After placing the massive Immortal Crystal into the Timewheel Bracelet, Evan Lin turned to Shadow and Goldwing and said, "Excavate all the Immortal Stones here—don't miss a single one, whether they're low-grade or supreme-grade. If you want to absorb Immortal Stone energy, you may only use mid-grade or high-grade stones; do not touch the supreme-grade ones. I have important plans for those later."
"Big Bro, you're so stingy! I was just about to try out how powerful supreme-grade Immortal Stone energy is, but you're not letting me touch them? So stingy!" Shadow grumbled, sounding a little dissatisfied.
"Then go back inside me. I'll lock you away for a hundred years and see if you still want to absorb supreme-grade Immortal Stone energy!" Evan snapped, a flash of anger on his face.
"I'm just joking, okay? No need to get all worked up. Since Big Bro said not to touch them, I definitely won't. Goldwing, let's go dig for Immortal Stones—let's see who finds more!" Shadow quickly changed the subject.
Evan rolled his eyes at Shadow, then walked over to Roxanne Lin and said, "Roxy, I need to go into seclusion inside the Timewheel Bracelet for a while. I'll leave the Immortal Stones here to you. Once I break through to Golden Immortal, I'll bring you all into the Timewheel Bracelet—it's the real holy land for cultivation."
"Go ahead. Just remember to come out soon—don't forget you only have five years." Roxanne Lin reminded him.
Evan nodded, then with a thought appeared inside the Timewheel Bracelet. At this moment, the Immortal Essence within the Bracelet was much richer than before. However, because the internal space was so vast, even after Evan had poured in a large amount of Immortal Essence, the effect wasn't very obvious. Still, it was far denser than anywhere in the Immortal Realm outside.
Glancing at the Immortal Crystal on the ground, Evan reached out with his Divine Sense and asked, "Can you take on human form? I know it's unfamiliar here, but no one will disturb you. You can do whatever you want."
After a long moment, the Immortal Crystal still didn't respond. Evan wasn't frustrated; he was just about to pick it up and go check on the Violet Thunder Fox when a little girl's voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "You're a bad person! I don't believe a word you say. You'd better put me back, or I'll absorb all the Immortal Essence here and leave this place barren!"
Evan hadn't expected this little one to actually have the power to absorb Immortal Essence. He couldn't afford to offend her—if she really did drain all the Immortal Essence, he'd be devastated. He quickly said, "I'm a good person, really! Don't you believe me? Let me show you something—it's a spirit born of heaven and earth, just like you."
Evan took Tom Chu out of his storage ring and set him before the Immortal Crystal. He secretly transmitted instructions, asking Tom to persuade the Immortal Crystal's artifact spirit. Clearly, this spirit was still very weak and couldn't take on human form at all, but if it could join his team, Evan would essentially have an endless supply of Immortal Essence—solving the massive resource demands for his cultivation.
Afterward, Evan left directly, and Jade Chu entered the inner world as well. With a thought, Evan sensed Jade Chu's presence. Soon, a green bead flew toward him and instantly transformed into a human form—a slender, beautiful young girl. She had grown taller, and her figure was developing, clearly stepping into adolescence.
But Evan was basically immune to beauty by now. He looked at Jade Chu and said, "Qing'er, go help Tom Chu communicate with the Immortal Crystal's artifact spirit. That thing is an unbelievably rare treasure—if it joins us, the Timewheel Bracelet's world will undergo earth-shaking changes."
"Don't worry, Big Bro. Qing'er guarantees the mission will be done—don't forget, I'm the one who talked Tom Chu into joining you in the first place!" Jade Chu laughed, then flashed back into her Wind-Binding Pearl form and sped off toward where the Immortal Crystal was.
Evan strolled slowly across the grassy plains inside the Timewheel Bracelet. Before long, he spotted his Immortal Infant, quietly sitting by a pool with eyes closed, strands of Immortal Essence constantly flowing into its body.
"You're here? A bit later than I expected. Your late-stage Heavenly Immortal cultivation is decent. Once you break through to Da Luo Golden Immortal, I'll return to your body. Work hard—by then, I might already be two realms ahead of you." The Immortal Infant said softly, opening its tiny mouth.
"I won't let you down. Where did the Violet Thunder Fox and Serena Frost go? I haven't seen them." Evan asked.
"They're probably in closed-door cultivation. With Immortal Essence this dense and no one to disturb them, it's only natural. You should seclude yourself too—the Immortal Realm is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. I know a lot more than you do; you'll understand in time." The Immortal Infant finished speaking and closed its eyes again.
Evan knew the Infant definitely understood far more than he did. After awakening his Primordial Dragon Bloodline, he hadn't received much of the true Primordial Dragon legacy—most of it was in the Immortal Infant. When it finally returned to his body, both his strength and mental state would leap forward. Evan was genuinely looking forward to that moment.
He chose a secluded spot, sat down cross-legged, and took out two supreme-grade Immortal Stones, splitting his focus to absorb both at once. As Immortal Essence poured into his body, his cultivation steadily rose. Inside the Timewheel Bracelet, a hundred years could pass while only a year went by outside—an enormous advantage for him.
Meanwhile, Jade Chu and Tom Chu lavished praise on Evan to the Immortal Crystal's artifact spirit, making it half-believe, half-doubt. Eventually, it learned that unlike them, it couldn't naturally take human form—Immortal Crystals were born to produce Immortal Stones, and that reality couldn't be changed.
The two kept spinning lively, vivid stories around the Immortal Crystal spirit, making it yearn for the outside world. But being unable to leave its crystal body left it frustrated. Tom Chu said, "Don't worry—Big Bro's abilities are extraordinary. Sooner or later, you'll be able to come out. Trust us! But you have to show Big Bro your sincerity, so you need to keep releasing Immortal Essence so everyone's strength can rise quickly. Otherwise, even if we want to help, if we're not strong enough, it's all for nothing."
"Bury me in the soil here. Only when I'm buried can I fully release Immortal Essence. Since you two are fellow artifact spirits, I'll trust you this once." said the Immortal Crystal spirit.
After the two buried the Immortal Crystal, Jade Chu immediately went to find Evan. Absorbing Immortal Essence directly released by the crystal spirit was far more effective than drawing it from Immortal Stones.
Tom Chu continued cultivating with the Immortal Essence he'd already stored, and everything was moving in a positive direction—though elsewhere in the Immortal Realm, chaos was brewing...