Chapter 121: Succession [Bonus Chapter 1 for Alliance Leader Young Prince Mu]

Zhou Yi felt incredibly astonished. The stone gave him a sensation of excitement and euphoria that was simply impossible to describe.

It was very similar to the feeling he had experienced when seeing the "stone egg" in the 2000 World, but this time, the peak of that euphoria and the subsequent wave of relief were far more intense. However, a sense of nervousness also made his heart skip a beat. Could this stone be an existence identical to the stone egg?

Zhou Yi took a deep breath and grabbed the stone egg. His palm felt somewhat scorching, but Zhou Yi was no longer the weakling he once was. This time, he didn't fling it away or howl in pain, though his expression was somewhat contorted.

The vulture was terrified. Seeing Zhou Yi’s expression, which looked as if he were about to die, it hopped back and forth several times. However, after tilting its head to observe and seeing that Zhou Yi was merely in pain without crying out, it quickly stopped, fearing it might interrupt him, and crouched down in front of Zhou Yi.

Time ticked by, second by second. It was unclear how much time had passed before Zhou Yi finally emerged completely from that state of painful pleasure.

He opened his eyes. It was no longer the stone chamber, but the seaside again. However, there was now a pavilion by the shore, and inside the pavilion sat a rocking chair.

Zhou Yi sighed. No wonder he hadn't felt much; it was obvious that the stone he had just obtained had once again served as a supplement for the stone egg. Even with the pavilion and the chair, Zhou Yi didn't sit down. He remained sitting cross-legged on the sand, glancing at the stone forest piled with statues.

He could clearly feel that the scale of the stone forest had grown, and the range he could see along the coast seemed to have expanded as well. It was no longer entirely blocked by mist, and he could see some reefs, though the sea remained pitch black, stretching endlessly beyond sight.

Zhou Yi was completely baffled. This newly obtained stone egg felt much better to touch than the original one. Although the Black-Robed State Preceptor had obtained it, she seemed to have only stored it away beneath her wedding dress—as if it were a treasure to be kept at the bottom of a chest. If she had been able to absorb or utilize it, she certainly wouldn't have just kept it there.

This stone chamber must have been built by the Black-Robed State Preceptor behind the old hag’s back. No woman could help but fantasize about the day she would wear a wedding dress. Even after becoming a living corpse and being exploited by her master, even as the favorite concubine of the Emperor of Liang, she had never taken the dress out, which only proved she didn't love him, even though the Emperor was obsessed with her to the point of madness.

"Heh, you useless wretch..."

Zhou Yi had already developed an immunity to this label. If it wanted to call him that, so be it. The entity possessed immense power; by comparison, he might indeed be considered subpar, yet it still had to cooperate with him. This psychological gap was truly hard to reconcile, but he had grown used to being called that.

Seeming to sense Zhou Yi’s thoughts, the voice breathed more heavily, as if it were about to get angry. Zhou Yi chuckled.

"You can't even handle that? You don't need to provoke me. Call me a useless wretch if you want; I understand. Your abilities are beyond my reach, and as a high-level powerhouse, it’s only natural for there to be a psychological gap. I don't know why you're trapped inside a stone egg, but since we're working together, tell me, who are you exactly? If I return to Base 72, will you be detected?"

The voice fell silent. Zhou Yi didn't rush it; this matter was truly critical. If he walked through the door and was found to be carrying a person—whether they belonged to the Hunter Clan or the base—forget about a reward; death would be the best-case scenario.

"No... it wouldn't happen before, and it certainly... won't... after..."

Zhou Yi blinked. He recalled returning to the base from the 2000 World; nothing had happened then, even though he had been carrying the stone egg at the time, and Carter hadn't detected a thing.

It seemed this fellow was telling the truth. Having just absorbed that stone, the voice sounded even lazier. Still, there must be a reason why it was imprisoned here.

Sure enough, after a moment, the voice spoke again, sounding as if it were struggling to hold on:

"I am going to absorb the other... spirit stone. I need to enter... a deep sleep. You, you... useless wretch... don't die..."

Zhou Yi was stunned. Then, his vision blurred, and he was abruptly ejected from that environment.

Outside the stone door, the sky had already dimmed. The vulture was crouching in front of him, its head resting against his leg. Sensing that he had regained consciousness, it quickly jumped up.

Zhou Yi took a deep breath. Had that fellow overextended itself after absorbing the spirit stone, or was it unable to digest it fully? It had simply fallen asleep, which was why he had been cast out of that space. But who exactly was that voice? Why did it need spirit stones to recover? Cheng Zhi and the fatty had both touched the stone egg, yet they hadn't reacted at all. Did it have to choose its host? Was it something not everyone could withstand?

Zhou Yi subconsciously touched the mark on his chest. The vulture jumped back in alarm, staring at his chest, seemingly very wary of the mark. Zhou Yi remembered that the old sect leader had used this Demon-Suppressing Array to trap the Black-Robed State Preceptor, and afterward, everything had turned to dust. The vulture must have witnessed that, hence its fear of the mark. Zhou Yi quickly straightened his clothes and walked out of the stone chamber.

There was no need to take anything else; the phoenix coronet and robes were better left here. Throwing out the teleportation disk, Zhou Yi stood on it and looked at the vulture. Riding it would take too long; this was much faster.

"Hurry up, I'm taking you to Mount Qingcheng!"

The silly bird tilted its head, then hopped over to stand beside Zhou Yi. It wasn't entirely foolish, after all.

Zhou Yi tapped the control panel and entered the destination. A white dome instantly enveloped the teleportation disk. The vulture shivered, pressing tightly against Zhou Yi, emitting a constant humming sound. A moment later, a jolt beneath their feet signaled the arrival, and the dome vanished. Zhou Yi grabbed the bird’s wing and stepped off quickly, the teleportation disk flying back into his hand.

Looking at Mount Qingcheng before him, Zhou Yi patted the bird’s head.

"Go on, carry me over."

The vulture didn't protest. It flapped its wings, lowered its body, and Zhou Yi jumped onto its back. It soared high and then dove, landing with a shriek in front of the main deliberation hall.

Zhou Yi laughed. The vulture certainly knew a lot; this series of maneuvers was quite impressive and carried a certain air of distinction. As soon as he landed, Sophia and the others rushed out. Zhou Yi glanced behind the three of them and raised an eyebrow.

"Ye Qing and the others didn't return?"

Sophia shook her head.

"At this distance, they'll likely arrive by midnight at the earliest. By the way, a flying crane arrived from the capital."

Zhou Yi’s expression tightened. It was clearly from Xu Shiqing. Could something have happened with the Prince of Wu?

"What did it say?"

"National mourning in the capital. The Emperor of Liang has died suddenly. It is said that for the sake of border stability, the Prince of Wu has ascended the throne. He posthumously honored the late sect leader of Mount Qingcheng as the 'Master of Cultivated Seclusion' and appointed Xu Shiqing as the Chief of the Imperial Medical Academy."

Zhou Yi grunted, stroked the vulture’s head, and looked toward the direction of the capital.

"Two things: first, he accepts the late sect leader’s actions, giving Mount Qingcheng a legitimate status; second, he is limiting the development of Mount Qingcheng. From now on, forget about immortality—they are to focus honestly on medical arts."

The fatty grinned, nudged Cheng Zhi with his shoulder, and leaned in.

"How about that? I told you the boss would say exactly that. Well, we can't help with medical arts, and immortality isn't our specialty. We've pretty much scavenged everything we can from this world. When are we leaving?"

Zhou Yi looked around but didn't answer. He walked into the hall, went to the desk, picked up a brush, and wrote a letter. He packed it away and wiped his hands.

"While they haven't returned yet, it is time for us to leave."

Zhou Yi nodded.

"I witnessed the sect leader’s passing, and I wanted to investigate primarily to understand the connection between that Demon-Suppressing Array and this mark of mine—why they are identical. Since I fulfilled his request, we have honored his final wish. Are we really supposed to just waste our time here?"

Everyone shook their heads. Cheng Zhi blinked and stepped forward.

"It’s not that we want to waste time here, but we had hoped to stay a few more days. We could practice, or at least refine our techniques. After last night’s battle, we realized just how inadequate we are. Besides, we’re all carrying injuries; it wouldn't be unreasonable to recover here, would it?"

Zhou Yi’s gaze fell on Sophia, and he realized her complexion was deathly pale. It seemed that even with her cyborg skeletal structure, she was still at a disadvantage in this world, and her injuries truly needed attention.

"Very well. Returning to the base would just mean recuperating in our rooms anyway. Let’s gather some supplies and head to the Five Elements Tomb."

Sophia nodded; this was the most reliable suggestion. Leaving Mount Qingcheng was the best course of action for both the Prince of Wu and Ye Qing’s group. Whether they claimed to have ascended as immortals or perished alongside the Nether Mountain, it would allow the Prince of Wu to be at ease, and Ye Qing and the others could live on in peace.