“Brother Xiaobu, please hold on a moment.” Just as Lan Xiaobu stepped out of this world, Zhong Wuchi rushed forward.
Lan Xiaobu looked at Zhong Wuchi, smiling as he said, “What’s the matter, Old Zhong? Don’t tell me you still want to keep me here?”
Zhong Wuchi gave an awkward smile. “Brother Xiaobu, if we two work together, it’d be a perfect match. Plus, I know the Land of Eternal Life better than anyone. I’m sure you’re interested. You probably don’t know how to get to the Land of Eternal Life, do you? Well, I do.”
In Zhong Wuchi’s view, Lan Xiaobu was surely headed for the Land of Eternal Life. If that was the case, he’d have to collaborate with him.
Lan Xiaobu chuckled, “No need to trouble yourself, Old Zhong. Whether I have a way to get there or not, I’m in no rush right now. As for the situation in the Land of Eternal Life, I have friends who know about it. That’s all for the future.”
Zhong Wuchi claimed familiarity with the Land of Eternal Life, and Lan Xiaobu didn’t doubt it. This fellow was originally an Eternal Saint from the Land of Eternal Life, so naturally, he’d know it well. The Saint of Fate had also been there, so for Lan Xiaobu, partnering with Zhong Wuchi wasn’t necessarily required.
Zhong Wuchi said earnestly, “Brother Xiaobu, with your genius for the dao, if you go to the Land of Eternal Life, you’ll absolutely be hunted down. The Eternal Saints there are one nastier than the next. If you’re not familiar with the place, escaping their pursuit will be incredibly difficult.”
Pausing, Zhong Wuchi added, “Even if your friend knows the Land of Eternal Life, or even came from there, I can responsibly tell you they won’t know it as well as I do. I know of a hiding spot in the Land of Eternal Life that no one else could possibly find.”
Lan Xiaobu found this somewhat believable. The Saint of Fate couldn’t match the Nether Lord’s knowledge of the Land of Eternal Life. The Saint of Fate preferred to keep a low profile, so even in the Land of Eternal Life, she stayed discreet, rarely venturing out.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu fall silent, Zhong Wuchi continued, “I can give you a top-secret location. Even a Creation Saint couldn’t find it. And I can take you to the Land of Eternal Life. Honestly, if you’re just a ninth-stage saint, getting there on your own is next to impossible. I have ways to make it happen.”
“Alright, what do you want?” Lan Xiaobu was indeed intrigued by Zhong Wuchi’s secret location.
Zhong Wuchi’s spirits lifted. “I’ll take you to the Land of Eternal Life, tell you about this secret spot, and swear on my lifespan and dao that I’ll never reveal it to a third party.”
“Doesn’t your main body know?” Lan Xiaobu said coolly.
Zhong Wuchi grinned, “You know me. Even if my main body knows, it’ll take him a long time to reach the Land of Eternal Life. By then, I reckon you’ll have already stepped into the Creation Realm.”
Lan Xiaobu didn’t respond. He understood Zhong Wuchi’s point. With his dao, he wouldn’t hide from pursuers forever—he’d eventually fight back. Reaching the Creation Realm in that hidden spot would serve its purpose.
“What I need, you should know—a fist-sized piece of primal earth,” Zhong Wuchi finally stated his demand.
Lan Xiaobu laughed, “Nice try, but I’m not agreeing to that.”
The primal earth he had amounted to barely two fists’ worth. Zhong Wuchi asking for half was out of the question.
“Then how much will you give me?” Zhong Wuchi gritted his teeth. Besides primal earth, nothing else interested him. His expression suggested that if it was even slightly less, he might not reach an agreement with Lan Xiaobu.
Lan Xiaobu opened his hand, revealing a piece of primal earth the size of a peeled longan. “This much. And I don’t need you to take me to the Land of Eternal Life—just tell me about that secret spot. Agree, and you swear. Disagree, and we part ways.”
To Lan Xiaobu’s complete surprise, Zhong Wuchi didn’t hesitate. “I, Zhong Wuchi, will give Lan Xiaobu a hidden location in the Land of Eternal Life, guaranteed unknown to any third party, and I’ll never tell another soul. If I break this oath, may my dao collapse, my heart demons consume me, and all be reduced to nothingness.”
That was a ruthless oath. But Lan Xiaobu inwardly sighed at his own naivety.
Zhong Wuchi had asked for a fist-sized piece of primal earth, probably expecting Lan Xiaobu to offer a sliver the size of a fingernail and be satisfied. Instead, he’d given a longan-sized piece, no wonder Zhong Wuchi swore so quickly. These old foxes were impossible to guard against.
Unaware of Lan Xiaobu’s thoughts, Zhong Wuchi eagerly handed over a jade slip. “Brother Xiaobu, this slip contains the safest spot in the Land of Eternal Life. Follow its directional dao rhythm, and you’ll find it without fail.”
Lan Xiaobu scanned the jade slip with his divine sense, confirmed it was genuine, and tossed the primal earth to Zhong Wuchi.
“Thanks, Brother Xiaobu. I knew at first glance you’re a true friend. I’ll head off now—until we meet again.” With that, Zhong Wuchi flashed away, vanishing into his world, even adopting Lan Xiaobu’s casual tone.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t mind. Leaving this void, he immediately summoned the Reincarnation Pot. After Tai Chuan took control, Lan Xiaobu entered the Longevity Realm. He split the remaining primal earth in half, wrapping one portion around the dark wood fragment and planting it in the Longevity Realm.
To ensure the fragment’s growth, he embedded a chaos spirit vein and set up a vitality array.
With that done, Lan Xiaobu examined Zhong Wuchi’s jade slip.
The directional jade slip was legitimate, but Zhong Wuchi’s oath had a flaw.
The slip included a name, a partial map, and a directional dao rhythm. The dao rhythm was the most valuable part—without it, finding the location in the vast Land of Eternal Life was nearly impossible.
With the dao rhythm, he could follow its guidance to the spot.
But Zhong Wuchi’s oath only promised to provide a location and keep it secret from others. He didn’t mention that the dao rhythm wouldn’t vanish.
If the dao rhythm disappeared, the jade slip would be useless.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t believe Zhong Wuchi overlooked this. He’d left it unsaid, expecting Lan Xiaobu to point it out. If Lan Xiaobu didn’t, Zhong Wuchi would likely strip the dao rhythm from the slip later.
Lan Xiaobu had no intention of reminding him. Others couldn’t copy a dao rhythm, but he could, and in more ways than one. His Longevity Dao had proven its own space, time, and rules.
He could use his Longevity Dao to replicate the jade slip’s dao rhythm, making it his own.
Alternatively, he had a simpler method—using the Cosmic Dimension Model to create a structure that could easily record the dao rhythm.
To avoid relying on the Cosmic Dimension Model, Lan Xiaobu used his Longevity Dao to recreate the dao rhythm, embedding it into a directional crystal ball. With it, he could find Zhong Wuchi’s location.
Storing the crystal ball and jade slip, Lan Xiaobu left the Longevity Realm, taking control of the Reincarnation Pot. He wanted to see how long Zhong Wuchi could wait before stripping the dao rhythm.
A year passed, and the Reincarnation Pot stopped.
“Big Brother, are we there?” Tai Chuan glanced at the crystal ball on the pot, asking uncertainly.
Lan Xiaobu frowned slightly. “Not quite. We need to tear open this domain to enter another one. Let me try.”
He summoned the Longevity Halberd, its longevity dao principles blasting into the void. With one strike, a crack appeared. Lan Xiaobu stepped forward, his hands flowing with dao rhythm, grabbing the crack and tearing it open.
A torrent of chaotic void dislocations and blade-like energy swept over. Lan Xiaobu waved his hand, pulling Tai Chuan and the Reincarnation Pot into the torn void.
“The rules here seem low, almost at the Immortal Realm level,” Tai Chuan remarked, sensing something off upon arrival.
Lan Xiaobu nodded. “You’re not wrong. This is indeed an Immortal Realm plane, with rules much weaker than the Divine Realm. Who’d have thought the Six Realms Stone Flag would be in an Immortal Realm plane? Let’s check it out—it’s not far.”
The Reincarnation Pot travelled for just half a day before stopping.
In the void ahead, a barrier array blocked the way, with four large characters written outside: “Lost Sea”.
