Beginning Of Multiverse Saga

Chapter 175: Peaches Of Immortality

Sharky quickly climbed up with Catherine. Sometimes, he would step on several floating platforms in a row; sometimes he would make a huge detour in another direction. Sometimes, he would advance three steps and take two steps back.

Catherine still trembled with fear at first, worried that they would fall like King George Manor’s people, yet Sharky was always able to bring them to a safe and correct direction. She couldn’t help but look at the man at her side. He really was becoming more and more mysterious.

A breeze blew past, and Sharky seemed like an immortal that moved amidst clouds. He looked confident and graceful. Catherine blushed.

The other party also noticed what was happening on Sharky’s side. Zhao Ruizhi and the others had been waiting for him to fall, yet Sharky didn’t encounter any troubles at all.

Zhao Ruizhi was angry at first, but he quickly suppressed such useless emotions. Then, he carefully studied Sharky’s movements. "Huh? That seems to be the five element eight trigram path..."

He began to think to himself. Even though the rise and fall of the platforms was different for each side, with his knowledge and resourcefulness, finding out the solution with that piece of enlightenment wasn’t too hard.

"But something isn’t right. If you follow this movement path, you’ll run out of places to go soon." Zhao Ruizhi immediately noticed a problem.

Catherine noticed there was nothing there, but Sharky rubbed her hands to console her, "Trust me." She nodded.

Then he put his feets forward, where there was only that empty space filled with the dangerous pink mist.

Catherine cried out in alarm. But then, she was shocked to discover that the two of them hadn’t continued to fall, but instead stood firmly in midair. No, she could sense that she was stepping on something solid.

Is this... a floating platform? She quickly realized what was happening. Then, she looked at Sharky in amazement. How did he know about this?

Zhao Ruizhi’s eyes narrowed. Then, they lit up. "So that was it! Aha!"

He was starting to even admire Sharky. That kid really was a talent. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the heart of a true subject within him, so he couldn’t be used.

———

Up in the air, the Sharky climbed up one step after another. He arrived on the nearest floating continent soon afterward.

"It’s so beautiful!" Catherine cried out in amazement. After all, the world below was full of death, while this was a world of pleasant meadows and fragrant flowers. There was even immortal mist lingering in the area. Under the rays of the sun, the distant golden palace and the white jade pillars looked grand and magnificent. It felt as if they had arrived in an absolute wonderland.

Sharky nodded with her, "It was really good, but all of this is nothing more than a fabrication."

"Fabrication?" Catherine was confused.

"Yes, let’s go, to check more," Sharky said, but he was feeling that something important of his was inside there.

Sharky continued forward with Catherine. Suddenly, he picked up an exotic fragrance and the two of them headed in the direction of the smell.

When they reached the edge of a cliff, the view suddenly opened up. A clear and crystalline lake stretched out before them. The lake surface was enchanting like a massive sapphire, the most beautiful blue color he had ever seen in his life.

Flowers were in full bloom around the lake. There were many fruit trees, most of them bearing peaches. Every single peach tree was filled with heavy white peaches that carried a pink blush. They were several times larger than normal juicy peaches, and their sweet aroma could be smelled even from far away.

"Are these the legendary Jade Lake and the Peaches of Immortality?" Catherine’s heart pounded. She subconsciously walked forward. The emperor’s power that she’d used earlier had drained her life force, so it was hard for her to resist her body’s instinctive desire.

Sharky frowned. He felt that something wasn’t quite right, but he couldn’t really put his finger on it. Suddenly, a sinister laugh came from behind him. "Little bastard, I’ve finally caught you!"

Sharky immediately felt his fine hairs stand on end. Even Catherine, who had been walking forward, trembled and quickly turned around. The fear she felt from that voice overwhelmed everything else.

Zhao Ruizhi was standing not too far from them with a sneer on his face. He hadn’t ambushed them, because with his identity and status, something like that would be too lowly. What he wanted was to torment Sharky, to make him feel true fear and remorse. He wanted to see Sharky beg for forgiveness tearfully.

He Li followed behind Zhao Ruizhi, looking as if he were about to see something fun. This adulterous couple’s public display of affection had already left everyone incredibly annoyed. He wanted to see how Sharky was going to be finished off in person.

Sharky stood in front of Catherine to protect her. He asked with an overcast voice, "How did you all get up here?" The platforms around the floating islands moved differently, which was why he hadn’t been worried about them copying him back then.

"It’s just a trifling eight trigram path; you can figure it out after adding a bit of speculation. How can something like that stop me?" Zhao Ruizhi exclaimed proudly.

Suddenly, King George Manor’s deathsworn soldiers cried out. "Peaches of Immortality! It’s the legendary peaches!"

They had clearly noticed the peach trees as well. When they connected the fruits with the legends, their eyes turned red. Greed completely took over, overwhelming their fear toward the emperor, and all of them rushed out towards the lake, picking peaches and shoving them into their mouths.

Zhao Ruizhi had also smelled the fragrance in the air, but he was currently preoccupied with his hatred and wrath toward Sharky. As such, he hadn’t noticed the beautiful lake and the peach trees yet. But when he did notice them, his breathing sped up.

If it were anything else, he might not even give it a second look. However, the legendary Peaches of Immortality could grant one eternal life! He had some reservations too, but the more death encroached, the stronger the fear of death would become, eventually overtaking everything. He wouldn’t let any chance for immortality go.

Zhao Ruizhi was a bit upset when he saw the deathsworn soldiers frantically eating those peaches. These were all his; how could he let others waste them?! He ignored Sharky for the time being. He thought to himself that they were all already on the island anyway, so killing him would be easy enough. It was better to focus on immortality first.

As such, he instantly appeared on the largest of the peach trees with a single step. This peach tree had a massive trunk and was clearly an extraordinary existence. He leapt to the top, picked the largest peach, and ate it.

"Hm..." As an emperor, he had enjoyed all sorts of exotic delicacies in the past. But at that moment, he felt as if every pore in his body were cheering with joy! This thing is just too delicious! Furthermore, there was a warm stream flowing through him that made him feel vigorous and full of life.

"It really can grant eternal life!" Zhao Ruizhi’s pupils narrowed. He felt incredibly moved. Just how many years had it been; how bitterly had he searched? He had sent so many experts to explore the mountains and seas, yet none of them had come back with anything significant. However, he had never given up. Today, he had finally found the method of immortality!

When he saw all of them go mad over the peaches, Sharky grabbed Catherine and ran. "We’re leaving!" He used Zoom’s ability to rush out of the area and run away.

Their movements didn’t escape Zhao Ruizhi’s detection, but he was completely focused on immortality just then and didn’t care about anything else. As long as he could achieve immortality, forget about a mere woman, he didn’t care if he had to give away all of his wives and concubines.

Sharky continued to run, choosing to run toward the forest so it would be easier to conceal their whereabouts. After running for a long time and seeing that Zhao Ruizhi didn’t chase after them, he sighed in relief.

Catherine couldn’t help but say, "Looks like those really were the legendary Peaches of Immortality, and they could grant eternal life. Otherwise, there’s no way he would’ve let us leave just like that."

Sharky laughed and replied, "Who cares if those are the Peaches of Immortality or whatever? Our survival is the most important."

"I guess you’re right." Catherine chuckled. If there really were a way to gain eternal life, but they were killed right when they found out, that would really be too depressing. But even so, she was still a bit confused.

"Sharky, I really am starting to admire you. Even the emperor couldn’t help but become tempted when faced with immortality, but you didn’t care at all. I don’t think there are many in this world who could make that kind of choice."

"I’m different from normal people." Sharky didn’t know how to explain himself. He was in reality immortal, he was just living a simulation life. If his real self really appeared, then even the Emperor was nothing.

Moreover, after thinking about it, he answered, "And I think those Jade Lake and Peaches of Immortality are not real."

———

Meanwhile, by the lakeside Sharky had just left, after Zhao Ruizhi ate three of the largest peaches in succession, he felt that there were three flowers slowly blossoming on his head. He was delighted. Was this the legendary Three Flower Congregation Crown? Three flowers above one’s head was the mark of a daoist immortal.

Heavenly music emerged from the sky just then. Waves of magnificent light flickered in the clouds above as a grand immortal gate slowly opened. Countless immortal ladies and children waved toward him. A mysterious voice told him that as long as he entered the gate, then he would formally join the ranks of immortals. He would then never die; he would become a true immortal!

Zhao Ruizhi gulped. He subconsciously walked toward the immortal gate. Whenever he took a step, a floating cloud would appear beneath his feet, as if the immortal gate were guiding him towards it. He continued up the cloud stairs, arriving in front of the immortal gate soon afterward. He was just about to cross over, but suddenly, he froze up.

Zhao Ruizhi thought to himself that if he crossed through the immortal gate, wouldn’t it be his son’s body that obtained immortality? What he wanted the most was to achieve immortality with his original body.

However, he decided to grant this body immortality first. He’d see if he could make his main body immortal with some peaches after he left the dungeon. So, he turned back to take the peaches.

But when he turned around, everything before his eyes changed. The beautiful scene filled with fragrant fruits vanished. The surroundings suddenly darkened, and King George Manor’s deathsworn soldiers weren’t carrying large and pretty peaches, but rather strange fruits that resembled skeletons.

Some of King George Manor’s soldiers began to walk toward the lake with strange smiles on their faces. That lake that had originally appeared sapphire blue was no longer the same, but rather pitch-black. Ghost faces floated across the water surface.

"What the hell is this?!" Zhao Ruizhi broke out into a cold sweat. He realized that something was off right away. When he turned around, he didn’t see any immortal gate. He had almost walked to the edge of the lake himself.

He ignited all of his ki to its peak. Then, a powerful aura spread out, instantly scattering the surrounding illusion. Suddenly, he sensed that something was off with his body. There was a black hole within him that was crazily absorbing his energy.

He frowned. He quickly used his powerful cultivation to stop the absorption process, and then he examined his own body. He discovered that three ugly flowers had grown in his stomach, every single flower like a skull that crazily sucked at his internal ki.

Countless roots extended toward his internal organs. Every single root was secreting some kind of liquid. It seemed as if it was precisely that substance that had numbed his mind and brought him the illusion of immortality he desired.

"Damn it all!" Zhao Ruizhi harrumphed. He unleashed his power and every inch of his skin surged with golden light. The three skull-like flowers screamed miserably, and the roots twisted about frantically. They released black energy to fight back. However, what kind of cultivation did the emperor have? They only managed to persist for a few seconds before they were burned away by the golden light.