The external wounds on Wangquan Fugui's body had already been healed by Dongfang Yuechu's magic, but his internal injuries were still quite serious.
As for Dongfang Yuechu, who had been carried on Wangquan Fugui's back, the kid had taken a direct hit from the Wangquan Sword, the greatest sword in the world, yet he'd only suffered minor injuries. After Ren Kurogane treated him, he was back on his feet, full of energy.
"You actually left without the Wangquan Sword?" Ren asked, staring at Wangquan Fugui in disbelief. "Do you even want to live?"
"I do," Wangquan Fugui replied. "But the Wangquan Sword is the foundation on which my family stands. I can't take it with me."
"…"
All right, Wangquan Fugui had a point.
Without the Wangquan Sword, the Wangquan family's prestige would plummet. They'd go from being the foremost family among humans to the rather unimpressive Wangquan family they had been a hundred years ago.
Ren didn't bring Wangquan Fugui back to Tushan. That was Wangquan Fugui's own request, after all.
He still wanted to travel across countless mountains and rivers with Qing Tong. He couldn't spend the rest of his life cooped up in Tushan.
"While you're recovering, stay with Lord Tiger," Dongfang Yuechu said. "I can't stick around to look after you forever."
After rescuing his cousin from the Wangquan family, Dongfang Yuechu was certain they'd target him. He might even lose his position within the One Qi Alliance.
Dongfang Yuechu sighed inwardly, unaware that Wangquan Baye had no intention of pursuing the matter.
After all, whether Wangquan Fugui became the Daoist sect's living weapon or was allowed to leave, both had been Dongfang Huaizhu's wishes.
Even if Dongfang Yuechu hadn't gone to rescue him that day, Wangquan Baye would have healed Fugui and secretly let him go.
"Go on, then," Ren said. "Make the most of your time in the One Qi Alliance and try to become its leader as soon as possible. Then you can work with Honghong to build a society where humans and demons coexist peacefully."
Dongfang Yuechu nodded.
"Don't worry, Lord Tiger! I've never forgotten your teachings!"
With that, Dongfang Yuechu rode away on his divine fire.
Ren scratched his head, thoroughly confused.
"My teachings? What did I even teach him?"
He was completely baffled. Honghong, too, looked at him suspiciously, her eyes clearly asking, What have you been doing behind my back this time?
Ren shrugged innocently and turned to the two people behind him.
"Are you two coming to Tushan to recover, or would you rather recuperate somewhere nearby?"
Wangquan Fugui answered without hesitation, cupping his hands respectfully.
"We'll recover here. I'd be grateful if Lord Tiger could protect us for a while."
"That's easy enough!" Ren replied with a smile. "Just make sure you eventually become a high-ranking member of the One Qi Alliance and work with Dongfang Yuechu to bring about peace between humans and demons."
Wangquan Fugui looked at him in confusion.
"You're a demon, aren't you? The demon race is currently in a position of strength. Why are you so eager for humans and demons to live in peace?"
"Obviously, it's because of my Honghong!" Ren said, gently nudging Honghong with his elbow. "Her dream is for humans and demons to coexist peacefully. For Honghong's dream, I, Ren Kurogane, would gladly do anything!"
Honghong smiled.
"Humans and demons don't have any unavoidable conflicts of interest. There's no need for us to keep fighting and killing each other."
Over the next few days, Wangquan Fugui recuperated in his room, enjoying the delicious meals Qing Tong prepared for him. Life was treating him rather well.
BOOM!
Ren returned carrying a muntjac that looked rather foolish.
"Honghong! Time to eat!"
Honghong turned at the sound of his voice. As she watched him breathe divine fire from his mouth, the aroma of roasted meat reached her nose in an instant.
A huge question mark appeared over her head.
"How do you have divine fire like that?" Honghong asked, staring at him in confusion.
"Fire? Just use magic power to conjure some flames," Ren replied matter-of-factly. "Anyway, we'll split this muntjac in half. I'm digging in!"
Crunch, crunch!
After chewing for a while, Ren noticed that Honghong hadn't touched her food.
"What is it, Honghong? Not hungry?"
As he spoke, he tore off another piece of meat from Honghong's portion and began eating it.
Honghong continued studying him. No matter how slow she could sometimes be, even she had noticed that Ren was different from ordinary demons.
"You!"
Honghong suddenly stood up and stared at him with a serious expression.
"Me?" Ren looked back at her blankly, utterly confused.
"That's it! You! From the very beginning, you've been cultivating differently from the rest of us!"
With that, Honghong sat back down, tore off a piece of roasted meat, and began eating it slowly.
Ren looked as though he'd been dealt a terrible blow.
"Wait! You're going to say something like that and then not explain what makes me different?!"
Honghong had suddenly sparked his curiosity, only to leave him hanging without another word. It was driving him crazy!
She shook her head without explaining. She hadn't fully comprehended that power herself, so she couldn't answer his questions.
"Come on! Tell me! Just tell me!"
Ren circled around Honghong in agitation for quite some time before finally giving up.
"Forget it. I'll figure it out myself eventually!"
He lay down on the grass, perfectly content with his current leisurely life.
At his present level of strength, as long as the Third Young Master wasn't around—or, better yet, as long as the Third Young Master wasn't some overpowered maniac—things would be just fine.
At the peak of the Demon Emperor realm, Ren was certainly formidable. But even if he went all out, he still wouldn't stand a chance against Fan Yunfei at his peak.
Fortunately, the dirt dog was a decent fellow. As long as Ren didn't kill Li Xueyang or Little Li right in front of him, Fan Yunfei wouldn't lose his temper.
Still, until I get over that mountain, I won't be able to rest easy!
Ren gazed up at the blue sky. His breathing slowed, and his thoughts gradually grew hazy.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in that pitch-black space where nothing existed.
"Damn it! I'm back in this ridiculous place again!"
The White Tiger Ren Kurogane spat in annoyance and was about to leave when a lazy voice came from behind him.
"Oh? A new brother has arrived?"
"Who's there?!"
White Tiger Ren immediately went on guard and turned around.
A young man in casual clothes stood behind him. His face bore an uncanny resemblance to Ren's own, sharing nearly eighty or ninety percent of the same features.
"Relax. We're all brothers here." Armored Ren smiled. "Come on, bump fists with me. You'll understand everything."
White Tiger Ren hesitated briefly as he watched the other man raise his fist. Then he stepped forward and bumped fists with him.
This strange space had been troubling him for quite some time. Now that something had finally changed, he wasn't about to waste an opportunity that might help him unravel the mystery.
The moment their fists touched, information began flowing between them, connecting their experiences.
"Oh? The world of Fox Spirit Matchmaker? Not bad at all!" Armored Ren exclaimed with a smile.
He tried out the demonic power his counterpart cultivated, finding yet another entirely new kind of energy.
At the same time, White Tiger Ren absorbed the information passed to him. His expression quickly became rather strange.
"Holy crap! I'm already invincible now?!"
He'd been worried that the overpowered Third Young Master might pose a threat to him. But after connecting with himself from another world, he'd gone from being a mere Demon Emperor to possessing the equivalent of energy from more than a dozen black holes!
He'd just taken off!
Armored Ren laughed.
"That's it! The Third Young Master is no longer a threat. Go ahead and enjoy the whole world to your heart's content!"
White Tiger Ren nodded happily.
"Finally! I can slack off without worrying about anything!"
The two exchanged smiles, both delighted.
Armored Ren was happy because another brother had joined their space. White Tiger Ren was thrilled because his strength had increased dramatically.
While they were talking, another figure appeared.
Wearing black-and-gold armor, Super Beast Ren noticed the newcomer and smiled.
"Another new brother?"
White Tiger Ren already knew that this was the absolute powerhouse in their brotherhood space.
"Yep! I've transmigrated into the world of Fox Spirit Matchmaker."
The two bumped fists, and everything they needed to know passed between them without another word.
After absorbing White Tiger Ren's experiences, Super Beast Ren's eyes lit up.
"Your cultivation method! It's very similar to mine!"
"Huh?"
The other two Ren Kurogane variants looked at him in confusion.
"You cultivate the power of the mind. The supernatural energy I cultivate is also a form of the power of the mind. The energy cultivated by our brother from the Armor Hero world is the same. Once our powers reach a sufficiently high level, they all give us the ability to rewrite reality."
"Now that you mention it…" Armored Ren rested a hand beneath his chin. "I can reverse time, and you can use the Singularity to create an entirely real world. Once our White Tiger brother's cultivation reaches its final stage, he should be able to alter reality, too."
White Tiger Ren understood what they meant. He pondered the idea before speaking.
"Although we're already very powerful, our cultivation systems are still too scattered. If we could use the power of the mind to create an entirely new cultivation system of our own…"
All three raised their heads at once, thinking of one of the most absurdly powerful cultivation methods in the entire fantasy multiverse.
The world that mass-produced experts at the Heavenly Dao realm!
"Jie jie jie!!!"
All three burst into the sinister laughter of the Soul Hall.
"What are you three doing? Why are you laughing so creepily? You sound just like Zeng Xiaoxian!"
Capitalist Ren, also known as Apartment of Love Ren, appeared in the brotherhood space and immediately heard their sinister laughter.
Before Ren's creepy side had been brought out, that particular trait had always belonged to Zeng Xiaoxian.
"Brother! You're here!"
White Tiger Ren bumped fists with Capitalist Ren. The newcomer immediately understood what the other three had been laughing about.
He couldn't help feeling speechless.
"Something that high-level absolutely requires a cultivation method for immortals. In fact, Ancient Factory Director combined immortal cultivation, technology, magic, and a whole range of other systems, then improved them using the unique mental power possessed by humans in his world. That's how he created it. We're nowhere near that level yet."
In that world, their current strength wouldn't even qualify them to boast about the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Dao Realm. How could they possibly compare themselves to the Un-Dragon Heart Method?
Super Beast Ren slung an arm around Capitalist Ren's shoulder and smiled.
"Brother, people need dreams! Sure, we can't create an invincible technique like Ancient Factory Director's Un-Dragon Heart Method right now. But if we lay a solid foundation, then one day, a brother from some high-martial-arts world might join us. If we pass our insights on to him and he comprehends them, maybe he'll ascend straight to the heavens. And we'll rise with him!"
Capitalist Ren was persuaded. The idea did make some sense.
"Fine. I'll pay more attention to this kind of cultivation when I return," he said.
"It's your turn to keep watch now," Armored Ren said. "Pass the idea on to the next brother."
Super Beast Ren nodded.
"Don't worry. Leave it to me!"
One after another, the others departed. Super Beast Ren remained in the brotherhood space, passing his idea on to Ninja Ren and the others.
It was an audacious idea, and even Ninja Ren was taken aback.
After all, they were talking about the Un-Dragon Heart Method!
But his surprise soon gave way to excitement.
If he could truly create a cultivation technique of that level, wouldn't he become one of the supreme powerhouses across the myriad worlds?
He hadn't forgotten those people from the Lord God Space he'd encountered before.
He wasn't the only transmigrator in this world. Other forces existed, too!
So far, however, they hadn't encountered any other factions or any other transmigrators carrying systems. That was at least some good news.
Beside Honghong, Ren opened his eyes again, the corners of his mouth curling upward.
"Sure enough, if you're going to make it in this world, you need connections and a powerful backer!"
His joy was indescribable. He was itching to rush over to the Third Young Master and have a friendly sparring match, but his immediate priority was to study the power of the mind.
The Third Young Master wasn't going anywhere. He could wait.
Ren, on the other hand, had a lot of catching up to do!
Honghong keenly noticed the change in him and asked in confusion, "What's wrong? It feels like something about you has changed."
Ren smiled.
"Nothing much. I just had a small breakthrough in my understanding."
"Another breakthrough?" Honghong was speechless.
This fellow really was a freakish genius. He could wander around for a while and somehow come back with a new insight.
For the first time, Honghong found herself wondering whether the Tree of Acknowledgement was really all that impressive…
As they talked, the two sensed a surge of demonic energy.
"A Demon King? Why would a Demon King be here?"
Without hesitation, Ren flew toward the source of the demonic energy.
A woman dressed in red appeared in his field of vision.
"You're… Poison Lady?" Honghong frowned. "Why is someone from the Southern Kingdom here?"
Seeing Ren and Honghong, Poison Lady immediately became wary. She bowed respectfully to Honghong.
"Greetings, Alliance Leader!"
"Mm. What brings you here?" Honghong asked.
Poison Lady explained her situation.
Her husband had been sealed away by members of the One Qi Alliance.
Honghong nodded.
"Very well. Come with me to see Wangquan Fugui."
"Thank you, Alliance Leader!" Poison Lady exclaimed in delight.
The three arrived at Wangquan Fugui's place.
He and Qing Tong had just finished eating. Qing Tong was washing the pots while Wangquan Fugui sat in a chair, watching her with a slight smile.
"Fugui! Are you two done in there?" Ren called from outside.
Wangquan Fugui's face darkened.
He was still recovering from his injuries. How could he possibly have the energy for anything like that?
Besides, it was broad daylight. Why would he be doing anything inappropriate in the middle of the day?
Ahem.
Enough of that.
Wangquan Fugui walked out of the room and noticed that there was another woman standing behind Ren and the others. He looked at her curiously.
"This woman…" Ren said, pointing toward Poison Lady. "Your father sealed away her husband. The original sentence was thirty years, but she's been lonely for far too long…"
Honghong swiftly covered Ren's mouth with her delicate hand before turning to Wangquan Fugui with a smile.
"The situation is…"
She had barely begun speaking when she realized something was wrong.
"You're saying Poison Master isn't dead? He was sealed away?"
Honghong and Poison Lady both turned to stare at Ren in confusion.
"Yeah. Didn't I tell you just now?" Ren asked.
"No! You didn't say a word!" A '#' symbol practically appeared above Honghong's head.
"Oh. Well, I suppose I don't need to explain it now."
Ren turned to Wangquan Fugui.
"Fugui, help remove the seal on her husband. After all, this newlywed couple was separated by your father before they could even consummate their marriage. They've been apart for nearly twenty years. That's pretty damn cruel."
Poison Lady was quick to catch on. She immediately knelt before Wangquan Fugui and pleaded.
"Please, hero! Have mercy on us and help reunite our married couple!"
Poison Lady was still shocked by what Ren had revealed, but rescuing her husband was the most important thing right now.
Wangquan Fugui didn't refuse.
He gathered sword energy in one hand and slashed out several streaks of golden light. In an instant, he broke the seal on the golden crown atop Poison Lady's head, freeing Poison Master from within.