Within the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, a tall, slender young man with a sinister expression stood outside the hall doors.
This man was none other than Jiuyou's most valued grand-disciple, Canfeng, whose cultivation had reached the mid-Golden Core stage. Beside him followed the Golden Core executive from earlier.
Canfeng hunched his back as he slowly stepped into the hall. Lifting his gaze slightly, he spotted the unmoving black-robed figure deep within the hall and immediately bowed with utmost respect, his voice raspy and sharp.
"Patriarch, you summoned me?"
"Mm." Jiuyou responded faintly, his back still turned to him. "I will be going into seclusion for a time soon. Afterward, I need to head to Coldwind Island. For now, all matters on the island, big and small, will be handled entirely by you."
Hearing this, Canfeng bowed even lower, his tone laced with barely concealed joy and reverence.
"Coldwind Island? Could it be that the Coldwind Wood has already grown there?"
"Patriarch, are you planning to cultivate the great divine ability, Nether Soul Cold Prison? Your grand-disciple wishes you an early success in mastering this technique. When that time comes, even against a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, you'll have the strength to fight!"
"Heh heh, well said." Jiuyou let out a loud laugh, his tone carrying a hint of pride.
"Of the three great divine abilities recorded in the Nether Capital Art I cultivate, the Nether Capital Gate and Nether Soul Devourer have already been perfected. Only the Nether Soul Cold Prison still requires a thousand-year Coldwind Wood and a vast amount of frigid spiritual energy. Once all three abilities are complete, my chances of seizing the thousand-year Life-Extending Fruit will be that much greater."
Having said that, he casually waved his hand: "Since this is settled, I still need to prepare for seclusion. You may withdraw now."
"Yes, Patriarch."
Canfeng dared not say more. Still bowing, he slowly retreated to the hall's entrance. Just as he was about to turn and leave, Jiuyou's raspy, cold voice suddenly rang out again.
"Wait."
Canfeng immediately turned back and bowed once more: "Does the Patriarch have further instructions?"
No sooner had he spoken than a surge of pure spiritual power, accompanied by a faint oppressive pressure, swept toward him. He looked up to see a dark green jade pendant, shimmering with a faint glow, floating slowly in his direction. Confusion flickered in his eyes.
Jiuyou gave a slight nod, gesturing toward the jade pendant, and spoke in a deep voice.
"This is a Soul Jade Pendant. It contains a wisp of my divine consciousness avatar. This trip of mine will take at least ten years. With you guarding the island, I won't rest easy unless you have a reliable means of self-preservation."
He paused, his tone growing more solemn.
"Remember, this pendant can only be used once. Keep it close to your person at all times. If a major upheaval occurs on the island, or if you fall into a deadly situation, activate it with your essence blood. My divine consciousness will temporarily possess you, unleashing combat power comparable to an early-Nascent Soul cultivator for a short time. Under no circumstances should it be used lightly unless your life is at stake."
Canfeng's eyes lit up. Uncontainable ecstasy surged in his heart. This was a trump card capable of rivaling Nascent Soul cultivators—an absolute life-saving treasure! He quickly and solemnly accepted the pendant with both hands, his voice trembling with excitement.
"Thank you for the treasure, Patriarch!"
Jiuyou waved his hand casually, saying no more.
Canfeng took the hint and carefully tucked the pendant against his person before respectfully withdrawing from the hall.
The Golden Core executive outside, seeing the pendant in Canfeng's hand, looked on with undisguised envy. He then bowed toward the hall and quietly slipped away.
The hall fell silent once more. Jiuyou retrieved the Little Green Bottle from his storage pouch, along with various rare spiritual herbs he had collected. Unfortunately, most of these herbs were still quite young in years.
He couldn't help but furrow his brows, his expression growing grave as he turned and walked deep into the cave dwelling behind the hall.
Half a year later, inside the cave dwelling.
Jiuyou stared at the fully formed, spiritually rich thousand-year Nether Soul Grass in his hand, his joy barely contained as he let out a few harsh, cackling laughs.
After months of repeated experimentation, he had already figured out the wondrous uses of the Little Green Bottle.
Most spiritual herbs in the world could be ripened by it. With a single drop of green liquid, an ordinary herb could be directly turned into a hundred-year spiritual herb. If the green liquid was diluted into spiritual water and sprinkled over a herb garden, it could batch-produce hundred-year herbs, though the effect would be slightly slower.
However, this item also had its limits. The higher the grade of the spiritual herb, the greater the maximum ripening years. Ordinary herbs could at most be forced to a thousand years, while higher-quality ones could reach two thousand.
Take the Nether Soul Grass in his hand. As a top-grade demonic spiritual material, nurtured by the green liquid, its limit was three thousand years. Beyond that, no matter how much green liquid was poured in, it could no longer increase in age.
What surprised him even more was that the spiritual herbs ripened by the Little Green Bottle had nearly the same potency as naturally grown ones. In fact, due to the more concentrated and purer spiritual energy, they were even slightly more powerful, with no hidden drawbacks whatsoever.
"Both the Life-Extending Fruit and Coldwind Wood are rare, world-class treasures. The Life-Extending Fruit, in particular, has always been said to only grow on Heavenly Abyss Mountain. But with this Little Green Bottle, I might not necessarily need to plant it elsewhere. I could even force it into a ten-thousand-year spiritual herb, hahaha!"
At that thought, Jiuyou burst into loud laughter once more. His cold, chilling voice echoed through the cave dwelling, filled with determination.
"I originally planned to wait another few decades for the Coldwind Wood on Coldwind Island to grow. But now, it seems I can set out ahead of time."
As his words trailed off, he carefully tucked the Little Green Bottle back into his storage pouch. Just as he was about to turn and leave, Canfeng's voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall. His tone was urgent and panicked, shattering the tranquility within.
"Patriarch, something's wrong, Patriarch! Trouble has come!"
Jiuyou's brow furrowed slightly. His divine sense instantly probed outside the hall, where he saw Canfeng standing anxiously at the entrance, his expression frantic.
With a flicker of his form, Jiuyou transformed into a mass of dark green mist, appearing before Canfeng in an instant. An oppressive pressure suddenly descended upon Canfeng's head.
"Panicking like this, what kind of decorum is that? I can see you've been slack in your daily cultivation. What has you so worked up?"
Jiuyou's voice was hoarse, carrying an undeniable authority.
Canfeng was beside himself with worry. He spread his hands, stammering incoherently: "No, Patriarch, it's not that—it's Coldwind Island! Something huge has happened!"
"Spit it out clearly before speaking any further nonsense!"
Jiuyou said coldly. The invisible pressure radiated outward, instantly chilling the surrounding air.
Canfeng swallowed hard, not daring to stall any longer, and quickly reported: "Patriarch, the mid-Golden Core guard you sent to Coldwind Island before is dead! According to the last information transmitted back by his soul lamp, it seems several unfamiliar Golden Core cultivators broke into the island."
"What?"
Jiuyou was both shocked and enraged. His powerful aura exploded, and countless dark green flames erupted from his body. The flames brought no warmth; instead, they caused the surrounding temperature to plummet with bone-piercing cold.
Terrified by this fearsome presence, Canfeng immediately dropped to one knee, lowering his head deeply. Cold sweat dripped continuously from his brow, and he dared not even breathe.
After a long moment, the oppressive pressure above him suddenly dissipated. A sharp gust of wind swept past. He tentatively looked up, only to find that his patriarch's figure had vanished without a trace.
Canfeng supported himself on the ground and slowly rose, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. Before he could calm his thoughts, a chilling voice transmission suddenly entered his ears, causing his body to jolt violently.
"Canfeng, guard the main island closely. Investigate any unusual movements. If anything goes wrong, I'll hold you accountable!"
He immediately bowed deeply toward the empty air, his tone solemn and resolute: "Disciple understands. I will not fail the mission!"
There was no further response from the void. Canfeng dared not delay and immediately turned to deploy defenses across every part of the island.
Meanwhile, Jiuyou had already sped off in the direction of Coldwind Island. His gaze was ice-cold, and a boiling murderous intent surged in his heart.
He wanted to see exactly who had the audacity to break into Patriarch Jiuyou's Coldwind Island and kill his Golden Core guard.