Lin Yu didn't answer right away this time.

He quickly calculated in his mind: he'd already brought up the cultivation method. If he asked for more, would that seem greedy?

But the thought was snuffed out in an instant.

Since this big shot had taken the initiative to ask, refusing to respond would seem insincere instead. In the cultivation world, being too polite meant being distant, and being distant meant not wanting to get entangled in karmic ties. Not wanting karmic ties meant harboring ulterior motives.

Besides, those items really were meant to extend his life. If this broken soul body of his didn't get some patching up soon, he'd be shivering at the next thunderstorm.

He weighed his words carefully, keeping his tone calm:

"There are a few materials... that would be useful to this junior. But given my lowly status, they're not easy to obtain."

Hao Yuan gave a slight nod. "List them."

Lin Yu extended his hand, tracing a few lines of characters in the air:

Void Stone Powder, Boundary Origin Sand (core materials to activate the Minor Void Spirit Attraction Formation)

Nourishing Soul Wood Marrow (to warm and nurture the soul body's origin)

After writing these three, he paused, then added one more line in a very soft tone:

"These are all for sustaining life. Although that child's Dao foundation has been reforged, he also needs things like Earth Vein Spirit Milk to nurture it. If there's any to spare, I ask that Senior..."

He didn't say "please grant this to this junior." He just stated the facts.

This was Lin Yu's art of conversation. When asking for something, you didn't ask for it directly; you said "this item is useful to me" and left the decision to the other party.

Hao Yuan glanced at those few lines of characters and nodded. "I will have someone deliver these things."

Lin Yu froze. He hadn't expected it to be this easy.

Void Stone Powder and Boundary Origin Sand were one thing—expensive, but still purchasable with spirit stones. But Nourishing Soul Wood Marrow was a priceless treasure, usually found only deep in the heart of ten-thousand-year-old sunken wood. An ounce of it was worth an entire city.

This True Lord had agreed as easily as if he were promising to deliver two pounds of cabbage.

Lin Yu instinctively wanted to say "thank you, Senior," but the words caught in his throat.

Hao Yuan looked at him and suddenly smiled. The smile was faint, but it carried a kind of worldly understanding:

"Do you think I gave too easily?"

Lin Yu said nothing. But silence was admission.

Hao Yuan let out a soft sigh, his gaze passing through Lin Yu and into the empty night sky:

"I've waited a thousand years, just waiting to be able to do something for an old friend."

"If you asked for nothing at all, I wouldn't know how to face myself."

He paused, his tone returning to that carefree lightness:

"These worldly possessions are nothing more than a wave of the hand to me. But if you refuse to take them, I'll feel uneasy."

Lin Yu understood.

This wasn't charity—it was a gesture of goodwill. Or rather, this Unity realm powerhouse was buying himself peace of mind.

Not accepting it would be a betrayal of that "friendship from long ago."

He lowered his gaze, clasped his hands, and gave a deep bow. In a soft voice, he said:

"Senior's generous gift, this junior will remember."

Hao Yuan gave a slight nod and left only one final sentence:

"Within half a month, the items will be delivered. Rest assured."

As his voice faded, his figure dissolved like ink in water, dispersing into the night wind.

...

The wind regained its shape.

A withered pine needle spun in the air, as if pulled by an invisible thread, and landed lightly on Su Ming's shoulder.

Su Ming snapped back to reality. He instinctively reached out to catch it—but his fingertips met only the texture of his robe; the leaf was already lying quietly in the hollow of his shoulder.

He grabbed at empty air.

That momentary sense of dislocation made his heart pound wildly. It felt like walking on flat ground and suddenly stepping into a void where a stair should have been.

The night wind rushed back into his eardrums. The low hum of the mountain-protecting formation sounded again. Distant insect chirps and the rustling of pine trees flooded in, filling the dead vacuum that had existed moments ago. The world was so vividly alive it was almost dazzling.

Su Ming gasped for breath. The back of his Daoist robe was already soaked through with cold sweat, clinging to his spine, icy and biting.

He looked around blankly. Gazing Star Cliff was still Gazing Star Cliff. The old pine tree was still tall and straight. The distant sea of clouds still rolled on.

Nothing had changed.

But he knew something had changed. In that brief moment just now, in that instant when his consciousness had blurred, some terrifyingly powerful existence had come and gone.

He lowered his gaze to his left hand.

The Xuantian ring was still dull and gray, lying quietly against the base of his finger, with no spiritual light leaking out. It looked as ordinary as a mortal iron ring.

In his Consciousness Sea, Lin Yu's voice rang out lazily, carrying a faint hint of fatigue: "What are you spacing out for? Brush off that leaf and go back to sleep."

Su Ming's fingers moved stiffly, brushing away the pine needle.

"Master..." Su Ming's voice was a little hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time. "Did... did something just happen?"

There was a one-second silence from within the ring.

"What? Something happen?" Lin Yu's voice was still languid. "You just broke through to Foundation Establishment. Your soul is unstable. Add in the strong wind at the cliff top, and your head got a little dizzy. You had a hallucination. Totally normal."

Su Ming didn't move.

He stood at the edge of the cliff, his gaze locked onto the old pine tree three zhang away.

There was nothing there.

But he remembered—just before his consciousness had blurred in that final moment, someone seemed to have been standing there. A man in gray robes, looking even more ordinary than a mortal old man.

"Master." Su Ming withdrew his gaze, his voice low. "Although this disciple's cultivation is shallow, I'm not a fool."

"In that moment just now, the wind stopped, the sound died, and even this disciple's heartbeat... seemed to stop."

Su Ming raised a hand and pressed it to his chest. It was pounding violently now, but the suffocating feeling of his heart being gripped by an invisible giant hand still lingered in the aftertremors.

"That feeling wasn't a hallucination."

Lin Yu sighed from within the ring.

This kid was getting harder and harder to fool. Being too smart wasn't always a good thing; it made you overthink, and overthinking made you lose your hair.

"Fine." Lin Yu's voice turned a bit more serious. "An old man did pass by just now."

Su Ming's pupils contracted. "Who was it?"

"The Grand Elder, Hao Yuan."

As soon as these two words came out, Su Ming's legs visibly went weak.

Even if he didn't know who Hao Yuan was, the weight of the title "Grand Elder" was enough to crush the entire Cloud Hidden Sect. That was a legendary Unity realm powerhouse, the true pillar of heaven and earth in this realm, a living legend.

"H-he... what did he come for?" Su Ming's voice trembled.

"Nothing major." Lin Yu's tone was as light as if he were talking about the neighbor's uncle coming to borrow a bunch of scallions. "He just came to see if you were the person he was looking for, and had a casual chat with your master."

Su Ming: "..."

A casual chat?

A Unity realm grand elder, having a casual chat with a remnant soul?