The Cause of Zhunti's Death

There are far too many dead planets in the universe; a planet that harbors life is one in a trillion.

The essence of heaven and earth bestows upon all things, thereby inspiring their growth.

Only life-bearing planets can generate the essence of heaven and earth, and the excess that accumulates continuously becomes what Zhang Xuezhou and others call the origin of the world.

In Donghua's view, a planet with life is not meant to satisfy a certain cultivator's desire to ascend to a higher dimension by facing the sun, but rather to first satisfy the growth of all things in the world. Only the excess will be accumulated, like oil, stored for many years until it is discovered and utilized at some point.

Lingshan truly possesses the essence of heaven and earth. During the two weeks Zhang Xuezhou immersed himself in the spring water, Donghua figured out the answer.

The name Lingshan is not given lightly; this high mountain realm truly contains the essence of heaven and earth, and only the power of such a life-bearing planet can reverse the growth of all things in the world.

Just as Zhang Xuezhou had guessed, Donghua did indeed have the idea of using the secret realm to destroy the Immortal Court and Kunlun in the past, but the greater reason for such secret realm collisions and destruction was to drive away the spiritual essence of heaven and earth.

"Only disasters can cause the world's fundamental forces to converge and manifest in a particular place!"

Favorable weather will not reveal the world's true nature; only disasters will cause life-bearing planets to release their true nature, thereby repairing the ravaged world and reviving all things as much as possible.

Zhang Xuezhou was stunned by Donghua's theory.

He had a partial understanding of the cause of Qin Meng's disaster, and also understood why Hu Yu had been in Qin Meng all along.

The origin of the world is the manifestation of life force, capable of reviving everything in nature. However, mortals who wish to obtain the origin of the world create disasters, thereby guiding the convergence of the origin of the world.

Compared to the destruction of a continent in the real world, the blessed lands of the Three Realms become an alternative. As long as destruction is used as a means to guide the world's origin, it is possible to promote its evolution.

Once the location is determined, Donghua only needs to create a disaster to obtain it at the fixed location.

He didn't care about being called inhumane, after all, he had no feelings for the Three Realms, nor was he born into this world; he was fighting purely for his own interests.

Where is that place?

"It's hidden in these mountains, but I don't know exactly where it's hidden; my soul has wandered aimlessly but I haven't been able to find it."

"Did you kill Zhunti?"

"He?"

Zhang Xuezhou was cautious by nature. The fact that the Zhunti Master had turned into human skin while lying in the Eight Treasures Merit Pool meant that searching for the origin of the world was obviously not an easy task, nor was it as safe as imagined.

He directly framed Donghua, forcing Donghua to provide an explanation.

"You've forgotten how your body dissipated in the spiritual spring. He simply lacked guidance and dissipated too much, directly dissolving his body," Donghua said.

"But the previous Sect Master Jieyin was resurrected through the Eight Treasures Merit Pool. How is there a difference between the two?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"When Jieyin resurrected, Houtu was not by his side," Donghua said.

"You mean to say that Zhunti was killed by Houtu?"

"I didn't say that!"

Donghua shook his head repeatedly, indicating that the bigger reason was that the Zhunti Sect Leader lacked proper guidance, thus turning the body's repair into dissolution, and unknowingly losing his life in the Eight Treasures Merit Pool.

"I have a feeling that the death of Master Zhunti is related to you," Zhang Xuezhou said. "This is my most direct feeling; you can't fool me!"

"Hmph~"

Zhang Xuezhou's feeling was indeed correct, but Donghua felt that he was at most 20% responsible for the death of the Zhunti Leader.

"There's something wrong with Zhu Jiuyin's flesh and blood. The Immortality Elixir made from his flesh and blood does have a real effect of prolonging life, but Immortality Elixir causes the body to disintegrate. Normally it's fine, but once you suffer a severe injury, it could lead to your body collapsing. I manipulated the collision of the Jade Bead Secret Realm, causing Haotian's demon body to shatter under the pressure. Otherwise, I wouldn't have abandoned his body. Zhunti was beaten to the Zhunti physical deterioration and collapse, and could only come to the Eight Treasures Merit Pool to repair his body. However, after his body collapsed, he lacked the ability to control his body and could only watch himself being continuously dissolved and die!"

Zhang Xuezhou wouldn't participate in the competition for the Heavenly Essence if he hadn't clearly identified the risk factors, and Donghua could only offer his own speculation.

In the past, this wouldn't have been a problem. However, Houtu Niangniang transformed into a poisonous scorpion and hid in the Eight Treasures Zhunti Pool. Before successfully constructing her body, she instinctively avoided letting things slip. After Zhunti was dissolved, he maintained his original physical form and was not discovered by anyone. Therefore, it was difficult for Sect Master Jieyin to notice the abnormality and save him.

The leader of the Zhunti died due to these complex factors, rather than being assassinated by anyone.

This kind of death is not unusual. There are quite a few cases of great cultivators dying while treating illnesses, and Master Zhunti is just one of them.

This even includes Donghua himself, who also perished in the collision at the Jade Pearl Secret Realm, thus falling into the awkward situation of lacking a physical body.

"So?"

"Those who play with fire will get burned. He lost his life because he didn't play it right. You and I are no different. One wrong step and a top-tier fortuitous opportunity can turn into a deadly vengeance!"

Donghua failed at the very moment of his ascension to a higher dimension, ultimately resulting in his physical demise.

Donghua didn't care about the Zhunti. Everyone was more or less walking a tightrope to gain benefits, and very few people could have the last laugh. The leader of the Zhunti had just unfortunately failed.

The spiritual essence of heaven and earth that they are currently seeking is part of the life-bearing planet, not the original source overflowing from the life-bearing planet. It is purely like plucking a tiger's hair from its mouth. If they pluck it well, they will naturally enjoy the fortuitous opportunity. If they pluck it poorly, they will suffer disaster, and even death would not be surprising.

"But as long as we take this step correctly, even if we don't ascend to sainthood in the future, at least with the blessings of this world, Houtu and Hongjun will find it much harder to discover the abnormality of our identities," Donghua said. "It will be extremely difficult for Houtu to track you down in the future. Even if she marks you, it will be erased. If you keep a low profile, she won't be able to discover your existence!"

"Oh?"

Zhang Xuezhou truly had no hope left for the Three Realms.

He was even preparing to move his entire family, practically giving up on the Three Realms, but Zhang Xuezhou never expected things to take a turn for the better.

Zhang Xuezhou could only take Yi Shuo and Rong Tianding, whose cultivation levels met the requirements, with him. He couldn't do anything about the others. If he could stay in the Three Realms, he would naturally hope to stay for decades rather than leave in disgrace.

He was interested in the spiritual essence of heaven and earth that Donghua mentioned. Upon learning that the spiritual essence of heaven and earth was not an overflowing source of heaven and earth and that forcibly obtaining it was highly risky, he couldn't help but feel very anxious.

"You need to explain all the ins and outs clearly, otherwise you'll end up failing, losing everything, and everything falling apart!"

Zhang Xuezhou reminded Donghua.

The 'fast and slow' space that he and Donghua created is very interesting. Their communication is not just about words, but about the resonance and communication of their spirits.

In the short time it takes for a normal person to say a single sentence, they have already exchanged blows dozens of times, and there has been repeated mental communication, creating conditions similar to virtual time and space, thus making them behave differently from reality.

This strange state might even allow the two to cooperate in obtaining the essence of heaven and earth.

He asked a few simple questions, and when Donghua confirmed his suspicions, he realized that his guess had indeed come true.

Donghua did indeed see the impact of the clash of their abilities on the field of influence. Under these conditions, they would not have a single opportunity, but multiple opportunities, thus increasing their probability of success.

This attempt was far more effective than his personal actions and would more reliably save his life; he was even genuinely willing to give up half of his gains for Zhang Xuezhou to take.