Bidding farewell to Ye Shanhu, Xu Changshou led Li Ling'er onto a flying boat bound for Green Ink Peak.

The moment he stepped onto the flying skiff, Xu Changshou's heart grew exceptionally heavy. He constantly calculated how to deceive Li Daotu.

If the deception failed and Li Daotu saw through his facade, how could he possibly survive?

Forget it, I can only take things one step at a time.

A man either dies with his face to the heavens, or he survives to live for ten thousand years.

"Ling'er, let us depart. I shall take you to see your Great-Grandfather."

"Oh, wonderful! I get to see Great-Grandfather soon!"

Li Ling'er buzzed with excitement. In her memories, she naturally held a vague impression of Li Daotu-the founding patriarch of their Li family and a mighty cultivator at the Foundation Establishment realm.

Every member of the Li mortal branch held nothing but absolute reverence and awe toward him.

Soon, Xu Changshou brought Li Ling'er outside Li Daotu's Daoist sanctum. Standing before the gates, he could not help but exhale a deep, stabilizing breath.

"Martial Uncle Li, disciple Xu Changshou has returned with the Exceptional Spirit Root. I have not failed my mission!"

"Hehehe, Changshou has returned. Come in quickly, come in!"

Li Daotu's hearty laughter echoed from within the sanctum.

Xu Changshou pushed open the heavy wooden doors and entered. Li Daotu already stood waiting in the courtyard, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression utterly unreadable.

"Disciple Xu Changshou pays respects to Martial Uncle Li... Ling'er, quickly kowtow to your Great-Grandfather."

"Ling'er pays her respects to Great-Grandfather!"

Li Ling'er knelt on the stone tiles and obediently kowtowed.

Within the Sect, seniority was dictated by strength. Those with higher cultivation were addressed as Senior Brother, and bridging a major realm elevated one's status by an entire generation.

However, bloodlines possessed their own rules. Clan members were not bound by Sect hierarchy and could address one another according to their mortal lineage.

Take Li Ling'er and Li Daotu, for example. Li Daotu was her Great-Grandfather. Even if Li Ling'er forged a Golden Core in the future, she would still be obligated to address him as such.

"Good, good, good! What a good child. Quickly, rise!"

Li Daotu turned around, his face a mask of grandfatherly kindness as he pulled Li Ling'er to her feet. He nodded with a warm smile, "Not bad at all. Truly worthy of being a scion of my Li family. You bring us great honor!"

"Great-Grandfather overpraises me."

"Ling'er, come here. Let Great-Grandfather test your Spirit Root."

Li Daotu produced a Spirit Root testing Magical Artifact from his robes, preparing to verify the girl's aptitude personally.

Back in the Huosang Kingdom, Li Xiaoxian had possessed a similar artifact, which he had used to conduct the initial test.

However, Li Xiaoxian's tool was a mere Pseudo-Artifact. Fearing an inaccurate reading, Li Daotu insisted on sweeping her meridians himself.

"Ling'er, simply close your eyes!"

"Yes!"

Once Li Ling'er shut her eyes, Li Daotu retrieved a testing artifact shaped like a jade disc and gently placed it onto her palm.

Buzz-

A blinding, crystalline light erupted from the jade disc, radiating an icy brilliance that dazzled the eyes.

This!

Xu Changshou swallowed his profound astonishment.

The manifestation confirmed Li Ling'er possessed an Ice Spirit Root. It was the very same elemental affinity he wielded.

Yet, the luster of his own Spirit Root was not even one-tenth as vibrant as hers. Back when Xu Changshou was tested, his jade disc had fractured into ten murky hues.

Only if all ten of those muddied lights were forcefully fused together would their combined intensity rival the pure brilliance Li Ling'er effortlessly displayed.

Witnessing this overwhelming disparity, Xu Changshou tasted the bitter reality of his own meager talent.

His Spirit Root was ten times more contaminated than hers; thus, his cultivation speed was cursed to be ten times slower.

"Good, good, good! It is an Ice Spirit Root. The absolute purest of Ice Spirit Roots. A peerless talent found only once in ten thousand!"

Li Daotu's voice trembled with unprecedented fervor.

When he praised it as 'one in ten thousand,' he did not mean among ten thousand mortals. He meant one in ten thousand cultivators who already possessed spiritual roots.

By that ruthless metric, the entire population of the Green Immortal Sect barely even scratched ten thousand.

Did that not mean Li Ling'er was the sole proprietor of an Ice Spirit Root in the entire Sect?

Naturally, this was merely Xu Changshou's private deduction.

Whether the Sect harbored other Exceptional Spirit Roots within its hidden peaks was knowledge far beyond his miserable station.

Just like with Li Ling'er-had Li Daotu not commanded him to fetch her, he would never have possessed the qualifications to even breathe the same air as such a prodigy.

"Great-Grandfather, am I capable of cultivating immortality?"

"Indeed you are!"

"Wonderful, wonderful! Big Brother Changshou, I can become an immortal too!"

Li Ling'er jumped in place, thoroughly overwhelmed with joy.

"Ling'er, go play in the courtyard for a moment. I have matters to discuss with Changshou."

"Understood, Great-Grandfather!"

"Changshou, follow me."

"Yes!"

Xu Changshou's stomach twisted into icy knots as he followed in the Elder's wake.

The executioner's blade must fall eventually.

Stepping into Li Daotu's primary cultivation hall, the Patriarch abruptly waved his sleeve, casually throwing down an isolation Formation that sealed the chamber.

It's over.

Ash choked Xu Changshou's throat. With the Formation engaged, every avenue of escape was locked tight.

Then again, he harbored no delusions that a Qi Condensation ant like himself could outrun a Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivator.

Li Daotu calmly settled onto a woven prayer mat. He produced a second mat from his robes and tossed it callously across the floor.

"Sit."

"Yes!"

Xu Changshou exerted tyrannical control over his emotions, forcibly suppressing the frantic, rhythmic hammering of his own heart.

Only then did he slowly lower himself onto the mat opposite Li Daotu.

The two men sat facing one another in an oppressive, suffocating silence. Neither spoke a single word.

Li Daotu finally broke the quiet, his tone utterly devoid of warmth. "What? You stand before me and have nothing to say?"

Xu Changshou's heart seized. Masking his terror, he replied with flat indifference, "There is nothing to be said. Martial Uncle Li, from this day forth, my name is Xu Changshou."

"Ah..."

Li Daotu visibly stiffened, a tempest of doubt and suspicion swirling behind his eyes.

Although the secret missive from Li Xiaoxian had claimed the Body Seizing was a success, seeing was believing.

He could not be absolutely certain whether the soul occupying the flesh before him belonged to his beloved son, or to the miserable wretch Xu Changshou.

Truthfully, had the boy immediately groveled and cried out 'Father,' his paranoia would have flared instantly.

Yet, this cold, impenetrable demeanor made it impossible to sweep him with Divine Sense and discern his true core.

However, upon careful deliberation, this reaction was perfectly rational.

If his son had successfully seized this mortal vessel, then as a reborn entity, he would fiercely guard his fragile second life, terrified of his demonic origins being exposed to the Sect.

Adopting such a paranoid, detached persona was a necessary shield.

"What, you are not even willing to call me 'Father'?" Li Daotu frowned, a subtle trace of reproach knitting his brows.

"I..."

Xu Changshou feigned a moment of painful hesitation before hardening his gaze. "The karmic bond between father and son has been severed by death. I shall continue to call you Martial Uncle Li."

"You stubborn brat!"

Li Daotu shook his head in faint amusement. Then, as if suddenly recalling a minor detail, his eyes sharpened. "Do you still possess the Soul-Nurturing Jade?"

The Soul-Nurturing Jade?

Xu Changshou's mind raced, instantly recognizing the lethality of the Patriarch's probe.

The jade was a secret gift passed from Li Daotu to Li Xiaoming. The existence of that treasure was known only to father and son; the heavens and earth were blind to it.

Had Xu Changshou shown even a flicker of ignorance regarding the jade, the deception would have shattered, inviting immediate execution.

Fortunately, Li Daotu could never fathom that during the brutal metaphysical struggle, Xu Changshou had violently consumed a fragment of Li Xiaoming's memories-memories that explicitly detailed the jade's significance.

"I have it."

Xu Changshou nodded gravely, reaching beneath his robes to draw out the purple jade pendant hanging around his neck.

The artifact passively nourished the soul, offering tremendous benefits even to a living cultivator. Thus, since pillaging it from the statue, Xu Changshou had kept it pressed close against his skin.

"Martial Uncle Li, do you require its return?" Xu Changshou offered the pendant forward.

Li Daotu waved his hand, a genuine smile finally breaking his severe expression. "The Soul-Nurturing Jade is useless to a living man of my realm. Keep it for your own cultivation."

Xu Changshou could acutely feel the suffocating killing intent in the room recede. Presenting the jade had finally convinced the Elder that Li Xiaoming had triumphantly seized his flesh.

Yet, Xu Changshou dared not relax his guard for a single breath. Li Daotu was a Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivator; the slightest slip of the tongue would still technique his doom.

"I thank Martial Uncle Li."