The Last of the Five Treasures, Found

[Year 60, Age 78.]

[Your cultivation realm has reached the twelfth level of the Spirit Sea Realm. Breaking through to the peak is only a matter of time.]

[However, the search for the Oblivion Water has hit a bottleneck.]

[Xiliang has the smallest area among the Five Regions.]

[Once the Myriad Soul Banner issued the imperial decree, basically every person and artifact knew about it within a year.]

[This artifact ruler usually didn't bother everyone with much.]

[This time, a rare errand was announced, stating that whoever found this item would be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold and enfeoffed as a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households.]

[Everyone and every artifact throughout Xiliang searched very earnestly for the Oblivion Water.]

[But up until now, there has been no news.]

[You recall the records on the pill recipe.]

["It depends on luck; only those who are destined can see the Oblivion Water... Does the Oblivion Water spawn randomly in Xiliang? Then who could possibly find this thing? How did the ancient sages discover it and use it to refine the Five Regions Holy Pill?"]

[The creation of the Five Regions Holy Pill is stuck in a dilemma.]

[Meanwhile, the Myriad Soul Banner is having a great time in the Artifact Kingdom.]

[Ten thousand artifacts come to pay their respects, cheering for the Great Emperor.]

[He appointed the Immortal Binding Rope as the Prime Minister. After all, this guy had been the ruler for twenty years and understood state affairs; they really couldn't do without him.]

[He appointed the Demon Refining Pot as the Chief Eunuch, which infuriated the Demon Refining Pot so much that it cursed him for three days and three nights without repeating a single sentence.]

[As for you, you have no official position, but you are the man behind the Myriad Soul Banner!]

[Whatever decree you tell the Myriad Soul Banner to issue, he issues it.]

[Whatever resources you tell the Myriad Soul Banner to get for you, he has to scrape them up from Xiliang.]

[The feeling of being a treacherous court official is truly exhilarating for you.]

[But the fact that the Oblivion Water still can't be found is a real headache.]

[Year 61, Age 79.]

[You replaced "Man and Sword as One" with "The Older, The Luckier".]

[You used the "Treasure-Snatching Strange Nose" to search for the Oblivion Water all over Xiliang.]

[Yet you still couldn't smell the scent of the supreme treasure, so you had to temporarily return to Great Artifact City and wait for news.]

[Your eldest brother, your confidante, your mentor, and your old friends all know that you are currently in Great Artifact City of Xiliang, so they frequently pass information to you.]

[You learn that the four great Demon Ancestors—Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger—have brought ten Demon Saints, a hundred Demon Kings, and a million elite demon warriors to bear down upon the Firmament Ridge!]

[In the past few years, because you informed all parties in advance about the impending demon attack, everyone was somewhat prepared.]

[Therefore, the vanguard army of the Four-Eyed Spirit Monkey failed to succeed.]

[This time, they couldn't sneak into the Five Regions to slaughter at will; they were all blocked outside the Firmament Ridge.]

[But now, the situation is not optimistic.]

[Although the Five Regions are prepared, they haven't sent out their full forces; each party has only dispatched a portion of their troops to assist in the defense.]

[However, the demon race is going all out!]

[This puts immense pressure on those defending the Firmament Ridge!]

[Currently, all parties in the Five Regions are aware of the severity of the situation and are sending emergency reinforcements.]

[A consensus has been reached among all parties.]

[The demon race is here to annihilate the Five Regions.]

[If this disaster cannot be overcome, given the accumulated hatred between the two races over the years, the demons will definitely seize the opportunity to slaughter everyone in the Five Regions, leaving not even a chicken or dog alive!]

[Therefore, all internal conflicts must stop immediately, and all grievances must be set aside!]

["The demon race..."]

[After learning about the tragedy from thirty thousand years ago, during the great war between the human and demon realms, when the Dragon-Human race sneak-attacked the demon race's home...]

[You actually don't want to see the human race of the Five Regions and the demon race of the Great Wilderness repeat the same mistakes.]

[But some things cannot be resolved just by talking.]

[Only by beating the demons until they are scared! Until they feel the pain! Will they quietly listen to you explain the pros and cons.]

[Peace is never achieved through negotiation.]

[Everyone understands the reasoning, but to make the other side listen to your reasoning, you must first make them submit.]

[This battle is inevitable.]

["I haven't broken through yet, and I haven't reached the level of absolute invincibility below the Martial King Realm. Even if I go, the role I can play is limited, but..."]

[You crush the letter paper in your hand into powder, falling into a dilemma.]

[Just then, a meteor hammer rushed in.]

["Reporting—Your Majesty! There is a monk outside who says he has found the Oblivion Water and has come to claim the reward!"]

[The Myriad Soul Banner sat on the throne, acting bossy and arrogant.]

["Bring him in for Us!"]

[You immediately stood up and rushed out.]

[The Myriad Soul Banner immediately changed his tune.]

["Ah... for such an important matter, We shall personally go out to welcome him."]

[You arrived outside the royal palace at top speed and saw a familiar figure.]

["You damn bald donkey?!"]

[Wearing a patched-up kasaya, Zhenpin pressed his palms together and said to you.]

["Why do you curse as soon as you open your mouth, sir? Do you have some prejudice against our Buddhism?"]

[It was still that familiar tone, devoid of any emotional fluctuation no matter what happened.]

["Hahaha! Monk! You are truly my lucky star! I really didn't expect to meet you again... Right, right, right, you're not dead yet, not dead yet."]

["Sir, your words are truly a bit unpleasant to hear. Do we know each other?"]

["We do."]

["Since when?"]

["Just now."]

["..."]

["Alright, let's enter the palace. I'll have Xiao Wan appoint you as the State Preceptor! Oh, and remember to tell me where the Oblivion Water is!"]

["This 'Xiao Wan' couldn't possibly be His Majesty the Myriad Soul Banner, could it?"]

["Haha! What Majesty? He's just a lowly scoundrel!"]

["..."]

[The Artifact Kingdom gained a Great State Preceptor.]

[Anyway, it was a makeshift troupe; they could do whatever they wanted.]

[Zhenpin led the way for you, bringing you to a mudflat by the Moon Radiance River in Xiliang.]

["It's right here."]

[You indeed smelled the scent of a supreme treasure!]

["How strange!"]

[You had been to this place before.]

[The Moon Radiance River is the largest river in Xiliang. The name Oblivion Water obviously has to do with water, so naturally, you first investigated various water areas.]

[But when you came here back then, you didn't smell any supreme treasure!]

[Following the scent, you found some water droplets that didn't dissolve into the soil in a small puddle on the mudflat.]

[They were like glass marbles, bouncing around in the puddle, emitting a faint blue halo.]

[They indeed matched the appearance of the Oblivion Water recorded in the pill recipe.]

["This poor monk saw that the 'Oblivion Water' mentioned in the bounty was very similar to the strange water droplets I saw here, so I thought I'd go to the royal palace and report it to give it a try."]

["It's a good thing you didn't touch it. If this thing is touched by a person, it will immediately turn into ordinary water."]

["This was mentioned in the bounty, so naturally, this poor monk wouldn't mess with it."]

[You walked a few circles around Zhenpin, looking him up and down.]

["Amitabha, see no evil. Why are you looking at this State Preceptor like this, sir?"]

["Step away first."]

["To where?"]

["Anywhere, just go far away."]

[Although Zhenpin didn't understand, he cooperated.]

[After Zhenpin walked far away, you suddenly realized that the Oblivion Water was gone!]

["Come back, come back!"]

[Hearing your voice, Zhenpin slowly walked back.]

[When he approached within a hundred meters, the Wangchen Water appeared once again!]

["So this is what it meant to be the fated person! But why is it Zhenpin?"]