The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

Shen Yifei's heart skipped a beat. "Killing Lang Tutian was actually a trap set by this old fox?"

He picked up his wine cup, took a small sip, and said, "My lord, there's something fishy about what you're saying. Isn't Lang Tutian a retainer you hired at a high price?"

"Guest retainer, humph..." Hou Wanshan sneered. "You're right, he was indeed a guest retainer I hired at a high price. But have you ever considered that a guest retainer who's only halfway to ascension is worth me treating him like this?"

Shen Yifei raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean by that?"

"It's true that I invited him, but when I did, he had just killed an outer disciple of the Wanling Palace. Logically speaking, the Wanling Palace wouldn't let someone like that go. But not only is he alive and well, he also walked right into the gates of my Beiyuan Marquis's mansion."

Shen Yifei understood. "You mean, Lang Tutian is a spy planted by the Myriad Spirits Palace next to you?"

"I've tested him for thirty years, and only after thirty years have I dared to be certain of this matter." Hou Wanshan's eyelids drooped slightly. "It's a pity I didn't dare to eliminate him myself, for fear of alerting him. It's just as well that you've arrived, Young Master Shen, and can put this matter to rest for me."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yifei was filled with rage.

This old fox sent Lang Tutian to test me, intending to use me as a tool to kill him. If I lose to Lang Tutian, I can retrieve the ledger. If I win, I'll eliminate a thorn in his side—a win-win situation.

"My lord, you've got a brilliant plan. Whether we win or lose, you'll profit!"

"Hehe, Young Master Shen is joking. Some things need to be confirmed before we can talk about them."

"Oh... what do you want to confirm?"

Hou Wanshan's smile vanished. "Young Master Shen, do you really think that I, a mid-stage Ascension Marquis of Beiyuan, need to resort to such tricks to deal with a junior like you, who is only at the mid-stage Tribulation Transcending?"

"Isn't that because you have a guilty conscience?" Although Shen Yifei said that, he knew that what he said was true.

"If I really wanted to deal with you, one hand would be enough," Hou Wanshan said, an invisible pressure emanating from him.

Shen Yifei suddenly felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath, as if he were nailed to the chair and couldn't move.

Reaching the mid-stage of ascension is indeed not as simple as it sounds!

Hou Wanshan remained calm, staring at Shen Yifei. "Young Master Shen, although you possess extraordinary skills and have a treasure of heaven and earth, do you think you can be my opponent?"

After saying that, he withdrew his breath.

Shen Yifei immediately felt a lightness in his body, and found that he had not suffered any damage.

"Lord Marquis, since you have the strength, why are you beating around the bush with me?" Shen Yifei's tone became more serious.

Hou Wanshan stood up, walked to a wall on the west side of the main hall, and knocked on the wall three times.

The wall cracked silently, revealing a staircase leading downwards.

The stairs were lit by lamps that kept burning all the way up, illuminating the entire passageway.

"Young Master Shen, please follow me." Hou Wanshan walked down the steps without turning his head.

Shen Yifei hesitated for a moment, but still followed. Liu Mengli watched all this from inside the cauldron through the water curtain, her brows furrowing slightly: "Master, be careful. The place this old fox is taking you to is not ordinary."

Shen Yifei transmitted his voice, "Don't worry, if he wanted to harm me, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths. Just now, I had no chance to fight back at all!"

The stairs were very deep, and it took the two of them about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to reach the bottom.

This is a spacious underground stone chamber with smooth, mirror-like walls and a floor covered with a layer of dark blue-green stone slabs.

In the center of the stone chamber stood a statue that was twice the height of a person.

Shen Yifei glanced at the statue and couldn't take his eyes off it!

It was a human figure carved from white jade, its entire body smooth and lustrous, with a faint shimmering light!

"Hiss..." Shen Yifei gasped and walked around the statue.

The statue has a slender and graceful figure, a thin waist that does not appear frail, and slender shoulders that do not appear thin.

One arm is behind his back, and the other hand hangs down in front of his chest, with the five fingers slightly clenched.

His chest was slightly bulging, making him appear strong and powerful, but Shen Yifei always wanted to touch it...

And look at that face, it's absolutely stunning!

Her eyebrows were like distant mountains shrouded in mist, her eyes like autumn waters brimming with waves, her nose was high and straight yet delicate, and her lips were slightly pursed, conveying a sense of three parts reserve and seven parts languor.

His facial features were soft yet firm, blending masculine vigor with feminine grace, making it difficult to say whether to call him handsome or beautiful.

Looking further down, the lines of the robe at the waist and abdomen hung extremely straight, and one could vaguely see that the outline of a certain part was in no way inferior to one's own.

If we're talking about chest size, they're got it; if we're talking about gun size, they're not small either.

Shen Yifei thought to himself, "If this were a man, he would be far too beautiful. If he were a woman, his Adam's apple is so prominent! Who else could such an extraordinary person be but Wan Shuo, the creator of this alien realm!"

He turned to look at Hou Wanshan, "Lord Hou, could this be the Five Elements Demon God Wan Shuo?"

"Young Master Shen is indeed discerning." Hou Wanshan stood to the side of the statue, his hands behind his back, looking at the white jade statue with reverence in his voice. "This is indeed the true face of Lord Wan Shuo, the Lord of Lingxu."

Shen Yifei circled the statue again, clicking his tongue in amazement, "Wan Shuo is just too... how should I put it... even as a grown man, I can't take my eyes off him. No wonder Third Sister..."

"Master, Wan Shuo has such a face, it's really endearing," Liu Mengli added from inside the cauldron. "You inherited his legacy, and if you can cultivate to that level in the future, you might even grow up to look like him."

"I don't want to look like that. My wives like my masculinity! Masculinity! Do you even know what masculinity is?"

"Master, look at Wan Shuo, he seems quite masculine too..." Liu Mengli laughed heartily after saying that.

"Sister Mengli, what's so masculine about him? The more I look at him, the more he seems like a woman!" Xinghe was also watching the commotion in front of Liu Mengli.

Liu Mengli shouted, "Sisters, come out and see the handsome guy!"

Before long, Hai Xue'er and Mo Ran, who had been practicing diligently, also came over. Mei Shu also made a rare appearance, and the women began to point and whisper among themselves.

Of course, they didn't care about the appearance of the statue; they were just more interested in certain parts.

Shen Yifei finally shifted his gaze from Wan Shuo's face and turned to Hou Wanshan: "Lord Hou, you didn't bring me here just to show me this statue, did you?"

Hou Wanshan did not answer, but walked to the foot of the statue and reached out to press down on an inconspicuous bluestone on the base.

A long, drawn-out hum came from deep within the stone chamber, and suddenly a faint white light flashed in the eyes of Wan Shuo's statue.

A white light slowly enveloped Shen Yifei's entire body.

Upon seeing this, Hou Wanshan took three steps back, lifted the corner of his robe, and knelt on the ground.

"Lord of Beiyuan, Hou Wanshan, pays respects to the Lord of Lingxu."