Chapter 5 Part 2

Shen He was pure-hearted by nature. If only he could join an immortal sect.

Unfortunately, he bore a Demonic Root and had already joined Silent Night Palace, forming karma with it.

Xie Linlang said, “Shen He, are you willing to take me as your master?”

Fortunately, Shen He was merely a Menial Disciple in Silent Night Palace and hadn’t formally taken a master yet. Since Xie Linlang had decided to teach him, he naturally claimed the important role of master without hesitation.

Without thinking, Shen He held the Jade Pendant in both hands, raised it over his head, and kowtowed.

“Master above, please accept this disciple’s bow!”

Xie Linlang said gratifiedly, “Good, good, good. The apprenticeship rite is done. From now on, you’re my disciple.”

Xie Linlang carefully asked about Shen He’s daily cultivation techniques and glanced at the various basic texts Shen He had borrowed from the Sect Scripture Pavilion, covering basics of pill refining, artifact refining, formation refining, and other miscellaneous studies.

According to Shen He, he didn’t know what he was good at, so he used the one-month free borrowing period for new disciples to borrow foundational books on all the sect’s miscellaneous arts, studying whichever he could grasp.

This was also one reason why Shen He could barely muddle through Senior Brother Hong’s test in the Pill Room.

Xie Linlang secretly praised him in his heart. Shen He was indeed clever.

The foundational technique issued by Silent Night Palace to ordinary disciples and Menial Disciples was the Night Sea Birthing Light Illusion Technique.

The name sounded nice, but the effect was lackluster. It focused on simplicity and gentleness. As cultivation deepened, it could conceal auras, release illusions, even deceive with the fake as real.

In short, it was a technique for low-level disciples to escape.

But it had no side effects and could even soothe the innate agitation and frenzy of Demonic Qi to some extent, allowing new Demonic Sect disciples to stay calm.

Xie Linlang suddenly felt that Silent Night Palace was decent to ordinary new disciples. Unfortunately, the technique didn’t suit Shen He.

“You’re fire attribute. This technique suits wind, light, and water attribute Demonic Roots.”

He replanned Shen He’s cultivation path. “Make do with it for now. Memorize the pill dao material processing manual I’m passing you. Keep helping in the Pill Room and find a way to become a formal disciple there.”

“There’s Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire burning year-round, and most pill refiners master one or two fire techniques. You must switch to a fire attribute technique.” Xie Linlang cautioned. “Any fire attribute technique will do. Otherwise, even if I have a fire technique you can cultivate, you won’t be able to use it formally.”

Shen He nodded repeatedly. “I’ll listen to Master.”

After finishing the main matters, Xie Linlang sent Shen He to rest.

Today’s changes left both master and disciple somewhat unable to calm down. Each needed time to settle their emotions.

Ever since Pei Ji had fallen, as time passed, Xie Linlang hadn’t recalled that person like this in a long while.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but every recollection left only emptiness and pain afterward.

Xie Linlang had once thought of perishing alongside Pei Ji.

But whenever that thought arose, he was always interrupted by some accident—like suddenly thinking of a way to improve a furnace of pills, or someone coming to commission him for pill refining.

After several times, Xie Linlang mysteriously developed a special premonition.

It wasn’t yet time for him to fall.

But he truly couldn’t muster the will to cultivate, so he slacked off afterward. Unexpectedly, his actions inadvertently aligned with the truth of following the natural dao, advancing from Soul Transformation to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm!

…But if cultivation could be achieved by slacking, heaven would be too unfair. Thus, he finally couldn’t withstand the Heavenly Tribulation, perishing—oh no, becoming Shen He’s Portable Grandpa.

See? If heaven didn’t want you dead, even being struck by lightning tribulation was a delusion.

After rambling in his thoughts, Xie Linlang finally sighed and began seriously considering how to reconstruct his true body.

…Who wanted to be a Portable Grandpa forever? He definitely had to find a way to break free from the Jade Pendant’s restraints.

But this wasn’t easy.

As a pill dao grandmaster, Xie Linlang did master one or two secret pill refining methods for reconstructing a true body, but they required Shen He to reach the Soul Transformation Stage.

Moreover, Shen He was a Demonic Sect cultivator, and the pill formulas Xie Linlang knew were developed based on immortal sect spiritual power. He had to research Demonic Cultivator pill dao anew and modify the secret method accordingly.

Even more troublesome, if using Shen He’s cultivation to refine the pills, they would inevitably become Demonic Cores.

Eating Demonic Cores would make the reconstructed true body innately possess a Demonic Root—which meant Xie Linlang would be forced to become a Demonic Cultivator!

“Good thing I didn’t tell my good disciple my name.”

Xie Linlang drooped his head. As an immortal sect cultivator, if he reincarnated as a Demonic Cultivator, it was better to change his identity and name.

Change his name…

Xie Linlang felt a daze as he thought of the name his parents had given him before entering the sect.

His original name was Xie Yu. After joining the sect, his Shizun said that “jade” implied the five virtues and was a vessel for heaven and earth rituals. For one just stepping into cultivation, it was best not to use such a noble name.

Thus, Xie Yu became Xie Linlang, later directly honored as Linlang Dao Lord.

Xie Linlang let out a long breath.

Immortal sect cultivators followed heaven’s will, while Demonic Path cultivators defied heaven to change fate. Now, he could use his past original name.