Time trickled by. Tai Shuyan maintained a placid expression, but Luan Ye Xin couldn't suppress her growing nervousness, her gaze constantly flicking between Marquis Wu and Nie Kong.

"Hah!"

Finally, Marquis Wu let out a soft sigh, his eyes—as deep and dark as black holes—snapped open and shut.

Luan Ye Xin pressed immediately, "Martial Uncle, well?"

"Excellent!"

Marquis Wu’s face showed deep emotion, filled with feeling, he declared, "I truly never imagined that the experiences of this Tai Shuang and his sister, Tai Yan, would be so arduous and bizarre. To search for the naturally supreme 'Spirit Soul Illusion Crystal,' these two small children drifted through the continent fragment zones for an entire span of several years."

Tai Shuyan couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

Luan Ye Xin was equally brimming with curiosity.

Marquis Wu's lips moved slightly, and he began to recount the history of 'Tai Shuang' and 'Tai Yan' in meticulous detail. As Tai Shuyan and Luan Ye Xin, both Ninth-Tier powerhouses, listened, their amazement only deepened...

"Mm!"

With a soft grunt from his throat, Nie Kong finally resurfaced from that memory stream.

A damp sensation reached him. Nie Kong lifted a hand to touch his cheek, only to freeze the next moment, realizing he was weeping profusely. He quickly wiped the tear tracks away, looked left and right, and saw Marquis Wu sitting motionless, eyes closed as before; Tai Shuyan wore a gentle smile; and Luan Ye Xin had slightly reddened eyes filled with pity.

"What just happened?"

Nie Kong asked with confusion, though his heart felt crystal clear.

The instant Marquis Wu made his move, he had deployed the 'Mirror Flower Water Moon' technique, relentlessly fabricating memories for 'Tai Shuang.' Unconsciously, Nie Kong's mind had completely merged with the experiences of the character 'Tai Shuang.' In that brief time, Nie Kong felt as if he had embodied 'Tai Shuang,' living through more than thirty years of bitterness and joy. In the end, he had even moved himself to tears with the memories he had created.

In reality, all those memories were constructs generated by 'Mirror Flower Water Moon,' and they had successfully fooled Marquis Wu.

"Nothing happened,"

Luan Ye Xin quickly explained. "Brother Tai Shuang, Martial Uncle Marquis Wu has agreed to let you view the 'Chaos Jade Codex.' We are now... uh..."

Marquis Wu waved a hand. "Ye Xin, there's no need to hide this. Tai Shuang, I just used the 'Heavenly Eye Heart Perception Art' to examine decades of your experiences."

"What?"

Nie Kong shot up, bursting with fury.

If Marquis Wu and the others had played ignorant, Nie Kong would have maintained the pretense. Now that the truth was out, Nie Kong naturally had to provide the appropriate reaction. By all logic, anyone whose memories were spied upon would be enraged, especially since Nie Kong was a peak Ninth-Tier powerhouse and a Ninth-Grade Dàyào Dángwáng.

Marquis Wu’s expression remained unchanged, calm as ever. "Tai Shuang, I hope you understand. You are too young, and your background is too mysterious. Whether you join the Pill Immortal Sect or choose the Primordial Heaven Mansion, someone will inevitably scrutinize your memories in a similar manner. Otherwise, you would never gain access to the 'Chaos Jade Codex' or the 'Primordial Heaven Scripture.'"

"Ove—" Nie Kong choked on his words.

"Brother Tai Shuang, Martial Uncle speaks the truth," Tai Shuyan said with a smile. "If you don't believe us, you can go ask Du Jian right now; he should still be at the Mountain Villa of Creation."

"You, you all..."

Nie Kong’s face cycled through shades of emotion as he paced around the room, his breathing growing somewhat labored.

After a long pause, Nie Kong suddenly stopped pacing. Under the astonished gaze of Tai Shuyan and Luan Ye Xin, he strode toward Marquis Wu in three quick steps, bent over, lowered his voice, and ground out through clenched teeth, "I ask you, did you look at the memories of me and my sister Tai Yan when we were doing exercises?"

Doing exercises? Luan Ye Xin perked up her ears, acutely catching those key phrases. It was the first time she had ever heard someone describe that in such a manner. She blinked in realization, her cheeks warming slightly, but Nie Kong’s tone of inquiry was so earnest that she couldn't help but suppress a smile.

Marquis Wu frowned indignantly. "What sort of person do you take me for? Why would I look at that kind of memory!"

"Good that you didn't look!"

Nie Kong glared intensely at Marquis Wu for nearly ten seconds before resentfully settling back into his original position, his face showing unconcealed frustration mixed with helplessness.

Seeing this, Luan Ye Xin quickly steered the conversation, "Martial Uncle, Senior Brother, why don't we take Brother Tai Shuang to the 'Thousand Mechanisms Hall' right now?"

"That is fine," Marquis Wu nodded. With a flash of shadow, he exited the room.

"Brother Tai Shuang, please!"

"..."

The Thousand Mechanisms Hall was only a few hundred meters from this room, nestled on a mountain ridge.

Under the dim night sky, Marquis Wu swept his long sleeves, walking slowly ahead. Nie Kong followed silently, his expression still somewhat sullen. Tai Shuyan and Luan Ye Xin assumed he was merely sulking over the earlier incident, unaware that Nie Kong's true consciousness was already drifting far beyond the Divine Firmament Fate...

Divine Splendor Peak, a place of profound quiet.

Within the dense mountain forest, two small figures—one purple, one crimson—whipped their root tendrils as they sped through the foliage. They were Xiangxiang and Tai Yan, transformed into Returning Gaze Grass.

Moving silently and swiftly, like specters, they disturbed no one along the way.

Guided by Xiangxiang, the two figures soon reached the valley shrouded in swirling mist. The little ones had visited once before at midday; like experienced guides, they shot into the fog first, with Tai Yan closely following. Although the Illusion Array could block the aura from inside the valley, it posed no hindrance to them.

The snow-white Pagoda of Divine Communication reappeared. The two Pill Immortal Sect experts who had carved the illusion talismans were nowhere in sight.

After quietly lying low in the undergrowth for a short while, the Purple Luo Illusion Spirit Incense and the Returning Gaze Grass cautiously crept toward the brightly lit white pagoda. The scene on the first floor of the Pagoda of Divine Communication was largely unchanged from noon. The Spirit God Hall's Heavenly Spirit Masters surrounded Kou Xilai, treating him like the center of a constellation.

Zhan Tianfeng and Ye Haoran, both Eighth-Grade Dàyào Dángwáng, occasionally thrust out their palms, driving powdery Dàyào ingredients into the exposed chest and back of Kou Xilai. Xiangxiang and Tai Yan paused their observation after only a few seconds pressed against the door crack.

"It's still not working,"

Ye Haoran shook his head dejectedly.

The surrounding figures exchanged looks, all bearing expressions of resignation. Zhan Tianfeng said, "It seems we have no choice but to agree to that condition and exchange it for the intervention of a Pill Immortal Sect Spirit God."

Kou Xilai wearily opened his eyes, murmuring, "The Chaos Jade Codex, the upper volume is the supreme treasure of our Spirit God Hall. To hand it over just like that... I truly am unwilling."

Ye Haoran stated seriously, "Hall Master, although that talisman artifact is precious, the 'Chaos Heavenly Fire' sealed within cannot be absorbed; it is effectively useless to us. If we can exchange it for the intervention of a Pill Immortal Sect Spirit God to heal your injuries, Hall Master, it is entirely worthwhile."

"Yes, Hall Master, Haoran is right," another agreed.

"The Pill Immortal Sect is still treating us with courtesy now, purely because the 'Dark Night Divine Venerable' is close friends with the 'Pill Heaven Divine Venerable' who hails from the Pill Immortal Sect. They haven't resorted to outright theft of our upper volume of the 'Chaos Jade Codex.' But if we continue to refuse the exchange, their patience will eventually wear thin."

"It's better to trade now for the Hall Master's recovery than to risk having it seized later."

"..."

Zhan Tianfeng and the others persuaded him one after another. Kou Xilai frowned deeply, hesitating. "Quiet down for now. Let me think about it again. Let me think properly... Hmm..."