Yu Qing fainted and made no further movement. Only then did Nan and Mu, who had been grappling with him, let go and climb up from the wet ground.
Looking at their own soaked clothes and then at the still turbulent pool water, the two of them truly felt helpless.
The two knew Yu Qing cared deeply about Qiao Qie’er’s remains. However, this was the Earth Spring, and it looked incredibly deep. They truly lacked the courage to dive into the Earth Spring to retrieve that golden coffin, nor would they let Yu Qing do such a reckless thing. As the saying goes, the dead are dead, and the living have no need to make themselves uncomfortable.
Outside, the rumbling sound of ice blocks smashing against the outer wall of the Immortal Palace continued, but the most violent impact had already passed, and the noise was gradually subsiding.
Nan Zhu gave Mu Aotie a look. The two of them lifted Yu Qing, who was unconscious, by his arms and legs, carried him away from the puddle on the ground, and placed him in a dry spot. They then used magic to remove the damp moisture from his body.
After that, the two quickly used magic to dry themselves off.
They had to hurry, as they were also afraid. After all, this was water from the Earth Spring. Even though they had not soaked in it to bathe, who knew what kind of consequences there might be.
Once they were dry, Nan Zhu asked Mu Aotie, “Do you feel any abnormalities on your body?”
Mu Aotie carefully sensed his body, shook his head, and said, “It seems I do not feel any abnormalities.”
Nan Zhu patted himself left and right, pondered for a moment, and muttered, “It seems there is no feeling of anything wrong. It should be fine.”
Indeed, neither of them felt any abnormalities, but they still felt somewhat uneasy.
Not far away, Ning Chaoyi and Shen Qingcheng were also staring at them and observing.
Shen Qingcheng’s gaze focused mainly on the unconscious Yu Qing. She had seen everything, how he was willing to do anything for his lover’s remains.
At this moment, Yu Qing was a perfect man in her eyes. He was handsome, the number one talent in the world, and had broken through to the Xuan level of cultivation at a young age. He was truly gifted in both literature and martial arts, and his love was so steadfast until death.
Ning Chaoyi, on the other hand, focused on observing the reactions of Nan and Mu. He was surprised and doubtful about what exactly the relationship between these three was. That was the Earth Spring. Knowing its danger, they still rushed into the water to pull someone out…
The Immortal Palace had already flown back into the sky. The Golden Mountain was covered with broken ice blocks of various sizes, and the surrounding area was once again filled with ethereal clouds and mist.
Wu Sui and his son and grandson landed on the roof of a pavilion at the highest point of the Golden Mountain. The golden giant landed at a lower elevation, maintaining a balance in their line of sight for conversation.
Wu Sui originally wanted to plead for his son and grandson again, but who knew the golden giant would speak first. “The others may leave. You two brothers guarded the place but stole from it yourselves. How can I let you go? I should have killed you directly, but considering your loyal protection of the Immortal Mansion for thousands of years, I will give you a different punishment.”
Wu Sui immediately bowed and said, “Thank you, Strongman. Wu Sui is willing to accept the punishment.”
Wu Hei was shocked, however, and cried, “Father…”
Wu Sui raised his hand to stop him. Looking at his son and grandson, he sighed, “From the very beginning, I did not believe they could easily kill your eldest uncle. I guessed that your eldest uncle might be taking the opportunity to re-enter the Golden Ruins. When you said you were unwilling to accept the inheritance and guard the Golden Ruins anymore, I felt that all of this should end. Heizi, from the moment we entered the Golden Ruins, I never planned to leave again. I was already prepared for the possibility of being unable to control your eldest uncle, so I destroyed the halberd in my hand, completely sealing the entrance so it could never be opened again.”
Wu Hei said with difficulty, “Father…”
Wu Sui waved his hand, “Do not say anything else. The entrance to the Golden Ruins has been exposed, and I will become weaker and weaker. I can no longer cope with matters in the outside world. After all, I followed a high immortal. How can I suffer humiliation from some vulgar people? For me, rather than sleeping in the outside world, it is better to return here. This is my destined destination, where I can find peace of mind.”
Speaking of this, he cupped his hands and requested the golden giant, “Strongman, could you point out the location of the Human Spring? My son and grandson do not dare to hope for immortality. They only wish to turn back into normal people and leave. I hope you will grant this wish.”
The golden giant was rather surprised, “Why would you think the Heaven Spring and the Human Spring are also in the Golden Ruins?”
Wu Sui was astonished, “Does the Three Lives Spring not refer to three springs?”
The golden giant said, “It is indeed three springs, but the other two are not in the Golden Ruins. Among the many blessed lands of the immortals, it is already a great fortune for the Golden Ruins to possess one Earth Spring. If one could gather the fortune of Heaven, Earth, and Human into one body, do you know what that means? That would be an extraordinary matter. You are thinking too much.”
Father and son Wu looked at each other in silence, their faces full of shock, only to realize that all their struggling for so long had been in vain.
Wu Sui quickly followed up with a question, “May I ask which immortal mansion the Human Spring is in?”
The golden giant snorted, “What, do you still want your son to break into other immortal mansions? The other immortal mansions will not be like me and consider your contributions. Are you looking for death?”
Wu Sui was slightly stunned, then immediately bowed to admit his fault, “Yes, the Strongman’s reprimand is correct.”
The golden giant suddenly reached into his clothes and fumbled around for a moment. No one knew what he was touching, but in short, he thrust a finger in front of Wu Hei.
The three generations looked closely and saw a black dot on the fingertip. Upon closer inspection, it was a black metal ring. The face of the ring featured an exquisite and lifelike swimming fish.
Little Hei, however, acted as if he feared nothing in heaven or earth. He immediately reached out to grab it, but Wu Hei quickly stopped him.
The golden giant, however, said, “Take it.”
Wu Hei was stunned. He looked at his father, and seeing his father nod, he reached out and took the ring, feeling somewhat confused.
After letting go, the golden giant said to Wu Hei, “To recklessly pry into immortal secrets will inevitably breed greed. Once greed arises, disaster will surely follow… These were the exact words of High Immortal Xuanjin back then. I deeply agree with them, so I do not know where the Human Spring is either. Take this ring to the Nether Sea Immortal Mansion and find a woman called Li Niang. Just tell her about my situation. If you insist on inquiring about the whereabouts of the Human Spring, you might as well ask her. Perhaps, considering the favour of you delivering a message, she can help you. It is possible that the Human Spring is in the Nether Sea Immortal Mansion.”
The Nether Sea Immortal Mansion? Wu Hei and his father Wu Sui looked at each other again, not quite knowing how to respond, because the Nether Sea Immortal Mansion was the present day Sea Market.
In the end, it was Wu Sui who tried to ask, “May I ask, Strongman, what relation is this Li Niang to you?”
As if there was nothing that could not be said, the golden giant simply replied, “My own younger sister.”
The father and son looked at each other again, truly not knowing whether they should tell him this bad news.
The golden giant noticed something and asked, “What is it? Is there a problem?”
After a slight hesitation, Wu Sui answered, “Strongman, the Nether Sea Immortal Mansion no longer exists.”
The golden giant’s mood immediately changed, “What do you mean? How is it possible for an immortal mansion to no longer exist?”
Wu Sui sighed and said, “A long time ago, it was broken into by highly skilled cultivators from the mortal world. The mountain guardians inside were also murdered by a joint effort of several senior cultivators. The current Nether Sea Immortal Mansion is called the Sea Market. It has become a trading market occupied by demon cultivators, with people coming and going, quite lively.”
The golden giant was stunned and finally understood what the father and son meant. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, “She has ways to protect herself in the Nether Sea. She should not be so easily killed.”
Wu Hei looked at his figure and added, “The outside world has long since changed, and there are no more giants. I have not heard of any giants in the Sea Market. If there were any, it would be too obvious. They should not be able to hide, let alone hide for so many years.”
The golden giant understood his meaning and replied indifferently, “She is of normal human size. I was originally of normal human size too.”
The father and son were stunned again. Wu Sui tried to ask, “A normal person has lived until now?”
The golden giant said, “She bathed in the Heaven Spring and gained longevity.”
The legendary Heaven Spring truly exists! The father and son looked at each other. They really wanted to ask him how he changed from a normal person to a giant, and then to a golden giant. However, using his words, asking such a thing would be recklessly prying into immortal secrets, so they better not ask.
The golden giant added, “Of course, since the Nether Sea Immortal Mansion has suffered slaughter, the possibility of her being alive might not be very high. Whether you want to look for her or not is up to you to consider. Thousands of years have passed, and I cannot provide you with too many clues for the search. The only clue I can give you is that she has a ring on her hand similar to the one you hold. The two rings represent yin and yang, and they can fit together.”
Wu Hei was speechless. With just this clue, after thousands of years, what was the difference between this and looking for a needle in a haystack?
Wu Sui could not help but ask, “Why does the Strongman not go out and search himself? With your strength…”
The golden giant said, “I cannot get out.”
Cannot get out? The father and son were stunned again. Was it because he was too tall? Thinking about it again, they felt that was not right.
The slightly silent golden giant revealed the truth, “The moment I step out of the Immortal Mansion, I will instantly turn into golden powder and vanish into thin air.”
The father and son fell silent and understood. The immortal had placed a confinement restriction on this man. Otherwise, if he had run out, he would have already dominated the world long ago.
“Sigh.” The golden giant sighed and revealed another truth, “The reason things have come to this today is also due to my selfish motives. Back then, I should have found you brothers and taken back the twin halberds, sunk the halberds into the furnace, and melted them down to completely seal the Golden Ruins. It was because I was thinking about what if my younger sister came looking for me… that I did not follow the orders.”
Shaking his head, he said to Wu Hei again, “Go. Do not linger in the Immortal Mansion. I will only give you one day. One day should be enough for you to leave. At sunset tomorrow, I will completely seal the entrance and exit. If you still dare to linger, then never leave.”
Wu Hei thought about it. If they returned the same way, one day was not very plentiful. But if they kept rushing, getting out should not be a big problem. He immediately nodded and said, “Yes.”
Turning his head to look at his father, knowing that it was useless to say anything to a person with his father’s mindset, he immediately turned Little Hei around, pointed at his father, and instructed, “Little Hei, call him Grandpa.”
Little Hei, with his bright eyes and flashing gaze, turned around and hugged his father’s thigh, not making a sound.
In the end, it was Wu Sui who put down his halberd, took the initiative to pull Little Hei over, ignored his grandson’s struggles, hugged him, and stroked his grandson’s back. He said nothing, as everything was conveyed without words.
After a brief moment of affection, he returned his grandson to Wu Hei, saying, “One day is a bit tight. Go, do not delay any longer.”
Wu Hei remained silent. Neither father nor son was good at expressing their feelings with words. His gaze fell on the gate tower below, where he saw the sneaky Nan and Mu. Holding his son, he flashed and flew down.
Landing outside the gate tower, he said to the two people hiding in the doorway as if they were thieves, “Let us go!”