They settled on a Life Planet that emphasized a return to nature; at this time, the Alien Clan had yet to target Li Changzhou, so there was no need to worry about being pursued from both ends.
"I still wanted to steal the Immortal Pill from the Doushuai Temple," Li Changzhou lingered on the thought.
"Get over it," Turquoise Pool gave him a powerless, charming glance, "I'm telling you, my mission is definitely doomed, how do you plan on accompanying me?"
"All the Flat Peaches on that tree are yours."
"My 'accompany' is the 'escort' kind."
"I'm a decent person."
Turquoise Pool punched him, as if to say he was the indecent one for talking of 'escorting'.
The two sat on a bench woven from tendrils of vine, overlooking a meadow dotted with houses made entirely of wood, either nestled among the flowers or entwined with vines.
It greatly resembled the Hobbits' dwellings from "Lord of the Rings."
Li Changzhou put away the 'Candle' and 'Flame Butterfly' back into his backpack, temporarily leaving the 'Dawn Mirror' with Turquoise Pool.
The two had not actually failed their mission yet.
The road to enlightenment was long, and the Flowers Conference had not ended. Although they hadn't failed yet, it was almost certain they would, and it was definite they couldn't return to the Primordial era during this period.
"Speaking of, you're really ruthless, cutting off Sun Wukong's limbs, aren't you afraid of being scolded by kids?"
"He was the one who tore off my arms first, okay? You really think Sun Wukong is easy going and doesn't eat people? If I had held back, he might have turned me into a dried corpse and snacked on me on his journey to enlightenment."
The two chatted idly, Turquoise Pool weak and Li Changzhou physically recovered but still mentally immersed in the recent adventure.
[Fortunately, only the Queen Mother acted; otherwise, no matter how many items you had, you wouldn't have made it out.] Guanyin also breathed a sigh of relief.
When Guanyin knew about Li Changzhou's plan, her biggest concern was Tathagata intervening and using the Five Finger Mountain to block 'Teleportation.'
[I know what I'm doing, Tathagata would still give face under the eyes of the Queen Mother; he would only get involved if the Queen Mother couldn't handle it.] Li Changzhou was daring, but that didn't mean he was reckless.
Guanyin said, [You don't get punished for mission failure, which is a significant advantage for you. Previously in the Primordial, you could have closed off and cultivated for a few years to become an Earth Immortal.]
[No way, the stronger I am, the harder the missions will be. If I became an Earth Immortal, my sisters wouldn't be able to keep up. Without their help, there's even less hope of completing missions. After all, should I just hide away and cultivate without completing any mission I encounter?]
Of course, that wasn't impossible either.
But the very existence of the Value Game was to provide intense training for players; hiding to cultivate was putting the cart before the horse.
Moreover, without completing mainline missions, there is no purchase permission, no powerful items and skills; mana, however powerful, is just for show, like having Money without power.
For ordinary players, they'd be more than happy to be just for show, but they did not have Li Changzhou's privilege of 'no punishment for mission failure.'
Before becoming an Immortal, with a failure of a Black Card mission, you'd be hunted by three other players with failed White Card missions; for a failure of a White Card mission, you'd join two other White Cards to pursue one Black Card.
After becoming an Immortal, if a player failed a mission, the Value Game would initiate a duel, where you'd have to beat another player who also failed their mission.
The Value Game gave losers the chance to start over, but that chance came at the cost of their lives; the punishment for failing a mission was always severe.
Once the 'Dawn Mirror' was usable and Turquoise Pool's Status recovered, the two planned to hide away and cultivate.
Soon, as the Flowers Conference ended, Turquoise Pool was ready to leave the instance with the Flat Peach Tree.
"When are you leaving?" she asked.
"Early," Li Changzhou answered, "I plan to cultivate here to become an Earth Immortal, then find a suitable river to 'Blood Refine'; if there's enough time, I'll also perfect 'Three Mountains,' 'Three Waters,' and 'Three Winds.'"
"Just don't get too strong; if your missions get too difficult, we won't be able to help you."
"It's fine, I'll wait for you," Li Changzhou said with a smile.
Turquoise Pool glared at him exasperatedly and handed him a nine-thousand-year Flat Peach before exiting the instance.
The moment she left and he thought of Yang Qinglan and Li Qianxia not being in this Virtual Time, Li Changzhou suddenly felt that the world was too quiet, and it filled him with loneliness.
Putting aside his emotions, he prepared to begin the first long period of solitary cultivation in his life.
This was also the path he had planned when he forwent his mission, recited the Tightening Charm, and decided to take his chances.
Before beginning his cultivation, he took one last look at the Flat Peach in his hand.
This peach alone could provide a thousand years of mana to an Earth Immortal, and if the speed of evolving worlds could keep up, it could even permanently store that thousand years of mana.
[Bodhisattva, look, how long would it take me to save up as much mana as this peach if I were to cultivate in seclusion? To be rich, one must encounter sudden fortune.]
Suddenly, a pristine white jade hand emerged from the Flat Peach, touching the tip of Li Changzhou's forehead.
Li Changzhou was immobilized.