One person: I, Daoist Master, am a cultivator of immortality!

"Your Majesty, there's no need for such formalities. I see there's nothing more for us to do here. Release Zi'er and leave with me."

After the Queen Mother of the West finished speaking, Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, exclaimed inwardly, "What a kind person! The worst thing for an official is getting involved in the family affairs of their superiors. If you do anything inappropriate, your superiors might make things difficult for you from time to time."

But unfortunately, his direct superior had ordered him to descend to the mortal realm to capture his youngest daughter. If he didn't go, he would offend his superior; if he went, he wouldn't come back unscathed. A slight misstep could incur his superior's wrath; it was truly not a good job.

Now that the Queen Mother of the West has spoken, I might as well take this opportunity to hand over the task here, thus saving myself the trouble that either Haotian or Yaochi might cause me in the future.

Li Jing immediately summoned the Golden Exquisite Pagoda and released Zi'er. Zi'er didn't suffer much inside the pagoda, but Nezha, seeing this, would probably exclaim that the old man was treating her unfairly.

As soon as Zi'er came out, she saw her lover covered in wounds and immediately tried to run to help him. But before she could take two steps, she found that she couldn't move.

"What the Seventh Princess is doing now is adding fuel to the fire. Since I want to be the matchmaker, I will naturally do my duty. If the Seventh Princess takes any further action that causes this marriage to fall through, then I will be unable to help her in the future."

Upon hearing the sound, Zi'er looked around, searching for its source. She saw a young man with silver hair and golden eyes standing in front of Dong Yong, his left hand lightly clenched, which seemed to be the source of the magic power that was binding her.

Sun Yao released his hand and gently pushed, and Zi'er was propelled directly towards the Yaochi Platform by an inexplicable force. After arriving at the Yaochi Platform, Zi'er tried to run down, but was then immobilized in place by a magical force.

Zi'er turned her head and saw that it was her own mother, the Empress Dowager. Yaochi glared at her fiercely, making Zi'er's hair stand on end, and she dared not make another move.

After glaring at her foolish daughter, Yaochi nodded to Sun Yao, seemingly praising his actions.

Seeing that things had calmed down, the Queen Mother of the West walked towards the outside of Yaochi, with Li Jing following closely behind. But just as the Queen Mother of the West passed by Sun Yao, she suddenly paused, stopped in her tracks, and turned to look at Sun Yao.

"Fellow Daoist, haven't we met before?"

This seemingly casual remark left everyone present completely bewildered. Especially Ao Shuang, who was absolutely certain her husband had never even been to the Immortal Realm, so how could he possibly have seen this Queen Mother of the West?

"Your Majesty, are you mistaken? This humble Taoist has only recently arrived in the Immortal Realm from the mortal realm, how could I possibly know Your Majesty?"

Not only them, but Sun Yao himself was also dumbfounded. "What kind of situation is this? I've never encountered anything like this before."

"Fellow Daoist, there's no need to say more. You'll understand in time. However, it's best to return this item to its rightful owner first, as it's been kept here for too long."

As the Queen Mother of the West spoke, she took out a wisp of purple energy. The moment this purple energy appeared, it rushed towards Sun Yao. Before Sun Yao could even stop it, the purple energy directly entered his brow.

Sun Yao had expected some unusual changes, but after looking at his palm, it seemed there was nothing wrong.

But the next second, he noticed something different. His crimson-gold blood began to completely transform, turning back into the form of that single drop of purplish-gold blood.

Moreover, the crimson blood all over his body was rapidly transforming into the purple-gold blood. In almost an instant, he completed the Five Elements Convergence within his body, and the balance of the Five Elements within his body officially allowed him to step into the realm of Taiyi Golden Immortal.

This leap in strength was beyond his expectations. He originally thought that it would take him at least another hundred years to reach the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, but he did not expect that he would attain Taiyi in just a moment.

Not only that, after attaining the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, his cultivation level continued to rise rapidly, and in a short time he was already close to the threshold of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm.

Sun Yao quickly suppressed this inexplicable surge of power, which instead began to nourish his body. It entered his flesh, tendons, and bones, and even his internal organs and acupoints underwent a qualitative change.

It was unclear whether this energy had merged into his body or he had transformed into this purple energy. In any case, he and this purple energy had become one, and they were no longer indistinguishable.

Originally there to act as a matchmaker, he now sits cross-legged in the Jade Pool, beginning to comprehend the Eight-Nine Arcane Art. He mastered the sixth level of the Eight-Nine Arcane Art in no time, and he even began to deduce the seventh level.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all eyes in the Jade Pool were focused on him. Sun Yao slowly awoke under everyone's gaze. At this moment, his cultivation had reached the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. He had completely mastered the sixth level of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, and he had almost comprehended the seventh level as well.

"Thank you so much for this opportunity, Your Majesty. I have no way to repay your great kindness. Is there anything Your Majesty can do for me?"

Sun Yao stood up and approached the Queen Mother of the West. The opportunity she had given him was immense; if he didn't repay it, it would be detrimental to his future path to enlightenment.

"No need for any reward, I'm just returning your things to you. This innate pure yang energy has been stored with me for countless years, and it's finally returning to its rightful owner."

Upon hearing about the innate pure Yang energy, Sun Yao was suddenly stunned. This was because the innate pure Yang energy had once manifested as a powerful being, the Eastern King Duke.

The Eastern Emperor Palace was formed from the innate pure Yang energy, which is the opposite of the innate pure Yin energy of the Queen Mother of the West. That is why they were chosen by Hongjun Daozu as the head of the male immortals and the head of the female immortals.

At this time, the second incarnation of the Eastern King Duke, the Eastern Emperor, has not yet returned to his position in the Heavenly Court. The evidence is that when Sun Wukong wreaked havoc at the Peach Banquet, the Eastern Emperor was not on the guest list.

Sun Yao was stunned. Oh no, I've become a stand-in!?

"I am who I am. I have no intention of becoming the second King Dong." Sun Yao thought to himself, then looked at the Queen Mother of the West with a complicated expression.

"Fellow Daoist, there is no need to worry. His true spirit has long since been destroyed. He is not you, and you will never become him. However, the innate pure Yang energy is born in response to the times and will not be destroyed. It will only wait for the next person recognized by the innate pure Yang energy, and that person is you without a doubt."

At this point, the Queen Mother of the West paused for a moment, as if reminiscing about the past.

"The world is constantly changing, but some things remain constant. Just like even without Donghuang Taiyi and the Demon Emperor Jun, the sun still rises and the moon still sets. Back then, when Fellow Daoist Dongwanggong entrusted this pure Yang energy to me, he sacrificed his true spirit to save the remaining immortals of the Celestial Court. I also received his kindness and absorbed this innate pure Yang energy for several eons. Now I have finally completed this task, which is a cause for celebration."