A man from the Big Dipper, starting his charlatanship at Mount Tai.

However, in front of this young man who had gained Zhuofeng's approval upon arrival, he really had no face to claim himself as the master of Zhuofeng.

Lin Xiu noticed the subtle look in Li Ruoyu's eyes and chuckled softly.

“I have taken the mountain’s shape, but this true meaning should rightfully belong to the Zhuofeng lineage. Our predecessors have guarded this mountain for hundreds of years, so this true meaning should rightfully belong to them, so that they can pass on their knowledge and skills and open up new avenues for the mountain.”

"Otherwise, when Zhuofeng takes on disciples in the future, he can't just have them contemplate the Way of Nature by looking at the Zhuofeng that has been reborn by the mountain's terrain, can he?"

Li Ruoyu sighed deeply and bowed deeply.

"Young friend, your kindness is so great, I... will never forget it!"

Li Ruoyu's gratitude towards Lin Xiu was genuine. With this true meaning, the dream of severing the Dao in the Immortal Realm was no longer an unattainable one for him.

Of course, let's talk about breakthroughs when his lifespan is almost over.

In short, he now has more time to prepare for becoming a saint after severing his Dao, and his chances of achieving sainthood have increased somewhat. This alone is enough for Li Ruoyu to be extremely grateful to Lin Xiu.

Lin Xiu accepted the bow and said frankly, "It's just a matter of mutual benefit. Senior, please continue your cultivation. I may bother you for a few more days, so I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, Lin Xiu led Yan Ruyu to continue walking up the mountain.

Yan Ruyu finally came to her senses, slightly closed her red lips that were parting involuntarily, glanced at Li Ruoyu, and then hurriedly followed Lin Xiu.

The two figures gradually disappeared into the distance, eventually vanishing at the end of the mountain path.

Li Ruoyu stood there, gazing in the direction the two had left, remaining silent for a long time.

A mountain breeze swept by, ruffling his gray hair and beard.

After a long while, he slowly sat back on the stone platform, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state. At the center of his brow, the point of spiritual light flickered faintly, resonating subtly with the surrounding mountain scenery.

Although the mountain's natural features and spiritual essence have been removed, the mountain itself still remains.

Among these enduring mountains, Li Ruoyu... seemed to see a glimmer of hope for the future.

Mountains are themselves a convergence of forces.

The existing mountain shape has been removed, but the mountain itself that formed this shape and spirit still exists.

Given time, the Zhuofeng Mountain may form a new mountain shape, and may even give birth to a trace of intelligence.

[If I could witness the process of my humble peak's rebirth of sentience, I might be able to attain sainthood through it. Unfortunately... given my lifespan... I estimate I won't be able to see it.]

Li Ruoyu shook his head, his state of mind unaffected. He had long since reached a state of equanimity, unmoved by external gains or losses.

........

On the other side, Ye Fan's side.

Lin Xiu made quite a commotion on Zhuofeng, which drew many people out to investigate, including Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue, who had just passed the Tai Xuan Sect's disciple recruitment test a few days ago.

Ye Fan was very excited because Tai Xuan Sect was the place Lin Xiu had chosen to meet him from the beginning.

At first, he didn't know why Lin Xiu had chosen this place.

It wasn't until he arrived at Tai Xuan Sect and heard about the legend of the Nine Secrets that Ye Fan finally understood that Lin Xiu had come here almost certainly for the Nine Secrets!

With Lin Xiu's arrival, justice will prevail!

Although the Nine Secrets inheritance has not yet been opened, Ye Fan felt that with Master Lin's extraordinary abilities, he would definitely be able to see the Nine Secrets here!

In this way, he would have a safety net.

Even if he doesn't succeed in comprehending the Nine Secrets himself, he can exchange them for Lin Xiu's in the future by spending contribution points!

The thought of having the Nine Secrets by his side and mastering several imperial scriptures and techniques, making him invincible, filled Ye Fan with a sense of bright future.

Indeed, it's true that a dragon cannot emerge from shallow waters. His decision to take the civil service exam for Tianxuan Holy Land was the right one!

Beside Ye Fan, Ji Ziyue blinked her bright eyes.

"Hey~ little brat, isn't this the real body of the clone inside you?" Ji Ziyue glared at Yan Ruyu next to Lin Xiu, then turned her gaze to Lin Xiu.

Although Yan Ruyu, who defeated her brother, is despicable, Lin Xiu is even more worthy of attention!

Because during their recent trip to the Bronze Immortal Palace, Lin Xiu's Daoist aura, which accompanied them, played an unimaginable role, not only enabling them to find many treasures in the Bronze Immortal Palace, but also allowing them to successfully leave the Bronze Immortal Palace!

Such talent instantly sparked her desire to win them over.

"Hey~ little brat, tell me, if I offered a million catties of resources as an annual salary, would your friend be willing to work for our Ji family?" Ji Ziyue stroked her chin and asked very seriously.

"How about... you talk to him, kid? If he's willing, he can take you with him. I can pay you a year's salary of 100,000 jin of Yuan."

Ji Ziyue's asking price infuriated Ye Fan:

"Good heavens, in your eyes, I'm only worth 100,000 jin of Yuan per year, is that it? You're a princess of the Ji family, don't you feel embarrassed asking for such a price?"

"In my opinion, if you want to hire Immortal Master Lin, you'll need at least 100 million jin of Origin Energy per year! As for me? Then I'll need 10 million jin of Origin Energy per year!"

Upon hearing Ye Fan's offer, Ji Ziyue's red lips gaped open in astonishment. This little brat really doesn't take the source seriously, does he? Does he think he's a Source Master? Ten million jin of source a year?

Ye Fan didn't waste words with Ji Ziyue, treating her as a living embodiment of the Emperor Scripture.

What is a walking, massive contribution point saying here? Give us the Void Sutra first!

.......

Ye Fan gave Lin Xiu a look, the meaning was clear: there were too many people around, let's talk later.

Lin Xiu understood and turned to walk towards a secluded bamboo forest behind Zhuofeng Mountain. Yan Ruyu naturally followed, while Ye Fan grabbed Ji Ziyue's wrist and pulled her along.

"Hey! What are you doing! Let go! You little brat, you're hurting me!" Ji Ziyue struggled, her little face puffed up with anger.

"Enough nonsense, I'm taking you to meet a big client!" Ye Fan tightened his grip, dragging and pulling Ji Ziyue deep into the bamboo forest.

Lin Xiu stood with his hands behind his back under an old bamboo tree, while Yan Ruyu stood quietly to his side.

Ye Fan pushed Ji Ziyue forward, then approached Lin Xiu with a beaming smile, pulling a Qiankun bag from his pocket and presenting it to him with both hands as if offering a treasure.

"Holy Lord, it's been a long time! How was it? I did a good job, didn't I? Not only did I take care of the Bronze Immortal Palace, but I also brought back a living Emperor Scripture for you!"

As he spoke, Ye Fan handed a Qiankun bag to Lin Xiu.

The Qiankun bag was the one Lin Xiu had given to Ye Fan before, and now that he had it, it felt much heavier.

Lin Xiu scanned the contents with his divine sense and found that, in addition to the original contents, there was also a dense and heavy source of the Mother Qi of All Things, flowing with Xuanhuang Qi, and a few drops of dark red blood sealed in a jade bottle, emitting astonishing fluctuations. This was the Emperor Blood of the Ruthless Great Emperor.

Ye Fan's trip was indeed very fruitful.

In terms of quality, the Ruthless Emperor's Blood that Little Nannan had given him was of higher quality. However, considering the significant difference in quantity between the two, and considering that he could use this Emperor's Blood to summon the ancient will of the Ruthless Emperor, Lin Xiu felt that the value of these few drops of Emperor's Blood was no less than that wisp of Immortal Blood.

.......

Ye Fan and Lin Xiu's division of spoils was quite relaxed and enjoyable, after all, it wasn't the first time the two had done this.

However, this was the first time for Yan Ruyu and Ji Ziyue, who were standing to the side.

"Holy Lord? You call him Holy Lord?"

"So, the Holy Lord of Tianxuan Holy Land isn't that Dao Lord?"

After Ji Ziyue emerged, she heard the big news that the Dao Lord of Tianxuan and the Demon King of the Qinglian lineage had jointly sealed the Void Mirror. She had always believed that the Dao Lord was the true Holy Lord of the Tianxuan Holy Land.

So, according to Ye Fan, Lin Xiu is the Holy Lord? A Holy Lord at the Dragon Transformation Realm?

Ji Ziyue wasn't saying that those at the Dragon Transformation Realm weren't strong; in fact, they were much stronger than her. But she had never heard of someone at the Dragon Transformation Realm becoming a Holy Lord.

However, she could understand; after all, the situation of the Tianxuan Holy Land was truly dire. Perhaps that Dao Lord would prefer the foundation of the Holy Land to the position of Holy Lord.

However, Ji Ziyue was more surprised than Lin Xiu's identity. What truly surprised her was Ye Fan's generosity.

"You...you're really that generous? Half of the Source of All Things' Primordial Energy, and the Emperor's Blood, you just give them away like that?"

Ye Fan gave Ji Ziyue a disdainful look:

"Too narrow-minded! You're a princess of the Ji family now, how can your vision be so limited? A single transaction is only temporary; only long-term cooperation is best for both parties."

"Sigh, I never expected the princess of the Ji family to be so narrow-minded. No wonder the Ji family's divine body was so easily defeated by my princess!"

"Huh? Your princess? Isn't Yan Ruyu from the Qinglian lineage? When did you become a member of the Qinglian lineage?" Ji Ziyue said angrily, hands on her hips.

Ye Fan simply snorted coldly: "Hmph! I say it is! Princess Yan says it is! So it is!"

“Princess Yan… do you think I am a member of the Qinglian lineage?” Ye Fan turned to look at Yan Ruyu.

Yan Ruyu: "......."

"Of course, if Brother Ye is not a member of the Azure Lotus lineage, then I'm afraid no one below me is either."

Ye Fan not only has a close relationship with Qin Yao, but he is also helping the Qinglian lineage to nurture the Emperor's heart. With such a close relationship, he is obviously one of their own.

However, Yan Ruyu was not about to tell these things to outsiders; she only confirmed Ye Fan's identity.

"Huh? He really is?"

"He's a Tianxuan person in Tianxuan, and a Qinglian person in Qinglian?!"

"Hmph! What's wrong with that? Is it not allowed?"

"Actually, I'm not only a Tianxuan person, a Qinglian person... I'm also a member of the Ji family!" Ye Fan hummed.

"You're just bragging!"

"You're a member of the Ji family, but I'm an immortal!"

Ji Ziyue puffed out her chubby cheeks, tilted her head, and looked at Ye Fan with obvious disdain.

.......

On the other side, Lin Xiu had already completed the settlement.

"Little Yezi, well done. In addition to the original share, I'll convert the extra resources you submitted into 4,500 contribution points. Combined with what you already have, that's enough to exchange your incomplete secret technique for the complete version."

Since Ji Ziyue was not one of his own, Lin Xiu had no intention of revealing the secret of the Dou word to her.

"Yes!"

Ye Fan excitedly pumped his fist.

During this period, just by using the incomplete Douzi Secret Technique, he had already felt its heaven-defying power. Its ability to turn decay into magic and evolve into all kinds of laws captivated him.

Now that he can finally redeem the full version, he feels that his combat power will increase dramatically!

After the initial excitement, Ye Fan immediately remembered Ji Ziyue's "residual value" and hurriedly pushed her forward, looking at Lin Xiu with anticipation.

"My Lord, look, this is the Ji family princess that I captured on a whim... uh, I captured her especially for you!"

"Her mind definitely contains the complete Void Emperor Scripture, as well as various secret techniques of the Ji family! She must be worth at least ten thousand or eight thousand contribution points, right?"