Chapter 851: Gate of Immortality
“Westhound Tomb?” Zu An exclaimed, shocked. He couldn’t be more familiar with this name. Back then, the ruined soul of the Qin Emperor had told him to find Westhound Tomb as quickly as possible. However, he couldn’t find any clues no matter how he searched. Who could have thought that it would actually be right here?
He quickly realized something and said to Mi Li, “No wonder you were always a bit distracted recently. So it was because we’re revisiting an old haunt?”
A reminiscent expression flashed through Mi Li’s eyes. “I saw some familiar things and couldn’t help but remember some unpleasant memories.”
Zu An remembered that she had been sealed by the Qin Emperor back then. A major conflict had definitely happened between the two of them. On one hand, seeing a familiar place would make her recall the past fondly. However, once she remembered the Qin Emperor, she wouldn’t be able to help but produce negative emotions.
“Have you been here before? Doesn’t this mean that I’ll become unstoppable soon?” Zu An asked with a chuckle.
Mi Li rolled her eyes. “Keep dreaming. This is a place successive generations of Qin Kings built through great effort. Only Qin Kings can enter and leave this place; not even the empress or the crown prince can do so. I only know what I know because I was the empress, and I read some information about this place from the library, but it’s limited. The fact that we cracked the code to get on this floating continent is already a coincidence. We might not be so lucky going forward.”
Despite those words, she still felt a bit better. After being around each other for so long, how could she not know that Zu An was only saying so to cheer her up? She was quite moved, but she also felt that this kid really was a brat. Forget about his enemies, there were times when she even wanted to give him a beating herself.
“Having you as my guide will always be better than me blindly groping around, right?” Zu An chuckled. Then, he continued forward with Bi Linglong. Suddenly, he picked up an exotic fragrance and the two of them headed in the direction of the smell.
When they reached the edge of a cliff, the view suddenly opened up. A clear and crystalline lake stretched out before them. The lake surface was enchanting like a massive sapphire, the most beautiful blue color he had ever seen in his life.
Flowers were in full bloom around the lake. There were many fruit trees, most of them bearing peaches. Every single peach tree was filled with heavy white peaches that carried a pink blush. They were several times larger than normal juicy peaches, and their sweet aroma could be smelled even from far away.
“Are these the legendary Jade Lake and the Peaches of Immortality?” Bi Linglong’s heart pounded. She subconsciously walked forward. The emperor’s power that she’d used earlier had drained her life force, so it was hard for her to resist her body’s instinctive desire.
Zu An frowned. He felt that something wasn’t quite right, but he couldn’t really put his finger on it. Suddenly, a sinister laugh came from behind him. “Little bastard, I’ve finally caught you!”
Zu An immediately felt his fine hairs stand on end. Even Bi Linglong, who had been walking forward, trembled and quickly turned around. The fear she felt from that voice overwhelmed everything else.
Zhao Ruizhi was standing not too far from them with a sneer on his face. He hadn’t ambushed them, because with his identity and status, something like that would be too lowly. What he wanted was to torment Zu An, to make him feel true fear and remorse. He wanted to see Zu An beg for forgiveness tearfully.
He Li followed behind Zhao Ruizhi, looking as if he were about to see something fun. This adulterous couple’s public display of affection had already left everyone incredibly annoyed. He wanted to see how Zu An was going to be finished off in person.
Zu An stood in front of Bi Linglong to protect her. He asked with an overcast voice, “How did you all get up here?” The platforms around the floating islands moved differently, which was why he hadn’t been worried about them copying him back then.
“It’s just a trifling eight trigrams path; you can figure it out after adding a bit of speculation. How can something like that stop me?” Zhao Ruizhi exclaimed proudly.
Mi Li couldn’t help but say with a sigh, “This damn emperor really is a crazy genius. No wonder he was able to become this world’s number one.”
She alone knew just how mysterious and complex the Book of Changes’ eight trigrams were, and yet this man had been able to decipher them in such a short time, then even apply them to the floating path. Not even she had expected this.
Suddenly, King Qi Manor’s deathsworn soldiers cried out. “Peaches of Immortality! It’s the legendary peaches!”
They had clearly noticed the peach trees as well. When they connected the fruits with the legends, their eyes turned red. Greed completely took over, overwhelming their fear toward the emperor, and all of them rushed out towards the lake, picking peaches and shoving them into their mouths.
Zhao Ruizhi had also smelled the fragrance in the air, but he was currently preoccupied with his hatred and wrath toward Zu An. As such, he hadn’t noticed the beautiful lake and the peach trees yet. But when he did notice them, his breathing sped up.
If it were anything else, he might not even give it a second look. However, the legendary Peaches of Immortality could grant one eternal life! He had some reservations too, but the more death encroached, the stronger the fear of death would become, eventually overtaking everything. He wouldn’t let any chance for immortality go.
Zhao Ruizhi was a bit upset when he saw the deathsworn soldiers frantically eating those peaches. These were all his; how could he let others waste them?! He ignored Zu An for the time being. He thought to himself that they were all already on the island anyway, so killing him would be easy enough. It was better to focus on immortality first.
As such, he instantly appeared on the largest of the peach trees with a single step. This peach tree had a massive trunk and was clearly an extraordinary existence. He leapt to the top, picked the largest peach, and ate it.
“Hm…” As an emperor, he had enjoyed all sorts of exotic delicacies in the past. But at that moment, he felt as if every pore in his body were cheering with joy! This thing is just too delicious! Furthermore, there was a warm stream flowing through him that made him feel vigorous and full of life.
“It really can grant eternal life!” Zhao Ruizhi’s pupils narrowed. He felt incredibly moved. Just how many years had it been; how bitterly had he searched? He had sent so many experts to explore the mountains and seas, yet none of them had come back with anything significant. However, he had never given up. Today, he had finally found the method of immortality!
When he saw all of them go mad over the peaches, Zu An grabbed Bi Linglong and ran. “We’re leaving!” He used Grandgale to rush out of the area and run away.
Their movements didn’t escape Zhao Ruizhi’s detection, but he was completely focused on immortality just then and didn’t care about anything else. As long as he could achieve immortality, forget about a mere woman, he didn’t care if he had to give away all of his wives and concubines.
Zu An continued to run, choosing to run toward the forest so it would be easier to conceal their whereabouts. After running for a long time and seeing that Zhao Ruizhi didn’t chase after them, he sighed in relief.
Bi Linglong couldn’t help but say, “Looks like those really were the legendary Peaches of Immortality, and they could grant eternal life. Otherwise, there’s no way he would’ve let us leave just like that.”
Zu An laughed and replied, “Who cares if those are the Peaches of Immortality or whatever? Our survival is the most important.”
“I guess you’re right.” Bi Linglong chuckled. If there really were a way to gain eternal life, but they were killed right when they found out, that would really be too depressing. But even so, she was still a bit confused. “Ah Zu, I really am starting to admire you. Even the emperor couldn’t help but become tempted when faced with immortality, but you didn’t care at all. I don’t think there are many in this world who could make that kind of choice.”
“I’m different from normal people.” Zu An didn’t know how to explain himself. He cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra, which not only made his body tough, but also immune to diseases and illnesses. Qiao Xueying had even shared half of her elven lifespan with him. Together with the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, he could obtain immortality once he fully cultivated it anyway. That was why he wasn’t all that tempted by such immortality.
However, he quickly realized that even though he didn’t need it, he still had so many sweethearts, so he should have picked some for them. He felt a bit of regret when he realized that
Mi Li sneered. “Do you really think those are the rumored Peaches of Immortality?”
Zu An was stunned. “Are they not?”
“Of course not.” Mi Li harrumphed. “Not even the Qin Emperor was able to obtain immortality despite searching for it his entire life. If he found the so-called Jade Lake and Peaches of Immortality, he would definitely still be alive. If that were the case, I would already be done for.”
Zu An realized that as well. The Qin Emperor was already dead, so that meant that he hadn’t found any immortal medicine. Then, what were those immortal peaches?
…
Meanwhile, by the lakeside Zu An had just left, after Zhao Ruizhi ate three of the largest peaches in succession, he felt that there were three flowers slowly blossoming on his head. He was delighted. Was this the legendary Three Flower Congregation Crown? Three flowers above one’s head was the mark of a daoist immortal.
Heavenly music emerged from the sky just then. Waves of magnificent light flickered in the clouds above as a grand immortal gate slowly opened. Countless immortal ladies and children waved toward him. A mysterious voice told him that as long as he entered the gate, then he would formally join the ranks of immortals. He would then never die; he would become a true immortal!
Zhao Ruizhi gulped. He subconsciously walked toward the immortal gate. Whenever he took a step, a floating cloud would appear beneath his feet, as if the immortal gate were guiding him towards it. He continued up the cloud stairs, arriving in front of the immortal gate soon afterward. He was just about to cross over, but suddenly, he froze up.