Chapter 1228: Unexpected Change

Later, when the era of the "Great World Struggle," predicted by Left Historian Immortal, arrived, the Emperor's subordinates were successively awakened. The Emperor instructed them to continue searching for clues about the four of us.

However, his subordinates kept disappearing—one after another. Those sent to the Laurel Immortal Palace vanished, as did those sent to the Buddhist Realm. Lord Lei secretly disappeared, and Lord Ming also vanished after a trip to the Extreme North. This left the Emperor constantly terrified. He even moved out of the sun and abandoned his massive Immortal Palace.

Hearing the Qilin Immortal's words, the Central Heavenly Emperor's face darkened. How could he be blamed for being afraid? It was like a haunting; anyone would be terrified encountering such things.

Just recently, he somehow learned that the Nine Nether Sect was about to condense the nascent form of the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao Fruit. He then planned to send Lord Heng and Lord Shi to steal the nascent Dao Fruit and bring it to him.

Only a few individuals knew about the nascent form of the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao Fruit, and the mastermind was the most likely one to have informed the Emperor. The mastermind wouldn't have been so kind as to share this information without another motive.

So I decided that once Lord Shi obtained the nascent Dao Fruit, I would confront the Emperor, find out exactly what the mastermind told him, and then figure out a way to relay that information to you all.

"Who would have thought that you, Immortal, and little friend Lu, would also be here?"

The Qilin Immortal gave a bitter smile at this point. He had originally intended never to show himself, thinking that with the Immortal here, the Emperor certainly wouldn't be able to take the nascent Dao Fruit, and thus he wouldn't need to intervene. But to his surprise, the Emperor's plan progressed unusually smoothly. Lord Shi was on the verge of handing the nascent Dao Fruit to the Emperor, leaving him no choice but to confront him in battle.

The Qilin Immortal opened his mouth and spat out the sapling, a trophy, and the nascent form of the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao Fruit.

"So this is the nascent form of the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao Fruit! Little Yang, bring it here for me to see." The Immortal Fairy had never had the chance to see such a novel nascent Dao Fruit in person, so her curiosity was piqued.

"Here." The Qilin Immortal handed the sapling to Lu Yang. The only drawback was that, having been retrieved from his stomach, it was covered in many sticky substances.

"Little Yang, don't be disgusted," the Immortal Fairy whispered. "This is Qilin's saliva; in ancient times, it was even more precious than dragon's saliva, incredibly hard to come by."

Lu Yang: "..."

*Then why aren't you holding it, Fairy?*

Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy meticulously examined the nascent Dao Fruit. A slowly rotating vortex swirled on its surface, and gazing at it for too long easily led to losing oneself in a trance.

The Qilin Immortal, meanwhile, sternly questioned the Central Heavenly Emperor: "Exactly what did the mastermind tell you?"

The Central Heavenly Emperor answered without hesitation: "He told me that refining the nascent form of the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao Fruit would allow me to live another lifetime. However, before that, I had to give him the nascent Dao Fruit first. He said he would return it to me after he used it. I outwardly agreed, but I didn't truly believe him. Instead, I decided to refine the nascent Dao Fruit myself the moment I got my hands on it."

The Qilin Immortal frowned; the Central Heavenly Emperor's answer was somewhat unexpected. "What does the mastermind want the nascent form of the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao Fruit for?"

The Central Heavenly Emperor shook his head. "He didn't tell me."

After speaking, he quickly clutched his mouth, staring intently at the Qilin Immortal. "What have you done to me!" Even as a captive, he shouldn't have revealed everything so readily!

The Qilin Immortal sneered, "Have you forgotten? My Dao Fruit is a superior form of the nascent 'Survival of the Fittest' Dao Fruit!" With the nascent 'Survival of the Fittest' Dao Fruit, the victor holds dominion over the defeated. Zhu Tian precisely relied on this ability to secure his position as the Demon Emperor. Although both the Central Heavenly Emperor and the Qilin Immortal were Immortals, the Emperor wouldn't be completely dominated. However, it was still effortless for the Qilin Immortal to make him speak the truth.

Holding the sapling, Lu Yang stood aside, also pondering the question: What did the mastermind want the nascent form of the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao Fruit for? Did he also want to live another lifetime? From the Emperor's description, it didn't seem likely. If he wanted another lifetime, would he really return the nascent Dao Fruit to the Emperor? But if it was a lie, it was too easily exposed. Furthermore, how could such a cautious mastermind ensure the Emperor wouldn't simply pocket the nascent Dao Fruit?

At this thought, Lu Yang's expression suddenly changed dramatically as a terrifying possibility struck him: "Oh no, the mastermind is hiding nearby!" Given the mastermind's strength, he wouldn't fear the Qilin Immortal obtaining the nascent form of the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao Fruit at all!

"Heh heh, you're quite quick to react, junior."

A large black hand suddenly appeared next to Lu Yang, attempting to snatch the nascent form of the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao Fruit.

"How dare you!"

The Qilin Immortal reacted instantly, clashing palms with the black hand. The resulting shockwave from their collision blew both Lu Yang and the Central Heavenly Emperor away—the only difference being one was flung further, the other closer. The Qilin Immortal fared no better; unable to match the black hand's owner in power, he was directly sent flying.

A figure shrouded in black mist slowly emerged. He had been there all along, unnoticed by anyone!

"Qilin, it seems after 300,000 years, your abilities have grown a tiny bit. If this were before, you would have flown even further from my palm strike than you did just now."

As the figure chuckled, the black mist constantly shifted its form.

The Qilin Immortal flew out from the rubble, shaking off debris, and stared intently at the figure, roaring out his identity.

"The mastermind, the Sixth Immortal!"

The Qilin Immortal's palm throbbed faintly, but the broken bones quickly healed. The 'Survival of the Fittest' Dao Fruit also had another effect: one would become stronger after defeating an enemy. His current state was even more powerful than when he fought the Emperor, arguably the peak of his life, yet he still couldn't withstand a single palm strike from the mastermind!

The mastermind chuckled nonchalantly, "Immortal is still recovering from serious injuries. Do you truly believe you alone can protect the nascent form of the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao Fruit?"

"How would I know if I don't try!" The Qilin Immortal transformed back into his true form, roaring as he stepped on the heavens, his Qilin eyes bloodshot. As much as he hated his past self from 300,000 years ago, that's how much he wished to kill the mastermind!

"Who exactly are you!" The Immortal Fairy, abandoning her usual laziness, demanded of the black mist figure. She tried to penetrate the black mist with her divine sense but was blocked.

The mastermind did not reply. His eyes, within the black mist, stared eerily at the Immortal Fairy, his voice like ancient, unmelting ice, filled with endless resentment: "Immortal, you are truly difficult to kill."

"I'm asking who you are!" The Immortal Fairy was enraged, her immense immortal consciousness causing the entire space to tremble.

"I'll tell you before you die!"

The mastermind instantly teleported in front of Lu Yang, attempting to snatch the nascent form of the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao Fruit. The Qilin Immortal had already anticipated this target and also used spatial magic to appear beside Lu Yang.

"You'll have to get past me first!" The Qilin Immortal opened his massive, blood-red maw and lunged to bite him!

The mastermind's expression also turned cold. He raised his hand, shattering the Qilin Immortal's teeth. "You don't know your place! How dare you interfere! What heavenly-born spirit beast? You're nothing but a fatherless, motherless beast!"