Chapter 1105: Founder of the Immortal Cult

"My Lord, is it truly you? Have you really been resurrected?" Qing He covered her mouth with both hands, still unable to believe that her lord was truly alive.

Driven by emotion, she stepped forward to embrace her, seeking confirmation that she was not dreaming.

"It is me, I have returned to life," the Immortal Fairy said with a smile, gently patting Qing He’s back to comfort her, just as she had soothed her in ancient times after risking her life to save her from peril.

"My Lord, I have waited for you for so long. I thought I would never see you again..."

Qing He spoke with a sob, but realizing she had overstepped her bounds, she hurriedly released the Immortal Fairy in a panic; yet the Immortal Fairy took a step forward to embrace her once more, whispering softly in her ear, "Xiao He, it is so good to see you unharmed."

By the time they separated, Qing He's eyes were already red from weeping.

Hui Doudou glanced at Immortal Zuo Shi kneeling on the ground, suddenly finding the situation dreadfully dull.

The preceding battle had lasted only a fleeting moment; Lu Yang and Yun Mengmeng had barely looked up to watch, and before they could even mourn for the unfortunate Immortal Zuo Shi, he had already been beaten black and blue, kneeling on the ground to beg for mercy.

While observing the fight, Yun Mengmeng and Qing He had also conveniently captured Daoist Ming Yuan as he attempted to flee.

Lu Yang felt he had done right by Patriarch Jin Tan for forging his identity as a Five-Star Spirit Chef; though he had not followed Jin Tan's plan to demand legendary ingredients, capturing Daoist Ming Yuan for him could, by a broad interpretation, be considered helping Jin Tan fulfill his wish of becoming the Leader of the Spirit Chef Alliance.

"Chief, I knew you would come to save me!" Yun Mengmeng skipped over to the Immortal Fairy's side. She had not panicked much when facing Immortal Zuo Shi earlier, precisely because she believed the Chief would arrive in time.

"Wait, my Lord is the Chief you spoke of?!" Qing He looked utterly shocked, as if she had just heard a ghost story.

She should have realized it when she learned Yun Mengmeng possessed the rudimentary form of the Immortal Dao Fruit, but she had been too preoccupied with saving people to make the connection.

"Then the Second Chief you kept mentioning is..."

"This is him, the Second Chief of our Immortal Lineage!" Yun Mengmeng solemnly brought Lu Yang forward.

"Senior Qing He, h-hello there. I often hear the Fairy speak of you," Lu Yang offered a sheepish smile, sensing a distinct trace of displeasure in the way Senior Qing He looked at him.

Naturally, Qing He would not grant Lu Yang a warm reception; according to Yun Mengmeng's descriptions, Lu Yang relied on the Lord's favor to pester her day in and day out, his mouth filled with nothing but falsehoods.

Fortunately, the Lord possessed a pure, innocent heart and remained untainted.

"The Soul Transformation Stage?" Qing He raised an eyebrow. How could someone at the Soul Transformation Stage become the Second Chief of the Immortal Lineage?

With her own dull talent, she had followed her Lord's footsteps and attempted several times to condense the rudimentary form of the Immortal Dao Fruit, only to end in failure each time, forcing her to settle for the Longevity Dao Fruit instead and forfeiting her eligibility to join the Immortal Lineage.

What virtues or abilities did this boy possess to win her Lord's favor?

"Don't look down on the Second Chief's current low cultivation level; back in the Buddhist Kingdom, he possessed an immortal body condensed from incense offerings. He was incredibly powerful—even Lord Sichen and some Emperor's clone were no match for him!" Yun Mengmeng defended Lu Yang, asserting that the Second Chief was truly a remarkable individual.

"An immortal body in the Buddhist Kingdom, Lord Sichen? It was you who fought at the Western Heaven Temple?" Qing He was astonished; she had assumed that battle was Yun Mengmeng's doing.

In the battle of the Western Heaven Temple, that mysterious immortal possessed the rudimentary form of the Immortal Dao Fruit, meaning he could actually utilize it?

"Exactly, isn't Little Yangzi amazing?" The Immortal Fairy shared her joy with Qing He. While Qing He viewed their relationship as that of superior and subordinate, the Immortal Fairy considered them intimate friends who shared everything.

"In truth, my resurrection is all thanks to Little Yangzi. It was he who joined the Immortal Sect, discovered the method to revive me, and inadvertently called out this immortal's name."

Qing He’s expression turned solemn. If it was Lu Yang who had resurrected her Lord, then her attitude just now had been somewhat discourteous.

But even if Lu Yang had resurrected her Lord, he still should not spend his days deceiving her with sweet talk.

Hui Doudou stared intently at Lu Yang. It was all because of him; had he not meddled and resurrected the Immortal, none of these troubles would exist today!

At this thought, Hui Doudou tightened his grip on Immortal Zuo Shi’s head, causing such excruciating pain that Immortal Zuo Shi feared Hui Doudou was seizing the opportunity to kill him.

"Don't kill me, don't kill me! If we are putting it that way, I contributed to the resurrection of the Immortal Fairy as well!"

"You?"

Everyone turned in unison to look at Immortal Zuo Shi, their faces etched with surprise.

"It was I who founded the Immortal Sect."

Immortal Zuo Shi had always been searching for a rudimentary Dao Fruit that would allow him to survive the Immortal of Annihilation; though he possessed the Youth-Restoring Dao Fruit which increased vitality, the most suitable Dao Fruit for preserving one's life was undoubtedly the Immortal Dao Fruit.

Yet the Immortal Dao Fruit could not be formed as easily as the Youth-Restoring Dao Fruit; it was exceedingly rare, and not a single soul across the three hundred thousand years spanning the Xinhu, Daqian, and Dayu eras had managed to manifest it.

Thus, he had established the Immortal Sect, hoping to condense the rudimentary form of the Immortal Dao Fruit through the power of incense offerings.

Later, he encountered Yun Zhi in the Great Xia Dynasty, and after a brief clash, he fled in panic, never daring to return to Great Xia in person, choosing instead to send his clones there.

Subsequently, the Immortal Sect was annihilated, his clones were destroyed, and he gained absolutely nothing.

However, there was no need to mention any of that now, for claiming credit to save his own life was of paramount importance.

"To resurrect the Immortal Fairy, I emulated the deeds of the Xinhu Dynasty and founded the Immortal Sect!"

"Who are you trying to fool? If you truly intended to resurrect the Fairy, would you have gotten her immortal name wrong?" Lu Yang immediately exposed Immortal Zuo Shi’s lie.

To resurrect the Fairy, one had to chant her proper title; the deity revered by the Immortal Sect was called the "Immortal Cultivator," so it would be a miracle if that actually worked.

"You clearly established the Immortal Sect solely to obtain the rudimentary form of the Immortal Dao Fruit by exploiting the faith of incense offerings!"

Seeing the growing hostility around him and sensing his imminent peril, Immortal Zuo Shi, desperate to prove his worth, blurted out the secret buried deep within his heart.

"I know who the mastermind is!"

"!"

The moment these words were spoken, everyone was struck with astonishment, and even Hui Doudou was no exception.

The genesis of all these events stemmed from the mastermind who had slain the Immortal Fairy!

Yet to this day, no one knew the true identity of this mastermind, nor why they had killed the Immortal Fairy.

"My Dao Fruit of Insight allows me to perceive all ten directions; everything beneath heaven and upon the earth, throughout antiquity and into the future, can be clearly seen."

"When I first condensed the Dao Fruit of Insight, Immortal Yingtian and the others had me peer into the past to see exactly who had killed the Immortal Fairy."

Lu Yang recalled Ao Ling mentioning this affair, noting that Immortal Zuo Shi had strained himself to the point of sweating profusely while executing his Dao Fruit, yet failed to discern anything of note.

Immortal Zuo Shi said tremulously, "In truth, I did see the masterminds at that time—it was precisely the four of them, including Immortal Yingtian!"

"The four of them coveted the Immortal Dao Fruit, but since the Immortal Fairy occupied that position, they devised a plan to assassinate her, thereby leaving the seat of Immortality vacant!"

With the four perpetrators surrounding him like tigers watching their prey and demanding to know the culprit, he would have had to be tired of living to dare speak the truth.