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The old Daoist extended a hand and placed it on Liana’s wrist. It looked as though he were taking her pulse. At first, he had not held much hope. He was merely going through the motions. Yet as his perception probed deeper and deeper, his brows slowly furrowed.

Several minutes later, as though he had finally confirmed something, he abruptly opened his eyes, his face filled with shock.

“Netherfiend Physique?”

“Netherfiend? What kind of weird thing is that?” Beside them, Lilith stared at the old Daoist warily, making sure this suspicious old man did not take advantage of Liana while her guard was down.

Liana was far too naive. She probably would not even realize if someone tried to cop a feel. Sure enough, the old Daoist suddenly reached out, intending to touch other parts of Liana’s body.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Lilith immediately stepped in front of him. “Trying to molest her or something?”

“Molest? What nonsense are you talking about? Do I look like that kind of person?” The old man was so anxious he practically looked like he had stumbled upon some priceless treasure. His eyes gleamed brightly. “I merely wanted to confirm once more whether it truly is the Netherfiend Physique!”

“Then explain what this Netherfiend Physique actually is first. How do I know you’re not just trying to scam us?” Lilith still refused to move aside.

“Ah, you little girl, how can you fail to distinguish what’s important from what’s not?” The old Daoist looked utterly pained. “Fine, fine. I shall explain what the Netherfiend Physique is.”

Seeing that the girl was not going anywhere anyway, he forcefully suppressed the excitement in his heart and patiently began explaining things to the two of them. “The Netherfiend Physique, also known as the Mystic Demon Physique, is an extremely terrifying constitution.

“All living things in this world revolve around the balance of yin and yang. Once that balance is broken, disaster follows. But the Netherfiend Physique is different. It can absorb almost limitless amounts of yin energy without suffering even the slightest side effect.

“Do you understand what that means? It means that anyone with this physique can cultivate any yin-aligned cultivation art in existence without encountering bottlenecks. Breaking through realms would be as easy as eating and drinking.

“Of course, that is only if they can control such power.” As he spoke, the old Daoist’s expression gradually turned grave. “However, every blessing comes with a curse.

“Because this physique is overwhelmingly yin in nature, it possesses extreme suppression and destructive effects against all yang-attributed existence. Her blood not only corrodes yang energy, it is even lethally poisonous to living beings.

“As her cultivation grows stronger, ordinary people could be injured simply by getting close to this little girl. Thankfully, she has not started cultivating yet, so there is still time.”

“Still time? Time for what?”

“Of course, time to guide her onto the proper path.” The old Daoist blew his beard angrily and glared. “You must understand, this physique is also highly coveted by wicked cultivators, demons, and evil spirits. If they discover her first, then this little girl will suffer a miserable fate. At best, she would become a cultivation cauldron, endlessly used as a source of yin energy for them.”

“That horrible?” Lilith rubbed her chin, half-convinced and half-skeptical. “You’re not making all this up, are you?”

“I kindly offer you guidance, yet you still doubt me? In that case…” Suddenly, a burst of golden light erupted behind the old Daoist like a blazing sun, instantly illuminating the entire ruined temple.

“Whoa…” Liana stared blankly with her mouth hanging open, clearly startled.

‘What a ridiculously bright lightbulb.’

“Hahahaha! Now do you believe me? I am the Seventh Elder of the Immortal Cloud Pavilion. Ordinary people would have to bow respectfully upon seeing me. If not for the fact that you two little girls are young and ignorant, I would have already taught you a lesson.”

“Yeah, yeah, got it. You’re the real deal.” Lilith waved her hand impatiently. “Now turn off the light already. It’s blinding.”
“Hm?” The old Daoist looked at Lilith in astonishment. “You’re not surprised?”
“Why would I be?”
“I come from the Immortal Cloud Pavilion.”
“So what? Can people there learn how to pilot mechs or something?”
“Tsk tsk. Truly a country bumpkin who’s never seen the world.”

The old Daoist withdrew the golden light and shook his head, suddenly overcome with the lonely feeling of showing off to someone incapable of appreciating it. However… He turned to look at the utterly shocked Liana beside her… Now this little girl knew how to react properly.

“Ahem.” The old Daoist coughed twice, maintaining the dignified image of an otherworldly master. “So? What do you think, little girl? After hearing all that, are you tempted yet?”

“T-Tempted… by what?”

“Why, to join the Immortal Cloud Pavilion and become my disciple, of course.” The old Daoist bent down and patted Liana’s shoulder with a kindly smile on his face.

“Setting everything else aside, the Immortal Cloud Pavilion possesses vast resources beyond imagination. We would absolutely have cultivation arts suited for your Netherfiend Physique. There, you would not need to worry about your constitution harming others, and in the future, you could even become a peerless expert. A perfect outcome all around, wouldn’t you say?”

“A… a peerless expert?” Liana seemed a little tempted. But her expression quickly dimmed again. “But… I still need to cure my mother first.”

“Your mother?”

“Mhm. My mother is sick. I still have to wait for Mountain Ghost to heal her.” Liana blinked and spoke softly. “So… could you let me decide after my mother gets better?”

“Of course.” The old Daoist agreed without hesitation. After all, he knew exactly how attractive the name of the Immortal Cloud Pavilion was. He did not believe anyone would willingly refuse them.

“However, if it’s because your mother is ill, then I can help with that as well.” The old Daoist thumped his chest proudly, already acting like Liana’s master. “I may not boast about much else, but my medical skills rank among the very best in the entire Immortal Cloud Pavilion. Leave your mother’s illness to me, and I guarantee any ailment can be cured with ease.”

“There’s no need for that.” Liana shook her head and rejected him instantly. “Mountain Ghost will heal her.”

Rejected so quickly, the old Daoist immediately lost face and huffed angrily. “That name alone sounds unreliable. Where is this person? Call him out so I can test his abilities.”

“Mountain Ghost is right there.”

“Where?” Following Liana’s gaze, the old Daoist turned around in confusion. “I don’t see anyone.”

Could this Mountain Ghost actually be some peerless expert whose presence even he could not detect? The old Daoist suddenly became uncertain.

“Look down.”

“Down?” The old Daoist lowered his head… And saw Lilith, who had somehow already returned to the campfire and was quietly eating meat again. “Her? Mountain Ghost? Healing people?”

The old Daoist froze. Then an overwhelming sense of absurdity rose inside him. His expression immediately darkened with anger. “What kind of joke is this? Letting a little girl like her treat patients is practically harming people!”

“Mountain Ghost is really amazing.” Liana puffed out her cheeks, clearly unhappy with the old Daoist’s words. “You’re not allowed to badmouth Mountain Ghost.”

“You little girl… sigh, you’ve clearly been completely fooled by her. She’s just a young girl, probably even younger than you are. Medical skill relies most heavily on experience and accumulation over time. Even if she knows a little medicine, it could only be superficial knowledge at best.

“From the sound of it, your mother’s illness must already be severe. At a time like this, how could you possibly entrust her treatment to some immature little brat? What if she makes things even worse instead?”