Shui Miao had just returned to the First Heaven when he immediately entered the Tower of Time, reversed the flow of time, and began studying the mysterious pouch… The pouch was made of extremely unique material, concealing a vast black hole-like space within, as deep and boundless as the universe itself.
Shui Miao exerted all his power to sense every region inside the black hole, carefully scanning its depths.
After a long while, Shui Miao suddenly discovered a bright green tree in a remote corner of this black hole space. The tree was crystal clear, like jade, and each of its leaves resembled a display screen, capable of showing everything happening in the outside world!
“It must be this!” Shui Miao thought excitedly.
He immediately focused his consciousness, studying the tree’s structure and the magical formations within.
In reality, this tree was also a magical artifact, though it appeared more like a living plant than a weapon.
Within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Shui Miao completely understood the tree’s structure, the formations inside it, and learned a great deal from it.
“So, forging magical artifacts doesn’t necessarily require the best materials. Ordinary materials from nature can also be used. Although their power may not be strong, their subtlety remains unaffected.”
“Haha! The formations and structure of this tree are uniquely conceived, offering me many new inspirations.”
“A grain of soil, a plant, a flame, a drop of water, a blade, a ray of sunlight, a wisp of yin energy… Simple, common things can alter the structure of energy fields, creating various formations with profound effects, influencing both people and objects… I’ve been so careless all along. True formations originate from the mundane world!”
Shui Miao suddenly understood many things, as if he had attained enlightenment.
“However, Laozi, you really went too far. If you treat me this way, then I have no choice but to play along with your scheme…”
With these thoughts, Shui Miao dismantled the Spirit General’s puppet, melted it down, and secretly forged a new puppet for himself. He placed the pouch on this new puppet and sent it deep into the Ten Thousand Mountains of the Immortal-Demon Realm to meditate. If any evil spirits approached, the puppet would immediately self-destruct without hesitation.
Then, Shui Miao activated the Celestial Mirror once more to track the Spirit General’s whereabouts.
Inside the same old room, the same three figures—Spirit General, Laozi, and the thousand-year-old female ghost—were still present.
However, the tone of their conversation had completely changed.
“Hmph! That Shui Miao thinks he’s so clever, the smartest in the world. But he’ll never guess that I placed the Seven-Aperture Spirit Jade Tree inside the pouch. Now he’s carrying it toward the Immortal-Demon Realm. I bet he’s trying to break through to the Heavens Beyond Heaven himself—this is just asking for death,” Laozi sneered, his expression turning fierce, his tone completely different from before. His eyes burned with anger, and his presence was now domineering and unrecognizable from the gentle figure he had been earlier. “But this works out better for us. Saves us the trouble.”
“Master, are the ancient immortals really beginning to return to the Immortal Realm?” The Spirit General’s expression was clearly excited, as if he longed for the return of the ancient immortals. “Master, do you still remember that you promised me I could become the Grand Marshal of the Immortal Army after our return?”
“Of course I remember. You’re my disciple. This time, we’ve made tremendous contributions to the return of the ancient immortals. Promoting you to Grand Marshal is but a small matter,” Laozi nodded, then turned to the thousand-year-old female ghost. “This time, Bai Lian has contributed the most, certainly enough to be named a Venerable. As for the ancient immortals, they’ve likely already set off after receiving my talismans. We must seize the opportunity while Shui Miao remains in the Immortal-Demon Realm and take control of the Immortal Realm. By the time he returns, everything will already be settled—he won’t be able to change a thing.”
“But what about those city lords in the Immortal Realm? Especially Holy Mother Shui Tianyi. Shui Miao gave her a lot of supreme holy artifacts. It might be very difficult to deal with them,” the Spirit General frowned, clearly worried about the supreme holy artifacts.
Laozi sneered coldly. “Don’t forget, the most powerful artifact in the Three Realms is the Wheel of Reincarnation. If they don’t obey, I’ll make them suffer the Five Decays of Heavenly Beings!”
“Master…”
The millennium-old female ghost, Bai Lian, suddenly spoke up. “Are we really going to do this?”
“What do you mean by that?” The Spirit General was taken aback.
Bai Lian glared at the Spirit General before solemnly saying, “I think Shui Miao has sacrificed a lot. We shouldn’t treat him this way…”
Before Bai Lian could finish, the Spirit General immediately shouted, “He’s just a petty man who’s gotten lucky. Haven’t you seen how arrogant he acts, as if he’s the strongest in the Three Realms? He keeps threatening to self-destruct and has already killed countless immortals. He deserves no kindness—he’s a criminal who deserves death.”
“Hmph! You sound just like him,” Bai Lian didn’t back down, pointing her finger directly at the Spirit General and shouting, “When it comes to being despicable and shameless, who can compare to you, Spirit General? You pretended to be pure and kind just to gain power, but in reality, you’re narrow-minded, selfish, and fake. You abandoned your wife and child, making me wait for a thousand years. You’re the real criminal who deserves death.”
“You… you… you…”
The Spirit General was furious, never expecting Bai Lian to dare insult him so openly in front of his master. He was so angry he couldn’t even speak.
“Sigh…” Laozi shook his head. “You two are truly bound by karma. Spirit, go back first. Bai Lian, you should also speak less. We are immortals, not ordinary mortals. We must not act on emotions or sentimentality in major matters. You care about Shui Miao, but he might already hate you and want to kill you.”
“Master, I want to leave. I no longer care for an Immortal Realm so devoid of righteousness and affection.”
Bai Lian’s expression was serious, her tone resolute, as she turned to leave.
Just then, Laozi suddenly shouted, “Bai Lian, stop right there!”
Laozi called Bai Lian back and then barked at the Spirit General, “What are you still standing here for? Go back to the Immortal Realm immediately! Don’t you want to become the Grand Marshal anymore?”
“Ah, Master, I promise I’ll go right away…” The Spirit General was stunned but quickly vanished.
After the Spirit General left, Laozi’s tone softened. “Bai Lian, there’s something I’ve never told you before. But now, I no longer wish to hide it from you. Actually, your previous life was my daughter. The reason I’ve always taken care of you is precisely because of this. Also, Shui Miao’s case isn’t as simple as you think. It’s not that I can’t tolerate him—it’s because he was the one who killed you in your previous life!”
“…”
Bai Lian was stunned. She turned around and asked Laozi what he meant.
Meanwhile, Shui Miao, watching through the Celestial Mirror, furrowed his brows deeply. This didn’t make any sense at all. Something was clearly wrong with Laozi. Could he even be an impostor?
With a sudden thought, Shui Miao immediately used the Celestial Mirror to verify Laozi’s true identity…
“Hmm? What is this?”
As soon as the Celestial Mirror activated, Shui Miao detected a faint trace of yin-spiritual malevolence emanating from Laozi…
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