"Who was the master craftsman who built this castle in the air?"

As Zhu Yuanzhang walked, he probed, determined to uncover the truth about each person. Since there was only a young boy here, he wasn't worried about him harming him; at most, the boy would swindle him out of his money.

"I don't know the specifics of the powerful cultivators from the past."

"What kind of immortality do you cultivate? You're surrounded by lightning and thunder, you seem very powerful." Zhu Yuanzhang continued to probe.

"I'm just an ordinary person. I've only just stepped into the realm of cultivation. I'm not powerful at all."

Seeing that the old man was interested, Li Ming talked a lot, explaining all the basic common sense about cultivating immortality. Finally, he said, "Actually, cultivating immortality is very difficult. I am 27 years old this year and I am only at the Qi Refining stage. The Foundation Establishment stage may be a long way off."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised an eyebrow and asked in surprise, "You're twenty-seven years old?"

He doesn't look 27 at all; he looks more like 15 or 16.

Li Ming was on the verge of tears: "At my age, if it were Xiao Yan, he would have already become a Dou Sheng, and in a few more years, he could become a Dou Di. If it were Song Shuhang, he would have already mastered the Heavenly Dao, while I am still in the Qi Refining stage."

Although Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't understand it, he was still shocked.

Could he really be an immortal?

They needed to spend more time together. As they walked, Zhu Yuanzhang talked to Li Ming, who used a lot of technical terms that Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't understand, but it didn't hinder their communication.

As they interacted, Zhu Yuanzhang's impression of him gradually changed.

I always felt that this boy was very naive, answering any question without any defense, just like a young boy who had never experienced the world.

He doesn't resemble the swindlers he encountered in his youth.

Following the boy, they crossed the wooden bridge and arrived at a pavilion in the sky. The pavilion was surrounded by a light mist. He felt that the Ming Dynasty could not have built such a magnificent structure.

It does resemble the celestial realm depicted in folk novels.

As they were looking around, the young man's voice came from ahead again: "Grandpa, I don't usually cook porridge. I usually drink tea and eat wild fruits from the forest. Please wait a moment."

He said this as he walked into the kitchen.

Zhu Yuanzhang followed him inside and said, "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Li Ming laughed and said, "You're already quite old, why don't you sit down and rest?"

Seeing that Li Ming didn't need it, Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to find a chair to sit down. Looking up, he saw a series of breathtaking actions by Li Ming, which amazed him.

The boy picked up a small pot, took out a handful of rice from the bag, rinsed the rice, and placed the pot on the wooden table.

Shouldn't pots and pans be placed on the stove?

It was only then that Zhu Yuanzhang noticed that there wasn't a single piece of firewood in the kitchen.

How do you cook porridge without firewood?

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was wondering, he saw Li Ming place his hand on the pot, and then a visible purple spiritual power surged out, wrapped with amazing lightning.

Zhu Yuanzhang was so shocked that he stood up and was speechless.

Seeing the old man's expression, Li Ming explained, "I'm really sorry, although Yunmeng Sect has a lot of millet stored, I rarely drink porridge, so I'm too lazy to gather firewood."

Don't worry, the porridge I cook this way is fine; you can drink it without worry.

Li Ming, fearing he would worry, offered a few words of explanation.

Zhu Yuanzhang snapped out of his daze, looked at Li Ming in surprise, and asked, "Are you an immortal?"

"I'm not considered one yet, I'm only at the Qi Refining stage. If someone like me, a complete novice, were to be called an immortal, other cultivators would probably laugh their heads off," Li Ming said.

Zhu Yuanzhang was unable to calm down for a long time, staring in astonishment at Li Ming's hands and the strange power entwined on them.

A moment later, the porridge began to steam.

He cooked the porridge without using firewood.

This completely overturned his understanding.

His understanding told him that no one in the Ming Dynasty could have done that.

It feels like I've really encountered a celestial being.

Excitement shone in his eyes; he was extremely thrilled, thinking that his son, Zhu Biao, might be saved.

"Grandpa, why don't you wash your hands and have some millet porridge to tide you over?" Li Ming said, looking at him.

"good."

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up, went to a water vat, and used a gourd ladle to scoop out a few spoonfuls of water to wash his hands.

The water was icy cold, just like a spring of fresh water; only fresh spring water can give you that feeling.

Isn't a water tank stagnant water?

Zhu Yuanzhang felt something was strange, and he looked at the water vat as if by some strange impulse. Suddenly, his face tensed up, and he couldn't see the bottom of the vat.

Moreover, there was a feeling that the water tank was unfathomably deep, as if it were connected to the sea.

He vaguely saw a huge fish, hundreds of feet long, glance at him from inside the water tank.

Startled, he took two steps back and exclaimed in astonishment, "Your water vat?"

Li Ming noticed his tense expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

There's something in the water tank.

"Impossible, it's just an ordinary water tank."

Li Ming had already studied the water vat, but although the water in the vat never seemed to run out, he couldn't figure out why, so he stopped paying attention to it.

Upon hearing Li Ming's words, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that Li Ming had misunderstood the word "ordinary." If this was considered ordinary, then what would be considered extraordinary?

"Old man, come here."

Li Ming took out a bowl and chopsticks from the cupboard, ladled out a bowl of porridge, placed it in front of the old man, and said, "Please try it. I haven't made porridge in a long time, so I don't know if it tastes good. Please forgive me if it doesn't."

Zhu Yuanzhang picked up the bowl, smelled it, and a faint fragrance wafted into his nose.

This porridge is different from what he usually drinks.

"It's a bit hot, take it easy," Li Ming reminded him.

"Um."

Zhu Yuanzhang gently blew on it, then carefully took a bite. The aroma exploded in his mouth, providing a wonderful sensation. It was just a bowl of millet porridge, yet it made him incredibly hungry.

After a few mouthfuls of porridge, an inexplicable and strange power surged through his body.

However, he did not dislike this strange feeling and quickly finished the bowl.

After finishing the first bowl, I had two more bowls filled, and ate three bowls in one go.

He then stopped.

Sweat began to trickle down his forehead, and he felt a burning sensation inside his body. Gradually, he felt something bubbling out of his body.

He reached out and touched it, finding clumps of black, sticky stuff on his skin.

"What's this?"

"Your blood and energy are weak, your face is pale and sallow, and you lack energy. This is probably due to years of overwork. The first thing I noticed when I saw you was the dark circles around your eyes. At your age, you should be enjoying your retirement. The dark stuff on your hands is the impurities that have accumulated in your body over the years. Now it has been expelled, which has improved your health."

"You still insist you're not an immortal!"

"No, it's not."

"Who are you!"

Zhu Yuanzhang felt invigorated and as if he were more than ten years younger.

Through his comprehensive observation and judgment, the castle in the air, the strange water vat, the young boy, and the fact that he was cooking porridge with his hands—all these signs indicated that the boy was an immortal.

His judgment could not possibly be wrong.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao's life is saved.