Chapter 1799: Finding Trouble

Out of fear of his status as an Immortal Lord, even when rummaging for treasures in the coffin, everyone carefully avoided touching his body, so as not to provoke him.

Even though they knew he was dead, the title of "Immortal" still made them instinctively wary.

However, with all other places searched, only the corpse of Immortal Lord Baopu remained.

Zhao Hao was tempted, as he believed that any immortal destiny or method for eternal life would most likely be hidden on the Immortal Lord's body.

But remembering Jing Teng's mention of a "fated one," he hesitated, wary of potential consequences.

Inheritances left by ancient masters often involved overt or subtle tests, where character was often more important than aptitude.

He had heard stories of people needing to kowtow a thousand times sincerely before a statue to gain an inheritance, or of others needing to bury the inheritor's body first to avoid being poisoned by fake secret manuals.

He asked himself, if he were to leave an inheritance, he would certainly set up many mechanisms, at least to deny it to anyone disrespectful to his corpse.

It was these thoughts that made him hesitate to act immediately.

At that moment, Jing Teng reached into the embrace of Immortal Lord Baopu's remains. Zu An was startled and quickly stopped her, saying, "Be careful, there might be restrictions."

Sensing his concern, Jing Teng smiled faintly. "It's fine. The Immortal Lord knows me. He wouldn't make things difficult if he knew it was me."

Zu An thought, "The key is that he's already dead; he probably wouldn't know it's you."

But Jing Teng's resolve was clear, so he didn't press the matter.

Zhao Hao, however, was quite pleased. He was just wondering who would dare to touch the Immortal Lord's remains, and now this woman had volunteered.

Under the gaze of several pairs of eyes, Jing Teng examined the remains. Finally, she frowned and said, "Huh, there's nothing here."

Zhao Hao's face showed unconcealed disappointment. At the same time, he scrutinized Jing Teng, trying to determine if she was deliberately deceiving him.

Although his divine sense had followed her movements and found nothing, he considered that an Immortal Lord might possess means to hide things from him.

Zu An, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief. "If there's nothing, then so be it. Let's look elsewhere."

Jing Teng shook her head slightly. "That makes no sense. I have a vague memory that the Immortal Lord's contingency plan is here. Why can't I find it?"

Zu An's heart stirred. "Could it be that certain conditions need to be met to trigger the contingency?"

Jing Teng paused. "That's certainly possible."

She then pondered the Immortal Lord's personality, trying to deduce what kind of activation conditions he might have left.

At this moment, Zhao Hao whispered, "Perhaps we need to respectfully kowtow a few times?"

Seeing their strange looks, his old face reddened. "It's quite normal, isn't it? A dignified immortal would naturally hope for future generations to respect him. I've even heard stories from ancient times where someone kowtowed a thousand times before a statue, and its true meaning revealed itself."

Zu An said with a smile, "In that case, Your Majesty, why don't you give it a try?"

Zhao Hao was speechless.

What a joke! He, the venerable Emperor, the strongest in the realm for a century, an object of worship for countless people, how could he kowtow to someone else?

In truth, if no one else were present, he might have done it, as no one would know.

But with these few people watching, how could he possibly humble himself like that?

Crucially, even if he did kowtow, there was no guarantee of obtaining the immortal destiny, so he naturally wasn't willing to do such a humiliating thing.

At this moment, Zu An casually remarked, "Ah, having missed this opportunity, I wonder when we'll find another immortal destiny. But thankfully, we're still young and will have more chances. Honglei, you don't need to take it too much to heart."

Qiu Honglei knew he was being mischievous and suppressed a smile. "That's right. Even if we don't find it here, we can just look elsewhere later. We have plenty of time, after all."

Zhao Hao's eyelid twitched. Every word from these two pierced his heart.

They were indeed young and had ample time, but his Five Signs of Decay were drawing nearer; barring any accidents, they would arrive within the next year or two. He was running out of time.

At this point, Zu An helped Jing Teng to sit down nearby. From earlier, Jing Teng's face had been a bit pale, and beads of cold sweat occasionally appeared on her forehead. Concerned that something might be wrong with her, he specifically led her aside to rest.

He even thoughtfully offered her some clear water.

Qiu Honglei felt quite annoyed, but as the demonic enchantress of the Demonic Sect, how could she make a fuss at such a moment? That would only leave the impression of a jealous woman in A'Zu's heart.

In truth, her jealousy throughout their journey had gradually made her aware that she had completely forgotten the charm techniques she learned in the sect and the subtle methods she had picked up from the Immortal Residence in Brightmoon City.

Ultimately, she cared too much about A'Zu, and concern clouded her judgment.

However, she was an exceptionally intelligent person, so she quickly composed herself, treating this as a battle.

Not only could she not show any jealousy, but she also had to appear understanding and considerate, as this would make A'Zu like her even more and even feel indebted to her. "Hmph, never mind this book spirit; even Chu Chuyan and the others combined won't be my match then."

The title of Demonic Enchantress of the Demonic Sect wasn't just for show.

As she revelled in her thoughts, she involuntarily leaned back, a mysterious smile playing on her lips.

"Sister Jing, I have a spiritual medicine from my sect here that nourishes the spirit and replenishes vital energy. It would be very helpful to you right now." She took out a pill and offered it to Jing Teng. "Don't worry, it's not poisonous."

Seeing the sincerity in Qiu Honglei's eyes, Jing Teng was a bit surprised by her change in attitude and felt a twinge of guilt. "What was wrong with me earlier, acting so petty for no reason?" she thought.

"Thank you, Miss Qiu, but pills won't be much help in my current condition," Jing Teng paused, then said somewhat awkwardly, "If Miss Qiu truly wants to help me, could you emit some of that light you used before? That light makes me feel very comfortable."

Qiu Honglei was dumbfounded.

"I was kindly trying to help you, and you're actually using me as a light source?" she thought.

For a moment, she nearly lost her composure, but she quickly realized that this woman was playing a high-level game; she had almost fallen into her trap.

"Hmph, pretending to be weak and guileless, but in reality, she's quite manipulative," she thought.

With that thought, she also smiled sweetly. "No problem at all, as long as it helps you, little sister."

After speaking, she began to circulate her cultivation art. Being of the light element and exceptionally talented, her body was soon enveloped in waves of soft radiance.

Bathed in that light, a look of enchantment appeared on Jing Teng's face. "Thank you, Miss Qiu."

Qiu Honglei managed a strained smile, thinking, "This manipulative woman won't even call me 'Sister,' even though I've deliberately called her 'little sister' several times."

Was she truly unaware, or was she deliberately avoiding the engagement?

Seeing her chatting with Zu An while she stood beside them, a large ball of light illuminating their smiles, Qiu Honglei felt like a complete fool.

"Such boring rivalry," Zhao Hao, as someone who had seen much of the world, instantly recognized the peculiar dynamic between the three and found it utterly uninteresting.

When they got older, they would understand how childish they were. Love and affection were nothing more than fleeting clouds; supreme power was the most important thing.

With this thought, a resolute glint appeared in his eyes. He walked directly to the front of the coffin, knelt down, and began to respectfully kowtow towards it.

Thump, thump, thump!

Zu An and the others, who had been chatting, were startled by the sound, initially thinking it was an earthquake.

They turned around and saw Zhao Hao piously kneeling and kowtowing to Immortal Lord Baopu.

Zu An was speechless.

Qiu Honglei was speechless.

Jing Teng was speechless.

Qiu Honglei cast a smiling sidelong glance at Zu An, thinking it was all his fault for misleading Zhao Hao.

Zu An's expression was also strange. He had just said it casually; who knew Zhao Hao would actually take it seriously?

It was a pity that this world couldn't record videos; otherwise, recording this scene and playing it back in the Great Zhou Dynasty would surely create an explosive effect.

In his mind, Mi Li's voice echoed, "He's truly gone mad with desire for immortality. To think a powerhouse of his generation would be willing to kowtow like this."

Her tone was full of sarcasm.

Zu An's heart stirred, and he seized the opportunity to ask, "Empress Teacher, you are so knowledgeable. What's the story with this Immortal Lord Baopu? Since he became an immortal, why is there still a body here?"

"What's so strange about that? Immortals are merely more powerful beings. Their lifespans are much longer than ordinary cultivators; they can live for thousands or tens of thousands of years. To ordinary cultivators, they appear immortal, but immortals themselves know that's not entirely the case," Mi Li replied.

"Are you saying this is the corpse of Immortal Lord Baopu after he died as an immortal?" Zu An was greatly surprised. Initially, everyone had speculated that this was his mortal body, left behind after he ascended to immortality, no longer needing a physical form. After all, no one knew what ascension truly entailed, so they could only guess.

"No, it doesn't seem like it. This corpse doesn't possess the powerful aura of an immortal body. If it truly were an immortal body, you would have already been bleeding and crumbling under its divine might by being this close," Mi Li's tone also held a hint of doubt. "However, this body seems to subtly contain a hidden power. Perhaps that's what Jing Teng meant by the contingency plan."

"So that's how it is," Zu An nodded, then suddenly thought of something. "Wait, I remember you mentioned that even someone as powerful as Qin Shi Huang in your era didn't become an immortal. How do you know so much about immortals?"

"I... I can't make deductions?" Mi Li suddenly sounded flustered. "Have you forgotten that I was once the librarian of the Great Qin Dynasty, knowledgeable in all fields? Making such deductions isn't difficult."

Zu An thought about it and found it reasonable, so he didn't harbor any suspicion. He was about to ask if she knew how to activate the contingency plan left by Immortal Lord Baopu.

Just then, a chilling laugh suddenly echoed. "Hahaha, what are you all doing? So you're kowtowing here. Speaking of which, you're considered a powerful individual, but your knees seem a bit too soft. Isn't it a bit late to pray to gods and buddhas now?"

Everyone was startled and quickly turned around. They saw a dark mist, carrying countless skulls, invading from the tomb entrance, swiftly encircling the entire chamber. It was none other than the Ghost King.

At the same time, they noticed six strange-looking ghostly figures, each emanating a powerful aura, similar to the previously encountered Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Fledgling. These must be the remaining six Ghost Generals.