Yin Ming didn't know how many days he had spent in the Soul Ring, but he felt that this sleep was exceptionally long.

A bright light flashed in his vision, and Yin Ming instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. After his eyes had adjusted to the light, he tentatively opened them slowly.

A familiar voice suddenly rang in his ears, excitedly shouting, "Brother Ming! Brother Ming, you're finally awake!"

"Ming-ge, how are you feeling? Are you in good shape? Is there anything that's bothering you? Can you get out of bed?"

Yin Ming felt dizzy from his incessant chatter. He rubbed his temples helplessly and raised his hand to stop him, saying, "Stop, stop... I feel fine. Long Cheng, stop reading. It's giving me a headache."

Long Cheng tilted his head and blinked, his eyes filled with that familiar clear naiveté. "Why would it give you a headache? But Ming-ge, since you seem to be doing alright, could you please get up already?"

"It's been so long, I've missed you so much..."

Yin Ming was initially moved when he heard this; he realized that this kid cared about him so much.

But upon hearing his next words, his face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot—

"It's delicious! May I order? I'd like some congee with preserved egg and lean pork, crystal pork knuckle, and..."

So they think he's a chef? Yin Ming was speechless. It was definitely that lazy bum.

"How long have I been asleep?" Yin Ming waved his hand impatiently to interrupt Long Cheng. He had no interest in cooking right now.

Long Cheng, still engrossed in reciting the menu, paused, rubbed his chin, and thought carefully for a while before answering:

"About half a year? Brother Ming, you have no idea how tough this period has been for me. I've been craving your cooking so much!"

"I asked Xiao Lü to cook according to your recipes, but for some reason, even though I followed your instructions exactly, the food tasted awful. Ming-ge's cooking is still the best..."

Yin Ming ignored Long Cheng's complaints, only raising an eyebrow in shock. So much time had passed?

The white palace gates with gilded edges were slowly pushed open, and Liu Ying, dressed in a dark green, wide-sleeved, trailing dress, stepped into the palace, walking gracefully towards Yin Ming.

Yin Ming immediately got off the bed and bowed to her, saying, "This junior thanks you for your help, senior."

Liu Ying nodded nonchalantly, her voice still cold and magnetic, "How do you feel? Are you getting used to this new body?"

Yin Ming moved his shoulders from side to side, and finding no strange sensations, he nodded and said, "It's exactly the same as before. Thank you for your help, senior."

Yin Ming was becoming increasingly curious about Liu Ying's identity. Not only was she highly skilled in cultivation, but she could also actually help people reshape their physical bodies.

The key point is that this body is practically identical to the previous one. If Yin Ming hadn't known the plan beforehand, he wouldn't have believed he had a new body.

[Senior, what method do you suggest?]

I can reshape a physical body for you, so that even if you are severely injured after consuming the Rejuvenation Pill, you will not suffer any aftereffects.

Yin Ming's eyes lit up. There's such a thing?! Then what's there to hesitate about? This is the method we have to choose!

However, due to my own limitations, I can only reconstruct the physical body of a god. This means that if you choose this method, you must abandon everything from your past.

Yin Ming was taken aback. A personal reason? Does that mean Liu Ying is a magical beast with spiritual power, so the body she created can only use spiritual power?

No, that's not the point. The point is, does that mean he can't go back to the Demon Sect?

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Yin Ming was once conflicted, but after being seriously injured and bedridden for five days, he thought about it and realized that as the plot developed, he and Ling Yao would eventually become strangers, so separating in advance didn't seem so bad.

It was time for him to plan for his future, so with mixed feelings, he made a decision.

What solidified Yin Ming's decision was that Liu Ying said the answer he wanted to know was in the Divine Realm.

Perhaps this was all preordained; once he became a member of the divine race, he could openly and legitimately go to the realm of the gods.

As for Lingyao, once things have calmed down, Yin Ming can go back and explain things to him, and then the past will be completely over.

All good things must come to an end. It's sad, but there's nothing we can do about it.

Speaking of Lingyao, there was one thing Yin Ming really couldn't understand.

In the original story, the male protagonist was conscious when he was hiding in the Soul Ring. He could monitor everything happening in the outside world at any time. So how come after Yin Ming went in, all his senses were lost and he was in a deep sleep?

In response to Yin Ming's question, Liu Ying calmly explained:

"When a cultivator advances from the eighth to the ninth realm, the most significant change is that their spiritual soul is tempered and further strengthened, thus enabling them to leave their body at will. You are only at the seventh realm, and your spiritual soul is too fragile. If it is forcibly extracted, you will fall into a long slumber."

Yin Ming licked his thin lips guiltily, so embarrassed he wanted to dig his toes into the ground. He understood; he was unworthy.

"You've just woken up, so it's not advisable to overexert yourself. You should rest and recuperate first."

After saying this, Liu Ying turned and left.

Yin Ming bowed to see her off, and only after she had completely left the palace did he turn to ask Long Cheng, who was standing to the side.

He had actually wanted to ask this for a long time, "Long Cheng, how is A Yao?"

Upon hearing the name, Long Cheng instinctively frowned, a hint of displeasure appearing on his face. "He seems like a good person, but his mental state might not be quite right."

"When Brother Ming first faked his death, he searched for people everywhere like a madman, and he even came to the Dragon Palace quite a few times."

Yin Ming's heart skipped a beat. Looking for someone?! And they've even come to the Dragon Palace? Has their plan been exposed so quickly?

"He's looking for his mother. His mother said that if she wanted to reshape Ming-ge's physical body, she would need the original body's ashes. So, at the funeral held for you by the Demon Sect, she burned your previous body in front of everyone."

“He was doing something at the time, but he wasn’t at the funeral. When he found out about it later, he mobilized all the disciples of the Demon Sect to search around and try to bring his mother back.”

At this point, Long Cheng proudly put his hands on his hips and said, "But Mother is so powerful, let alone if they find out who Mother is, even if they do, they won't be a match for Mother."

Yin Ming's lips twitched. Burning a corpse in public? Isn't that a bit too arrogant? That's the Demonic Sect, after all. Aren't they afraid they'll label this as a provocation?

Thinking of something, Yin Ming sighed silently again. Ling Yao must have been still angry at the time, otherwise why would he refuse to attend his funeral?

But why did he later hunt down the fireflies? Shouldn't he be happy that someone helped him burn the corpse of the person he hated?

Could it be that they're taking her back for a reward? Or are they after Liu Ying's abilities and want her to join the Demon Sect?

Or perhaps they really felt that the fireflies were openly slapping them in the face, so they wanted to get revenge?

Yin Ming found it hard to believe that Ling Yao was doing this to avenge him. After all, he was already 'dead' and should have been laid to rest. How could he seek revenge just because his body was burned? It didn't make sense.

However, Yin Ming never made things too difficult for himself. Since he really couldn't figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it.