Chapter 871: Long Spring Five-colored Flower

As Zu An and his companions rushed out of the room to find the triggered mechanism, they soon realized there was no need to search. In the water elemental room, visible glows were continuously drifting in one direction, clearly indicating that a large amount of water spirit energy was being absorbed.

Similar scenes were likely occurring in the other rooms as well.

Zu An couldn't help but ask, "Is Emperor Qin absorbing the power of the five elements to resurrect himself soon?"

Mi Li's expression was grave. "It's possible, but I've never heard of a five-element formation having the power to resurrect."

Seeing her preoccupied look, Zu An spoke earnestly, "Master, you don't need to worry. Even if Emperor Qin truly resurrects, you won't be alone. I'll be here to face it with you."

Seeing his rare serious demeanor, Mi Li felt a warmth in her heart, but her words showed no gratitude. "Hmph, if Ying Zheng really resurrects, your cultivation is barely enough to serve as cannon fodder, let alone face him with me."

Zu An was speechless.

Nearby, Bi Linglong couldn't help but chuckle. This guy always took the initiative when teasing her, and now, for once, he was speechless.

Perhaps because the water elemental room was very close to the center of the grand formation, it wasn't long before the group arrived at a spacious platform.

The platform was vast, roughly the size of several football fields, and perfectly circular.

"Orchid Pond, Heaven's Altar, Earth Sacrifice Platform..." Mi Li murmured to herself as she scanned the entire area.

Zu An asked, "What do Orchid Pond, Heaven's Altar, and Earth Sacrifice Platform mean?"

Mi Li explained, "The Orchid Pond was a scenic pool in the imperial garden of Xianyang Palace. The Heaven's Altar was a place for worshipping heaven, and the Earth Sacrifice Platform was for offering sacrifices to the gods of land and grain. This place now integrates features from all these locations; you can see many familiar elements."

In ancient times, 'She' referred to the nation itself, and 'Ji' to the god of grain. Favorable weather and abundant harvests were the most vital matters for any ancient state.

Zu An examined the platform before him. He saw a winding stream encircling it, seemingly part of a massive pond.

In the center stood a towering pagoda, clearly a place for worshipping heaven and earth.

Next to the pagoda was a massive ancient tree, but it appeared barren and long dead.

At that moment, several wisps of colorful light drifted in from various directions, clearly elemental energies from the Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth rooms. As these energies arrived, formations in five directions across the platform suddenly lit up, flashing with yellow, green, blue, red, and brown lines that swiftly extended into the ancient tree at the center.

Immediately afterward, the ancient tree emanated a sparkling glow and began to rejuvenate at a visible rate, sprouting branches and budding. Though it had been completely barren moments before, within a few blinks of an eye, it became lush and verdant.

Even more astonishing, its leaves were not green—or rather, not *only* green.

Approximately one-fifth of the leaves were green, while the remaining four-fifths were various shades of yellow, blue, red, and brown, clearly representing the Metal, Water, Fire, and Earth elements.

"Look, the tree is blooming!" Bi Linglong exclaimed, pointing to the center.

On the tree's crown, a massive flower slowly formed, resembling a hydrangea. Its petals were also five colors, shimmering with light. From a distance, one could feel a rich aura of life emanating from it, clearly indicating it was no ordinary plant.

"Evergreen Five-Colored Flower..." Mi Li, who was usually calm regardless of the situation, momentarily lost her composure.

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. "Is that the Evergreen Five-Colored Flower, one of the materials needed to reshape your body?"

He had heard her mention before that this flower took thousands of years to grow and spread, and even longer to finally bloom. He had thought it might be impossible to find in his lifetime, yet now it was right before his eyes.

Mi Li hummed in affirmation. Just as Zu An was about to leap forward to pluck the flower, she pulled him back firmly.

"What's wrong?" Zu An asked, puzzled. Such a precious material was right before them; missing it now might mean never finding it again.

Mi Li's chest rose and fell, clearly indicating her agitation. However, she still spoke calmly, "You must understand, the more beautiful something is in this world, the more deceptive it tends to be. Look at what's under the tree."

Zu An turned around and then noticed a massive coffin beneath the tree. Earlier, with the tree bare and the surroundings dim, no one had paid attention to it. Now that the tree was in bloom and shimmering with light, illuminating the area, the coffin's presence was revealed.

The entire coffin was made of thick bronze, intricately carved with various five-clawed golden dragon patterns on its exterior. Both its size and scale far surpassed the coffins previously seen in the Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth rooms.

Mi Li continued, "All the power of the five elements is converging there, clearly making it the core of this grand formation. Using the Evergreen Five-Colored Flower to lure people over is most likely a trap."

"Could it be Emperor Qin's coffin?" Zu An was also startled.

"Indeed, it's most likely him," Mi Li said with a complex expression. "He would do anything for immortality. The formations here exude a sinister aura; I don't know where he learned such methods, but he must be trying to use this grand formation to resurrect himself."

Zu An pondered for a moment, then smiled calmly. "The Evergreen Five-Colored Flower is so rare; if we miss this chance, we might never find it again. A man of integrity keeps his word. Since I promised to help you find the materials to reshape your body, what kind of man would I be if I backed down from potential danger?"

He quickly told Bi Linglong, who was standing nearby, "Wait for me here."

If there truly was danger ahead, likely related to Emperor Qin's resurrection, he would struggle to protect himself and certainly wouldn't have the capacity to look after her. It was safer for her to remain here.

After speaking, he immediately summoned Great Wind and charged towards the center.

Seeing his actions, Mi Li cursed under her breath, "This fool!"

Worried about his safety, she quickly followed.

As Zu An approached the large tree, the closer he got, the more he felt the oppressive presence emanating from the massive bronze coffin. His heart pounded faster and faster.

However, he had no time to think of anything else. He immediately jumped onto the Evergreen Five-Colored Tree, where a refreshing fragrance greeted him.

He wasn't sure if the flower was poisonous, nor if his invulnerable body could withstand a wondrous item that bloomed only once every few millennia.

He gritted his teeth and plucked the sole flower.

To his surprise, nothing happened.

There was no movement from the massive bronze coffin nearby. Emperor Qin did not resurrect, nor was there even the slightest sound.

Mi Li had been vigilantly watching the bronze coffin, guarding against anything that might emerge to ambush Zu An. Seeing no reaction, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, this unexpected lack of danger piqued her curiosity. "You should leave this place first. I'll open the coffin and take a look at him."

Zu An smiled. "I'll stay with you. If anything truly happens, I can fight alongside you."

Mi Li opened her mouth but ultimately did not send him away. With his current cultivation, he indeed had the qualifications to fight alongside her.

Moreover, his body was extremely powerful, giving him a certain degree of self-preservation.

Mi Li said nothing more. She simply approached the massive bronze coffin and slowly pushed open its heavy lid.

As expected, the inner coffin was made of crystal, but it was much larger than Fusu's earlier.

A man in dragon robes lay silently within the coffin. Even with his eyes closed, his arched eyebrows, high nose bridge, and prominently protruding chest exuded an aura of haughty majesty that made one dare not look directly at him. Indeed, he closely resembled the historical description of one with a 'wasp's nose, long eyes, and a raptor's chest.'

This was not the first time Zu An had seen him. He had encountered his remnant soul in the secret realm of Brightmoon City Academy. It had to be said that the remnant soul had exuded a stronger sense of oppression, whereas this physical body, being merely a corpse, now lacked much of that spirit.

Mi Li couldn't help but let out a long sigh. "Imperial power and grand ambitions, all for naught. You pursued immortality for so long, yet you couldn't escape death. Ironically, you didn't even live as long as I did. Fate is truly a trickster."

Zu An watched her with concern, but found no trace of love in her eyes. Even the intense hatred she once harbored had faded significantly. Clearly, after so much time, seeing the other party's corpse, even the deepest enmity was bound to dissipate.

Instead, her expression was one of extreme complexity, a look Zu An had never witnessed on anyone else. It was clearly a sentiment that only vast stretches of time could distill.

Just then, he suddenly felt a warning surge within him. He quickly looked to the side, where a chilling voice drifted from a distance: "Throw the immortality flower you're holding over here, or I'll kill her!"

Mi Li also turned to look, only to see Zhao Ruizhi already at the entrance. His hand was clamped coldly on Bi Linglong's shoulder as he stared at the two. With his cultivation, a mere burst of energy from his hand would instantly end Bi Linglong's life.

At that moment, He Li and the remaining two Royal Qi Manor assassins also arrived, panting. Upon seeing the flower in Zu An's hand, their eyes lit up. It shimmered with colorful light and exuded a rich aura of life, making it impossible not to associate it with words like 'immortality.'