"What's happened to you?"

Unlike the other three, Wu Dao'an's brow knit tight, and he walked quickly forward.

He could see at a glance that something was off with Shen Yi.

The man looked as though every ounce of energy had been drained out of him, his spirit worn down to its lowest point.

"I was cultivating a Golden Body method alongside the senior brother in the loft. A bit exhausted."

Shen Yi shook his head and held the Golden Wolf jade token out toward him.

Prompted by Wu Dao'an's reaction, the other three Custodians finally noticed something was wrong — and then heard the young man's casual, offhand reply, which left their expressions turning faintly peculiar.

"You've already started working on a Golden Body method?"

"Still feeling my way through it."

Shen Yi considered for a moment. It was only by actually touching this level of cultivation that one could appreciate the depth of what it involved.

All that enormous expenditure of demon lifespan, and he'd only grasped the entry-level approach — learned how to digest the wandering wills within accumulated faith.

Forging a golden dharma form would require repeating that process without end.

Even with enough demon lifespan to sustain it, his spiritual mind itself couldn't keep up — after each derivation session, he'd need several days at minimum to slowly purge the lingering negative emotions.

The derivation process consumed vast stretches of simulated time, and had left its mark on Shen Yi as well, making him considerably more patient than he'd once been.

If he could break through to Spirit-Transformation within a month, he'd be more than satisfied.

"Still feeling your way..."

The round Custodian quietly looked away, swallowed hard, and found his throat had gone dry.

He glanced at his two fellow Custodians, and found their expressions even more dramatic than his own.

Feeling one's way implied having already gotten through the door.

Most Martial Immortals were still standing on the outside of that threshold, wondering how to strengthen their divine spirit — who among them was remotely qualified to think about how to digest accumulated…