Being mocked so thoroughly by Qingyue, the little gourd’s round, fair face flushed a deep red, sputtering angrily, "I am not a little brat; I am a Ninth-Grade Pill Spirit."

"A Pill Spirit?"

Nie Kong was rather surprised and quickly silenced Qingyue, who was about to deliver another sarcastic remark.

"Yes, a Pill Spirit. In the Spirit Abode, there are countless medicinal herbs and countless Illusionary Pills. Only this Ninth-Grade Illusionary Pill of mine, the Di Xue Gourd Pill, was able to achieve sentience," the little gourd boasted proudly.

Nie Kong realized that the so-called Illusionary Pills must be terminology from the Spirit Illusion Era, much like the Spirit Herbs on the Celestial Spirit Continent or the Nether Pills of the Underworld Realm today.

If medicinal herbs could gain sentience, then refined Illusionary Pills naturally also possessed that potential. Especially the Spirit Herbs Nie Kong refined in the "Butterfly Secret Realm" that achieved a ten-tenths fusion rate—if stored for tens of thousands of years, their chance of achieving sentience would be even greater.

"How did you escape? And where is my 'Tenth-Grade Drunken God Incense'?" the little gourd asked, still obsessing over the pill.

"Naturally, I neutralized it," Nie Kong said with a slight smile.

"Impossible."

The little gourd clearly didn't believe him. "That was the only Tenth-Grade Illusionary Pill in the Spirit Abode. It could incapacitate even an ordinary Spirit God for more than ten days. Anyone below the Spirit God level would never wake up. If you could neutralize the medicinal power of the 'Tenth-Grade Drunken God Incense,' you wouldn't have collapsed back then!"

Nie Kong chuckled, "Xiangxiang, jump up and show him." The one who neutralized the effects of the "Tenth-Grade Drunken God Incense" was actually the residual power of the Reverting Visage Herb that flowed out during Tai Yan's **flow of time. However, the one who truly helped Nie Kong out of the crisis was Xiangxiang; saying Xiangxiang neutralized it wasn't entirely inaccurate.

"Ah-yah-yah!"

The little fellow cheered and floated up.

The little gourd then noticed a purple Carefree Herb in front of Nie Kong and Tai Yan. It stared at it with blinking eyes for a moment, then suddenly cried out in agitation, "Its name is Xiangxiang? Didn't you say it was on that eagle? You lied to me, you are all bad guys! Big bad guys!"

"Who told you to be so gullible? Whatever we say, you believe it?" Qingyue pouted, wearing a mischievous smile, while Tai Yan’s delicate features couldn't help but reveal a slight grin.

"..."

The little gourd was speechless, huffing a few times with a puffed-out chest. Suddenly, it grew a bit nervous, "You... are you here to eat me? I... I’m not scared of you at all! And... and I taste terrible too. You are not Illusion Masters; eating me is useless."

Although it claimed not to be afraid, the fear clearly visible on the little gourd’s face betrayed it.

Seeing this, Nie Kong was somewhat puzzled. "A few days ago, you were quite formidable when you attacked me, unleashing wave after wave of poisonous gas. That’s only because it was me; if it were anyone else, even the most powerful Celestial Spirit expert on this continent might not have been able to withstand it."

Hearing this, the little gourd instantly deflated like a punctured ball, listlessly floating down into the Illusionary Array. "To deal with you, the biggest bad guy, I exhausted all ninety-something poisonous Illusionary Pills I painstakingly collected, and I even used the Tenth-Grade Drunken God Incense. Now I have nothing left."

"Big bad guy, please don't eat me, okay? I really don't taste good," the little gourd looked pleadingly at Nie Kong.

"Do I look like someone who enjoys eating people?" Nie Kong was speechless. You've already called me a 'Big Bad Guy,' yet you expect this 'Big Bad Guy' not to eat you?

"I’m not human yet; I'm a Pill Spirit," the little gourd stressed.

"Alright, a Pill Spirit it is," Nie Kong shook his head and smiled, grasping Qingyue’s waist with one hand while pointing at the little gourd. "Do you know what she is?"

"A little Medicine Spirit," the little gourd quickly replied.

"And her?" Nie Kong put Qingyue down and pointed at Tai Yan. "A big Medicine Spirit... much more powerful than a little Medicine Spirit, and far stronger than you, the big bad guy. Back in the swamp, she spotted me, and I didn't even dare to move against her." The little gourd glanced at Tai Yan, then quickly shifted its gaze away, seemingly fearful of her.

"You knew I discovered you?" Not only Tai Yan was puzzled, but Nie Kong and Qingyue were also confused.

"Of course. You kept clutching your head, saying it hurt... How could such a powerful big Medicine Spirit like you have headaches? As soon as I heard you mention a headache, I knew you’d found me," the little gourd declared self-righteously.

"..." The three were momentarily stunned. Nie Kong then laughed heartily, "As you can see, Tai Yan and Qingyue, these two Medicine Spirits, have long been able to take human form; they are even more precious than you. I haven't eaten them, so why would I eat you, a small Pill Spirit who can barely manage to fully transform into a human shape?"

"Really?" The little gourd found it hard to believe.

"Of course, it's true."

Nie Kong smiled and nodded. This little gourd was indeed endearing, plump and round all over, extremely cute, and possessed a rather simple temperament. Furthermore, when Nie Kong and the others were locked in the Spirit Prison, the little gourd truly hadn't intended to harm anyone. Even the poisonous gas attacks it initially used were mostly hypnotic in nature, only escalating because they had no effect on Nie Kong.

After a brief pause, Nie Kong's tone shifted abruptly. "However, you must hand over this Spirit Abode and thoroughly explain its layout to me. After that, you are free to stay or leave as you please. If you stay, I will treat you the same as Tai Yan and Qingyue. If you’d rather not, you can leave the Spirit Abode." He had initially intended to keep it for the little fellow to aid in its advancement, but now Nie Kong felt reluctant; after all, this Pill Spirit was completely different from the Dragon-Taking Grass.

"Boom!"

The little gourd’s mouth had just opened, preparing to speak, when a deafening roar echoed fiercely through the space. Nie Kong quickly looked toward the source of the sound. On the outer edge of the Illusionary Array's left side, the once brilliant lines had all dimmed. In that area, dozens of red dots were flashing incessantly, highly conspicuous.

"It's over, it's over! The eighth barrier has been broken too. Only the last one remains. They will break through soon. Even if I wanted to give you the Spirit Abode, I can’t now," the little gourd drifted over, its round little face filled with helplessness and terror. "These bad guys, they will definitely capture and eat me, sob sob sob. If I had known, I wouldn't have lured people in to absorb their life essence. Now, instead of absorbing essence, I've attracted so many bad guys."

Nie Kong frowned slightly, flashed forward, and appeared at the left edge of the Illusionary Array.

"Hey, you... what are you trying to do?"

The little gourd was startled, its body retreating dozens of meters. Seeing that Nie Kong wasn't pursuing, it finally relaxed slightly, cautiously inching two meters toward Nie Kong's location.

Nie Kong remained silent, merely observing closely. This Illusionary Array mapped out almost the entire terrain of the Spirit Abode. Behind those red dots were eight concentric circles, the lines within which were all dim and lightless. Based on the little gourd’s words, each circle represented one barrier of the Spirit Abode. Now, those red dots were approaching the last shining circle—that was the Ninth Barrier, the final defense of the Spirit Abode.