Chapter 790 - 719: The Nine Deaths and One Life Said by Suisui Has Come True

"Who exactly are you? I warn you, leave the body of the King of Nanjiang immediately, or I assure you, your end today will be a gruesome one!"

The Great Steward’s face was cold and severe, his eyes full of resolve. The Black Mist emerging from his hand began to aim for the King of Nanjiang’s brow.

"You are the Great Steward of the Witch God Hall. Aren’t you aware of whom you guard, whom you act as a Guardian for every day?"

"The Witch God Hall? Who am I guarding?"

The Great Steward furrowed his brows deeply, his eyes widening in disbelief as he shook his head slowly.

"Impossible! I am the Guardian of the Great Wizard. My Cultivation at the Witch God Hall is to protect all living creatures, hoping to bridge heaven and earth and decipher the secrets of all beings!"

With these words, the Great Steward all but confessed his wish for immortality.

After all, three thousand years had passed since Ancestor Zhou burned books and sealed the Celestial Dao. Even if the subsequent Emperors and some influential figures intentionally concealed the truth, there were still stories about Immortals and records of suppressed evil Cultivators. Princess Ata could learn of these. Naturally, the Great Steward was no exception.

"Xunyang! You are Xunyang!"

The Great Steward’s expression changed several times, finally turning deathly pale.

"Hahaha! I am indeed the man destined to defy the heavens. Three thousand years have passed, and still, someone remembers my name!"

Xunyang grew excited, so much so that he even dropped his usual formal self-address.

"A man defying Heaven?" The Great Steward murmured to himself, his eyes filled with fear. "The heaven you defy is an evil one! You brought ruin to all living beings, yet you dare call yourself a god. It seems the legends are true; you were the one sealed by Ancestor Zhou within the lecture altar of the Witch God Hall, weren’t you?"

The Great Steward grew anxious, cold sweat covering his face. His voice trembled as he quickly racked his brains.

What should I do in this situation?

The King of Nanjiang absolutely cannot die, and Xunyang’s plans must not be allowed to succeed, otherwise...

"Don’t hesitate. Help me suppress this coward, and I’ll appoint you as the Great Wizard. How about it?" Xunyang’s voice was smooth and enticing as he began to tempt the Great Steward.

"Great Wizard?"

Becoming a Great Wizard was the ultimate goal every Witchcraft Cultivator set from a young age, but the path was exceedingly difficult. Ever since Ancestor Zhou burned books and sealed the Celestial Dao, very few people had managed to cultivate to the realm of Great Wizard. Later, around one thousand eight hundred years ago, Nanjiang’s Wizard system was recast as the lineage of the National Master, appointed by the King of Nanjiang, and those who could cultivate to become a Great Wizard had almost disappeared. Then, the title of ’Great Wizard’ became a position conferred by the King of Nanjiang himself. This tradition continued until about seven hundred years ago, when a new system of succession appeared in the Wizard system. This meant an elderly Great Wizard could, through Witch Power consecration, pass his lifelong Power to a chosen successor, provided that successor possessed exceptional cultivation talent. And the Great Wizard’s successor would be this inheritor. The Great Steward suddenly recalled how, ten years ago, he and Princess Ata had competed for the position of successor to the Great Wizard, and Princess Ata had ultimately won. She became the successor, while he directly became the Great Steward—the decision-maker of the Witch God Hall, responsible for teaching its newly recruited apprentices and cultivating the next generation. But just a few years later, Princess Ata encountered a young genius from the Central Plains. It was said that this young genius was so formidable that he destroyed all of Princess Ata’s Witch Power with just a single painting! Princess Ata became a cripple. As for himself, his past defeat had become a mental block, preventing his Witch Power from advancing even an inch. Consequently, even after Princess Ata lost all her Cultivation and started over, he still had no chance to become the Great Wizard’s successor. The Great Steward’s thoughts were a whirlwind, chaotic and jumbled; he himself didn’t even know what he was truly thinking. And what should he do now?

In fact, what he didn’t know was that he hadn’t been overlooked by the Great Wizard as a potential successor. In fact, the Great Wizard—that is, Xunyang—had once considered having him replace Princess Ata as the next recipient of Witch Power consecration, intending to then devour him and use him as a vessel. However, the Great Steward’s constitution was special. After a few unsuccessful attempts, coupled with the fact that his mindset was too aligned with Taoist philosophy for him to dedicate himself fully to Witchcraft, Xunyang had finally given up on him.

Now, all of this was unfolding before the Great Steward’s very eyes. He quickly made a decision.