"Pfft—"

Elder Nangong Xianweng spat out his tea in shock.

He stared dumbfounded and said, "You've completed volumes 28 to 36? Didn't you just put volumes 19 to 27 in there?"

"Indeed, but didn't I just break through to the Nascent Soul stage? Naturally, I can now compile new texts," Su Yuan replied.

Elder Nangong Xianweng fell silent for a moment before cupping his hands respectfully. "I take my leave. I'll come back for tea another time!" With that, he departed immediately.

Gu Qingzhu scratched his head and asked, "Should I try learning this too?"

"You? Don't bother. Your path is already set. Wait until you break through to the Void Refining stage before considering switching cultivation methods," Su Yuan said dismissively.

Gu Qingzhu coughed awkwardly. "Su Yuan, I appreciate your faith in me, but I doubt I'll ever reach Void Refinement."

Su Yuan looked surprised. "How could you not break through? Isn't the Nascent Soul just a grown-up version of the Golden Core? There's no fundamental difference—the requirements of heavenly principles aren't that demanding."

Gu Qingzhu's mouth twitched. "For a Nascent Soul to transform into a Primordial Spirit, it's not just about spiritual energy. The Nascent Soul must undergo a transformation from yin to yang. First, it must leave the body to endure the torment of yin winds and the tempering of baleful energy, gradually strengthening the Nascent Soul. Then it must undergo baptism by lunar and solar essences, refinement through the five elements, and finally be tempered by special heavenly thunder. Only after surviving this nine-deaths-one-life ordeal can it achieve yang transformation! Forget about the spiritual energy requirements—just gathering these special resources would take a Nascent Soul cultivator ages!"

"It needs to be that complicated? At its core, it's just about strengthening the Nascent Soul. The materials can be substituted." Su Yuan called out, "Old Qian?"

A white-haired youth materialized out of thin air.

"Master," Old Qian greeted respectfully.

"Fetch him a portion of Thunder Essence," Su Yuan ordered.

Old Qian gave Gu Qingzhu a sidelong glance before tossing him a sphere of pure liquid essence.

Gu Qingzhu examined the floating liquid curiously. "What is this?"

"Thunder Essence. It enhances the growth of both Nascent Souls and Primordial Spirits while accelerating yang transformation. Take it back and try cultivating with it. Consider it an experiment for me to observe its effects," Su Yuan explained.

"Wait—you haven't tested this yourself?" Gu Qingzhu asked, caught between excitement and apprehension.

"Not yet," Su Yuan confirmed.

"Ahem... is it dangerous?" Gu Qingzhu coughed nervously.

"It probably won't kill you," Su Yuan replied after some thought.

"Then I'll take it back for research first," Gu Qingzhu said reluctantly.

"Fine. Just let me know the results."

As Gu Qingzhu left with the Thunder Essence, Old Qian clicked his tongue. "What a lucky brat. That portion could save him ten years of bitter cultivation!"

Su Yuan smiled unconcernedly. "If this Thunder Essence truly enables easy yang transformation for Nascent Souls, it'll significantly increase breakthrough chances to Void Refinement. He'll come back for more eventually. Go ahead and demand treasures from them for your own improvement."

Old Qian's eyes lit up. "You're truly clever!"

Su Yuan waved him off. "These are trivial matters. I'm going into seclusion—don't disturb me."

"Understood," Old Qian nodded solemnly.

Then he watched as Su Yuan returned to his room, climbed into bed, pulled up the covers, and closed his eyes.

Soon, rhythmic snoring filled the chamber.

"Eh? Is this what Su Yuan calls seclusion? He's just sleeping!" Old Qian stood frozen in disbelief.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

Stretching lazily, Su Yuan sprang out of bed feeling refreshed. The exhaustion from his recent breakthrough and battles had completely dissipated after ample rest.

A rare tranquility settled over him. Since transmigrating to this cultivation world, an undercurrent of anxiety had always plagued him—the fear that powerful enemies might appear to cut short his path.

Now, with Void Refinement-level combat power, two sixth-grade spirit treasures, an incredibly robust physique, and six protective traits, he could finally relax.

From now on, he could take it easy while waiting for his fame points to accumulate naturally, without any urgency.

He could start building up his [Work-Life Balance] rest time properly.

As Su Yuan exited his room, Xiao Lan immediately approached.

"Master, would you like your meal now?" she asked.

"Yes, prepare it," Su Yuan nodded.

Xiao Lan hurried off to arrange the food.

Nearby, Xiao Ju timely brought over a pot of tea, poured a cup for Su Yuan, then naturally moved behind him to massage his shoulders.

"Master, let me loosen your shoulders," Xiao Ju said softly.

"Mm," Su Yuan acknowledged.

Delighted, Xiao Ju began kneading his shoulders and back with practiced motions, clearly having done this many times before.

Su Yuan's gaze turned toward the spirit fields.

There, the three fish demons—Su Da, Su Er, and Su San—were busy loosening soil and removing pests from the spirit plants.

By the stream, Little Cai was splashing water onto a school of spirit fish, who darted about trying unsuccessfully to avoid her sprays.

Scolding each fish by name, Little Cai played joyfully without a care.

Su Yuan smiled. Little Cai remained as childlike as ever—was the third stage still considered juvenile for her kind?

After sipping his tea, Su Yuan checked his system panel:

[Name]: Su Yuan

[Region]: Tianyuan Realm

[Level]: Continentally Renowned (14.2M/100M)

[Realm]: Mid-Stage Nascent Soul (1/100)

[Trait 1]: Work-Life Balance: Current rest time: 7 days

[Trait 2]: Daoist Techniques Naturally

[Trait 3]: Seven Stars Shine Bright

[Trait 4]: Mind Echo

[Trait 5]: Great Being's Demeanor

[Trait 6]: Life in Peril: Lifespan: 103,503 years

[Trait 7]: Unselected

Su Yuan started. "When did my fame points increase so much?"

Activating Mind Echo, he saw countless threads connecting to him from all directions—so numerous it stunned him.

He immediately activated several threads.

Images flooded his vision:

In an ordinary teahouse, a cultivator exclaimed, "You're serious? The founding ancestor of Seven Stars Sect survived the Triple-Nine Heavenly Tribulation?"

"Absolutely true! The tribulation clouds were visible for ten thousand li! Many cultivators recorded it with memory stones—irrefutable evidence!"

"But how do we know it was that founding ancestor?"

"Are you stupid? Who else could draw the Triple-Nine Heavenly Tribulation at this time?"

Elsewhere in the Demon Sect, someone sighed: "Heavenly Spirit Sage's death is confirmed—killed by that very person. Unimaginable! To slay a late-stage Void Refinement cultivator right after breaking through to Nascent Soul... terrifying!"

Another voice snapped, "Don't speak of him! Silence yourself!"

The first speaker paled and immediately began chanting a heart-clearing mantra to purge the thought.

Soon, the visions faded.

Su Yuan gradually returned to himself.

News of him surviving the Triple-Nine Heavenly Tribulation had spread, as had his slaying of Heavenly Spirit Sage—hence the fame point surge.

He'd anticipated this. With many eyes on Seven Stars Sect, such a grand tribulation couldn't remain hidden.

As for Heavenly Spirit Sage's death... he wasn't sure how that got out.

Checking [Life in Peril] and finding it completely stable, Su Yuan remained utterly calm. With this trait, he felt completely secure.

Then he mentally selected Trait 7.

Three options appeared:

[World Traveler]: Having reached the pinnacle of this continent and finding the path forward severed, you awaken an innate ability to randomly traverse worlds.

[Heaven's Proxy]: Having reached the pinnacle of this continent and finding the path forward severed, you comprehend the will of heaven and earth, becoming this world's celestial proxy—growing and perishing with the realm itself.

[World Plunderer]: Having reached the pinnacle of this continent and finding the path forward severed, you obtain a Heavenly Demon's status—able to plunder the world's creation to nourish yourself, severing heavenly and earthly connections to conquer realms.

Su Yuan frowned at these options.

Had he really reached the continent's pinnacle? He was only at Nascent Soul stage—Void Refinement and Soul Formation lay ahead, and surely some had reached at least Soul Formation before.

These traits... seemed to assume his current cultivation level represented the world's peak—perhaps equivalent to Soul Formation. But clearly he wasn't there yet.

That didn't matter. What mattered were these traits themselves—they were extraordinary!

One would make him the world's guardian, another its destroyer, and the third a transient passerby.

Truthfully, Su Yuan had no interest in becoming either guardian or destroyer—both sounded perilous!

Without hesitation, he chose [World Traveler]. He could keep this trait in reserve—if true danger arose, he could simply activate it and make his escape!

The moment [World Traveler] entered his trait panel, several others immediately lit up simultaneously—[Mind Echo], [Life in Peril], [Seven Stars Shine Bright], and now [World Traveler] all glowing brightly.

This unexpected reaction gave Su Yuan pause.

He first examined [Mind Echo]. Upon activating it, half his consciousness simultaneously triggered [World Traveler], and a powerful spatial transmission ability automatically transported that consciousness to a distant world.

When his awareness cleared, he looked down to see a golden dragon struggling in a pool of blood, while several other dragons battled a giant white-winged bird nearby.

Looking up, Su Yuan saw three suns hanging in the sky, while the Big Dipper's seven stars shone brightly even in daytime—more distinctly visible than in Green Vine Continent.

In the distance, towering mountains and giant trees dominated the landscape, with mystic vapors swirling between peaks. Powerful beastly roars echoed through the air, shaking one to the core.

Looking back down, Su Yuan realized the golden dragon—though much larger—looked strikingly familiar.

"Little Thirty-Six?" Su Yuan called out in astonishment through the starlight.

The golden dragon weakly lifted its head, searching. "Master?"