Little Mortal, eating happily, saw the blue mist too and said,
"Manager Luna, look, your food is on another level! There's even a special effect while eating it!"
But when he saw Luna and Rose, weirdly looking at him, he realized he was the only one with blue mist.
The happy smile on his face froze.
Rose asked worriedly,
"Are you okay, Sect Master? Maybe our food isn't suitable for you?"
She thought maybe because he wasn't from their world, his body was reacting to the new kind of food.
Little Mortal waved his hand in the blue mist and said,
"Look, it's so cool! I can make blue smoke!"
Then he put some more rice in his mouth, and after swallowing it down, blue mist started coming out again.
Lady Butterfly tried to sense the mist and, sure enough, it was exactly what she thought it to be.
She coughed and said,
"It's nothing to worry about. It's the spirit energy inside the food. Because the Sect Master doesn't have a spirit root, it's being completely rejected from his body."
Little Mortal suddenly froze again.
He then started 'giggling' to himself and whispered,
"I didn't know my body could do this! If that's the case, then... Hehehe."
The three ladies thought to themselves,
'Then what? Just say it!'
But that was it.
The rest of the dinner was eaten in silence.
Only the little boy was messing with the blue mist coming out of his mouth and nose, trying to make different forms and shapes with it.
In the end, he even learned to send the blue mist out of his ears and his skin!
The ladies:
"....."
After the food was done, Little Mortal jumped down from his chair and said,
"Alright, thanks for the food. It's late now, so I'll go to sleep. Goodnight, fellow Daoists."
Then he cupped his hands, bowed to them, and walked to his backpack.
But Lady Butterfly remembered something and said,
"Sect Master, do you want me to go get the 'Power Grass'?"
Little Mortal, with sleepy eyes, turned around and, while yawning, said,
"Nah, I told you Mr. Morleone can take care of that. He's on the night shift if there's anything special that needs to be done."
He then went to his backpack, climbed up, opened the lid, jumped in, and after a moment came out.
This time, he was wearing black sleepwear featuring small rabbits and cats.
The design combination was cute and a little scary at the same time. All the small rabbits' and cats' eyes were blood-red, staring at those who looked at the sleepwear as if they could come to life at any moment!
'Why is everything about him cute but scary? Can't you just pick one?'
He then brought down the sleeping bag from his backpack, opened it, and went inside, closing the zipper.
A slow and weak breathing sound began to emerge from the sleeping bag not long after.
Luna looked at the sleeping bag and sighed with envy.
"When I was in there, it was so comfortable that I could sleep forever..."
Rose laughed and said,
"Grandmother, who is Mr. Morleone?"
She was eager to know who the new character was.
Lady Butterfly said,
"No clue. It might—"
But before she could continue, the sleeping bag suddenly opened!
The little boy, with his eyes closed, stood up and came out, motionless.
From the sound of his slow breathing, you could tell he was still asleep.
A brief moment later, he climbed up the backpack, opened the lid, and went in...
The three ladies gulped down.
Luna, from fear.
Rose, from excitement.
Lady Butterfly, from the feeling of uncertainty.
Before long, they saw someone coming out.
A Little Gentleman, in a black suit, black leather shoes, 'slicked-back' hairstyle, black tie, and eyes that were imposing without anger—as if he was full of emotions, but all hidden.
When he came out, the entire research team stopped moving. The whole place became deadly silent.
The little newcomer put his right hand in his pocket and took out a high-grade spirit stone.
He placed the spirit stone between his two little palms and started pressing and rolling it between them.
In this deadly silence, the crushing and compression sounds made everyone nervous.
Cold sweat dripped from the corners of their faces.
They could feel it—this little 'gentleman' in front of them couldn't be communicated with normally...
'Isn't he the same person? Why so serious all of a sudden? Why is he so scary just standing there? What is he doing with that poor spirit stone?'
After a while, the crushing sound stopped.
The little gentleman-looking boy opened his palm, and now the spirit stone was rolled into something like a cigarette...
He slowly raised his head while, at the same time, placing the 'spirit stone cigarette' at the corner of his mouth.
He looked around and, finally, his eyes locked onto the three of them.
Just looking into his eyes made their breathing stop...
He inhaled his 'cigarette', then exhaled.
Blue smoke came out of his mouth, and part of the tip of the cigarette turned to powder...
Lady Butterfly was speechless—the smoke was pure spiritual energy.
The little gentleman, in a low voice, said,
"Mortal Morleone."
Without knowing why, the ladies introduced themselves too.
"I am Rose."
"L-Luna."
"Lady Butterfly."
He nodded.
"Welcome to the family."
And after a pause,
"I hope Little 'Mortal' wasn't a bother to you."
Rose was the one who answered him,
"No, not at all. He was so thoughtful and nice to us."
The little gentleman, with a smile at the corner of his mouth, inhaled his spirit cigarette once more and, while puffing blue smoke out, said,
"Good to hear. Now, ladies, if you'll excuse me, I have some matters to take care of."
Then, without saying anything else, he walked outside the inn—one hand in his pocket, the other smoking his spirit stone cigarette.
The way he walked gave the impression that he was the owner of this place...
When he was outside, they heard him talking to himself,
"Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in."
Then he snapped his fingers, and the small familiar tricycle appeared on the street outside.
But it suddenly jumped, did a front flip, and transformed into a child-size black car before landing in front of him.
Mr. Morleone opened the door, sat inside, started the car, and rode away.
The ladies were dumbfounded.
This new character, this new style, and even his 'ride' seemed to be a unique set.
On the back of the thing he left in were words they didn't understand:
*'Mercedes-Menz M123'*
Not long after, the car disappeared into the darkness of the road. Only two red lights could be seen—like devil's eyes staring into their souls—before they, too, vanished...
They didn't know why, but they all felt like the one who left was their family elder...
'This new personality wasn't normal at all.'
The research team, after he left, started moving again—but not back to research. Instead, they all gathered around the big backpack, floating motionless!
Rose ignored them and turned to Lady Butterfly.
"Will Elder Iron be fine?"
"He seems aggressive sometimes, but in reality, he's kindhearted. And the new character seems calm and reasonable... at least from the outside."
Luna was going to say,
'What calm and reasonable? If this little monster gets angry, he's going to break character on the spot...'
But she didn't dare talk behind his back with so many witnesses around.
Beside her, Rose suddenly remembered something and said,
"Sister Luna, Grandmother, let me show you something interesting."
Then she began performing some martial arts moves, and after executing a flying kick, she split her legs between two chairs and landed on them in a 180-degree split.
Hands folded in front, looking confident!
Lady Butterfly was shocked and hastily looked at the door!
'The little monster is back? Is he going to start another drama?'
But there was nobody there, and instead, she heard Rose's laughter as she said excitedly,
"Grandmother, it's not him! I learned all of it just after him, using my body once! Isn't that amazing? The only problem is some parts of my body hurt a little bit."
The two ladies were speechless...
There was such a shortcut?
Luna, while cooking, had heard from Rose that her little boss had learned a new technique called 'Harmony with All Beings', but she hadn't told her there was this kind of benefit to it.
She wished he would use her body too so that she could learn some moves...
At the same time, while the three of them were in the middle of a conversation, unbeknownst to them, another group was having a secret discussion nearby.
The so-called 'Birthday Gifts' of Little Mortal.
<...>
<...>
The secret meeting ended here, and the treasures—who seemed far more intelligent than any other treasures everybody thought—went back to their research project.
....
On the way to the neighboring mountain of the storehouse, a small black car was moving.
In the driver's seat, Mr. Morleone, with his right hand on the wheel and the elbow of his left hand resting on the car window, was driving toward the peak.
While looking at the sky, he placed his spirit cigarette at the corner of his lips and, while "smoking," muttered to himself,
"Because this solar system is out of its galaxy and now in the middle of nowhere, the sky is even darker and emptier than normal..."
Then he puffed out some blue "smoke" and continued,
"Only now can you feel how lonely planets are in this vast and empty space... Just a lone rock, floating in the void..."
On his way to the mountain peak, rocks and trees kept moving to the side, and a road was being built simultaneously.
When he was close to the mountain peak, he parked his car and got out.
With one hand in his pocket and the other holding his spirit cigarette, he strolled toward the only source of light at the mountaintop.
Some distance farther, a man with black skin, a bald head, around 1.8 meters in height—and the most unique characteristic of all, his enormous and broad back—was trying to build something out of iron in a forging furnace.
This muscular man was Elder Iron, who bore a resemblance to a professional bodybuilder more than a cultivator.
For years, he had been trying to find a way to break the "shackles" on his body and advance.
He knew he needed to make something to achieve a breakthrough, but he couldn't determine what exactly, or with what material.
The best item he had crafted, which he thought was "the one," was destroyed the first time it was used.
He was always frustrated and grumpy due to his failures.
Deep in thought, he suddenly heard someone speaking behind him.
The voice was surprisingly close.
"Fascinating—same genes and same life choices."
Without thinking, the huge man turned around and threw a punch at the source of the sound with all his might.
'Here, in a demonic sect, at this time of night, who could be behind me with good intentions? I'll beat him up first, then we can talk!'
But to his surprise, when his punch was already close to its target, he saw a little boy!
His eyes widened as he tried to stop the punch before hitting the small face, but it was too late...
The little boy, however—with his left hand in his pocket and his right hand holding the spirit cigarette between his lips—merely raised the pinkie finger of his cigarette-holding hand.
The powerful punch struck the tip of that little finger and came to a sudden halt...
Then there was silence.
Behind his blocked fist, Elder Iron could only see two eyes staring at him now.
Blue "smoke" began to appear around his fist.
Elder Iron smiled bitterly.
'Alright, I'm done for! It's a hidden big shot in disguise!'
He gulped and slowly retracted his fist, cupped his hands, and bowed toward the little hidden expert.
"Greetings, Senior. Please forgive my lack of manners."
His voice carried a hint of fear.
He was scared because the power behind his fist hadn't even made a crack in the ground beneath this little senior's feet.
There was only a trembling feeling from the ground, as if the force had been dispersed from one point to the entire mountain...
The little hidden expert nodded slowly.
"Don't mind it. You can call me Mr. Morleone."
Elder Iron, seeing that he wasn't offended, sighed in relief.
"What can I do for you, Se—... Mr. Morleone?"
"Power grass."
Elder Iron hastily brought out some grass from his storage ring.
"This is all I have. Please accept it."
By now, he understood one thing: This senior was a straightforward man.
"I can buy it with spirit stones or give you an opportunity to break your shackles. Up to you."
Elder Iron didn't even hesitate before replying,
"Mr. Morleone, please give me the opportunity! The worth of any opportunity your esteemed self grants this junior far exceeds this worthless grass!"
He could tell this hidden expert was exactly like one! Offering juniors like him opportunities at the lowest prices!
Mr. Morleone, while turning around to leave, said,
"Outer Sect City Inn. Find the Sect Master. Be there in six days. Say I sent you."
"I will!"
Mr. Morleone suddenly stopped, turned around, puffed some spirit smoke, and said,
"We will meet again if fate allows it."
Then he left, chuckling to himself.
Elder Iron cupped his fists and responded,
"We will meet again if fate allows it."
Watching him disappear into the darkness, Elder Iron muttered,
"Outer Sect City Inn should be the one for new recruits... And the Sect Master—shouldn't that be the Snow Goddess? What opportunity does she have? Isn't she in seclusion? Anyway, that lady has a temper. I should get there now. If I'm late, she might turn me into an ice statue for a couple of years!"
With that thought, he began packing his things to arrive ahead of time.
....
Middle of the Night – Outer Sect City, Former Inn (Now "The Guardian Headquarters")
Luna and Rose were already asleep on the second floor.
Lady Butterfly sat on a chair beside the window, looking outside.
From time to time, she would glance at the so-called research team.
She had a weird feeling tonight.
There was nothing for her to do—no need for training, no need for "comprehending the Dao," no fear of someone stronger harming her...
Not because she had suddenly become a peak existence in the world, but because she now had a boss with seemingly unlimited power hidden inside his small body, along with many powerful treasures.
They were a little unstable, though. Her new boss had mistaken her for someone else, but it seemed he had specific goals in their world and wasn't here to cause chaos...
While lost in thought, all the research team members stopped what they were doing suddenly.
At first, Lady Butterfly thought they were finished, but then she remembered the power grass was still missing.
So why had they stopped?
She turned around and saw two sources of light approaching the inn from the end of the dark street.
As they drew closer, she recognized the same black "steed" that Mr. Morleone had used to leave earlier.
Lady Butterfly watched as it stopped in front of the inn's door, and he stepped out.
He took one last drag from his cigarette, then flicked the remaining stub into the sky.
Lady Butterfly, with her newly enhanced senses, tried to track how high it would go.
Not long ago, she had seen him crush a high-grade spirit stone and, with extreme pressure, turn it into that spirit cigarette of his.
So, it wasn't something that the force of the throw would easily destroy.
Sure enough, the small "condensed spirit stone" soared higher and higher, drawing a thin blue line across the sky.
Lady Butterfly lost sight of it the moment it was flicked away, only able to follow the trail it left behind.
In the cultivation world, she knew one couldn't ascend beyond a certain altitude—a tremendous pressure would force them back down at a specific height.
So when would it stop?
But this little spirit stone seemed unstoppable.
The blue line continued rising so high that she was certain no one in their world had ever reached such heights!
Then, suddenly, there was an impact—as if it had smashed into something!
Lady Butterfly even saw a small hole appear in the sky, as though a glass surface had been struck by a rock and shattered.
Yet the journey of the small spirit stone didn't end there. It didn't even slow down—it continued its voyage into the unknown void beyond...
The small hole repaired itself almost instantly, and everything returned to normal.
Lady Butterfly took a deep breath and looked at the little gentleman entering the inn.
She truly wanted to know: What was the limit of his power?
With just a flick of a condensed spirit stone, he had proven that the restrictions of this world meant nothing to him!
'What is his real goal in coming here? With his power, he could rule over everyone. There's no need for gathering followers or going through all this trouble...'
Lady Butterfly stood up.
"Welcome back, Mr. Morleone. Did you get what you wanted?"
Mr. Morleone looked up and smiled.
"Ah, you're still awake, Miss. Indeed, I got the 'drug' I was looking for from the 'drug dealer'—and had an interesting encounter along the way."
Lady Butterfly was about to ask what kind of encounter, but she saw him take out some grass from his pocket and toss it to the research team.
Then he turned to the backpack.
"Little Mirror."
The backpack's lid opened immediately, and a mirror-like object floated out, landing in front of him.
The only notable thing about this rectangular mirror was that both sides were black; no reflection could be seen on either side.
"Open a wormhole to a planet with high-quality iron, please."
Lady Butterfly, wondering what kind of treasure this was and what a "wormhole" could be, watched as different landscapes appeared and disappeared on both sides of the magical mirror.
They weren't static images but moving scenes—each one a fragment of another world.
Yet without exception, none of them seemed hospitable to living creatures.
There was a world where the ground was entirely covered in lava.
A world where it rained heavily—but not water, rather sharp shards of glass that embedded themselves into the ground.
A world with cracked earth and green smoke rising from the fissures, as if poisonous.
The scenes kept shifting until they settled on a world with silver-colored rocks scattered across the ground, black mountains in the distance, and a massive hurricane on the horizon.
The hurricane was so colossal that it seemed capable of uprooting entire mountains. Already, silver rocks of all sizes swirled violently around its center.
Lady Butterfly's mouth hung open in shock for multiple reasons!
She now understood: This mirror could open a "window" to another world!
In her entire life, she had only heard of one other world—the "Immortal World"—and now, she was seeing so many in a single night!
While dumbfounded, she watched as a "passage" leading to that same world opened in front of Mr. Morleone, and he stepped inside.
Once he crossed the threshold, he appeared on the other side.
Then, he vanished.
Lady Butterfly's eyes widened.
She couldn't even see where he had gone!
The only trace left behind was a pair of leather shoes on the ground where he had stood.
Then, a shockwave rippled across the landscape, spreading in all directions!
One could imagine a deafening BOOM accompanied it, but no sound or tremor reached this side of the mirror.
A moment later, at the far end of the horizon, the enormous hurricane exploded.
An instant after that, Mr. Morleone reappeared in front of the passage—now wearing his shoes again.
This time, while his left hand remained in his pocket, his right hand held a massive, round, silver object at least two meters in diameter.
He walked back through the passage and placed it on the floor.
The inn's floor cracked, and the round object began sinking into the ground, only stopping when half of it remained visible.
The corner of Lady Butterfly's eye twitched.
'How heavy is this thing?! Why did he suddenly open a passage to another world and bring back some unknown material?'
Then she heard him say,
"Thank you. You can go back now."
The mirror closed the passage and flew back into the backpack.
Then he walked to the window and sat down—as if there were an invisible chair beneath him.
Lady Butterfly was about to warn him, but a brown light materialized out of nowhere, forming a sofa where he intended to sit.
She was speechless.
These treasures, unlike the normal Mortal, all seemed to treat this new character with extreme reverence—so much so that she wondered if they were extensions of the same being...
"Lady Butterfly, please deliver a message for me."
Before she could respond, a paper and pen floated out of his backpack, accompanied by a table materializing beneath them.
He wrote something on the paper.
When he finished, he muttered to himself,
"Sleep awaits those of us who dare to dream."
His eyes slowly closed, and his head drooped forward.
Lady Butterfly was speechless once more.
'Deliver a letter? To whom? Why couldn't you finish your sentence?!'
But she didn't dare wake him to ask.
She hadn't paid attention before, but this man wore none of the presumably restrictions that the little Sect Master had—no headband, no wristbands...
He was a walking disaster, and she hadn't even realized it!
She waited a while to ensure he was truly asleep, then silently approached the table and picked up the "paper" to see what the message said—hoping to deduce the recipient.
But when she read the sentence, she gave up on that thought entirely.
It read:
[8-time genes. Break his shackles. Price for power grass.]
Lady Butterfly:
"...!?"