Everlasting Immortal Firmament

Book 08 Chapter 029: Long Aotian’s Unexpected Gain

“Long Shenying, come here!” Gu Hai suddenly called out.

“Yes!” Long Shenying lunged forward, his eyes flashing with anticipation. Did Gu Hai intend to give him the zombie ancestor seed, making him the wind-attributed zombie ancestor?

Not far away, the forlorn Long Aotian was holding the shattered remains of Dijiang.

The wind-attributed zombie ancestor seed was gone, and his Dijiang incarnation was destroyed. Everything was lost.

Filled with resentment, he watched Gu Hai and Long Shenying. He understood that although Gu Hai seemed gravely injured, he was no match for Gu Hai, especially with his father standing nearby. His hopes for the zombie ancestor seed were dashed.

His father had been called over; was his father about to become the wind-attributed zombie ancestor?

Long Shenying was indeed filled with anticipation.

Gu Hai’s hand hovered over the zombie ancestor seed, but his expression flickered. He looked at the nearby Long Aotian, and his eyes flashed with determination as if he had come to a decision.

“Long Shenying, if we decide to give this wind-attributed zombie ancestor seed to Long Aotian now, will you object?” Gu Hai asked solemnly.

“Ah?” Long Shenying, Long Aotian, and Houqing all gaped in disbelief.

Are you kidding? You want to give the zombie ancestor seed to Long Aotian at this time?

Houqing had no say in the matter and could only let others make arrangements.

Long Aotian was utterly baffled. Has Gu Hai gone mad? He’s giving me the zombie ancestor seed now? Is this real or fake?

Despite his doubts, Long Aotian’s heart pounded with anticipation. He even looked anxiously at his father, Long Shenying, because Gu Hai wanted Long Shenying’s opinion.

A zombie ancestor seed, given away so easily?

Long Shenying was completely bewildered.

However, seeing Gu Hai’s determined eyes, he understood that Gu Hai had decided.

“I will follow Your Reverence’s decision!” he said with utmost respect, despite his reluctance.

“Then come here, Long Aotian!” Gu Hai shouted.

Long Aotian gazed at Gu Hai in shock. Had this happened previously, he would have ignored Gu Hai’s command out of sheer annoyance. But at this moment, Gu Hai’s words were like music to his ears.

“Imperial…Imperial Emperor Gu?” Long Aotian said with a hint of expectation.

“Long Shenying often calls you a rebellious son, accusing you of disobedience?” Gu Hai looked at Long Aotian.

Long Aotian was taken aback. Then he knelt before Long Shenying, begging, “Royal Father, forgive me. I was bewitched!”

“Forget it. I won’t interfere with your father-son matters. Do you want this wind-attributed zombie ancestor seed?” Gu Hai asked gravely.

“Is Imperial Emperor Gu truly willing to give it?” Long Aotian countered, uncertain.

“You may have it if you do three things,” Gu Hai replied, his voice sinking.

“Imperial Emperor Gu, just say it!” Long Aotian said, filled with excitement.

“The shattered Dijiang is useless. Extract the broken physical and spiritual souls from it and leave the remains!” Gu Hai instructed.

Whoosh!

Without hesitation, Long Aotian drove out the physical and spiritual souls from Dijiang’s remains and removed all his marks.

“Imperial Emperor Gu, two more things!” Long Aotian prompted eagerly.

“Whenever you see my Han Nation’s army, retreat and avoid conflict!” Gu Hai commanded.

“Certainly, Imperial Emperor Gu. Rest assured. I will never oppose the Han Imperial Dynasty again!” Long Aotian immediately responded.

“Very well, take the wind-attributed zombie ancestor seed!” Gu Hai said.

With that, Gu Hai collected the shattered Dijiang and pushed Houqing over.

“Is it truly mine? But there’s one more thing, isn’t there?” Long Aotian asked, incredulous.

“There’s one more thing, but I haven’t thought it through yet. I’ll tell you when I think of it,” Gu Hai replied gravely.

“Alright!” Long Aotian agreed, his excitement unabated.

He reached out and grabbed the wind-attributed zombie ancestor seed.

“Argh!” Houqing let out an agonized cry.

Boom!

With a fierce, merciless pull, Long Aotian suddenly extracted the seed.

Gusts of wind came from all directions, giving Long Aotian a sense of boundless power.

“Hah! Hahahaha! The wind-attributed zombie ancestor seed!” Long Aotian laughed triumphantly.

On the other hand, Houqing was in agony, clutching his head on the ground, devoid of strength. With the zombie ancestor seed gone, all his hopes were lost. Tears of regret flowed from his eyes.

Whoosh!

Gu Hai waved his hand, pulling Houqing into the Gu’s Immortal Firmament.

“Many…many thanks, Imperial Emperor Gu!” Long Aotian said, gripping the zombie ancestor seed tightly.

“You may leave,” Gu Hai said indifferently.

“Goodbye!” Long Aotian turned and flew away.

He did not want to stay a moment longer, eager to find a secluded place to refine the zombie ancestor seed quickly.

Watching his son leave with the zombie ancestor seed, Long Shenying forced a smile. “Your Reverence, my disobedient son may not keep his word!”

“We know,” Gu Hai said calmly.

“Ah?”

“Wanyu told us that the zombie ancestor seed must not be separated from the flesh for too long once activated, or it will weaken. We cannot preserve it, so we gave it to your son. Although rebellious, he is still your child, and blood is always trustworthy. Furthermore, since he is Dijiang’s reincarnation, his memories should soon recover, then…” Gu Hai’s eyes narrowed.

“Your Reverence, do you wish my son to create internal strife with Jiangchen?” Long Shenying asked in surprise, knowing well the enmity between Dijiang and Jiangchen.

“Internal strife? Not necessarily! We suspect the zombie ancestor seeds have differences. Houqing’s incompetence is one thing, but the wind-attributed zombie ancestor seed may inherently be slightly weaker, or perhaps it was not preserved properly in the past, possibly had left a body for too long after being activated. Your son might not cause much trouble in Jiangchen’s control, but this will preserve the seed, and it may prove useful in the future!” Gu Hai said in a serious voice.

“But…” Long Shenying gave a wry smile.

Why leave it to Long Aotian to preserve? I’m a zombie too, and I can become the wind-attributed zombie ancestor.

“Don’t worry,” Gu Hai reassured him. “We have a zombie ancestor seed for you.”

“Oh?” Long Shenying exclaimed, startled.

“You’ll know once you enter the Gu’s Immortal Firmament,” Gu Hai said calmly.

With a wave of his hand, the two of them entered the Gu’s Immortal Firmament together.

Inside the Gu’s Immortal Firmament, Gu Hai operated the True Flame Calabash, and the Sam?dhi True Flame began to burn Dijiang’s broken body. One day later, the remains had turned to ashes, revealing countless azure-brown fragments.

“Are these the fragments of the earth-attributed zombie ancestor seed?” Long Shenying’s eyes brightened. “Did Your Reverence have my unfilial son remove the broken physical and spiritual souls and the marks from Dijiang’s body to extract the purest earth-attributed zombie ancestor seed fragments?”

Gu Hai nodded and waved his hand.

Buzz!

The fragments came together and slowly formed a cracked seed.

With another wave, Gu Hai poured Mending Heaven Energy into the broken earth-attributed zombie ancestor seed.

The Mending Heaven Energy flowed like a torrential downpour for three full days and nights. Only then did he mend the zombie ancestor seed.

“You will remain in closed-door cultivation here and refine this zombie ancestor seed,” Gu Hai ordered solemnly.

“Alright!” Long Shenying agreed.

He reached out, took the zombie ancestor seed, and began his closed-door cultivation.

Then Gu Hai stepped out of the Gu’s Immortal Firmament.

With Mending Heaven Energy flowing into him over the past four days, his injuries had stabilized and stopped deteriorating.

Though he had spent four days in the Gu’s Immortal Firmament, it was but a moment outside.

Now, only Gu Hai remained in the entire valley.

The valley was peculiar, surrounded by an eight-trigram pattern that looked like an unactivated ritual array. The surrounding peaks resembled a dragon’s head, with the valley as its mouth.

Gu Hai looked at the bronze coffin nearby. Inside was a headless, armless, legless torso emitting faint black energy. He knew this was Chiyou’s corpse.

“First Brother, I was too late,” Gu Hai said, a bitter taste in his mouth.

The once-mighty Chiyou was now dismembered?

He looked around but did not rush to extract Chiyou’s body. He realized that the surrounding area was an unactivated ritual array. The key to activation was the corpse itself. If he moved it, the ritual array would activate.

After carefully observing for a while, he chose not to destroy anything lest he activate the ritual array prematurely.

Slowly, he withdrew from the dragon-mouth-like valley entrance.

Then, he opened the Gu’s Immortal Firmament, creating a suction, and pulled at the coffin.

As Chiyou’s corpse moved, the surrounding eight-trigram diagram suddenly lit up.

Next, a bright yellow light burst from the dragon-shaped mountain’s eyes, illuminating everything.

“Roar!”

With a mighty roar, the dragon-shaped mountain came to life and lunged at Gu Hai.

At the crucial moment, Gu Hai pulled hard with the Gu’s Immortal Firmament, sucking Chiyou’s corpse into it. However, the dragon-shaped mountain also moved extremely quickly.

It opened its maw to swallow him.

Gu Hai’s face paled, and he tried to retreat.

However, eight dragon heads appeared around him, each displaying one of the eight trigrams. They connected and swallowed everything.

The lifespan ritual array on Eight Trigram Mountain activated.

Earlier, Houqing and the eighty-one giants were only on defense. Now, the ritual array targeted Gu Hai.

Gu Hai could not escape in time. Eight Trigram Mountain sealed off the surroundings and instantly swallowed him.

The eight mouths locked, trapping Gu Hai in a pitch-black space.

Boom!

Blargh!

A loud report came from within, and Gu Hai spewed a mouthful of blood.

A powerful force nearly crushed Gu Hai.

“What is this force?” he cried out, panic in his voice.

The surrounding darkness offered no escape. His bones quivered under the immense spatial pressure. He would soon be crushed into a pulp if this continued.

He opened his Eyes of Life and Death but saw only darkness.

Without hesitation, he hid in the Gu’s Immortal Firmament.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The crushing force in the darkness immediately acted on the Gu’s Immortal Firmament. He could sense the Gu’s Immortal Firmament cracking.

“What terrifying power is this?” Gu Hai exclaimed in alarm.

“Brother-in-Law! Brother-in-Law!” Suddenly, Long Wanyu’s voice rang out in the Gu’s Immortal Firmament.

Gu Hai’s expression changed. He immediately waved his hand, bringing Long Wanyu to him.

Before all this, he had hidden Long Wanyu in the Gu’s Immortal Firmament for safety but allowed her to see everything outside.

“Wanyu, do you recognize this thing?” Gu Hai asked urgently.

“It’s the Eight Trigram Candle Dragon Ritual Array! I’ve seen Fuxi use it before. When the candle dragon closes its eyes, the world is destroyed! It’s a super ritual array made of eight hundred eighty-eight dragon veins. It’s horribly destructive!” Long Wanyu explained anxiously.

“How do we get out?” Gu Hai pressed.

“You can’t unless it releases you or you have the Candle Epoch Azure Lamp to light up the dark world. However, where would you get the Candle Epoch Azure Lamp at this time?” Long Wanyu replied, distressed.

“The Candle Epoch Azure Lamp? I have it!” Gu Hai said, surprised.