Chapter 321: Secret Signals

Dan Yun bathed and changed clothes.

As per Immortal Yuyao’s instructions, she had to dress like an immortal fairy, not some bedraggled prisoner.

Such an absurd sense of ceremony.

Still, she did need to clean herself up a bit.

After all, the smell of spicy strips on her body was overwhelming.

As a pill cultivator who took hygiene very seriously, if it weren’t for her daughter, this ever-present stench would’ve driven her mad long ago.

Half an hour later—

Dressed in white robes and carrying her pill cauldron, Dan Yun walked under escort by a group of Yaochi female cultivators to the main hall plaza of Yaochi Holy Land.

By now, the plaza was already crowded with Yaochi disciples.

Dan Yun scanned the surroundings and took a deep breath. She had to admit—on the surface, Yaochi Holy Land was indeed an excellent place for cultivation. The spiritual energy here was rich, and even the pools of water scattered around were practically liquefied spiritual energy.

Cultivating here gave one a natural advantage.

That alone put these cultivators way ahead of those in other sects.

But of course, Immortal Yuyao wasn’t satisfied. She was greedy—insatiably so. She plundered the talents of genius disciples, trying to piece together a vessel that could serve as a stepping stone for her path to immortality...

It was about time this cruel and venomous woman paid the price.

Dan Yun narrowed her eyes. A pale crescent mark shimmered on her brow—an omen that her Spirit Eyes were active.

Originally, she was just checking to see if Immortal Yuyao had set up any traps or sneaky formations.

But instead of seeing those, she caught sight of something unusual—a man standing among the crowd of Yaochi disciples.

A man, in Yaochi Holy Land?

Those two words rarely went together. The mere sight immediately caught her attention.

Yaochi Holy Land did not accept male disciples.

There had been rumors of disciples taking Dao Companions, but even those weren’t officially admitted into the sect.

And from what she’d seen so far—there were no Dao Companions in this place.

More likely, any men brought here didn’t last long—just became bleached skeletons before anyone noticed.

But this man was clearly wearing the standard disciple robes of Yaochi Holy Land.

“Interesting…”

The crescent mark between Dan Yun’s brows glowed faintly wider.

To be admitted as a disciple by Yaochi—this man was anything but ordinary.

Before long, she noticed misty vapors surrounding him—an aura that only appeared with a single Water Spiritual Root. Normally, such a root would give off a pale blue aura, but this man’s vapor was ink-black, with a cold chill lingering in the air.

A mutated Profound Water Root!

Yaochi Holy Land had already found a cultivator with a Profound Water Root?

Dan Yun’s heart trembled slightly.

That meant all the mutated roots needed for the Five-Element Supreme Physique were now gathered.

But then, she noticed something else about him.

As the man pulled a porcelain bottle from his storage pouch, a faint pinkish aura began to spread.

That aura came directly from the porcelain bottle.

“This is… the Hehuan Pill!”

In that instant, Dan Yun’s heart skipped several beats.

At that moment, a solemn bell rang out. Immortal Yuyao appeared, escorted by disciples, emerging from the palace.

Dan Yun blinked. The crescent mark at her brow vanished instantly.

She closed her Spirit Eyes, lowered her head to hide the turmoil in her eyes.

The Hehuan Pill was a concoction of her own design. The recipe had never been made public.

In all of Cangyun Realm, the only ones who knew it were her and her daughter, Dan Bai.

The Hehuan Pill’s effect was potent—it greatly enhanced the user’s charm, especially during one-on-one interactions. It was crafted through over a thousand spiritual herbs and a complex alchemical process, making its presence nearly undetectable.

At best, others might think it was a kind of fragrance.

She had once used this very pill to “tame” a Dao Companion who was cold and averse to women.

And that Dao Companion had been Void Fusion Realm—yet he couldn’t resist its effects.

“How does this man have Dan Bai’s pill? Could it be…” Dan Yun’s thoughts raced.

Recalling her daughter’s sharp wit, she already had a solid guess of what was going on.

This Profound Water Root cultivator had been captured on purpose, bringing the Hehuan Pill with him—clearly targeting Immortal Yuyao.

As for the method…

No matter what stage a cultivator had reached, dual cultivation was always when their guard was the lowest. In Cangyun Realm, many female cultivators captured by demon sects as cauldrons only ever escaped by striking during those vulnerable moments.

“So this is your plan, daughter?”

Dan Yun’s lips curled into a faint smirk.

This man possessed the Profound Water Root. Immortal Yuyao, during the Human Pill refinement, would surely need to be alone with him.

At that moment, the Hehuan Pill would prove useful—and that meant his cultivation was definitely not just Nascent Soul.

Who was he, really? Which old monster had transformed into this form?

To mask one's cultivation so thoroughly that not even a Mahayana cultivator could see through it… very few in Cangyun Realm had that ability.

Who could it be? So hard to guess~

Dan Yun winked at Zhang Mengchu.

Zhang Mengchu had been staring intently at Dan Yun in front of the main hall.

When she blinked rhythmically, he immediately recognized it—a secret signal.

So he blinked in return, took out his hairpin, pulled a tuft of gray hair from the back of his head over his shoulder, then re-tied his bun. To the surrounding Yaochi disciples, it just looked like he’d gotten something in his eye and was fixing his hair.

“Oh, so it really is that old man, Zhang Mengchu.”

Dan Yun understood instantly.

Zhang Mengchu had a very distinctive tuft of gray hair at the back of his head.

She remembered, though, that his spiritual root wasn’t the Profound Water Root, was it? Must be an illusion technique. Impressive.

But that didn’t matter.

If he was really Zhang Mengchu of the Eighth Stage of Void Fusion, then Dan Bai’s plan truly stood a chance.

She needed to find a way to help. If she waited until Immortal Yuyao began refining the Human Pill, it might be too late.

“Dan Yun, present the Supreme Primordial Heaven-Mending Pill you refined for This Venerable One to inspect.”

Dan Yun raised her eyes and met Immortal Yuyao’s gaze. She said nothing, only pressing her lips together.

Immortal Yuyao’s face darkened. She knew what Dan Yun wanted.

She gestured to an elder at her side.

The elder quickly withdrew and soon returned, bringing along a little girl—the mortal girl posing as Dan Bai. Over the past few days, she’d been well cared for in Yaochi Holy Land. Nourished by spiritual energy, her skin was now fair and radiant. She even looked a bit chubbier.

“Happy now?” Immortal Yuyao said impatiently. “This Venerable One keeps her word. As long as you do your job, neither of you will be mistreated.”

Dan Yun saw that the girl was fine and nodded.

She lifted the pill cauldron and presented it to Immortal Yuyao.

Kneeling on one knee, she raised the cauldron high, eyes slightly downcast, and spoke solemnly:

“Please inspect the pill, Immortal.”

Immortal Yuyao rose with equal gravity. She pinched the lid of the cauldron between her fingers and lifted it.

The next moment—she held her breath.

She’d braced herself for a blast of spicy strip stench.

But it didn’t come.

Instead, lying quietly at the center of the cauldron was a pale golden pill, glowing softly with an ethereal luster.

…

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