Lu Yang fell silent for a moment upon seeing the cicada demon die in such a perfunctory manner. He didn't even know the golden cicada's name yet.
Seeing Lu Yang's silence, Immortal Fairy guessed what he was thinking. Adopting the posture of someone who had seen it all, she lectured him in earnest, "This is merely a tiny glimpse into the cruelty of ancient battles. You need to get used to it.
"The cruel things this Immortal has experienced are far beyond your imagination. Even now, this Immortal is reluctant to recall those matters."
Lu Yang had a moment of realization. Indeed, the ancient struggle of the Golden Age was a life-and-death clash, by no means as light and effortless as Immortal Fairy described. It must have entailed gruesome, bloody slaughter.
For Immortal Fairy, it surely hadn't been a pleasant experience, which was why she was unwilling to look back on it.
"Back then, to squish that golden cicada to death, this Immortal even had to use Universe in the Palm. Guts and juices splattered all over my fingers—just thinking of that texture now grosses me out." Recalling the battle, Immortal Fairy put on a disgusted expression and gave her hand a token shake.
Immortal Fairy stood up from the bed. The mattress was soft, bouncing twice as she got up.
"You've seen Universe in the Palm before, right? The Universe in the Palm this Immortal unleashed back then was thiiis big!" Immortal Fairy spread her arms wide, vigorously tracing out a huge circle.
Immortal Fairy then held up a single finger. "Back then, it was just like this."
As she spoke, she poked Lu Yang a few times.
Lu Yang: "..."
*Fairy, isn't your demonstration a bit too abstract?*
Tao Tingfeng closely examined the cicada slough in the box, which looked as though it were cast from pure gold. It clearly seemed like an extraordinary treasure.
He had heard his clan uncle say that only Body Integration mighty figures could be addressed as True Monarchs, which meant True Monarch Guanqi was a Body Integration cultivator.
For a treasure that a Body Integration cultivator would only part with at death's door, one could imagine just how precious it was.
*What should I do with this? Should I try binding it to myself?* Tao Tingfeng was tempted. This was a tremendous stroke of fortune dropping straight from the heavens!
Meng Jingzhou glanced down at Man Gu's evaluation in the booklet. Recalling Tao Tingfeng's recent string of actions—sneaking up the mountain, then daring to approach True Monarch Guanqi—he muttered under his breath, "No matter how you look at it, this kid doesn't seem timid or afraid of trouble at all."
Lu Yang stroked his chin and speculated, "Do you think it's possible Junior Brother Man used the two of us as the reference point for his evaluation?"
Meng Jingzhou pondered for a moment and felt Lu Yang had a point. Compared to his and Old Lu's style, this kid Tao Tingfeng really could be considered as timid as a mouse.
While the two were talking, Tao Tingfeng followed his clan uncle's past teachings: he bit his fingertip and let a drop of fresh blood fall onto the Golden Cicada Slough.
The blood dripped onto the Golden Cicada Slough and vanished in the blink of an eye.
"It worked?"
Tao Tingfeng rejoiced and kept dripping blood until his face turned pale, nearly to the point of anemia. Only then did the Golden Cicada Slough stop absorbing blood. Instead, it hovered in midair and suddenly shot right into Tao Tingfeng's body, scaring him half to death.
He hurriedly felt the spot where the Golden Cicada Slough had entered, finding nothing there.
Nor did his body feel the slightest discomfort.
"Does this mean the binding was successful?" Tao Tingfeng wasn't quite sure.
"...Isn't this method of claiming ownership a bit too simple?" Lu Yang complained.
"This is called 'the greatest Dao is simple' and 'returning to pure simplicity.'" Immortal Fairy rattled off two idioms in one breath.
"Still, True Monarch Guanqi is just gone like that?" Meng Jingzhou was somewhat baffled.
They had only squatted here for a brief while, and an ancient Body Integration cultivator just died right in front of them. Wasn't that death a bit too effortless?
Chapter 716