Chapter 875: Everlasting Spring Flower
Zu An’s group rushed out of the water element room in search of the activated mechanism. However, they didn’t really have to search, because there were visible strands of light moving from the water element room toward a certain direction. That was clearly where most of the water element power was being gathered. Similar scenes were likely occurring in the other rooms.
Zu An couldn't hold himself back and asked, “Is the first emperor absorbing the power of the five elements to revive or something?”
Mi Li’s expression was grave. “There’s a chance. But I’ve never heard of the Five Elements Formation having the power of revival.”
When he saw how serious she was, Zu An said, “Master, you don’t need to worry. Even if the first emperor revives, you aren’t alone. I’m here with you.”
Mi Li felt warm inside when she saw him acting decently for once. However, her words didn’t reflect that. “Hmph, if Ying Zheng really did revive, a kid like you would be swatted like a fly. How are you going to help me?”
Zu An was speechless, but Bi Linglong almost burst out laughing. That guy is always bullying me, but someone else has him on a leash now!
Perhaps it was because the water room was the closest to the formation, but the group quickly arrived at a spacious platform. This platform was extremely large, and it was the size of a few football fields and round in shape.
“Orchid pond, heaven’s ascension stage, earth’s worship temple…” Mi Li muttered to herself as she scanned the surroundings.
Zu An asked, “What does ‘orchid pond, heaven’s ascension stage, earth’s worship temple’ mean?”
Mi Li explained, “‘Orchid pond’ is the Qin Imperial Palace garden’s beautiful pond, ‘heaven’s ascension stage’ is a place where offerings to the heavens are made, and ‘earth’s worship temple’ is where sacrifices to the state are made. This place has combined features from all of these places. I recognize many familiar features here.”
Prayer and sacrifice for good weather and abundant crops were the most important things for ancient countries.
Zu An examined the elevated area before him. He saw a ring of goblets surrounding a giant pond. In the middle was a tower, which seemed to be where offerings to heaven and earth were made. Next to the tower was a large and tall tree. However, its bare branches proved that it had already died a long time ago.
Several different-colored lights emerged from multiple directions. These were respectively the metal, wood, water, fire, and earth elements. As the elemental power gathered, some formations lit up in five directions surrounding the elevated stage. They flickered with yellow, green, blue, red, and brown lines that reached toward the ancient tree at the very center.
The ancient tree blossomed into brilliant radiance. Then, it seemed to return to the peak of its life in spring. Its branches germinated, and its previously bare branches immediately became lush with leaves. What was even more shocking was that its leaves weren’t green. Or at the very least, they weren’t only that; only a fifth of the leaves were green. The other four-fifths were yellow, blue, red, and brown. They clearly represented the power of the different elements.
“Come look, that tree has bloomed!” Bi Linglong cried out while pointing at the center of the place.
Atop the tree, a large flower slowly took form. It resembled a hydrangea, and its petals also had five different colors. Brilliant splendor swirled across its surface. A powerful aura of life could be felt even from far away. It was clearly something extraordinary.
“Everlasting Spring Flower…” Mi Li had remained unfazed no matter what she encountered, but at that moment, even she became a bit absent-minded.
Zu An was surprised. “Isn’t this precisely one of the materials you need to recreate your body?”
He had previously heard her mentioning that such a flower needed a thousand years before it even developed branches and leaves, and another few millennia before it would bloom. He had thought that he would never find one in his life, and yet now, it was right before his eyes!
Mi Li voiced her agreement. But just as Zu An was about to rush over and pick the flower, she held him back.
“What’s wrong?” Zu An was confused. Such a precious material was right before their very eyes! If they missed this chance, there might never be another one!
Mi Li’s chest rose and fell continuously. She was getting emotional as well. However, she still calmly said, “You need to drill into your head that the prettier something is, the more likely it’s trying to deceive you. Look beneath that tree. What do you see?”
Zu An turned around. Only then did he see that there was a massive coffin underneath the tree. He hadn’t noticed it before because this tree was completely bare and the surroundings were dim. Now that the tree had bloomed and was flowing with brilliant colors, the surroundings had become bright as well. The coffin was now visible.
The coffin had a thick outer layer of bronze, and golden dragon decorations were carved on it. Whether in terms of its size or extravagance, it was far grander than any of the coffins they had seen on the way here.
Mi Li continued, “All of the five elements’ power is flowing in that direction. That’s clearly the eye of the formation. That Everlasting Spring Flower is most likely a trap to bait us in.”
“Is that the first emperor’s coffin?” Zu An was shocked as well.
“Indeed, it’s probably him.” Mi Li’s expression was conflicted. “He was willing to try anything for the sake of eternal life. This formation gives me a bad feeling. I don't know where he learned it from, but he probably wants to revive himself by borrowing the formation’s power.”
Zu An thought for a bit before saying with a smile, “The Everlasting Spring Flower is so rare that we can’t afford to give up on this opportunity. The promises of a real man are worth a thousand in gold. Since I agreed to help you rebuild your body, what kind of man would I be if I backed down here?”
He quickly told Bi Linglong, “Wait here for me.” If there really was danger on the other side, the first emperor might even come back to life. At that point, he wouldn’t even be able to protect himself, let alone her. It would still be safer if she stayed here. He used Grandgale and charged over after speaking.
Mi Li cursed inside when she saw him rush ahead. You fool! She was worried about his safety and quickly followed him.
Zu An arrived next to the tree. The closer he got, the greater the pressure he felt from that massive bronze coffin. His heart began to beat faster and faster. But it was already too late to think about the consequences. He jumped onto the tree, and a powerful and refreshing fragrance surrounded him.
He didn’t know if the flower was poisonous, nor did he know if his poison immunity could resist the effects of such a strange flower that only bloomed once every few millennia. He gritted his teeth and picked it.
What was surprising was that nothing happened. The giant bronze coffin didn’t move at all. There was no revival, nor was there any activity.
Mi Li had been watching the coffin vigilantly in preparation for something attacking Zu An. She sighed in relief when she saw nothing had happened. But that instead made her curious, and she said, “You should leave first. I’m going to open the coffin and look inside.”
Zu An chuckled. “I’ll go with you. If something really happens, I can at least fight at your side.”
Mi Li opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn’t chase him away. With Zu An’s current cultivation, he indeed had the qualifications to fight at her side now. His body was also now incredibly tough, so he was able to protect himself.
Mi Li didn’t say anything. She walked over to the giant coffin and slowly pushed aside the heavy lid. Sure enough, the inner coffin was a crystal one; it was just much larger than Fu Su’s.
A man dressed in a dragon robe lay calmly inside. Even though his eyes were closed, his fierce eyelashes and high nose bridge, his strong chest, and his dignified aura made it hard for others to look straight at him. As expected, the descriptions of him from historical texts were accurate after all.
This wasn’t the first time Zu An had seen the man. He had met a fragment of the man’s soul back in Brightmoon City’s secret dungeon. That soul fragment’s pressure had been greater than what he felt right now; the real body instead seemed to pale in comparison.
Mi Li couldn't help but sigh deeply. “In the end, all of your efforts were for nothing. You pursued immortality for so long, but you couldn't escape death in the end. Instead, I’m the one who’s still alive right now. Fate really does love to toy with us.”
Zu An gave her a worried look, but he saw that there wasn’t any love or affection in her eyes. There wasn’t even any strong hatred left. After so much time had passed, when she looked at the corpse again, even her hatred had already grown faint.
But at that moment, Zu An suddenly felt alarmed. He quickly looked off to the side as a cold voice said from a distance, “Hand over that flower of immortality in your hands to me. Otherwise, I’ll kill her.”
Mi Li also turned around and saw Zhao Ruizhi standing at the entrance with his hand on Bi Linglong’s shoulder. With his cultivation, Bi Linglong would immediately perish if he exerted even a bit of force.
He Li and the other King Qi Manor soldiers finally caught up while wheezing. When they saw the flower in Zu An’s hands, their eyes lit up. It was swirling with brilliant colors and suffused with rich life energy. They quickly concluded that it was a symbol of immortality.