Undying Life

Chapter 860: Chapter 860: Su Daji

"Those who tamper with the will of Heaven shall die! Die, die, die, die, die, die, die～～～～～～～～～～～～～!"

The seven successive "die" words resounded with an infinite sense of despair. The voice was grand and heartrending, filled with sorrow. It was a woman's voice, one that should have been beautiful, yet now only exuded grief.

The voice was ethereal, seemingly emanating from everywhere and nowhere, as if the entire world was filled with this mournful cry.

In this boundless world, with no end in sight, where could the tomb of the ancient immortal be found?

"Zhong Shan, did you hear that? 'Those who tamper with the will of Heaven shall die'?" Princess Nine Tails frowned.

"You heard it too?" Zhong Shan raised an eyebrow.

"What's so strange about that?" Princess Nine Tails replied with a disdainful look.

Suddenly, Princess Nine Tails opened her small mouth, and from it emerged a small bead emitting a faint white glow. The bead floated in the air, looking extremely mysterious.

"What is this?"

"This is what we retrieved over a month ago. It was left to me by my father. As expected, it comes in handy here!" Princess Nine Tails looked at the bead with excitement.

The bead floated in the air, then suddenly shot towards the north.

"Chase it!" Princess Nine Tails exclaimed with delight.

The two of them sped northward, flying for an entire day. The surroundings were still shrouded in a mist of blood, with indistinguishable directions. This ancient immortal's secret realm was vast beyond measure.

After a day, Zhong Shan suddenly felt a heavy weight on his heart, an inexplicable emotion washing over him.

Zhong Shan's pupils contracted. Despite his firm resolve, he was affected by this inexplicable emotion: sorrow, despair, and self-pity.

He immediately steeled his mind.

Just as they flew over a towering mountain, a hundred thousand miles high.

"Zhong Shan, look!" Princess Nine Tails exclaimed.

In the distance, a gigantic plaza came into view, with a towering mountain and a massive stone tablet at its center.

One side of the mountain had a huge gate, with a colossal fox relief protruding from it.

The massive fox had nine tails, which seemed to dance with the heavens, exuding a dominating presence.

The face of the nine-tailed fox was split down the middle by the giant gate, with its left eye emitting a faint white glow, while its right eye was missing its pupil.

A pupil?

The bead left to Princess Nine Tails by her father shot towards the right eye of the nine-tailed fox with incredible speed.

"Snap!"

Zhong Shan swiftly flew forward, catching the white bead in his hand, preventing it from entering the fox's eye.

"Zhong Shan, what are you doing?" Princess Nine Tails asked in confusion.

"Let's take a closer look first. We'll insert the bead into the nine-tailed fox's eye later," Zhong Shan said solemnly.

"Alright," Princess Nine Tails nodded.

The two of them inspected the plaza. It appeared ordinary, with the secrets likely hidden within the mountain at the center and the stone tablet.

"What does the stone tablet say? Could it be the name of the ancient immortal?" Princess Nine Tails asked, moving to the other side of the tablet to read it.

Zhong Shan, holding the white bead, walked over as well.

As he stood before the stone tablet, Zhong Shan read the inscription, his face suddenly changing, his heart pounding wildly.

The stone tablet bore a vertical inscription:

"Those who tamper with the will of Heaven shall die! Goddess Nuwa, die! Saint Zhunti, die! Saint Jieyin, die! Saint Tongtian, die! Saint Yuanshi, die! Saint Taishang, die! Ancestor Hongjun, die! Die, die, die, die, die, die, die!"

The seven "die" characters referred to these seven saints. The blood rain striking the stone tablet added an ancient and desolate aura to it.

The fall of the seven saints? The death of the saints?

It was said that these seven saints had fallen long ago, but no one knew how they had died. Was it because they tampered with the will of Heaven?

Zhong Shan was deeply shocked. These seven great saints were not only known in the Fengzhong Territory; Zhong Shan had heard of them even in his childhood on Earth. Their primordial spirits were said to reside in the void, undying and indestructible. But upon arriving in the Great Thousand World, he learned that they had died, though no one knew how.

The fall of the seven saints? Tampering with the will of Heaven?

"Zhong Shan, is what this tablet says true?" Princess Nine Tails asked, her voice tinged with horror.

"I don't know!" Zhong Shan shook his head in shock.

"Aren't you a Saint King? How can you not know this?" Princess Nine Tails pouted.

Zhong Shan, though speechless, focused more on the mountain at the center of the plaza. What lay within it? Who was this ancient immortal?

With a heavy heart, Zhong Shan approached the stone gate.

He gently pressed the white glowing bead into the fox's eye.

"Boom～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～!"

A thunderous roar echoed from the sky as a blood-red lightning bolt struck the peak of the mountain.

"Rumble!"

With a deep rumble, the grand hall slowly opened. Inside, it was pitch black, like the entrance to another small space.

Before Zhong Shan could stop her, Princess Nine Tails stepped in, and he could only follow closely behind.

They found themselves in a starry environment, with projections of countless stars all around. In the void ahead, there was a colossal figure.

A thousand-zhang tall fox. No, it was the skeleton of a fox.

A thousand-zhang tall fox skeleton sat in the void, with nine long tails extending from its back—a nine-tailed fox, a supreme demon fox.

An immense pressure emanated from the skeleton, making it hard for Zhong Shan to breathe.

A sense of ancient and profound weight.

This was the skeleton of a nine-tailed fox, a true nine-tailed fox?

It had long turned into this skeletal form, utterly dead.

But eerie things happen when least expected. Just as they realized the nine-tailed fox skeleton was indeed dead, its eyes suddenly emitted a faint green glow.

The moment the green light appeared, Zhong Shan's great blade, 'Changsheng,' was already in his hand. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as he stared at the enormous nine-tailed fox skeleton.

"The secret realm has opened, and all that remains of me is this pile of bones. Sigh! Hundreds of thousands of years... my lingering consciousness has finally been rewarded. At last, I can find relief."

From the skeletal remains of the nine-tailed fox, a woman's voice suddenly echoed, filled with both relief and sorrow.

"Who are you?" Princess Nine Tails asked nervously.

"Me? I've long forgotten the name I had as a member of the fox clan. My soul once possessed a woman. My name is...," the lingering consciousness seemed to be lost in memories.

"My name is Su Daji!" The voice seemed to be caught in a beautiful reminiscence.

"Su Daji?" Princess Nine Tails appeared unfamiliar with the name.

But Zhong Shan's pupils contracted sharply upon hearing it. Su Daji? The infamous Su Daji who brought ruin to the country? It couldn't be!

Su Daji was supposed to be dead, wasn't she? No, what was killed was her human body. She mentioned her soul once possessed a woman.

"Are you the new Nine-Tails?" Su Daji's lingering consciousness asked in confusion.

"I am the Princess Nine Tails of the Qingqiu Taichu Holy Court!" Princess Nine Tails declared directly.

"To have fallen to such a state, Heaven's retribution can be escaped, but self-inflicted sins are inescapable. My Lady, is this the result you desired?" Su Daji's voice was filled with resentment and sorrow.

"Sins? My Lady? Are you referring to the sins of Nuwa?" Princess Nine Tails frowned.

"Do not be disrespectful to My Lady!" Su Daji's voice turned angry.

"Uh!" Princess Nine Tails was left speechless. Zhong Shan, meanwhile, remained silent.

"New Nine-Tails, you haven't received the inheritance of the previous Nine-Tailed Sky Foxes. Let me pass it on to you across generations. Remember, you are the supreme of the fox clan, commanding all foxes under heaven!" Su Daji said solemnly.

"Uh?" Princess Nine Tails frowned slightly and glanced at Zhong Shan, as if not wanting him to know this secret of the fox clan.

Seeing Princess Nine Tails' expression, Zhong Shan felt a bit helpless. Did she need to look at him like that? He had guessed as much from the first day he heard the name 'Nine Tails.'

"Zhong Shan, go outside and guard for me!" Princess Nine Tails said.

Zhong Shan gave the enormous skeletal remains of Su Daji a deep look and nodded. "Alright, I'll wait outside and do my best to fend off intruders. But if the Chess Saint of Demons and Spirits comes, I won't be able to stop them!"

"Okay!" Princess Nine Tails nodded, taking out three items with a flip of her hand: a necklace, a ring, and a set of women's gauze clothing.

"These three great celestial artifacts are for you. Stop everyone except the Chess Saint of Demons and Spirits!" Princess Nine Tails ordered.

"Understood!" Zhong Shan nodded, slowly retreating.

As he left, Zhong Shan gave Su Daji one last look. He could sense that Su Daji seemed to have more to say but refrained due to his presence.

Let's wait a bit longer then. Why had she preserved that last trace of consciousness for hundreds of thousands of years?

"Boom!"

The doors closed with a thunderous sound.

Standing in the plaza, Zhong Shan looked at the three great celestial artifacts in his hand and felt a bit embarrassed. Other scattered cultivators might go through great lengths for a single celestial artifact, but Princess Nine Tails handed him three at once.

Three great celestial artifacts? How were they supposed to be used? Zhong Shan knew how to refine them, but what then? Women's gauze clothing? A necklace? A ring?

The thought of himself wearing women's gauze clothing and accessories in battle gave Zhong Shan a shudder.

No matter. After all, Princess Nine Tails had a grand family background. The Eight Extremities Heavenly Tail suddenly appeared and swallowed the three celestial artifacts. Then it returned to Zhong Shan's Niwan Palace.

The vast energy quickly got absorbed, with the Eight Extremities Heavenly Tail converting a large amount of it and infusing it into Zhong Shan's body.

Zhong Shan closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, fully enhancing his cultivation. After a stick of incense's time, Zhong Shan opened his eyes again, a look of speechlessness flashing in them.

Three great celestial artifacts had only raised his cultivation by one tier? Celestial Immortal Fourth Tier?

Just the fourth tier of Celestial Immortal required three great celestial artifacts. How would he manage in the future?

As Zhong Shan pondered his future cultivation challenges, a massive purple thunderbolt descended from the sky, aiming straight for him with a deadly force.