“Hehe… Brother…” Jiao Gong hurriedly called out to Shui Miao, wearing a sly grin. “Brother, did you forget something? You’ve already entered the Spirit Communication Realm, right? So when can I expect that magical treasure you promised to craft for me?”
“Magical treasure?”
Shui Miao was slightly taken aback. He hadn’t expected Jiao Gong to be so impatient and insistent about the magical treasure!
“Brother,” Shui Miao replied cautiously, “I currently don’t have enough materials. Could you help gather some? I’ll also try to figure something out. Once I return from the Nine Heavens Xuan Gate, I’ll start crafting it immediately, how about that?”
Jiao Gong’s mood changed faster than the weather; one couldn’t let him get used to taking advantage so easily.
Besides, Shui Miao wasn’t in the mood to craft any immortal artifacts right now.
“Oh, really?”
Jiao Gong scratched his head, his expression complicated as he continued, “Brother, didn’t you make a deal with the Immortal Venerable Hu? His family should have plenty of crystals and materials for you, right?”
“…”
Upon hearing Jiao Gong’s words, Shui Miao immediately understood. No wonder Jiao Gong had acted so strangely from the beginning.
Looking at Jiao Gong, Shui Miao suddenly felt that this ugly Thunder Immortal was becoming a burden. It was one thing for him to keep asking about the magical treasure, but now he was prying into every deal Shui Miao made. This couldn’t go on.
However, the current situation was such that Jiao Gong was not someone easily offended.
Shui Miao made a mental note to be extra cautious around people like him in the future, not to be too open or trusting.
Still, Jiao Gong shouldn’t know too much about his dealings with the Immortal Venerable Hu—maybe he was just bluffing?
After a pause, Shui Miao shook his head and said, “Well, I did plan to make a deal with them, but the Immortal Venerable Hu needs to construct a massive formation. They’re even short on materials themselves now. I only received some crystals, so please wait a bit longer. Once the materials are sufficient, I’ll craft several top-grade immortal artifacts for you immediately.”
“Hehe…”
Jiao Gong didn’t believe Shui Miao and grinned, “Brother, no need to hide from me anymore. The Immortal Venerable Hu’s family has already left the Ninth Heaven, and their whereabouts are unknown. If you hadn’t finished crafting the magical treasure for them, why would they leave?”
“What? They left?”
Shui Miao was greatly shocked. His first thought was that the Immortal Venerable Hu’s family might have been secretly sabotaged.
Seeing Shui Miao’s tension, Jiao Gong suddenly felt uncertain, “Brother, you really haven’t finished crafting the immortal artifacts for them yet?”
This clearly exposed the fact that Jiao Gong himself didn’t know much about the details.
“Of course not! Why would I lie to you?” Shui Miao immediately responded firmly, then sighed, “Now there’s no profit to be made. He must have gathered a huge amount of wealth and materials, drawing the attention of powerful beings, and was killed to silence him!”
“No way…”
Upon hearing this, Jiao Gong immediately panicked.
Shui Miao took a deep breath, his expression serious, “Brother, don’t you realize the times we’re living in? The Immortal God War is about to begin, anything is possible! The more magical treasures you possess, the more people will target you. The Immortal Venerable Hu was extremely wealthy—how could he not have many enemies? I’m not trying to scare you, Brother, but you must also be careful. Once people find out you possess good magical treasures… Well, never mind, I won’t say more bad omens. I have urgent matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now!”
Shui Miao bowed to Jiao Gong and immediately turned to leave.
“Brother, wait…”
Jiao Gong was somewhat frightened. His eyes darting, he hurriedly called out to Shui Miao, “Brother, about the immortal artifacts—don’t worry, I’m not in a rush anymore! Also, please keep our deal absolutely secret. I’ll immediately go to Brother Gong Du at the Shi Yang Academy to ensure the safety of your family and friends.”
“Great, thank you, Brother. If you don’t betray me, how could I ever betray you?”
Shui Miao gave a heavy bow, secretly feeling relieved in his heart.
After leaving the Fire Thunder Academy, Shui Miao swiftly flew away. First, he arrived at Xian Du Mountain, only to find that the Xiao Yao Palace was indeed gone.
Feeling a strange sense of confusion, Shui Miao hurriedly left Xian Du Mountain.
Instead of heading directly to the Nine Heavens Xuan Gate, Shui Miao first returned to his own Tian Ji Sect.
Under Lian’er’s management, the Tian Ji Sect had become orderly and had begun to take shape. However, due to a severe shortage of personnel, it lacked the grandeur of a major immortal sect. At present, the sect had just started, lacking manpower, many departments couldn’t function properly. Most importantly, there was a critical shortage of pills, making it impossible to recruit many disciples. Therefore, the most urgent matter was cultivating large quantities of immortal herbs and medicinal plants.
To address the shortage of manpower for cultivating these herbs, Shui Miao activated his mind and carefully selected five hundred tree spirit cultivators from his realm planet, teleporting them out. Although these tree cultivators only possessed the power of ordinary scattered immortals, they were naturally suited for planting immortal herbs and medicinal plants, as they were composed of wood elemental energy.
Moreover, these tree cultivators were simple-minded and loyal—Shui Miao had complete confidence in them.
Shui Miao didn’t have much interest in managing the sect, so for now, the sect could only remain in this state.
Chen Yiren’s soul fragment was currently within Shui Miao’s ultimate innate treasure, being carefully nurtured and protected by two artifact spirits.
Because Chen Yiren’s soul was severely injured, he wouldn’t awaken anytime soon.
Regarding soul restoration and rebirth techniques, Shui Miao was completely unfamiliar.
Thus, he sought advice from He’er, who was diligently practicing artifact forging inside the Time Tower.
After learning the situation and examining Chen Yiren’s soul condition, He’er immediately informed Shui Miao that Chen Yiren’s soul was gravely damaged and required the Triple Holy Infant Pill to fully recover. If not properly nurtured, the reborn soul might become insane or mentally impaired after recovery. However, the Triple Holy Infant Pill required Imperial Qi to refine—making it an extremely expensive pill, typically only accessible to an Immortal Emperor.
An Immortal Emperor was an existence of supreme authority.
Shui Miao immediately decided to try his luck at the Nine Heavens Xuan Gate first, hoping for good fortune to meet the Lady of the Nine Heavens.
※※※
Xuan Nü Mountain, located to the north of Xian Du Mountain, was a breathtaking range of mountains.
Xuan Nü Mountain enjoyed perpetual sunshine, moderate temperatures, fragrant flowers, fluttering butterflies, and groups of fairy maidens flying about, creating a bustling and lively atmosphere.
As Shui Miao approached the mountain gate, eleven purple-robed fairy maidens suddenly appeared before him.
These fairies were lined up in two rows of five each, each holding a purple treasure sword. In the center, one fairy rode a white fierce tiger. She bowed to Shui Miao and directly declared, “Halt! This is the sacred ground of the Nine Heavens Xuan Gate. Men are strictly forbidden from entering. Violators will be executed.”
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