The next morning, Finn slipped out of the inn and headed for the small forest preserved within Azure City's limits. Sunlight filtered through the leaves as he reached a quiet clearing, the perfect place for a private meeting. He placed a single Life Essence Pill at its center, its radiant fragrance drifting softly through the air. The night before, he had left a simple letter on the Immortal Prince's door, no name, no demand, only a note stating that a Life Essence Pill awaited him in this forest. Now, Finn waited calmly, knowing the Prince would not ignore such a precious treasure at this stage in his life.
The Immortal Prince stepped into the clearing with cautious disbelief, his gaze locking onto the Life Essence Pill resting on a little jade alter. For over a million years he had hunted this single medicine across 7 realms, yet now it lay before him as casually as a fallen leaf. He took a step forward, only for a calm voice to sound behind him. "Curious, isn't it?" The Prince spun around, startled. He had sensed nothing, not even a ripple of presence. Worse, when he tried to move toward the masked figure, an instinctive dread gripped him, warning that even a single misstep could cost him soul.
Finn let a soft laugh slip through his mask. "Strange indeed. Mortals spend their entire lives chasing what they desire most, often dying empty-handed. Yet even Immortals, exalted figures like yourself, can suffer the same fate. A million years of searching, only for your treasure to appear in the hands of a stranger." His tone held no mockery, only an unsettling certainty. At last, the Immortal Prince steadied himself and asked, "Is this your pill? Name your price." Though Finn's cultivation felt no higher than a Golden Core, the Prince dared not underestimate him, not after feeling that cold, instinctive fear.
"Your service is what I require," Finn said calmly, his voice steady behind the mask. "I intend to build a new path for this world. The current order is rotten, twisted by greed and cruelty. If you take this pill, you will serve beneath me for the foreseeable future. In return, breaking through to the Immortal King Stage will no longer be a dream, but a matter of time. So, Immortal Prince, what is your decision?" The immortal's eyes trembled. He had made bargains before, but never had anyone offered a treasure of this caliber, nor a promise so absolute and terrifying.
The Immortal Prince took the pill without hesitation and swallowed it. He sat cross-legged, focusing entirely on drawing its power into his meridians. As the medicinal force spread, the Realmless Coin at Finn's neck pulsed with a soft emerald glow, responding as if acknowledging the pill's entry into the prince's system. The pill's potency multiplied severalfold under its influence, saturating the immortal's aura with shocking vitality. Fifteen minutes later, the prince opened his eyes, stunned. His remaining lifespan of eleven years had expanded to more than one and a half million. He immediately dropped to one knee, thanking Finn and pledging absolute allegiance.
"Good," Finn said, his tone calm but still exposed some joy. "Now we begin. We will start with Azure City." With a practiced motion, he formed the same hand seal his senior once used and pressed it to the immortal's chest. A concealing force sank into the prince's body, perfectly hiding his true cultivation from all others. Finn then handed him a folded set of black and gold robes, identical to the ones he wore. "This will be the official attire of Pantheon," he said. "Wear it proudly. From today onward, you are a member of Pantheon. My plan for you, is to become the Azure City Lord In The Shadow."
As they calmly made their way back toward Azure City's bustling main street, Finn spoke without looking over. "I'm not going to call you Immortal." The newly rejuvenated prince nodded. "My name is Andall, Master." Finn accepted it with a slight smile. "Very well. From this moment on, you are First Elder Andall. Your official title and rank within Pantheon." Andall bowed mid stride, pride brightening his eyes beneath the concealing mask. "Then, Master, what is our first move?" he asked, his voice steady but filled with anticipation, fully ready to follow Finn into whatever upheaval the new order would bring.
Finn answered with quiet certainty, "Your first task is to find a suitable location for our clan here in Azure City. Something worthy of what Pantheon will become." Andall nodded, already considering dozens of prime sites. "You will also acquire as many cultivation manuals as you can. Rare, common, ancient, it doesn't matter, but they must be good of quality. Spare no expense." For an Immortal Prince nearing a hundred million years of age, such an order was hardly difficult. His accumulated wealth alone could buy small kingdoms. "While you handle that," Finn continued, "I'll leave the city walls and search the surrounding territories for promising clansmen."
Finn did not leave the city solely to seek recruits. The moment he stepped beyond the gates, a sharp tug in his senses revealed that someone had taken Yang. The golden spirit string he had tied around the horse's neck had been tampered with. Whoever dared to steal him believed they had removed the mark, unaware that their meddling only forced the string to shift into a form invisible to mortal and immortal eyes alike. Now it pulsed faintly in Finn's mind, guiding him toward the culprits. His expression darkened. They have no idea what fate is coming toward them.
After an hour of following the invisible thread, Finn reached a village called Forress, stopping before the gated mansion of a local noble. Within its walls, he sensed three Nascent Soul Masters and eleven Golden Core cultivators. An impressive gathering for the Azure Region, a land famed for its talent. Yet despite their strength, they had made a fatal mistake in coveting, and then stealing, his horse. Finn lifted his hand, calm as still water. Lightning gathered at his fingertips, crackling with obedient fury before lancing forward. The mansion gates exploded into splinters, the thunderous blast instantly drawing the eyes of all within.
Cultivators rushed into the courtyard, weapons drawn, their auras flaring in hostility, until they saw him. The masked figure stood amid drifting smoke, his gold and black robes fluttering in the wind, with an oppressive force radiating from him like the heat of a freshly forged sword. Several Golden Cores instinctively staggered back, their knees buckling beneath the unseen pressure. "Return my horse," Finn said, his voice distorted by the mask's enchantment. A Nascent Soul Master stepped forward, face pale but stubborn. "Stranger, you dare attack the Forress Estate? State your name!" Finn tilted his head, unimpressed. "Shadow Dragon."
Finn whispered, "danger," and the word seemed to ignite the world. In that moment, Yang's suppressed aura erupted outward, shattering the manor's walls as easily as dried leaves. The thousand-year beast tore free of his chains and thundered to Finn's side, eyes burning with righteous fury. Finn didn't spare a glance at the trembling Golden Cores. They were irrelevant. His gaze locked on the three Nascent Soul Masters, the only ones capable of subduing Yang in the first place. "A beast like him doesn't bow without force," Finn said calmly, his presence darkening the air. "So tell me… how do you wish to die?"