The seemingly inflicted wounds instantly sprang back to vibrant health! It must be noted that although these scars were feigned, the extent of the damage inflicted was arguably more severe than injuries from actual, grievous wounds—otherwise, how could so many high-level experts have been fooled?

Yet, after the torrent of the Sacred Fruit’s essence washed over those heavy injuries, they vanished without a trace in an instant! The efficacy of this Seven-Colored Sacred Fruit was truly extraordinary!

Feeling this clearly, Jun Mo Xie secretly rejoiced, for he perceived an added benefit to the fruit’s astonishing power: its medicinal effect was incredibly gentle and protracted in its deployment. For the human body, it offered only nourishment and absolutely no destructive repercussions.

In other words, even an ordinary person who had never cultivated any Xuan Qi could consume this robust Sacred Fruit without any fear of their body being overloaded or ruptured. This single aspect already surpassed countless legendary celestial treasures, perhaps even outperforming the miraculous elixirs recorded in the Hong Jun Pagoda...

If such a Sacred Fruit were available, wouldn't that mean...

Guan Qinghan and Dugu Xiao Yi could take it without worry?

And throughout this entire healing process, not the slightest external human assistance was required; the Sacred Fruit's power operated automatically, completing the entire course of treatment on its own! The Palace Master and the others watched intently, listening as Bai Qi Feng and the others recounted their experiences after leaving the outside world.

The power of the Sacred Fruit flowed gently yet resolutely, softly and enduringly restoring and nourishing Jun Mo Xie’s physical body. When Jun Mo Xie felt the spiritual fruit's essence flow through the Tanzhong acupoint in his chest, he knew it was time to wake up...

If he didn't wake soon, he feared these brats might actually toss him out as a corpse, or at best, treat him as a 'living dead man'...

Thus, Young Master Jun let out a low groan, slowly awoke, opened his vacant eyes, and looked weakly at the dozen or so faces above him. His eyeballs rolled around, taking in his surroundings, revealing just the right touch of genuine 'confusion' and 'pain': "I... where am I? Didn't I... didn't I die?"

It had to be said, the expression on Young Master Jun's face at this moment was absolutely worthy of competing for an Academy Award! The bewilderment, the terror, the evasiveness in his eyes, the fear, and that indescribable sense of unfamiliarity... all were so vivid and perfectly timed.

It was believable that even a person who had truly endured such an ordeal would not display an expression as lifelike and textbook-perfect as Jun Mo Xie's.

At this moment, Young Master Jun could certainly be recorded in the history of dramatic arts, becoming the stuff of textbooks for all performing arts schools! A standard-setting, exemplary 'acting' master!

"This is the Misty Illusory Mansion! Kid, you’re feeling much better now, right?" an old man leaned in and chuckled slyly.

"Misty Illusory Mansion? Is this the Netherworld?" Young Master Jun shrank back slightly, feigning great fear, his eyes wide: "May I ask if you are one of the Horse Face attendants of the Ox Head and Horse Face guards? I—I... I didn't do anything bad in the mortal realm, Wuwu, I’ve been wronged..."

"Lord Horse Face?" The old man’s face instantly went dark, his long, horse-like face contorting with instant awkwardness. The several elders beside him almost burst out laughing, but they reacted quickly, clamping their hands over their mouths.

That old man's nickname back in the day was precisely "Heavenly King Horse Face," earned because of his long, equine visage. Hearing this little brat utter those words now sent the other elders' stomachs twisting into knots from suppressed laughter.

"Horse Face Lord?" Jun Mo Xie looked at him with extreme perplexity: "But... you aren't Horse Face? How can you not be Horse Face? Could you possibly be Ox Head!?" He stroked his chin in an expression of deep thought: "But... Ox Head shouldn't look like you, should he...? At the very least, shouldn't Ox Head have horns?"

"Pfft..." "Hahahaha..." The other elders finally couldn't hold back and collapsed into laughter, shaking their bodies and their beards quivering with uncontrollable mirth.

Heavenly King Horse Face’s face turned the color of bruised liver, and he sputtered angrily: "I am not Horse Face! Nor am I Ox Head! You insolent brat, I am a human!"

"My apologies..." Jun Mo Xie quickly apologized, then continued innocently: "Esteemed benefactor, you say you are human? While you bear some resemblance to a human, there are no humans in the Netherworld. Are you perhaps the Judge? I hear he looks the most human, but where is your Book of Life and Death and your Judge's Brush?..."

"..." The elderly Horse Face nearly collapsed on the spot, his eyes wide, unable to speak. "Hahahaha, the innocence of youth often leads to great revelations..." A roar of laughter shook the heavens.

It had been nearly two thousand years since anyone had seen that old fellow so utterly defeated. To witness it today was an eye-opening experience.

This newcomer was simply too hilarious. Especially the way he delivered such laugh-out-loud lines with an expression of fear mixed with innocence—it was impossible for anyone present not to burst into laughter.

And so, Jun Mo Xie’s entrance into the Illusory Mansion began with resounding success. Everyone now knew that a dazed-looking youngster had arrived who mistook the Misty Illusory Mansion for the Netherworld...

And worse... Heavenly King Horse Face had somehow become Ox Head, Horse Face, and the Judge all rolled into one...

This incident became a much-discussed topic for a long time, adding a refreshing ripple of liveliness to the usually tranquil Mansion. On the third day of his arrival, Jun Mo Xie was completely 'recovered'!

This greatly relieved Cao Guo Feng and the others: the efficacy of the Seven-Colored Sacred Fruit was indeed extraordinary, and the constitution of someone with an Ethereal Physique was certainly beyond the ordinary!

The main reason for his swift recovery, however, was that Young Master Jun simply could not stand lying still any longer... Otherwise, given his 'injuries,' resting for at least ten days would have been considered normal...

Jun Mo Xie even felt like he was developing bedsores on his backside...

Furthermore, these three days spent feigning injury were anything but peaceful. People came to visit the legendary Ethereal Physique almost constantly; one group left only for another to arrive. One particularly lecherous old man, whose teeth were nearly all gone, came, examined Jun Mo Xie’s constitution closely, and naturally expressed astonishment—though this was now routine.

But this old fellow seemed unsatisfied, lifting Jun Mo Xie’s quilt to look at his lower body. He nearly jumped in shock, exclaiming repeatedly, "As expected of the Ethereal Physique, Mother of God, what a large one! It’s true!" Jun Mo Xie nearly kicked this lecherous old face. Damn it, even if it was an examination of the Ethereal Physique, must one check that area?

That was the key to personal privacy; did this man have no sense of moral standards at all...

Now, Young Master Jun was sitting in a rocking chair in the courtyard, basking leisurely in the sun.

This courtyard belonged to Cao Guo Feng personally.

Since arriving, Jun Mo Xie had not stepped outside.

Primarily because he was newly arrived and the Ethereal Physique drew so much attention, he dared not move around casually. Of course, the main reason was... Saint Emperor Cao was overly concerned for his heir apparent. He made five or six rounds of inspection every night, as if tending to an infant...

This level of care suggested not a master taking a disciple, but rather welcoming an ancestor home—pampering him daily, willingly, and even finding joy in it...

If Young Master Jun tried to slip away in the dead of night, and Saint Emperor Cao discovered his precious jewel was gone... wouldn't that risk causing a myocardial infarction?

The other six Saint Emperors who returned with him were also frequent visitors these past few days, departing reluctantly only late at night, only to return early the next morning.

The intention of the Saint Emperors and the other elders was benevolent: A fine young man lying down all day—how tedious, how lonely, how solitary...

So, naturally, we must keep him company...

This wasn't just one person keeping him company, but five, six, seven... They were unaware that their meticulous, constant companionship was driving this Ethereal Physique nearly to the brink of collapse...

Gently breathing the air here, Jun Mo Xie felt that the Illusory Mansion didn't seem much different from the outside Xuan Xuan Continent.

Cao Guo Feng was sitting next to Jun Mo Xie, looking at his precious disciple with a contented expression. Although the formal discipleship ceremony hadn't taken place yet, Cao Guo Feng felt such formalities were best skipped. With the boy right here, how could he possibly run off? This was within the Illusory Mansion; who would be shameless enough to try and snatch him away?

If even the Palace Master couldn't take him, then naturally no one else could!

"Is this the legendary Illusory Mansion? It doesn't look quite like I imagined," Jun Mo Xie remarked, seemingly just chatting idly.

"The Illusory Mansion is an independent space! Although it is separated from the Xuan Xuan Continent by two distinct spaces, the fundamental nature of these two spaces is the same!"

Cao Guo Feng happily explained. Speaking with his precious disciple brought him immense joy and an indescribable sense of fulfillment...

"Back then, Senior Nine Nether First Young Master, upon returning from his travels, used his vast divine abilities to carve out this space. The Senior originally intended to use this location to connect to other realms..."

A look of reverence crossed Cao Guo Feng's face. This was the first time Jun Mo Xie had seen such reverence directed toward the name Nine Nether First Young Master.

Cao Guo Feng continued: "But later he discovered that this space he created could only connect to the Xuan Xuan Continent space, and no other realms. This did not align with his original intent, so it was ultimately set aside... merely as a secret space to store some of his personal belongings... The Mansion's ultimate treasure, the Seven-Colored Sacred Fruit, is a divine fruit he personally planted in those days..."

Jun Mo Xie hummed in acknowledgment, secretly curling his lip. That fellow, Nine Nether First Young Master, must have visited Earth once, coveted their storage artifacts, and then tried to replicate one upon returning.

As for the Seven-Colored Sacred Fruit, it was very likely something he prepared for his wives. After all, his wives eventually departed with him. Even if a few of them possessed formidable strength themselves, it was unlikely all of them did; they would certainly require special celestial treasures like the Seven-Colored Sacred Fruit, which possessed gentle efficacy and astonishing results... It must be so!

Perhaps the only unexpected outcome was that this man, in trying to imitate something, ended up creating a monstrous, hybrid space, forcing him to continuously increase his power to maintain and repair it... When he reached a sufficiently high realm, he actually began to cleave open the chaos here, restarting the cycle of Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Yin, Yang, the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars to form his own world...

It was originally rumored that the first founder of the Illusory Mansion was a disciple of the Nine Nether First Young Master, but that turned out to be a misunderstanding; that founder must have been the man himself...

(I stayed up for several consecutive nights, my eyes are like a rabbit's, but my spirit is highly energized—I can’t help it, I took two sleeping pills. Going to sleep now... Apologies again! *End of Chapter, for more details, please look forward to the next installment.)

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