That person... is very close to the Chaotic Star Sea.

Since being turned down that day, Elder Yao had been keeping vigil outside his own cave dwelling.

He stood like a weathered stone statue.

Half a month had passed, and what began as fervent anticipation had gradually numbed into apathy.

From time to time, he would tilt his head and listen, trying to catch the faintest sound from behind the massive stone door.

The roar of a furnace?

The scent of medicinal herbs wafting through?

Or... the thunderous crash of an exploding cauldron?

Nothing.

The cave dwelling was as silent as a tomb, as if sealed by a soundproofing formation.

This uncertainty gnawed at Elder Yao's nerves.

That young man had spoken with such conviction, but in the end, he was still a cripple.

Even with the help of that fox spirit, what could he possibly accomplish in half a month?

More likely, he had wasted all his precious herbs.

A dozen times, Elder Yao wanted to charge in and see what tricks Su Ji was up to. But every time, he recalled Su Ji's words — "If the heart is not sincere, the intent will not reach" — and the promise he had made before his own disciple. He could only force himself to stay put.

"Ah..." Elder Yao let out a long sigh, rubbing his bald chin.

"A moment's impulse brings a lifetime of regret!"

Just as he was lost in his tangled thoughts —

"Rumble..."

The massive stone door let out a low, grinding roar and slowly slid to the right.

Elder Yao jerked his head up, a brilliant light flashing in his eyes.

The door was open!

He rushed inside almost on instinct.

An intensely rich scent of herbs hit him full in the face.

The fragrance was pure and mellow, carrying a sharp, soul-cleansing clarity. Elder Yao took just one breath and felt every pore in his body open wide, the exhaustion of days melting away.

"This... this is..." Elder Yao's voice trembled as his eyes swept across the cave dwelling.

Inside, the mountain of herbs and spirit stones that had once filled the space had vanished completely.

All that remained was a floor thick with ash and scattered fragments of debris.

And standing before him, Su Ji looked pale, his eyes slightly downcast, his face marked by profound fatigue. His lips were bloodless, and dark shadows ringed his eyes — clear signs of extreme depletion.

Yet, incredibly, an oppressive aura radiated from him.

Unassuming on the surface, but heavy as a mountain, pressing down on Elder Yao until he nearly fell to his knees.

"Su... Su, Daoist Brother?"

Elder Yao ventured cautiously.

Su Ji's eyes had lost their former sharpness, replaced instead by a calm that came after all layers of refinement had been stripped away.

"Elder Yao, I've kept you waiting long."

"You... you succeeded?"

Elder Yao stammered with excitement, rushing forward. His dry, withered hands reached out as if to check Su Ji's pulse, but he dared not touch him.

Su Ji nodded, offering a weary smile.

"By luck." He pointed to the empty space where the herbs and spirit stones had once piled high. "The failure rate was higher than I expected, so the consumption was great. I won't take advantage of your Yin Yang Sect — the spirit stones I covered myself."

Upon hearing this, Elder Yao felt no sting of loss at all. Instead, his blood seemed to boil with exhilaration.

"Consumption? No consumption is too great for this!" Elder Yao trembled, tears streaming down his aged face. "Daoist Brother Su! Did you truly refine the Return to Void Pill?"

Su Ji did not answer directly. Instead, he pulled a jade bottle from his robes.

"Five batches were attempted in total." Su Ji's voice was soft. "Three furnaces failed. Two succeeded."

"One of the furnaces had slightly inferior quality, so I consumed it myself." He handed the jade bottle to Elder Yao. "This is what I promised you."

Elder Yao accepted the jade bottle with trembling hands and uncorked it.

An overwhelmingly rich fragrance of medicine instantly filled his nostrils.

The scent was unlike any he had experienced in his lifetime.

It was restrained, mellow, carrying a profound vitality that seemed endless and regenerative.

Just one whiff of it, and Elder Yao felt some of his old wounds ease slightly.

He poured out the single pill inside the bottle.

The pill was perfectly round, gleaming with a golden hue, and a faint, radiant glow shimmered across its surface. Intricate patterns were faintly visible within the pill—flawless work of nature, without any blemish.

Most crucially, there was not a trace of yin-cold energy on the pill.

Elder Yao held the pill, his tears of joy streaming down his cheeks.

"Fanxu Dan! This is the true Fanxu Dan!" he murmured to himself, as if cradling a peerless treasure. "I have studied the way of alchemy for centuries, and today… today, my long-cherished wish has finally been fulfilled!"

He lifted his head abruptly and gazed at Su Ji, his eyes brimming with gratitude.

"Fellow Daoist Su! This great kindness, I shall never forget it to my dying day!"

Su Ji waved his hand, signaling that formalities were unnecessary.

"Elder Yao, you flatter me." Su Ji's voice remained weak. "We each get what we need."

He paused, then a perfectly timed expression of difficulty appeared on his face.

"It's just that… in refining this pill, I have expended tremendous effort. My golden core has only just been reforged and is not yet stable. I fear I cannot use any spiritual power for the time being."

On hearing this, Elder Yao's expression shifted.

"Fellow Daoist Su, have no worry!" Elder Yao said hastily. "Since you have refined this pill for our Yin Yang Sect, I will naturally do my utmost to help you recover!"

He swept his hand grandly, exuding chivalrous boldness: "From today on, you may stay in my cave dwelling to recover in peace! I will personally prepare medicinal meals for you until you are fully healed!"

Upon hearing this, Su Ji displayed a perfectly appropriate look of gratitude.

"Then I thank you, Elder Yao."

Secretly, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as Elder Yao was about to say something else,

A slightly anxious voice came from afar.

"Elder Yao! Elder Yao!"

It was Yun Ying.

Elder Yao frowned, displeasure written on his face.

"This brat, what now!" he grumbled.

With an angry snort, he strode quickly to the cave entrance and shouted outside, "What's all this yelling for!"

"Elder Yao, are you all right?" Yun Ying's voice carried a note of concern. "Just now, there was a violent fluctuation of spiritual energy from the mountain peak. I was worried…"

"What are you worried about! How could anything happen to me!" Elder Yao snapped impatiently. "Get lost! Stop hanging around here being a nuisance!"

"But…" Yun Ying's voice faltered, "Master, she…"

"Master?" Elder Yao's face changed upon hearing that.

He spun around and looked at Su Ji.

Yun Ying's voice now tinged with sobs, he staggered up to Elder Yao and grabbed his arm, his fingers so tight the knuckles turned white. "Elder Yao! Please go and see! Master… Master has had a relapse of her old injury!"

The joy on Elder Yao's face instantly froze.

The jade bottle in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter. The Fanxu Dan rolled out and blackened where it touched the dust.

But he could no longer be bothered with it.

"What did you say?" Elder Yao's voice trembled as he grabbed Yun Ying's shoulder, his grip so fierce it nearly crushed her bones. "An old injury... flaring up again?"

"Yes!" Yun Ying's eyes were bloodshot. "Just now... just now, Master was meditating when he suddenly coughed up blood. Now he's unconscious!"

"How could this be... how could it suddenly flare up again..." Elder Yao murmured to himself, his wrinkled old face losing color at a visible speed, turning as pale as paper.

This was bad!

Others might not know, but how could he be unaware?

The so-called old injury of the Sect Leader was not some aftermath of a cultivation mishap. It was a wisp of saber qi, clinging to her Dao foundation, impossible to erase!

That saber qi was insidiously venomous. On ordinary days, it could be kept in check by the Sect Leader's profound cultivation and the unique cold energy of Kongxing Mountain.

But once it flared up...

Elder Yao felt a chill surging from the soles of his feet straight to his crown, his limbs turning icy cold.

There was only one possibility!

The terrifying existence that had inflicted such an injury on the Sect Leader back then...

Was very close to this Chaotic Star Sea now!

So close that the overflowing aura from that being was enough to stir the homing saber qi within the Sect Leader's body!