At that moment, Xiao Shou could not help but think about his encounter with Yu Lin.

If he had fought harder back then, would the thing inside the demonic beast core already belong to him?

Would Yu Lin really have dared to kill him openly in the marketplace under everyone’s eyes?

Most likely she was just relying on her cultivation level to intimidate him.

He had been the one who hesitated and backed down, and so the opportunity ended up belonging to Yu Lin.

Thinking of this, Xiao Shou took a deep breath.

His clear gaze swept over Fu Young and the others.

Perhaps people from different worlds truly had different personalities and values, but since he was now in this world, he should learn from them.

From now on, he would also grow into someone who could risk his life for opportunities.

Xiao Shou did not know that this moment of awakening would have such a profound impact on his future actions or how far it would shape his growth.

Right now, after coming to this realization, he no longer maintained a soft-spoken and deliberately calm facade without any presence.

Instead, he gathered his courage and spoke loudly in front of everyone.

"Since everyone has made their decision, then let us go for it. Of course, not recklessly or without purpose, but with planning. We will try our best to avoid unnecessary battles and fight only for cultivation resources."

"Then I’ll suggest an idea first. If there are enough spirit stones to support it, I can set up an illusion formation to confuse their vision. Then we sneak into the sea floor. How about that?" Cao Xue stepped forward first and said.

Just as Gou Guangming was preparing to make a grand entrance, his charming eyes immediately widened.

This guy had stolen the spotlight again.

He had originally planned to say that it was just one Nascent Soul cultivator, more than ten Golden Core cultivators, and a few Foundation Establishment cultivators.

He would take the lead with his guards and wipe out all the cultivators front he Penglai Immortal Isle.

How impressive that line would have been.

But it got interrupted again.

Feeling frustrated, he muttered, "I can handle all the combat. Leave it to me, Gou Yi, Gou Er, and Gou San."

"I have an idea, Master," Fu Young said after hearing this.

His eyes shifted and he quickly came up with a plan.

While looking at Xiao Shou, he said, "We can set up a large combined formation of trapping, illusion, and confusion in that sea area. Then we can eliminate the cultivators from Penglai Immortal Isle in batches. After clearing them out, we enter the secret realm. Otherwise, if we do not clear them out, leaving later will also be troublesome."

"But this kind of large combined formation requires a huge amount of materials. It also has high demands for both the quality and quantity of spirit stones. It would be best if we had top-grade spirit stones to support long-term operation. With high-grade spirit stones, they would need to be replaced every fifteen minutes, and each replacement would create openings in the formation," Cao Xue immediately pointed out the requirements needed to make the plan work.

Fu Young raised the corner of his mouth slightly, showing an expression of having everything under control.

"When I came here, I already ran deductions on possible situations. I prepared everything that might be needed. We even have top-grade spirit stones. You do not need to worry unnecessarily."

"As expected of Senior Brother. You are very thorough in planning," Gou Guangming immediately praised him directly.

His face showed sincere respect and admiration without the slightest hint of falseness.

Gou Yi: What is wrong with Young Master? Why does he become like this whenever he meets this young man?

Gou Er: It is not enough that we offered our soul essences. Even his own soul essence feels like it has been offered too.

Gou San: That praise was too direct. It should have been more subtle.

That kind of straightforward flattery felt so embarrassing.

Would Master think he was childish?

Fu Young glanced up and indeed saw Xiao Shou smiling slightly, his fox-like eyes curving with amusement.

Hmph. Of course. Every time this weirdo shows up, I get unlucky. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Fu Young’s face darkened.

He did not even look at Gou Guangming anymore.

He just turned his head away and pretended he did not know him.

Seeing this, Gou Guangming’s look of admiration instantly turned into fear and he immediately shrank behind Gou Zhi’s tall figure.

"Pfft!"

Watching the two of them up close, Xiao Shou could not help but laugh.

With that guy named Gou Guangming around, his beloved disciple was finally showing a bit of childishness.

However, he quickly refocused on the matter at hand.

No longer pretending, he suppressed his laughter and said naturally, "Young’er, your plan is good, but we are not enemies of Penglai Immortal Isle. Killing our own kind for no reason is not right. And if a large number of cultivators from Penglai Immortal Isle die near White Silver City, once they investigates, White Silver City will likely face total destruction. So this will not do."

The protagonist’s master is quite kind.

Maybe it is this kindness that changed the protagonist’s cold nature, Gou Guangming thought.

But then he heard Fu Young say indifferently, "What does the life and death of White Silver City’s people have to do with us, Master? There is no need for you to care about such irrelevant people."

Uh... a protagonist is still a protagonist.

His personality really is... special, Gou Guangming thought speechlessly.

"What do you mean irrelevant? If innocent people of White Silver City are harmed because of us, the karmic burden we would incur would be immense, and it would greatly hinder our cultivation."

At this point, Xiao Shou realized he had never taught Fu Young about the significance of karma in cultivation.

And Fu Young had grown up in a prestigious family in Azure Origin City, where ordinary people were not valued at all.