Have the past seven days of hard work all been in vain

He stared fixedly at the glowing jade needle, his wrinkled old face twitching slightly from extreme excitement.

What a pure aura!

This... this is definitely not something an ordinary physique could possess!

After a long time, the white light slowly dissipated.

Zhao Tianyang slowly pulled out the jade needle, an unprecedented burning fervor in his cloudy eyes.

He didn't speak, but simply picked up another jade needle, this one as black as ink.

"This needle is named 'Abyss Suppressor'. It can test many things, but what I mainly want to test is your physique's affinity to baleful aura."

Zhao Tianyang's voice carried a faint, imperceptible tremble that wasn't there before.

He walked up to Su Ji. This time, his target was the center of his eyebrows.

"The ancestral aperture between the eyebrows is the dwelling of the divine soul. I will use the Abyss Suppressor to wrap baleful aura and invade your body, which most easily affects the divine soul. If you can remain unharmed here, it means... you are not hostile to the baleful aura of this place."

Su Ji closed his eyes, adopting a "do as you please" demeanor.

A cold sensation came from between his eyebrows.

The black jade needle named Abyss Suppressor slowly pierced in.

A cold, tyrannical aura, as if coming from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds, surged madly toward Su Ji's divine soul sea of consciousness along the jade needle.

"Senior brother, it's better to be careful... after all, it's just a theory..."

Su Ji, however, was exceptionally calm.

"It's fine."

Su Ji could feel the residual spiritual energy Su Jiu left in his body transforming into a massive invisible net, gently enveloping that baleful aura.

Then, it began to... assimilate.

That's right, assimilation.

It was as if it possessed an innate suppression over this tyrannical energy.

Wrapped in the spiritual power, that baleful aura which should have been wreaking havoc violently, was actually like a docile sheep, being tamed little by little, and ultimately turning into a part of Su Ji's own spiritual power.

This process takes a long time to describe, but in reality, it happened in a flash.

In the outside world.

Under Zhao Tianyang's incredibly nervous gaze.

The ink-black jade needle not only failed to erupt with any earth-shattering phenomena as expected.

Instead... it just sat there quietly, inserted between Su Ji's eyebrows.

Even its color had softened a bit. That heavy, mountain-like feeling had dissipated, replaced by a warm, jade-like texture.

This...

Zhao Tianyang's pupils suddenly contracted.

He knew better than anyone what this meant.

This meant that Su Hao's physique not only didn't reject the baleful aura, but instead... absorbed it!

This was no longer a matter of whether the affinity was high or not!

This was fucking treating baleful aura like food!

Zhao Tianyang's hands began to tremble violently uncontrollably.

He slowly pulled out the now-warm black jade needle, leaving nothing but pure, almost maddening greed in his cloudy eyes.

He could be almost one hundred percent certain!

The Immaculate Physique!

This kid was definitely the Immaculate Physique that was rarely seen in ten thousand years!

But just to be safe...

He didn't waste any more words and directly picked up the last jade needle, one that displayed a faint pink color.

"This needle is named 'Seeking Depths'."

Zhao Tianyang's voice was terribly hoarse due to extreme excitement.

He walked up to Su Ji, his cloudy eyes staring fixedly at Su Ji's... lower abdomen.

"The source of a physique is hidden within the dantian."

Zhao Tianyang licked his dry lips, his gaze as if looking at a peerless treasure.

"The final step."

"To verify your true identity."

Su Ji: "..."

He looked at the pink jade needle in Zhao Tianyang's hand, then followed his gaze and looked down at his own lower abdomen.

The muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably.

This look...

Anyone who didn't know better would think this old man was about to do something inappropriate to him later.

Zhao Tianyang's movements were very light, even carrying a bit of caution.

The pink jade needle slowly pierced into the Qihai acupoint above Su Ji's dantian.

Su Ji only felt that his dantian's sea of qi, that heavenly palace, seemed to be gently touched by something.

The next moment.

Buzz—!

The pink jade needle erupted with a dreamlike, brilliant light akin to peach blossoms in early spring!

The light was not glaring, but it carried a rhythm originating from the very beginning.

And that gray stone connected to the three golden threads also began to tremble violently at this moment. The dusty gray stone skin on its surface peeled off inch by inch, revealing its warm, jade-like essence inside.

On the stone, light and shadows flowed!

"Good, good, good!"

Zhao Tianyang stared fixedly at the stone. His old face flushed red from extreme excitement, and his withered body trembled violently.

"The Immaculate Physique! It really is the Immaculate Physique!"

Zhao Tianyang yanked out the jade needle, completely ignoring Su Ji's reaction. Cupping the stone that had returned to its ordinary appearance in both hands, he turned it over and over, muttering incessantly.

"It's done... it's done! The opportunity... has arrived!"

He looked like a madman, pacing back and forth in the room, sometimes laughing out loud, sometimes muttering to himself.

After a long time, he seemed to finally calm his excited mood, turning his gaze back to Su Ji, who was still shirtless and looking bewildered.

"Kid!"

Zhao Tianyang dashed in front of Su Ji in a single stride. His cloudy eyes were terrifyingly bright at this moment.

"You really didn't lie to me!"

He reached out a withered hand and patted heavily on Su Ji's shoulder. The force actually made Su Ji feel a bit of pain.

"If this matter succeeds!"

Zhao Tianyang's voice carried an unquestionable fanaticism and determination.

"I will personally apply to the higher-ups and directly restore your freedom!"

"No! Not just freedom!"

He leaned in, his old face almost pressed against Su Ji's, his voice lowered to a whisper, yet carrying a fatal temptation.

"I can even... take you as my disciple and impart all my lifelong learning to you, holding nothing back!"

Su Ji felt it was a bit hard to look straight at the phrase "holding nothing back" anymore.

Because he had just recently given his all.

Looking at Zhao Tianyang's expression, which looked as if he wanted to swallow him alive, Su Ji felt a chill in his heart, but his face perfectly revealed a trace of "flattered" trepidation.

"Th... thank you for your nurturing, Old Zhao!"

As he spoke, he unhurriedly put his clothes back on.

After acting for so long, he had finally managed to fool this old fox.

Su Ji let out a long sigh of relief in his heart, but at the same time, an evil fire rose within him that he couldn't suppress no matter what.

Damn it!

Just to put on this act, how much suffering had he endured over these past seven days!

Su Ji communicated indignantly with Su Jiu in his mind, "No, why is verifying a physique like this?"

"I feel like the cultivation technique I practice and the Heavenly Palace Golden Core can completely produce the exact same effect..."

In his mind, Su Jiu's hoarse voice echoed faintly.

"Senior brother, verifying a physique... has always been like this."

Su Jiu's voice carried a somewhat matter-of-fact confusion. "Is there a problem?"

Su Jiu fell silent for a moment, as if organizing his words, or perhaps despising Su Ji's ignorance.

Finally, that somewhat speechless voice of complaint sounded again.

"What else did you expect?"

"Did you really expect them to just give you a rock, have you place your hand on it, and then wait for words to magically pop up saying, 'Congratulations, you have awakened the Innate Sword Body,' 'Congratulations on acquiring the Flying Immortal Body,' or 'Congratulations, you have unlocked the Immaculate Body'?"

Su Jiu's voice was filled with undisguised mockery.

"Senior Brother, you've been reading too many cheap novels, haven't you?"

"A special physique is favored by heaven and earth, a gift from the Great Dao, and one of the most core secrets of a cultivator. How could it possibly be tested in such a crude manner?"

"Naturally, one must start with the various characteristics of the physique and use the process of elimination to deduce and verify it step by step."

Su Jiu paused for a moment and, like a strict little teacher, began to educate Su Ji.

"Look at his first needle, the white 'Bright Snow'. It tests the purity of your physique. The Immaculate Body, as the name implies, is untainted by dust and is naturally a body of ultimate purity, which is why it triggered the strongest white light."

"The second needle, the black 'Abyss Suppressor', tests your affinity for negative energy. The malevolent aura in the mining area was formed from the disintegration of that Immortal Venerable's Immaculate Body after his death. It shares the same origin as the aura I passed on to you, so naturally, it wouldn't be rejected. In fact, it would actively show affinity, which is why 'Abyss Suppressor' was assimilated."

"As for the third needle..."

At this point, Su Jiu's voice dropped a few pitches, carrying a trace of imperceptible shyness.

"The pink 'Deep Seeker' tests the origin and vitality of the physique. The Immaculate Body is an innate Dao body with a peak of life force far beyond that of ordinary physiques. Naturally, it can force the main body of that testing stone to reveal itself."

After explaining all this in one breath, Su Jiu added another sentence.

"So, these three needles are interlocked with one another. Only then can it be finally confirmed that you possess the Immaculate Body. This is the most rigorous testing method, understand?"

Listening to Su Jiu's logical and well-reasoned analysis, Su Ji was completely dumbfounded.

He stood there blankly, feeling as if a massive herd of alpacas was stampeding wildly through his mind.

His incomparably overbearing Desolate Meteor Fallen Dragon Art...

Its spiritual energy was so pure that it could rival any innate Dao body. Therefore, the first needle, Bright Snow, was bound to shine.

The cultivation method was so tyrannical that it could devour all things and assimilate all laws. A mere malevolent aura was naturally nothing to it. Therefore, the second needle, Abyss Suppressor, would absolutely not be rejected either.

As for the third needle...

What he had forged was the Heavenly Palace Golden Core. The sheer abundance of its origin source far exceeded anyone of the same realm. Triggering the testing stone to reveal its true form seemed... seemed like it wouldn't be a difficult task at all?

So...

Su Ji felt his heart bleeding.

"Junior Sister..."

"Did I just spend these last seven days..."

"...doing all that for absolutely nothing?"