnace, your body structure is quite different from that of a human. The equipment will need some adjustments."

"It's quite nice to be able to witness the senior's alchemy process during this time."

After Xu Mo finished speaking, he tilted his head slightly and said with some emotion and nostalgia, "Just like what you said, senior, it has been a long time since we have seen any pills. Speaking of which, I really miss them."

The spirit of the secret realm stiffened upon hearing this. They hadn't been spared yet? Was it destined that today they would be unable to escape the reappearance of that old Shennong Yandi's deeds?
His eyes darted around, wondering if there was any other way to stop it from happening. He felt he could still struggle a little longer.

Before he could come up with a good solution, Xu Mo's voice came from beside him, saying, "Don't worry, senior, our equipment is safe and will definitely not cause you any aftereffects."

Upon hearing this, the spirit of the secret realm's conjured face deflated like a punctured balloon. It knew that it was destined to face this hurdle today.

Damn it! That wretched old bastard Shennong Yandi has locked himself up in the Shennong Secret Realm for so long. Now that Xu Mo and the others have seen his deeds, his fame will probably spread all over the world again. At that time, the whole world will be filled with praise for that old bastard, and books will be written and statues will be erected in his honor.

Just thinking about it made him feel as disgusted and nauseous as if he had swallowed a fly.

Just as he was still feeling upset, Liang Huanhuan came skipping over with a bag containing the five grains: rice, millet, sorghum, wheat, and beans.

After she arrived, she excitedly called out to the spirit of the secret realm, "Senior, senior, Huanhuan has brought the five grains. How should I refine pills for you?"

She circled the alchemy furnace on the ground and asked with some curiosity.

Because the spirit of the secret realm is merely a pill-making furnace, unlike humans who have hands and feet, it naturally cannot, like humans, hand over the items after receiving them.

Upon hearing her words, the spirit of the secret realm replied with little enthusiasm, "Just open my alchemy furnace and pour the grains you have into it."

"Okay, okay," Liang Huanhuan replied obediently.

She then noticed something amiss in the spirit's tone and asked with concern, "Senior, what's wrong? Are you unhappy? Or are you injured? Should we rest for a bit? We can refine pills later?"

Liang Huanhuan's tone was sincere, and the spirit of the secret realm sensed it. He was somewhat surprised, not expecting that such a ruthless person as Xu could marry such an innocent, naive, and kind-hearted girl.

He felt very unbalanced and somewhat sentimental, thinking how unfair fate truly was.

Just as he was pondering whether to exploit Liang Huanhuan's naivety to escape this predicament, Ye Qingyue stepped forward and said:
"Huanhuan, don't overthink it. Senior is just a little too excited because he hasn't refined pills in a long time and is now able to do so."

After saying that, she looked at the spirit of the secret realm and asked gently, "Right, senior?"

The spirit of the secret realm hesitated upon hearing this, wondering whether to agree or not. When Ye Qingyue saw that he did not answer, she added, "Of course, it is also possible that it is because you are thinking of the deeds of your former master, Emperor Shennong Yandi, which are about to be brought to light again, and you are feeling nostalgic and excited."

"But didn't Senior seem to dislike his former master, Emperor Shennong Yan?" Liang Huanhuan asked innocently.

Upon hearing Liang Huanhuan's naive answer, the spirit of the secret realm sighed and thought to itself, "Forget it, I shouldn't take advantage of such a silly girl's naivety."

Moreover, although Shennong Yandi was despicable, so much time has passed, it's time for his deeds to be brought to light again.

Thinking of this, the spirit of the secret realm seemed to accept its fate and said to Liang Huanhuan, "What nonsense are you talking about, little girl? What treasure would hate the one who created it?"

After saying that, he felt that the alchemy furnace was full of grains, so he put the lid on and said to Liang Huanhuan, "Alright, I'm going to start refining pills now. Young ladies, please step back a little. The temperature will be quite high when I'm refining pills, and your mortal bodies may not be able to withstand it."

"Okay," Liang Huanhuan replied obediently, then quietly stepped back a little distance from Xu Mo and the others.

After everyone retreated to a safe distance, the spirit of the secret realm began refining pills.

His alchemy furnace trembled slightly, then a burst of flames erupted from it, and the surrounding temperature began to rise.

Xu Mo's eyes widened upon seeing this. Although he had already guessed the outcome, he was still somewhat shocked that it was actually feasible.

(End of this chapter)