As 037 angrily demanded an explanation from Ruan Qing'an, she had already composed herself and bowed to Zhan Hongyuan, saying, "It's nothing, I just failed to break through and disappointed the sect leader."

"This... sigh, Elder Ruan, don't be too impatient."

Zhan Hongyuan comforted him with concern, and as he spoke, he handed over a storage ring, explaining, "I originally prepared a set for Elder Ruan to consolidate his foundation, but it seems that I can only use healing medicine now. Elder Ruan, please accept this."

"I have already troubled the sect with a lot of things."

Hearing Ruan Qing'an's refusal, Zhan Hongyuan chuckled: "What trouble is there? Elder Ruan, among all the elders, you are the only one who has the potential to break through to the Integration stage. And for the Myriad Paths Sect to have someone reach the Integration stage is an extraordinary event."

"This is beneficial to the sect. Moreover, as an elder, you will also have to contribute to the sect in the future, so there's no need to worry too much. The Supreme Elder should have already told you this, right?"

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing'an couldn't help but marvel – so this thing can't be taken for nothing, look, she's almost been taken care of.

For the rest of my life, I will be a brick in the sect.

The kind that can be moved wherever it's needed.

Zhan Hongyuan's attitude was gentle yet firm, clearly leaving Ruan Qing'an no room to refuse: "Elder Ruan, please keep this for now. It contains some of my insights into the Integration Stage, as well as the insights I've collected from other powerful individuals. You can learn from it."

After saying that, Zhan Hongyuan watched as Ruan Qing'an accepted the money before finally turning to leave, seemingly quite uneasy.

According to the original owner's character setting, she could not refuse anything that was beneficial to cultivation, let alone when she had just failed to break through to the Integration Stage and her realm was even about to fall from the peak of the Refinement Void Stage.

Ruan Qing'an then simply took the storage ring and returned to Yanlai Peak.

Shen Changlin didn't bother him anymore, seemingly knowing that his master still needed to heal, and spent most of his time practicing his techniques and moves.

After Ruan Qing'an returned to his cave, he erased the divine sense on the storage ring, took out all the contents, and piled them on the ground. Most of them were healing medicines and resources to strengthen the foundation and treat damage to the root, which could quickly restore the spiritual energy lost due to the failure of the breakthrough.

As if it had been prepared in advance, Ruan Qing'an seriously suspected that Zhan Hongyuan had not prepared anything to celebrate his breakthrough at all.

037: [Hey, ancestor, what's that?]

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingan looked in the direction 037 indicated.

Among that pile of things were quite a few jade slips, which should be the insights and experiences Zhan Hongyuan had shared about the Integration Stage. However, among them was a scroll that emitted a deep, dark light, faintly revealing an ominous aura.

Ruan Qing'an couldn't help but reach out and pick it up. After probing it with her divine sense, streams of information flowed into her mind.

The Nine Hates and Ten Evils: The Method of Concentrating the Spirit and Seizing Creation

Along with a long string of names, large chunks of information flowed into Ruan Qing'an's mind. Each black character exuded a dark and ominous meaning as it appeared in Ruan Qing'an's mind.

037 was slightly taken aback: [Oh my god, could this be—]

In the instant he realized what was happening, Ruan Qing'an's face suddenly darkened: "This is the method the original owner used to refine Shen Changlin into a human pill in the original text."

"Back when I was at Yanlai Peak, I didn't find this unorthodox and evil method. The original owner had good talent and always believed in cultivating by relying on his own strength. It was only because he was stuck at the peak of the Void Refinement stage and could not break through that he took a risk and went astray."

"I couldn't find this method in my memory, and I was still wondering how the original owner got it. I never expected it to be in Zhan Hongyuan's hands..."

037: [So, it's because you, Ancestor, broke through faster, that Zhan Hongyuan is afraid you can truly break through on your own?]

Ruan Qingan nodded slightly: "It should be."

"In the original story, it took the original owner several decades to break through to the peak of the Void Refinement stage, but I shortened it too quickly, which made Zhan Hongyuan feel threatened. Since that's the case... the Yang family's revenge, the Wan Dao Sect's belated rescue, my accident, and then the failed breakthrough..."

She exhaled a breath of stale air, her eyes icy: "It seems that all of this is related to Zhan Hongyuan."

037 gasped: [He's terrifying!]

"Zhan Hongyuan has been planning this for a long time. Even if it wasn't Shen Changlin, or even if it wasn't me, there would be another disciple with exceptional talent and an elder as the master."

That explains why Zhan Hongyuan was so eager to send Yang Lin to Shen Changlin when her innate Daoist body was destroyed.

Ruan Qing'an closed his eyes and pondered, a cold smile on his lips.

It turns out that from the very beginning, when the strange phenomena appeared in the mortal realm, Zhan Hongyuan had already begun to lay the groundwork by asking the original owner to find Shen Changlin. And now, the "Nine Hates and Ten Evils Concentrating Spirit and Seizing Creation Method" that has fallen into her hands is the core of Zhan Hongyuan's plan and his scheme.

Only now, seeing this, does she truly understand!

The "Nine Hates and Ten Evils Concentrating Spirit to Seize Creation Method" is an extremely yin and evil demonic cultivation method. Its core concept is that the true treasure between heaven and earth is—human beings. By using human beings as elixirs and refining them, one can seize the creation of heaven and earth, break through the barriers of realms, and build an unparalleled foundation.

In other words, if you refine a pill with good talent, you can inherit that talent; if you refine a pill with high cultivation level, you can break through to a higher realm.

— Commonly known as the principle of "you are what you eat".

"What Zhan Hongyuan was worried about was probably the injury he sustained decades ago. He was definitely unable to fight on the floating island, or rather, it was more serious—he was about to collapse, so he started to panic."

"This 'Nine Hates and Ten Evils Concentrating Spirit and Seizing Creation Method' has another special feature: the person being refined must harbor hatred in their heart, to the point that even after entering reincarnation, they would still wish to grind the bones to dust."

037: [So, is it the hatred the male protagonist felt for the original owner of the body, as described in the original text? That's what meets the requirements of this method?]

"No, this will only maximize the effect of the pill, and everyone who is refined will harbor resentment. It will only meet the minimum requirements. However... if you refine it yourself and use it, you may be entangled in karma. I think this is what Zhan Hongyuan is really afraid of."

In short—

The original owner was not only a pawn, but also a tool to bear resentment and karma. After refining the best human pill, Zhan Hongyuan could use the human pill that the original owner and Shen Changlin had refined with their lives without any cost.

Thinking of this, Ruan Qingan finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Her voice was icy: "You really are impressive, Zhan Hongyuan. You've mastered the art of getting something for nothing. I never imagined that even in the original story, your plans and schemes were so profound."

Just then, the communication jade slip suddenly lit up again. Ruan Qing'an glanced at it and saw that it was a divine thought sent by Zhan Hongyuan.

The gist of it is that some of the things inside came from a rampant demonic cultivator more than twenty years ago. Although it was a bit of a dark place, it helped that demonic cultivator reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao. He forgot to take them back when he gave them to Ruan Qing'an, and told him not to look at them.

He said not to go see it, but it was practically as if he had the demonic cultivator's successful breakthrough right in Ruan Qing'an's face, saying—go see it, remember to go see it!

Ruan Qingan: You forgot to take it back, so come and get it...