"I have no such patience," the short man snapped. Frightened by the vines just moments before, he drew his long saber and pressed the tip against E Qian's head. "Stop playing games. Undo these mechanisms for us, now."

"What are you doing!" Old Liu cared deeply for E Qian. He kicked the short man's blade away and lunged forward to pull her up, but his movement enraged the Bearded Man. The Bearded Man brought his saber down in a vicious strike, hitting E Qian’s leg. Instantly, blood erupted, splashing into the Jade Pool.

"E Qian, are you alright?" Old Liu urgently pressed a hand against her wound. Though the cut was small, it made E Qian bleed profusely.

E Qian shook her head, her expression etched with pain.

He glared furiously at the Bearded Man. Bitter resentment churned within him over his loss of abilities; otherwise, a hundred men like the Bearded Man would be nothing to him.

"Boss, look at the water! The water level is dropping!" At that moment, the short man pointed in surprise at the pool. E Qian’s blood had splattered onto the serpentine pillar, and the snake’s mouth seemed to be plugged, ceasing its flow of water. "Could the passage be within this pool?"

The Bearded Man also looked toward the pool. The serpentine pillar instantly flushed a deep crimson. The snake carved upon it appeared to come alive, its belly rising and falling incessantly. It acted like a straw, sucking the water from the pool, but it stopped shortly after, as if its energy had failed.

Observing the scene, Old Liu understood the pillar's operational principle. If he wasn't mistaken, this pillar required fresh blood to drain the pool's water, much like the door in the Eternal Lotus Dream Palace, which needed blood to open.

The Bearded Man grasped this simple logic as well. He grabbed E Qian from the ground and brought her face close to his. "No choice, young lady. It seems your destiny won't let you off this time. Don't blame us."

"Hey, don't!" Though his powers were greatly diminished, Old Liu’s temper was not. He pulled E Qian behind him and addressed the Bearded Man. "You want to use blood to activate this serpentine pillar? Use mine!"

"Old Liu, what are you saying!" The Bearded Man had been brothers with Old Liu for several years, and hearing Old Liu actually contradict him for an outsider ignited his fury. He slapped Old Liu across the face. "Don't think that just because you’ve been with me for a few years you can speak so freely. If your blood worked, I would have killed you long ago!"

The Bearded Man was immensely strong; the blow sent Old Liu sprawling onto the ground. As he tried to rise, the short man and another brute pinned him down tightly. Unable to break free, Old Liu could only plead, "Boss, no! Don't! Use my blood, my blood will work!"

The Bearded Man hauled E Qian up and slashed her wrist with his blade. He held her body steady, positioning her hand directly over the serpentine pillar. At that moment, streams of blood flowed from E Qian’s wrist, dripping one by one onto the pillar. The snake carved upon it seemed to sense something, its eyes suddenly glowing red as its abdomen began to undulate with even more violent rhythm, and the water in the pool diminished, receding lower and lower.

"Enough, stop!" Old Liu struggled uselessly, his heart wrenching as he watched E Qian grow faint. "If this continues, she will die, Boss!"

"Rumble..." As the pool water dried up, the entire cavern began to shake again. The mountain encompassing the outside split apart, tumbling away to the sides. In that instant, the ground where they stood lifted like an isolated island, soaring toward the heavens.

"Ah..." One of the brutes holding Old Liu was too high up and couldn't find a handhold. As the ground convulsed, he tumbled off, falling into what was no longer solid earth but a bottomless abyss.

Old Liu finally managed to throw off the short man holding him. In that moment, only E Qian mattered; he had to snatch her back from the Bearded Man.

"The treasure, where is my treasure!" In the throes of the quake, the Bearded Man lost his grip on E Qian. He quickly flattened himself against the ground, barely managing to stabilize his body. But he was enraged; the pool was dry, the ground was rising, yet nothing he desired had materialized.

"E Qian!" Old Liu watched E Qian slide off the slanted edge. He lunged, managing only to grasp one of her hands. "E Qian, don't... E Qian..."

The ground tilted again at a steep angle. Old Liu, holding E Qian, slid with her toward the edge of the landmass. E Qian's entire body was suspended in mid-air.

"Grab my hand quickly!" Old Liu summoned all his strength to pull her up. But at that moment, the thick vines around them found them again. He couldn't tell how high the platform was, but he could clearly see the endless vines whipping below, ready to drag everyone down. "E Qian, wake up, wake up!"

E Qian, weakened by blood loss, had already lost consciousness. With half-closed eyes, she saw everything Old Liu was doing, but she knew it was futile. If Old Liu kept holding her, they would both fall into the abyss. In her haze, she gave Old Liu a faint smile and exerted herself to break free of his grasp.

"E Qian!" Old Liu’s hands trembled. He hadn't held onto her. He watched, helpless, as E Qian plummeted. The vines, reaching toward the sky, swept past, coiling around her body and drawing her into the dense foliage. "E Qian, you..."

As E Qian fell, the ground stopped its ascent. It had now risen to a height that touched the clouds, for everything around them was a vast expanse of white mist.

"Treasure, there must be treasure here! Find it for me! Go find it!" The earthquake had driven the Bearded Man into a frantic state. He wildly waved his great saber, trying to command his companions, but by now, they had all fallen to their deaths or been swept away by the vines. On this cloud-island among the Nine Heavens, only he and Old Liu remained!

"Light, light..." Suddenly, a strange radiance flickered in the clouds. The Bearded Man shouted and stumbled toward it. Amidst the swirling masses of vapor, there was indeed a metal box glowing with blue light. "Treasure! This is mine, mine!"

Old Liu choked back a sob and stood up. E Qian’s death filled him with utter hatred for the Bearded Man. Now that the treasure was before them, he would surely wrest it from the Bearded Man’s hands.

The blue light slowly dissipated as the Bearded Man approached. The metal box seemed to sense its owner and sprang open on its own, revealing a golden elixir.

"Is this an Immortal Pill?" The Bearded Man had never cared about elixirs; his concept of treasure was gold and silver. Now, clutching the golden pill, he felt a wave of collapse wash over him. "What good is this Immortal Pill? Will it grant eternal life?"