Volume 1, Chapter 59: Lin Yan: Is it too late to switch sides to Wang Mu now?

Dazed and groggy, Gu Qiu woke up once more.

A heavy sense of disorientation clouded her eyes. The moment she opened them, she saw numerous figures clad in white longrobes hurrying around her, accompanied by a ceaseless clamor of voices.

"I... didn't die?"

Gu Qiu was frozen in shock. She clearly remembered being bitten in half by that monstrous crocodile. Her injuries had been so severe that she had already had one foot inside the gates of the underworld.

She struggled to sit up.

To her surprise, the pain in her body persisted, but... her injuries had already improved significantly. Even her mutilated torso had recovered quite a bit.

She was astonished. For a cultivation practitioner, physical mutilation was not an insurmountable problem; there were plenty of methods to restore the body.

The truly tricky part was the malevolent foreign energy that had invaded her wounds, such as wicked aura or demonic intent...

That was the primary culprit hindering the recovery of her wounds.

The demonic crocodile that had hunted her down possessed formidable strength. Without needing to guess, she knew how troublesome the residual demonic power within her body must be, and resolving it would likely require a hefty price.

"Don't move!"

A gentle yet stern voice sounded from beside her.

A woman dressed in white robes was currently mixing a medicinal brew. Seeing Gu Qiu attempt to sit up, she quickly pressed down on Gu Qiu's shoulders. "Your injuries have not yet healed. You shouldn't be moving around right now!"

Gu Qiu noticed the patterns and lettering on the other person's garments, and a wave of surprise washed over her. "You are... the Langya Foundation?"

"Mhm!" The woman nodded, bringing the prepared bowl of medicine to Gu Qiu's lips. "Drink your medicine first!"

In the world of cultivation, recklessly consuming things given by strangers was undoubtedly a major taboo.

Yet, at this moment, Gu Qiu could not summon a single shred of defense in her heart. She obediently opened her mouth and drank the medicinal decoction.

The expression in her eyes was immensely complex.

She had not experienced the sea monster invasion events of the Azure Cloud Archipelago and the Star Web Archipelago. Her understanding of the Langya Foundation came mostly from rumors.

Her only prior contact had been the treasure map she claimed before entering the secret realm, so her impression of them was already quite favorable.

However, it was only at this very moment that she truly understood why so many people held the Langya Foundation in such high regard.

Who wouldn't love a group of people who could step in at a critical juncture and save your life?

"Alright, rest a while longer. I still need to go tend to the other wounded!" The Foundation woman set down the medicinal bowl and briskly walked away.

It was only then that Gu Qiu noticed there were many other wounded people around her, just like herself.

Judging by their injuries, they had practically all just emerged from the secret realm.

"When... when can I leave?" Gu Qiu suddenly asked.

"As for that, it's up to you! Whenever you feel you've recovered enough, you can leave whenever you want. You don't need to report it to us!"

Gu Qiu was extremely surprised, as the other party showed no intention of making her pay. "Then... how many spirit stones should I give you?"

"You don't need to give anything!"

The woman had already walked far away.

Answering Gu Qiu instead was another young man from the Foundation. While tending to the wounds of a cultivator on a nearby bed, he spoke to Gu Qiu, "Our Foundation has never charged money! Didn't you know?"

Gu Qiu: "..."

The scorching sunlight cast its rays down upon the sea surface, making it shimmer with sparkling ripples.

Lin Yan slowly walked out of the secret realm. With a stubbly beard and a face bearing the weathered traces of the elements, his gaze was all the more resolute, while a profound excitement lurked deep within his eyes.

He clenched his fists. "After enduring such hardships, I've finally gotten it. It wasn't easy!"

Under the guidance of his teacher, Dan Xuan, he had successfully discovered a previously undiscovered skeleton of a flood dragon and used a secret technique to extract several drops of the flood dragon's primordial essence blood.

With this back home, he could finally begin cultivating the scripture *Firmament Dragon Transformation Art*!

Suddenly, Lin Yan felt that something was amiss; the surroundings were abnormally quiet.

He raised his head and discovered that all the figures around him had suddenly vanished entirely.

Only an elderly man in gray robes stood not far away, gazing at him with a smiling expression.

"Teacher, what is going on here?" Lin Yan's guard went up. This scene was far too bizarre; he had never encountered anything like it.

"Be careful, this is the Heavenly Dao Domain of a Deity Transformation realm cultivator!"

Dan Xuan's voice also turned exceptionally grave.

Deity Transformation realm?

Lin Yan's pupils constricted.

With his current strength, if he borrowed his teacher's soul power and unleashed all his methods, he would be sufficient to sweep across ordinary Golden Core realm powerhouses.

Yet, that was his absolute limit.

The Deity Transformation realm was an existence he simply could not contend with at present.

He racked his brains, yet he could not recall when he had ever crossed paths with an entity of such a high caliber.

"Don't panic. It appears he harbors no hostility towards you. Handle this carefully!"

Dan Xuan's heart was likewise heavy. If he were in his peak condition, a mere Deity Transformation realm cultivator would naturally not catch his eye.

Yet now, he possessed only a wisp of a remnant soul. Even if he utilized secret arts, it would be extremely difficult to help Lin Yan escape the other party's domain; the disparity in power was simply too vast.

Just as he was pondering, the old man had already arrived before Lin Yan. "Might you be Young Master Lin Yan?"

"Junior Lin Yan greets Senior!"

Lin Yan took a deep breath and offered a respectful bow.

Simultaneously, the magical power within his body quietly circulated while his palm gripped an ancient copper piece, ready to hurl it at any moment.

Even though he knew his methods might not necessarily yield results before a Deity Transformation realm cultivator...

Surrendering without a fight was simply not his style.

"Young Master Lin need not be nervous. This old man harbors no ill intent; I have merely been commanded by my Young Master to wait here for you!"

Lin Yan's subtle movements naturally could not escape Li Yuanhua's notice, but the elder paid them no mind and simply smiled warmly.

"Young Master?" Lin Yan's pupils slightly constricted. "Wang Mu?"

Li Yuanhua handed a storage bag to Lin Yan and nodded, saying, "Indeed! My Young Master has prepared some gifts for you, Young Master."

Out of caution, Lin Yan did not take it. Instead, he shook his head and said, "Rewards should not be accepted without merit."

Li Yuanhua smiled faintly. "The Young Master knew beforehand that Young Master Lin would decline, which is why he specifically instructed this old man to relay a message to you!"

"What message?"

"The time left for us is running out."

Lin Yan instantly froze.

Time? What time?

Could it be the time of the great catastrophe that the other party had spoken of?

"It seems that the young master of the Wang family harbors no malicious intent toward you. Since that is the case, there is no harm in accepting the items," Dan Xuan suggested.

After a long period of silence, Lin Yan finally reached out, took hold of the storage bag, and said, "Please express my thanks to your Young Master!"

"I shall."

Li Yuanhua smiled faintly, turned, took a single step, and vanished into the void.

Simultaneously, the figures of various cultivators reappeared before his eyes, and the bustling noise flooded back in full force.

He felt a sensation akin to waking up from a dream.

"So this is the divine ability of a Deity Transformation cultivator. Truly remarkable!" A trace of burning yearning surfaced in Lin Yan's eyes.

"What is so remarkable about this?" Dan Xuan scoffed. "With a brat's talent like yours, your future accomplishments are destined to go far beyond this. Didn't the young master of the Wang family say so himself? You will eventually become a Great Emperor!"

The corners of Lin Yan's mouth twitched slightly. "Teacher, you actually believe what he said?"

"Well... at least for now, judging by his words and actions, he didn't seem to be lying at all! Right, take a look at what he gave you!"

"Ah."

Lin Yan opened the storage bag, and his spiritual sense sank within it.

Instantly, his entire person froze in place.

"Teacher, do you think it's still too late for me to go back and pledge my allegiance to Wang Mu?"

"???"