Chapter 0063

Chapter 63: Two Similar Flowers

Mo Liu Su’s face changed. She flashed forward, lifted Xia Hong Xiu up, and said: “Hong Xiu, what happened to you?”

Xia Hong Xiu trembled, stared in horror, and said: “Ah… ah… he… he is…” Even while stammering, her finger did not move away from Zhou Tong.

Mo Liu Su’s face turned overcast as she said: “No matter who you are, you dared to strike my disciple. Shouldn’t you give a proper explanation?” Her aura surged out to bear down on Zhou Tong.

[Sixfold World Breaking Sword,] Zhou Tong recited in his heart. He pressed down with one finger and said: “Divine Might Break.”

The sword force roared out like the gaze of a god and shattered the oppressive aura in an instant.

Mo Liu Su stepped back twice. It was not that her strength was lacking. Her mind had been shaken hard. From this exchange alone, she could basically confirm that the man before her truly had the power to kill those in the Heaven-Slashing Realm. Zhao Wu Tian had not lied.

Tang Qi’s face turned as white as snow. The strike had not even been aimed at him, yet he felt death brush his neck. Shame rose without end. Even if this man was not Zhou Tong, being crushed by that face made his thoughts knot and refuse to clear.

Xia Hong Xiu caught her breath, clutched Mo Liu Su’s sleeve, and said urgently: “Do not be his enemy.”

Mo Liu Su asked in a low voice: “What happened to you?”

Xia Hong Xiu answered, each word careful, and said: “Master, this person’s life fate is the extremely rare Void Fate. It cannot be looked at, touched, or guessed. If you try, you will suffer a great disaster.”

Mo Liu Su frowned and said: “Void Fate… is it very powerful?”

Xia Hong Xiu shook her head and said: “It is not about power. His destiny has gone beyond the world and is not bound by the Heavenly Dao. All face-reading arts and fate-changing arts are useless on him. Only he can hold his own fate. I only looked at him once and was backlashed. I almost triggered the Unwarranted Disaster.”

Mo Liu Su drew in a sharp breath. Just one glance could bring the Three Calamities and Four Tribulations. How terrifying was he?

Zhao Wu Tian secretly gave thanks. At last he could be sure: Zhou Tong was a strong man beyond imagination. Luckily, he had not gone too far before. There was still a chance to make amends.

Seeing their reactions, Zhou Tong almost burst out laughing inside and thought: [I never expected them to build me up this high by echoing each other.] As for the so-called Void Fate, he had never cared. Perhaps being reborn with an Emperor Grade Spirit had pushed him beyond common sense and led to a misreading.

Xia Hong Xiu steadied herself, made her judgment, and said: “This man really is not Zhou Tong.”

A dim light passed through Mo Liu Su’s eyes as she said: “If he is not, how can there be two people who look so alike?”

Xia Hong Xiu lowered her voice and said: “There is only one possibility. He and Zhou Tong are two similar flowers. When one wilts, the other blooms. The stronger he becomes, the more Zhou Tong will be pressed down.”

Everyone present was shaken. What a strange law of heaven and earth.

Mo Liu Su brightened at once. She fixed her burning gaze on Zhou Tong and thought it through. Two similar flowers, one strong and one weak. If she could make this guest minister even stronger, Zhou Tong would fall into danger on his own. Then she could take him without spending any effort. How wonderful.

Mo Liu Su put on a warm smile and bowed slightly as she said: “I was rude. Your Majesty, please forgive me.”

Qian Miao Yu did not soften and said: “You did not offend me. You offended the Guest Minister. If you want forgiveness, it depends on what he says.”

Mo Liu Su laughed lightly and said: “That is exactly what I was thinking.” She took a brocade box from her Signet Ring. The box shimmered with auspicious light and was a treasure in its own right. What lay inside was surely rarer still. Tang Qi’s face changed at once, his eyes full of jealousy and longing.

Mo Liu Su held the box out with both hands and said: “Sir Guest Minister, this is a small token from me. I hope you will accept it.”

Zhou Tong glanced at it and said: “What is inside?”

Mo Liu Su answered without hesitation and said: “A Formless Exquisite Pearl.”

At that name, Zhou Tong could not help a sudden tremor. This was a holy thing that outclassed even the Seven-Star Blood Lotus. It was said there were only seven in the whole world. After one was used, it took one hundred thousand years for another to be born.

Its effects were fearsome. If a cultivator below the Heaven-Slashing Realm refined it, they could rise by a whole major realm with no side effects. That was only the start. After reaching the Heaven-Slashing Realm and forming an avatar, the Formless Exquisite Pearl could force the avatar to evolve and undergo a true change in quality, raising its might by several levels.

If a treasure like this leaked into the world, it would stir up a bloody storm. Even old monsters would not be able to sit still. They would break seclusion and start killing.

Yet if those were its only uses, Zhou Tong still would not care. Neither a quick breakthrough nor a stronger avatar could truly move him. What he valued most was the pearl’s most secret and heaven-defying function: it could help one who was near the Dao break through the Formless Stage among the six stages of becoming an Emperor. That was the one lure he could not ignore.

He looked at Mo Liu Su and said lightly: “To give me such a treasure, will you not feel pain?”

Mo Liu Su answered with open hands and said: “Of course not. A treasure should go to someone worthy. If you can refine it, that would be best.”

Zhou Tong’s eyes cooled, though he smiled inside. He knew the pearl also had a huge flaw. It was very hard to refine. Except for a destined person or a peerless expert, anyone who tried to force it would pay a terrible price. Worse, if refinement failed, the Formless Exquisite Pearl would break free and return to its original master.

Mo Liu Su had made a neat plan: if the guest minister refined it, Zhou Tong would be weakened; if he failed, it would be his own fault. But from her eyes, Zhou Tong also saw her true wish. She did not want him to succeed. Even if she could not use the treasure, she did not want someone else to benefit.

Zhou Tong decided to disappoint her and thought: [Only an idiot would turn down a bargain like this.] He lifted his hand and said calmly: “Since you are so sincere, I will not refuse.”

He waved. The brocade box opened, and a seven-colored pearl dropped into his palm. In the next instant, blazing Dao fire poured out of him. His whole body turned scorching, like the birth of a sun.

Mo Liu Su stared and said in disbelief: “He is going to refine it on the spot!” Faced with such a great chance, what cultivator would not make full plans to ensure safety? Yet he rushed in without delay. Was he not afraid of backlash and death?

Her gaze turned cold as she cursed in her heart and thought: [Pay the price, you arrogant thing.]