Zhong Shan put on a loose robe and slowly flew out of the Qiankun Cauldron. The matters he had to face still needed to be addressed. The two women were waiting outside the cauldron, awaiting Zhong Shan's emergence.
As he exited the cauldron and landed in front of the two women, they were dressed in goose-yellow skirts, their faces slightly flushed, making them appear even more alluring.
The two women stared at Zhong Shan.
Frowning, Zhong Shan took a deep breath and said, "Earlier in the Qiankun Cauldron..."
"Nothing happened earlier!" Saint King Taichu suddenly interjected.
Looking at Saint King Taichu, Zhong Shan immediately understood her meaning. Like Zixun, Saint King Taichu was also a stubborn woman.
Princess Nine-Tails furrowed her brows as she looked at Zhong Shan. Their gazes were filled with complexity.
Nodding slightly, Zhong Shan said calmly, "Alright, let's say nothing happened. But I won't forget it."
Zhong Shan had intended to express his gratitude for their help, as it was because of them that he had broken through to the Great Immortal realm. However, to Saint King Taichu, his words seemed to imply he wouldn't forget the events inside the cauldron.
After all, while his consciousness had been unclear at the time, his memory had not completely vanished and he retained most of it.
"You!" Saint King Taichu's face showed anger.
Princess Nine-Tails' expression was equally complex.
The two women seemed similar yet different in temperament, making Zhong Shan unsure of what to think.
After a slight rise and fall of her chest, Saint King Taichu coldly looked at Zhong Shan and said, "If it weren't for Rou Niang stopping me, you'd be a corpse by now!"
Zhong Shan raised an eyebrow, "Rou Niang?"
At this, Princess Nine-Tails suddenly spoke, "I am Su Rou Niang, and she is Su Mei Niang."
Su Rou Niang? Zhong Shan looked at the gentle-looking Princess Nine-Tails and nodded slightly.
Stopping her? It seemed that although Su Rou Niang and Su Mei Niang were split from one entity, their personalities differed, similar to Bao'er and the Central Sect Leader!
At this moment, Zhong Shan naturally didn't want to argue with them. Looking at Saint King Taichu, Su Mei Niang, he thought for a moment and asked, "Were you waiting for me to wake up?"
"We want to take the Qiankun Cauldron with us," Su Rou Niang said softly.
"The Qiankun Cauldron?" Zhong Shan frowned, realizing he seemed to have developed a faint connection with it. Could it be?
Looking at the Qiankun Cauldron, Zhong Shan wondered if it had recognized him as its master. No way! Was it the peach-colored energy?
"We three are now all masters of the Qiankun Cauldron, as long as you don't make things difficult," Su Rou Niang said softly.
All three of us? Masters?
Indeed, after the baptism of the peach-colored energy, he could slightly control the Qiankun Cauldron.
Seeing the two women, Zhong Shan did not argue and nodded straightforwardly.
Saint King Taichu, Su Mei Niang, seemed slightly surprised, while Su Rou Niang smiled faintly.
After giving Zhong Shan a complicated look, Su Mei Niang extended her hand and pointed at the Qiankun Cauldron. Although broken, its shape remained intact. With her gesture, the cauldron suddenly shrank, becoming the size of a fingernail, and was immediately taken into her sleeve.
"Huh?" Zhong Shan was slightly stunned.
The Qiankun Cauldron, which all three could control, had been reduced in size by Su Mei Niang? How was that possible?
Noticing Zhong Shan's confusion, Su Rou Niang immediately explained, "This Qiankun Cauldron originally came from our Qingqiu! That's why we know how to operate it!"
"Qingqiu?" Zhong Shan asked in surprise.
"It's time to go," Su Mei Niang said, shaking her head.
Su Rou Niang looked at Zhong Shan, then said, "We are returning to Qingqiu. There is another treasure within Nuwa's realm that originally belonged to the fox clan, but now many Ancestral Immortals have arrived, and we certainly won't be able to obtain it."
"Another treasure of the fox clan?" Zhong Shan asked, puzzled.
"If you wish to stay, you can see for yourself. The other treasure is called the 'Demon Summoning Banner,' one of Nuwa's most precious artifacts. It originally belonged to Qingqiu, but after Qingqiu's decline, it could not be retained and was borrowed by Nuwa. I imagine the Ancestral Immortals are here for this Demon Summoning Banner," Su Rou Niang explained thoughtfully.
After speaking, the two women ignored Zhong Shan and vanished from his sight in a flash, leaving him behind.
Zhong Shan fell into silence.
Qingqiu? Green Mountain? What does it mean? He had originally thought it was merely the fox clan's stronghold, but it seemed much more complex. Burning Lamp appeared to have a particular aversion to Green Mountain, and Saint Nuwa, who used materials from Qingqiu for the Qiankun Cauldron? The legendary Demon Summoning Banner, said to summon all the world's demons, was also a treasure of Qingqiu?
There were indeed many secrets within Qingqiu and Green Mountain!
Zhong Shan's mind raced, analyzing the influx of information, but it was too sparse to draw any concrete conclusions. Shaking his head, Zhong Shan dismissed the impractical thoughts.
With Su Mei Niang and Su Rou Niang gone, Zhong Shan turned his focus inward to examine his transformation.
Great Immortal Realm! Second Heaven! Demonic Body Tempering! Ninth Layer! Red Luan Heavenly Scripture! Ninth Layer! Red Luan Heavenly Scripture at the ninth layer, with the manifestation of the heavenly way?
The evolved spiritual energy surged into Zhong Shan's eyes.
The world before Zhong Shan's eyes changed abruptly.
The rules of heaven and earth, the laws of the heavenly way, all became vividly clear before him. Zhong Shan marveled at these heavenly laws, realizing that he could now manipulate these laws for his own use. Against enemies below the Great Immortal level, he would be invincible!
But these heavenly laws were just the beginning.
In the distance, Zhong Shan suddenly saw massive columns stretching from heaven to earth. These pillars seemed to be infinitely large, encompassing everything, yet somehow thin and delicate, visible in great detail to Zhong Shan.
The pillars, standing in the distance, came in various colors and appeared incredibly majestic. Seeing these pillars, Zhong Shan felt an almost involuntary sense of reverence, as ancient, primal energy emanated from them.
In an instant, Zhong Shan recalled a similar scene from before.
In the Underworld's Wheel Hall, when the seal on Guo Shi Fu was lifted, a massive pillar had flashed and disappeared. When a saint arrived, another pillar stretching from heaven to earth appeared briefly.
The heavenly way? This was the heavenly way!
Three thousand heavenly ways!
Typically, only peak Ancient Immortals could see the heavenly way, and Ancestral Immortals could begin to manipulate its power. Yet Zhong Shan, despite being in the Great Immortal realm, could already see the heavenly way. An extraordinary ability.
Should he try to manipulate it?
Zhong Shan attempted to control it, but alas, he was still just a Great Immortal. Being able to see the heavenly way was already remarkable; actual manipulation was beyond his reach.
Ultimately, there was a significant benefit to seeing the heavenly way and the endless laws of heaven and earth. Zhong Shan could transmit what he saw to the Eye of Heavenly Retribution in the Divine Realm. This would undoubtedly make the Eye of Heavenly Retribution even more formidable.
"Buzz!" Zhong Shan's hands trembled slightly.
Suddenly, his hands began to glow faintly silver. Dozens of laws seemed to be connected to his hands, and these laws were mysteriously linked to a distant heavenly way.
The Heaven-Opening Palm?
The Heaven-Opening Palm, the lead of the heavenly way! Was this a link to one of the heavenly ways?
Zhong Shan's heart raced with excitement. Could he manipulate this heavenly way?
However, after trying for a while, Zhong Shan finally understood what it meant to shake a tree like a fly— the heavenly way was too vast, and with his current strength as a Great Immortal, he couldn't move it. What a pity!
Shaking his hands, Zhong Shan stopped focusing on the heavenly way.
Zhong Shan extended his right hand, and the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail appeared in his palm.
The Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail looked deformed, severely injured, as if it might collapse at any moment.
"Burning Lamp?" Zhong Shan's heart grew cold.
The four Immortal Execution Swords on the tail seemed bent and broken. The whole tail swayed weakly as if it could break away from Zhong Shan at any moment.
What to do? Swallow? The Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail seemed too weak even to swallow anything.
Frowning deeply for a while, Zhong Shan's eyes suddenly brightened as he thought of a method.
Reaching out with his other hand, Zhong Shan quickly created a massive formation, then took out a palace. He stepped inside and closed the door.
Inside the dark hall, Zhong Shan held the dying Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail in his hands, a look of determination in his eyes.
Closing his eyes, Zhong Shan quickly mobilized the power of the Red Luan Lotus, gathering it in his left eye.
With his right eye closed, Zhong Shan struggled to open his left eye. In the past, he couldn't open it, but now, though it was very difficult, he managed to open it slowly.
As his left eye opened, a faint red light shone out, a bright red color.
The auspicious eye of the double pupils of fortune and misfortune!
Auspicious Eye, open!
As the auspicious eye opened, Zhong Shan felt a vast aura gathering from all directions into his left eye. Zhong Shan was deeply regretful because, with the auspicious eye open, he could no longer see the heavenly way. Perhaps this power came from the heavenly way itself.
"Peerless Auspicious Eye, open!" Zhong Shan shouted.
"Whoosh!"
A vast red light shot out from Zhong Shan's left eye, illuminating the entire hall.
The consumption was terrifying. Just opening his left eye made Zhong Shan feel as if he were completely drained. His whole body felt indescribably exhausted, on the verge of collapse, and fainting.
The consumption was too exaggerated!
"Eya, eya, eya..."
The red light enveloped the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail, and endless energy from heaven and earth poured into its body. The Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail seemed incredibly excited, quickly absorbing the energy. Its injuries were healing at a terrifying speed.
In the blink of an eye, it seemed as if the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail had fully recovered, bouncing up excitedly.
Zhong Shan, exhausted, glanced at the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail, and with a thought, he put it away, then suddenly collapsed.
Exhausted and unconscious!
Of course, in the moment before he lost consciousness, Zhong Shan instinctively released a large amount of the evolved Red Luan Mist to surround the area.
"Thud!" Zhong Shan fell to the ground, unconscious.
While Zhong Shan was unconscious, his legend spread outside.
After being subjected to various torments, Sima Yuan finally revealed everything. How could he not? Surrounded by three to four dozen Ancient Immortals, under the curse of misfortune, any further stubbornness would mean having his soul extracted and refined!
Zhong Shan had obtained the Qiankun Cauldron, and news quickly spread throughout Nuwa's realm. Countless powerhouses scoured the realm, searching for any trace of Zhong Shan, because everyone knew that the Qiankun Cauldron couldn't be taken away or stored in a storage bracelet, and even a saint couldn't refine such a treasure instantly.
The entrance to Nuwa's realm was blocked by a multitude of strong cultivators, with more searching every corner of the realm. Even if they had to dig ten thousand feet underground, they were determined to find Zhong Shan.
To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/Jw-q2euGywY