Immortality Cultivation: Fellow Daoists, please live for two more episodes!

The Book of Immortality contains no words of virtue; before the Gate of Immortality, one's bones turn to mud.

In the dormitory, Zhou Youyuan quietly watched the scene unfold before her.

People always have two sides. In the eyes of the servants, Zhao Donglai might be a ruthless monster who devours people without blinking an eye, but in his daughter's eyes...

In this world of cultivation, anyone whose heart hasn't hardened completely will always have one or two weaknesses hidden in the most shameful places.

The scene continues.

With his worries resolved, Zhao Donglai moved quickly. He said goodbye to his daughter just in case, but he wasn't about to give up so easily.

So what if he's been tricked by some unknown entity? As long as he's alive, he has a chance. It's not like he hasn't tried to snatch chestnuts from the fire before.

In fact, the important person he mentioned was not a high-ranking member of Shuiyue, but just a mere inner disciple.

But among the lowly servants, he was definitely a remarkable figure.

Jiang Yuheng, having passed the Yellow Court Ceremony and possessing the cultivation of the fifth level of Qi Refining, is a steward of the Medicine Hall of the outer sect of the Shuiyue Branch, responsible for overseeing the production and distribution of the four spiritual herb gardens on the back mountain.

Many years ago, by chance, Zhao Donglai, who was then a menial laborer, helped him get rid of a nemesis who had fallen on hard times, and thus he successfully made contact with this person.

According to the rules, if the head servant wants to see the steward of the medicine hall, he must first submit a letter, get a number, and wait to be summoned, which takes anywhere from three days to half a month.

But Zhao Donglai didn't go through the main entrance; he went through the back entrance.

Jiang Yuheng would visit a brothel every five days to drink and have fun, and he had left a trail with the brothel's madam.

At midnight, in a hidden cave halfway up Ten Thousand Skulls Mountain.

Jiang Yuheng leaned lazily against the soft couch, holding a cup of warm spirit wine in his left hand and pinching the chin of a beautiful concubine in his right. Kneeling before him was Zhao Donglai.

"Hey Zhao Gouzi, you've got some nerve! You came here without even sending a formal invitation."

Jiang Yuheng's tone didn't sound angry; it sounded more like the annoyance of being bitten by a mosquito.

"I am aware of my sin."

Zhao Donglai pressed his forehead to the ground, holding the brocade box high with both hands:

"But this matter is of great importance, and I dare not take the usual path."

"What's so important, the matter of the overflowing 'Spirit Gathering Technique' in your herb garden?"

Jiang Yuheng chuckled lightly: "You think I don't know? That scoundrel Qian Guang submitted his complaint to my desk half a month ago."

Zhao Donglai's heart sank, but he didn't show it on his face, pressing his forehead even closer to the ground:

"Steward Jiang, you are wise to know that I am indeed guilty. The medicine garden is in great chaos, and I have failed to control it properly. However, I dare to ask for an audience not to shirk my responsibility, but to present a very important treasure for your perusal."

The brocade box was opened.

The broken crescent-shaped jade pendant lay quietly on the silk cloth, its spiritual light dim and uncertain.

Jiang Yuheng had only glanced at it casually at first, then his body suddenly stiffened.

The spirit wine cup in his hand hovered in mid-air, the wine swayed twice, and a few drops spilled onto his clothes, but he was completely unaware.

"What...is this?"

He sat up straight and reached out to take it. As soon as his fingertips touched the surface of the jade pendant, an extremely faint yet clearly discernible spiritual energy surged into his meridians along his fingertips.

Yin and Yang intertwine, and the clear and turbid are distinct. Although it is incomplete, it still carries a certain meaning.

It was exactly the same as the one on his master when he was young.

Although it's just speculation, considering what I've seen and heard since joining the sect, this half of the jade pendant before me...

Could it be a foundational Dao that only those in the Foundation Establishment stage can comprehend?!

Jiang Yuheng's pupils suddenly contracted.

Zhao Donglai continued, starting with the case of the servant assassin, then moving on to the discovery of the martial arts techniques and rare treasures, and then to his unsuccessful seclusion research, finally having to present them to Steward Jiang for a decision.

He recounted his carefully crafted story in detail, naturally omitting the part about his cultivation of the "Spirit Absorption Technique" and his breakthrough to the third level of Qi Refining by absorbing the essence of a female servant.

The story was told flawlessly, with a coherent logic, and even perfectly captured the eagerness of a loyal old servant to make amends.

After listening, Jiang Yuheng's gaze darted back and forth between the jade pendant and Zhao Donglai.

"You're quite sensible."

Jiang Yuheng put the jade pendant into his sleeve and was about to say some comforting words.

The image froze.

It wouldn't be accurate to say it was frozen in time; within the screen of light, the wind was still blowing, causing the decorative fabric on the stool to sway gently and the wine glass in Jiang Yuheng's hand to shimmer.

But no one moved. Whether it was Jiang Yuheng, Zhao Donglai, or even the beautiful concubine, it was as if the pause button had been pressed, and they remained in their original positions.

After a long while, a soft sigh drifted from the cave.

"A sweet bait, suspended in the deepest abyss, is used to catch greedy people who aspire to immortality. I wonder which fellow Daoist is making fun of this old man here."

"If I'm not mistaken, this innate Yin-Yang Dao Foundation should be the one belonging to Yu Zhenzi, but why is the mother embryo missing?"

"Fellow Daoist is quite skilled, daring to snatch even the fortune of Yu Zhenzi from the tiger's mouth. However, the hundred-year period has passed, and that old fellow is about to emerge from seclusion. Although I am not afraid of him, I do not want to cause trouble for no reason."

"I appreciate your kindness, fellow Daoist, but as for this matter of cause and effect... you should seek a more capable person elsewhere."

As the words were spoken, the pause button was lifted.

Jiang Yuheng, who had been beaming with joy, suddenly changed his expression and became gloomy.

He raised his hand, a faint spiritual energy emanating from it, then lowered it again.

His lips twitched several times, as if he wanted to say something, but after hesitating for a long time, he finally only uttered one sentence:

"roll!"

……

The servants shared a common room.

As Zhou Youyuan stared at the image of Zhao Donglai tumbling and crawling on the screen in his mind's eye, the smile on his face gradually froze.

The plan... went wrong?

No, this scene looks more like...

He stood there stunned for a full ten breaths, then slammed his fist down on the bed.

Zhou Youyuan: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

No way, after all this time, Zhao Donglai, the powerful backer you've been so hard to curry favor with is just some kind of medicinal plant someone else is raising?

And you, the unknown mysterious person, you put on such a big show, but when they offered you the innate foundation of Dao with both hands, you actually refused.

This is completely different from the novel. Logically speaking, aren't the people of the Demonic Sect the most greedy? Aren't they all heartless, from elders to servants?

Why are they all so cowardly at crucial moments?

After calming down, Zhou Youyuan began to review the situation.

He also overheard the mysterious person behind Jiang Yuheng saying those words: Yu Zhenzi, Yin Guo...

He roughly pieced together the outline.

Although I don't know why the mysterious person said that the foundation came from Yu Zhenzi, not Yu Miaoxian.

But without a doubt, his guess was correct; Foundation Establishment cultivators indeed had the ability to unravel complexities by following cause and effect.

Moreover, this Dao Foundation does indeed retain traces of karma; it is a thunderbolt, a massive one, so massive that even the mysterious figure behind Jiang Yuheng dares not accept it.

The mysterious man said that Yu Zhenzi was about to emerge from seclusion, which meant that he hadn't emerged yet and that he still had some time.

To be honest, although this plan has taken an unexpected turn, his situation may not be any worse.

Compared to Li Xiaoyu's time, at least Zhao Donglai is still alive now and has realized the danger of this thing. It is not a treasure at all, but a deadly poison.

He must be more eager than anyone to give this away now, and given his network of connections built up over the years, there are bound to be other opportunities.