Chapter 80 (3/3): S-Class Divine Artifact, Manten Guohai

No need to say, this peach was extremely important.

If it was discovered missing, it would cause a huge uproar.  

“I hope this buys me some time.”  

At least until she could leave the Peach Orchard as one of the Seven Fairies.  

Then, with the sky wide open, no one would be able to find her.  

But…  

Su Fu’s expression turned grave as she stared at the rushing waters beneath the roots.  

“So, it’s this anomaly on the map that consciously uses the Celestial River water to nurture and produce the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach? Who is the mastermind behind this? A Great Fairy? Or…”  

Before she could finish thinking, ripples suddenly stirred on the Celestial River, waves undulating as if something was approaching from upstream.  

Su Fu’s heart raced; she immediately reacted, “Someone’s coming!”  

She swiftly hid behind the giant peach tree and held her breath nervously.  

‘Who could it be? The owner of the nourishment for the peaches?’

Ten minutes earlier, outside the Peach Orchard.  

Maiden Qingluo stood with her head bowed in the group.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Seven Fairies had already entered the orchard and vanished from sight.  

“Sister Yuqing,” she said, approaching the foremost maiden.

“I’m feeling a bit unwell and need to use the restroom.”  

Yuqing frowned, “Now? The Seven Fairies are picking peaches inside; we have to stay here.”  

Qingluo’s face contorted in pain as she gently pressed her abdomen.  

“I really… can’t hold it. I’ll be nearby and return quickly.”  

Yuqing hesitated but finally nodded helplessly, “Go, but don’t take too long.”  

Once given permission, Qingluo hurriedly left the group.

After confirming she had left the sight of the other maidens, she looked around cautiously and then swiftly took out a small jade talisman from her hair bun.  

This talisman was, in truth, a disguised communication device.  

She quickly sent a message, including her current location and all known information about the Seven Fairies.  

“I hope this information is useful.”  

There was nothing more she could do.

Qingluo took a deep breath, tucked away the talisman, adjusted her expression, and rejoined the group as if nothing had happened.  

Somewhere in a palace within Yaochi.  

Several people sat around a table, anxiously waiting for a reply on the communication device.  

Among them was Lin Mo, sighing, “I wonder how Chen Jing is doing now.”  

She still thought Chen Jing’s plan was far too daring—risking his life to personally infiltrate the Celestial River.

The consequences could be unimaginable.  

Qiu Bin shrugged, “There’s no choice. The exam paper’s name is Yaochi, so Yaochi must be the key clue. It’s worth trying. That’s why Chen Jing pretended to be reckless and barged into Yaochi. But no one expected he’d be brought right to the edge of the Celestial River.”  

“But it was a fortunate accident. It made us realize the Celestial River is the core of this copy.”  

Who would have thought the examinees could be used as fertilizer, transported through the Celestial River to some unknown entity?  

“Lin Mo, stop worrying. We’ve loaded him up with buffs. He’ll be fine.”  

Others chimed in, “Yeah, I gave him Death Blessing; he can’t really die.”  

“And my Water Spirit Bodyguard helps him move like a fish in water.”  

“Plus my toxin immunity…”  

“And invisibility to lower his presence, reducing the chance of abnormal detection…”  

One after another, they listed their buffs.

As top students from the Third Star Ring, each had unique skills.

From the start, they decided to team up to pass the national college entrance exam.  

With such buffs, Chen Jing was virtually invincible against any other candidate.  

Royna, beside Lin Mo, toyed with the communication device and said confidently, “With these abilities, he should be able to safely investigate the Celestial River’s secrets. Now, we just wait for his report.”  

At that moment, Qiu Bin transmitted his tracking data to everyone.  

He specialized in tracking and locating.

Chen Jing appeared as a tiny light moving toward a completely blank area.  

He sighed, “I wonder where Chen Jing is heading now.”  

Despite their numbers and information, the Yaochi map was too vast to fully explore all areas.  

Suddenly, the communication device lit up—not from Chen Jing, but from Qingluo.  

They quickly checked the message, and Qiu Bin’s eyes lit up:  

“Oh my, Qingluo’s information is incredibly useful. This location… the direction Chen Jing is moving toward… is the Peach Orchard!”  

“Yaochi, the Peach Banquet… wait, that means he’s directly entered the core area?”  

They never expected such a huge surprise.

Lin Mo had actually been sent straight into the Peach Orchard—the core of the copy?  

Truly, she had searched everywhere without luck, but now it came effortlessly.  

“According to Qingluo’s report, only the Seven Fairies can enter the Peach Orchard, and now the Celestial River too.”  

“But among all the candidates, only Chen Jing has entered the Celestial River alive.”  

“Does that mean he’s the first candidate to enter the Peach Orchard?”  

Realizing this, the group was visibly encouraged.  

“Hahaha, the Second Star Ring bragged so much, but we were faster.”  

“The Fourth Star Ring is out of the question.”  

They didn’t care about them except for the top one, who had vanished since the start and was still nowhere to be found.  

Setting her aside, it seemed their Third Star Ring team coordination was the strongest in this map.  

With all information integrated, they found key breakthroughs in the shortest time.  

No matter how strong others were, it would be hard to advance so quickly solo.  

“Now we’re way ahead,” Qiu Bin said excitedly, “Just waiting for Chen Jing’s detailed report.”  

Before he finished, the device lit up with Chen Jing’s voice—shocked but joyful:  “Peach… Divine Artifact… really exists!”  

Hearing this, everyone rejoiced.

It was secure!  

***

Meanwhile, behind the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach Tree.  

Su Fu saw waves suddenly rise, water splashing as a figure appeared.  

Tall and imposing, clad in armor, wielding a silver spear, exuding overwhelming pressure.  

What’s more, the Celestial River water seemed entirely under his control, swirling upward to pave a path to the base of the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach Tree.  

The man followed the water route and arrived in front of the giant tree.  

Su Fu’s heart quickened, “Who is this person?”  

Wait, someone who can freely move through the Celestial River, controlling its waters, clad in armor…  

Could this be the Celestial River Navy?  

No, more likely a Celestial River General.  

To reach the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach District, his identity couldn’t be ordinary, let alone a regular water soldier.  

At that moment, the man suddenly raised his head, directly looking toward Su Fu’s hiding spot.  

He shouted angrily, “Who’s there?”  

His spear instantly turned, the tip pointing straight at the peach tree.  

“Come out.”  

Su Fu felt a chill run down her spine, this spear’s pressure rivaling a Great Fairy’s—no, even stronger.  

His strength far exceeded any anomaly she had encountered before.  

This confirmed that the man was truly a Celestial River Navy General—a genuine combat anomaly.  

If he discovered her, escape would be impossible.  

At the same time, Gu Yan Feng looked gravely toward behind the peach tree, ‘How could there be anyone else here?’

His heart sank; his silver spear rumbled to life.  

But just then, he saw a flutter of red robes.  

Following that, a familiar figure appeared behind the peach tree.  

‘This was… a Great Fairy?’

Recognizing her, Gu Yan Feng’s expression relaxed slightly.  

He sheathed his spear and frowned, “Why are you here?”  

Then, as if recalling something, his expression changed sharply.

He turned toward the giant peach.  

Seeing the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach still hanging there, faintly glowing blue, clearly not yet ripe and untouched, he finally exhaled.  

Su Fu saw this and relaxed as well.

Good heavens, she was nearly scared to death.  

Thankfully, he hadn’t noticed anything wrong with the peach.  

Thankfully, she had just transformed into a Great Fairy’s form.

Indeed, a Great Fairy was the only one who could plausibly be in the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach District.  

Her gamble had paid off.  

But seeing the General’s reaction, Su Fu suddenly had a shocking suspicion.  

Could it be?  

Were the Great Fairy and the Celestial River General working together?  

Otherwise, who else could make a General lower his spear?  

And how else could a Celestial River General so smoothly reach the core of the Peach Orchard, the Seven Fairies’ territory?  

It made no sense if they weren’t collaborating.  

‘My heavens, if so…’ Su Fu shivered inwardly.  

Wow, the Great Fairy controlled the Peach Orchard, the Celestial River General commanded the Celestial River, and the two secretly conspired.  

Then the question was: what were they conspiring about?  

Only one answer seemed left: the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach.  

If it was the peach…  

She glanced subtly at the General, heart tightening.  

He wouldn’t try to pick that peach, would he?  

Fortunately, the General only glanced a few times and showed no intent to pluck it.  

Su Fu wiped cold sweat from her brow.

Luckily, seeing the lack of protection around the peach, she left a decoy—a not-yet-mature peach.  

Why no protection earlier?  

She guessed it could only be because the guardian didn’t know the peach had matured.  

If she had created a fully ripe peach earlier, the leader would have likely taken it immediately, blowing her cover.  

After all, who could refuse a fully ripe Nine-Thousand-Year Peach?  

She couldn’t.  

‘Wait.’ Su Fu’s eyes narrowed.

So the General’s nervousness earlier meant he suspected that she—or the Great Fairy—might steal the ripe peach?  

If so, she raised an eyebrow.

Those who suspect others usually have the same thoughts themselves.  

In fact, right now, the Great Fairy wasn’t here, but the General was.  

So the one truly trying to steal the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach must be him.  

That explained everything.  

At that moment, the General warned, “You’d better not think of doing anything foolish. Only if you and I cooperate can this succeed.”  

His voice dropped low, “If those others find out… neither of us will come out unscathed.”  

A blatant threat.  

But now…  

The one scheming was him, and the one who should be guilty was him too.  

So Su Fu, expression unchanged, retorted calmly, “That goes both ways.”  

Saying this with sharp eyes and a firm tone was exactly how a Great Fairy would respond.  

Sure enough, the General’s momentum weakened slightly, his expression a little uneasy.  

Su Fu realized then, aside from the Great Fairy and the Navy Commander, there was someone else who could threaten them.  

She sucked in a cold breath.  

No way, this copy was insanely difficult.  

They had so many big players?  

On one side, the Celestial River Navy General; on the other, the Great Fairy who controlled the Peach Orchard.  

Now there was even a third force that made these two giants wary of each other.  

She was stunned, feeling like she was walking a tightrope, where a single misstep could send her plummeting down a thousand-foot cliff.  

However, the General’s words also revealed another layer—that these powerful anomalies were fighting among themselves.  

Their relationship was not harmonious, but one of mutual rivalry and power struggles.  

Now, they all coveted the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach, ready to divide it among themselves.  

The Great Fairy relied on the Peach Orchard, while the Navy General depended on the nourishment from the Celestial River’s water.  

The two had reached a cooperative agreement to monopolize the enormous benefits.  

It seemed survival of the fittest applied everywhere.  

Whether human or anomaly, everyone fought for dominance.

After all, who didn’t want to grow stronger?  

Su Fu’s thoughts shifted suddenly as she realized this was a rare opportunity.  

She changed her tone, “How’s the fertilizer preparation going?”  

She even turned the tables, reproachfully asking, “Why hasn’t the peach ripened yet? Are you slacking off?”  

Gu Yan Feng: “……”