Chapter 295: Immortal Turns Out to Be a Thief!

The air in the secret room stagnated for a moment.

A Qi's gaze instantly turned sharp.

Resurrection? Immaculate Body?

Although he hadn't read much, the survival laws of the wasteland taught him a truth: there's no free nutrient solution; the other side spent so many resources to raise him to Nascent Soul Peak, originally just coveting his body.

Body Seizure!

A Qi's inner spiritual power instinctively circulated, and blood-red true essence gathered in his palm.

He is now at Nascent Soul Peak; even if the opponent is the remnant soul of an Ancient Immortal Venerable, if they truly fight to the death, it's still uncertain who will win.

"Don't panic."

Heavenly Origin Old Ancestor chuckled lightly, his tone carrying a hint of mockery,

"If I wanted to seize your body, I would have acted when you drank the first vial of Spiritual Marrow. Why wait until you reach Nascent Soul Perfection?"

The true essence on A Qi's hand did not dissipate.

"What does that Immortal Venerable mean?"

"Symbiosis."

The Old Ancestor threw out an extremely misleading term,

"I will use your body and fortune to nurture your spirit soul; in return, I will guide you to the pinnacle of this realm, sharing honor and disgrace. Once my spirit soul fully recovers, I will naturally rebuild my immortal form and depart."

This explanation is quite reasonable.

At least to A Qi, the logic sounded sound.

He slowly retracted his true essence.

"So that's how it is."

A Qi nodded, but inwardly he sneered.

"Symbiosis?"

"Wait until I drain all your immortal arts, then I'll refine your remnant soul first."

Seeing him relax his guard, the Old Ancestor shifted tactics and began the final step of brainwashing.

"Actually, there's another reason I chose you."

The Old Ancestor sighed, "Do you know you once bore immense fortune? That was enough to make you the supreme immortal destiny of this world."

A Qi froze.

"Fortune? Immortal destiny?"

"Not bad."

The Old Ancestor's voice grew distant,

"You were born humble, yet you kept your flesh untainted by machinery in this spirit‑less land—this is a sliver of life left by heaven. I can sense that when you first met that white‑clothed person, he was probably just a soul body."

That sentence struck like lightning, splitting the fog in A Qi's mind.

He recalled half a month ago, when he was forced into a desperate situation by the Reapers in the garbage dump.

The existence of that self‑proclaimed immortal was indeed incorporeal.

He was merely a voice, a trace of divine thought.

Later, that white‑clothed person gained a body.

Afterward, he brought a disheveled man who easily took over Eleventh City.

The Old Ancestor pressed step by step.

A Qi remained silent.

But his breathing grew heavy.

"How strange, how strange."

The Old Ancestor feigned a sigh,

"I observe that your fate should have been the heavenly fortune fate, but now this immortal destiny has weakened greatly—truly strange."

"Immortal destiny? Immortal Venerable, what do you mean by that…"

A Qi harbored an incredulous guess in his heart.

The Old Ancestor answered nothing.

Yet his silence seemed to already tell A Qi the answer.

Why did the immortal choose me?

Why, after gaining a body, did he leave me aside?

Why did he distribute heavenly fortune among the whole city, yet suppress my own cultivation?

An extremely absurd yet perfectly fitting logical loop formed in A Qi's mind.

That white‑clothed person is absolutely no benevolent immortal!

He is merely a wandering lonely soul and wild ghost that drifted from who knows where!

He chose me because I possess fortune!

He used my fortune to reforge his body.

He shared his power with the whole city to build his own force.

And he suppressed my cultivation because he was afraid!

He feared that I, the true Heaven's Mandate Child, would grow up and take back everything that is mine!

No wonder he always looks at me with that lofty gaze.

That's a guilty thief's cover‑up!

A Qi's eyes turned completely red.

Extreme inferiority turned into extreme arrogance at this moment.

Turns out I am not trash.

I am the protagonist of this world!

It is that thief, who stole my fortune!

"Immortal Venerable, what should I do next?"

The divine sense of the Heavenly Origin Elder Ancestor hovered in midair.

He saw the youth's frenzied demeanor.

Having lived three thousand years, he had seen too many lowly ants who, upon sudden success, become arrogant.

The Elder Ancestor's voice remained ethereal and weathered, carrying the tolerance unique to elders.

"Child, do not let hatred blind your eyes. That person imparted your cultivation method, refined your bones and marrow; in any case, there is the favor of teaching. Although he is at fault, you cannot be an ungrateful wretch."

The urgent task is to make good use of the resources he gave you to cultivate diligently, stabilize your Nascent Soul realm; this Eleven City is ultimately just a small pond—your heaven and earth lie above the Milky Way.

These words were flawless and righteous.

The Elder Ancestor's calculations were very precise.

He never intended to act against A Qi and that white‑clothed person.

He merely wanted to verify the details, to see if that white‑clothed person over there is the new Dao Immortal he seeks.

After hearing this teaching, A Qi lowered his head, appearing respectful on the surface, but his eyes brimmed with ridicule.

"The favor of teaching? Gratitude?"

"A joke."

A Qi sneered coldly in his heart.

If not for borrowing my heavenly destiny's qi fortune, where would that lonely soul get a body?

Where would his heaven‑reaching cultivation come from?

He transmitted the cultivation method to me merely to feed the cauldron furnace, fearing I would starve.

In truth, I owe him gratitude! I have fulfilled him!

This twisted logic has taken root and sprouted in A Qi's mind, growing into a towering tree.

On the wasteland, the law of survival has always been the strong devour the weak; whoever has the bigger fist holds the truth.

"Immortal Venerable's teachings are correct."

A Qi raised his head, putting on an appearance of being receptive to instruction,

"I was impulsive. The Immortal Venerable bestowed upon me the supreme wondrous method; this favor is greater than heaven. I will wholeheartedly cultivate and soon aid the Immortal Venerable in restoring his soul."

He spoke beautifully on the surface, but behind the scenes he was plotting another play.

"Ancient Immortal Venerable?"

Just a hidden head and exposed tail remnant soul.

This old thing surely still has many lost cultivation methods and spiritual marrow in his hands.

Wait until I squeeze out all his trump cards; the first thing I'll do is refine and absorb this remnant soul to strengthen my body.

As for that thief, let him be proud for a few days; when I enter the God‑Transformation realm, I will settle old and new grudges together.

The Elder Ancestor observed A Qi's change in demeanor; a monster that has cultivated for ages could not fail to see through this clumsy disguise.

The Elder Ancestor silently sneered.

A fool is just a fool.

That "Blood-Burning to Conceive Infant Technique" is not practiced for nothing; he is an ancient immortal who overdrew all his future lifespan and potential to obtain this realm.

If not for the opponent's body being tempered to perfection, how could he leap straight into the Nascent Soul stage?

Dream on!

However, this body is indeed excellent.

If he overdrafts further, he should still be able to make considerable progress.

"The more this fool strives, the stronger his cultivation becomes; by then he will be able to influence that immortal, even..."

An old and a young, a remnant soul and a nouveau riche, in this dark underground chamber, they are staging a farcical play of a greedy snake trying to swallow an elephant.

They scheme against each other, use each other, each regarding the other as a stepping stone on the path to the azure clouds.