Chapter 1968: Selection

The Zǐ Páo Lǎo Zhě was annihilated, leaving only his roars echoing through the heavens and earth.

The Sān Diàn Yán Luó descended from the void. With a wave of his hand, treasures piled up like mountains on the ground—source stones, elixirs, secret tools, and magic treasures, countless in number, gleaming with various colors of light.

"Wow!" Lín Xīng exclaimed in amazement, utterly dazzled by the sight.

"You don't know until you see it, and once you do, it's shocking." Yè Chén sighed as well, waving his hand to retrieve the Hùn Dùn Dǐng and the treasures that the Zǐ Páo Lǎo Zhě had stolen earlier, taking them all back.

Lín Xīng wasn't idle either, quickly reclaiming his own treasures.

Once that was done, the two of them rubbed their hands together and began dividing the spoils.

Yè Chén was very purposeful, only taking the materials for refining elixirs and the elixir recipes, along with a few elixirs for good measure.

As for the rest—the secret tools, magic treasures, and source stones—they all went to Lín Xīng. After all, when dividing spoils, everyone takes what they need.

Lín Xīng was overjoyed. Though he had faced many hardships, the outcome was incredibly rewarding. Hardships and fortunes truly coexisted, and from this moment on, he was a wealthy tycoon, a rich man.

The Sān Diàn Yán Luó watched with itching hands, tempted to grab some treasures themselves.

However, they were all spirits of the underworld and couldn't take anything away with them, so they could only watch enviously as the two divided the loot.

Qín Guǎng Wáng sighed, waving his hand to produce two items: a black flame hovering in his left hand and a bronze furnace in his right. These were the Zǐ Páo Lǎo Zhě's Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán and his natal magic treasure. Since they couldn't take them, they decided to distribute them.

Yè Chén and Lín Xīng both approached, their eyes gleaming with excitement. These were the real treasures, priceless ones.

"One is the Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán, and the other is a Zhǔn Dì magic treasure. You two choose." Qín Guǎng Wáng said with a smile, "I'm being very fair here."

"I want the Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán." Yè Chén said without a second thought.

"I want the Zhǔn Dì magic treasure." Lín Xīng replied almost simultaneously.

After speaking, the two exchanged glances and said earnestly:

Good brothers.

Qín Guǎng Wáng chuckled, waving his hand to fuse the Zhǔn Dì weapon into Lín Xīng's body. The Yán Luó of the first hall was quite considerate, having already erased the weapon's spirit, so Lín Xīng only needed to use his blood to claim it.

Then, he sent the Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Huǒ into Yè Chén's body. "The immortal flame is still in a sealed state. You'll have to unseal it yourself when you get back."

"Thank you, Yán Luó." Yè Chén grinned, focusing inward to examine his body. The Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán was obediently sealed, while his own Jiǔ Wú Xiān Yán was curiously circling around it, and even the Tiān Léi had come over to join in the fun.

"Let's go." The Sān Diàn Yán Luó smiled and transformed into ashes, dispersing.

"We're rich, we're absolutely rich!" After they left, Lín Xīng laughed so hard he could barely close his mouth. With all these treasures plus a Zhǔn Dì weapon, this stroke of fortune was unheard of, something not seen in eight hundred years.

"Stick with me, and you'll go far." Yè Chén said with a meaningful expression.

"Tch." Lín Xīng dismissed it, walking away to sort through his treasures. Still, he didn't deny that Yè Chén was indeed his lucky star.

Yè Chén found a spot to sit down and pulled out the elixir recipes collected by the Zǐ Páo Lǎo Zhě. There were at least several thousand kinds, ranging from one-pattern to nine-pattern.

This vast number of recipes excited Yè Chén immensely. For a master refiner like him, this was a treasure trove, an absolute windfall.

Without overthinking, he put away the other recipes and kept only one in his hand—the only nine-pattern elixir recipe among them.

Unfortunately, it was incomplete and not whole.

Yè Chén couldn't help but sigh, thinking the Zǐ Páo Lǎo Zhě had been overly ambitious. Even with a complete nine-pattern recipe, refining a nine-pattern immortal elixir wasn't guaranteed, let alone with this damaged one. He might not even succeed in refining the elixir, yet the elder had dreamed of breaking through to the emperor realm.

Calming his thoughts, he opened the nine-pattern recipe and immediately saw four prominent characters: Jiǔ Zhuǎn Huán Hún Dān.

He immersed himself in it, sensing the mysteries of elixir refining.

After reading through, he realized that refining the Jiǔ Zhuǎn Huán Hún Dān required over thirty thousand kinds of materials, many of which had long since vanished from the heavens and were impossible to find.

The refining process was incredibly complex, leaving even him, a Dān Shèng, pale-faced at the thought. He admitted he couldn't refine something of this level.

It was precisely because it was so difficult to refine that the Jiǔ Zhuǎn Huán Hún Dān possessed such domineering power. The recipe described that even the dead could be revived with it, turning death into life, though its truth was unknown.

Sadly, the Dān Zūn who had faced the heavenly tribulation was already dead, so this could no longer be verified.

Putting away the recipe, he turned to examine the refining materials, his eyes shining brightly. The quantity far exceeded his expectations, and many were immortal herbs that had vanished from the heavens. If these were revealed, they would cause a sensation.

Finally, he took a deep breath and lifted the seal on the Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán.

The moment the seal was removed, the Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán went berserk, transforming into wisps of flame that rampaged through Yè Chén's meridians, trying to injure him severely and escape.

"Still a wild one, huh?" Yè Chén chuckled leisurely, using his great divine abilities to seal his sacred body and trap the Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán inside. No matter how it charged, it couldn't break free. It was just unfortunate that its master was dead, leaving it greatly weakened. In its current state, it was no match for Yè Chén.

"Stop fussing and just follow me!" Yè Chén transmitted with a laugh.

The Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán had some intelligence and could understand, though it couldn't speak. Its actions were answer enough—it continued to charge like an untamed beast, refusing to yield.

Yè Chén coughed, knowing it wouldn't be that easy to tame. As a peak immortal flame on par with the Jiǔ Wú Xiān Yán, it had its own pride and wouldn't submit lightly.

Just as he felt helpless, the Jiǔ Wú Xiān Yán approached the Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán, seemingly delighted, circling around it.

Surprisingly, this calmed the Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán considerably. Though it still charged, it wasn't as violent as before.

Yè Chén's eyes lit up at the sight, sensing an opportunity. As fellow peak immortal flames, they likely had a common language. His persuasion paled in comparison to theirs as the same kind.

And so, the Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán gradually shifted from rage to calm, no longer charging and simply floating quietly in Yè Chén's dān tián sea.

Yè Chén tried calling out to it tentatively, but received no response. The Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán still refused to acknowledge him as its master.

Yè Chén didn't force it. The fact that it had stopped resisting was a good sign. It just needed time to accept its new master, and he was patient enough to give it that.

On the other side, Lín Xīng walked over, stretching lazily with a contented air. "All good things must come to an end. See you around."

"What do you mean 'see you around'? Come back with me." Yè Chén scolded.

"Go back for what? Your family's Zhǔn Dì would kick me to death."

"Hey, you won't listen to reason, so I guess I'll have to make you. Looking for trouble?"

"Who's looking for trouble? That's hard to say." Lín Xīng laughed heartily, flashing his pearly white teeth, then tossed his head and smoothed his hair.

As he spoke, a layer of purple immortal light enveloped his body, radiant and dazzling.

That wasn't the main thing—what mattered was that the purple immortal light carried the pressure of a Zhǔn Dì. More precisely, Lín Xīng had a Zhǔn Dì weapon inside him. Whose was it? No need to guess—it was the Zǐ Páo Lǎo Zhě's. During the division, Yè Chén had taken the Jiǔ Yōu Xiān Yán, and he had claimed the Zhǔn Dì magic treasure.

Yè Chén's expression turned a bit amusing. He'd forgotten about that. With a Zhǔn Dì weapon backing him up, Yè Chén couldn't beat Lín Xīng and couldn't force him to go back. If he tried, he'd end up battered and bruised.

"How about it? Want to spar a bit more?" Lín Xīng grinned at Yè Chén.

"Uh, hehehe." Yè Chén laughed awkwardly, walking up and patting Lín Xīng on the shoulder. "We're comrades who've been through thick and thin together. How about we grab a drink before parting ways?"

"Drinking? Nah, that's not as fun as chasing girls. And don't even think about dragging me back—you can't beat me. If my temper flares up, the consequences will be serious."

"In that case, see you around." Yè Chén sighed and turned to leave, swift and decisive, leaving Lín Xīng feeling a bit off-kilter. He thought Yè Chén would keep nagging, but instead, he just up and left without another word.

Yè Chén bolted away like a streak of light with flashes of electricity, afraid Lín Xīng might chase him down for a beating.

Of course, Yè Chén's decisiveness came with a backup plan—he had already planted a mark on Lín Xīng. Once the Rén Wáng awakened, he could personally go and capture him. Even a Shèng Wáng with a Zhǔn Dì weapon was no match for a true Zhǔn Dì, so this job needed the Rén Wáng.