“This is not the place to talk…”
Shui Miao activated his magical powers and transported Hong Lian into a secret chamber. “Sister Hong Lian, what exactly has happened?”
“Shortly after we left, there was a massive explosion in the Imperial Capital, and another one at the Palace of Heavenly Waters. It looked as if a supreme magical artifact had self-destructed. Mother Shengmu from the Palace of Heavenly Waters has gone mad, acting like a raving lunatic…” Hong Lian was visibly shocked, tense, and panicked. “I overheard some celestial guards saying it’s similar to the explosion in the Ninth Heaven, and likely the work of the same person. They’re investigating now and have ordered me to bring you back for questioning.”
“…”
Wasn’t this just bringing up the most inconvenient topic at the worst time!
Shui Miao’s heart immediately tightened. “This is serious. Someone is trying to frame me!”
“Don’t think like that, Sister Jueqing. I and Xiaoxiao can testify that you have nothing to do with this.”
Hong Lian had always been with Shui Miao, and even when she wasn’t, she couldn’t believe he could have driven Mother Shengmu to madness.
“Sister, when someone wants to accuse you, they’ll never be short of excuses,” Shui Miao shook his head. “No, I can’t just sit around waiting to be caught off guard. I must take control of my own destiny. No one will be able to frame me in the Celestial Realm. Only the strong have the right to speak. I must act ahead of schedule. I need to forge a supreme magical artifact for self-defense.”
Shui Miao had become extremely sensitive lately. With loved ones and friends nearby, he needed to protect them, so he had to prepare meticulously.
At once, Shui Miao focused his mind and activated his magical powers, enveloping a massive immortal mountain and transferring the entire Tianji Sect into his spiritual planet.
Unaware of what had happened outside, Hong Lian assumed Shui Miao wanted to use Mother Shengmu’s forging materials and quickly waved her hands, saying, “Jueqing, all of Mother Shengmu’s materials have been destroyed. Where will you find enough materials to forge a magical artifact?”
“What? All the materials are gone too?”
“So does that mean someone targeted Mother Shengmu’s materials and committed this atrocity?”
Shui Miao’s mind raced as he quickly said to Hong Lian, “Sister Hong Lian, Mother Shengmu has always been kind to me, and this incident has already involved me. I would like to ask you to help me investigate this case. With you by my side, you can also prove my innocence. Also, regarding the forging materials, I hope you can lend me your strength.”
To directly rob the Kunlun Sect would be extremely difficult.
Shui Miao needed someone to cover for him and distract the attention of the Three Purities Sect.
Of course, what Shui Miao feared most were not the elders of the Three Purities Sect or even the injured Kunpeng Immortal Emperor, but the Xinghe Immortal Emperor.
Xinghe Immortal Emperor possessed formidable magical powers and powerful artifacts, which made Shui Miao deeply fearful.
Hong Lian nodded. “As long as it helps Mother Shengmu, I am willing to do anything.”
Hong Lian was a very loyal person, although she knew that Mother Shengmu regarded her merely as a small pawn.
Shui Miao immediately shared his plan to seize the Immortal Beast Mountain of the Three Purities Sect.
His plan was for Hong Lian to distract Xinghe Immortal Emperor while Shui Miao raided the sect’s treasure vaults.
After listening, Hong Lian was shocked by the audacity of the plan.
Though it concerned internal sect matters, if the Celestial Realm got involved, this would be considered a grave crime.
After a long silence, Hong Lian finally spoke. “Jueqing, I don’t mind helping you distract Xinghe Immortal Emperor. But this will make your own troubles even greater. However, if you can forge a holy artifact, others won’t be able to touch you. Are you really confident you can forge a holy artifact? I’ve heard that forging a holy artifact requires imperial energy. Without it, how can you succeed?”
“If I don’t have imperial energy, I’ll find a way to obtain it.”
Shui Miao responded directly. At this point, he had no choice but to fight desperately. The person who had driven Mother Shengmu to madness was too formidable. Without a holy artifact, he would have no way to stand against this mysterious figure. No matter what it took, he had to get imperial energy—even if it meant resorting to any means necessary.
Seeing Shui Miao’s determination, Hong Lian had no choice but to agree. “Fine, I’ll help you this one time only. After that, I’m going back to the Sixth Heaven. I won’t be able to assist you further. But I must remind you, it would be better to only steal the materials and avoid killing any immortals, so as to minimize trouble.”
Hong Lian wasn’t foolish. She dared not follow a reckless person like Shui Miao, lest she get dragged into disaster.
“Thank you, Sister Hong Lian!”
Shui Miao quickly bowed in gratitude, though he inwardly sighed. How many immortals had he already killed? In this situation, he had no choice but to face the challenge head-on. Whether it was right or wrong, the winner would be honored as a ruler, and the weak would be like lambs awaiting slaughter. History is always written by the victors, and the weak don’t even have the right to be mentioned. This was the law of nature, the rule of survival.
Hong Lian, however, shook her head with a troubled expression. “Don’t thank me yet. If you don’t return with me, you’ll be suspected as the culprit. You should be more concerned about your own safety.”
Hong Lian was deeply conflicted, unsure whether what she was doing was right or wrong.
In his heart, Shui Miao thought, if he were a coward afraid of death, he would never have chosen the path of cultivation in the first place. He could have lived a quiet life as an ordinary person, growing old and dying naturally, his body reduced to ashes, his soul becoming a wandering ghost, bullied by others. Now that he had chosen cultivation, and the Celestial Realm was so unjust, why should he submit to injustice? Better to boldly take action. If he wins, he becomes a powerful figure. If he loses, at least he lived a life worth living. That would be better than living a meaningless life and becoming a wandering ghost.
※※※
The Three Purities Sect
Elder Xingjue returned to his quarters and checked the magical artifacts he had left behind.
To his shock, he discovered a hole beneath one of his artifacts!
Aoshuang had escaped…
Aoshuang had learned magical artifact forging from Shui Miao and was quite skilled in formations.
After some tinkering, he had managed to destroy Elder Xingjue’s formation and escape.
Learning from past mistakes, after escaping, Aoshuang no longer acted carelessly, openly talking about the Nuwa Stone to any immortal he met. He became very low-key and hurriedly fled to the Netherworld.
The Celestial Realm was dangerous; one must be cautious when ascending.
With Aoshuang gone and his magical artifact damaged, Elder Xingjue was both anxious and angry, feeling frustrated by his own bad luck.
After calming himself, Elder Xingjue reflected thoughtfully. His life had truly been full of frustrations!
He had finally managed to become an elder, and finally caught wind of the Nuwa Stone, thinking he could finally strike it rich and change his destiny. At the very least, he could become a sect leader. But instead of good fortune, he had been plagued by misfortune after misfortune, and now his life was in someone else’s hands.
What bad luck! So much bad luck!
Now that things had come to this, he might as well take a risk and trust Shui Miao. Perhaps following him could give him a chance to turn things around.
Yes! That’s what he would do—head to the Immortal Beast Mountain…
※※※
The Supreme Nine Peaks Mountain of the Three Purities Sect
Xinghe Immortal Emperor, whose soul had been injured by the explosion, and Xinglang Sect Leader, who had nearly died, were currently recovering in the Health Hall of the Nine Peaks Mountain.
Outside the Health Hall, many elite experts from the sect had set up formations to protect them with all their might.
The Immortal Beast Mountain was also secretly guarded by Xinglang with dozens of visible and hidden formations, as well as three supreme magical artifacts, making it extremely secure.
Suddenly, a streak of light appeared in the sky above the Three Purities Sect.
Before the elite experts could even identify who it was, the light vanished, and a yellow cloth descended from the sky.
One of the elite experts activated his magical power and grabbed the cloth from the air. Upon opening it, they saw written on it: “The Sixth Heaven Immortal Emperor has been killed. The Celestial Realm is in chaos. All sects must strengthen their defenses.”
The experts looked around in confusion, not knowing who had sent it.
In an emergency, they had no choice but to deliver the yellow cloth to Sect Leader Xinglang.
Xinglang recognized the fabric—it was a special yellow silk unique to the Sixth Heaven.
The urgency of the message indicated a serious problem!
Not daring to be careless, Xinglang immediately brought the yellow silk to Xinghe Immortal Emperor.
After examining the silk, Xinghe Immortal Emperor immediately said, “Go check whether every sect has received such a yellow silk message.”
“Yes!”
Xinglang didn’t dare delay and hurriedly went to check.
After visiting two sects in a rush, Xinglang returned quickly. “Brother, all sects have received this message.”
Xinghe Immortal Emperor immediately stood up. “Clearly, this message was not specifically meant for our Three Purities Sect. Since all sects have received it, it must be an urgent notice from someone. In this situation, the message must be true. Mother Shengmu is an extremely powerful figure. If she was actually killed, the hidden hand behind this must be an extremely powerful figure from the First Heaven. I must go to the Sixth Heaven immediately to see what’s going on.”
“Brother, if you leave, who will protect the materials? Why not take all the materials with you?”
Xinglang felt immense pressure, constantly worrying about guarding so many materials. Life had become unbearable.
“No, no, no…”
Xinghe Immortal Emperor quickly waved his hands. “Now that a superpower from the First Heaven has struck, their target certainly won’t be the Ninth Heaven. Moreover, the Kunlun Sect in the Ninth Heaven was recently destroyed. It’s very chaotic here, and the immortals here are weak. No one would think we have hidden many artifact-forging materials and pills here. And we have hidden the materials in the Immortal Beast Mountain, which is even more unexpected. Therefore, this place is safe. Don’t be too nervous and let others suspect something is wrong with the Immortal Beast Mountain.”
“I understand…”
After hearing Xinghe Immortal Emperor’s explanation, Xinglang felt a bit reassured, though still somewhat uneasy. “But brother, what if the one who destroyed Kunlun Sect sets his sights on us?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve investigated. That person is called Shui Miao. He has a deep grudge against Huayuting, which is why he killed him. We have no enmity with him, so he won’t come after us. Moreover, he must be hiding somewhere out of fear by now, so he certainly won’t return.”
After saying this, the Xinghe Immortal Emperor immediately activated his Sky遁 Talisman—a magical talisman used for teleportation or rapid travel—and departed directly from the Ninth Heaven.
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