Chapter 1245: Chapter 1244: Unexpected Change

"Later on, during the era of the ’Great World Struggle’ prophesied by the Zuo Shi Immortal, the subordinates of the Mid-heaven Emperor Lord successively awakened, and the emperor commanded them to continue searching for clues about the four of us."

"One by one, his subordinates disappeared: those sent to the Laurel Fairy Palace vanished, those sent to the Buddha Country vanished, Si Lei secretly slipped away and vanished, The Controller journeyed to the Extreme Northern Lands and vanished. This left the emperor living in constant fear and paranoia, to the extent that he even moved out of the Sun, abandoning such a magnificent Fairy Palace."

Upon hearing the Qilin Immortal say this, the face of the Mid-heaven Emperor Lord darkened. Could you really blame him for being afraid? It was like dealing with ghosts—anyone would be frightened by such occurrences.

"And just recently, he somehow learned that the Jiuyou Sect was about to condense the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype, so he decided to send Si Heng and Si Shi to steal it and bring it to him."

"Very few know of the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype, and among them, the most likely to tell the emperor had to be the backstage manipulator."

"The backstage manipulator wouldn’t be so kind as to inform him of this intelligence without an ulterior motive."

"I then resolved to confront the emperor after Si Shi obtained the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype, to pry out the exact words the backstage manipulator had spoken to him, and then figure out a way to relay that intelligence to you."

"Who would have thought that Immortal Fairy and Little Friend Lu would also be here."

At this point, the Qilin Immortal gave a wry smile. He had determined to avoid human contact for a lifetime; he thought with Immortal Fairy here the emperor surely wouldn’t be able to take the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype, and he wouldn’t need to reveal himself.

Yet, strangely enough, the emperor’s plan went exceptionally smoothly. Si Shi almost handed over the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype to the emperor, and he had no choice but to intervene and battle the emperor.

The Qilin Immortal spat out the spoils of war—a sapling and the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype.

"So this thing is the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype, eh? Little Yang, bring it here and let me take a look." Immortal Fairy hadn’t had the chance to see such a novel Dao Fruit Prototype in person and couldn’t help being curious.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Here." The Qilin Immortal handed the sapling to Lu Yang, though it was less than perfect, with the sapling covered in a sticky, gooey substance due to having been retrieved from inside his stomach.

"Little Yang, don’t disdain it; this is Qilin saliva, which during Ancient Times was even more precious than Dragon saliva and was incredibly hard to come by," whispered Immortal Fairy covertly.

Lu Yang: "..."

Then why don’t you hold onto it, Fairy?

Lu Yang and Immortal Fairy examined the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype closely; the surface of the prototype had a slowly spinning vortex that could easily mesmerize and captivate those who looked upon it for too long.

The Qilin Immortal then seriously interrogated the Mid-heaven Emperor Lord: "How exactly did the backstage manipulator speak to you?"

The Mid-heaven Emperor Lord replied without hesitation, "He told me that refining the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype would allow me to live another life. However, before that, I had to first hand the prototype over to him. He would return it to me after he used it. I agreed to his terms outwardly, but never really trusted him, determined to refine the prototype myself the moment I got it."

The Qilin Immortal frowned, the answer from the Mid-heaven Emperor Lord was somewhat beyond his expectations: "What does the backstage manipulator want with the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype?"

The Mid-heaven Emperor Lord shook his head: "He didn’t tell me."

After saying this, he quickly covered his mouth, staring fixedly at the Qilin Immortal: "What have you done to me!"

Even as a captive, he wouldn’t normally reveal everything so readily!

The Qilin Immortal scoffed, "Forgotten, have you? My Dao Fruit is the Upper Dao Fruit of the ’Survival Of The Fittest Dao Fruit Prototype’!"

The Survival Of The Fittest Dao Fruit Prototype grants the victor dominion over the vanquished—Zhu Tian relied on this power to firmly secure the throne of Demon Emperor.

As both the Mid-heaven Emperor Lord and the Qilin Immortal were Immortals, naturally the former wouldn’t be entirely dominated. However, it was effortlessly simple for the Qilin Immortal to compel the Mid-heaven Emperor Lord to speak truthfully.

With the sapling in hand, Lu Yang also pondered the question on the sidelines: What does the backstage manipulator want with the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype?

Does he too wish to live another life?

"Emperor Lord’s description doesn’t sound quite right, does it? If he wanted to live another life, would he really return the Dao Fruit Prototype to Emperor Lord?"

"But if he’s lying, this lie is too easy to poke through."

"Moreover, how could such a careful mastermind behind the scenes ensure that Emperor Lord wouldn’t covet the Dao Fruit Prototype for himself?"

At this thought, Lu Yang’s expression suddenly changed drastically, "Not good, the mastermind behind the scenes is hiding nearby!"

With the power of the mastermind behind the scenes, he wasn’t afraid of Qilin Immortal getting the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype at all!

"Heh heh, you young ones do react quickly."

A black hand suddenly appeared beside Lu Yang, intent on snatching the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype.

"How dare you!"

Qilin Immortal immediately reacted, facing the black hand with his own. The shockwave from their collision sent Lu Yang and Mid-heaven Emperor Lord flying away; the only difference between the two was that one was blown far while the other was blown close. Qilin Immortal didn’t fare much better; overpowered by the owner of the black hand, he was struck and sent flying.

A figure shrouded in black mist slowly emerged, having been there all along, unnoticed by anyone!

"Qilin, it seems that in three hundred thousand years, your abilities have improved a tiny bit. If it were before, you would’ve been sent flying much further than now with one blow from me."

The figure’s laughter accompanied the ever-shifting black mist.

Qilin Immortal burst out from the ruins, shaking off the debris, and stared intensely at the shadowy figure, roaring out the identity of the other.

"Mastermind behind the scenes, Sixth Immortal!"

Qilin Immortal’s palm throbbed with a faint pain as broken bones swiftly healed.

The Survival Of The Fittest Dao Fruit had another function; after defeating an enemy, one would become stronger. He was now in the strongest state of his life, even better than when fighting with Emperor Lord, but still no match for a single palm strike from the mastermind behind the scenes!

The mastermind behind the scenes laughed nonchalantly, "Immortal Fairy is seriously injured and not yet recovered. Do you really think you alone can protect the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype?"

"Let’s give it a try and see!" Qilin Immortal transformed back into his true form with a shake of his body, the Kirin roaring as he trod the skies, eyes bloodshot with rage.

The more he hated himself from three hundred thousand years ago, the more he wanted to slay the mastermind behind the scenes!

"Who in the world are you!" Immortal Fairy Eternity, changing from her usual lackadaisical demeanor, demanded of the shadowy figure, attempting to penetrate the black mist with her Immortal Sense but being repelled.

The mastermind behind the scenes did not answer, his eyes within the mist glaring coldly at Immortal Fairy Eternity, his voice as cold as eternal ice, filled with endless resentment, "Immortal, you are truly hard to kill."

"I am asking you who you are!" Immortal Fairy Eternity was furious, her vast Immortal Sense causing the entire space to tremble.

"I’ll tell you before you die!"

The mastermind behind the scenes instantly moved in front of Lu Yang to snatch the Reincarnation Dao Fruit Prototype, but Qilin Immortal had anticipated this move. Employing a Space Spell, he arrived beside Lu Yang as well.

"Get past me first!"

Qilin Immortal opened his giant maw and lunged to bite!

The mastermind behind the scenes’s expression turned cold as well, raising his hand to shatter Qilin Immortal’s teeth, "Ignorant of death, how dare you attempt to bother me!"

"What naturally born monster, nothing but a beast with no father or mother!"