Most importantly, the Mist-Ethereal Adept standing before him still had his head firmly attached to his neck. Where was the slightest sign that he had been beheaded?
Could he have an ability like the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's immortality? Thousand-Mile Eye wondered.
But he dismissed that possibility a moment later.
If the Mist-Ethereal Adept truly possessed such an ability, the Queen Mother would surely have recognized it. When Great Sage Sun had been captured, for instance, the Jade Emperor and the others had discovered his immortality on the spot.
Judging by that, the Mist-Ethereal Adept's ability might differ from Great Sage Sun's. The latter could not die, while the former might possess the ability to return from the dead.
That would explain the contradiction between the Queen Mother's firm belief that the Mist-Ethereal Adept was dead and his appearance here before him.
"What's wrong, Immortal Friend Gao? Don't you recognize me anymore?" Shen Bing asked with a smile.
To Gao Jue, however, that smile made his hair stand on end and left him uncomfortable all over.
After a moment, Gao Jue forced a smile. "I never imagined I would have the chance to meet you again, Reverend. When I heard that the Queen Mother had beheaded you, I was grief-stricken. To think your powers were so extraordinary! Congratulations!"
"I'm afraid those words aren't entirely heartfelt, Immortal Friend," Shen Bing said with a smile.
Gao Jue's heart trembled. He was genuinely becoming afraid of this Mist-Ethereal Adept.
He kept feeling as though the other man could see straight through his thoughts.
"What are you saying, Reverend? I-I meant every word!" Gao Jue said at once. "Of course, I did have a slightly selfish motive. When I heard the Queen Mother had executed you over the Peaches of Immortality, I was