Chapter 704: The Quest for the Essence of Immortality

The portal of the black hole connects to another planet in a different world, a planet that once was the ancestral home of the Xingyue Clan.

But now, that planet has been completely overtaken by an aura of corruption and decay.

Not a single living creature remains there—only a portal made of corrupted matter and an endless aura of decay.

The First Holy Emperor of the Xingyue Clan, foreseeing that his descendants might one day face threats from supreme beings, deceived his descendants by fabricating the concept of a Creator God through the words of a prophet, using this strategy to eliminate powerful adversaries.

Today, this very tactic was used against Shui Miao.

Fortunately, Shui Miao had been prepared in advance, narrowly escaping annihilation.

The massive alien planet was now being corroded by endless corrupting energy—no inch of land was spared. This once vibrant world was destined to become yet another ancestral home of the Xingyue Clan.

With nowhere left to run, Shui Miao and the Ancient King fled beyond the planet, into the vastness of space.

Shui Miao originally could have used the talisman given by the Goddess Nuwa to return, but he refused to abandon the still-gigantic Ancient King. After releasing everyone from the Disc of Moral Judgment and watching the alien planet gradually turn completely black, Shui Miao sighed deeply, saying, “I never imagined the corrupting energy could be this powerful. Fortunately, the Xingyue Clan still has one final Holy Emperor left; otherwise, who knows how many more planets they would have destroyed.”

Inside the Disc of Moral Judgment, only You Cao remained.

To put it plainly, You Cao was now under house arrest by Shui Miao.

“Brother Shui Miao, I think you should let You Cao out to see for himself what his ancestors have done,” the Emperor Wenchang said solemnly, gazing at the corrupted planet with a chill of fear in his heart. If such energy were released into the Three Realms, everything would be doomed.

“Heavenly Virtue Sovereign shook his head in awe, “This is terrifying—absolutely terrifying.”

“Shui Miao, I also think we should drag You Cao out or just eliminate him altogether,” the General Xingtian shouted loudly.

Chong Yuanzi turned to Shui Miao, “Shui Miao, can we think of a way to suppress this corrupting energy? If some evil force ever uses this method against the Three Realms in the future, we should be ready to counter it.”

“Exactly, we can’t afford to be unprepared,” the Holy Mother Shuitianyi frowned. “But this corrupting energy seems too powerful.”

“No worries—we still have You Cao. I believe I can find a solution from him,” Shui Miao looked around at the group. “Right now, we still have time before the three-year deadline. Let’s explore some more in space; we might find a new planet.”

With that thought, Shui Miao entered the Tower of Time and transported You Cao inside.

Looking at You Cao, Shui Miao shrugged helplessly and said, “You Cao, I’m afraid I can’t return the Holy Emperor’s Eye to you.”

“Great Creator God, that was a gift from our ancestors to you,” You Cao replied politely, quickly bowing.

“This gift…” It seemed You Cao truly knew nothing about it. Shui Miao felt a bit speechless. After a pause, he smiled bitterly and said, “Great, I really wish I could personally thank your ancestors, but I don’t have the chance. Right now, I desperately need to find a way to counter this corrupting energy, so I need your wisdom and help.”

You Cao was a bit confused by Shui Miao’s words.

He quickly bowed again. “I am honored to serve. Whatever you need, O Great Creator, just give the order.”

“Great, thank you for your support. But some things are complicated and would take days to explain. I need you to calm your mind while I enter your thoughts, read your memories, and search for valuable information.” Shui Miao bowed respectfully, making his request clear.

You Cao had a pure heart. Without hesitation, he immediately sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and relaxed.

Shui Miao was very satisfied with You Cao’s cooperation.

At once, Shui Miao entered You Cao’s consciousness and began reading his memories.

Outside, the others discussed matters briefly before the Ancient King led them deeper into space.

Shui Miao had his own plans regarding the Heavenly Five Decays.

Currently, within Shui Miao’s mental world, the model of the Holy Emperor’s Eye still existed, complete with detailed arrays and secrets. As long as he followed the design, he could forge an identical artifact. However, Shui Miao dared not use such a replica—if it accidentally reopened the black hole portal without the protection of the Purple Phoenix, he would be doomed.

Therefore, Shui Miao had to first find a way to counter the Heavenly Five Decays before daring to forge the Holy Emperor’s Eye.

This would be his ultimate trump card, and Shui Miao intended to turn it into his ace within the remaining years.

You Cao’s memories were simple, proving he was not a complicated person from the Xingyue Clan.

However, his long life meant an enormous amount of memories, which would take a massive amount of time to sift through.

Fortunately, Shui Miao had the Tower of Time.

Everything proceeded smoothly and methodically…

Time passed, day after day…

Finally, one day, Shui Miao finished reading all of You Cao’s memories and discovered a memory about forging a special artifact.

With each succession of Holy Emperors, the previous Great Holy Emperor would pass down the Holy Emperor’s Eye along with the memory of forging a unique artifact.

The material required for this artifact was the rare Purple Fortune Core, a substance so scarce that no one had ever seen it, which was why no Holy Emperor had ever successfully forged the artifact. Based on this information, Shui Miao had reason to suspect that this artifact, forged from the Purple Fortune Core, would be the true countermeasure against the Heavenly Five Decays.

The Purple Fortune Core!

Inside the core of Shui Miao’s mental world, there was an abundance of Purple Fortune energy, but not a single Purple Fortune Core existed.

However, the Ancient King possessed the unique ability to transform energy into cores.

“Hoo! Hoo!”

With two whooshes, Shui Miao and You Cao emerged from the Tower of Time. As Shui Miao looked up, he saw the Ancient King flying toward a planet with a yellowish hue.

Before Shui Miao could speak, the Holy Mother Shuitianyi approached and said, “The Ancient King says there’s a lot of Earth and Metal energy on that planet. He wants to go there to collect some cores for our cultivation.”

Shui Miao nodded and immediately said, “Ancient King, do you have any way of locating a planet that contains hidden Purple Fortune energy? I need some Purple Fortune Cores.”

“Purple Fortune Cores!” The Ancient King immediately stopped flying and responded, “Shui Miao, every planet contains some Purple Fortune energy, deeply buried within its core. However, the amount stored on each planet is minimal, and it’s extremely difficult to extract. Once the Purple Fortune energy condenses into a core, it automatically gives birth to a Purple Phoenix, which can fly and possesses supernatural powers, as you already know.”

Shui Miao waved his hand dismissively. “I know it’s hard. If it weren’t difficult, I wouldn’t have asked you. Think of a way to help me get some Purple Fortune Cores, and I’ll help you achieve your greatest desire in return.”

“My greatest desire is to find a planet rich in Water energy and build my own kingdom there—perhaps even live alongside humans.” Upon hearing this, the Ancient King became visibly interested.

Shui Miao smiled faintly. “That’s easy. My homeland is exactly such a place, filled with countless plants and an endless supply of seawater. However, if you go there, you might encounter some challenges—you might not be able to handle human technology. Ha! Well, let’s not get into that now. Help me find some Purple Fortune energy first. Once we find it, everyone benefits.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best—but you all must help too, because the energy is buried deep within the planet.”

The Ancient King was intrigued and secretly noted Shui Miao’s homeland.

※※※

Three years passed quickly.

Before they knew it, the day for the struggle over the rule of the Three Realms had arrived.

During those three years in space, Shui Miao and the others, along with the Ancient King, collected a vast amount of various energy cores and finally managed to gather one Purple Fortune Core.

Shui Miao immediately began forging an artifact using the Purple Fortune Core, shaping it into a disc-like form.

An artifact forged from the Purple Fortune Core was unlikely to be anything but powerful. Shui Miao activated the Purple Fortune Disc in front of everyone. Instantly, brilliant light radiated, and the Purple Fortune energy spread out, blessing everyone present with immense benefits.

“Haha! Definitely a great treasure!”

However, the Purple Fortune Disc consumed Purple Fortune energy as it was used, so Shui Miao quickly stopped activating it to conserve the energy.

Without delay, Shui Miao began forging the Holy Emperor’s Eye using Yin-element cores.

The Holy Emperor’s Eye was extremely complex, but through Shui Miao’s efforts, it was finally completed.

“Ahh!” The Ancient King, upon seeing the Holy Emperor’s Eye, was shocked and exclaimed, “Shui Miao, this thing is terrifying! How did you manage to forge it?”

Shui Miao smiled and shook his head. Looking at everyone, he took a deep breath and said, “If I didn’t forge it, how could I uncover the secrets of the Heavenly Five Decays? Without solving this mystery, we cannot attain immortality. That’s why, over these three years, we’ve worked together to find Purple Fortune energy and forge the Purple Fortune Disc—to ultimately understand the mysteries of the Heavenly Five Decays and discover a way to counter them. This is not only a blessing for us but for all beings in the Three Realms.”

With that, Shui Miao handed the Holy Emperor’s Eye to You Cao. “Master You Cao, now that the Holy Emperor’s Eye has returned to its rightful owner, please activate it while I activate the Purple Fortune Disc. Let’s see what happens.”

“Alright… alright…”

You Cao was visibly excited. Shui Miao had personally returned the Holy Emperor’s Eye—an act that clearly demonstrated his trust in You Cao!