Chapter 147

Chapter 147: The Cruel Truth

Ye Xu felt a surge of novelty.

In the past, those people had obediently offered treasures themselves. This time, he had to take it personally.

He understood clearly in his heart—this was most likely a test by the Da Meng Clan.

If he couldn’t produce an immortal path treasure, Ye Xu naturally wouldn’t be able to answer the Da Meng Clan’s inquiry.

Seeing through the Da Meng Clan’s scheme, Ye Xu smiled lightly. With a mere thought, mist within Meng Feixian’s Purple Palace dispersed, revealing the deepest expanse.

The farthest depths contained an unfathomable vastness as expansive as space-time.

As the power of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion stirred, layers of space-time peeled away, unveiling the first artifact:

A bronze bell.

The bell was covered with countless points marking epochs. Adjusting these points could manipulate the bell’s flow of time.

If used to trap an enemy during battle, the bell confined them within overlapping time-space layers. Escape was impossible unless they discerned the precise moment to reset the flow.

Ding!

At Ye Xu’s behest, the bronze bell flew out from Meng Feixian’s Purple Palace and hovered above Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

Instantly, Ye Xian’er and Yang Xuanzhan grew dizzy under its toll, their minds foggy as days and years blurred past them.

A strange light flickered in Meng Feixian’s eyes.

Her Purple Palace bore a divine power personally laid by the clan leader. Accessing its treasures required identifying the gap within that power.

From Ye Xu’s move to his retrieval of the bronze bell, it took merely one breath.

The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion’s power likely surpasses even the clan leader’s, Meng Feixian thought inwardly.

Moments later, two more flashes of immortal light soared out from her Purple Palace: the first contained a golden bamboo slip documenting an ancient classic of the immortal path, suffused with immortal energy.

The second gleam was a seven-colored divine stone. Its radiant hues shimmered like a rainbow, brimming with immense primeval might.

"As expected of the Yuan Realm’s most powerful immortals from the ancient era. This bronze bell alone—and this ancient scripture—could stand as peerless treasures in any age," Ye Xu mused.

One was a spacetime immortal artifact; the other, a classic of the immortal path.

Both were treasures hard to come by.

Ye Xu’s gaze settled on the seven-colored divine stone—a rarer marvel still. Left unused when Nuwa was repairing the heavens, it retained fragments of the rules of the heavenly path, holding infinite wonders.

The worth of these three treasures far exceeded that of ordinary immortal artifacts.

Truly, the Da Meng Clan’s foundations ran deep.

As for Meng Feixian, she was utterly shaken.

Such divine skill surely reached—or perhaps even surpassed—that of a true immortal.

"Young one," Ye Xu remarked meaningfully, "by refining this Celestial Court of yours, your future knows no bounds. The destiny of the Da Meng Clan may well depend on you."

Meng Feixian retracted her aura. As her Purple Palace closed, the ethereal aura waned, yet a fierce spirit took its place.

"You honor me too highly, senior," she replied humbly. "Such praise leaves this junior unworthy."

"You deserve it."

Ye Xu chuckled lightly. "Enough small talk. Since I have the item, I’ll tell you everything about the Da Meng Clan from the upper realm."

"System, exchange the bronze bell and the scripture."

Ding!

[Congratulations, host. You have obtained 25 million heavenly secrets points!]

Ye Xu was ecstatic inside.

Just the bronze bell and golden bamboo slip alone had earned him 25 million heavenly secrets points. That seven-colored divine stone was probably worth no less than 15 million.

These ancient divine clans were truly filthy rich.

He pondered for a moment but decided against exchanging the seven-colored divine stone for now.

"Retrieve all information about the Da Meng Clan in the upper realm."

Ding!

A soft chime echoed, and a vast ocean of information flooded into Ye Xu’s mind.

After the creation of heaven and earth, the Yuan Realm stood as the center of all realms.

The Da Meng Clan was among the most ancient lineages, descended from an innate god of dreams, wielding dream powers innately and possessing divine status from birth.

Yet, as time stretched on and the rules of heaven and earth solidified, the descendants of the Da Meng Clan could no longer freely plunder the world’s powers as they did at the dawn of creation.

Like others, they too now needed to cultivate diligently.

Even so, the Da Meng Clan remained one of the paramount immortal clans of the Yuan Realm.

The turning point came with the rise of the Heavenly Emperor.

A sage from the Da Meng Clan forged an alliance with the Heavenly Emperor. They aided him in unifying the Yuan Realm and subduing the ten thousand realms. Eventually, rallying the power of all beings, they successfully forged the Immortal Realm and ascended into it.

The branch of the Da Meng Clan that resided in Godfall Ridge was the remnant left behind in the Yuan Realm at that time.

The Da Meng Clan rose to glory because of the Heavenly Emperor’s ascension, yet it also fell into decline because of him.

After the Heavenly Emperor vanished, his heavenly court crumbled. Chaos reigned as gods and demons ran rampant.

Being staunch supporters of the Heavenly Emperor, the Da Meng Clan faced harsh retribution. The branch in the upper realm was brutally eradicated. The surviving members were imprisoned within the immortal prison, condemned to suffer for eternity, never to rise again.

Today, in the entire upper realm, only two members of the Da Meng Clan remained.

One was the Amitabha Immortal King, imprisoned in the immortal prison, enduring endless torment.

The other was the true immortal, Meng Huangliang, perpetually on the run.

Ye Xu could not help but sigh at the fate of this once-mighty immortal clan, reduced to ruin overnight amidst the turmoil of changing powers.

"The downfall of the Da Meng Clan in the upper realm was linked to this. And those ancient divine clans sealed within Godfall Ridge… their plight must also stem from their connection to the Heavenly Emperor’s homeland."

Ye Xu connected the dots on many matters.

Like the origin of Godfall Ridge’s seal, and why the ancient divine clans were imprisoned there.

Everything traced back to the upheaval and the shift in power between the old and new factions in the upper realm.

"Little girl," Ye Xu gazed at Meng Feixian, his eyes filled with compassion. "The truth is brutal. I’ll give you some time to brace yourself."

Even the fairy clans that lasted tens of millions of years were but a speck of dust in history.

Meng Feixian exhausted all her strength and treasures only to uncover a cruel truth.

"Senior, I was prepared for this all along. Please speak frankly," said Meng Feixian with resolute determination.

For millions of years, the upper realm clans hadn’t contacted the lower realm. Even a fool could guess that some catastrophic change had occurred.

Meng Feixian’s purpose in coming was to get a definite answer, fulfilling her clan’s long-cherished wish.

"The Heavenly Court created by the Heavenly Emperor was overthrown. Even he has disappeared," came the solemn reply. "As one of his most loyal followers, you know what fate befell the Da Meng Clan."

Meng Feixian’s face turned as pale as paper. Her body trembled slightly, and her lips quivered. "Our clansmen in the upper realm… are they all dead?"

"Two still live."

Ye Xu spoke gravely: "One is the Amitabha Immortal King. You should know of him."

Meng Feixian gave a faint nod. The Amitabha Immortal King had been both the Heavenly Emperor’s follower and one of the Da Meng Clan’s most powerful beings.

"Where is he now?" Meng Feixian fought to steady herself.

"The immortal prison."

At those words, Meng Feixian finally broke. Her reaction showed she knew of the immortal prison’s existence—and the horror it represented.

"And the other?" she asked, fists clenched tight, refusing to let tears fall.

"The other is named Meng Huangliang. Merely a true immortal, now homeless and hunted across the Immortal Realm," Ye Xu revealed.

"My gratitude, Senior." Meng Feixian bowed deeply.

Ye Xu sighed faintly. Yang Xuanzhan and Ye Xian’er also wore expressions of pity.

With a thought from Ye Xu, Qi Wuhen and five others appeared in Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. Scanning them, he announced: "Her query is resolved. Who’s next?"

"Senior, there’s no need." Meng Feixian stared blankly, murmuring: "Their questions are the same as mine."

"Since my clan’s upper realm lineage ended… theirs surely did too."

"How can this be?"

Meng Feixian’s claim made even the stoic, effeminate man look incredulous. The Da Meng Clan wielded immense power in the upper realm—how could it have been annihilated?

Then came the terrible implication in her words. Everyone paled.

Dark lines creased Ye Xu’s brow. Auntie! I wanted to earn more fees! Had Meng Feixian not just learned of her clan’s destruction, he might have thrown her out of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

He took a deep breath, forcing calm. "You’re mistaken, miss. Their situations could differ from the Da Meng Clan."

"That makes sense," the group concurred.

"Sister Meng, what price did Heaven’s Secret Pavilion demand?" asked a young girl suddenly.

"Three immortal artifacts," Meng Feixian answered mechanically, like a puppet.

Gasp!

Hearing that price sent shockwaves through them. Three immortal artifacts might be bearable for the Da Meng Clan, but none of their divine clans possessed such resources.

Qi Wuhen’s eyes nearly bulged from their sockets, as if tasting the very artifacts. If he owned just one, he could hang his own old man and hammer him!

"Senior…" A shameless grin spread across Qi Wuhen’s face. "I’ve got this… unrealistic idea. May I ask if you’d consider—"

"If it’s unrealistic, don’t speak it," Ye Xu cut him off with a glare. He saw right through whatever scheme bubbled in Qi Wuhen’s head.

"Don’t dismiss me, Senior!" Qi Wuhen pressed. "I simply wonder—if I start learning the art of calculations now, could I reach your level within my lifetime?"

"Of course, if you’d accept me as your disciple—only then could I succeed!"