"Become a disciple of our Celestial Extreme Mansion..."

He Qianhan’s eyes lit up, but she was too embarrassed to speak. ’With Yi Tianyun’s incredible power, how could he possibly be just a disciple? He’s at least at the elder level. But would it be right to just make him an elder on the spot?’

The Great Elder at their side glanced over, then said with a smile, "Yi, to be honest, with your level of power, you’d have no trouble becoming an elder. You’ve helped us deal with so many traitors; making you just a disciple would be an injustice. If you’re willing to join our Celestial Extreme Mansion, the position of elder is yours. I would even be willing to step down to become the Second Elder."

"This..." Yi Tianyun fell silent. ’In truth, joining the Celestial Extreme Mansion wouldn’t cause too many conflicts.’

’Many second-rate factions would kill for their disciples to join a higher-tier faction, as it means securing a powerful backer. There’s no issue there. The real problem is that I don’t like getting bogged down in management. With all the issues they have right now, I’d be driven mad by how busy I’d be.’

"I know the Celestial Extreme Mansion isn’t in a good state right now, but please consider our offer. We won’t force you," the Great Elder said. He didn’t try to compel Yi Tianyun to join just because he was the heir of the Profound Celestial Spirit King.

Yi Tianyun looked up. ’The Great Elder clearly misunderstood me. I was just thinking that it would be a hassle. I don’t have time for all this management; I have too many other things to do.’

Soon after, the Great Elder led them to the Celestial Extreme Mansion’s basement. After he opened a hidden passage, they all descended together.

"Normally, no one comes down here. It’s only used to hold prisoners. Who could have imagined that the Mansion Master himself would be imprisoned here..." As the Great Elder spoke, he quickened his pace, clearly worried about the Mansion Master’s condition.

When they reached the bottom, the stench of mold and decay washed over them. It was pitch-black ahead. The Great Elder lit a torch and walked forward, illuminating rows of empty cells. They hadn’t gone far when a weak voice drifted out from the darkness.

"Heh... You bastards... back to torture me again?" The voice was faint, tinged with agony.

"Mansion Master!!"

The Great Elder cried out and rushed forward to the cell. Through the cold iron bars, he saw a middle-aged man slumped against the wall, his body covered in blood and his hair a tangled mess. Wounds were clearly visible all over him. In particular, the tendons in his arms and legs appeared to have been severed, leaving him completely immobile, able to do nothing but lean weakly against the wall.

"Gr-Great Elder?" The man inside mustered what little strength he had to look over, a flicker of hope in his eyes.

"Mansion Master, it’s me! I’ve come to save you!"

With a furious roar, the Great Elder drew a longsword and shattered the cell door in just a few strikes. The cage wasn’t actually that sturdy and was easily broken. But the Mansion Master’s tendons had been severed and his cultivation crippled. Forget escaping; he was lucky he could move at all.

As they rushed inside and Mu Xian’Er got a clear look at the Mansion Master’s condition, she let out a strangled cry and immediately clamped her hands over her mouth.

The Mansion Master’s condition was horrific. Up close, it was far worse than it had appeared from a distance. Blood flowed ceaselessly from his wounds, and there were even various nails embedded in his flesh. It was a ghastly sight, impossible to imagine the extent of the torture he had endured.

Even Yi Tianyun found himself frowning at the sight. ’These people are truly vicious,’ he thought. ’They inflict inhuman torture on anyone who dares to resist them.’

"It’s... it’s dangerous here... You must... quickly, go..." The Mansion Master feebly lifted his arm, only for it to fall limply back to his side.

"No! They’ve all been taken care of! The dogs of the Netherworld Empire, the Shadow Guards—we’ve eliminated all of them!" The Great Elder’s eyes were bloodshot, his heart twisting in agony. How could he not be heartbroken seeing such a tragic sight?

The Mansion Master had always been a benevolent man; to think he would be reduced to this. The Great Elder now felt that simply killing the traitors had been letting them off too easy. A fresh wave of rage surged through him.

"Is... is that right...? That’s... wonderful." The Mansion Master managed a faint smile, but it was a wretched, heartbreaking sight.

"Mansion Master, take this healing elixir..." The Great Elder hastily took out a Recovery Elixir and gave it to him. But as soon as the Mansion Master swallowed it, he coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

’Symptoms of poisoning...’ Yi Tianyun’s brow furrowed at the sight of the black blood. ’So they poisoned him, too. It looks like it’s already spread deep. Even if he could be nursed back to health, his cultivation would be completely crippled.’

’Trying to cultivate again would be next to impossible... unless he had a top-grade Divine Pill. But the cost of something like that... you probably couldn’t afford it even if you sold the entire Celestial Extreme Mansion.’

"Those bastards!" the Great Elder screamed hysterically, consumed by fury. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"I’m not going to make it... Don’t mind me." The Mansion Master offered a faint, surprisingly peaceful smile.

"No! Don’t say that, Mansion Master! We’ll go find an Antitoxic Pill right now..." As the Great Elder moved to lift him, blood began to gush from his wounds again. At this point, never mind getting him out; the jostling from the trip to the surface would surely kill him.

The Mansion Master was already on the verge of death; it was clear he didn’t have much time left.

"It’s no use... The poison they used... requires its corresponding Poison Pill to be neutralized..." The Mansion Master’s voice grew fainter, like a candle in the wind, threatening to go out at any second.

A glint flashed in Yi Tianyun’s eyes. "Let me try!" he said suddenly.

"You’ll try?" The Great Elder and the others were stunned.

"Ding! Quest ’Save the Mansion Master’ accepted. Completion rewards: 1,000,000 EXP, 10,000 Madness Value, Mansion Master Favorability +100, Great Elder Favorability +100, Mu Xian’Er Favorability +100, He Qianhan Favorability +100, and Character Value +100!"

Without another word, Yi Tianyun reached out and touched the blood. His eyes narrowed as the Eye of Investigation began to furiously analyze the data within, breaking down the toxins so he could concoct an Antitoxic Pill.

Just as he expected, the Eye of Investigation rapidly began analyzing the toxins. The Eye of Investigation could not only read a person’s stats but could also discern the effects of Elixir Pills and even analyze their ingredients to deduce the Pill Formula.

However, it probably couldn’t analyze higher-grade Pill Formulas. Still, the toxins in this blood were well within its capabilities.

"Analyzing..."

"BEEP BEEP BEEP..."

"Analysis of toxins in blood successful. Contains: Venomous Liquid Butterfly, Fallen Cloud Grass..."

"Got it!"

Yi Tianyun nodded. He immediately brought out the Purple Fire Divine Furnace, grabbed a handful of Spirit Medicines, and tossed them inside. In the next moment, the Immortal Fire flared to life, illuminating the entire chamber.

"Al-Alchemy!?"

They were all shocked, and He Qianhan in particular was completely dumbfounded. ’Yi Tianyun doesn’t just know Engraving Divine Patterns, he knows Alchemy too!?’

’Those who can work with Divine Runes almost never practice Alchemy. It’s not that the two skills conflict, but that mastering both simply takes too much time.’