Back at the four-part architecture, Li Nianfan was grinding the glutinous rice with the others. By grinding it into glutinous rice flour, he would be able to make a lot of snacks, adding to his repertoire of delicacies. At this moment, everyone was around the stone mill, watching Blackie, who had a rope tied to his body, pulling the stone mill with difficulty and moving around the stone mill, step by step.
“Blackie, how can you still be so weak when you’ve already become a demon? I should’ve kept a donkey as a pet instead,” said Li Nianfan.
Blackie was already at the end of his rope. He was sweating profusely, whimpering, and his eyes even nearly rolled back into his head. It was no ordinary stone mill he was using. It was more like he was grinding Wisdom instead of glutinous rice, for each turn of the mill would absorb some Power of Wisdom. Even with his strength, he had to use all the power he had in his whole body to push the stone mill. Moreover, around this stone mill, there seemed to be endless Wisdom. Blackie was completely immersed in it, making his work cut out for him.
“Go, Blackie, go!” cheered Nanan and Dragin while adding more glutinous rice to the stone mill at the same time. Under the stone mill, a wooden barrel had been positioned to catch the glutinous rice that had been grounded into liquid. It would then be left to dry under the sun. After that, the glutinous rice flour would be ready to use.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Excuse me, is the Lord Saint home?”
“Xiao Bai, go open the door,” ordered Li Nianfan.
Soon, the Jade Emperor and Tong Tian walked in and bowed to Li Nianfan, “Greetings, Lord Saint.”
“Hello, Your Majesty and Founder Tong Tian. Please, have a seat,” said Li Nianfan with a smile. He then said to the exhausted Blackie, “Blackie, stay here and finish grinding the glutinous rice. Don’t slack off, okay? You can rest when the wooden barrel’s full.”
“Yes, Master,” said Blackie tiredly as his two ears flopped down. Although he was acting like this on the surface, he was actually determined not to let Li Nianfan down. He grit his teeth and strained every muscle in his body as he moved his limbs to turn the stone mill little by little.
Under his impetus, the Power of Wisdom ran along with the stone mill, nourishing his body, allowing him to clearly feel that his physical body was rapidly becoming stronger. ‘This is so I can use the power of the Great Dao to temper myself. It’s a cultivation method specially prepared for me by the Master. I have to work hard, I want to become stronger, and I want to become the strongest dog by my Master’s side!’
“Yes, that’s it. Work harder. Your strength is certainly lacking but at least you have a high consciousness,” said Li Nianfan with a laugh. With that, he got up to be a host to the Jade Emperor and the Tong Tian.
The Jade Emperor and Tong Tian could not help but glance at Blackie, and when they saw that he was so tired, their hearts trembled, shocked after hearing Li Nianfan’s words. Even a Heavenly Realm fighter was incomparable to Lord Dog and yet, he could not even push the stone mill prepared by the expert? They could not believe he was being regarded as weak by the expert. They found this very terrifying and instantly became ashamed of their own strength.
“What’s the reason for this visit?” asked Li Nianfan curiously.
The Jade Emperor took a deep breath, and with a sorrowful tone, he got straight to the point. “Lord Saint, Yang Jing…is going to die soon.”
“What?” Li Nianfan thought he had heard it wrong and his face was shocked. Was he really talking about Lord Erlang? He who possessed great strength and a character Li Nianfan had always liked? It was not long ago they shared a meal together, so…how was it possible that he was dying? He looked at the Jade Emperor and thought his words were unbelievable. “What happened?”
“Yang Jing was guarding the portal to the other dimension when he was attacked. His life’s slipping away as we speak. I’m afraid it won’t be long till his death,” said Tong Tian with a sigh.
The Jade Emperor sighed, too. “It’s not just Yang Jing, though. Does Lord Saint remember Gu Yuan? He was captured by the people from the fourth dimension and I bet that he’s probably dead, too.”
‘I remember Gu Yuan.’ Li Nianfan was silent with a trace of sadness in his heart. He turned his head and looked at the flock of chickens in the corner in a trance. He could still vividly recall the trip to Azure Ville which belonged to Gu Changqing, grandfather of Gu Yuan, and that first chicken in the four-part architecture was given by him. After that, he sent him another flock of chickens, and from then on, he had an endless supply of eggs. ‘How could a person be gone just like that?’
“Where’s Yang Jing? We’ll go over to see him. Little Daji, please, get ready and come with me,” said Li Nianfan.
“We’ll show you the way, Lord Saint,” said the Jade Emperor and Tong Tian in unison. Their moods became a little better.
Immediately, everyone left the four-part architecture and headed toward the Heavenly Palace. At this time, the Heavenly Palace was silent, filled with a sense of depression. The gods gathered around Yang Jing as moral support. Li Nianfan was really taken aback when he saw Yang Jing. Yang Jing’s appearance was really too pitiful. His flesh was split apart everywhere on his body, his breath was ragged, and he seemed to be contaminated with something that made his skin turn black. Everything pointed to the signs of imminent death. It was safe to say, from a medical point of view, that Yang Jing already had one foot in death’s door and it was a miracle he was still alive.
“Lord… Lord Saint…” said Yang Jing with difficulty.
Li Nianfan could not bear to see him like this. “Is there really no way to save him?” he asked in a hoarse voice.
“We’ve tried everything,” said Goddess Nuwa with a shake of her head.
Li Nianfan looked at Yang Jing blankly. Finally, he sighed and stepped back to the side. He did not expect that one day he would have to say goodbye to Yang Jing. “What do you all plan to do?” he asked with a sigh.
“We’re going to bury him,” said Cultivator Junjun.
“Remember to bathe him and put on his best clothes before laying him down to rest,” said Li Nianfan.
“Don’t worry, Lord Saint. We’ll make sure to send him off in a way befitting of his status,” said Cultivator Junjun with a nod.
Everyone could not help but sigh internally. It seemed like there really was no hope for Yang Jing now that the expert had said so.
However, Daji’s eyes shone slightly and a thoughtful look appeared on her face as she mused about the situation at hand. Li Nianfan did not like this kind of scene. After staying with Yang Jing for a while, he got ready to return to the four-part architecture. Their hopes were completely dashed when they saw him leave.
Yang Jing, however, seemed to have accepted his impending death. “Can I die now?” He wanted to see Li Nianfan one last time, which was why he forced himself to hold on until then.
“Wait!” However, at the moment when he was about to close his eyes, Nanan ran over quickly and excitedly said, “Sister Daji just told me that Brother Li has a way to cure Yang Jing!”
“What?”
“Really? Why didn’t the expert say so?”
“How?”
“Did you hear that, Yang Jing? Don’t die yet!”
Everyone’s eyes lit up and they were excited.
“Didn’t Brother Li just mention giving Lord Erlang a bath? The usual methods certainly won’t work since he’s been contaminated. It just so happens that Brother Li just made some bathwater out of fermented rice wine. He said that it’s really good for whitening. I think that might help in this case,” said Nanan.
“The bath water can whiten skin? Does that mean it can wash away the contamination?”
“Ah, so that’s what the expert meant when he said to bathe Yang Jing!”
“It makes sense! In the expert’s eyes, the contamination’s nothing but dirt to be washed away.”
“Goddess Daji’s the person who knows him best! Yang Jing might’ve died for nothing if it wasn’t for her.”
“The bathwater made by the expert must be extraordinary!”
Everyone was overjoyed. Even Yang Jing’s desire for life kicked in as he looked expectantly at Nanan.
“There’s still some bathwater left in the four-part architecture. Sister Dragin will bring it over later,” said Nanan.
“Thank you, Goddess Nanan,” said the people of the Heavenly Palace gratefully in unison.
After a while, Dragin ran over with a big bucket. Her face showed a little bit of unwillingness as she said dully, “I saved this for Sister Nanan and me. Oh well, whatever. Throw Yang Jing in.”
Nanan and Dragin were looking forward to bathing in the water after hearing about Daji’s and the other’s experiences. They begged Li Nianfan to make some for them, but they did not expect things would turn out like this. They would need to wait for the next time to experience the comfort and skin-softening effect of the bathwater.
Without wasting any time, they carefully lifted Yang Jing and put him in the water. Then, they waited anxiously for the water to take effect. As soon as he entered the bucket, Yang Jing’s body was shocked and he felt a strange aura penetrating his body like little worms. At the same time, a sharp pain struck him, making his soul tremble.
However, Yang Jing smiled as he said excitedly, “I feel it, I feel it!” Originally, he was equated to death, so naturally, there was no pain. Now that he could feel the pain, it meant that the situation was improving!
Cultivator Junjun’s eyes widened suddenly, and in a trembling voice, he said, “Look, the water turned black!”
“It really turned black! Yang Jing’s contamination’s really being washed away!”
“Gasp! This is a miracle. The water can even wash away the destructive aura of a Wisdom Elite!”
“It’s amazing what the expert can do!”
“I knew Lord Erlang will be saved once the expert’s here!”
Everyone was delighted, shocked, and deeply in awe of the expert. However, that was not all! Under everyone’s gaze, Yang Jing’s flesh began to regenerate and the power in his body was blossoming. The vigorous vitality awakened the sleeping power in his body and exploded, overflowing as if a floodgate had just been released. A powerful aura began to course through his body.
In the void, the aura of Wisdom began to emerge and the endless laws formed a colorful brilliance, like a huge rainbow that was flickering and coating Yang Jing’s body with a layer of brilliance. At this time, Yang Jing, who was soaking in the bathtub, felt that his newly recovered body was a little frantic. It was as if his body was excited by the recovery and was drinking from the fountain of Wisdom.
He suddenly had a feeling as if he could master the endless laws by raising his hand, suppressing any god and ultimate spells! It was then that the power in his body roared straight into the sky! Cultivator Junjun and the others were frightened, they felt like he was invincible.
Tong Tian opened his eyes wide, his eyes flushed with jealousy, “Is…is this a breakthrough?!”
The crown on the Jade Emperor’s head was crooked as he stared at Yang Jing. “No way, no way, he broke through after taking a bath?”
“Sh*t, that means he’s broken through to the Wisdom Elite level, making him the most powerful fighter in the whole Heavenly Palace!”
“Complete regeneration and a breakthrough! It doesn’t get any better than this!”
“Looks like we’ve underestimated what the expert can do! He’s too powerful!”
While they were sympathetic and sad for Yang Jing before, everyone was now full of envy, jealousy, and hatred. He had broken through to the level of a Wisdom Elite, a level that they dared not even dream of reaching. Only a handful of people were at that level, and Yang Jing broke through simply by taking a bath?
The bathwater of the expert was so awesome that it was beyond their imaginations.
‘I’d be willing to be contaminated, too, if it meant I get to take a bath in that water,’ thought Cultivator Junjun as he stared at the bathwater. He only gave up the idea when he saw that the water had completely turned black with the contamination. He would not even mind sharing the bathwater with Yang Jing. Why, he was even prepared to drink the bathwater!
Yang Jing suddenly opened his eyes as dazzling light shot out from both eyes, like thunder and lightning that could burn holes in the sky. He said silently, “I’m alive again!”
Everyone stared at him with red eyes. “How do you feel? Did you breakthrough?”
Yang Jing smiled and said, “It’s a pity the injury had used up too much of the bath water’s power. I’m only a half-step into the Wisdom Elite level.”
“Yang Jing, how could you say that? That alone is enough to make me jealous!”
“It’s truly a blessing in disguise. The expert’s really good to you.”
“Look what you did! The bathwater had turned completely black, your dirty animal.”
Everyone gathered around Yang Jing, talking sourly.
Yang Jian got up from the bathtub, faced the direction of the Fallen Immortal Mountain, got down on his knees, and said sincerely, “I, Yang Jing, thank the Lord Saint for saving my life!”
Then, he got up and said gravely, “The fourth dimension knows of the existence of an expert, and they seem to be plotting something. If Gu Yuan falls into their hands, maybe his soul will be peeked into by the other party! We have to protect the expert no matter what!”
Cultivator Junjun nodded. “That goes without saying. We must be cautious about this matter and find a way to get information on the fourth dimension.”
The Jade Emperor opened his mouth and said, “The expert’s mood turned sour when he heard that Gu Yuan was arrested. If possible, we must rescue Gu Yuan!”
Meanwhile, in the fourth dimension, somewhere in the empty secret room of the Ye Clan, Shen Suanzi, Ye Chingshan, and Lei Teng had gathered. In the middle of the room, Gu Yuan was lying there, completely restrained and unable to move.
“Shen Suanzi, do we really have to go to all this trouble for an ant like him?”
“What are you planning to do with the previous materials we gathered? Aren’t you taking this a little too seriously?”
Both Ye Qingshan and Lei Teng were puzzled. Why would they need to go through all this trouble for a mere ant?
“Haha, that shows how much you know! We must be cautious when it comes to anything even remotely related to that terrifying existence! You’ll soon find out whether it’s worthwhile for us to do all this after we’ve peeked into his soul!” said Shen Suanzi with a sinister smile.
