#966 · 966 of 1043
Chapter 966: Old Man Shi’s True Identity
Knowing that Old Man Shi needed something from him, Qi Yuan naturally didn't hold back and immediately asked about the doubt he had been harboring.
Since they wanted to cooperate, he couldn't very well not even know the true origins of his partner, could he?
At this moment, Qi Yuan had already made up his mind; unless this old fogey showed enough sincerity, he wouldn't make a deal with him, no matter how profitable it seemed.
Hearing this line of questioning, Old Man Shi immediately fell into silence. After a long while, he finally sighed as if in compromise and slowly recounted:
"Last time, this old man did not lie. In my previous life, I was indeed a Mahayana Cultivator. Because my Family was implicated in a vortex within the Immortal Realm, I was forced to flee to the Lower Realm."
"Unexpectedly, fate toyed with me. During my escape, I encountered a group of Immortals fighting. I perished on the spot under the aftershocks of their battle."
"I thought my path would end there in death, but by a strange stroke of luck, I activated a Supreme treasure of the Ghost Path that had been passed down through my Family for generations—the niean pagoda ring!"
"With this niean pagoda ring, this old man was able to switch to ghost cultivation. I ascended to the Northern Nether Ghost Prison as a Ghost Immortal and became a Ghost Messenger under the Ghost Emperor."
Speaking to this point, Old Man Shi paused, his tone carrying a hint of emotional sighing:
"I didn't expect that while I had mediocre talent and wasted my years as a living person, I would find smooth sailing in the Ghost Path as if helped by the heavens. In a mere hundred thousand years, I rose from an ordinary Ghost Immortal to the Yama Realm, which is equivalent to the Daluo Realm in the Immortal Court."
"At that time, I was highly valued in the Northern Nether Ghost Prison and was titled the Ghost Prison Prime Minister by the Ghost Emperor. I was truly below one ghost but above ten thousand, standing on equal footing with the Four Great Immortal Lords of the Immortal Court…"
Hearing Old Man Shi's "legendary experience," Qi Yuan couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly, his expression gradually becoming quite vivid.
Ghost Prison Prime Minister!
No wonder he could serve as a 'grandpa' mentor for the 'Child of Destiny.' This old guy truly had an extraordinary background and was hiding quite a few tricks up his sleeve.
In other words, Old Man Shi hadn't lied last time. That extremely miserable experience during his life was likely true, but he had held back, not disclosing his experiences after death.
…More importantly… going from a lucky loser on the roadside to a Ghost Immortal of the Daluo Realm was such a bizarre plot that it would be hard to even make up. Consequently, Qi Yuan actually started to believe him a little.
With Xiao Hei's help, he had once brushed up on common knowledge regarding the Immortal Realm, so he naturally knew what kind of existence the Northern Nether Ghost Prison was.
Although nominally under the leadership of the Immortal Court, the Northern Nether Ghost Prison had always been a self-contained system. It neither listened to proclamations nor followed orders, only occasionally offering some insignificant "River Styx local specialties" to the Immortal Emperor. It was essentially a power with the nature of a feudal lord.
It was said that the Ghost Emperor was once a close friend of Immortal Emperor Donghua before he attained the Dao. Under his command, ghosts stood in forests and experts were as numerous as clouds; he was only one step away from the Creation Realm.
According to the current rules of the Heavenly Dao, only one person in the Creation Realm is allowed to exist in the same time and space. The so-called Master of the Ghost Prison, the Ghost Emperor, was at most still at the Yama Realm Perfection, roughly similar in strength to Wu Miaozhen…
He just didn't know why, since Old Man Shi was clearly doing so well in the Northern Nether Ghost Prison and had completely found his second spring, he was later beaten back to his original form and relegated to the Lower Realm again?
Just as his thoughts were surging, Old Man Shi seemed to recall a certain unbearable and tragic experience, and his voice gradually deepened:
"Just as I ascended to the position of Prime Minister and felt infinitely glorious, one day I suddenly discovered that the originally wise and martial Ghost Emperor had somehow undergone a drastic change in Heart-Nature. He became tyrannical, suspicious, and capricious, acting without scruples and often killing his close and loyal subjects."
"After sensing something was wrong, I conducted a secret investigation and discovered that the Ghost Emperor was no longer the original Ghost Emperor. He seemed to have fallen into the scheme of a mysterious existence and became that person's Puppet."
"Later, I went through immense hardships and finally identified the Mastermind who harmed the Ghost Emperor—it was none other than Immortal Lord Tai Hao of the Immortal Court."
Speaking to this point, Old Man Shi's voice began to tremble, containing a thick sense of fear:
"And the true identity of Immortal Lord Tai Hao is actually the Reincarnation of Rahu, the leader of the Chaos Demon Gods!"
"The originally harmless-looking Tai Hao suddenly had his demonic nature Awakening and began setting up his board in the Immortal Realm, fighting for the Immortal Emperor's Dao Fruit with Immortal Lord Yuan Wu. This meant the Immortal Realm was about to fall into chaos, and the next Great Tribulation was not far off."
"Seeming to have discovered that I was investigating the truth, the Ghost Emperor controlled by Tai Hao publicly announced that I, the Prime Minister, intended to rebel, intending to silence me."
"Under layers of siege, I burned my entire ghost path cultivation and exhausted all my strength to escape back to the Lower Realm, leaving only a wisp of a remnant soul to linger on in the niean pagoda ring until I met Lin Kid…"
It was that Tai Hao fellow causing trouble again!
After listening to Old Man Shi's account, Qi Yuan finally understood the cause and effect, and the expression on his face became increasingly solemn.
Tai Hao had not only turned the Immortal Court into a one-man show, but even the Ghost Emperor of the Northern Nether Ghost Prison had become his Puppet. He was truly the boss of the Immortal Realm in name and fact, and in terms of power, he even faintly surpassed the previous Immortal Emperor!
By comparison, Immortal Lord Yuan Wu and his disciple seemed weak and isolated. It was no wonder they ended up in such a state…
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath, suppressed the many emotions in his heart, and asked:
"Since you say you were wronged, why didn't you follow Lin Zhen to the Immortal Realm to inform the other Ghost Immortals of the Northern Nether Ghost Prison about Tai Hao's conspiracy? Instead, you plan to hide in the Yuan Realm like a coward. Isn't that too pathetic?"
Old Man Shi gave a bitter laugh and replied in a faint tone:
"To tell you the truth, I originally planned to do that. However, from the moment I discovered Little Friend Lin's identity, I understood the attitude of that Great Figure…"
"Tai Hao is destined to be the final winner of the next Great Tribulation. Why should I try to stop a chariot with a mantis's arm and throw my life away for nothing!"
Immortal Emperor Donghua's attitude?
Qi Yuan frowned and asked impatiently:
"What do you mean by that?"
Old Man Shi sighed deeply:
"I once heard the Ghost Emperor say that although the Immortal Court's method of severing the three corpses is useful, it smacks of taking shortcuts and is destined not to be the grand Righteous Path."
"Although one can escape the constraints of the Heavenly Dao and transcend the world after severing the three corpses, it also results in one's self being incomplete, making it impossible to ever take another step forward."
"That Great Figure would rather perform this technique and simultaneously give up his own Dao Fruit just to seek a chance for early transcendence. This shows he is not optimistic about the future here and is unwilling to wait until his own cultivation reaches Perfection before acting…"
Hearing this, Qi Yuan had some realization in his heart.
In Old Man Shi's view, Immortal Emperor Donghua's various abnormal behaviors were clearly like abandoning everything to escape the upcoming Great Tribulation.
But for some reason, he didn't quite agree with this explanation. He always felt that the former Supreme of the Immortal Realm had other plans; otherwise, he wouldn't have left behind so many arrangements that seemed so meaningful.
Immortal Emperor Donghua had done so many things that were hard to explain with common logic. It couldn't possibly be just to screw over Immortal Lord Yuan Wu and his disciple, right?
Although he was skeptical in his heart, he remained calm on the surface and asked:
"Since you say the information about that Great Figure severing the three corpses is very important and can bring me huge benefits, what do I need to do to turn this illusory advantage into reality?"
"It's very simple."
Old Man Shi's voice carried a hint of seriousness:
"As long as you help me Reincarnate into the Yuan Realm, I will tell you who that Great Figure who severed the three corpses is, and at the same time teach you how to identify the [true self] reward body. When that time comes, two choices will be laid before you."
"First, find that [true self] reward body and then facilitate their reunion into one, creating a super expert with peerless power to protect your future path."
"Second, contribute the [Good and Evil] corpses as a token of loyalty to Tai Hao, thereby joining the winner's camp and from then on rising rapidly and having no worries…"
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