Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Qin Zhan lifted the curtain and entered the tent. He immediately saw the things on the table and paused slightly.

"This is……"

"Just a small token of my appreciation," Chen Fan said calmly. "The Prince can keep the Guiyuan Pill to heal his injuries, and the array plate can be kept in his tent for self-defense. As for the demonic blade, the Prince can use it if he needs it, and if not, melt it down and exchange it for spirit stones."

Qin Zhan stared at those things for a while, then suddenly grinned.

There was no politeness or refusal in that smile, only the composure and solemnity of an old soldier receiving a comrade's belongings.

He walked over, put the Rejuvenation Pill into his pocket, picked up the array plate and looked at it for a few moments, and finally picked up the demonic sword, drawing out half of the blade. The dark light of the sword reflected on his weathered face.

"Good knife." He pushed the knife back into its sheath, patted Chen Fan's shoulder, much less forceful than the first day, as if afraid of crushing the man.

"I've received countless gifts in my life, from the gold, silver, jewels, and elixirs offered by officials in the capital—I haven't remembered a single one. But these few things you gave me, I'll remember for the rest of my life."

Chen Fan picked up his wine bowl and clinked it against his.

The two drank until late into the night.

The wind howled outside the tent, like the howling of wolves on the grasslands. Qin Zhan finished the last bowl of wine, leaned back in his chair, and suddenly muttered something to himself.

Chen Fan didn't hear it clearly, but he vaguely felt that it sounded like a very old military song.

The night is getting deeper and the charcoal fire is gradually extinguishing.

Qin Zhan put down his wine bowl, stood up, patted Chen Fan on the shoulder, and staggered back to his barracks.

Chen Fan sat alone in the tent, looking at the empty wine jars on the table, and suddenly recalled that night many years ago in the Da Yuan Imperial Palace. At that time, he was still a young eunuch, and he would secretly drink a bowl of cheap wine while on night duty, which he considered a great pleasure.

Now he sits in the tent of a Nascent Soul cultivator, drinking the border army's strong liquor, with a prince who has lived for over a thousand years sitting beside him.

But the feeling was exactly the same as it was back then.

It's all at night, all with a bowl of wine, all with someone you can be completely unguarded with.

Chen Fan pushed the empty wine jar aside, got up, and walked out of the tent.

The night sky over Northwind City didn't have as many spirit lanterns as the imperial city, but it was still filled with stars. He stood before his tent, gazing at the dark grasslands to the north, and remained silent for a long time.

He will be leaving tomorrow.

Chen Fan took out a communication jade talisman from his sleeve, infused it with his divine sense, and placed it on the stone table in front of Qin Zhan's tent.

There was only one sentence on the jade talisman.

"Take care, Your Highness. If you ever need our help in the future, please let us know."

Chen Fan did not turn back, but transformed into a streak of azure light and disappeared into the night sky.

……

After leaving Beifeng City, Chen Fan did not return directly to Dayu Imperial City.

He stood on a high slope outside the city, squinted at the sky, and then looked down at the jade tablet in his hand engraved with the words "Extreme Path".

This is the token he gave to Jidaozi back then. The divine imprint on the jade tablet is still there, which means that he is not dead.

"It's been decades..."

Chen Fan murmured something, put the jade pendant into his sleeve, and then transformed into a streak of azure light, speeding southward.

After scanning the entire Tiannan Star with his divine sense, he quickly discovered the location of Jidaozi.

This guy wasn't content with just being alone, so he set up a Corpse Sect in the desolate continent!

From North Wind City to the Yin Corpse Sect, with Chen Fan's current peak Tribulation Transcending speed, it was only a blink of an eye.

The Yin Corpse Sect is located in a valley in the northern part of the Desolate Continent. The mountain gate is three zhang high, and two stone guardian statues stand on both sides. Although the carving is rough, it has a certain imposing presence.

Chen Fan landed outside the mountain gate and scanned the area with his divine sense, gaining a fairly comprehensive understanding of the situation within the sect.

The number of disciples had increased several times over, with over a hundred at the Qi Refining Realm and more than a dozen at the Foundation Establishment Realm. The main hall was filled with spiritual energy, clearly indicating the presence of a well-designed spirit-gathering array.

He didn't announce his arrival and walked straight inside with his hands behind his back.

When the disciples along the way saw him, they were first stunned. Then, some of them sensed the terrifying aura and were so frightened that their legs went weak. They scrambled and crawled inside to report the news.

Chen Fan didn't stop him, and slowly walked through the three courtyards to the rear hall.

The door to the rear hall was half-open, and the sounds of string and wind instruments drifted out, mixed with the coquettish laughter of women and the wild laughter of men.

"Hahahaha! You have no idea, my master is... he's..."

Chen Fan pushed open the door and entered.

Inside the hall stood a large rosewood chair covered with brocade cushions. Ji Daozi reclined on it, dressed in a brand-new black brocade robe and wearing a jade crown. His left arm was around a heavily made-up female cultivator, while his right hand held a wine cup, his face flushed.

Two maids stood beside him, one massaging his shoulders and the other peeling grapes.

Upon seeing Chen Fan enter, Ji Daozi's laughter abruptly ceased.

The wine glass slipped from his hand, rolled twice on the ground, and spilled wine all over the floor.

The hall fell silent instantly, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The two maids instinctively took a few steps back, and the female cultivator was so frightened that she turned pale and fell off the chair.

"Master...Master?"

Ji Daozi was stunned for a full three breaths before suddenly jumping up from his chair.

He hurriedly straightened his clothes and then frantically adjusted his jade crown. The drunkenness on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by a complex expression of surprise, joy, and a hint of guilt.

"Master! Why are you here! Why didn't you tell me beforehand!"

He rushed to Chen Fan, taking three steps at a time. Just as he was about to bow, he realized something was amiss and quickly straightened up, replacing his posture with a fawning smile. "Master," he said, "it's been decades! You're even more impressive than before! Your cultivation... your aura... tsk tsk tsk! I've been waiting day and night in this desolate land, hoping you'd even come to see me!"

Chen Fan looked at him expressionlessly.

Decades have passed, but Ji Daozi's appearance hasn't changed much. He still has that shifty-eyed look, only the wrinkles around his eyes have deepened and a few strands of white hair have appeared at his temples. His cultivation, however, has improved considerably, reaching the Great Perfection of Core Formation, just one step away from Nascent Soul.

"Life's been pretty good," Chen Fan said casually.

Upon hearing this, Ji Daozi's smile froze for a moment, then quickly returned to its usual cheerful tone: "Not at all, not at all, it's all thanks to Master! My greatest blessing in this life is following Master! You don't know, I tell everyone in the sect every day that my Master is... he is..."

"Alright." Chen Fan waved his hand to interrupt him.

He glanced around the luxurious rear hall, his gaze lingering for a moment on the large rosewood chair before moving away.

"Our family is going back to the sealed land, are you coming?"

Jidaozi was taken aback.

The playful smile on his face vanished completely at that moment.

He looked at Chen Fan, a complex light flashing in his eyes, as if he were weighing something, or perhaps recalling something.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice lower than before: "Go."

There were no superfluous words, nor the exaggerated declarations of loyalty of the past.

Just one word.

Chen Fan nodded.

He raised his hand and waved it, and a golden light enveloped Ji Daozi.

"Don't move."

Ji Daozi felt a blur before his eyes, and then he was swept into a hazy gray space by an irresistible force.

Once he had regained his footing, he looked up and froze.

"This...this is in the bowl?"