Nuwa, the goddess of immortality, said that cultivating immortality does not require spiritual energ

After leaving Shennong's herb garden, Qin Le barely stopped and immediately changed direction, rushing back to the Heavenly Court at full speed.

When he finally arrived at the entrance to the Time Realm, it was just in time for the half-monthly sermon he had arranged with his companions.

Unfortunately, his current strength is still too weak, and he spends most of his time on space jumps over several consecutive days.

If he were strong enough, he could probably cross the starry sea with a single spatial teleportation, so there would be no need for such a long journey.

Back in the cabin, I pushed open the door and went inside.

Chen Yun was the first to look up, his eyes lighting up with curiosity as he asked, "Where did you run off to this time?"

The others also finished their meditation and focused their attention on this.

They all know now that Qin Le is the only person in the Three Realms who can legally enter the former residences of those ancient powerful beings and bring out the treasures stored there.

"I took a stroll through Shennong's herb garden," Qin Le said with a smile, speaking casually.

"Tsk tsk..." Chen Yun couldn't help but click his tongue, his face full of undisguised envy: "It's really... enough to make one envious and jealous."

The others also showed similar envy in their eyes.

There's no way around it; being chosen by the goddess Nuwa is already the biggest advantage.

This not only means having a sage to guide you personally, but also means being able to access treasures that ordinary people cannot even imagine.

However, they also knew that the top-tier treasures Qin Le obtained were not of much use to him personally, and would eventually be handed over to the Heavenly Realm to be converted into overall combat power.

If it were them, holding such a treasure, it's hard to say whether they could be as generous as Qin Le—they are normal cultivators, and their desire for top-tier external objects is far stronger than Qin Le's.

"Alright, stop being envious." Qin Le waved his hand and sat down cross-legged in the open space in the room. "You'll have that too someday. Now, sit down quickly, I'm going to start."

Upon hearing this, the group immediately composed themselves and sat down around Qin Le, holding their breath and focusing their attention.

Qin Le didn't delay, his eyes slightly closed, and then he spoke. The immortal voice once again echoed in this small space.

The sermon ended an hour later.

Chen Yun slowly opened his eyes, his gaze bright and clear, indicating he had gained something new. He looked at Qin Le and asked with a smile, "So... you're going to continue your 'treasure hunt' next?"

Qin Le shook his head and laughed, "I'm not going. Goddess Nuwa said that only Chi You and Shennong left some 'family heirlooms' in their former residences in the Three Realms. The others... either didn't leave anything, or they distributed them to their descendants long ago."

On the way back, he had already asked and confirmed that there were indeed no more dungeons to run.

"I see..." Chen Yun nodded, then his expression turned serious, and his tone became earnest: "By the way, there's something... I need to tell you."

The others seemed to know what he was going to say, and the relaxed smiles on their faces gradually faded, making the atmosphere slightly tense.

"What's wrong?" Qin Le noticed the change and asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Ye Hongli, she..." Chen Yun paused, then slowly uttered a few words: "...became a traitor to the Three Realms."

"No way?!" Qin Le opened his mouth, his face showing obvious surprise.

At this moment, Luo Qiuyue took over, her tone certain: "It's true. My master said that about a month ago, she took advantage of the guards' inattention and escaped from the Heavenly Court's surveillance area, and then completely disappeared. Heavenly intelligence indicates that she has defected to Chaos."

When they learned of this news from Yue Cijing that day, they were all quite shocked.

Qin Le was silent for a few seconds, then rubbed his temples in exasperation and sighed:

"Although... it's quite surprising, thinking about it carefully... it seems to fit her personality quite well."

Qin Le truly hated Ye Hongli. And the fact that Ye Hongli would ultimately choose the path of defecting to the enemy... Qin Le wasn't entirely unprepared.

Given Ye Hongli's obsessive, extreme, and morbidly possessive personality, it would be almost impossible for her to go far on the orthodox path of immortality.

Her twisted obsession with herself destined her to seek power at all costs.

Ye Hongli is crazy, but not stupid.

She knew very well that if she wanted to possess Qin Le, she would have to face Nuwa, the goddess behind Qin Le—a sage.

In the presence of a sage, her original backer was utterly insignificant.

She must, and can only, rely on her own strength.

However, she saw no hope of quick success in the orthodox path of immortality.

Therefore, in Qin Le's view, taking a different path, or even going to extremes, was almost an inevitable choice.

However... he originally guessed that Ye Hongli would at most walk the demonic path that was already considered a dead end.

Unexpectedly, she was so decisive and directly sided with Chaos.

This was indeed beyond his expectations.

After all, given Ye Hongli's arrogant and almost disdainful personality, it was impossible for her to submit to Chaos and obey its every command...

Qin Le could hardly imagine what that scene would be like.

"Now that you mention it..." Lu Qingshuang said thoughtfully, "It seems... that's really true."

The others nodded silently. Recalling Ye Hongli's undisguised ambition, arrogance, and almost obsessive competitive spirit at the academy, it seemed... not so surprising that she would make such an extreme choice.

"Never mind her." Qin Le shook his head, pulling his thoughts back to reality. He looked at his companions and earnestly instructed them, "Anyway, we won't run into her now. But if we do run into her in the future... remember, don't hold back."

He didn't want these people to be soft-hearted because they were once classmates, which could be fatal on the battlefield where life and death are at stake.

Ye Hongli's defection to Chaos is a fait accompli, and they are destined to be enemies in the future. To show mercy to the enemy would be to be cruel to oneself and one's comrades.

After chatting with a few more people about their recent situations, Qin Le got up to say goodbye, left the Time Realm, and headed to the Tushita Palace again.

Seeing Qin Le return so quickly, Laozi stroked his beard and smiled, "This time you came... did you gain something again?"

"Laojun, please take a look."

Without saying much, Qin Le took out the emerald green jade bottle containing tens of thousands of spirit-connecting liquids and presented it with both hands.

As Laozi probed with his divine sense, scanning the vast, vibrant array of medicinal liquids within the bottle, a smile of satisfaction appeared on his usually calm face.

After a moment's thought, he looked at Qin Le and said gently, "I will select a portion of the medicinal liquid in the bottle and give it to your mother for her 'research.' What do you think?"

As an elder, he would naturally help his descendants when they have the ability to benefit their relatives.

Moreover, Lin Wanrou's talent and achievements in alchemy research are obvious to all, and some of the medicinal liquids in her hands may really create unexpected value.

"It's all up to Laozi's arrangement." Qin Le had no objection to this, but then remembered something else: "There are also these two items that I would like you to take a look at."

As he spoke, he first took out the ancient Daoist alchemy furnace that Shennong had once used. Then, with a slight thought, the firewood leaped out from his Qi Sea, transforming into a warm, orange-red flame that quietly floated above his palm—this fire could not be stored in ordinary storage artifacts, but could only reside within his Qi Sea.

Seeing the alchemy furnace and the firewood, a knowing glint flashed in Laozi's eyes, and he shook his head with a smile:

"Take this alchemy furnace back and give it to your mother. As for the fuel... I only need a small flame for refining pills. Now that the main fire has recognized you as its master, nurture it well and use it wisely."

"I understand."

Qin Le nodded and put the alchemy furnace away. Having her mother use Shennong's alchemy furnace would be a huge boost to her research.

Laozi said no more, and with a flick of his hand took out a piece of wood that was completely black, yet warm and smooth like jade, and exuded a strange fragrance. He gently placed it into the fire in Qin Le's palm.

As if sensing something, the firewood separated a wisp of flame, as thin as a hair yet equally solid, and wrapped it around the black wooden strip, slowly igniting it.

Instead of burning, the wooden strip seemed to be imbued with a warm orange-red luster, eventually transforming into a seemingly ordinary spark that contained the power of a torch.

Qin Le naturally couldn't recognize the origin of the black wooden strip; he hadn't even had time to look at the jade slip given to him by Laozi.

After doing all this, Laozi put away the wooden stick that had become a spark and smiled gently at Qin Le:

"Go now. The heavens will reward you for your contributions in the future."

"This junior takes his leave."

Qin Le bowed respectfully and quietly left the alchemy room.