Wang Anzhi and Yun Fan

But it made sense. The ingredients used to make the Dragon's Beard Candy were all spirit wheat, spirit honey, and spirit fruits imbued with spiritual energy.

These ingredients inherently contained the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. After being skillfully cooked, the spiritual energy didn't dissipate; instead, it became even more concentrated.

Once the finished product was made, the overflowing spiritual energy naturally tended to form various anomalous phenomena.

A trace of delight flashed across Gu Changyuan's eyes. He walked straight to the long table without the slightest hesitation, raised his hand to pick up the top piece of Dragon's Beard Candy, and gently placed it in his mouth.

The moment it entered his mouth, the crispy threads melted on his tongue. There was no stickiness at all; rather, it was fluffy and crisp. The sweet and refreshing taste spread from the tip of his tongue throughout his entire mouth.

Delicious.

A look of satisfaction appeared on Gu Changyuan's face.

Seeing the Holy Ancestor so pleased, the heavy stones in the two women's hearts instantly dropped. They knew the Dragon's Beard Candy they made had definitely met the Holy Ancestor's requirements.

Genuine smiles blossomed on their faces. They looked at Gu Changyuan with burning gazes, full of anticipation for his verbal approval.

"How is it, Holy Ancestor?"

One of the female disciples asked carefully, a hint of joy in her tone.

Gu Changyuan nodded heavily, his tone approving.

"Very good. The taste is exactly to my liking. You two should try some as well."

The two women exchanged a glance and each picked up a piece, placing it in their mouths.

The moment the pastry melted on their tongues, their eyes lit up.

"Mhm! It really is delicious!"

They narrowed their eyes, their faces filled with heartfelt joy.

Naturally, they were very satisfied with their own work.

Gu Changyuan raised his hand and gently tapped the table.

"You did well. Later, go directly to the Holy Land Hall at Tianyuan Mountain to report this, and tell them I sent you. They will directly grant you contribution points and the corresponding resource rewards."

"Understood!"

The two women replied happily.

First, they could indulge in their hobby, and second, they could receive resource rewards—this errand was simply too good of a deal.

As for whether they worried about someone falsely claiming rewards under Gu Changyuan's name, they didn't need to overthink it at all.

It should be known that the Celestial Holy Land's rules regarding resource distribution were already strict, let alone when it involved the name of the Holy Land's old ancestor.

Whoever dared to be so bold as to attempt to falsely claim rewards would not have enough lives to pay for it, even if they had ten.

"Oh, right,"

Gu Changyuan reminded them.

"Remember to make more over the next few days. This little bit isn't enough to eat."

"Got it!"

The two women agreed with a smile, finished the remaining pastry in their hands, and turned back into the kitchen to prepare another batch before heading to the Holy Land Hall to claim their contribution points.

As for Gu Changyuan, he waved his right hand, fetching another piece of Dragon's Beard Candy through the air, and slowly savored it.

Just then, he caught sight of two familiar figures passing outside the Cloud Flavor Pavilion.

It was none other than Supreme Elder Ren Anzhi and his disciple, Yun Fan.

As they passed the doorway, Gu Changyuan called out to them:

"Elder Ren, Little Fan."

The two paused their steps, turned their gazes into the Cloud Flavor Pavilion, and upon seeing the figure in the courtyard, immediately walked in briskly and bowed respectfully:

"Holy Ancestor."

Gu Changyuan waved his hand, signaling the two to rise. His gaze fell upon them as he casually asked:

"Are you heading out?"

Ren Anzhi nodded, looking at Yun Fan beside him:

"Yes. Today I plan to accompany Little Fan back to his hometown."

Gu Changyuan nodded in acknowledgement, a flash of understanding in his eyes.

"Makes sense. Counting the time, it's been three years since he came to the Holy Land. It is time for him to go back and take a look."

Yun Fan was the ragged man he had met during the Tianyuan Sacred Ceremony three years ago when he had just returned to the Holy Land—the one who had desperately climbed up the sixty-fifth step just to become a disciple of a Supreme Elder.

At that time, he was nothing but skin and bones, yet his eyes held an unyielding light.

Now, having cultivated in the Celestial Holy Land for three years and undergone the baptism of spiritual energy, his appearance had completely changed.

With a tall and straight posture, a clean and sharp face, and wearing a neat cyan Daoist robe, standing next to Ren Anzhi, he already possessed the demeanor of a cultivator.

After that incident back then, many Supreme Elders took a liking to this desperate child and wanted to take him as a disciple.

Many Supreme Elders had witnessed Yun Fan's performance at the Sacred Ceremony. They greatly appreciated his tenacity and perseverance, and one after another, they extended olive branches to him.

However, Yun Fan ultimately chose Ren Anzhi to be his master.

Over the past three years, under Ren Anzhi's meticulous guidance, Yun Fan had cultivated extremely hard.

He spent almost every day cultivating, and it was rare to see him spend much time on anything other than his practice.

Yun Fan came from a remote mortal village in the Eastern Continent. His fate had been fraught with hardship; his mother had passed away while giving birth to him.

Therefore, since he was young, his father had especially doted on this child that his wife had traded her life for.

He was a man of few words, the village guard, who patrolled the mountains every day to protect the village from intrusion.

He didn't speak much, but he would save all the best things for his child.

But heaven did not grant people's wishes. During a bandit raid on the village, his father fought bravely and ultimately died a heroic death.

After his father's passing, the young Yun Fan became an orphan.

Fortunately, the villagers were all very kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see him all alone, so Yun Fan grew up eating meals provided by various families.

A bowl of porridge from the east house, a piece of flatbread from the west house.

After more than a decade together, Yun Fan had long since regarded them as his closest kin.

He knew gratitude and sought to repay it.

Since he was very young, he had sworn in his heart that he would definitely let these people who had treated him well live a good life.

That year, a Golden Core cultivator accidentally crashed into the mountain forest outside the village, covered in blood and on the verge of death.

It was Yun Fan who found him and called the villagers to carry him back to the village together.

The Golden Core cultivator's injuries were extremely severe, and ordinary mortal medicinal herbs couldn't alleviate them at all.

But the villagers didn't understand these things; they only knew that this person needed help.

Some dug out their family's treasured wound medicine, some went into the mountains to pick the best herbs, and some stayed up all night watching over the cultivator, afraid he would stop breathing.

Lying on the bed, watching these mortal strangers bustling about for him, the cultivator felt a complex mix of emotions.

Having struggled in the cultivation world for many years, what he had seen the most was betrayal and scheming.

He thought the warmth and coldness of human nature in this world were nothing more than that.

Yet he never expected that in this remote mountain village, a group of mortals would give him a warmth he had never experienced before.

Although this Golden Core cultivator only had a Golden Core cultivation base, he possessed a secret technique to see through a person's aptitude and talent.

He could tell at a glance that the seemingly ordinary Yun Fan was no ordinary mortal. His cultivation talent far exceeded his own. If he could step onto the path of cultivation, his future would definitely be boundless.

Thus, he decided to give Yun Fan an opportunity, allowing him to head to a cultivation sect.

He was certain that with Yun Fan's talent, he would definitely be valued by a sect and accepted as a disciple of high status.

However, he would absolutely never let Yun Fan step into the sect that had betrayed him.

After much thought, right before he died, he spoke of the place he had yearned for his entire life—the Celestial Holy Land.

At the same time, he handed over his lifelong cultivation legacy entirely to Yun Fan.