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

After an unknown amount of time in a deep sleep, Ye Hongli's eyelashes fluttered a few times before she slowly opened her eyes.

The familiar ceiling came into view. She was lying on the soft beanbag chair in the living room, covered with a thin blanket.

Forcibly absorbing that wisp of the Great Dao power left by the sage would come at a heavy price.

Her body was like a piece of porcelain that had been shattered and then barely pieced back together, covered with tiny cracks, and the slightest exertion would bring a tearing pain.

His soul suffered near-devastating damage from the fierce battle with his inner demons and the backlash from the power of the Great Dao.

Even though she had successfully broken through to the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, the aura emanating from her body was extremely weak and feeble, as if a gust of wind could blow it away.

She blinked, adjusting to the light, and didn't get up immediately.

A moment later, a calm voice rang out in the silent living room, hoarse from lingering injuries:

"Senior...why did you save me?"

The cause and effect of the matter became clear the moment she regained consciousness.

It is the spirit of the Fayuan Stele.

At the last moment when she was devouring the power of the Great Dao and intending to perish together with her inner demon, it was the spirit of the Dharma Source Stele that saved her life.

It was also the spirit of the Dharma Source Stele that stabilized her collapsing physical body after she fell into a coma.

But she didn't understand.

For the spirit of the Dharma Source Stele, wouldn't watching her perish along with her inner demons be the most beneficial and worry-free outcome?

A potential, uncontrollable threat has been eradicated.

The palm-sized spirit of the Dharma Source Stele appeared and hovered in mid-air in front of Ye Hongli.

It stared at her silently for a few seconds, and a rare, extremely complex emotion flickered in its flat, emotionless voice, like a sigh dissolving into the air:

"Just consider this... my way of 'compensating' you."

Yes, the spirit of the Dharma Source Stele clearly understood that letting Ye Hongli perish along with her inner demons was perhaps the safest option for the Three Realms.

but……

Ultimately, it pushed this girl, who should have had a different life, onto this irreversible path.

Use her, manipulate her, and put her in the most dangerous situations.

This sense of indebtedness, stemming from the use of tools and one that even the tool itself might not be willing to admit, was subtly amplified when Ye Hongli resolutely chose to perish together with them, displaying a madness and resilience that transcended her inner demons.

To make himself feel better, or perhaps deep down, there is still a lingering, almost stubborn sense of responsibility as an elder towards the younger generation.

It ultimately chose to intervene and save the troublesome work that it had created.

As for the future?

If Ye Hongli truly falls into the abyss one day and endangers all living beings... then it will not be too late for it, as the creator and supervisor, to personally settle this karma.

"Compensation?" A faint, self-deprecating smile slowly appeared on Ye Hongli's pale face. "So... you really are a 'highly respected' elder."

"I am an ancient being who has accompanied the rise of humanity and witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations. Do I not deserve the title of 'highly respected'?"

The spirit of the Fayuan Stele rarely spoke with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"I hadn't noticed before." Ye Hongli's smile deepened, but her eyes remained cold. "Now... I have."

From the very beginning, the spirit of the Fayuan Stele made it clear that their relationship was merely one of mutual exploitation.

Therefore, Ye Hongli's use of the term "senior" was more of a title based on power and status, and did not reflect much genuine respect from her heart.

But after this life-or-death ordeal, she suddenly realized that this seemingly cold and profit-driven tool was not as heartless as she had imagined.

It will soften its heart because of its sense of guilt, and will be tolerant before she crosses the line, but will not hesitate to eliminate her when she truly crosses the line.

This is perhaps more like a true elder – providing protection and leniency within boundaries; once those boundaries are crossed, punishment will follow.

"You should take good care of yourself."

The spirit of the Dharma Source Stele seemed unwilling to discuss this topic further. With a flash of light, it disappeared into Ye Hongli's brow, returning to the depths of her sea of ​​consciousness to continue its silent vigil.

Ye Hongli was left alone in the living room again.

She lay quietly for a while, gathering her strength, and with difficulty raised her heavy arm. Her fingers trembled slightly as she took out two different jade bottles from her storage ring.

He uncorked one of the bottles, and without even looking at it, poured a pill directly into his mouth.

The elixir melted upon entering the mouth, transforming into a cool and gentle warm current that rapidly spread to the limbs and bones, especially the severely injured and almost extinguished soul, which began to slowly but steadily recover a sliver of life.

After a short while, she took out another jade bottle and swallowed one of the same pills.

This time, the medicine mainly acted on the physical body. The tiny cracks that covered the body surface began to heal and repair themselves little by little at a speed that was imperceptible to the naked eye, nourished by the medicine.

If the spirit of the Dharma Source Stele hadn't protected her at the last moment, forcibly absorbing the backlash of the Great Dao's power, it would have been enough to shatter her physical body and destroy her soul on the spot.

The medicine slowly took effect. Ye Hongli felt a little better, but she was far from fully recovered. She repeated the process: take the medicine, digest it, take another dose…

After repeating this process thirteen times each of the two healing elixirs, the cracks were completely healed, and the weakened soul became solid and full again, returning to the level of a Great Luo Golden Immortal.

"call……"

Ye Hongli breathed a long sigh of relief, finally feeling the reality of being alive again.

She raised her hand and cast a simple cleaning spell. A burst of spiritual light swept over her body and the beanbag chair beneath her, removing all the bloodstains and sweat, restoring them to their original cleanliness.

After doing all this, she felt as if she had unloaded all her burdens and slumped back into the soft embrace of the sofa.

I lightly pressed the space bar on the laptop next to me.

The giant screen on the wall in front of us, which had been paused, started flowing again, and the music and dialogue filled the entire space once more.

Ye Hongli reached out and habitually grabbed a bag of sunflower seeds from the small table next to her, skillfully cracking them open. Her gaze returned to the screen, as if the harrowing, life-or-death ordeal that had just occurred was merely a trivial interlude.

however……

As she was eating, her movements paused almost imperceptibly.

Uncontrollably, fragments of nauseatingly warm images, forcibly crammed into her mind, flashed back during her battle with her inner demons—one of which was Qin Le patiently peeling sunflower seeds and feeding her the kernels…

"Tsk."

Ye Hongli's brows furrowed instantly, a clear hint of annoyance and disgust flashing in her eyes.

She suddenly felt that the handful of sunflower seeds in her hand, which had originally smelled very good, had become tasteless, and even a little... nauseating.

"Truly a demon of the heart... vicious enough, knows me so well." She muttered under her breath, her tone icy.

Without any hesitation, she raised her hand, and several balls of blazing black demonic flames appeared out of thin air, landing precisely on the plate of melon seeds and the neatly cut, untouched fruit platter next to it.

laugh--!

Flames erupted, instantly engulfing the fruits and vegetables, burning them completely, leaving not a trace of ash.

Ye Hongli rummaged through her storage ring for a while with a blank expression, and finally took out more than a dozen sealed packets of spicy strips with the words "Extremely Spicy" printed on them.

These are snacks from her stash that didn't appear in those disgusting images.

She could roughly guess why he didn't—in her memory, Qin Le didn't seem to be able to handle spicy food very well. In the past, when they went out for meals, he would only dare to order very mild spicy food. He would definitely refuse to eat this level of extreme spiciness.

Of course, that was when he was in his mortal body.

She wasn't sure if her physique would change after comprehending the Great Dao.

The inner demon probably wasn't sure about this either, so he didn't dare to make up a scene of the two of them having a super hot party together, lest he give himself away.

Upon opening the packaging, a rich, pungent, and spicy aroma instantly fills the air.

Ye Hongli pulled out a stick, took a slow and deliberate bite, and the familiar yet domineering spiciness exploded in her mouth, dispelling the unease that arose from the memories.

This was probably the first time she had so vividly experienced the insidious and vicious nature of her inner demons.

Those ordinary snacks tainted by illusions will probably no longer be able to be enjoyed without any reservations.

The enjoyment of watching dramas is greatly diminished.

Meanwhile, deep within a hidden stronghold of the Chaos Beasts.

In a spacious room filled only with the aura of chaos, the formless and intangible pure essence representing the consciousness of chaos was quietly suspended in mid-air.

It is faintly visible that within its body, the celestial voids it has collected are like living springs, constantly seeping out new, pure chaotic essence, replenishing and strengthening its power.

This process lasted for about half an hour.

Suddenly, the surging chaotic origin paused slightly. Then, a wisp of invisible thought, almost identical to the original chaotic consciousness but fresher and more active, slowly drifted out from a certain gap in the sky, like a splitting cell, and condensed into shape.

"What's next?" The newly formed chaotic consciousness looked at the old consciousness.

"Wait for me." The old chaotic consciousness responded, its tone absolutely cold and rational: "Wait for the five strands of 'us' to gather. Then... target, Li Jiuyuan. Before she becomes a saint, completely annihilate her."

"Is it possible?" the newborn consciousness asked, without fear, purely assessing the situation: "Nuwa is still here. A wisp of her soul is guarding Qin Le."

"It's alright." The old consciousness's fluctuations carried an almost absolute certainty: "She only has one chance to act. After that, that wisp of her soul will be exhausted and temporarily dormant. One attack... won't be enough to stop 'us'."

Nuwa understood Chaos, and Chaos understood Nuwa in return.

What resides in Qin Le's sea of ​​consciousness is ultimately just a wisp of soul, and the power it can bear has its limits, incomparable to the original body.

That attack, which used up all the power of his divided soul, was indeed incredibly powerful, but once it was used, it was gone.

This one-off deterrent has survived until now entirely because Qin Le's own survival ability is too strong. With the Great Dao of Time and Space attached to him, he has almost given Chaos no chance to force him into a desperate situation, thus forcing Nuwa to take action.

But now, the times are different.

Chaos has gathered enough power.