After watching the Monkey Leader concentrate on making the royal wine, Zhiran's vision finally faded, and he came back to his senses in his room.

Only, the initial joy on his face totally disappeared, followed by a solemn look.

'Luck…haha…what luck.'

Zhiran couldn't help but curse himself in his mind, thinking that he was getting carried away.

If he had to recall one person who never encountered any luck in his long life, then he would point at himself without a doubt.

He could tell from experience that luck wasn't on his side; after all, luck was nothing but heaven's providence.

Didn't he also use his so-called fortuitous encounter last life to give that bastard an advantage?

After all, a secret technique that could operate in any condition was indeed a treasure he cherished immensely.

But in the end, he had to use it to explode his gold core just to save himself from an even more gruesome fate.

To be honest, Zhiran had a little PTSD; no doubt about it.

'But… can heaven affect… my system?'

Of course, Zhiran wasn't so paranoid that he would turn his face away just because of his suspicion. He was just cautious, that's all.

'No, it shouldn't be. Otherwise, how could it allow its existence?'

Zhiran shook his head and began to think from a different angle.

He felt that he was giving himself too much importance. In this plot, he was just a side character, nothing important.

Why would heaven target him for no reason?

At most, he felt he was merely suffering the consequences of the protagonist's decisions. So, all he had to do was be ready for the trial he couldn't overcome in his previous life.

Just like how he crippled Wu Zhen instead of being crippled.

'In my previous life, Tianyu somehow offended a very powerful figure in today's auction. That person must be the one who was bidding for the Spirit Nurturing Lotus.'

Zhiran began analyzing his situation from the bits of information he knew.

'Since I was crippled at that time and confined within the sect, I wasn't affected much by that fiasco. But now…'

He couldn't help but look out the window toward the outskirts of Azure Flame City.

Although he didn't know exactly what might have happened, he could easily guess.

Precisely because of that, he couldn't help but feel a headache.

'A Foundation Establishment cultivator that is lurking… and strong.'

Zhiran didn't have so much blind arrogance as to think he could kill a Foundation cultivator while still at the Qi Condensation Realm. Although he had done that once before, it was during a very special situation.

He wasn't Tianyu, who had endless trump cards at his disposal.

'Sigh… I didn't want to touch the dark side yet.'

After thinking through everything, Zhiran finally sighed heavily and stood up from his position.

No matter what, he couldn't just leave the Royal Wine in that place.

Although he could indeed wait a few days and safely harvest it later, he had a hunch that things would turn out badly.

After all, what would he do if someone snatched that wine while he was still making plans?

And what if it was Tianyu?

Just thinking about it made Zhiran's expression darken.

'Let's make some preparations before leaving for the Darkwood Forest. Who knows, maybe I'm just overthinking.'

Zhiran thought and swiftly left the inn, his mind filled with various thoughts.

Although he was no Tianyu, he was still someone who had reached the Golden Core Realm in his previous life by walking the path of a demonic cultivator.

If his righteous methods couldn't harm a powerful enemy, he had endless dark methods that could stir the soul of even the strongest Foundation cultivator.

He just had to make sure there were no loose ends left behind. Otherwise, he might be hunted down to no end.

***

"Damn bastard… You dare to kill me. My Han family will never let you go."

Somewhere deep in the dark forest, a soul body seethed with extreme hatred. It was Han Luo, floating atop a huge tree and navigating its complex chambers.

In his one transparent hand was a spirit ring, and in the other was a compass pointing in a certain direction.

And if anyone looked closely at him right now, they would definitely see his chest stamped with a fiery talisman, pulsing faintly in a steady rhythm. It seemed to serve as the anchor that allowed Han Luo's soul to maintain its form and not dissipate.

"My Spirit-Sealing Talisman is already losing its power. I need pure spiritual energy to sustain it longer and stabilize my soul for a few days. Damn it…such bad luck."

Han Luo muttered, his words dripping with hatred and endless regret.

Although he had managed to save his life thanks to the exceptional talisman crafted by his Han family, he still lost his body completely.

Not to mention, he now existed in soul form and was extremely vulnerable.

Fortunately, he had already sent news through his soul link to his family and knew someone would come to rescue him in a few days.

Still… this loss was so unbearable.

"The Qi Locator is constantly pointing downward. It seems there's something special beneath this tree. I hope it's something that can help my situation."

Han Luo set aside his hatred for the moment and focused on the path ahead. To his luck, his Qi Locator seemed to have found something that could sustain his Spirit-Sealing Talisman.

Without thinking much, he immediately dove down, navigating the chambers and disappearing into its depths.

If Zhiran were here, he would definitely recognize this tree as the same one where he had seen the Monkey Wine being made before.

***

"Fucking swindlers! Twenty middle-grade spirit stones for just a defensive amulet? Are they so blind with greed?"

On the outskirts of the Deepwood Forest, Zhiran was walking along a remote path draped in a dark robe of unknown origin.

Unlike before, he wasn't wearing his inner sect robe. Instead, he was in a disguise so subtle that even divine sense would have difficulty detecting it.

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