Chapter 143: Praying for the Immortal to Show Himself-After Swapping Bodies with the Obsessed Grandmaster, My Inner Thoughts Were Overheard!(Sea Salt Boba Tea)

The Fire-Devouring Stone grew much more energetic once it located Ning Xianyu.

However, Xuanwei Tunhan still felt that it was acting overly excited. Could something unusual have happened over there?

Instead of rushing off, he continued to roam the mountains until he finally discovered a strange location.

A barrier had been set up here; if he hadn’t stumbled upon it by chance, he never would have noticed its existence.

Even while standing right here, he occasionally doubted whether his judgment was correct, because the barrier was set up with such a high level of sophistication that even he found it difficult to detect.

Yet, determining its truth was simple—a single strike would reveal it.

Xuanwei Tunhan swung his sword, feeling as though he hadn’t hit anything at all.

That sword strike actually bypassed the barrier, passing straight through it.

Yet, this very fact confirmed to him that a barrier indeed existed here.

That made things much easier.

Xuanwei Tunhan put away his sword, continuously forming hand seals in the surrounding air. Before long, the barrier shattered.

He stepped directly into the cave and soon caught the refreshing, unique scent belonging to Ning Xianyu.

This was a fragrance possessed by her alone; there was no mistaking it.

He also found some food scraps on the ground—the fried fish that Ning Xianyu had pilfered from the Yuxian Sect, which only she would have.

More importantly, he discovered the Universe Sword inside.

Had this woman lost her sword?

Did she carelessly drop it out of fear of death, or was she forced to abandon it?

Xuanwei Tunhan kept the sword on him and searched deeper inside, finding several discarded human skins in the depths of the cave.

"Xiahou Fang?"

It turned out to be him?

Xuanwei Tunhan retrieved the Fire-Devouring Stone and commanded, "Let's go, quickly."

Though he did not know why Xiahou Fang had captured Ning Xianyu, nor why he had brought her to the East Bank, it certainly wasn't anything good, and he certainly wasn't planning to treat her like an honored guest.

This woman only ever knew how to cause trouble.

When he caught her back this time, he would make sure to see if she dared to run around blindly again.

Xuanwei Tunhan flew swiftly toward the East Bank, determined to snatch her back before Xiahou Fang could kill her.

Meanwhile, Ning Xianyu was currently observing the body of the female emperor—or to be precise, the female emperor who had not yet completely died.

"It feels like only an empty shell is left."

The female emperor had been hidden within the grand tutor's estate, where renowned physicians were secretly summoned to treat her, but to no avail.

Ning Xianyu had eavesdropped on them earlier. The grand tutor, who had been severely beaten and was lying facedown on the bed, was still racking his brains over how to save the emperor.

He was already contemplating inviting immortals or gifted commoners from the mortal realm.

No matter what, he had to revive the emperor.

"Fengniang has gotten too bold; she dared to defy me after pretending for only a single day. This woman cannot be kept. If the emperor cannot be saved, we will simply have to find a replacement."

The grand tutor was consumed with worry while lying there reading memorial reports from various regions. Whenever he moved slightly, his backside would ache terribly.

Ning Xianyu now felt a tinge of guilt, realizing she had hit the wrong person. She took out a drop of immortal dew and let it fall onto his backside to ease the pain somewhat.

Only, she had forgotten just how potent the immortal dew was. The grand tutor merely felt a coolness on his backside, initially suspecting the roof was leaking, followed by the complete vanishing of the pain.

Then, he tentatively touched the spot, stood up, moved around, and even hopped twice.

"I—I have recovered?"

How could this be?

After a moment of stunned reflection, the grand tutor suddenly dropped to his knees. "I beg the immortal to save the emperor of our Yulai Kingdom! I beg the immortal to manifest a miracle! The emperor of our Yulai Kingdom is diligent and loves her people; she does not deserve such a calamity!"

Ning Xianyu stood right behind him, watching his backside kowtow toward her.

Honestly, why was he kneeling? She hadn't intended to help at all.

Being a shrewd man, the grand tutor feared he might be bowing in the wrong direction, so he spun around and kowtowed toward all eight cardinal directions until his forehead was bruised and bleeding.

Tsk, what absolute sincerity.

Ning Xianyu thought that intervening wouldn't hurt—who knows, perhaps the emperor really had fallen victim to some artifact from the cultivation world.

Only then did she go to examine the female emperor, only to be startled to find that the female emperor's soul was gone.

Lacking a soul was precisely why she looked like a corpse.

Could her soul have been swallowed by the stone beneath Peace Lake?

Yet, according to the people of the Yulai Kingdom, Peace Lake within the Summer Palace was a wonderful place that was warm in winter and cool in summer, and supposedly possessed healing properties.

Such a marvelous spot had never experienced any mishaps over all these years; why would it suddenly start devouring human souls?

Ning Xianyu decided to go and take a look.

Guided by the palace maid's directions, she headed to Peace Lake.

Xiahou Fang was right here.

He was engaged in a very peculiar exercise.

He dashed into the lake, got bounced right back out; dashed in again, and got bounced right back out.

It seemed he was having a great time, completely ignoring her, his captive.

"Senior Xiahou, what are you playing at?"

Why was he so mesmerized?

Seeing her arrive, Xiahou Fang immediately walked over. "Try it. There is something wrong with this lake."

Not wishing to plunge in rashly, Ning Xianyu asked him what on earth was going on.

Xiahou Fang said, "One cannot enter this lake. There seems to be a layer of a barrier on top that repels people."

He found it utterly baffling—why could a mortal female emperor enter, yet he could not?

Without waiting for Ning Xianyu to reply, he suddenly remembered something. "Right, you possess the Universe Sword. That sword can shatter any barrier. Come here and open the barrier."

Ning Xianyu spread her hands. "Isn't the sword with you?"

As if only just remembering, Xiahou Fang rummaged through his robes for a moment. "I left the sword in my cave dwelling."

Ning Xianyu sighed helplessly. "Then there is nothing we can do. Besides, the moment the Universe Sword is drawn, do you really think Xuanwei Tunhan won't notice?"

Xiahou Fang looked deeply annoyed. "That sword cannot be stored in a storage pouch, nor can its aura be concealed or altered, so this deity had no choice but to leave it in the cave."

If he had known, he would have brought it along.

After a brief thought, he said, "You go and try."

He ordered Ning Xianyu to jump down and test the waters, reasoning that perhaps this barrier only kept men out while letting women pass, and maybe she could descend.

Ning Xianyu retorted, "I went to check on the emperor, and her soul is missing. What if this barrier absorbs women's souls instead?"

If she went down, she would cease to exist.

At that moment, the system chimed in: [Absorption is actually a good thing. You haven't made your wish yet; once absorbed, you can effortlessly shed this mortal shell without leaving a trace, and then I will take you away.]

[Why don't you become that female emperor? Switch over to her body and rule as empress for a few decades. No one dares to meddle with mortal sovereigns due to the immense karmic backlash; that way, you can live in peace for decades before resuming your path to immortality.]

Being an emperor in peace for decades actually sounded rather pleasant.

[But the female emperor isn't dead yet! If her soul is still lingering, doing that would be tantamount to soul-seizing. If her soul has dissipated, I'll gladly take over her vessel.]

The system agreed, "Alright, let's settle on that. Go down and check whether the female emperor's soul is still there."

Xiahou Fang cared not a whit whether her soul would be absorbed; his sole concern was her outer shell.

"Get down there. Stop chattering."

"Fine, I'm going. Why must you be so fierce?"

Muttering and dragging her feet, Ning Xianyu walked to the lakeside, tested the water temperature with her foot, and then slowly waded in.

Xiahou Fang froze for a second.

Ah. Why had he been trying to dive in? Why hadn't he just walked in?

He also attempted to step into the water, and this time, he walked right in without obstruction.

So this lake required one to walk in rather than fly in using immortal techniques. Such a simple restriction had actually made a fool of him.

A blush crept onto Xiahou Fang's aged face.