Undying Life

Chapter 880: Nüwa

"The stars, the celestial bodies' movement in the sky, follow a yearly cycle. Only at noon on the seventh day of the sixth month do the stars align in a specific position, creating a temporal force that reveals Lady Nüwa's relic. At that moment, the blinding sunlight makes it impossible to see the treasure high in the sky. That's why it has remained undiscovered for hundreds of thousands of years without deliberate searching!" Princess Nine-Tails explained excitedly, her eyes bright with realization.

"Interesting..." Su Afo frowned deeply, as if trying to digest this theory.

"But Ao Lai Sea is vast, and the sky above it is even more expansive. On the seventh day of the sixth month, we only have one hour to find the exact location. How will we do that?" Princess Nine-Tails asked.

"The location isn't hard to find. Everyone already knows it!" Zhong Shan said with a smile.

"Everyone knows? How is that possible?" Su Afo was incredulous.

"It's right above the place where the Supreme Sage fell, in the infinitely distant starry sky," Zhong Shan said solemnly.

"The place where the Supreme Sage fell..." Su Afo's face twitched.

"Exactly!" Zhong Shan confirmed.

"How can you be sure it's above the Supreme Sage's fall? Perhaps the Supreme Sage and Lady Nüwa have no connection," Su Afo suggested.

"No connection? Impossible. The actions of Sages are often so profound! General Hong Xiao, could you please conjure that part of the sea with your magic?" Zhong Shan asked.

"Sure," Hong Xiao nodded.

With a wave of his hand, Hong Xiao conjured an image of the sea where the Supreme Sage had fallen.

"What's the significance of this..." Su Afo still didn't understand.

"General Hong Xiao, you've seen the records of this area, right?" Zhong Shan asked, pointing to the information Hong Xiao had gathered.

"Yes, I've seen them all, but I didn't notice anything special," Hong Xiao nodded.

"Display all the sects established on the seventh day of the sixth month," Zhong Shan said seriously.

"Uh? I can't remember all of them..." Hong Xiao said, puzzled.

Zhong Shan handed a silk scroll to Su Afo.

"Here, read this out. General Hong Xiao will mark them on the map," Zhong Shan instructed.

Su Afo took the scroll and began reading aloud.

"Cloud Piercing Sect, Thousand Bends Island! Guiyuan Sect, Green Lake Island! ..."

As Su Afo read the names, Hong Xiao marked them with red dots on the map.

When Su Afo finished reading over a hundred sect names, Hong Xiao's eyes widened in astonishment.

On the map, the red dots connected to form a large character.

"Wā..." Princess Nine-Tails read aloud.

"Wā? It spells 'Wā', Lady Nüwa? So it's here..." Su Afo exclaimed in surprise.

"But these sects only appeared in the past hundreds of thousands of years. How could it be such a coincidence?" Hong Xiao asked, puzzled.

"It's not a coincidence. For hundreds of thousands of years, someone has been manipulating events, or it's Lady Nüwa's plan set in motion after her death," Zhong Shan said.

"Impossible! Lady Nüwa could plan events for hundreds of thousands of years after her death?" Su Afo found it hard to believe.

"It's not difficult. She could have set up the positions in advance and found reliable people to establish the sects in these locations after her death. Also, haven't you noticed that these sects all have a peculiar trait? They all disappeared mysteriously," Zhong Shan explained with a smile.

At this point, Su Afo and Hong Xiao were staring at Zhong Shan in astonishment.

It was unbelievable. To deduce this pattern from the establishment of these sects—was he even human? Who could have thought of this?

Everyone fell silent as they looked at Zhong Shan.

How does Zhong Shan's mind work? Su Afo felt like banging his head against a wall. How could there be such a vast difference in intelligence between people with the same brain?

"We can be certain now. Lady Nüwa's relic is directly above this spot. The fact that the Supreme Sage fell here indicates that he came for Lady Nüwa. But since Lady Nüwa had already fallen, why did the Supreme Sage come? This needs further investigation," Zhong Shan said, frowning.

"Let's not dwell on why the Supreme Sage came. What matters is how we can retrieve Lady Nüwa's relic! That's the key issue," Princess Nine-Tails said immediately.

"Didn't Senior Su Daji tell you?" Zhong Shan asked, smiling at Princess Nine-Tails.

It seemed as if Zhong Shan had uncovered a secret, causing Princess Nine-Tails to blush.

"Alright, I'll tell you. Senior Su Daji gave me something, but it can only be used at the location and is the final key. So, even if others find the relic, they can't retrieve it. Is that clear now?" Princess Nine-Tails said, rolling her eyes.

"What? Why didn't you say so earlier!" Su Afo exclaimed.

"When I asked you for a Grand Immortal artifact, you were so stingy. Why should I tell you anything..." Princess Nine-Tails said, wrinkling her nose.

Su Afo was left speechless.

"In that case, we're not the only ones who know..." Su Afo suddenly said.

"Impossible. Many wise people could figure this out. This code isn't hard to crack. At the very least, I'm sure Mr. Li could deduce it," Zhong Shan said.

"But the stars are so far away. With our current strength, it would take us three to five years to reach any of them!" Su Afo said, feeling troubled again.

"Lady Nüwa would have made arrangements. There must be a special way. We just need to be there at the right time," Zhong Shan said.

"Alright."

"Zhong Shan, come out here!"

Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside the hall.

Everyone raised their eyebrows at the sound.

"Is that Sima Zongheng?" Princess Nine-Tails asked, frowning.

They all stepped out of the hall and saw a group of men standing on the square, led by Sima Qing and Sima Zongheng. All of them had black armbands.

In front of them was a coffin.

Given the importance of Sima Zongheng and Sima Qing, the guards on the square did not dare to stop them.

"Sima Zongheng, what do you want?" Princess Nine-Tails demanded, her eyes glaring.

"What do I want? Zhong Shan killed my nephew Sima Qianjun. What do you think I want?" Sima Zongheng said coldly.

"Sima Qianjun? I don't recall killing anyone by that name," Zhong Shan said with a faint smile.

Zhong Shan glanced at Sima Qing. He didn't need to think too hard to realize that this was just a pretext. Sima Qing was here for the Five-Colored Divine Stone. In Sima Qing's mind, the stone was with Zhong Shan. If he didn't seize it now, once Zhong Shan refined it into an external avatar, it would be impossible to retrieve it.

"There are so many witnesses, and you're still denying it?" Sima Zongheng said coldly.

"Deny what? Are you crazy, Sima Zongheng? Millions of people saw Sima Qianjun cowardly sneak attack Zhong Shan, but he missed and got killed by his own arrow. How can you Sima family bring this shameful incident up as an accusation?" Princess Nine-Tails shouted.

"Hmph, Princess, you don't understand because Sima Qianjun isn't your family. No matter what, Zhong Shan must pay with his life for killing Sima Qianjun!" Sima Zongheng said coldly.

"Pay with my life? What gives you the right to demand that?" Zhong Shan replied with a disdainful smile.

"My Sima family is the authority here. You, a mere vassal, dare kill a pillar of the Sima family? I have the right to punish you," Sima Qing suddenly spoke up.

"You have the right..." Zhong Shan frowned.

"Mr. Li, you've been watching for a while. Do I, Sima Qing, have the right to deal with Zhong Shan?" Sima Qing suddenly addressed Mr. Li.

Suddenly, Mr. Li's figure appeared in the distance.

"You're dreaming! Sima Qianjun brought this upon himself. What does that have to do with Zhong Shan? Zhong Shan is my guest; no one is allowed to touch him!" Princess Nine-Tails immediately shouted.

Mr. Li showed a wry smile. "This is the rule of the Primordial Heavenly Court: external vassals' rights are always inferior to those of the court's internal ministers. Mr. Li, isn't that correct?" Sima Qing pressed.

"Mr. Li, don't bully me, or I'll tell the Holy King!" Princess Nine-Tails glared.

"Indeed, the Primordial Heavenly Court has such a rule. However, Sima Qianjun initiated the attack. The young prince cannot fully punish Zhong Shan, but he can design an appropriate penalty. If Zhong Shan can endure it, Sima Qianjun's death will be unrelated to Zhong Shan," Mr. Li said.

Zhong Shan's eyes narrowed. The Primordial Heavenly Court's rules? These rules clearly favor the court's own. As an outsider, he would never have equal rights in the Primordial Heavenly Court. This place wasn't a long-term haven.

"Then the Zhuxian Sword Formation it is. If Zhong Shan can walk out of my Zhuxian Sword Formation, I will personally ensure the Sima family never pursues the matter of Sima Qianjun again!" Sima Qing said sternly.

"Sima Qing, are you insane? The Zhuxian Sword Formation? You want Zhong Shan dead!" Princess Nine-Tails yelled.

"Who will pay for Sima Qianjun's life then?" Sima Qing retorted coldly.

"No one touches Zhong Shan today, or I'll fight to the death!" Princess Nine-Tails shouted.

"Mr. Li, you decide. Otherwise, we'll have to call for a Council of Kings. No one wants that, especially the Holy King," Sima Qing said coldly.

A Council of Kings? The term seemed particularly sensitive, and Mr. Li's pupils shrank instantly.

"Mr. Li, whose side are you on?" Princess Nine-Tails demanded angrily.

"Princess, even if I stay out of it now, the Holy King might not... later..." Mr. Li said with great difficulty, his attitude clear that he was deciding to sacrifice Zhong Shan.

Zhong Shan watched everyone's reactions closely. The Council of Kings? Was it really that important? Even the Holy King of the Primordial Heavenly Court didn't want to see it happen? No wonder Zhuangzi had said, "Inner excellence leads to outer sharpness." It seemed there were internal rules within Qingqiu that even the Holy King couldn't override.

"Mr. Li, are you really sending Zhong Shan to his death?" Princess Nine-Tails said bitterly.

"It's just the Zhuxian Sword Formation. What's the difficulty?" Zhong Shan grabbed Princess Nine-Tails' arm.

"Haha, what a bold statement. Great Holy King? You think too highly of yourself," Sima Zongheng sneered.

"The Zhuxian Sword Formation? I've faced it before. I'm only worried that some people, after I break through it, will cling to their elders' legs and cry shamefully," Zhong Shan said with a cold smile.