Chapter 2505: Searching for Her Among Thousands

"Why?" the Saintess asked, startled.

Zuan glanced at her with a hint of surprise, wondering why she seemed so particularly invested in the matter. "Because I once used the Elixir of Immortality to save Honglei. I learned then that to revive someone, not only do you need the world's rarest Elixir of Immortality, but you also need to find their soul after death. Neither can be missing."

"You seem to have a significant connection to the Underworld. Do you have a way to locate souls?" the Saintess inquired.

Zuan shook his head slightly. "When I first arrived in this world, I investigated. For reasons unknown, this world doesn't seem to have an Underworld."

The Saintess's expression flickered, as if a thought had occurred to her, but she didn't press the matter further.

Zuan continued, "Without an Underworld, the souls of the departed naturally have nowhere to go. They wander between heaven and earth. Some quickly dissipate, while others, due to specific circumstances, transform into vengeful spirits or similar entities. So, finding Yaoyu's soul is practically impossible."

While they were speaking, the ceremony being performed by the Six Shamans of Kai Ming was completed.

Wu Di's excited voice rang out, "He's moving! He's moving! It seems the Elixir of Immortality really worked."

Zuan mused, wondering what this 'Elixir of Immortality' they spoke of truly was, as he hadn't seen it. Finding a Divine Dragon Elixir of Immortality in his own time had been exceptionally difficult; it would be wonderful if he could acquire another one in this world.

At that moment, the rich life force within the space surged completely into the corpse lying on the stone platform. Soon, the corpse's limbs twitched a few times, and then its eyes slowly opened.

"He's alive! He's alive!" The Six Shamans of Kai Ming embraced each other excitedly, overcome with joyous tears.

"Yaoyu, we successfully rescued you from Erfu, and the Heavenly Emperor, in his benevolence, bestowed the Elixir of Immortality upon you, which allowed us to revive you," the shortest of the six shamans, Wu Fan, said, approaching Yaoyu with a smile.

A flicker of confusion crossed Yaoyu's eyes, followed by a ferocious glint, and in a single gulp, he swallowed Wu Fan whole.

This scene stunned everyone present. The remaining five Shamans of Kai Ming instinctively scattered, and their leader, Wu Peng, was both shocked and furious. "Yaoyu, what are you doing?"

At that moment, Yaoyu clutched his head, emitting pained, incoherent sounds, utterly unable to speak.

Wu Peng and the others quickly came to their senses and rushed forward, attempting to rescue their comrade. Though they knew Wu Fan's chances were slim, they couldn't simply do nothing.

Seeing them rush forward, Yaoyu was startled as well. He let out an inarticulate roar, then bolted into the distance, vanishing almost in the blink of an eye.

All these sudden changes happened too quickly. Zuan and the Saintess watched, dumbfounded, then quickly followed the five Shamans of Kai Ming in pursuit.

Unfortunately, Yaoyu's speed was simply too great, almost identical to Erfu's earlier. The group quickly lost track of their target, leaving only the five Shamans of Kai Ming, their faces ashen.

"How could this happen? How could this possibly happen?" Wu Peng muttered to himself, standing there with an expression of utter disbelief.

The others, too, remained in a state of shock and sorrow, unable to fully comprehend what had happened.

"Is it possible the Elixir of Immortality was fake?" the short-tempered Wu Yang cursed. Though the person had been revived, what returned was more like a savage monster, a complete opposite to the gentle and kind Yaoyu they had known.

With their companion devoured right before their eyes, their hearts were understandably filled with immense frustration and rage.

Wu Peng shook his head slightly. "Impossible. That Elixir of Immortality was granted by the Heavenly Emperor himself. We all witnessed it; it couldn't be a fake."

"Then perhaps the Heavenly Emperor manipulated it in some way that we couldn't detect..."

Before Wu Yang could finish, Wu Peng interrupted him with a sharp, "Watch your tongue!"

Wu Yang also felt a pang of guilt, realizing he had uttered blasphemous words.

Zuan seized the opportunity to ask, "Have you ever seen the Heavenly Emperor? What kind of deity is he?"

He currently knew far too little about the Heavenly Court and wished to seize this chance to gather more information.

"The Heavenly Emperor is the Heavenly Emperor, the King of all gods," Wu Peng replied, clearly lacking enthusiasm. "Moreover, we have only seen the Heavenly Emperor from a distance. We dared not even look up, so we don't know much about him."

"But wasn't the Elixir of Immortality granted to you by the Heavenly Emperor himself?" Zuan asked, surprised, having assumed they had a close relationship.

"How could we ever be worthy of an audience with the Heavenly Emperor? The Elixir of Immortality was delivered by Bao Jiang, a Celestial God who specifically manages the Elixirs of Immortality for the Heavenly Emperor." Wu Peng shook his head, still consumed by doubt, sorrow, and bewilderment.

Seeing his distraught appearance, Zuan offered some solace. "Yaoyu likely didn't eat your companion intentionally. His soul probably wasn't recovered. What you revived with the Elixir of Immortality was merely a soulless monster."

"Soul..." Wu Peng instantly grew agitated. "Yes, that's it! That's where the problem lies."

However, his excitement quickly gave way to sorrow, as everything they had done had been for naught. Not only had they failed to fully revive Yaoyu, but they had also lost a companion's life in the process.

The Saintess suddenly asked, "Do you know where we can find this Bao Jiang?"

"Do you wish to seek the Elixir of Immortality? It's futile. No one can obtain it without the Heavenly Emperor's personal decree," Wu Peng said, shaking his head. "However, regarding the Glazed Hairpin Flower you inquired about, it is indeed on Mount Baoyuan, where Bao Jiang resides. Even though we couldn't fully revive Yaoyu, our previous agreement remains valid. Thank you for your assistance."

Zuan was both startled and overjoyed to finally receive news of the Glazed Hairpin Flower.

"Originally, we should have led you there ourselves, but we now have to pursue Yaoyu's whereabouts, so we likely won't have time to accompany you. We can only tell you the direction to Mount Baoyuan..." Wu Peng took out a tortoise shell and quickly drew on it with his finger. Soon, lines began to appear on its surface.

"I've drawn the map to Mount Baoyuan on it, and also written a letter. When Bao Jiang sees it, he'll know you are my friends and will give you the Glazed Hairpin Flower."

Zuan accepted the tortoise shell. "Thank you, senior!"

Wu Peng waved his hand listlessly, clearly in no mood for further pleasantries.

Zuan knew that in this state, Wu Peng would likely not be in the mood to answer any more questions. He decided it was best to go to Mount Baoyuan and obtain the Glazed Hairpin Flower first.

On the way, Zuan's thoughts turned to finally finding the Glazed Hairpin Flower that could save Xiao Xi, and his gloomy mood of the past few days finally brightened somewhat.

"Brother Zuan, we need to hurry," the Saintess reminded him.

Zuan paused. "Why?"

"Have you forgotten the story you heard in the future, about how Bao Jiang, who governs life and death, was mysteriously murdered?" The Saintess's expression was grim.

Zuan's expression changed instantly. Daring not to delay further, he pulled the Saintess along and sped towards Mount Baoyuan.

The map Wu Peng had drawn seemed to possess an automatic navigation feature, constantly guiding them in the right direction.

Zuan and the Saintess didn't stop to rest even once, flying at high speed the entire time, occasionally consuming spiritual pills to replenish their stamina and vital energy.

Fortunately, Mount Baoyuan wasn't too far, only about a million li away.

If it had been any further, they would have had to resort to spatial teleportation arrays.

After several days of travel, Zuan finally reached Mount Baoyuan. He noticed it was quite close to Mount Ling, where he had first arrived.

However, he had no time to check on his "old friends," the Ten Shamans of Mount Ling. His heart racing, he hurried directly towards Mount Baoyuan.

Soon he arrived outside a cave dwelling. "I am here under the guidance of the Six Shamans of Kai Ming, seeking an audience with Celestial God Bao Jiang."

"The Six Shamans of Kai Ming?" A clear, bright voice suddenly echoed from within the cave.

Zuan and the Saintess exchanged a surprised glance. Was Celestial God Bao Jiang a woman?

Just then, a graceful figure slowly emerged. She possessed a pair of enchanting, seemingly smiling peach-blossom eyes, a captivatingly beautiful face, and an alluring physique that immediately drew the eye.

Despite her enchanting beauty, a faint aura of detachment clung to her.

Upon seeing the woman's face, Zuan was simultaneously shocked and delighted. "Manman!"

He had been worried sick about Pei Mianman's safety for some time, especially after several fruitless searches had yielded no clues about her whereabouts. His anxiety had reached its peak.

Now that he finally saw her safe, he could no longer control his surging emotions. He immediately rushed forward and pulled her into a tight embrace.