Chapter 276: Xuan Zhenzi is Not an Artifact Spirit

Jiuyou stood in silence, his divine sense slightly retracted, weighing the risks and rewards.

Xuan Zhenzi was a man of profound cunning, entirely unlike the casual, carefree figure he portrayed on the surface. To seize the chance to ascend to the Upper Realm, he had laid his plans early, enduring and scheming at every step. His mind was shrewd and clear—ordinary cultivators could not hold a candle to him, and he could not be underestimated in the slightest. Compared to someone like Wang Xunzhen, he was every bit as formidable.

If not for Xuan Zhenzi's repeated covert assistance and careful paving of the way over the years, Jiuyou would never have weathered so many crises, much less shattered his bottlenecks to step into the Deity Transformation Realm.

All of Xuan Zhenzi's efforts revolved around one ultimate goal: the passage to the Upper Realm. Their objectives currently aligned. With their interests deeply intertwined, they were firmly bound together in what could be considered a stable, albeit temporary, alliance.

Yet the immortal path was long, and the human heart was hard to fathom.

In the past, when his cultivation had stalled at the Nascent Soul stage, his foundation had been shallow and his path forward fraught with thorns. He had truly needed to rely on Xuan Zhenzi's vast accumulation of knowledge and experience to establish a foothold amid the disputes of various factions. Constrained by his own limits back then, he could only go with the flow and strictly abide by their pact.

But times had changed. He had achieved his Deity Transformation Dao fruit, elevating his combat prowess to the absolute pinnacle of this world. He no longer needed to blindly accommodate anyone.

Xuan Zhenzi still had his uses; keeping him was far more worthwhile than casting him aside. Yet simply leaving him to his own devices would be a waste. Over their hundreds of years of constant companionship, Xuan Zhenzi had seemed like a casual bystander, but in truth, he had been quietly observing. The artifact spirit had long since figured out Jiuyou's origins, past, and methods.

Jiuyou hailed from the Demonic Path. He was ruthless and decisive, acting without regard for the laws of the Righteous Path, and his methods were exceptionally cruel. In the eyes of an existence like Xuan Zhenzi—who strictly adhered to ancient etiquette and possessed a deeply conservative nature—such a style must have bred alienation and wariness long ago.

On the surface, Xuan Zhenzi always smiled and chatted as usual, maintaining their tacit cooperation. But no one could pry into what he truly thought.

Fortunately, the Heaven and Earth Ring was now completely under his control. Xuan Zhenzi was an artifact spirit. Even if his cultivation was unique and Jiuyou could not completely shackle him, the moment he dared harbor treasonous thoughts or attempt a backlash, Jiuyou's absolute mastery over the spirit treasure would easily allow him to suppress and subdue the spirit. There was no need for excessive paranoia.

As these thoughts quietly settled in his mind, Jiuyou's expression remained entirely impassive, betraying not a single ripple of emotion.

Just then, Wang Xunzhen could no longer hold back.

"Daoist Jiuyou, you stay silent and hesitate again and again," he said, his tone taking on an edge of impatience. "Do you find my conditions lacking? You are far too greedy if you truly believe your current methods are enough to finish me."

"You worry too much, Daoist."

Jiuyou spoke slowly, his mind clear on his limits. He knew his current strength was enough to severely wound this fallen Upper Realm cultivator, but completely killing him remained beyond his grasp.

Wang Xunzhen's origins were extraordinary, backed by the profound foundation of the Upper Realm. There was no telling if he harbored hidden protective treasures or lost secret arts. The situation within the secret realm was already volatile; pushing Wang Xunzhen too far might trigger a desperate, life-risking counterattack. That would only result in mutual destruction, adding senseless danger to the situation.

Just as Jiuyou pondered how to reply, Xuan Zhenzi spoke up beside him.

"Brat, delays bring complications. Agree quickly!" Xuan Zhenzi urged, his tone unusually frantic. "As long as I can enter the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree, this bastard will lose his reliance. He won't be a threat!"

Jiuyou's eyes flickered. He suppressed a fleeting sense of unease, nodded slightly, and looked at Wang Xunzhen.

"Since Daoist negotiates with sincerity, I accept," Jiuyou said, his tone perfectly flat. "Relinquish half your control over the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree immediately, and I will lift the spatial lockdown around us."

"Afterward, I will not interfere—whether you choose to refine that wisp of origin from before, or hunt down the other Deity Transformation Cultivators who entered this realm. Gaining an ally who knows the secrets of the Upper Realm is of immense benefit to me. Compared to the narrow-minded fools of this world, your value is beyond compare."

This blunt evaluation ignited a flash of irritation in Wang Xunzhen's heart.

Having dwelt in the Upper Realm for countless years, he was accustomed to witnessing the shifting tides of the heavens. He had always viewed the denizens of the Lower Realm as mere dust and ants. He had spent his entire life looking down from on high. Never before had he been so openly extorted by a native cultivator.

But despite the rage surging within him, Wang Xunzhen ruthlessly suppressed his emotions, his face betraying nothing. He had lain dormant for countless ages to seize this exact opportunity. A single mistake could send his lifelong plans down the drain. He would never let a moment of petty pride ruin everything.

After a brief pause, he answered.

"Fine. We will do as you say," he said in a deep voice.

With that, Wang Xunzhen raised a hand and waved. The blood-red mist blanketing the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree slowly contracted, peeling back layer by layer. In an instant, it cleared away from the upper half of the tree, handing over control of that territory.

Jiuyou's gaze was heavy as he slowly stepped forward, taking Xuan Zhenzi with him.

Wang Xunzhen was cunning by nature, calculating his every move. Conceding so easily today was entirely out of character. Jiuyou dared not drop his guard. His spiritual energy remained coiled and ready, his divine sense fully extended to watch for any lethal traps waiting in the dark.

But Xuan Zhenzi was acting entirely differently.

The artifact spirit's eyes burned with undisguised urgency. Without waiting for Jiuyou's warning, and without bothering to sweep for hidden dangers, he moved. In a single flash, Xuan Zhenzi plunged straight into the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree. The very next instant, the Heaven and Earth Ring erupted with blinding light, drawing out a vast, majestic torrent of heaven and earth origin power.

Xuan Zhenzi seized every drop of available pure spiritual energy within the secret realm and violently funneled it into the depths of the sacred tree. Spiritual light pierced the sky, and auspicious energy swirled in heavy currents. The entire Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree trembled violently. The sheer magnitude of the display was awe-inspiring.

Jiuyou stood his ground, a frown creasing his brow as suspicions exploded in his mind. He quickly smoothed his features, hiding every trace of doubt so Wang Xunzhen would not read his thoughts.

Everything about this scene was utterly bizarre.

Xuan Zhenzi had always been deeply suspicious and valued his own life above all else. Caution was his watchword. The moment he sensed even a hint of danger, his first instinct was always to retreat inside the Heaven and Earth Ring and hide. He never took unnecessary risks.

Yet today, he was acting with reckless impatience. Completely ignoring the inherent dangers of the secret realm and turning a blind eye to whatever insidious traps Wang Xunzhen might have laid, he had forcefully invaded the sacred tree. There was not a shred of his usual prudence.

Earlier, Xuan Zhenzi claimed he had been drawn out by the secret realm's strange fragrance, coveting control of the sacred tree. That was likely just a smokescreen.

From the very beginning, his true target had always been the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree itself.

A deeply buried doubt suddenly surfaced in Jiuyou's mind, and the more he thought about it, the more suspicious it became.

Xuan Zhenzi claimed to be the artifact spirit of the Heaven and Earth Ring. But if that were true, why had Jiuyou been forced to painstakingly cultivate the Treasure Control Formula just to slowly pry open control of the ring's power?

According to the fragmented ancient records, a spirit treasure's artifact spirit was born directly from its origin. Its mind was perfectly linked with the treasure, allowing it to freely manipulate its full power. It absolutely did not require a host to practice a specialized technique just to harness it.

If Xuan Zhenzi were truly the native artifact spirit of the Heaven and Earth Ring, Jiuyou would only have needed to maintain their alliance. He could have simply borrowed the spirit's power to command the spirit treasure. Why waste so much time mastering the Treasure Control Formula?

Looking back to their very first meeting, the seeds of doubt had been planted from the start.

Back then, the situation in the Daoyang Sect had been chaotic and fraught with peril. Barely able to keep himself alive, Jiuyou had not had the energy to investigate such discrepancies. Over their long years of mutually beneficial cooperation, he had simply taken the spirit's claims at face value, never digging into his true origins.

Now, thinking back with a clear head, too many details did not add up.

Xuan Zhenzi had initially proposed an equal partnership, rather than offering his subservience. Given his calculating, deep-scheming nature, he never would have entrusted his own safety to someone else so easily.

Thoughts raced through Jiuyou's mind, piecing together disparate clues and spinning countless theories.

The spirit had insisted Jiuyou practice the Treasure Control Formula. On the surface, it looked like he was helping Jiuyou master the spirit treasure—perhaps even offering him a way to keep the spirit himself in check. But looking at it from another angle... it seemed more like a deliberate, disguised limitation on Jiuyou.

Perhaps from the very beginning, Xuan Zhenzi knew perfectly well that even if Jiuyou mastered the Treasure Control Formula, he would never truly be able to control the spirit's main body.

All their years of mutual assistance and seamless cooperation... perhaps from start to finish, it had been nothing but an elaborate act.

He was not an artifact spirit naturally born within the Heaven and Earth Ring at all. He was something else entirely—a mysterious entity of unknown origin and unfathomable purpose, merely hiding inside the Heaven-grade Spiritual Treasure.

Layers of doubt clouded his mind. Every perfectly reasonable interaction, every timely piece of assistance from their past, was suddenly cast under a suffocating shadow. It was an enigma he could neither see through nor solve.