“Ahem… Those two Immortals really lacked any sense of public decency. They couldn’t find a deserted spot to fight? To think they dragged an innocent bystander like you into their mess.”

Sensing the trace of sorrow in the other party’s words, Qi Yuan coughed dryly to cover his awkwardness, offering a few words of cheap comfort.

The old man surnamed Shi, however, seemed to have already made his peace with it. He spoke in a faint, distant tone, “Such is the will of Heaven; what can one do? I roamed the world freely for tens of thousands of years, settling kindness and grudges, vanquishing powerful foes… yet in the end, I still could not escape the cycle of fate and reincarnation.”

He forced himself to rally his spirits and continued.

“Because I did not walk the path of the Heavenly Dao early on, I found my road severed upon reaching the peak of the Great Ascension realm. To achieve true Immortality, I could only pin my hopes on that elusive and intangible concept—’Immortal Fate’.”

Immortal Fate?

Qi Yuan’s heart skipped a beat.

According to what this mysterious Great Ascension expert had said earlier, becoming an Immortal was incredibly difficult. Aside from the Heavenly Dao path—which was arduous and harsh to a hair-raising degree—there was one unconventional route.

That was obtaining Immortal Fate.

Compared to the tangible, visible method of the Heavenly Dao path, Immortal Fate was essentially waiting for a pie to fall from the sky. Whether you got it depended entirely on your face—your luck.

Immortal Fate could be an accidental acquisition of an Immortal artifact, an Immortal pill, a legacy, or simply being the reincarnation of an Immortal. In short, anything that could allow a mortal to ascend could be called Immortal Fate.

However, Qi Yuan knew he belonged to the tribe of the eternally unlucky. He had finally gotten lucky once by awakening a System, only for it to be a troublesome, brain-dead piece of junk.

Counting on Immortal Fate was clearly out of the question. It was far more practical to honestly stick to the Heavenly Dao path…

Just as his thoughts wandered, the old man continued.

“At that time, I had already left the Realm of Cloud and Mist, venturing into the depths of the endless void to search for opportunities, until I encountered that unforeseen disaster.”

“The shockwaves from the Immortals’ battle were truly terrifying. Just a single wisp of leaking aura instantly disintegrated my Great Ascension physique. Only a remnant soul managed to escape, attaching itself to this ring.”

“Later, I burned almost all my magic power to drive the ring back to this great world. Then, I fell into a long slumber until I was awakened by that kid, Lin Zhen.”

Having finished his story, the old man heaved another heavy sigh.

“Because my death was far too sudden, I didn’t have time to arrange my affairs before disappearing for over a hundred thousand years…”

A look of understanding dawned on Qi Yuan’s face.

“You must be worried about your descendants and want to entrust me with looking after them, right?”

“You guessed wrong. In my heart, only the Great Dao remains. I have no children, no attachments, and I never even took a disciple.”

“In my later years, chasing after Immortal Fate, I severed ties with my sect early on. There is nothing left in this world that holds me.”

Hearing this, Qi Yuan frowned and tried again.

“Then, did you leave behind a massive inheritance with no one to claim it, and you plan to have this junior help you retrieve it?”

“Young friend, you guessed wrong again. My entire fortune was stored in a spatial treasure. That treasure was annihilated along with my physical body. Right now, I can’t even scrape together a single spirit stone…”

The corner of Qi Yuan’s mouth twitched.

Damn, is this old coot sick? Can’t he just speak plainly? Does he have to talk in riddles and leave sentences half-finished?

Guess, guess, guess my ass! If I foolishly take the bait again, I’ll take your surname!

At this point, a certain someone who hadn’t guessed correctly once since entering decided to give up and slack off.

After waiting a while and receiving no response, the old man seemed to find the silence somewhat dull. He had no choice but to continue on his own.

“I once discovered a Primordial World ruin containing a Primordial Divine Beast. Although that innate divine beast was exceptionally gifted with an extraordinary foundation, it was still in its juvenile stage at the time, far from its full strength.”

“I employed a powerful secret art that seized the workings of creation, spending a full hundred years planting a bloodline restriction within it, intending to nurture it as a spirit pet.”

“Unfortunately, not long after I settled it in my cave abode, the incident occurred. Divine beasts have long lifespans, easily living for millions of years. Only a little over a hundred thousand years have passed, so it has likely just reached adulthood.”

“With that divine beast’s capabilities, once free from my supervision, it would have quickly broken through the formations in the cave abode and fled.”

“What I want you to do is help find that divine beast and bring it back. In the future, if you encounter trouble, you’ll have a powerful reliance.”

A Primordial Divine Beast?

Qi Yuan was stunned for a moment, but then his expression turned difficult.

“Senior, you must be joking, right? An adult Primordial Divine Beast has at least Great Ascension level combat power.”

“You want a junior like me, who just broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, to capture a Great Ascension realm divine beast? Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”

“If we really meet, it capturing me seems far more likely.”

To be honest, this request was even more outrageous than the missions issued by the System. After all, the Trash System only arranged for him to go smurfing and stomp noobs; it would never send him on a suicide mission.

Seemingly anticipating Qi Yuan’s reaction, the old man immediately explained.

“Young friend, don’t be anxious. With the restriction I set back then, no matter how capable that beast is, it won’t be able to cause any trouble. In a moment, I will teach you a command spell. When you encounter it, just recite this chant, and it will submit obediently, not daring to resist in the slightest.”

“You have condensed a Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul, carrying a wisp of Heavenly Dao aura. That beast will instinctively feel an affinity toward you upon sensing it. It won’t easily attack you, giving you ample time to recite the spell.”

“After the task is accomplished, I will tell you the specific location of that Primordial World ruin. There, you can find all the materials needed to refine the Creation Heaven-Mending Pill, as well as many rare exotic beasts and heavenly treasures difficult to find in this world.”

“If your luck is good enough, you might even encounter the remnants of cave abodes left behind by Primordial mighty figures. Reaching the heavens in a single step is not impossible…”

The old man’s voice was low and ethereal, carrying a seductive, persuasive tone.

After pondering for a moment, Qi Yuan raised his doubts again.

“Senior, you should be aware that this world is boundless. After so much time has passed, trying to find a Primordial Divine Beast that leaves no tracks is like searching for a needle in a haystack. This junior fears it will be very difficult to accomplish.”

“Young friend, rest assured. If you agree, I will use Lin Zhen’s hands tonight to craft a positioning compass and have it delivered to you first thing tomorrow morning.”

“As long as that beast appears within a radius of a hundred thousand miles, the compass will automatically lock onto its position. You just need to follow the pointer to track it down.”

“This…”

Qi Yuan hesitated slightly.

Although the reward seemed extremely generous, it sounded more like an empty promise. Who knew if that so-called Primordial World ruin had already been picked clean by others?

The only thing that actually piqued his interest was the Primordial Divine Beast itself.

A Great Ascension realm innate divine beast… if utilized properly, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous asset.

There was no time limit anyway. At most, he could use the command spell to order it around for eighty or a hundred years before returning it.

Although his Sect had Great Ascension realm patriarchs, they weren’t people a Holy Scion like him could order around at will. They all secluded themselves in the sect’s pocket realms to meditate, generally never showing their faces unless it was a matter of life and death for the sect.

If he could really get a Great Ascension level combatant as a personal thug, wouldn’t he be able to truly walk unhindered through the cultivation world?

Thinking this, Qi Yuan finally made up his mind.

“In that case, this junior is willing to give it a try!”