The Spirit General took out a brocade pouch and handed it directly to Shui Miao.
It was a black pouch embroidered with the yin-yang fish symbol. The craftsmanship looked extremely exquisite. Perhaps because of the unique material, Shui Miao couldn’t sense at all what was inside the pouch.
In front of the Spirit General, Shui Miao opened the pouch and found it was completely empty.
“How… how could this be!”
The Spirit General was stunned, quickly explaining, “I’ve always kept this pouch on me and never touched it. How could it be empty now?”
“Maybe… maybe it’s just empty…”
Shui Miao examined the pouch inside and out, then suddenly had an idea and placed it into the refining furnace of the Tower of Time, using the purest furnace flame to burn it. Shui Miao believed that Laozi, the Supreme Immortal, was no ordinary person, and whatever he gave must be extraordinary. Rather than assuming the pouch was empty, it was more likely itself a treasure.
Yes, Shui Miao firmly believed that the pouch itself was the treasure given to him by Laozi.
In this world, besides the Nuwa Stone and the Tianyuan Stone, there might be an even better forging material.
Earlier, Shui Miao had tried to sense through it but couldn’t, as if the pouch didn’t even exist.
Sure enough, after burning for a while, the pouch remained completely unscathed!
Even the Nuwa Stone could be refined by furnace fire, yet this pouch couldn’t. If it wasn’t a treasure, then what was it?
Shui Miao felt a little excited and then asked, “Senior Spirit General, I’d like to meet your master. Since he gave me a gift, I’d also like to give him one in return.”
…
The Spirit General paused for a moment before sending a telepathic message to Shui Miao: “Brother Shui Miao, actually, my master passed away many years ago. However, I know that a fragment of his soul is hidden somewhere special. Your current cultivation level isn’t enough yet. When you reach the Immortal Emperor stage, I’ll tell you where he is. This isn’t my own idea—it’s what my master instructed me to tell you.”
“Did he tell you anything else for me?”
Shui Miao hadn’t expected Laozi to be so mysterious. What did he really mean?
The Spirit General shook his head. “No.”
“I see…”
Shui Miao scratched his nose. “Alright then. When I reach the Immortal Emperor stage, I’ll come back to find you immediately. But I’d like to know—how long will you stay here, Senior Spirit General? I wouldn’t want to come back and not find you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll stay here.”
The Spirit General nodded firmly.
“Nothing in the world is absolute…” Shui Miao wasn’t too optimistic. “Senior Spirit General, how about this—why don’t you leave a life talisman on me now, just in case something happens?”
“Hmm… Well then, okay!”
The Spirit General hadn’t expected Shui Miao to be so cautious. After a moment’s hesitation, he finally agreed.
Shui Miao accepted the Spirit General’s life talisman and stored it within his spiritual planet. He then inquired further about the Immortal-Demon Realm but found that the Spirit General, though an honest and loyal commander, didn’t know much—less even than Shui Tianyi. There was no valuable information to be gained from him, so Shui Miao bid his farewells and left with Saint Mother Shui Tianyi.
The two flew onward, heading deeper into the Immortal-Demon Realm.
Along the way, Shui Miao took out the pouch and showed it to Saint Mother Shui Tianyi. “Sister, do you know what material this pouch is made of?”
“Hmm…”
Shui Tianyi took the pouch and examined it for a while before shrugging lightly. “I’ve never seen this material before. It looks quite ordinary at first glance, but when I try to sense it, it’s completely impenetrable. I can’t tell what it really is.”
She handed the pouch back to Shui Miao.
After putting the pouch away, Shui Miao muttered thoughtfully, “Even you don’t recognize it. I wonder if the Celestial Sage knows what it is.”
“It’s hard to say. Perhaps his knowledge is broader, and he might recognize it. But why do you mention him, Brother? The Celestial Sage is our enemy. After you defeated the Five Divine Enforcers, they’ll definitely report back. The Celestial Sage is the ruler of Punishment City—he might come after you personally.”
“But don’t worry, Brother. No matter how powerful they are, they won’t dare to follow us into the Immortal-Demon Realm. The deeper regions of this realm belong to the ancient demon gods. They wouldn’t dare to stir up trouble here.”
Saint Mother Shui Tianyi knew a great deal about the Immortal-Demon Realm and had always longed to explore it.
In fact, her Hongyu Chessboard had been discovered within an ancient ruin of the Immortal-Demon Realm.
So this time, it was entirely Saint Mother Shui Tianyi who led the way.
Hearing her words, Shui Miao felt intrigued. “Sister, I also have a story connected to the Immortal-Demon Realm. Would you like to hear it?”
“Of course! I’m always interested in your stories—you’re my little brother.”
Saint Mother Shui Tianyi smiled gently, already treating Shui Miao like her own sibling.
So Shui Miao shared what he had previously known.
After listening, Saint Mother Shui Tianyi was immediately astonished. “No way! Your past life was actually Hei Ming of the Immortal-Demon Realm! I know Hei Ming was a very powerful demon god, famous for his extremely sinister Soul Devouring Art. And you also said that the Spirit General was someone you once considered as a follower? That’s clearly impossible! The Spirit General is a disciple of Laozi, the Supreme Immortal. How could he have any connection with you?”
“Yeah, I don’t believe it either.”
Shui Miao shook his head. “But I can’t figure out why the thousand-year-old female ghost projected those memories into my mind. I also don’t understand why the Queen of the Ninth Heaven appeared in the Illusory Demon Mirror to save me. I don’t even know how much of those memories are real and how much is fabricated.”
“Brother…” the Queen of the Ninth Heaven looked at Shui Miao with心疼 in her eyes and angrily said, “That accursed thousand-year-old female ghost is so despicable! Imposing all those messed-up memories upon you! If I ever encounter her, I’ll certainly punish her severely and avenge you!”
“Sister, let’s not dwell on her for now. We’ve already reached the depths of the Immortal-Demon Realm. I’d like to change my appearance and pretend to be the reincarnation of the demon god Hei Ming, causing chaos in this realm. Perhaps we might gain some unexpected discoveries.”
Without hesitation, Shui Miao immediately transformed, making himself appear more rugged and imposing.
At the same time, he exuded waves of Soul Devouring energy.
“Alright then, I’ll transform into the Demon Emperor and become your butterfly sister.”
Saint Mother Shui Tianyi changed her form in an instant, becoming a beautiful demoness.
The two exchanged smiles. Shui Tianyi suddenly raised her eyebrow and said, “Brother, let me take you first to the ruins where I found the Hongyu Chessboard formation diagram. It’s said to be an ancient battlefield from the great war between immortals and demons long ago. Even now, many treasures remain hidden there.”
“Great! Let’s go now.”
With the Hongyu Chessboard formation in hand, Shui Miao was fearless—neither heaven nor earth could intimidate him.
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