"Brother He, did the golden monster you were chasing manage to escape?" Mou Zilong asked, his voice deep, as if he were an entirely different person.

He Yi Ming’s heart tensed. He instantly knew he had underestimated the presence of this Divine Dao senior. This was mainly because Mou Zilong’s first impression had been overwhelmingly profound; his near-savage attire made it difficult to associate him with a Divine Dao powerhouse.

However, after a brief composure, he immediately exuded the distinctive aura of a Divine Dao expert.

"Brother Mou, rest assured, that golden monster has been subdued," He Yi Ming said, shaking his wrist slightly as he produced the long, golden proboscis from his hand.

Mou Zilong’s eyes brightened slightly. Having been in this world for many years, he recognized the object's authenticity instantly. He nodded slowly, his gaze sweeping over the Divine Dao Puppet, and commented, "Brother He certainly possesses formidable skill. Mou is truly impressed."

He Yi Ming chuckled wryly, "Brother Mou flatters me. We worked as a pair, whereas Brother Mou hunted alone; the difficulty levels are naturally incomparable."

His words were sincere. Without the assistance of the Divine Dao Puppet, he would not have managed to track the monster so easily.

Mou Zilong laughed heartily, narrowing his eyes until they held a hint of warmth. "Brother He, if this old man’s eyes are not deceiving me, you are not yet... one hundred and fifty years old this year."

Upon seeing He Yi Ming, the young man's expression had also left a deep impression on him. No matter how one looked at him, he didn't resemble a cunning, shrewd, or profoundly experienced man of several centuries. Yet, having ascended to the Divine Dao, one should logically be over two hundred years old. Mou Zilong halving that estimated age was already showing He Yi Ming considerable respect, treating him as a once-in-a-millennium genius.

He Yi Ming touched the bridge of his nose. "Brother Mou's insight is sharp. This younger brother is twenty-four this year."

He wasn't trying to show off; since they were interacting, and others like Bing Xiaotian already knew his real age, he figured honesty was best.

All of Mou Zilong’s movements paused. His narrowed eyes snapped back into wide, copper bells. After a long hesitation, he spoke slowly, "So, Brother He is already one hundred and twenty-four."

He Yi Ming coughed lightly. "This younger brother is twenty-four."

Mou Zilong’s eyes widened progressively, getting rounder and larger, to the point where He Yi Ming worried they might explode right there.

After a long stretch of silence, he let out a deep breath. "Good, good, good..."

As to what was good, he refused to elaborate further. Yet, subtly, He Yi Ming could sense an extremely delicate shift in Mou Zilong’s attitude towards him.

If, at first, his gaze carried a certain superiority befitting a Divine Dao elder, that superiority had now completely vanished.

Of course, given Mou Zilong's status, groveling was out of the question, but he had clearly lowered his guard, openly displaying a desire to form a connection with He Yi Ming.

"Brother He, what is the situation outside?" After some casual banter, Mou Zilong finally brought up a matter that greatly concerned him.

"Brother Mou, the outside world has changed drastically compared to before," He Yi Ming didn't conceal anything, as this information would soon spread here anyway.

When Mou Zilong heard about the changes in the world's elemental power and the unbelievable temporal disparity, his copper-bell eyes seemed to widen even further.

After a long pause, he sighed deeply. "Ah well. For this old man, whether it is five thousand years or five hundred years, it makes little difference anymore."

He Yi Ming felt a slight stir in his heart. "Senior, before you entered this place in the past, which sect's Divine Dao Elder were you?"

The question was somewhat presumptuous, but considering the man was from over five thousand years ago, any past grievances had long dissolved into dust, so it wasn't entirely out of line.

Mou Zilong gave a wry smile and shook his head. "This old man has no sect or school; I am but a rogue cultivator."

He Yi Ming's gaze instantly filled with greater respect. It turned out this elder, like Ji Mofan Shu and Deng Yichen, belonged to that grassroots group who achieved enlightenment through self-study.

Compared to those Divine Dao masters who benefited from powerful sect inheritances, their path to advancement was exponentially more difficult. This was precisely why He Yi Ming held them in higher esteem.

Mou Zilong’s expression subtly shifted; he seemed to recall something. "Three days ago, this old man sensed surging divine power in the cosmos. This phenomenon should signify someone advancing to the Divine Dao. I initially assumed it was a Human Dao pinnacle expert who entered this place alongside a Divine Dao master, but now it seems the one who advanced must be you, Brother."

He Yi Ming nodded slightly. "Correct, it was I."

Mou Zilong’s gaze turned slightly reproachful. "Brother He, pardon my bluntness, but having just advanced to the Divine Dao, your control over the world's energy has not reached its optimal state. At such a time, you truly shouldn't have been pursuing that golden monster." He sighed softly. "If I had known initially, I never would have let you go."

He Yi Ming blinked suspiciously, stating firmly, "Brother Mou, that golden monster was nothing special; wasn't it still killed by my Puppet?"

He subconsciously attributed the success to the Divine Dao Puppet, and Mou Zilong had no reason to doubt him. Yet, he was unaware that although He Yi Ming had just advanced to the Divine Dao, his constitution was exceptionally unique, forging the most powerful supreme battle arts from both East and West into his being, making him incomparable to ordinary Divine Dao experts.

The Five Elements Grand Reincarnation Flower and the Union of Light and Dark were sufficient to grant him peerless cultivation at his current level, and the existence of the Cloud Mist Clone was equally not to be underestimated.

Mou Zilong shook his head slightly, looking at He Yi Ming with considerable worry. He said solemnly, "Brother He, the death creatures here are tremendously strong. For now, with only scattered monsters, you can easily evade them. But once their reinforcements arrive, which happens once every hundred years, you cannot afford the slightest carelessness."

Hearing this solemn warning, He Yi Ming’s heart also tightened. He nodded heavily, taking the strength of these monsters far more seriously.

A thought flashed, and He Yi Ming suddenly recalled a question. He asked with curiosity, "Brother Mou, the Divine Dragon once mentioned that when you joined forces to open the passage, your goal wasn't to come here, but to reach a place of life. What was that place?"

This question had lingered in his mind for days, but he dared not ask the Divine Dragon. Now that he had advanced to the Divine Dao and faced an expert of the same realm, he finally spoke his mind.

Mou Zilong’s face instantly turned quite grim. Although it had been centuries for him, this very incident had trapped all the Divine Dao experts here, so every detail of the past remained vivid and clear in his memory.

"Brother He, all this calamity was brought about by a scoundrel among our human Divine Dao cultivators," Mou Zilong said fiercely.

He Yi Ming immediately picked up on the intense hatred in his words.

"Back then, the Divine Dao experts from all regions coexisted peacefully in the East and West. But that old fellow, the Divine Calculator, suddenly came to us, claiming he had discovered a land of life. There was a treasure there that none of us could refuse. Under his temptation, we reached an agreement with the Divine Beasts of the world, and we committed all our efforts to helping him open the spatial passage." Mou Zilong gave a cold laugh. "You already know the result: this place was never a land of life at all, but a place teeming with death."

He Yi Ming hesitated slightly. "That senior was also named Divine Calculator?"

Mou Zilong let out a hollow laugh. "Brother He, actually, 'Divine Calculator' is not the name of a single person, but a title enjoyed only by the universally recognized foremost master of divination in that era. The Divine Calculator of our generation was an extraordinary man; he could divine events a thousand years into the future and a hundred years into the past—the universally acknowledged greatest so far. If not for that, we wouldn't have fallen for such a massive deception."

Although Mou Zilong’s words carried much resentment toward that Divine Calculator, he also harbored considerable envy and admiration for his abilities.

He Yi Ming nodded slightly. "Where is that Divine Calculator now?"

Mou Zilong snorted coldly. "After opening this passage, he was filled with guilt and charged alone into the fray against countless death creatures." He shook his head and said no more.

He Yi Ming was deeply shaken. He now understood clearly that even Divine Dao masters could perish under the siege of these terrifying monsters.

Mou Zilong sighed for a long time before finally saying, "However, the land of life that the Divine Calculator spoke of back then was truly alluring, and it was an offer impossible to refuse. It would have been wonderful if the path we opened truly led to a land of life."

He Yi Ming’s eyes shone brightly. To have an enticement so potent that all Divine Dao experts could not refuse—what could it be?

Mou Zilong clearly sensed He Yi Ming's gaze, which seemed almost tangible. He waved his hand. "The Divine Calculator described a miraculous world where there existed a medicine. Humans could ingest it at birth, and upon reaching adulthood, everyone would transform into a Xiantian expert."

He Yi Ming's mouth fell open, his expression one of utter bewilderment.

Mou Zilong chuckled. "You’re startled too, aren't you? We were equally incredulous when we first heard those words. If it hadn't been the Divine Calculator speaking, we would have erupted in curses."

He Yi Ming's throat bobbed a few times as he forced out a slight smile. "Brother Mou, even if everyone were a Xiantian expert, they wouldn't be so highly valued by you, would they?"

Mou Zilong repeatedly shook his head. "Of course, we don't care about Xiantian experts, but..." His copper-bell eyes widened to their fullest as he uttered a sentence that both deeply moved and utterly terrified He Yi Ming: "What if there was also the Elixir of Immortality there?"