EBE Chapter 616 The Chosen One (1)
Chapter 616 The Chosen One (1)
Inside the Gate of the Dead, the artifact spirit had already reached an agreement with Pei Yun. Little did they know that outside, the temple's high-ranking officials, who had witnessed everything, were arguing fiercely over it!
"How could the spirit of the Gate of the Dead act so presumptuously! The Tree of Resurrection is a celestial tree from the upper realm; how could it be given to a junior so easily!"
“That’s right, this is clearly a treasure left to the temple by Ancestor Qin Meng. If the spirit of the artifact has truly recognized its master, does that mean this Soul-Returning Tree will belong to this woman…”
"Our Temple of Artifacts must never agree to this!"
"Our Array God Palace also disagrees. This woman's outstanding abilities deserve other rewards, but the Soul Return Tree cannot be monopolized by one person. This immortal tree is a treasure shared by our Daoist sect. To the Vast Universe Continent, the Soul Return Tree is just as important as the Dao God Tree..."
"Palace Master Qi, please say something. After all, the Gate of the Dead was left behind by Ancestor Qin Meng in the Dao God Palace..."
Lord Qi of the Dao God Temple glanced at Lu Anxu below, whose feelings were quite complicated.
The Immortal Soul Crystal can be considered one of the top-tier soul treasures, with a value no less than that of a top-grade Heavenly Spirit Medicine. Even he himself had to accumulate points for hundreds of years to be able to exchange for a single Immortal Soul Crystal.
If the Soul Return Tree were to belong to Pei Yun in the future, then all the high-ranking members of the temple, including him, would no longer have any way to obtain Immortal Soul Crystals. After all, there is only one Soul Return Tree on the Vast Universe Continent, making it unique.
However, Pei Yun is a disciple of the Pill God Palace that he values highly. If the Soul Return Tree is truly in Pei Yun's hands, her strength will increase rapidly. If nothing unexpected happens, her future achievements will far surpass his. At that time, he can confidently hand over the Pill God Palace to Pei Yun and let her strengthen the Pill God Palace.
Therefore, Lu Anxu remained silent and did not express his opinion. The elders of the Pill God Palace, including Wei Cheng, also kept quiet. Pei Yun was a disciple of their Pill God Palace. If he spoke up, regardless of whether he supported or not, people from other temples would point the finger at the Pill God Palace.
To be honest, they still couldn't believe that Pei Yun could overcome two difficult-level "gates" in a row. Even Vice Hall Master Jin had to admire Pei Yun.
The fact that Pei Yun was able to dispel and eliminate the resentment of the first "door" can be attributed to a certain amount of luck. However, the second "door" was even more dangerous than the first, yet Pei Yun still managed to perfectly resolve the resentment of the vengeful spirits, which is undoubtedly a testament to his strength.
Pei Yun's performance in the "gate" not only demonstrates his strength, but also his character and integrity.
At this moment, Palace Master Qi spoke up: "...Before Ancestor Qin Meng ascended to immortality, he made an agreement with the Dao God Palace. Before the artifact spirit recognized its master, the higher-ups would send a group of people into the artifact every so often to dissolve the 'gate' within. If the 'gate' could be made to disappear, the artifact spirit would reward the spirit with Immortal Soul Crystals formed by the Returning Soul Tree, depending on the circumstances. However, once the artifact spirit recognized its master, the higher-ups of the palace were not allowed to stop or harm its master. This agreement was recorded in the Contract Book, and those who violated the contract would suffer a backlash. Do you all want to watch the Dao God Palace break the agreement in the Contract Book?"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding uproar and murmurs of opposition immediately subsided, but this did not quell the discontent in the hearts of the crowd.
Many people were secretly glancing in the direction of the elders of the Pill God Palace, and deliberately said, "...Since the contract cannot be broken, then let this disciple of the Pill God Palace voluntarily give up recognizing the master!"
"That makes sense. The Resurrection Tree is a celestial tree, and people all over the Vast Universe would fight over it. Even if that Pei Yun really possesses it, she'll probably be guilty of possessing a treasure. Does she want to offend everyone in the temples because of this?"
"That's right, we're doing this for her own good..."
……
Of course, Pei Yun, inside the Gate of the Dead, couldn't hear these idle gossips. After each of the five teams selected a gold-selling group, everyone except Pei Yun went into the "gate" and left.
Fu Lingchen and his three companions were also forced to separate from Pei Yun. The spirit of the artifact had already told them that, based on their performance and results in the first two "gates," even if they didn't pass the third "gate," their team would still be the first place in this Five Palaces Grand Competition.
In the end, only the spirit and Pei Yun remained at the scene.
The spirit waved its hand, and a new "door" appeared before it. This golden "door" exuded an aura of majesty.
"This 'door' is the third 'door' I chose for you. If you can convert the vengeful spirits inside and make this 'door' disappear, I will acknowledge you as my master," the spirit said.
Pei Yun cupped his hands in a respectful gesture: "This junior will do his best." With that, he stepped into the "door"...
……
The moment she stepped through the "door," a screen of light flashed in Pei Yun's mind, displaying only four words: "Chosen One." Just as she was about to ponder it, the image in her mind vanished. She opened her eyes, and a riot of exquisite and precious flowers came into view.
The air was filled with the fragrance of flowers, and laughter echoed all around. Further on, red walls and golden tiles, and magnificent palaces layered upon each other, with carved railings and jade steps, displayed their opulent luxury.
Pei Yun discovered that she had been teleported to a royal palace in the mortal realm. She was currently in a large garden, with eunuchs, palace maids, and men and women dressed in luxurious clothes not far away.
Just then, an eleven or twelve-year-old boy suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Without even looking where he was going, he rushed towards her and almost bumped into her.
Pei Yun instinctively dodged to the side. The boy, running too fast, twisted his ankle and fell to the ground, causing the snacks hidden in his sleeve to fall out and roll to the side.
The boy quickly picked up the few pieces of osmanthus cake, dusted them off, and was about to hide them in his clothes when several piercing sounds rang out from afar.
Meanwhile, Pei Yun, who was hiding in the corner, had already cleverly concealed herself. The range of her vision and divine sense was limited to ordinary mortals, making it extremely easy for her to make herself invisible to them. Moreover, as soon as Pei Yun mobilized her spiritual power, she discovered that her cultivation was not restricted within this "door," and she could unleash her full strength.
"Oh dear! Isn't this Seventh Brother? Why are you lying here picking up snacks? It's really unbecoming of a prince..." a fat young man sneered.
As soon as he opened his mouth, the surrounding crowd joined in the mockery without any restraint.
“…As expected of an ill-mannered brat, just like his mother in the Cold Palace. It’s fortunate that Father Emperor is wise and powerful, saw through Consort Zhuang’s true colors, and banished her to the Cold Palace…” A young man in fine clothes looked down at the boy who was bowing his head and remaining silent with disdain.
Pei Yun observed the boy, who bit his lip tightly, clutching the snack in his hand, his small body trembling involuntarily.
The crowd gathered around the boy, making sarcastic and cynical comments, seemingly finding amusement in it.
The boy didn't dare to get up or look them in the eye. He just knelt on the ground, curled up in a ball, the pastry in his hand crushed beyond recognition.
After a while, an older man walked over with his hands behind his back, followed by a large group of palace maids and eunuchs. As soon as he appeared, the surrounding crowd immediately stopped mocking him and bowed to him, saying, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
The Crown Prince exuded an overbearing aura, his face quite arrogant. He glanced coldly at the kneeling boy, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes, and asked, "Second brother, third sister, sixth sister, fifth brother, why are you all gathered here?"
"Big brother, we were strolling around the Imperial Garden when, before we'd gone far, we ran into... our seventh brother, who was picking up food... Sigh..."
The chubby Second Prince, known as "Second Brother," approached the Crown Prince with a fawning smile.
The crown prince glanced at the boy and said coldly, "Let's go. Father's birthday banquet is about to begin. Most of the ministers and members of the royal family have already arrived..."
"Brother is right. We mustn't be late and upset Father..." The second prince flattered, following behind the crown prince who had already left.
The Fifth Prince's expression was not good; he stared at the Crown Prince's back with a sinister gaze. He waited until the person in front had gone some distance before slowly following.
None of these people, including the eunuchs and maids around him, paid any more attention to the boy kneeling on the ground. The boy stiffly stood up, wiped away his tears, and stared stubbornly in the direction the people had left. He did not follow them, but turned and headed towards another secluded palace...