Chapter 2515: Celestials

“Shushu Mountain?” The Saintess’ eyes narrowed, but she quickly lowered her head to conceal her reaction. However, her hands remained firmly clenched.

I still arrived late in the end...

Zu An found that name familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he'd heard it. So, he asked, “What kind of place is that? Who are the guards? How strong are they?”

Wu Peng pointed to a nearby mountain, “The mountain five kilometers away from us is Shushu Mountain. Most of the guards are snakes. They aren’t too powerful, so you should be able to handle them. The other guards, however, are more powerful. There is a bat, a fire boar, and a swallow lady. The swallow lady is the strongest, so you must be careful of her...”

The more Zu An listened to their intelligence, the stranger he felt it to be. “It sounds no different from delivering my head to them on a silver platter.”

Wu Di replied, “We’re not asking you to fight them. You just have to cause a commotion to draw their attention while staying safe. You can run if things get dangerous.”

The Saintess spoke up, asking, “What will you do while we distract them?”

Wu Peng shook his head. “We can’t tell you. However, you can be assured that we are not planning to do anything evil.”

The Saintess sneered, “Look, we are in a cooperative relationship now. Your refusal to share intelligence with us puts us at a disadvantage. We’ll still do our part even if you tell us nothing, but we will have to tread more carefully to compensate for it. We might end up not attracting enough attention to help you with what you seek to achieve.”

Zu An was impressed.

Little sister Ling’er has grown from the sheltered young miss she used to be. This must be a skill she's honed in the years she spent as the Fiend races’ Saintess.

Wu Peng and Wu Di were taken aback. They were worried that Zu An and the Saintess wouldn’t pull their weight. In the end, they decided to speak up. “All right, we’ll tell you the truth. We’re hoping to take advantage of the chaos to steal a corpse from Shushu Mountain. Shushu Mountain’s master is extremely powerful. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to draw his attention, but you should take this with you in case you catch his notice. You’ll at least still have a chance to survive.”

They tossed over a massive tortoise shell carved with mysterious marks.

Zu An was taken aback. “Is Shushu Mountain’s master someone who can take our lives with just a gaze?”

He had encountered such entities before. That kind of gap in strength was impossible to bridge. If that were the case, he would rather break his promise and fight with these six shamans than march to his death.

“Not to that extent,” Wu Peng explained. “Shushu Mountain’s master is Er Fu, a celestial with a human head and snake body. While he is powerful, he is incapable of taking someone’s life with a gaze. With the tortoise shell’s protection, you should be fine. Also, the odds of you catching his attention are extremely low.”

“A celestial!” Zu An shuddered. This could be his chance to meet a deity.

It finally dawned on him why the name ‘Shushu Mountain’ sounded so familiar. He had heard it from the Spirit Mountain’s Ten Shamans the last time he was here. Back then, he'd encountered a monster named Yayu in the Weak Water. It turned out that Yayu had once been a celestial and was Er Fu’s brother, but Er Fu was jealous of his prestige. To make things worse, Er Fu’s subordinate had sown seeds of discord between the two. In the end, Er Fu killed Yayu.

Later, the Celestial Emperor had tasked someone to deliver an immortal medicine to revive Yayu. The medicine had brought Yayu back to life, but it hadn't brought back his soul. As a result, Yayu devolved into a mindless beast. Later, he'd fallen into the Weak Water and turned into a dragon-headed monster who feasted on mortals. These shamans were likely planning to steal Yayu’s corpse.

When he first heard about it, Zu An had found it lamentable, but he hadn’t expected to one day be involved in it. To think that he would be dragged into such a huge scheme! He was beginning to regret accepting the offer.

The Saintess read his mind and said, “This matter concerns a celestial; it is far beyond our means to deal with it. We won’t do it.”

The hot-tempered shaman roared, “Now that you know our secret, you have to go whether you like it or not. The only other option is for you to die!”

Before addressing Zu An and the Saintess, Wu Peng stopped the hot-tempered shaman with a raise of his hand. “You are mortals, right? I understand your fear of celestials, but you don’t have to put them on a pedestal. They are merely stronger entities. Given the strength you have displayed, you aren’t powerless against them. Still, we won’t make things difficult for you if you are truly intimidated. All we ask is that you keep this matter a secret.”

Zu An and the Saintess exchanged doubtful looks. The other party was being suspiciously nice.

Just then, Wu Peng added, “Ah, I forgot to tell you that I am the only one in the world who knows where the Brilliant Pinflower is. You might never find it if you miss this opportunity.”

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Zu An was speechless.

I bet this fellow’s heart is black through and through.

The Saintess sent a telepathic message to Zu An, “Big brother Zu, why don’t we give it a try? This might be little sister Xiaoxi’s only hope.”

Zu An nodded. He was thinking of giving it a try too, not just to obtain the Brilliant Pinflower, but also to meet the celestial named Er Fu. He also wanted to understand the difference between a mortal and a deity. Through that, he could figure out how mortals could transcend their limits to become deities.

“Alright. Does the celestial named Er Fu have any skills I should take note of?” Zu An decided not to tell the shamans that he knew about the story between Er Fu and Yayu. He could tell that these shamans weren’t kind, innocent beings. It would be wise to be careful around them.

Wu Peng was delighted to see Zu An accepting their request. “You need to be wary of his incredible speed. He is known to be the fastest creature in the world.”

Zu An was speechless.

Fuck. How can I escape from him if he’s the fastest in the world?

Having guessed Zu An’s thought, Wu Peng consoled him. “That tortoise shell can block an attack from Er Fu. You can use that opportunity to escape. The moment we steal the corpse, he will sense it and pursue us instead. That will free you from danger. I’m not saying that there is no risk, but it’s up to you whether you think it is worth taking it on or not.”

“Very well, we’ll accept your request,” Zu An said. “But how can I trust you to tell us the Brilliant Pinflower’s whereabouts once we accomplish our mission?”