.......

Lu Ding found this "also" word increasingly uncomfortable the more he heard it.

Moreover, he understood the hidden meaning behind Earth Dragon Immortal's words.

They wanted to make the situation even more chaotic—dragging another person into this would further muddy the waters.

"This is the first time I don't care about the little schemes in your words, and it will be the last. Now, tell me where this 'also' came from?"

Earth Dragon Immortal didn't dare hide anything.

Besides, hiding things wouldn't benefit them anyway.

This was a topic they had voluntarily brought up.

They immediately explained: "A few years ago, a young man who called himself a 'Mechanism Master' found me. He said he could help me recover from my injuries quickly, and even help me advance further."

"Although he couldn't guarantee reaching the Fifth Restriction level one hundred percent, reaching the peak of the Fourth Restriction was certain."

Peak of the Fourth Restriction?

Lu Ding almost laughed when he heard this.

What kind of regional dialect understanding was this?

In the Five Decays of Heaven-Man's five restriction levels, each realm only had early, middle, and late stages.

Once the late stage was fully cultivated, one would break through to the next realm.

What nonsense was this "peak of the Fourth Restriction"? Next they'd be talking about "99% to the peak of Fourth Restriction, half-step into Fifth Restriction."

Were they following the cheap shopping platform methodology now?

If you lacked capability, you just lacked capability—no need for this "peak of the Fourth Restriction" nonsense.

Criminal organizations were always so petty.

His eyes filled with disdain: "Since when does the world offer free lunches?"

Earth Dragon Immortal shook their head: "It doesn't."

"Originally I refused. I was afraid it was a trap, but then he beat me up, demonstrated his power, and said he'd kill me if I didn't cooperate. So I agreed."

"As exchange for helping me recover and advance further,"

"After I get my revenge, he wants my entire skin, flesh, and bones."

So this was about stealing the kill...

Lu Ding understood now.

Earth Dragon Immortal continued: "The most praiseworthy aspect of my skin, flesh, and bones is their regenerative ability. Combined with his identity as a Mechanism Master, I suspect he wants to use my body to create mechanical puppets."

As they said this,

Earth Dragon Immortal showed a hint of pride.

Until they met Lu Ding's scrutinizing gaze filled with skepticism.

'Regeneration?'

'Show me some regeneration right now.'

Earth Dragon Immortal didn't know what to say for a moment. Their recovery ability was indeed strong—among beings of the same level, few other spirits, monsters, or demons could match it.

They were an earthworm, after all. Regrowing limbs was nothing special—even regenerating from being cut in half was trivial.

When facing overwhelmingly powerful attacks, they could even shatter their own body to disperse the force.

But when they encountered Lu Ding, they were completely overwhelmed.

Lu Ding's force penetrated deeply, drilling directly into their body, making it difficult to withstand.

Moreover, the frost energy freezing them into a solid whole beforehand prevented them from shattering their body to disperse the force.

That's why they ended up in this miserable state.

To put it bluntly, they were perfectly countered.

Earth Dragon Immortal tried to save face: "Actually, I'm quite powerful too—it's just that my injuries haven't healed yet."

At their peak, they had reached the late stage of the Fourth Restriction.

Now they only had early Fourth Restriction strength at most.

"Consider yourself powerful then. What happened after that? What happened next?"

He needed to gather more information.

"After that, he created these mineral node-like things for me."

"First, they could block outsiders from invading and discovering my presence."

"Second, they could absorb earth vein essence to help heal my injuries."

Earth Dragon Immortal finished speaking.

Lu Ding looked at them: "That's it?"

Earth Dragon Immortal shook their head: "That's it."

"You never met again? Did he have any distinctive features?"

Earth Dragon Immortal thought for a moment: "We haven't met since. He said he would naturally come to claim my body after I got my revenge. As for features..."

"He was very young, probably around twenty-three years old this year."

Lu Ding pursued this line of questioning: "You can determine age?"

"The character for 'human' shows a person standing between heaven and earth. I survive on earth essence energy, consuming soil and minerals, so I'm quite sensitive to earthly things. Based on the earth spirit energy within each person's soul, I can roughly determine their actual age."

"For example, you're definitely under twenty. That young man behind you is definitely under twenty-five."

"The masked young man is definitely... Huh??????"

Zhan Tingzhou's heart tightened.

How did this country bumpkin earthworm spirit have this kind of ability???

Shut up!!!!!

There are outsiders present!!!

Earth Dragon Immortal stared fixedly at Zhan Tingzhou: "He..."

SMACK!!!!!!

Lu Ding's palm cut through the air and struck Earth Dragon Immortal's face.

"You're talking too much nonsense."

Lu Ding wiped his hand on the clothes he was wearing and continued: "Alright, you've finished talking about your cooperation with him."

"Now let me talk about your cooperation with me."

"He's too petty. If you do as I say, I can capture Chen Yan and bring him before you so you can kill him with your own hands."

At this point, Lu Ding changed his tone without explicitly stating anything.

He continued speaking to himself.

"We humans say children are flesh fallen from their parents' bodies."

"Chen Yan's birth occurred because he absorbed the essence from your child's body."

"Actually, from another perspective, his body coexists with your child, but his soul came from elsewhere."

Lu Ding's voice was originally like jade striking jade—clear and crisp!

But to Earth Dragon Immortal's ears, it sounded like seductive music—bewitching!

This kind of temptation was something they found difficult to resist.

They truly wanted to avenge their child.

And this unusual perspective was something they had never considered before.

Originally, they only wanted to kill Chen Yan to avenge their child, or torture Chen Yan, but none of this could cover up the emptiness in their heart.

Because once a child died, they were simply gone.

But Lu Ding's words opened a new door to a different world for them.

Earth Dragon Immortal murmured: "Children are flesh fallen from their parents' bodies... children are flesh fallen from their parents' bodies..."

They suddenly looked up: "If the flesh returns to the parents' bodies, does that mean my child has returned to me?"

"Even if I die, I die together with my child, I... I'm buried together with my child..."

A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of Lu Ding's mouth.

"That's right, so can you bear to let your body become the Mechanism Master's puppet?"

This sentence was the finishing touch.

It perfectly echoed what Lu Ding had just said about 'Chen Yan's body coexisting with your child, only his soul being foreign.'

Earth Dragon Immortal's mind automatically processed this: "If I kill Chen Yan, I'm only killing Chen Yan's soul. The body belongs to my child. My child has returned to my body. My body coexists with my child's body..."

"Surrendering my body means surrendering my child's body... No... I can't... I could surrender my body... but I can't surrender my child's body..."

"I..."

They looked up at Lu Ding, their eyes gradually misting over, pleading in their tone: "I want to live... I want to live carrying my child's portion with me..."