I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals

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Chapter 336: Threatening the True Monarch

In the desolate lands near the Seven Kingdoms Alliance, a nearly imperceptible cloud-ship cruised steadily amidst the mist, shrouded in concealment.

The vessel moved at a leisurely pace, its spiritual energy fluctuations faint to the point of being undetectable unless one came exceptionally close. Even Core Formation cultivators would struggle to notice its presence.

On the top deck, within the most luxurious and spacious cabin, three figures sat. Through the windows, the distant outline of the Seven Kingdoms Alliance could be discerned—it was less than half a day away.

"Old Ancestor is Wise! The timing and route for the migration are nothing short of masterful," a late-stage Core Formation elder said, his expression alight with joy. "Both Beast King Valley and the Righteous Dao Alliance’s Nascent Soul True Monarchs have been dragged into the quagmire of the battlefield, leaving them with no time to concern themselves with us."

"Not to mention those scattered decoys we released—they’ve successfully diverted the attention of any curious parties, providing cover for our clan’s elites to reach the Seven Kingdoms Alliance safely," added another.

Sitting at the head of the group was a strikingly handsome young man, whose snow-white hair stood in stark contrast to his youthful vigor. His appearance carried an air of elegance but also an incongruous sense of antiquity, as though his years far outstripped his appearance.

The man bore a 60-70% resemblance to Xie Wuxi, the one who had once threatened Lan Chang'an, and the father of Xia Wenyue. However, this man was none other than Old Ancestor Heavenly Net, a figure of chilling renown.

"Do not celebrate too soon. We haven’t reached the end yet," Heavenly Net Ancestor said, his expression darkening.

Just moments earlier, he had faintly sensed the use of Bloodline Pearl, a secret technique that tracked descendants through their bloodline.

"Audacious!" he snarled inwardly. Were it not for the considerable distance and his unwillingness to risk delaying their arrival at the Seven Kingdoms Alliance, he would have turned back and annihilated the culprit who dared such impudence.

"Old Ancestor, are you worried about Beast King Valley?"

The speaker was a late-stage Core Formation elder with a long gray beard, his voice calm yet confident. As the head of the Xie Family and one of Heavenly Net Ancestor’s great-grandsons, he was deeply loyal.

"No need to be," another elder, a middle-aged scholar clad in elegant robes, interjected. He was a rare genius of the Heavenly Net Sect, an earth spiritual root cultivator who had married into the Xie Family. "Beast King Valley would be eager for us to retreat. The Heavenly Net Sect has scattered its forces. Focusing efforts on targeting them would be a waste of energy. They’d rather focus on breakthroughs in the main battlefield."

The room collectively nodded. Confidence was high—their route was secret, their treasures concealed, and their destination near.

However, as the cloud-ship pressed forward through the mist, disaster struck.

A faint, nearly imperceptible thread of blood-red light passed through the clouds, brushing against the ship. There was no sound, no visible disturbance, as though the two existed in separate dimensions.

"Not good! A blood path tracking technique!"

Heavenly Net Ancestor’s expression twisted in shock. Without hesitation, he altered the ship’s course, a dense misty light spreading out to shroud the vessel completely.

Yet, after barely a few dozen li, another faint blood-red light thread pierced through the concealment, locking onto the ship again.

"Ha ha ha! Old Ancestor Heavenly Net! I’ve been waiting for this moment!"

A bone-chilling, sinister voice echoed from the distant Nine Fiery Heavens. The oppressive sound carried an overwhelming wave of blood-scented energy, making the skies churn.

The clouds above parted, revealing countless blood-colored bats that blotted out the heavens. They surged forward, covering the skies in a wave of crimson terror.

"Blood Bat King!" Heavenly Net Ancestor exclaimed, his voice heavy with dread. His eyes betrayed the deep fear he held for this opponent.

The Blood Bat King was one of the six Palace Lords of the Blood Spirit Sect, it was one of the two demonic sects that had invaded the Seven Kingdoms Alliance's side.

Boom Boom Boom!

The blood-colored bats descended in a relentless onslaught, overwhelming the cloud-ship’s defensive barriers in moments.

"Ah! Ancestor, save us!"

The younger Xie Family disciples screamed as blood bats swarmed the ship. The bats weren’t ordinary; they were blood spirits, each half a zhang long, with a few reaching lengths of several zhang. Their attacks rivaled those of Core Formation cultivators.

While the ship’s defenses faltered, slain blood bats transformed into blood streams, merging into others and growing stronger. Conversely, fallen Xie Family disciples had their blood drained, which further empowered the enemy.

"Split up and break through! I’ll handle this old monster!"

Heavenly Net Ancestor’s figure blurred as he emerged above the ship.

Boom!

The Old Ancestor’s aura exploded outward, a massive halo of mist and lightning spreading behind him. The spiritual pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator erupted, shattering nearby blood bats into mist and obliterating their chance of reforming.

"Go!" he commanded, creating an opening for the two Core Formation elders to lead the clan disciples in separate directions.

"Impressive, Heavenly Net Ancestor. It seems your injuries have long since healed, you aren't as weak as the world seems to think" a chilling voice called out.

In the distance, a massive blood cloud surged forward. At its center, the Blood Bat King stood—a grotesque figure in blood-red robes, his triangular eyes and malformed features exuding malevolence.

"The Seven Kingdoms Alliance is far stronger than the Righteous Dao Alliance, yet the Blood Spirit Sect’s Palace Lord still managed to circle around and ambush me from behind."

Heavenly Net Ancestor spoke in a deep voice.

He had been wary of the hidden threats from Unseen Gate but hadn’t expected the one to strike would be Blood Spirit Sect.

"You should have stayed in the Righteous Dao Alliance, Heavenly Net. Why meddle in the Seven Kingdoms Alliance’s affairs?"

Blood Bat King let out a sinister laugh, spreading his palm wide. From within the blood cloud, a viscous, dark-red blood pool emerged, the liquid inside bubbling like boiling magma.

This was none other than his lifebound magical treasure—the Asura Blood Pool!

In the span of a breath, the Asura Blood Pool expanded to several hundred zhang, spinning rapidly as it unleashed a cascading blood-red torrent. Swarms of crimson bats erupted alongside it, surging forward like a flood.

The overwhelming stench of blood filled the air, spreading for hundreds of li. The weaker cultivators of the Heavenly Net Xie Family staggered under its oppressive aura, some collapsing unconscious, instantly becoming nourishment for the blood-colored bats.

Heavenly Net Ancestor retaliated with his own lifebound magical treasure, the Wind Cloud Fan. With a sweep, the skies roared as massive gusts and clouds surged, forcing back the blood waves and scattering the bats.

But the Blood Bat King’s assault was relentless, his forces inexhaustible. Blood energy seeped through every gap, and the sheer volume of bats began overwhelming Heavenly Net’s defenses.

The ship crumbled, and more Xie Family disciples fell to the onslaught.

The clash between the Wind Cloud Fan and the Asura Blood Pool unleashed a devastating magical storm. Many of the Xie Family’s slower disciples were instantly reduced to dust and blood mist.

In just ten breaths of battle, Heavenly Net Ancestor’s mind reeled, his robes and protective barrier tainted by crimson energy.

At this moment, behind Blood Bat King, several Blood Spirit Sect cultivators and blood servants emerged, forming a Blood Spirit Grand Formation.

The path to the Seven Kingdoms Alliance was completely sealed!

Heavenly Net Ancestor gritted his teeth, spitting a mouthful of essence blood and his innate true fire onto the Wins Cloud Fan.

Whoosh!

A swirling mass of wind and radiant clouds enveloped his figure, reversing course as he fled toward the desolate lands behind him.

“You think you can run?”

Blood Bat King’s sinister grin widened.

Whoosh!

A surge of blood light erupted behind him, condensing into a pair of enormous blood wings. With terrifying speed, he shot forward in pursuit.

As a Blood Dao Nascent Soul cultivator, he not only excelled in dragged out battles but also specialized in bloodline tracking.@@novelbin@@

Even if Heavenly Net Ancestor were to abandon his body and seize another descendant, he would not escape Blood Bat King’s grasp!

...

Inside a cave hidden deep within the desolate lands, Xiang Jinglong and the white-browed Daoist had just finished cleaning up the scene. Their latest captive, Xie Xiao, a direct descendant of Heavenly Net Ancestor, was being soul-searched.

The white-browed Daoist carefully sorted the valuable information gleaned from the soul-search into a jade slip for later present it to the Xuan Yin Sect.

"Hmm? What’s that smell?"

Xiang Jinglong, a third-rank body cultivator with an exceptionally sharp sense of smell, flared his nostrils. His heightened senses caught the faint trace of a colorless, formless gas.

Thud! Thud…

Outside the cave, several Fake Dan cultivators standing guard collapsed, one after the other, unconscious.

"Who’s there?!"

Xiang Jinglong and the white-browed Daoist immediately cast spells to isolate their breathing and rushed out of the cave.

What greeted them was a burly, masked man standing just outside. The man was built like a bear, with a broad chest and muscular limbs, exuding an aura of unrestrained dominance.

Their spiritual senses swept over him, but the man’s face was obscured by the mask, they could only judge from the deep mana aura that he was a True Dan cultivator.

"I’m here to rob you!"

"Quickly hand over the belongings on your body, and if this seat is in a good mood, I might consider sparing your lives!"

A robbery?!

Xiang Jinglong was momentarily stunned, the situation so unexpected it was almost absurd. The masked man’s tone, his mannerisms—there was something oddly familiar about him.

Since joining the Xuan Yin Sect, Xiang Jinglong hadn’t resorted to robbery in over a century. And yet, here he was, being robbed himself.

"You’ve got a death wish, trying to rob the Xuan Yin Sect!"

Xiang Jinglong roared, his voice reverberating with the power of a third-rank body cultivator, creating soundwaves that aimed to overwhelm the masked man.

As a True Dan qi cultivator, standing within ten zhang of him—was that not simply giving him the perfect chance to unleash a close-range bombardment?

As he attacked, his body began to transform. His muscles swelled, his skin became etched with dark demonic runes, and he grew into a towering, iron-clad figure over two zhang tall, exuding an oppressive vitality.

However, just as his massive black-striped hand swung forward, the masked man’s figure blurred into an indistinct shadow.

Boom! Crack!

Before Xiang Jinglong could react, a tremendous force struck his shoulder. The sound of bones shattering echoed through the air as his towering figure was forcibly compressed back to its original size.

"Urgh!"

Xiang Jinglong coughed up blood, his face turning red as his entire body collapsed to the ground, limp and broken like a discarded rag doll.

"Late-stage third-rank body cultivator!"

Xiang Jinglong's eyes widened like copper bells, revealing a panicked, unbelievable expression.

The True Dan qi cultivator that he thought could be easily suppressed actually had body refinement attainments which were even higher than his own.

The scary thing was that the other party was not even a pure body cultivator, but someone who had dual-cultivated both body and qi.

Looking at the entire Jing Kingdom, no one has cultivated body refining to the late third rank.

As a pure body cultivator, Xiang Jinglong, who practiced to the top level Earth Fiend Heaven-Supporting Art, was already a leader in the Jing Kingdom.

The white-browed Daoist paled at the sight, his face drained of all color. He immediately turned to flee, condensing his spiritual energy into a light of escape.

"Down!"

The masked man raised his hand and conjured a massive, glowing hand of pure True Dan energy. The oppressive force descended like a mountain, pinning the white-browed Daoist to the ground.

"This person is also a Core Formation Great Cultivator!"

The white-browed Daoist's heart despaired, his protective barrier shattered like fragile glass, and his spiritual energy scattered as he crashed into the dirt, grievously injured.

"My lord spare our lives! We are willing to hand over our belongings!"

The white-browed Daoist coughed up blood, trembling as he begged for mercy.

With body refinement and qi cultivation both at the late third-rank stage, the masked man’s strength was terrifyingly close to that of the Xuan Yin Sect’s Sect Master, Liang Shaotian. To the two captives, this masked monster was like an insurmountable peak.

“Righteous Dao Alliance cultivation world, how could there be such a terrifying monster...”

Xiang Jinglong, embedded in the mountainside, was not only shaken with terror but also filled with a deep sense of existential doubt.

Back then, he had been framed and forced to take the blame, enduring humiliation. Under immense pressure, he had broken through to the third rank of body cultivation on the brink of life and death.

The pure path of body refinement granted him a lifespan comparable to that of a True Dan cultivator. Yet for over a century, his cultivation had remained stalled at the peak of the early third rank.

And now, the person before him had cultivated both qi and body refinement to the late third rank? Across the entire Righteous Dao Alliance, there was no second person capable of such a feat.

“My lord, this is our entire fortune.”

Under the masked man’s oppressive gaze, Xiang Jinglong and the white-browed Daoist, despite their injuries, hurriedly handed over everything they had. This included the spoils they had just looted from Heavenly Net Ancestor’s descendants.

"Not bad, count yourselves sensible!" the masked man said, satisfied after inspecting the haul.

Among the treasures was a key ingredient for Crystal Condensation Pills, quasi-fourth-rank Azure Profound Wood. The latter was a rare spiritual wood, particularly valuable in crafting powerful wood-element magical treasures, especially swords.

The masked man also took the jade slip containing information about Heavenly Net Ancestor’s descendants, which would aid his divinations. Before leaving, he drew blood from Xie Xiao and infused it into the Bloodline Pearl he had crafted earlier, further enhancing its ability to locate the descendants of Heavenly Net’s bloodline.

Whew!

As the masked man vanished into the skies, Xiang Jinglong and the white-browed Daoist slumped to the ground, drenched in cold sweat.

The overwhelming gap in strength had left them utterly helpless. Compared to this top-tier Core Formation powerhouse, they were no more than infants.

"That man… could it be…?"

Xiang Jinglong's heart trembled violently. The man's eerily familiar tone and manner of speaking stirred something deep within him.

Over two hundred years, yet that black hand behind the scenes brought him nothing but humiliation and helplessness, a shadow he could never shake off.

"Protector Xiang, could you have offended some powerful figure during your time as a rogue cultivator?" the white-browed Daoist asked, his voice trembling.

...

High above the Nine Fiery Heavens.

Disguised as the burly, masked man, Lan Chang'an flew toward the Seven Kingdoms Alliance.

The earlier robbery had been a form of payback for a grievance from years past—back when he was extorted for thousands of spirit stones aboard the cross-border spirit ship by Xiang Jinglong and his demonic sect cohorts.

Although there was no deep hatred or direct conflict of interests between Lan Chang'an and Xiang Jinglong, the petty grudge was enough for him to teach the man a painful lesson. Out of respect for Liang Shaotian, however, Lan Chang'an chose not to kill him.

From what Lan Chang'an knew, after he had advanced to Core Formation and left Jing Kingdom, neither the Snow Fox Merchant Association nor Hanyu Immortal had been deliberately targeted by Xiang Jinglong.

This leniency puzzled him. Over the past century, the Xuan Yin Sect had risen to dominate Jing Kingdom’s cultivation world, with Xiang Jinglong as one of its enforcers. Given his domineering nature, it was unusual for him to abandon the pursuit of Hanyu Immortal.

Lan Chang'an suspected that Liang Shaotian had warned Xiang Jinglong so he wouldn’t act rashly.

As he continued flying over the barren, spiritual energy-depleted lands, Lan Chang'an relied on the soul-searching intelligence extracted from Xie Xiao to refine his calculations. Coupled with the guidance of the Bloodline Pearl, he adjusted his trajectory.

Half a day later, something unexpected happened.

The Bloodline Pearl in his hand suddenly flared with an intense light, its resonance growing far stronger than it had been when it tracked Xie Xiao.

"This intensity… Could it be—"

Lan Chang'an’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately deactivated the pearl’s bloodline sensing technique, halting its resonance.

However, his heightened senses detected a faint, almost imperceptible pulse of blood energy deep within the pearl.

It was subtle—so subtle that an average Core Formation cultivator wouldn’t have noticed it. Worse, the connection didn’t sever after he deactivated the technique; instead, it passively continued to respond.

The only way to end this interaction would be to destroy the pearl entirely.

"Could that old bastard have reverse-tracked me?"

Lan Chang'an frowned, surprise flashing through his eyes.

This peculiar reaction hinted that Heavenly Net Ancestor had somehow locked onto him and might already be en route to confront him.

But such behavior was uncharacteristically reckless for Heavenly Net Ancestor, whose strategy had been to spread his forces thin to ensure his descendants’ retreat, for him to abandon this calculated plan and come charging in directly made little sense.

He immediately made a divination with all his might.

The results were clear: there was a 90% chance that the approaching figure was indeed Heavenly Net Ancestor. The exact reasons for his pursuit, however, remained unclear.

After a moment of contemplation, Lan Chang'an made up his mind.

"If that old man wants to come after me, I’ll give him a proper welcome."

The opportunity to leverage this situation for a Nascent Soul chance was too tempting to pass up. The risks, while high, were acceptable. Even in the worst-case scenario, Lan Chang'an had the means to protect himself and escape.

Lan Chang'an sprang into action. He unleashed his puppets and spiritual pets, sending them scurrying to key locations to set up traps and defensive formations.

...

A Moment Later, the winds and clouds changed, and a violent storm erupted.

A hundred li away, a swirling mass of wind and mist approached at high speed, accompanied by flashes of lightning and peals of thunder.

"Damn it, this old bat just won't give up! He's deliberately stalling to exhaust my vitality and blood essence, to ultimately kill a Nascent Soul of the same rank at a smaller cost."

Within the stormy cloud, the figure of Heavenly Net Ancestor emerged—a young man with striking features, though his face was pale, and his gaze was dark and brooding.

He couldn't defeat Blood Bat King.

He couldn't outlast him.

He couldn't escape.

Fortunately, Blood Bat King was somewhat disdainful of him and unwilling to use escape techniques that consumed his own blood essence and lifespan. This allowed Heavenly Net to occasionally pull some distance between them.

He had considered releasing his Nascent Soul to escape once more.

But his physical body had finally recovered and was not gravely injured. Abandoning it now would be too great a loss.

Moreover, Nascent Soul possession had its limits.

Each time he switched bodies, his Nascent Soul would lose some of its essence.

If he exceeded three possessions, the Nascent Soul itself would start to collapse and lose its sense of self.

At the same time, he had another concern:

In this desolate wilderness, spiritual energy was scarce. If Blood Spirit Sect was after him, even if he possessed another body, it would be difficult to make a comeback.

Not to mention, the scattered cultivators in this wasteland were mostly his own bloodline descendants.

Possessing a body that shared his lineage or cultivation method would theoretically be more compatible.

However, his pursuer was a Blood Dao Nascent Soul cultivator, and there was a significant chance he could track down any of Heavenly Net's possessed descendants.

Just a short while ago, Heavenly Net sensed the presence of a Bloodline Pearl, and it was getting closer.

The pearl’s holder was not one of his own bloodline. Using a secret technique to probe further, Heavenly Net determined that the person's cultivation was at the third-rank level.

Heavenly Net planned to capture this person along the way, seizing a non-descendant body as a backup vessel for possession.

"Hmm? That person... he looks like Xiang Jinglong from the Xuan Yin Sect!"

As he closed in on his target, Heavenly Net scanned the area with his spiritual sense.

A burly middle-aged man with tanned skin stood in the ruins of a blood-stained battlefield, clutching a Bloodline Pearl in his hand.

"Damn bastard! He dared to kill my descendants to refine a Bloodline Pearl?!"

Heavenly Net’s rage exploded as he drove his swirling storm-cloud forward, charging toward Xiang Jinglong, who had just sensed danger and was fleeing in panic.

With a flick of his sleeve, Heavenly Net summoned a massive vortex of storm clouds above Xiang Jinglong, unleashing a terrifying suction force.

Xiang Jinglong's body was forcefully pulled into the storm vortex, unable to resist.

"A Xuan Yin Sect rat!"

Heavenly Net’s eyes gleamed coldly as he descended, intending to capture Xiang Jinglong and leave immediately.

He couldn't afford to waste too much time—Blood Bat King was still in pursuit, just a few hundred li away.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred.

BOOM!

The storm vortex trapping Xiang Jinglong was forcibly torn apart by two powerful forces.

Golden scales shimmered across Xiang Jinglong’s body, his physical aura surging to late-stage third-rank strength.

At the same time, a ghostly aura-infused gale of dark iron energy crashed into the storm vortex, dispersing it completely.

Beside Xiang Jinglong, a black-masked, fanged, green-armored puppet appeared, its overwhelming presence nearly rivaling a fourth-rank Demon King.

"A quasi-fourth-rank puppet?!"

"This person’s physical aura doesn’t feel like Xiang Jinglong’s… Could he be a Thousand Mechanisms Sect traitor colluding with the demonic path?"

Heavenly Net was taken aback—his casual attack had struck an unexpectedly tough opponent.

Swish!

At the same time, fourth-rank formation waves rippled around them.

In the blink of an eye, the environment shifted, transforming into a vast and boundless desert.

A fourth-rank illusion formation!

Heavenly Net’s expression darkened.

Without the support of a spirit vein, a regular fourth-rank formation would have limited impact on him.

As long as he eliminated the puppet master and his construct, he could easily break free and leave.

However, the current situation was far from simple.

Aside from the one man and one puppet, Heavenly Net could sense a late-stage third-rank earth-element beast lurking beneath the sand.

Suddenly, a violent sandstorm erupted, filling the air with dust and making the illusion formation even harder to distinguish.

Swish! Swish!

More than ten additional puppets emerged from the sandstorm, two of them reaching late-stage third-rank.

The combined puppet array they formed radiated a force comparable to a quasi-fourth-rank power.

To kill Heavenly Net Ancestor, Lan Chang'an had gone all out.

After all, Heavenly Net was a full-fledged Nascent Soul True Monarch and his magical power and aura were stronger than expected.

"This is bad!"

Heavenly Net’s heart sank.

This wasn’t just a battle he couldn’t win quickly.

This was a battle he might not escape from.

The man posing as Xiang Jinglong was actually a quasi-fourth-rank puppet master with an exceptionally strong physique.

A puppet master at this level has spiritual sense far surpassing others of his rank, meaning that soul-based secret arts would be significantly weakened, and Nascent Soul possession had a high chance of failure against him.

This entire setup was more than capable of contending with him. With the support of the fourth-rank illusion formation, his opponent might even gain the upper hand.

"Hmm? A Blood Dao True Monarch?"

Just as Lan Chang'an was about to give the order for his forces to overwhelm Heavenly Net, he suddenly sensed a Nascent Soul-level Blood Dao aura rapidly approaching from hundreds of li away.

His brows furrowed deeply.

To kill Heavenly Net, Lan Chang'an’s fourth life had already descended in advance.

Now, everything became clear.

His previous divination had left certain details unclear. He had wondered why Heavenly Net had doubled back and was so fixated on him.

The approaching Blood Dao aura made everything obvious.

This Blood Dao True Monarch was stronger than Heavenly Net, perhaps even more powerful than the Six Sun True Monarch of the Golden Sun Sect.

More importantly, Blood Dao cultivators were notoriously difficult to deal with.

That was beyond Lan Chang'an’s current capabilities.

"It seems Fellow Daoist Xiang is not with the Blood Spirit Sect."

Observing Lan Chang'an’s reaction, Heavenly Net breathed a sigh of relief.

The worst-case scenario hadn’t happened.

If Lan Chang'an and Blood Bat King were allies, then even if he abandoned his body and escaped with his Nascent Soul, he would still die.

"Immortal Xiang, Blood Bat King is one of the six Palace Lords of the Blood Spirit Sect. He is immensely powerful. If he arrives, both of us will be in danger. Why not set aside our differences and—"

"Shut up! Don’t try to weasel out of this!"

Lan Chang'an snorted coldly, cutting Heavenly Net off.

"I have no grudge against the Blood Spirit Sect. Puppets are not living beings; they do not fear Blood Dao techniques."

"Blood Bat King is after you, Heavenly Net Ancestor. He won't waste time attacking me."

"On the contrary, I’ve always disliked Heavenly Net Sect. I came here specifically to rob you!"

"…Rob me?"

Heavenly Net was momentarily stunned.

For a Nascent Soul old monster who had lived for hundreds of years, the phrase "robbery" felt oddly foreign.

He recalled that Protector Xiang of Xuan Yin Sect was originally a rogue cultivator.

Could it be that this powerful puppet master and body refiner was really that infamous bandit?

"That’s right! I am a rogue cultivator!"

The tanned, burly middle-aged man let out a savage grin and threatened:

"Heavenly Net Old Ancestor, if you have the sense, hand over the Infant Transformation Pill, any Nascent Soul spirit item, and Tribulation-resolving treasures!"

"If not! This seat will trap you here until Blood Bat King arrives to kill you, so that Your Excellency will drink hatred in the wilderness!"