Shui Miao had fought tirelessly and risked his life for the sake of all beings across the Three Realms and for a bright future for the Immortal Realm. Yet, he never would have imagined that even today, he was still merely a pawn—a piece used to alter the fate of the Immortal Realm and enable the Ancient Immortals to return to the Celestial Court and reclaim control over the Three Realms.
This pawn’s destiny had been sealed from the very beginning.
As for what the Ancient Immortals would do with this pawn next, that remained unknown.
Suddenly, Ling Shuai vanished, and the use of the Heaven-escaping Talisman triggered a unique ripple of energy. This ripple was extremely faint, undetectable to ordinary cultivators, but Shui Miao, now highly sensitive to such things, perceived it immediately.
“At a time like this, what is Ling Shuai doing using the Heaven-escaping Talisman? Could it be that he’s going to meet his master?”
Shui Miao’s mind stirred, and he quickly deduced Ling Shuai’s whereabouts.
Unfortunately, Shui Miao didn’t know how to track the energy signature of the Heaven-escaping Talisman. However, this posed no real problem for him anymore. He was no longer the helpless mortal he once was. He had gained the memories of many supreme experts, including those of the Saint King Luotong, a master craftsman, and had become exceptionally skilled in forging techniques—his abilities had grown by leaps and bounds.
In such a situation, he could easily use the Mirror of Pursuing Light to track Ling Shuai.
But Shui Miao knew that ordinary Pursuing Light Mirrors emitted strong energy, and activating one would inevitably draw attention.
Especially when dealing with a supreme being like Laojun, the Supreme Elder, he had to be extremely cautious.
To ensure absolute success and to perceive the secrets of fate, Shui Miao immediately entered the Tower of Time, reversed time, and began forging a special treasure—a personalized Mirror of Fate, one that belonged to him alone.
The original Celestial Fate Sage had long perished, and his Mirror of Fate was a unique treasure in the Immortal Realm, capable of unveiling the secrets of fate and probing the thoughts of all immortals without being detected. Unfortunately, the mirror had long since vanished. However, fate never seals all paths. Luotong had once participated in the enhancement and modification of the Mirror of Fate and had a deep understanding of its structure. Shui Miao had acquired all of Luotong’s memories regarding the mirror, so he was fully capable of forging a new Mirror of Fate.
Now, Shui Miao had his own unique insights into formations. He integrated all the knowledge he had acquired, subtly modified the original formation of the Mirror of Fate, and prepared to forge a mirror of his own design—one that would allow him to track Ling Shuai and uncover the hidden mysteries of the universe.
Without hesitation, he got to work—dissolving his original Mirror of Pursuing Light and reforging it anew.
As he forged, he made sure to infuse it with a large amount of Purple Fortune Qi.
The biggest difference in forging the Mirror of Fate compared to other treasures was that it required a wide variety of energies. Fortunately, Shui Miao had an abundance of all kinds of energies at his disposal.
Thus, half an hour later, Shui Miao emerged from the Tower of Time, and immediately performed the awakening ritual for the new Mirror of Fate.
Yet outside, only a couple of minutes had passed.
For this awakening ritual, Shui Miao spared no expense, using a large quantity of pills, including two Saint-tier pills.
The result was a treasure of no defined rank—indeed, according to Luotong’s memory, the Mirror of Fate had no rank, yet its power was immense.
Standing within the Hongyu Chessboard, Shui Miao immediately activated the Mirror of Fate and began tracking Ling Shuai’s trail.
Soon, the dark surface of the Mirror of Fate revealed the images of Ling Shuai, Laojun the Supreme Elder, and the millennium-old female ghost.
They were now inside an ancient Daoist chamber. Laojun sat calmly on a weathered wooden chair, stroking his beard as he listened to Ling Shuai’s report, while the millennium-old female ghost stood respectfully beside him, as motionless as a statue.
“Master, your power is boundless, your abilities unparalleled. Please, divine the current state of the Immortal Realm. Are the Ancient Immortals still unable to return? If things continue like this and Shui Miao is allowed to act freely, he will surely plunge the Immortal Realm into chaos!” Ling Shuai, after all, remained loyal to Laojun and had never truly considered Shui Miao a friend.
Seeing Ling Shuai speaking ill of him, Shui Miao remained surprisingly calm. Perhaps it was just a matter of loyalty—each serving their own master.
Laojun, dressed in a blue robe, with white hair and a youthful face, a kind and serene expression, stroked his beard and smiled lightly. “My disciple Ling Shuai, do not be anxious. Return first; your master already has his thoughts on the matter.”
Laojun played his cards close to his chest, gave no direct reply, and simply dismissed Ling Shuai.
“…”
Ling Shuai was momentarily stunned. Though reluctant, he couldn’t disobey his master’s command and had to take his leave.
After Ling Shuai left, Laojun softly asked the thousand-year-old female ghost, “My disciple, what do you think of Shui Miao?”
“I feel that…”
The millennium-old female ghost paused, then spoke solemnly after a moment of thought: “Shui Miao is intelligent, loyal, and possesses his own philosophy. He is decisive in action and exudes a domineering aura. I believe he is a rare talent. However, his nature is too sharp and rigid, making him prone to breaking. I think he can be a great general, but governing the Celestial Court is still beyond his reach.”
The millennium-old female ghost spoke with calm detachment.
Her words astonished Shui Miao. He had never expected that Ling Shuai, whom he trusted, would speak ill of him behind his back, while the millennium-old female ghost, whom he disliked, would actually appreciate him and speak highly of him.
Indeed, hearts and minds are hard to fathom!
“Indeed, his destiny signs have always been unique. He was a talent I carefully selected. Yet, the path he has taken and the things he has done have exceeded even my expectations,” Laojun said gravely, his expression unreadable.
The millennium-old female ghost blinked, puzzled. “Master, I know your cultivation is extremely profound, but I just don’t understand—how could Shui Miao exceed your expectations? Isn’t he merely a pawn you selected?”
“He may have already stepped beyond the role of a pawn,” Laojun suddenly stood up gently, sighing. “The path of fate is unpredictable. Yet he has mastered the Ways of Fengshui and Nature, uncovered the mysteries of the heavens and earth, and maintained a heart of goodness. Thus, he has received the protection of the most mysterious and powerful Purple Fortune Qi in the universe. Therefore, he is destined to grow ever stronger, more powerful, and to go further and further. As long as he remains true to himself and does not violate the Way of Nature, the Purple Fortune Qi will never abandon him, always favoring him, making him an eternal, invincible supreme being.”
“Can he really become that powerful!?”
The millennium female ghost was shocked. After a pause, she quickly asked, “But Master, what about the matter of the Ancient Immortals returning to the Celestial Court? If Shui Miao interferes, won’t the Ancient Immortals never be able to return? He’s so powerful now, even capable of casually self-destructing Saint-grade artifacts. Who can rival him? Who can suppress him?”
“His only enemy is himself…”
Laojun suddenly exhaled softly, then vanished in a flash.
“Hisself?”
The millennium-old female ghost furrowed her brow, murmuring to herself, unable to comprehend the meaning.
※※※
“What exactly did the Supreme Elder mean? His tone sounded like he actually had faith in me, but what he said… Could it be that he wants me to cultivate my heart and mind?”
Shui Miao pondered, puzzled.
It felt as though the Supreme Elder had been the one who shaped him all along, and even now, the Elder still protected him.
To further understand the Supreme Elder’s intentions, Shui Miao activated the Mirror of Fate once again to track him.
Inside a stone-walled secret chamber, the Supreme Elder was continuously activating talismans. These talismans flew off in all directions, reaching the hands of the hidden Ancient Immortals, informing them that the Immortal Realm’s great affairs had already been settled—it was time to return to the Celestial Court.
After distributing the talismans, the Supreme Elder walked to a stone cabinet, casually picked up a folding fan. On the fan was a painting of a man identical to Shui Miao, wearing a jade pendant around his neck…
Seeing the fan, Shui Miao’s heart trembled violently. He immediately recalled the white-robed scholar he had encountered before.
So, that white-robed scholar had been none other than the Supreme Elder in disguise!
The Ways of Fengshui and Nature—he had received them both from the Supreme Elder.
This outcome was both expected and shocking to Shui Miao. His master was truly the Supreme Elder!
The master who taught him skills, who gave him his present abilities—how could he spy on him like this?
Shui Miao’s thoughts churned, and he immediately stopped activating the Mirror of Fate.
At that moment, the violent storm at the entrance of the Fifth Heaven’s Immortal-Demon Realm had already calmed.
Shui Miao retracted the Hongyu Chessboard and prepared to leave.
“Brother, thank you for saving our lives!”
Ling Shuai suddenly stepped forward from among the heavenly soldiers and saluted Shui Miao with a heavy bow.
Shui Miao turned his head and saw Ling Shuai had returned. He thought to himself, “This guy is so hypocritical. I trusted you completely, yet you played me behind my back. I truly despise you.” Without saying a word, Shui Miao activated his power, enveloped Ling Shuai, forcibly removed the puppet control on him, and then vanished into the void.
“Uh…”
Ling Shuai was left embarrassed by Shui Miao’s sudden actions.
Shui Miao had clearly changed—perhaps he had seen something. Could it be that he had witnessed Ling Shuai speaking ill of him in front of his master?
No good. He had to see his master again!
Filled with unease, Ling Shuai quickly activated the Heaven-escaping Talisman once more to seek out the Supreme Elder.
In just a few breaths, Shui Miao had returned to the First Heaven.
However, upon arriving there, a sudden thought struck him. He immediately pulled out the silk pouch Ling Shuai had given him earlier and pondered, “This pouch doesn’t seem particularly useful. Could there be something wrong with it? Could it be that the Supreme Elder is using this pouch to monitor me, and knowing that I used the Mirror of Fate to spy on him, he deliberately staged that scene for my benefit?”
Shui Miao no longer trusted anyone.
The Supreme Elder, disguised as the white-robed scholar, had deceived him before.
Moreover, he had been with the millennium-old female ghost, who had surprisingly spoken kindly of him. There must be something suspicious here!
“No way! I must thoroughly and meticulously investigate this silk pouch…”
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