Qi Yun, no matter how much he schemed, was ultimately just a mortal. Facing an Immortal, defeat was only a matter of moments.

Tao Mian didn't need to exert much effort to deal with him, but there was a lot of aftermath to handle.

The first thing he needed to do was to guide the souls of all the innocent cultivators who had been slain to the afterlife.

In Tao Mian's hand was only a thin register of names, and he was grateful to have even this.

The incident happened suddenly, and there was little time to prepare. He could only use the items already in his mustard seed bag to set things up.

He established a ritual altar, hung banners, chanted incantations, and guided the departed souls.

All things under one roof, life and death in the same form.

Life is the follower of death, and death is the beginning of life.

The Immortal, who had been chanting with closed eyes, slowly opened them. Standing before him were the souls who had died unjustly.

"Fellow cultivators, in life you cultivated and accumulated virtue, your deeds are complete. You may now proceed to the Pure Land of Eternal Joy, forever free from suffering."

The souls bowed in unison to bid farewell to Tao Mian, transforming into starlight and dispersing into the sky.

After seeing off the souls, Tao Mian turned to look at the phoenix lying on the ground.

The giant phoenix lay there in a sorry state, its body heaving weakly, clearly at the end of its strength.

Sensing someone approaching, it struggled to escape, but lost its strength midway and fell heavily.

Dust flew up, covering the Immortal's head and face.

Tao Mian spat twice, shaking the sand out of his hair.

He reached out a hand, cautiously trying to touch the phoenix's head.

"Don't bite me, if you bite me to death, no one will save you."

Perhaps due to exhaustion, the phoenix glanced at him and stopped struggling.

Tao Mian smoothed its feathers, finding the sensation novel but a bit prickly.

After calming the divine bird, he moved to its claws.

They were tightly bound by heavy chains of ice, the shackles wound tightly. The phoenix's constant attempts to break free had caused new injuries to pile on old ones, deeply embedding the chains in its flesh.

The area around it was bruised and bleeding continuously.

"It'll hurt, bear with it."

Tao Mian gently placed his hand on the shackles, the bone-chilling cold instantly transmitting from his palm to his heart.

He furrowed his brow, channeling spiritual power, and the shackles cracked open in the middle, clattering to the ground.

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The phoenix let out a low cry, its eyelids drooping, on the verge of closing, showing its exhaustion.

After freeing the divine bird from the shackles that had bound it for years, Tao Mian stepped back a couple of paces, hands behind his back, examining the phoenix that resembled a small hill.

"With such a large body, it's hard to take you away. If I leave you here, you can't fly away on your own... Can we negotiate for you to become smaller?"

Tao Mian patted the phoenix's wings, and it let out a soft cry, as if in response.

Then, in a flash before the Immortal's eyes, the massive divine bird vanished. In its place was a... chicken lying on the ground.

The Immortal was silent for a moment.

"Honestly, I considered the possibility, but I didn't expect it to be so similar," he said, picking up the phoenix steadily from the ground. "Alright then, you can keep my yellow chicken company. From today on, you'll be called Noble Consort Xin."

Xin, meaning dawn, the emergence of the sun.

Tao Mian gave it a beautiful hope.

You must recover quickly, then soar high, carrying the blue sky on your back.

Return to where you belong.

Noble Consort Xin fell into a deep sleep in the Immortal's arms, and the last place Tao Mian looked at was Qi Yun's body.

As he had said before, those who defy the natural order of life and death and offend the divine must face the punishment of the Heavenly Dao.

Manor Lord Qi's soul was likely already suffering, leaving behind only an empty shell here.

Tao Mian thought for a moment and decided to cast a spell, erecting a simple grave for him.

The Immortal was skilled in his craft, and this was no challenge for him; it was quickly done.

Although it didn't hold much meaning, Qi Yun's final words to him had somewhat moved him.

A mayfly in the pond...

Born in the morning, dead by evening, fleeting in an instant.

Qi Yun said he was an Immortal standing outside the pond, with a longer life, able to look down on the struggles of mortals.

But what did Tao Mian think?

He thought, beyond the pond there are lakes, beyond the lakes are mountains, and beyond the mountains is the world.

From a broader, farther perspective, he was far from having the right to look down.

He was just a mayfly in the world.

...

Rong Zheng rarely had a peaceful sleep.

She had a long dream, the contents of which she couldn't remember, but it wasn't a nightmare.

She seemed to be carried by a small boat, drifting on mirror-like river water, going with the flow, without a destination.

When she reached a shore blooming with peach blossoms, a blue butterfly landed by the boat, its wings fluttering.

She reached out her hand, and the moment she touched the butterfly's wings, her dream dissipated.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a person and a chicken.

"Little Hua, you're awake?"

Tao Mian was holding a frail hen, both pairs of eyes staring at the Fifth Disciple lying on the bed.

"Little Tao... why did you steal someone's chicken?!"

Rong Zheng was initially confused, but upon seeing the chicken clearly, something clicked, and she immediately sat up.

Tao Mian took two steps back.

"I didn't steal it, it wandered to my door, so I picked it up."

"That's still stealing."

"...Wipe your mouth before you accuse me."

"Can we eat it?"

"No."

As soon as Rong Zheng opened her eyes, Tao Mian urged her to pack her things. They needed to leave Phoenix Rest Manor quickly.

"Aren't we supposed to exorcise ghosts? Did we... fail? Little Tao, hurry, let's run before they come after us."

Rong Zheng had come up with a plausible reason in her mind. Tao Mian hadn't thought of it, but he went along with his disciple's words to avoid a complicated explanation.

"Yes, yes, just waiting for you to pack up. If we don't leave now, it'll be too late."

The two of them climbed over the wall to leave Phoenix Rest Manor, not taking the main gate.

Rong Zheng truly believed Tao Mian hadn't completed the task, and her escape was swift.

She had been asleep the whole time, unaware that Tao Mian had already taken care of everything here.

Including sneaking into the residence of the plump steward, where a peach branch touched his forehead.

By dawn, his memory naturally included the story of the manor lord dying of a sudden illness, and he knew what needed to be done.

As for Su Tianhe and Du Hong, who were also at the manor, Tao Mian had quietly checked on them too.

These two had long since disappeared, perhaps leaving when they noticed something amiss at the manor.

Aside from the chicken, Tao Mian took nothing else and returned to Peach Blossom Mountain with the Fifth Disciple.

Back on his own turf, he placed the somewhat recovered Noble Consort Xin in the small courtyard of the temple.

The yellow chicken noticed he had a new chicken and arrogantly ignored the Immortal. Noble Consort Xin, however, was extremely curious about it, following it closely and mimicking its actions.

This annoyed the yellow chicken to no end.

Having lost two brothers, it had the whole coop to itself, and now, out of nowhere, came a wild newcomer.

It flapped its wings, trying to keep Noble Consort Xin at a distance.

Tao Mian instructed the two to get along, then pointed out the disciple's living quarters.

"Both of these rooms have been cleaned. Pick one; they were once occupied by your senior brothers and sisters, and the feng shui is excellent."

"…"

Rong Zheng looked around and casually pointed to a room, which was where Chu Liuxue had previously stayed.

"Then this one."

"Alright."

Tao Mian had no objections, nodding in agreement, then stretching lazily, preparing to return to his room to sleep.

"Hey, hey, Little Tao, don't go!" Rong Zheng tugged at his wide sleeve. "I've joined Peach Blossom Mountain, shouldn't I be learning cultivation techniques?"

"Aren't you halfway there? Don't force the rest."

"Then what... should I do?"

Tao Mian paused, his back to her.

"If you're bored, you can chop the firewood in the yard."

"Chop firewood?"

Rong Zheng turned her head, and sure enough, there was a sturdy wooden block, an old but sharp axe, and a pile of firewood stacked high.

"It's not winter, and... there's never a shortage of firewood here. Besides, Little Tao, you're an Immortal and not afraid of the cold, so why chop firewood?"

"..." Tao Mian chuckled, "You're the first disciple to ask me why I chop firewood. Hmm... consider it a way to cultivate your mind and body, maybe even gain some insights."

"You're not tricking me, are you..."

Rong Zheng was skeptical, but her feet were already moving toward the axe.

Tao Mian heard the awkward sound of chopping behind him and thought that the "game" between him and this Fifth Disciple was just beginning.