When Tang Xiadan had first been brought in, his build had looked lean, but lean in the way of someone who had trained their body to the point of having no excess muscle mass, only what suited their height and frame. It was similar to Yang Qing’s own build. But now, as he revealed his torso, what Yang Qing was greeted with was something beyond gaunt. His skin hugged his bones. His stomach hugged his back. And with how hollowed out he looked, his torso had the appearance of a polished husk. His entire skin carried a lustrous blue-white glow that matched the little half-pinky-sized flower bud protruding from his chest, though that polished skin was marred by tendril-like deep blue veins crisscrossing his entire body like a fibrous root network, which was precisely what they were. Those veins rising to the surface of his skin all traced back to that flower bud.

A sweet, fruit-like scent with a cooling, refreshing minty undertone wafted from Tang Xiadan’s body. Perhaps owing to Yang Qing’s earlier meditation, when the temperature in the room had dipped slightly as his focus drew out a reaction from the Frost Crystal Lotus and the Spirit Pearl Peonies on the table, Tang Xiadan revealing his torso caused the temperature to lower again, though not by much.

As for his face, perhaps because he was controlling it, or the influence hadn’t reached that far, it remained as it had been before. It cut a disproportionate look against the gaunt husk below, and the warm, peaceful smile he wore, as though it wasn’t his torso that was one gentle wind away from disintegrating to dust, didn’t help matters either.

"As you can see, I’m in a bit of a bind here," Tang Xiadan said, gesturing to his torso as he smiled wryly.

"This didn’t happen by accident, did it?" Yang Qing asked, smiling in disbelief as he examined the effects of the Soulfrost Sequoia on Tang Xiadan’s body. The flower had embedded itself so deeply into him that it wouldn’t be strange to say Tang Xiadan and the flower were one and the same. He couldn’t help but wonder how Tang Xiadan had managed to hide the fluctuations of the fusion so well.

Must be the crow, Yang Qing thought, glancing subtly upward before bringing his attention back to Tang Xiadan.

"It wasn’t," Tang Xiadan said, a touch of embarrassment in his tone. "Which is why I need your help, Fellow Daoist," he said solemnly. "I am willing to pay any price for more of these Gentle Yang Pineapples. If I had twenty, or even just ten, I could salvage the situation," he added, subtly walking back the higher number, afraid he was being excessive.

"Or if you have more of the Green Flame Tree Sap that you are willing to spare," he added tentatively, after a brief hesitation, studying Yang Qing’s expression as he did.

Yang Qing, for his part, looked as though he had heard nothing, as his gaze was pensively fixed on the Soulfrost Sequoia.

"Even eight will do," Tang Xiadan added, as a well-concealed urgency crept into his eyes when Yang Qing offered no response.

Yang Qing finally looked up, offering a wide, friendly smile. "Your thought process wasn’t wrong. Gentle Yang Pineapples could definitely do the job, but it would take considerable time given the nature of their energy and that of this Soulfrost Sequoia," he said, gesturing lightly toward the flower bud. "Given the drastic means you employed, you were aiming to use it to improve your chances of breaking through to the Domain Realm, weren’t you?" He was grinning ear to ear now, looking more and more like Li Gang by the second.

"I did," Tang Xiadan answered, with some discomfort.

Yang Qing whistled, leaning forward on the table with an expression that seemed to say: I am going to give you the deal of a lifetime.

"Daoist Tang Xiadan," Yang Qing said slowly, "how would you like to solve this issue once and for all?" He stretched both hands forward, a pristine white flame hovering over one and a deep green flame that looked part flame, part liquid over the other.

Clap!

Yang Qing softly brought his hands together, and the two flames merged into one; a cyan white flame that carried a boundless aura of life and harmony was produced from that merger.

"How would you like to resolve the issue right now?" Yang Qing said softly, raising the flame. "All it would cost you is an introduction to that Star Shrouding Sky Crow friend of yours, and random bits of information here and there. You said you were a wandering explorer, yes?" he asked.

Without waiting for an answer, he pressed on. "In all your years of wandering, surely you have come across countless interesting things?" Yang Qing’s mercantile smile deepened as the cyan white flame danced in his hands, casting an eerie light across his face.

Had he not known Yang Qing was from the Order, Tang Xiadan would have taken him for a deviant cultivator dealing in souls, given how unsettling that smile looked in the flickering glow.

Interesting things. Luckily, that is something I have no shortage of, Tang Xiadan thought, his gaze drifting to the dancing flame in Yang Qing’s hands. He could feel the Soulfrost Sequoia throb with deep desire for it.

I underestimated him, thought Tang Xiadan, his gaze moving between Yang Qing and the flame. He hadn’t been lying when he said the Gentle Yang Pineapples and the Silver Ice Tear Guavas contained some of the purest yang and yin energies, respectively, and yet they could hardly compare to what was in that flame before him. One was a pebble. The other was a mountain range.

Even without using it, from the fluctuations alone, he already knew Yang Qing’s earlier words were not mere bluster. That single flame could genuinely resolve his entire problem and pull him back from the brink, while at the same time helping him accomplish his goal of helping the Soulfrost Sequoia bloom and, from it, derive a path to the domain realm, which was itself only a means to an end. The end being a certain mysterious realm he had stumbled onto that he wasn’t confident he could safely explore without domain realm strength.

At the same time, he couldn’t afford to delay, which was precisely why he had resorted to something as extreme as the Soulfrost Sequoia to speed the process along. It couldn’t be helped, given the origins of that mysterious realm. It was not every day that someone of his station stumbled across something tied to the illustrious Treasure Coin Palace.

There had been existences so large in their heyday as to be considered behemoths, and even long after they had disappeared, their remnants continued to shape the present era. Of those existences, none had done so more than the Treasure Coin Palace. Which was to be expected, really. After all, that organization had once been considered the wealthiest in the continent, with rumors suggesting its wealth could rival that of the Millionsfold Treasure Ocean. Whether that was true or not was another matter, but what did matter was this: whether it be the Radiant Sword Sect or the Flowing Valley Sect, both Holy Lands owed their ascension to whatever remnant treasures they had acquired from ruins and places tied to the Treasure Coin Palace.

The same was doubly true for the rank-one organizations, with some of them owing their entire lineage to the Treasure Coin Palace.

Even ancient and mysterious organizations like the Dragon Meadow and the Horizon Odyssey Guild were rumored to have certain ties with that palace.

If there was ever an organization worthy of being called a Dragon Gate, a pool of transformation, it was the Treasure Coin Palace. And Tang Xiadan, thanks to his bloodline as a Gold Jade Treasure Mouse and a whole lot of luck, had stumbled onto a hidden realm tied to that very organization. His chance at ascension had finally come, and he couldn’t let it pass him by. He would do everything to seize it. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

And with time, if the harvest proves worthwhile, I will finally get to see what truly lies at the center of the Green Fog Forest, he thought, his eyes burning with anticipation. As a Gold Jade Treasure Mouse, there was nothing that made his heart race quite like the trail of a treasure, especially ones veiled in mystery, and the Green Fog Region, his former homeland, was one such place. All his roaming had been precisely for that goal.

Wasn’t it shameful for a Gold Jade Treasure Mouse, whose entire identity was built on digging out treasures, to fail to do so in his own backyard, all because he lacked sufficient strength? Tang Xiadan was more determined than ever to wipe out that stain.

Sister Yanyu, I hope you won’t be too mad with me, Tang Xiadan ruefully thought, his gaze drifting subtly toward the ceiling.