Senior, please enter the furnace

"Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, Five Qi Pay Homage to the Origin. Above the Primordial Spirit, the Dao Fruit takes form; within the True Spirit's origin, the Life Root is planted!"

"Chi Tian, what a formidable Chi Tian! I underestimated you. You've won beautifully. Refining Elder Cui Changsheng into a cauldron, using his Dao Traces as fuel and his soul as fire to temper his origin, waiting for the Dao Fruit to ripen before plucking it? Wishful thinking!"

"Even if it must be plucked, it should only be plucked by one of our own!"

After examining Cui Changsheng's condition, a surge of fury rose from the depths of Chen Yi's heart.

He had shouldered immense karma, withstood the pressure of a quasi-Immortal Emperor to reverse time, yet in the end, he still couldn't completely save Elder Cui Changsheng!

There was no helping it. After attaining the Great Luo through the Dao of Bestowing Life, one transcends their original fate, becoming unaffected by the timeline. One cannot affect their present self by attacking their past self, nor can one resolve calamities of the present self by restoring the past self!

Elder Cui Changsheng's present self was ultimately devoured by Chi Tian. Chen Yi had merely forcibly contracted karma with Chi Tian, then violently pried out the parts belonging to Cui Changsheng from within him and pieced them back together.

This was a brutal method, completely ignoring the process and directly altering the outcome to the desired result!

Chi Tian only spat it out because he couldn't withstand Chen Yi's brute force. But while the result changed, the process did not. Something already digested, even if vomited up, can it truly be restored to its original state?

Chi Tian merely couldn't withstand Chen Yi's pressure, not that he couldn't withstand Cui Changsheng's!

To put it bluntly, if Chen Yi could use violent, rule-breaking means to pry Cui Changsheng's origin from Chi Tian's throat, how could Chi Tian not devour Cui Changsheng again through the established, legitimate process?

Even with Chen Yi guarding the outcome, so what if Chi Tian covets it but cannot eat?

Once Cui Changsheng dissolves into the Dao, releasing the refined Origin Dao Traces he condensed, Chi Tian could instantly refine them!

Even if Chen Yi could preserve the Dao Fruit formed from Cui Changsheng's essential origin, he could not retain those Origin Dao Traces born of a will burnt to ashes.

Origin Dao Traces... possess uniqueness!

"Ah..."

At this moment, having confirmed his own situation, Cui Changsheng let out a soft sigh, his expression tinged with melancholy, which then transformed into one of complete acceptance:

"Let it be. One who often stands by the river will inevitably get their shoes wet. I had long foreseen such a day, just not that it would come so soon..."

"Chen Yi, you need not grieve for me. It's merely starting over from scratch. All that is lost now, I will reclaim one day!"

Chen Yi shook his head slightly, speaking very directly: "Elder, you will only lose the Origin Dao Traces refined over many years, not your life. Therefore, I am not grieving for you. I merely feel somewhat frustrated!"

"If a half-baked quasi-Immortal Emperor like Chi Tian can make me suffer such a great loss, how should I cope if true Immortal Emperors like Wuji and Ling Xiao personally enter the fray?"

"Although I have gained the upper hand in several confrontations with the Two Emperors, those were proxy battles. I only managed to slightly prevail by relying on my more fluid and seamless control of avatars!"

"My halberd is not fast enough, and even less so, ruthless enough!"

"Elder, you have faced the Two Emperors directly and should understand their might best. Tell me, can I win?"

Cui Changsheng: "..."

To be honest, for some reason, I suddenly really want to give Chen Yi a good hard smack!

He is truly so infuriating!

What does he mean, 'only lose Origin Dao Traces, not lose my life'?

To helplessly watch years of arduous cultivation dissipate bit by bit, powerless to reverse heaven's decree—such a painful price. Any proper cultivator would feel pity, compassion, even the desire to offer aid, right?

How come you, Chen Yi, feel nothing at all?

Oh? Chen Yi isn't a proper cultivator?

...

Then never mind.

After a long silence, Cui Changsheng finally spoke with great difficulty: "Chen Yi, I think sometimes, you can actually afford to be bolder!"

"Look, with just two avatars, you forced Chi Tian to abandon everything. Without even your true form appearing, a single halberd strike shattered him, forcibly suppressing his Origin Dao Traces from escaping!"

"This has already proven you possess sufficient power to contend with Immortal Emperors. Why hesitate and hold back when the moment arrives?"

"Since you've decided to draw your sword, then charge forward without looking back, and fight for a brilliant future!"

"..."

Chen Yi was always adept at listening to advice, but not at adopting it.

So, after patiently hearing Cui Changsheng's advice, he slowly took out a Chaos Crucible, his expression calm: "Finished speaking, Elder? It's time to set off. Please enter the crucible."

This was a treasure obtained back from the fourth trial of the Supreme Treasure Secret Realm. Its grade was extremely high, a rare item comparable to Ancestral Artifacts, fully capable of refining a Dao Ancestor!

Of course, if possible, he didn't want to take action against this elder who had made great contributions. But he had no choice!

The current Cui Changsheng had turned into a human-shaped, self-propelled Dao Ancestor Elixir. This was an irreversible process. Moreover, because his soul origin was slowly burning, he couldn't muster much power. Using force would only accelerate the burning, hasten ripening, and release an incredibly alluring fragrance...

Just like the Tang Monk of legend, everyone would want a bite!

Who could resist the temptation of instantly attaining the Dao Ancestor realm?

Chen Yi couldn't purify Chi Tian's method, because this dead end was set by Chi Tian based on Cui Changsheng's own nature. Using brute force would also spell death for Cui Changsheng!

So... since releasing him would only mean him being devoured by others, better to benefit one of our own!

Cui Changsheng: "..."

Although I know there's no saving me anymore, aren't you being a bit too direct?

Can't you really be more tactful?

Plop

What else could Cui Changsheng do?

Of course, cooperate with him!

Even after actively diving into the Chaos Crucible, he proactively began refining himself, saving Chen Yi the effort.

To be able to contribute his final strength to the development of the Ziwei Immortal Realm—in this life, he had no regrets.