“Er…” Wang Hao scratched his head, looking anywhere but at her eyes. “You were dying in that timeline. If the illusion claimed your mind, your body in the real world would have perished. I had to kill you to wake you up.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Ji Xiaotang huffed, crossing her arms. “Why am I always the one getting stabbed?”

Unconsciously, she slipped into the playful, petulant tone she had used during their illusory lifetimes. A thousand years of emotional entanglement wasn’t something she could simply shake off.

“Maybe my Dao Heart is just firmer,” Wang Hao offered a weak excuse.

In truth, he suspected his resilience came from his modern soul. He often felt detached from this cultivation world; a fabricated dreamscape had even less hold on him.

“Enough,” Wang Hao said, shifting gears to break the awkward tension. “We’re both hurt. Let’s stabilize our injuries and then search the area. There might be treasures here.”

He pulled several items from his storage bag. “Here are Spirit-Gathering Pills to restore your Divine Consciousness, and two Jasper Moon Fruits. Consuming these should push you to the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment. Consider it my betrothal gift.”

“Hmph. You think you can marry a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with just a few snacks?” Ji Xiaotang pouted, though her eyes locked onto the glowing fruits with undeniable hunger.

Treasures that could save a cultivator a decade of hard labor were irresistible.

Wang Hao pulled her into a gentle embrace, laughing softly. “I said that was the betrothal gift. As for the bride price, I already told you: I will raise a Golden Core cultivator for the Ji family. It’s not convenient right now, but once we return, I’ll refine a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills. You can start scouting your clan for talent.”

With the Essence Condensing Fruits now ripe in his farm, Wang Hao would soon have a surplus of the pills.

The Ji family was a Golden Core clan, so obtaining such pills wasn’t impossible for them, but resources were always scarce. Wang Hao’s generosity made Ji Xiaotang’s heart flutter. This man might have murdered her dozens of times in their dreams, but in reality, he spoiled her.

She retrieved a jade slip from her robes.

“This is a secret technique I practice, the Blood Escape Technique. It’s the only reason I survived the White Bear. You hunt in the open seas often; mastering this will give you a lifeline.”

Wang Hao accepted it happily. He scanned the contents—it was a burst-movement art powered by burning Essence Blood. At the early Foundation Establishment stage, one could flash five hundred li instantly. By the late stage, three to five thousand li was possible. At that speed, even a Golden Core cultivator would need fifteen minutes to catch up.

It was the ultimate survival tool.

The two sat in meditation, relying on pills to suppress their internal injuries. A full recovery would take a year, but they didn’t have that luxury. They simply ensured their cultivation foundations wouldn’t crack before standing up to explore.

Ji Xiaotang explained that she found this place using an ancestral map. The Pill Cauldron Sect was once a Nascent Soul powerhouse that pioneered the Southern Sea. However, after their two Nascent Soul ancestors were grievously wounded by beast kings, the sect declined.

Six thousand years ago, the sect produced a new Nascent Soul cultivator, True Monarch Scorching Sun. But just as they were poised to rise again, disaster struck. A massive beast tide—likely guided by rival human factions over disputes of profit—breached their gates.

To preserve their legacy, True Monarch Scorching Sun dismissed the disciples and sank the entire island into the ocean, trapping the invading beasts inside.

“My ancestor was an inner disciple,” Ji Xiaotang explained. “According to his records, we are standing in the core zone. Beneath this platform lies a fourth-grade spiritual vein. Even after a thousand years, the byproducts of such energy will be priceless.”

They approached the edge of the platform, preparing to descend to the vein below.

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the cavern.

“Young friends, please stay your steps.”

A shimmering phantom materialized before them—an old man in green robes, his aura flickering like a dying candle.

“Who goes there?”

Wang Hao instantly pulled Ji Xiaotang behind him. With a mental command, Xiaobai and the Phantom Moon Butterfly materialized, flanking them in a defensive formation.

“There is no need for panic,” the phantom said calmly. “This old man is the one you were just discussing. The last Nascent Soul cultivator of the Pill Cauldron Sect, True Monarch Scorching Sun.”

“A Nascent Soul cultivator?”

Wang Hao and Ji Xiaotang froze, their pupils constricting. Even a remnant soul of such a being was terrifying.

“Indeed,” the True Monarch continued. “Regrettably, I am but a wisp of a remnant soul. I can do you no harm. In fact, I intend to gift you a great opportunity.”

Wang Hao didn’t relax his posture. The soul power of a Nascent Soul expert was a hundred times that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Possession was a very real threat.

Seeing their wariness, Scorching Sun sighed. “You fear possession? I will be honest—I already tried. If you had lost yourselves in the illusion, I would have taken your bodies. But your mental fortitude is extraordinary. You shattered eighty-one layers of my dreamscape. My soul is now too weak to attempt it again.”

You old fox, Wang Hao cursed silently.

He had suspected the illusion was too potent for a mere autonomous formation. It had adapted to their memories flawlessly. It turned out this old ghost had been piloting the array personally, trying to break their minds.

“Then why reveal yourself now?” Wang Hao asked coldly.

“I wished to be reborn and rebuild my sect,” Scorching Sun admitted, his voice heavy with regret. “That is now impossible. But I cannot let the Pill Cauldron Sect’s legacy die with me. I want you two to rebuild the sect in my stead.”

“And why would we agree to that?” Ji Xiaotang snapped.

She was furious. Not only had this old ghost tried to body-snatch them, but he was also responsible for the tangled emotional mess she was now in with Wang Hao.

The True Monarch chuckled. “Because I offer rewards that no cultivator can refuse. The Sect’s guarding cultivation method, the complete Alchemy inheritance, Magic Treasures, and Heaven-Earth spiritual objects. Furthermore, I will give you control of the Grand Formation. You can raise Scorching Sun Island from the depths. A private fourth-grade spiritual mountain… imagine the value.”

“Those things are already here,” Wang Hao countered. “We can find them ourselves. We don’t need your permission.”

“True,” the old man admitted. “But my remaining soul power is still connected to the array. If I am displeased, I need only open a small rift, and the sea beasts outside will swarm in. As for the inheritances, they are stored in my mind. Without my cooperation, they die with me.”

He paused, his tone shifting from bargaining to menacing.

“I could even invert the formation, flooding this entire space with the crushing pressure of the deep sea. It would destroy everything, including you.”

He smiled, the expression ghostly and thin. “Mutual destruction benefits no one. I advise you to accept my offer.”

“Shameless,” Ji Xiaotang hissed.