Chapter 2480: It’s All Fated

“May I ask your master’s name?” Zu An asked.

“My master is my master. There’s no need for so many questions.” The boy rolled his eyes and ignored them. He fed a pill to the octopus head.

In the blink of an eye, the 'adorable' octopus head suddenly grew dozens of tentacles, reverting to its state before it was injured.

Zu An and the others were astonished. They couldn’t believe a pill could be so potent as to allow for instantaneous full recovery. On top of that, the way the boy casually fed the pill to his pet suggested that he didn’t consider it valuable.

Zu An discreetly told the two ladies, “Looks like the Purple Ganoderma Cliff is a feint; the true Firecloud Cave lies here.”

The sudden appearance of an island here spoke volumes. A highly profound formation had to have been constructed around it, such that outsiders wouldn’t have noticed anything amiss even if they passed by this place a thousand times.

Even Zu An, despite his mastery of formations, had only noticed the formation when the other party revealed it.

Besides, where else could a boy casually bring out a miraculous recovery medicine aside from the medically-renowned Firecloud Cave?

The Mermaid Queen had also arrived at the same conclusion. After seeing how difficult the boy and the octopus monster were, she worried that they couldn’t secure the Firecloud Cave’s help.

The Peacock Princess replied telepathically, “That distant cliff looks familiar, but I don’t remember seeing this boy the last time I came here.”

The Mermaid Queen burst into laughter. “You were still young. That boy might not have been born yet.”

Those words weren't necessarily accurate. In the cultivation world, judging a person’s age by their appearance could lead to grossly inaccurate estimates. For instance, a boy could be older than a white-haired old man. However, the boy didn’t seem to belong to that category.

The boy led the three of them to the island. Mysterious flowers and herbs were scattered around the island, emanating a faint fragrance.

They entered a quiet mountainous path, filled with verdant pine trees and luxuriant green bamboos. Soft emerald grass was coated with glistening dew, and ancient trees of unknown age towered overhead. Stone piles resembled prowling tigers, and the old vines hanging on the trees resembled snakes.

Taking in these details, Zu An told the two ladies that they were walking through a highly profound formation. Had they barged in, these stones and vines would have transformed into ferocious tigers and snakes to attack them.

The crimson cliffs along the way seemed to contain immortal silhouettes. A group of lotuses floated at the bottom of the mountain stream, and their fragrance was discernible even from a great distance. The spring water that splashed on them emanated iridescent light reminiscent of gemstones.

Those lotuses had to be rare treasures. Had they encountered them elsewhere, the trio would have dove right in to harvest them.

The boy brought them to a cave shrouded in iridescent light. Mysterious birds danced amid the clouds.

The Mermaid Queen exclaimed in astonishment, “There’s a melody to their chirping! I wonder if someone trained them, or if they were born with such ability.”

To astound someone as musically talented as the Mermaid Queen, this place was truly extraordinary.

The boy dropped his arrogant attitude and respectfully bowed. “Master, I have brought them here.”

Zu An and the others also bowed toward the cave. “Necropolis (Mermaid Queen/ Peacock Princess) pays respect to the master of the land.”

“Necropolis...” A chuckle came from inside. The person seemed to have found the name interesting,

Zu An looked at the cave.

Does he know who the Necropolis Emperor is?

He was curious to know what the other party looked like, but the person had neither left the cave nor invited them in. He tried to extend his divine sense into the cave, but something about the cave prevented it from reaching inside.

“Forgive my discourtesy. It’s not convenient for me to meet outsiders,” the old voice inside the cave said.

The Peacock Princess’ eyes lit up. “I remember it now! This is the Firecloud Cave. I came here once when I was younger!”

The old voice chuckled. “Ah, it’s Little Peacock. You have grown so big in the blink of an eye.”

The boy stared at the Peacock Princess with curious eyes.

“I pay my respects to the elder.” The Peacock Princess quickly bowed once more.

“You’re the child of an acquaintance; there’s no need for so many formalities. How is your uncle doing?” the old voice asked.

The Peacock Princess’ eyes reddened. “My uncle has passed away. Most of our elders have lost their lives on the battlefield...”

She proceeded to talk about the Fiend races’ war against the monsters.

The old voice in the cave was silent for a long time. “Everything is ordained by fate. There’s no need to be too upset, Little Peacock.”

His casual tone only further stoked the Peacock Princess’ sorrow.

Zu An, however, noticed something peculiar in those words.

He seems to be looking at things from a higher perspective. Does he mean to say that these events were already decided by fate?

The Mermaid Queen consoled the Peacock Princess before revealing her motive to the person in the cave.

The old voice spent a moment in thought before replying, “I do have the means to treat the Aurora Poison Dragon’s plague formation.”

The Mermaid Queen was overjoyed to hear that. “Elder, I implore you to bestow me with the antidote. The Ocean races will remember your grace.”

The old voice chuckled. “I have no ties with the Ocean races, and that won’t change in the future. I can give you the antidote, but I’ll need the person beside you to agree to my request.”

Taken aback, the Mermaid Queen reflexively turned to Zu An.

Zu An was perplexed. “May I know your request?”

“I haven’t decided on it yet. I’ll let you know when the time comes,” the old voice replied.

The Mermaid Queen frowned.

“I’m afraid I can’t accept such a condition,” Zu An replied.

Accepting this request was as good as issuing a blank check. What if the other party demanded something ridiculous from him in the future?

The old voice chuckled. “I understand your reservations, but you can be assured that I won’t make you do anything against your conscience. When the time comes, you may also decide for yourself whether you wish to repay the favor or not. I won’t force you.”

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Zu An was surprised. The conditions were too generous. That meant the other party couldn’t coerce him into doing anything if he refused to repay him in the future. “But that seems very disadvantageous to you.”

“It’s fine. It’s all inscribed in fate,” the old voice calmly replied.

This was the second time the other party had talked about fate. Zu An hesitated for a second before asking, “May I ask if you’re Shennong?”