Chapter 281: The Big Identity Reveal?

However, Shui Miao wasn’t entirely convinced.

A lot had happened, and Shui Miao had learned a hard lesson—that to survive, one must not trust others easily.

Looking at Shui Miao, Ye Xian continued, “Big brother, I know these words are hard to believe. Wait until I help you regain your golden body, and everything will become clear. Moreover, those god-kings who framed us fear our comeback, so they’ve descended their primal spirits into the mortal realm. If we brothers want to survive, we must unite and find these primal spirits one by one, then eliminate them.”

Ye Xian’s intentions were very clear—he wanted Shui Miao’s forgiveness so they could join forces and rise again.

Originally, Shui Miao had planned to lead a group to seize the Nine Cauldron Furnace from the Yellow Springs Sect.

But now, after Ye Xian’s words, Shui Miao found himself suddenly becoming allies with the Yellow Springs Patriarch. This sudden shift in identity was difficult for Shui Miao to accept.

In his heart, Shui Miao worried—if everything Ye Xian said was true, then fine. But if it were all lies, wouldn’t he be used and manipulated?

Shui Miao remained silent, uncertain whether to believe or doubt.

The stone cave was eerily quiet, and Shui Miao stood silently in deep thought.

“Brother, to show my sincerity, how about this—I’ll hand over the Nine Cauldron Furnace to you for safekeeping,” Ye Xian said, waving his hand. Instantly, a massive cauldron appeared on the stone platform, over nine meters tall and nine meters in diameter. Its surface was dark yellow, adorned with nine thick, multicolored divine dragons, lifelike in appearance. However, aside from the cauldron itself, there was no Holy Flame Spirit present.

Shui Miao glanced at the cauldron, then at Ye Xian, and suddenly walked over, reaching out to touch it.

At this moment, if Shui Miao truly wanted the cauldron, he only needed to channel his immortal energy to store it within his Holy Origin Ring.

But accepting the cauldron would complicate matters.

Ye Xian didn’t really want to give it away—he only offered it to gain Shui Miao’s trust.

Ye Xian was taking a gamble, betting that Shui Miao wouldn’t actually take it.

He knew his former elder brother well—generous and upright, not the type to seize small advantages.

But how else could Shui Miao test Ye Xian’s sincerity? A slight smirk appeared on his lips, and suddenly he channeled his immortal energy, drawing the cauldron into the Holy Origin Ring.

At this moment, only one immortal pill remained in Shui Miao’s dantian.

…

Seeing Shui Miao actually take the cauldron, Ye Xian felt a pang of disappointment, as if his insides had been ripped out.

He thought, *Big brother has changed!*

Although Ye Xian quickly tried to console himself—after all, only he knew how to use the Nine Cauldron Furnace. Shui Miao couldn’t do anything with it without the Holy Flame Spirits. Once the medicinal herbs were available, Shui Miao would have no choice but to return the cauldron.

Shui Miao sensed that his pills were nearly depleted, and suddenly detected something forming inside the Nine Cauldron Furnace.

Under his mental command, the cauldron opened within the Holy Origin Ring. The temperature inside was extremely high, filled with numerous Holy Flame Spirits. Alongside them, three blood-red pills were being refined and condensed by the spirits.

Shui Miao exhaled in relief—no need to worry about replenishing his immortal energy core anymore.

“This cauldron is indeed impressive, Ye Xian… Ye Xian, my third brother…” Shui Miao had his own thoughts. Regardless of their past, in this life, Ye Xian had saved him in a moment of crisis. For that alone, calling him “third brother” wasn’t beneath him. He paused, then added, “Let bygones be bygones. From now on, let’s cooperate well.”

“Big brother, does that mean you’ve forgiven me?” Ye Xian asked, slightly excited.

Shui Miao nodded, sighing awkwardly, “Let’s not talk about that. Tell me, do you know what my name was before?”

“You were called Hei Ming, and I was Huang Mei. Our titles were simply our names. We were born naturally from the primordial energies of the Immortal Realm. It’s said that beings born this way are especially blessed with good fortune, which is why we were so powerful. But you, big brother, had the best luck. Second brother was the slyest, and I was the most cautious,” Ye Xian explained, revealing much at once.

“So my name was Hei Ming!”

Shui Miao licked his lips, puzzled. Could it be that, like Sun Wukong from Journey to the West, he too was born naturally from heaven and earth? That seemed utterly unbelievable. *This Ye Xian sure talks a lot. If all this is a lie, I’ll turn him into a pill one day just to shut him up.*

Ye Xian frowned slightly when he saw that Shui Miao still didn’t fully trust him, even after giving away the cauldron. “Big brother, you still don’t believe me?”

“No, no, no…”

Shui Miao waved his hands, making up an excuse, “It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just that the name feels familiar.”

“Of course it’s familiar—it was your name in your past life,” Ye Xian said earnestly.

Shui Miao nodded, changing the subject, “What about the Life Goddess? I remember you told me that if I dual-cultivated with her, I would break through quickly?”

“Absolutely. Back then, you were obsessed with her, and we thought that was your motive. But we never expected you actually fell in love with her. Now, the woman who is her reincarnated primal spirit is your friend. If you dual-cultivate with her once, you’ll know whether what I said is true or not,” Ye Xian said with a sincere expression, not at all resembling someone lying.

But could such a matter really be tested so casually?

Shui Miao couldn’t help but admit—he was starting to be swayed by Ye Xian’s words.

Feeling his pills completely depleted, Shui Miao subtly drew upon the Holy Flame Spirits and the three pills inside the cauldron to restore his immortal energy core, while continuing to chat with Ye Xian, “Then what about the Black Dragon God? If Heaven punished us, surely they wouldn’t have spared him either, right?”

“He’s too cunning. Even if Heaven imprisoned him, he wouldn’t have suffered as much as we did. He’s the most devious of us all. I suspect he already discovered you and has been using various means to suppress and harass you. He might even have created many enemies for you, sowing discord—that’s his specialty,” Ye Xian looked at Shui Miao and then smiled lightly, “But big brother, you don’t need to worry. Because of your generous nature, you made many good friends in the Immortal Realm, Divine Realm, Heaven, and elsewhere. I believe some of them are secretly helping you now. Otherwise, with your mortal body, you could never have reached the first stage of the Black Hole Realm.”

“I do have a few friends and benefactors, though I don’t know if they’re the ones you mentioned,” Shui Miao thought for a moment and asked, “Third brother, do you remember if I ever met a middle-aged Confucian scholar who transcended the Three Realms?”

“A middle-aged Confucian scholar who transcended the Three Realms!” Ye Xian’s heart stirred. He immediately transformed into the appearance of such a scholar, “Was it someone like this?”

“Yes! Exactly him!”

Shui Miao was excited—this was indeed the same middle-aged scholar Ye Xian had transformed into.

Ye Xian sighed deeply, “So it was him! His name is Bai Liang. He was born in the Ming Dynasty, a remarkable figure who knew both heaven and earth. He once helped the Water Dragon Emperor, Chen Youliang, in his quest for power, and later joined the Golden Dragon Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang as a geomancer, finding sacred feng shui sites for the royal family. He became immortal after discovering an exceptional spiritual vein. Back in the Immortal Realm, he was very poor and often bullied, but you helped him cultivate and eventually transcend the Three Realms. From then on, he revered you like a savior. I didn’t expect this young man to be so loyal and grateful, secretly helping you cultivate. No wonder your cultivation has advanced so rapidly!”

“No way…”

Shui Miao was stunned. This was simply unbelievable. If what Ye Xian said was true, then he must have been incredibly powerful in his past life!

For some reason, Shui Miao suddenly felt certain that he couldn’t possibly be the Hei Ming god Ye Xian described.

He kept this thought to himself and asked again, “Do you know a thousand-year-old female ghost named Bai Niang who used to live here? By the way, your disciple Zhang Yuan should have mentioned her to you.”

“Do you mean Bai Susu?”

Ye Xian transformed again, taking on the appearance of the thousand-year-old female ghost, “Was it her?”

“Exactly! That’s her!”

Shui Miao was excited once more, amazed at how knowledgeable Ye Xian seemed to be.

“She…” Ye Xian frowned slightly, “You didn’t know her before. She was a mere mortal disciple of Bai Yu, the God-King. She was a pitiful woman who gave up everything for love. However, the man she loved was a child whom your past self greatly admired.”

“A child? Which child!?”

Shui Miao scratched his head, surprised that this was connected to him again.

“He’s quite powerful now—he’s Ling Shuai of the Immortal Realm, the commander leading heavenly soldiers against demons,” Ye Xian said with some disdain, as if this person had once been just a child in his eyes.

“Unbelievable! So that’s how it was!!”

Shui Miao felt a sudden clarity, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the moon.

Ye Xian’s words were becoming increasingly convincing.

After a moment of thought, Shui Miao thought of his grandfather, Xiong Ying. Since his grandfather had been his first teacher, he suspected that he too might have been a powerful god-king from a past life. Therefore, Shui Miao channeled his immortal energy and transformed into the appearance of his grandfather, Xiong Ying, asking, “Third brother, do you recognize this old man?”

“This person… this person seems to resemble a very, very powerful figure!” Ye Xian furrowed his brows, deep in thought. “Your past self greatly desired to become his disciple, but he was like a dragon—seen only in glimpses, never staying, and never taking any disciples.”

“Who is he? Who exactly is he!?”

Shui Miao almost wanted to strangle Ye Xian. This guy was so frustrating—always speaking in half-truths, making him anxious beyond belief!