Chapter 125: Spirits of the Five Elements

"That third-order zombie I encountered that day was very strange. Although its rank was only third-order, it was more formidable than any fourth-order zombie I’ve ever seen! I don't mean that in terms of raw strength or speed, but rather that it seemed to possess a very peculiar ability," Shi said.

"A peculiar ability? What do you mean by that?" Qin Yu asked.

"For instance, it could suddenly manifest weapons like daggers or blades, which would then vanish just as quickly. While they weren't particularly lethal, their sheer number served to disrupt our vision and movements. I remember that after she killed the zombie, she extracted a shimmering stone from its abdomen and tucked it away," Shi recalled thoughtfully.

"Are you certain it was the abdomen and not the head?" Qin Yu pressed.

Shi nodded, firm in his response. "I am certain it was the abdomen, not the head. I actually retrieved what you call a 'crystal core' from that zombie's head myself."

Qin Yu found this truly intriguing. If the Hanba did not take a crystal core, then what exactly was this shimmering stone from the abdomen? And could the female Hanba's infection be linked to that very stone?

A flurry of questions swirled around Qin Yu, stirring a long-dormant sense of challenge within her. She felt something rising from deep within, compelling her to uncover the truth.

While Qin Yu was exhilarated, Nangong Yao fell into deep thought after hearing Shi's account. The third-order zombie must have accidentally consumed that stone, gaining its strange power, and the infection was likely a result of contact with it.

What kind of stone could possess such immense energy? Numerous thoughts flashed through Nangong Yao's mind until he suddenly felt he had grasped something. Connecting it to the strange phenomena Shi described, a realization dawned on him.

"The Essence of Metal!" Qin Yu and Nangong Yao spoke simultaneously, startling Shi out of his daze. As for Qing Li, he cared only for his Yu'er. He had known the state of the female zombie all along but chose to remain silent, wanting Yu'er to explore the mystery for herself.

Qin Yu and Nangong Yao looked at each other, both stunned by their identical utterances. A flicker of confusion crossed Qin Yu’s eyes, while Nangong Yao’s gaze held a mix of sudden enlightenment and contemplation.

Ignoring their internal states, Shi asked, "What is the Essence of Metal?"

Qin Yu lowered her eyes, masking her thoughts. She didn't actually know; she had simply heard the voice of the long-absent Xiao Hua, who told her that the Essence of Metal existed within the Hanba. Taken aback by the sudden voice and its message, the words had slipped out. Now, faced with Shi's question, she had no answer.

***

Nangong Yao observed the silent Qin Yu and shrugged, inwardly sighing that he was destined for such thankless tasks. Since Qin Yu wouldn't answer, he would have to be the one to enlighten them. What a delightful misunderstanding this was!

"You've heard of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, right?" Nangong Yao asked.

Shi nodded; although he had lost his memory, such common knowledge remained.

"Ten thousand years ago, extraordinary ores appeared on the earth, with the Emperor's Heart as the core and the five elements as the source of their potency. Legend has it that each of the five elemental stones possessed world-defying power; to possess one was to dominate a region, and to possess all was to rule the world. Later, people found the name 'five-element stone' lacking, so they dubbed them 'Essences': the Essence of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

"These five Essences were gathered together only once, ten thousand years ago, before being scattered for reasons unknown. Since then, they have been objects of constant contention, but as time passed, they became rarely seen and faded into myth. I only know of them through a stroke of luck," Nangong Yao explained.

"And what of the Emperor's Heart?" Shi asked. Qin Yu gave him an appreciative glance; it was a brilliant question—exactly what she wanted to ask!

"Heh, the Emperor's Heart? That truly exists only in legend. No one knows what it looks like or what powers it holds; we only know the five Essences were born alongside it," Nangong Yao said, his expression complex.

"I see," Shi replied, then continued, "What did you mean about the Essence of Metal?"

"If my deduction is correct, the Essence of Metal must have been tainted with the zombie virus, and upon being swallowed, it caused her to become infected," Nangong Yao theorized.

"Why would she swallow the Essence of Metal?" Shi asked, looking at the female zombie with a complicated gaze.

"Heh, perhaps the temptation was too great," Nangong Yao said in a low voice. Could time truly change so much? Could that once-detached Hanba have actually consumed the Essence of Metal? And if she changed, had he changed as well? A pang of pain struck Nangong Yao's heart, and his urgency to see him faded, replaced by the fear that some things might be worn away by the passage of time.

"How can she be saved?" Shi asked in a deep voice.

Nangong Yao pushed aside his melancholy and turned his gaze toward Qin Yu.

Qin Yu’s confused expression—the look that asked *why are you looking at me?*—made Qing Li, who had been watching her all along, burst into laughter.

***

He ruffled Qin Yu’s hair and smiled. "Yu'er, it seems you are the only one who can restore that zombie to her original state."

"Huh? How so?" Qin Yu asked, looking up.

"Because you are the Essence of Life," Qing Li said with a sigh.

"The Essence of Life? What is that?" Qin Yu asked.

Qing Li looked toward Nangong Yao, who paused before speaking. "While the five Essences were born with the Emperor's Heart and wielded great power, the cultivators of ten thousand years ago were already defying the heavens. Many did not rely on the Essences to possess world-shattering strength, including powerful demonic cultivators. Those demonic cultivators slaughtered millions, and from their resentment, spirits were born.

"These resentments mingled with the varied desires of humanity, eventually manifesting into entities of their own. To save a world plunged into chaos, the sages sacrificed a millennium of their cultivation and used the womb of a Holy Mother to bring forth a being who embodied the collective goodwill of all the great masters of the time. Thus, the war between good and evil began. They fought for ages, darkening the sun and moon, until both sides vanished from the world.

"Yet, though their bodies perished, their residual souls remained. Everything in the world possesses seven emotions and six desires; the collision of good and evil always sparks war. Later, someone spread the rumor that a stone remained from that ancient battle, one capable of bringing the dead back to life. To honor that war, people called it the Essence of Life.

"But in truth, no one had ever seen this so-called Essence of Life. Until..."

"Until you met me, right?" Qin Yu asked, looking at the man with the complicated expression before her.