Chapter 652: Lao Jun's Sinister Whim

Yu Lin left at the beginning of creation, and after returning to the present world, he hurried nonstop toward the Heavenly Court.

He passed through the Southern Heavenly Gate and walked straight toward Doushuo Palace.

Inside Doushuo Palace, everything was as before.

The fire in the Dan Furnace was still burning, the furnace interior glowed a translucent red, the flames licked the furnace floor, emitting a faint hissing sound.

Jin Jiao and Yin Jiao crouched before the Dan Furnace; Jin Jiao fanned the fire, Yin Jiao added materials, and the furnace heat made their faces shine oily and bright.

Several attendants busied themselves at the shelves—some arranging herbs, some polishing vessels, some filling bottles with elixirs.

Qing Niu lay at the doorway, squinting in a nap; hearing footsteps, it lifted its head, saw Yu Lin approaching, and froze for a moment.

Then it sprang up violently, moving faster than a cow should, snatched the Golden Boy and Yu Nv playing at the entrance, and turned to run.

The Golden Boy and Yu Nv were held in its mouth, their feet off the ground, their tiny hands clutching the cow's mouth, unable to shout.

Qing Niu ran so fast that it vanished like a wisp of smoke.

It seemed still very afraid of the match Yu Lin had introduced for it.

Never mind, just run first.

Yu Lin looked that way, shook his head, and said nothing.

He strode into the palace, bypassed the Dan Furnace, and walked further inside.

Lao Jun sat on a cushion inside, eyes closed, his back perfectly straight, hands resting on his knees, appearing to be nurturing his spirit.

Yu Lin knew what he was doing—he was controlling the Clone that had descended to the mortal realm.

At this moment the Clone was probably dining with Ning Ya at some tavern, where Lao Jun there ate while playing on a phone; here Lao Jun, eyes closed on his cushion, controlled it, multitasking without delay.

Sensing Yu Lin's arrival, Lao Jun did not lift his head.

"Arrived?"

"Mm." Yu Lin sat on the cushion beside him.

The heat from the Dan Furnace surged in from outside, warming the whole room.

"Speak, what matter?"

"Nothing."

"Lao Jun, you've refined pills for so many years, and the Heavenly Court has so many celestial beasts and divine pets; I suppose you also have breeding needs in that regard, right?"

"You should have the elixirs for that, right? Lend me two."

Only then did Lao Jun open his eyes, his hand moving to his chin, stroking his long beard.

"Oh? What do you intend to do?"

"I ask knowingly; I don't think you don't know."

Lao Jun shook his head.

"The old man truly doesn't know now. Do you still think you are the same as before?"

"Really?"

"Of course it's true."

"Fine." Yu Lin raised his hand and pointed toward the direction of the Human World Egypt.

"I will give the Creator God of Egypt a strong elixir, so he can truly feel the charm of life."

"Alright?"

"This one…" Lao Jun looked at him, silent for a moment.

"Fine."

He stood up and walked to the shelves behind him.

The shelves were filled with bottles and jars of all sizes and shapes—tall, short, fat, thin, some porcelain, some jade, some glass—each labeled.

Lao Jun's hand swept across the rows, his fingers pausing on a few bottles before moving on.

Finally he stopped at a Blue and White Porcelain Bottle, took it down; its mouth was sealed with wax, and a red paper with two characters was affixed to its body.

Lao Jun turned and handed the bottle to Yu Lin.

Yu Lin took it; the bottle was icy cold and heavy, its contents shifting—not liquid but solid, clumped, striking the bottle walls with faint sounds.

Lao Jun sat down again, "Back then the Jade Emperor sent Er Lang Shen to capture that monkey; I originally intended to use this pill to make the monkey's desire fire unbearable, rendering it unable to fight, but I feared it would backfire and cause Er Lang Shen to be affected as well, and then they… *cough*."

"Not good, not auspicious, unacceptable."

"Today I entrust it to you; use it carefully, even I cannot endure this elixir."

Yu Lin raised an eyebrow.

"Lao Jun, you can't endure it either; then how do you know its effect?"

Lao Jun's face showed a meaning‑laden smile.

"The old man has never used it, but I know exactly what ingredients were used and what each does."

"Moreover, back then Tathagata descended and endured tribulations... *cough*, I won't go into more detail."

He waved his hand: "Go, go, go, I still wish to taste the incense of the Human World."

Having said that,

He closed his eyes, his back straight, returning to the nurturing‑spirit posture.

Yu Lin looked at his timeless face, asked no more, slipped the bottle into his pocket, stood, turned, and walked out of Doushuo Palace.

Qing Niu hadn't returned, and the whereabouts of the Golden Boy and Yu Nv, taken by it, were unknown.

Jin Jiao and Yin Jiao were still fanning the fire before the Dan Furnace; after greeting Yu Lin, they returned to their tasks.

Yu Lin exited Doushuo Palace, passed through the Southern Heavenly Gate, and left the Heavenly Court.

Yu Lin stepped again into that void.

Chaos Water still flowed, the mound remained, Atum stood at the summit, Golden Light radiated from him, casting the whole void a dim yellow.

He closed his eyes, brows slightly furrowed, as if thinking about something, or enduring something.

His body leaned slightly forward, his hands clenched into fists, his shoulders drawn tight.

Yu Lin pulled the Blue and White Porcelain Bottle from his pocket, pulled out the stopper, and poured two pills into his palm.

The pills were pink, round and plump, each bearing a raised heart-shaped pattern on top, the heart smooth-edged, glowing with a faint sheen in the light.

".............."

Yu Lin looked at the two pills in his palm, fell silent for a moment.

Lao Jun's sense of humor was worse than he had imagined.

He crushed the pills, powder sifting from between his fingers, pink, fine, like rouge, like pollen, like peach blossoms scattered by the spring wind.

The powder drifted in the void, no wind, yet it moved swiftly, flowing toward Atum like a pink ribbon.

Atum had his eyes closed, mouth slightly open, his breathing slow and deep.

The powder drifted into his nostrils, into his mouth, clung to his skin, seeped into his pores!

Atum's body tensed suddenly. His eyes flew open, the golden light in his pupils flaring violently, like two lamps tossed about by the wind.

His skin turned pink, starting from his face and spreading down—neck, shoulders, chest, arms, waist, abdomen, legs—all becoming pink!

This pink was not on the surface; it came from within, as if his blood had been dyed, as if his whole being, inside and out, had been soaked in pink dye.

The Chaos Water began to churn!

The water surface was no longer flat; waves surged from all directions toward the center, striking the mound and sending spray skyward. Each wave crest was higher and more violent than the last, as if something were struggling beneath the water, as if the very Chaos itself were being stirred!!

The Primeval Law trembled in the void, the still-unformed rules twitching, spasming, colliding with one another!

Light and dark, heaven and earth, up and down—all boundaries blurred, wavered, repeatedly jumping between collapse and rebirth!

Atum lifted his head, spread his arms wide, and thrust his chest high.

He opened his mouth wide, letting out a low, deep roar—not a human sound, but more like the bellow of some ancient beast, rising from the depths of Chaos, from before time began, shaking the very void to tremble!

"I'm about to release it!"