The old man stretched out his hand and pointed, and from his sleeve flew a purple-gold and red gourd. The gourd shot straight toward the golden light, and the two seemed to wrestle with each other. But it was clear that the golden light was no match for the purple-gold gourd. The gourd displayed its magical power, sucking the golden light into its belly, then slowly flew back into the old man's hand.

The old man looked at the gourd in his hand, pulled out the stopper, and tipped it over. A golden pill fell into his palm.

“I didn’t expect such a pill to be so powerful. It just came out of the furnace and already possesses intelligence. Luckily, I didn’t let it escape.”

The old man slowly turned around and said to John Archer, “Young man, thank you so much just now. If that beast had attacked me and gotten this pill, the world would probably have fallen into chaos.”

“Sir... you knew all along?”

The old man smiled and said, “Of course I knew. But if I had acted rashly in that situation, not only would the pills in the cauldron have turned to ashes, but my own vital energy would have been severely damaged.”

John Archer nodded, thinking to himself, is this place really an immortal mountain? Why are there so many immortals coming and going?

“Young man, you saved my life. This is my fate, and also your good fortune.”

The old man handed the pill forward, then took out a wooden box and said, “I came in a hurry this time and only brought these two things: a pill that can make your body saintly, and a magical treasure I often use. Choose one, and from now on, we will have nothing more to do with each other.”

John Archer looked at the scene before him—it was exactly as the man had said yesterday.

“No more to do with each other?” John Archer asked, “Why do you say that, sir?”

“It’s not that I’m dissatisfied with you, young man. It’s just that, as an immortal, every time I descend to the mortal world, I must sever all ties with it.” The old man smiled. “You don’t need to mind, just choose one.”

John Archer didn’t ask further. Since he had already made up his mind, he simply acted on it.

So, without even looking at the pill, he reached out and grabbed the small box filled with spiritual energy.

“Oh?” The old man seemed a bit surprised, but quickly returned to normal.

“In that case, young man, you’ve made your choice. From now on, there is no connection between us. Farewell.”

……

John Archer said to William Dawson, “Just as Brother Zhan said, I’ve been safe all this time, and I’m still deeply in love with Helen Archer. But it’s the common people who have suffered. Brother Robert Grant, am I being too selfish?”

William Dawson let out a deep sigh.

John Archer simply didn’t want to leave Helen Archer, but who said that John Archer must sacrifice everything he has now to save the world?

William Dawson wanted to say something more, but Charles Cooper suddenly spoke up: “William Dawson, be careful. It seems there’s a huge creature following you.”

Chapter 8 George Washington Ahhhhhhh

William Dawson turned to look, and sure enough, far off on the horizon, dust was billowing—it seemed something was following them from a distance. Judging by the amount of dust, it must be a giant.

“Brother Robert Grant, what’s wrong?”

“N-no, it’s nothing.” William Dawson knew that even if he told John Archer something was following them, it wouldn’t help, so he turned back and said, “Brother John Archer, I hope you won’t care about others’ opinions. Just follow your heart. For yourself, do you want to shoot down the sun?”

John Archer thought for a while and nodded.

“I want to shoot down the sun, but I also want to grow old with Helen Archer.”

William Dawson considered this—it wasn’t difficult.

If John Archer was half-immortal, and after ten years he and Helen Archer had lost their feelings, then Helen Archer might indeed steal the elixir and become immortal. But now, John Archer and Helen Archer are still deeply in love. If he finds a way to shoot down the sun in this state, neither of them would take the elixir. Wouldn’t that mean he could shoot down the sun and still preserve their love?

Or, just ask Martha Washington for two elixirs...?

Actually, none of this is hard. The hard part is how to shoot down the sun.

William Dawson looked back again at the dust in the distance. That thing seemed to be keeping its distance, never coming closer.

Though he was uneasy, William Dawson would never go looking for that thing, so he and John Archer continued on their way.

For some reason, under the scorching sun, after traveling for so long, William Dawson didn’t feel tired at all. If this were the real world, he’d probably be drenched in sweat by now.

Could it be because he’s already dead?

The whole day passed. William Dawson looked back many times but never saw a trace of that thing. He had Charles Cooper check several times as well, and when they confirmed nothing was following them, William Dawson finally relaxed.

“Brother Robert Grant, we’ve arrived at the Ao Lai Kingdom. We must be extremely careful.”

“Um...” William Dawson said, “Can you tell me our exact delivery address?”

“Delivery address?”

“I mean the exact location,” William Dawson said. “I feel like I’ve heard the name Ao Lai Kingdom somewhere before.”

“We’re now in Dongsheng Divine Continent, Ao Lai Kingdom, near the fierce waters at the border of the Northern Barbarians.”