Chapter 970: The Face of Impermanence, Three Items

Seeing Qi Yuan, who had broken through to the True Immortal Realm, a flicker of surprise flashed through Shui Yunshan's eyes, though she had been waiting for a long time, but it quickly vanished.

Even when he was just a Mortal Cultivator, Shui Yunshan, who was at the Half-step Daluo Realm, had never looked down on him; instead, she had treated him with even greater caution.

Because Qi Yuan had always given her an unfathomable feeling, and now that he had undergone Ascension to become an Immortal, that feeling was even stronger than before.

Perhaps knowing that this man had created too many miracles beyond the imagination of ordinary people in the Primordial Era, Shui Yunshan deep down regarded him as an existence with heaven-reaching means, nearly omnipotent.

This inexplicable sense of trust had nothing to do with their respective cultivation levels, but rather stemmed from an ethereal sixth sense.

If not for this, Shui Yunshan would never have made a spur-of-the-moment decision upon seeing Qi Yuan for the first time to brew such a shocking gamble.

Had it been the previous Immortal Lord Yuan Wu, even with his noble status in the Daluo Realm, Shui Yunshan still wouldn't have spared him a glance, let alone risked the immense cost of exposure to conspire with him.

She knew very well that if this plan of substitution were exposed or failed, it would surely incite the fury of the entire Immortal Court. Not only would she and Qi Yuan be in dire straits, but even the Yuan Realm would be implicated, leading to a state of total hostility between the parties.

Once Tai Hao stabilized his Immortal Emperor Realm, even if just to establish authority, the first one he would strike would be the Yuan Realm…

Thinking of this, Shui Yunshan's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as she forced herself to suppress her inner tension, saying with a smile:

“Should this Empress first congratulate you on officially ascending to the True Immortal Realm, henceforth free from disaster and disease, enjoying longevity?”

At the True Immortal Realm, the immortal soul is nearly indestructible. As long as a Cultivator doesn't actively seek death by violating heavenly laws or provoking powerful enemies, they simply have no worries about their Lifespan running out. It isn't an exaggeration to say they enjoy longevity.

Of course, at the end of every era, the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth is often triggered. At that time, not only will Immortals be burdened by Karma and have their minds clouded, facing a great risk of falling, but even Immortal Emperors cannot remain detached.

This is the terror of the Great Tribulation; it's not something you can survive just by hiding away. Often, the more one fears death, the faster it comes.

When that time comes, the Qi of tribulation fills the world, and even Immortals will be deeply affected, involuntarily acting against normal logic and eventually sinking into the tribulation without realizing it, dying for no clear reason…

Facing Shui Yunshan's congratulations, Qi Yuan merely gave a faint smile and said seriously:

“We are old acquaintances, no need for such polite posturing. Tell me, what do I need to do now?”

Shui Yunshan raised a delicate eyebrow and said straightforwardly:

“You don't need to do too much. What is fake is fake; the more you do, the more flaws will appear.”

“From now on, you are this Empress's husband, Immortal Lord Tai Hao. Tomorrow, you will summon the various Immortals of the Immortal Court to Lingxiao Palace and announce your succession to the throne of Immortal Emperor!”

As she spoke, she flicked her sleeve, and a bronze mask with a unique design and an eerie aura flew out, landing steadily in Qi Yuan's hand:

“The reason this seat is having you replace Xuanyuan Hao is that the fellow himself is a hypocrite who likes to hide his head and show his tail, rarely revealing his true face. His subordinates are also accustomed to their master's style.”

“This mask is the Immortal Artifact, the Face of Impermanence, which Tai Hao once wore. Once put on, even a Daluo Immortal cannot peer at your true appearance.”

“Not only that, this Face of Impermanence can automatically change the voice you emit. To outsiders, they will only believe you are the true Tai Hao!”

Good heavens!

She could actually get her hands on something like this?

It seems he really had underestimated this Holy Empress before. At least in terms of preliminary preparations, she was definitely a god-tier teammate!

Qi Yuan gave Shui Yunshan a somewhat surprised look, then unhesitatingly took the Face of Impermanence into his hand.

“As for the cultivation aura emanating from your body…”

Seeing this, Shui Yunshan nodded and continued to instruct:

“This Empress has a Void Nether Pill here. After taking it, your aura can temporarily become indistinguishable from a Mortal who cannot Cultivate. Instead, this can be used to pass off fish eyes for pearls, creating an illusion of unfathomable cultivation!”

“Of course, taking this pill will produce some side effects. One of them is that it will zero out the Immortal power in your body, making it impossible to fight with others…”

Ah?

Hearing this, Qi Yuan was momentarily stunned, feeling quite enlightened.

Damn… as long as his cultivation was low enough, he could pretend to be 'unfathomable' in front of experts, right?

Doing it this way, even if those Immortals became suspicious, they often wouldn't be certain. They would only think their own level was insufficient to see through Xuanyuan Hao's true Realm.

After all, no one would believe that 'Tai Hao', who had broken through to the Immortal Emperor Realm, was just a Mortal with no Immortal power…

Wait!

Thinking of this, Qi Yuan suddenly paused and asked with a strange expression:

“Then why did you still have me ascend to become an Immortal? Since I'm going to pretend to be a Mortal anyway, wouldn't it be better to just do it directly?”

“How could it be that simple!”

Shui Yunshan glanced at him sideways and said crossly:

“Do you think this Empress wanted to wait for you to become an Immortal? Lingxiao Palace is protected by Restrictions left by Immortal Emperor Donghua. If you don't have an immortal soul and an immortal seat in your body, you can't even enter the gates of Lingxiao Palace, let alone be enthroned there.”

“So that's how it is.”

Qi Yuan nodded in realization, then waved his hand and said:

“No need for such trouble, I can just restrain myself a bit.”

With that said, with a thought, the aura on his body suddenly dropped rapidly and soon disappeared completely, like an ordinary person who couldn't Cultivate.

Qi Yuan possessed the [True Pretend to be a Pig to Eat the Tiger] talent. As long as he wished, no existence within the scope of the Heavenly Dao could see his true depths.

However, while the [True Pretend to be a Pig to Eat the Tiger] talent was useful, it could only adjust downwards and could not simulate higher Realms.

So he was currently in the True Immortal Realm and could not adjust his aura to the Golden Immortal or Daluo level; he could only suppress his outward Realm downwards.

Of course, this situation was perfectly understandable. The so-called [Pretend to be a Pig to Eat the Tiger] meant using this talent to appear weak to the enemy and mislead them; it had nothing to do with pretending to be a tiger to bluff people.

On the other side, seeing this scene, Shui Yunshan showed a look of astonishment and couldn't help but ask:

“You… how on earth did you do it? Even this Empress can't see any flaws!”

In order not to expose the existence of the System, Qi Yuan did not answer directly but smiled confidently and said:

“Don't worry about how I did it. I can keep my aura at this level and guarantee that no one will be able to tell.”

Then, he changed the subject:

“Besides these, is there anything else you need to instruct?”

Shui Yunshan gave him a deep look and did not pursue the matter further, but said seriously:

“Regarding Xuanyuan Hao's daily words, deeds, habits, and details, this Empress will specifically teach you later. I presume with your intelligence, you will learn quickly.”

“You must remember, after you become the Immortal Emperor in Tai Hao's name, you must obtain three things from the Immortal Emperors Treasury in the shortest possible time, and then you can retire after your success.”

Qi Yuan composed himself, and his expression gradually became serious:

“Which three things?”

At this moment, Shui Yunshan's face was solemn as she said word by word:

“A God-Slaying Platform, a heavenly emperor sword, and one… Chaos Bell!”