229: Chapter 227 The Turning Point

"You have come at an inopportune time," he said. "My attempt to Breakthrough to Soul Transformation has failed."

The Third Prince's pupils contracted slightly.

Shen Yizhi's hand also tightened.

True Lord Luoyun's tone was very flat, as if he were speaking of something quite ordinary.

"My Realm has not fallen, but the treasures on my person have been completely exhausted. Now, I cannot even produce a single Low-Grade Spirit Stone. You ask me to come out of seclusion, but what do I have to help you with?"

A flash of shock passed through the Third Prince's eyes; he clearly hadn't expected his Master to fail, yet he still spoke.

"Your willingness to come out of seclusion is the greatest help to this Disciple."

Then he took a jade box from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

He opened the jade box; inside lay a glazed lamp.

The lamp was crystal clear throughout, like ice or jade, without any impurities.

Light passed through the walls of the lamp, refracting into a seven-colored rainbow halo and casting a small patch of vibrant light and shadow onto the tabletop.

Spirit-Purifying Glazed Lamp, a Fourth-Rank Medium Grade Spirit Treasure.

True Lord Luoyun's gaze fell upon the glazed lamp and lingered for a moment. "The Spirit-Purifying Glazed Lamp," he recognized it.

The Third Prince nodded. "When a Cultivator circulates spiritual power, using this lamp to contain it can filter out the violent Evil Qi and the miscellaneous energies of heaven and earth, making the spiritual power gentler and more refined. Long-term use can purify the lingering hidden injuries within the Nascent Soul. I know Master has been in seclusion for years and has sustained many internal injuries. Although this lamp's rank is not high, it should be useful to Master."

True Lord Luoyun did not speak.

He reached out, picked up the glazed lamp, held it in his palm, and examined it carefully. Then he set it down and looked at the Third Prince.

"Are you willing to part with it?"

The Third Prince smiled. The smile was faint, carrying a hint of bitterness. "What is there to be unwilling about? No matter how reluctant I am, there would be no place to use it. If I lose, these things will belong to others. It's better to give them to Master; at least they can be put to use."

True Lord Luoyun tucked the glazed lamp into his sleeve and stood up. He looked at the Third Prince for a few breaths, then nodded.

"I promise you. I will come out of seclusion and help you fight for it."

The Third Prince's eyes lit up. He stood up and gave True Lord Luoyun a deep bow. "Thank you, Master."

True Lord Luoyun waved his hand. "No need to thank me. Helping you is also helping myself. My Breakthrough to Soul Transformation failed, and the things on me are gone; where will the resources for my future cultivation come from? Following you, at least there's some hope. Don't hold too much expectation, though; I am just a Late Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator who failed to reach Soul Transformation. Whether I can help you turn the tide, I do not know."

"It is enough." The Third Prince's voice was a bit tight. "Master's willingness to come out of seclusion is already the greatest assistance for this Disciple."

True Lord Luoyun said nothing more. He walked into the inner room and emerged a moment later, having changed into a clean green robe and re-tied his hair, looking a bit more spirited than before. But his temperament remained the same—ordinary, the kind of person you couldn't pick out from a crowd.

"Let's go," he said.

The three walked out of the thatched hut. The crane flew back from somewhere, landed before them, and transformed into a Young Acolyte. The boy bowed to True Lord Luoyun. "Is the True Lord leaving?"

True Lord Luoyun nodded. "Watch the house."

The boy responded, transformed back into a crane, and watched them depart.

The Third Prince summoned his escape light, carrying Shen Yizhi and True Lord Luoyun as they flew back the way they had come.

The sea of clouds behind them gradually receded, and that solitary mountain peak also slowly distanced itself, vanishing into the cloud layers.

True Lord Luoyun had come out of seclusion.

The reputation of this veteran Nascent Soul True Lord was even more useful than the Third Prince had anticipated.

With a single call, Sects large and small responded one after another; even the Shenduan Sect and Xuanhuang Pill Mansion sent people.

The support of the Shenduan Sect and Xuanhuang Pill Mansion...

...was thanks to True Lord Luoyun's travels in the East Xuan Region in his early years, where he had become close friends with the Elders of these two Soul Transformation Sects.

These friendships had not faded, even after several hundred years.

With a single letter from True Lord Luoyun, the two old friends didn't say a word and immediately decided to provide support.

The Third Prince's momentum suddenly swelled, allowing him to stabilize his position; even the Crown Prince's offensive was pushed back.

True Lord Luoyun did not personally charge into battle.

What he did were behind-the-scenes matters—deploying troops, arranging formations, and coordinating with various forces.

He was not strong, but he knew how to use people.

Cultivators from various Sects and schools were placed by him in the most suitable positions, with everyone doing what they were best at.

Shen Yizhi, meanwhile, was reassigned to the rear to mediate between various families and Sects.

The entire camp of the Third Prince was like a machine that had been freshly oiled, beginning to operate once more.

The support of the Shenduan Sect and Xuanhuang Pill Mansion brought the most tangible benefits to the Third Prince.

Magic Treasures and Medicinal Pills were continuously transported from the rear. The Third Prince's army was armed to the teeth, and the wounded on the front lines no longer worried about having no medicine for treatment.

Yun Ming's pressure was drastically reduced.

Previously, he had been refining more than half of the high-level pills for the front lines, leaving him exhausted.

Now that the Xuanhuang Pill Mansion had taken over most of it, he only needed to refine those that were inconvenient for them to make.

He suddenly felt much more relaxed.

He even had time to bask in the sun in the courtyard.

Yun Ming decided to cook a meal to celebrate.

He went to the market and bought a bunch of groceries—fish, meat, chicken, vegetables, and tofu—and also carried back two jars of starry river drunken shadow dew.

When he returned, Xue Ji was lying on the stone table basking in the sun, her nine tails hanging down and swaying back and forth.

Yun Ming put the groceries in the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and began to get busy.

Xue Ji jumped onto a prayer mat by the kitchen door and lay there watching him. Occasionally, when cooking fumes drifted over, she would sneeze, tuck her tails in, and move to another spot to continue lying down.

Yun Ming stir-fried four dishes, made one cold salad, and simmered a soup.

He brought the dishes to the stone table in the courtyard, set out the bowls and chopsticks, and poured himself a cup of wine.

He also placed a set of bowls and chopsticks on the opposite side and poured a cup of wine. That was for Xue Ji.

She couldn't drink now, but she used to like sitting there watching him drink.

He picked up his wine cup and took a sip, then picked up a piece of fish and placed it on the plate in front of Xue Ji.

Xue Ji sniffed it, gave it a lick, and then turned her head away.

She only ate Spirit Fruits and drank from spirit springs.

Yun Ming chuckled and took the fish back to eat himself.

He ate the four dishes and drank a jar of wine by himself. Xue Ji fell asleep on his lap, her nine tails hanging down and swaying back and forth.

He stroked her back; the fur was very soft and smooth.

The sky was getting dark.

The courtyard was very quiet, the wind rustling through the leaves.

A faint mist drifted, and the formation patterns operated silently beneath the ground.

Yun Ming leaned back in his bamboo chair with his eyes closed, his fingers lightly tapping on the armrest.

It had been a long time since he felt this relaxed.

What he didn't know was that his exaggerated success rate in pill production had already caught the attention of the Xuanhuang Pill Mansion.

It was so high that even those Fourth-Rank Alchemists couldn't sit still.

They sent someone to Qingyao City under the guise of exchanging insights on the Dao of Alchemy, but in reality, they wanted to probe his background.

Yun Ming was unaware of this. He was closing his eyes, enjoying a moment of peace.

Then, there was a knock at the door.

It wasn't Zhou Qian. Zhou Qian never knocked before entering.

It wasn't Shen Yizhi. Shen Yizhi would send a voice transmission before arriving.

It wasn't the Princess Royal. When the Princess Royal's Phoenix Sedan landed, half the city could hear it.

Three knocks. Not too heavy, not too light, neither rushed nor slow.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Yun Ming opened his eyes. He glanced at the closed door but did not move.

He hadn't expected someone so polite.

"The door is not locked."

The door was pushed open。

A person stood at the door. Clad in a moon-white long robe with a jade belt at the waist, hair tied high, he had a handsome face and a smile on his lips. Standing there, he was like a white plum blossom growing out of the snow—cool, elegant, and aloof.