Han De lost all sense of balance. If it wasn’t for Jin Shu holding him, he would’ve collapsed already. Yao Qing stayed at Ning Bi’s side instead, her intuition was telling her not to leave this girl unattended. Ning Bi had already sent a voice transmission to their contact and kept watching her master.

Meanwhile, Han De was giving his all just so he could stay conscious.

{Brat!! You really can hear me!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA}

{HAHAHAHAHAHA}

{HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-}

{Be quiet! You dare to disobey the will of the exalted one?!}

The crowd of insane laughter was interrupted by a familiar voice. Han De thanked the immortal chef’s timing from the bottom of his heart.

{Haaaa… Look what the cat dragged in… The sleeping beauty woke up in a seedling. Again. How nostalgic!}

Han De kept bleeding and bleeding from his eyes, ears, and nose. The throbbing pain he felt nearly overwhelmed him. Even just perceiving the world became impossible. He couldn’t see or hear anything, his body couldn’t keep up with whatever was happening.

{Yes, yes, yes. I know you, you know me, you don’t remember, but I do. This is only the 9811th time.}

{Disobeying His will is heresy!!}

{HAHAHAHAHA, brat, why would you even seduce her? Are you insane?! HAHAHAHAHAHA...}

“Senior Bai!”

Everyone on the spiritual boat could feel the low vibration coming from the boat itself. Those that had higher cultivations realized the vibrations weren’t coming from the ship, but from the space itself.

Han Bai appeared out of nowhere and immediately focused on his cousin, Han De. A few seconds later a deep frown appeared on his face. Jin Shu took the frown as her cue.

“We’ve been sending the bloodline’s progress to Lady Long Xiu, but...”

Han Bai’s face became weird, he looked at Han De once again.

“Are you sure he has a bloodlin-”

A ripple in space interrupted his thoughts. The previous vibrations stopped at the same time.

{Hey hey, what will you do when your manifestation destroys your precious master?}

{...}

Han De felt he could finally breathe as the voices and vibrations stopped. This relief only lasted a little more than half a minute, unfortunately. It seemed as if the immortal chef deliberated the question thoroughly during that time.

{If the exalted one’s flesh is destroyed, this being will naturally merge with the exalted one’s soul.}

For a moment, Han De forgot about his pain. He couldn’t believe what he had heard. At the moment where he was questioning his sanity, the vibrations started again and quickly became stronger. Han De wanted to ‘will’ them to stop, but he couldn’t concentrate properly. The phrasing of the immortal chef caused him to shudder. He was fond of his flesh, he didn’t want it destroyed! He didn’t want his soul to be absorbed!

The vibrations stopped, and after a moment of pause, Han De heard the melodious female voice once again.

{This being is also fond of exalted one’s flesh.}

Han De’s bleeding finally stopped, Jin Shu started to clean the red and gray smudges from Han De’s face after getting a nod from Han Bai. Everyone in the room was puzzled as to why Han De’s expression became stiff all of a sudden.

The bleeding had stopped, but Han De still didn’t possess his full faculties. He didn’t have vision, hearing, or even a sense of touch. He could vaguely feel his body was in an upright position, but he couldn’t tell anything beyond that.

His mind was preoccupied with disaster scenarios involving the immortal chef. Those insane voices themselves called him insane for ‘seducing’ her. That was the massive flag #1. Next, she openly declared merging Han De’s soul into herself. After that massive flag #2, Han De couldn’t interpret her words in a positive light. He couldn't control his body properly, so he started muttering.

“No, no, no, no, no, no...”

Han De’s desperate murmurs caused everyone to flinch. Han Bai’s face dropped, he recognized this scene. It was a crisis scenario, designed by his cousin Han De himself.

During the voyage, Han De’s subordinates had started preparing against increasingly questionable scenarios under his orders. At first, the Han family Transcendent experts and Han Bai thought it was just a matter of subordinates being excessively diligent, but it was later revealed that these plans came from Han De himself.

{Hmmm? What is this? Why is she giving such a weird feeling? Oh, they all do!}

When the chorus of maddening voices returned, the familiar pressure and pain also came back. But Han De realized the pain had lessened greatly, and the pressure wasn’t as high as before. He didn’t bleed this time either. It was evident that his body was getting used to the pressure, somehow.

{Divine Phoenix? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!}

{Bold. Reckless. Foolish.}

{I like it. No wonder that idiot is so restless. HAHAHAHAHA...}

{...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-}

{Oh, what kind of bloodline is that? Curious, very curious, yes. Quite compatible with that strange martial art of yours.}

{And this one... So creepy...}

[Exposure Threshold Reached]

[Bloodline refinement requirements met]

[Notes: Results of bloodline refinement on Primordial Void Bloodline cannot be reversed or altered]

If Han De was in his right mind, he would’ve been very concerned about refining the bloodline, but he wasn’t. The pain was still there, and he was just starting to realize he didn’t have access to any of his senses. Getting completely cut away from the world naturally caused him to panic.

[Redeeming Bloodline Purifying Token for 500 Profound Points]

[Bloodline Purifying Process Invoked]

[Gathering statistics]

[Checking refinement requirements]

[1. Stimulation of the bloodline complete]

[2. Incompatible body constitution found]

[Notes: Supplementing with the permanently damaged portions of the brain is possible]

[3. Soul erosion within tolerance levels]

[4. Elementary level effect already unlocked]

[5. Cultivation requirements met]

[Warning: Privilege level 2 does not allow customization of the refining process]

[Initiating Bloodline Refinement]

[Congratulations!]

[Your Primordial Void Dragon bloodline concentration increased by: 0.01%]

[Notes: Complications due to supplementation cannot be displayed at host’s current privilege level]

{What an ingenious process. Altering that disgusting body constitution to make it compatible with that invisible bloodline...}

Han De could finally form a coherent thought. The pain was completely gone, and he could feel his senses were gradually returning as he got healed by his constitution.

‘F#$%!!! I knew that immortal chef was bad news the moment I saw her! F#$%!! Why the F#$% am I ignoring my common sense! Who am I even compromising for?! What the hell am I gonna do with a Cronenberg chef...’

Although the Cronenberg chef’s current body was incredibly attractive to the point of silliness, Han De was worried about what the chorus of those insane voices had said. It was entirely possible that this woman was some sort of clone, or avatar. He did not want to see or hear about what her main body could be like. He certainly did not want to be merged with it.

Han De’s face became stoic. The disciples normally would’ve felt relieved, but all three had dark faces. Jin Shu continued cleaning up the bloodstains from her master’s face.

Slowly, but surely, his senses started to return. Han De opened his eyes, only to see a delicate-looking hand block his blurry vision. Instinctively he tried to stand up.

“Master, please stay still. You have been severely injured and need to rest before taking a recovery pill.”

Han De looked around the room. His disciples were all near him, looking at him with dark faces. Old Peng and a few lackeys were waiting on the back, all of them had threatening looks. On the other side was his cousin Han Bai with an incredibly expressionless face, and 4 Transcendent experts with mixed expressions of fear, anger, and enthusiasm.

‘What the hell happened...’

{HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, you reap what you sow, brat!}

Hearing those crazy voices nearly caused Han De to flinch with the expectation of pain, but nothing happened. He breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Wait, I can hear this thing but how can I talk to it? I can’t just speak out loud, or send a voice transmission. Where is it in the first place?’

Han De tried to look all around the room, but he was interrupted by Ning Bi. He was still weak, and even this Qi Condensation disciple was able to force him down.

‘Damn, she is using her strength, what the hell?’

He spotted a small pile of cloth with red and gray stains behind Jin Shu. Realizing that at least the red ones were bloodstains, Han De immediately looked away.

“It’s fine. I’m alright now.”

{Tsk tsk tsk. Should you really be wasting time right now? There are many demons converging you know...}

‘That's right, Ning Bi said the lights were moving!’

Han De immediately focused on the 13-year-old that was gently holding him down with a determined face. Every time she mentioned those lights, Han De would feel a sense of dread. So far he kept ignoring that. Many things kept giving him a sense of dread. Over time, ignoring those feelings became a habit. Therefore, Han De was oblivious, but if the cultivation idiot was here, he would know that this was a cultivator's intuition, and one should never ignore it.

“Ning Bi, what is the current status of those lights?”

“Master, please rest, you were badly injured. Help is already on the way, and I’m already used to not closing my eyes anymore.”

Han De felt he had gathered enough strength to operate his body constitution to further accelerate the healing process. He could not afford to mind the bioluminescent glowy effect right now. At the same time, he slightly smiled at Ning Bi and gently patted her head.

“Silly girl, if I say I’m fine, that means I’m fine. Now, close your eyes, and take a look at those lights for me.”

Han De turned his head to look at the Transcendent experts and Han Bai. He also glanced at his lackeys before speaking.

“Not a word of what you’ve heard or about to hear will go out. Betraying my disciples is the same as betraying me!”

Han De looked at Ning Bi once again. The latter looked at her sisters, and reluctantly closed her eyes. Han De patiently waited for her to speak.

“They seem to be much closer. I can perceive some bigger ones far away too. They are coming from all directions. Even from below...”

‘Well, shit… Shit, shit, shit...’

Perhaps it was due to being in pain moments ago, a familiar sense of panic was coming back to Han De. With a frown, he shakily stood up with the support of Ning Bi and Jin Shu. Before he could enter his usual pacing aimlessly mode amidst the concerned gazes of his disciples, Han De noticed something.

“What about up, is there anything coming from above?”

Ning Bi opened her mouth to admonish her master, but she swallowed her words after seeing his determined expression. She answered after taking a quick look.

“I can’t perceive anything from above us…”

A natural smile crept up to Han De’s face. This wasn’t one of his perfectly crafted smiles, but a true genuine smile.

Although Han Bai was used to his cousin’s sinister-looking smiles, a shadow of doubt appeared in his mind after seeing this one. He could not wait any longer.

“Cousin, do you practice divination?”

Han De’s smile froze, but he recovered quickly. He had already made several contingency plans in case his expertise in divination was exposed. Han Bai asking out of nowhere was actually a good opportunity to clear the waters.

“How is that even possible? The only divination scripture I saw was destroyed by mother. I didn’t even get to open its case.”

Han De spoke to Old Peng and the Transcendent experts next.

“Start climbing with the spiritual boat. Activate all of the formations and do not stop until I say so.”

Han Bai raised his hand, Transcendent experts reluctantly stopped, but Old Peng started sending voice transmissions to carry out Han De’s orders anyway.

‘Why are those Transcendent freaks so deferential to Han Bai all of a sudden?’ Han De was puzzled, and somewhat annoyed.

“You didn’t answer my question, my dear cousin. Do you practice divination?”

Han De narrowed his eyes and answered with a slight smile from his Hidden Expert package.

“Is there even a need to answer it? I didn’t even know grandfather had destroyed the standard divination scripture until the day of the Ming capital battle.”

Han Bai was still expressionless, and his gaze was steady. This was the best confirmation Han De would be able to get. His cousin definitely wasn’t simple.

“Cousin, did you create a divination art?”

Han De facepalmed. He looked frustrated from the outside. Presence of Transcendent experts complicated things, Han Bai’s behavior was also suspected. Therefore Han De didn’t want to directly lie, just in case someone could detect something. Thankfully, the System’s ability to comprehend a method instantly without even reading it was the perfect cover for an indirect answer.

“I’ll clear this up for you. I never read a divination scripture, ever. I did not study divination, no one explained anything divination related to me. I certainly did not create a divination art, or anything close to it. I didn’t even know about the taboo before the battle, let alone practice or perform divination before. Is that specific enough for you? Good. Since I’ve answered your doubts, I hope you’ll explain to me why you are asking me such a ridiculous question.”

Han Bai didn’t look fazed after his cousin’s roundabout denial.

“So you did not have the help of divination when you ordered those formations?”

Being the ever pessimist, Han De made a lot of contingency plans during this journey. One of them in particular, was about the Han family losing the siege and the war, leaving Han De and his disciples vagrants.

In a Xianxia world, killing 9 generations of a family was a common practice. His mother was powerful, in fact Han De didn’t even know her true cultivation level. But obviously, that didn’t mean she could take everyone on her own. For some reason his father and grandfather stayed at the northern continent, so she was alone as well. The situation was quite unstable in Han De’s eyes.

Han De’s standard bunker design already had a variety of defensive measures. In the case of a poison attack, there was a formation that sealed the air. In the case of heat or cold based attacks, there was a formation to regulate the temperature of the bunker. The main bulk of Han De’s additional orders were strengthening the existing formations, and adding a pressure shield, along with a magnetic shield.

To Han De’s surprise, the Transcendent experts recognized the magnetic shield as a component of the so-called celestial ships. Han De wasn’t about to miss this chance, so he ordered Transcendent experts to install celestial ship formations just in case.

In Han De’s mind, if something terrible were to happen, he could safely say ‘F#$% it’, and hide behind the moon for the next decade.

Of course, he couldn’t tell he was preparing for the eventuality of his family’s total destruction. So he waved his hands with dismissal while answering.

“Making contingency plans is a new hobby of mine. I came up with thousands of them in the last few months...”

Yao Qing was used to controlling her emotions. If this was her old body, she would’ve stayed absolutely expressionless, but her body was only 16 years old so she couldn’t prevent her mouth from subconsciously dropping.

She had assumed these ‘crisis’ plans were the products of her master’s subordinates. So far these plans have proved themselves to be eerily accurate. Yao Qing couldn’t help but suspect that her master was leading them somewhere. She was sure she wasn’t the only one that came to this conclusion.

Han De met his cousin’s gaze with calm, but on the inside he was on edge. Finally, Han Bai broke his gaze and looked at the Transcendent experts behind him.

{HAHAHAHA... You really are such a deceitful creature. Wonderful! ‘All those hours practicing in front of that mirror are paying off’ Is that what you are thinking?}

‘Shit, I forgot about this thing… Wait, what?’

{I’ve been watching you for a long time, brat. At first I was going to open you up and take a look, but doing things this way is much more fun! HAHAHAHAHAHA}

‘...’

{You’ve been practicing those characters of yours, but will all that acting save your disciple, I wonder...}

Han De’s expression turned odd. This change didn’t go unnoticed since everyone was already watching Han De with great worry. Although he looked fine now, just a few moments ago his skull was fractured to pieces and he bled his brains out.

{Mortal parents, unremarkable birthplace, unremarkable upbringing, yet she has such a heaven-defying talent!}

‘Disembodied voice, creepy stalker tendencies, talking only to me, a transmigrator...F#$%!! This guy is a grandpa?!’

{Too bad you can’t see her soul, it's really quite fascinating, the way her soul was marked...}

‘He even gives exposition like a grandp-… Hold up, marked?!’

{HAHAHAHAHA… Yes. Why do you think her fate is so strong? Why do you think she developed that particular ability? Why do you think she can go through enlightenment this easily?}

Han De gave his utmost effort to stay expressionless. While the thing was talking he tried to gauge how much it knew.

‘Shit, was it there from the beginning?! It even knows about her enlightenment?!’

{Watching you was a good enough past time for a while. How about you and I make a deal?}

Han De looked absolutely expressionless from the outside. His heart didn’t even skip a beat.

‘Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope...’