Upon entering the hall, Li Xiangyun couldn't help but take a step back at the sight of Zhang Song's eerie old face.

"Little one, you seem afraid of me?"

"N-no, not at all."

"Hehe, don't worry. I'm an immortal; I won't harm you," Zhang Song said with a smile, approaching and speaking gently. "Here, take this pill. If you can endure it, you can cultivate immortality."

"Really?" Li Xiangyun's eyes lit up at the mention of immortality.

"Of course, I never lie to children," Zhang Song offered the pill.

Li Xiangyun gazed at the pill, reached out his small hand to take it, hesitated for a moment, and then swallowed it.

Ah!

Instantly, Li Xiangyun's face distorted. He fell to the ground with a thud, his body convulsing wildly like he was having a seizure. After just a dozen breaths, his feet kicked out, and he went limp.

"Master," Fan Zhengping hesitated, wanting to speak.

Zhang Song's face darkened. "Enough! Deal with him. I need to head down the mountain to continue searching for spiritual herbs. Guard the temple well while I'm gone. If anything goes wrong, you'll be the one to answer for it."

"Yes, Master."

Zhang Song flicked his sleeve and turned back to his room to pack. Moments later, he emerged with a bundle on his back, staring at Fan Zhengping. "Zhengping, I know you're kind-hearted, but remember, you're a cultivator. Kindness won't lead to greatness. When I return next time, I hope you've changed..."

"Yes, Master."

After Zhang Song left, Fan Zhengping sighed again, picked up Li Xiangyun's corpse, and carried it out of the main hall.

To the left of the courtyard was a small gate. Fan Zhengping pushed it open, revealing a large pit several zhang in circumference. The pit was filled with a stench, and flies swarmed around the countless corpses piled within.

Some bodies were just beginning to decompose, while others had already turned to bones.

Fan Zhengping glanced inside before tossing Li Xiangyun in. The lively and cute child soon became the target of flies and ants.

Time passed, and seven days had gone by.

"Mud Monkey, Fatty said Xiangyun hasn't made a sound for days. It's like he's not even in his room," said Lu Li, leaning against the partition wall in Room 1. The worried voice of Qin Shouren came through a small hole about the size of a fist beside him.

Over these days, the initial panic had turned into numbness.

They had punched small holes in the walls of their adjacent rooms. Chen Zhong's room was next to Li Xiangyun's, and no matter how much Chen Zhong called out to him, there was no response.

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"I see," Lu Li replied calmly but didn't continue.

The walls of the room, except for the brick partition between them, were made of large stone blocks, impossible to move. He couldn't think of a way to escape.

"Are we... going to die?" Qin Shouren's voice trembled.

"I don't know," Lu Li didn't know how to comfort him. If his guess was correct, something had already happened to Li Xiangyun, and it wouldn't be long before it was their turn.

Lu Li lifted his left hand in the dim light, staring at the small tower pattern on his palm, and murmured, "What exactly are you?"

Upon closer inspection, he suddenly noticed words on the tower. Besides the four characters 'San Bao Liu Li' (Three Treasures Lapis Lazuli) on the base, the three layers from bottom to top were inscribed with 'Jie' (World), 'Kong' (Space), and 'Shi' (Time).

"San Bao Liu Li Tower?" Lu Li blurted out, wondering if this wasn't a ghost but some kind of treasure.

Creak...

Just as Lu Li was about to examine it further, the door opened. A young taoist in his teens stood there, looking at Lu Li on the ground and saying, "My master isn't here. Come out for some air."

It was Fan Zhengping.

They could go out?

The long-awaited fresh air rushed into the room. Lu Li shot up and rushed out in a few steps, breathing in the outside air deeply.

Soon, Qin Shouren and Chen Zhong also came out.

"I'll kill you!" Suddenly, Chen Zhong rushed towards Fan Zhengping with fists raised.

Fan Zhengping's brows furrowed. As Chen Zhong reached him, he suddenly lifted his foot and kicked Chen Zhong in the chest, sending him flying back. Chen Zhong crashed heavily into the wall behind him.

Chen Zhong coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Lu Li and Qin Shouren's faces changed. They hurried over to help Chen Zhong up.

Fan Zhengping shook his head, looking at them. "I've already violated my master's orders by letting you out. If you don't behave, I'll have to lock you back up."

"Where's Xiangyun? What did you do to him!" Chen Zhong struggled to get up and shouted.

"If you're talking about that kid, I can tell you he's dead."

"What!"

At this news, Qin Shouren and Lu Li were stunned. Although they had suspected it, hearing it directly was still hard to accept.

Qin Shouren's fists clenched tightly, about to rush forward, but Lu Li blocked his path, shaking his head. "Go back."

Qin Shouren, unwilling, stormed back into his room and slammed the door shut.

Chen Zhong gave Lu Li a heavy look, disappointment clear in his eyes, then turned and went back to his room.

"You're smart. Although I'm only at the Qi Condensation first stage, I'm not someone you ordinary kids can handle," Fan Zhengping said approvingly to the skinny, dark-skinned少年 who was shorter than him, walking towards a stone chair in the middle of the courtyard as he spoke. "Let's talk."

Lu Li took a deep breath and slowly followed.

After sitting down on the stone chair, Fan Zhengping patted the seat beside him. "Sit."

Lu Li hesitated but eventually sat down, saying nothing.

Seeing Lu Li's silence, Fan Zhengping continued, "Actually, I was once like you, captured to test medicines. But I was lucky. He gave me a Wake-Up Pill on a whim, and I happened to have a five-element spiritual root. So, he took me as his disciple to assist him. Over the years, he's taught me many skills. I'm grateful to him, but I don't want him to keep killing, so... I'm conflicted."

Hearing this, Lu Li looked at Fan Zhengping in surprise. He hadn't expected that he was also captured. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but hope, "Immortal Master, since that's the case, can you secretly let us go?"

Fan Zhengping shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to let you go, but I can't. Aside from my master treating me well, if I let you go, I probably won't survive his return."

"Can't we all leave together?"

Fan Zhengping gave Lu Li a strange look. "Why should I leave? My master is experimenting with a pill. If it succeeds, my cultivation will surely soar... Perhaps my master is right. Ordinary people should be honored to be the stepping stones for us cultivators."

It was all about selfishness. Kindness only exists when it doesn't touch upon one's own interests.

From their brief conversation, Lu Li understood Fan Zhengping's intentions. So-called immortals weren't as detached and desireless as he had imagined; perhaps they were even more greedy than ordinary people.

At this, Lu Li remained silent.

After a moment of silence, Fan Zhengping spoke again, "Although I can't let you go, I can give you a glimmer of hope..."