Chapter 1090: False Past

Lu Yang was first taken aback, then his expression turned strange. "The mastermind is one of the Four Ancient Immortals?"

So, according to Immortal Zuo Shi, the mastermind the Immortal Fairy had been searching for was actually a fabrication of the Four Ancient Immortals, meaning they were the true masterminds? Qing He hadn't expected that when they had asked Immortal Zuo Shi to examine the past events, this was the outcome he had seen.

"What I'm saying is true!" Immortal Zuo Shi exclaimed, seeing the varied expressions of disbelief on everyone's faces. He grew anxious. He would break out in a cold sweat every time he recalled the incident. When the Four Ancient Immortals questioned him, they seemed amiable and granted his every request. Initially, he thought this was a genuine display of emotion from the Four Ancient Immortals. However, after witnessing the truth of the past, looking back at them, he only perceived a sinister and murderous intent behind their smiles. If he hadn't thought quickly and changed his story to claim he saw nothing, he would have died on the spot!

"Did it never occur to you that the past you saw was false?" Lu Yang couldn't help but ask. This didn't seem right. Besides, would Immortal Ying Tian and the other three really conspire against the Immortal Fairy just to obtain the Immortal Dao Fruit? What would they gain from it? As the Immortal Fairy herself said, once you become an immortal, who still pursues power? It's too exhausting.

"To confirm whether what I saw was true or false, I even examined the entire past of Immortal Ying Tian and the other three!" Immortal Zuo Shi exclaimed excitedly. He had kept this secret for nearly 400,000 years and decided to reveal everything at once. "I saw the broken Jianmu tree give birth to the will that became Immortal Sui Yue. I saw Immortal Ying Tian buried in a tomb as a funerary object. I saw Immortal Qilin born from the essence of heaven and earth, and Immortal Jiu Chong born into the human clan's great Lianshan family."

The origins of Immortal Sui Yue, Immortal Qilin, and Immortal Jiu Chong were not secrets. However, Immortal Ying Tian's background did not align with his demeanor and was rarely publicized, which suggested that Immortal Zuo Shi's vision was accurate on this point.

"I also saw that although their actions appeared righteous, they were actually full of schemes behind the scenes, saying one thing to your face and another behind your back, always prioritizing their own interests!"

"They approached you only because they valued your talent. You alone deduced the concepts of 'Dao Fruit Prototype' and 'Dao Fruit,' and explored the realm of 'Immortal.' Such talent is unparalleled throughout history!"

"They were also afraid you would be the first to become an immortal. That's why Immortal Sui Yue persuaded you to abandon the Dao Fruit of Nirvana and switch to the Immortal Dao Fruit. His true intention was to keep you trapped in this matter, preventing you from achieving immortality. Unexpectedly, you let go of your obsession and condensed the Immortal Dao Fruit, which made them all intensely jealous and murderous, leading them to strike you down!"

Lu Yang frowned. What was this? The events described by Immortal Zuo Shi sounded entirely like a conspiracy theory about the Four Ancient Immortals. "Wait, did you just say that the 'Dao Fruit' was something the Fairy deduced by herself?"

Lu Yang turned to ask the Immortal Fairy, "Fairy, I recall you saying that the 'Dao Fruit' was the result of all five of you deducing it together?"

"Yes." Not only the Immortal Fairy, but Grey Doudou and Qing He also remembered it that way. There was something wrong with the past Immortal Zuo Shi had seen!

"That's impossible!" Immortal Zuo Shi was stunned. He was certain he couldn't be mistaken about something as monumental as deducing the "Dao Fruit."

Lu Yang said in a deep voice, "If the Four Immortals were truly responsible, how could they make everyone in the world forget about the Fairy?"

"They must have methods I don't know about!" Immortal Zuo Shi refused to admit his error.

Faced with Immortal Zuo Shi's non-answer, Lu Yang formed a hypothesis: "The past you saw wasn't the true past, but a fabricated one created by the true mastermind who meddled with it!" However, Lu Yang didn't understand why the mastermind would leave such a significant flaw in the fabricated past, specifically that "the Dao Fruit was comprehended by the Fairy alone." Was there an unavoidable reason? Could it be...

"Fairy," he asked, "if Immortal Ying Tian and the other three truly had the personalities Immortal Zuo Shi described, what would you have done?"

"What would I do? I would, of course, stay away from them," the Immortal Fairy said matter-of-factly. She was capable of discerning good from bad.

"Then, if you were to deduce the Dao Fruit, would you still invite those four to participate with you?"

The Immortal Fairy pondered what she would do, stroking her chin, and finally gave a firm answer. "No, I would deduce it alone. Even if it were just me, I should still be able to figure out the result."

"That makes sense," Lu Yang said with certainty. "The past the mastermind showed Immortal Zuo Shi was a hypothetical scenario based on a change in the Four Immortals' personalities!" However, Lu Yang still couldn't figure out how the mastermind managed this. Only a Dao Fruit could influence the observations made by the Insight Dao Fruit. Could this be something the Karma Dao Fruit could achieve?

"How is this possible? Is there truly a mastermind after all?" In that moment, Immortal Zuo Shi felt his worldview completely shattered. Were the Four Immortals' personalities not as malicious as he had imagined, but truly without ill intent?

"Then the person who threatened me back then wasn't one of the Four Immortals, but the mastermind?"

"Threatened you?"

"On the very night after that incident concluded, someone was waiting for me in my palace, ordering me to abolish my Dao Fruit. If I refused, that person said they would kill me on the spot!" Recalling that figure, an uncontrollable fear spread through Immortal Zuo Shi's heart. "The aura that person exuded... they could definitely kill me!"

"Who was that person?"

"I don't know. He didn't reveal himself. I always thought he was one of the Four Immortals. But if the past I saw was fake and there truly is a mastermind, then the one who threatened me must be the mastermind!" "He coerced me, forcing me to abandon my comprehension of the Insight Dao Fruit and destroy it."

"You no longer possess the Insight Dao Fruit?"

"That's right." Immortal Zuo Shi smiled bitterly. The Insight Dao Fruit could illuminate all directions. If he still had it, he would have been able to locate Immortal Jiemie and wouldn't have foolishly chosen to act in the Demon City.

"Then what was the 'Great Era War' you later predicted?" Qing He asked. The prophecy of the Great Era War originated from Immortal Zuo Shi, who had stated there would be such a conflict 390,000 years in the future.

Immortal Zuo Shi sighed. "Although I lost my Insight Dao Fruit, I am naturally skilled in divination. While it doesn't reach the level of the Insight Dao Fruit, my divinations are quite effective." "I divined that 390,000 years into the future, opportunities to achieve immortality would appear, and half-immortals and immortals from various eras would emerge to fight. The world would be in chaos, with some achieving immortality and others falling."

"However, my divinations aren't completely accurate. For example, according to my results, the Great Era War should have already begun by now, with various factions already fighting. The world shouldn't be this peaceful." "Another example: I divined that I could obtain the Immortal Dao Fruit prototype by establishing the Immortal Cult. As you've all seen, I failed."

Lu Yang's expression became even stranger, as if Immortal Zuo Shi might have succeeded if Lu Yang hadn't found the Immortal Cult's headquarters back then.