Chapter 206

Chapter 206: Unbelievably Absurd

Yuan Realm, Southern Wilderness.

Space suddenly tore open, and two figures appeared above the Canglan Great Marsh.

Blue waves stretched boundlessly under a gentle breeze, sending ripples across the surface.

A ripple stirred within Ye Xu’s heart; The Canglan Great Marsh represented his very first business transaction. Now that he stood on its surface in person, buried feelings naturally surfaced.

Unconsciously, half a year had passed since he had crossed over into this otherworldly realm.

Over these six months, he had personally witnessed the evolution of the Yuan Realm and encountered all manner of bizarre and fantastical sights.

"Is this the fabled ancestral home?"

Great Emperor Ziwei released his Divine Sense, instantly enveloping several hundred thousand miles around him. He immediately saw a city several thousand miles from the Canglan Great Marsh and also sighted Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

"This is actually my first time visiting the Yuan Realm," Great Emperor Ziwei frowned slightly. "The aura of the Great Dao here is very peculiar. To think the mighty ancestral home holds only a single Emperor?"

Ye Xu chuckled. Great Emperor Ziwei was likely sensing the aura of Yuan Daokong from the Daoist Sect.

"Are you also visiting for the first time, Brother Ye?"

"Naturally not," Ye Xu replied with a smile.

Great Emperor Ziwei wasn’t surprised. If this were one’s first arrival in the Yuan Realm, how could they coincidentally appear so near Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?

"The spiritual energy grows denser by the day." Ye Xu murmured under his breath.

As the moment of the seal’s dissolution grew nearer, the Yuan Realm’s spiritual energy steadily recovered. In seven days’ time, the seal would vanish, the ancient divine clans would emerge into the world, and the spiritual energy would explode forth.

"It seems Brother Ye is quite familiar with the Yuan Realm," Great Emperor Ziwei observed with a smile.

"This Yuan Realm is the ancestral home, after all. Only natural to pay it some attention."

"Brother, didn’t you want to call upon Heaven’s Secret Pavilion? Let us proceed."

The pair each took a single step, traversing rivers and mountain ranges to appear right outside Linglong City.

Their sudden, materializing appearance inevitably drew attention.

However, the denizens of Linglong City were long accustomed to the presence of powerful figures. They merely gave the two an extra glance before turning away, disinterested.

"Interesting."

Great Emperor Ziwei swept the city with his Divine Sense. While Heaven’s Secret Pavilion remained impenetrable, everything else became clear as day to his mind.

This Linglong City, seemingly nestled away in a forgotten corner, actually crouched, tiger hidden, dragon concealed.

Although no experts at the Great Emperor level resided here, it held an extraordinary abundance of quasi-emperors—two to thirty of them—alongside hundreds, if not thousands, of great sages and Saint Kings.

Such a phenomenon was utterly bizarre.

Yet in Linglong City, the existence of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion made everything make sense.

The two entered Linglong City and headed straight for Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

Meanwhile, within Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, Ye Xu’s true self was engaged in a game of chess with Ye Xian’er.

During this period with his Second Primordial Spirit traveling abroad, Ye Xu’s true self had remained within Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, cultivating without pause. He had spent all his fifty million heavenly secrets points and successfully ascended to the Emperor Venerable Realm.

Yang Xuanzhan, having obtained a complete set of techniques and undergone strenuous cultivation, had also fulfilled his wish and broken through to the Saint King level.

As for Ye Xian’er, she had already cultivated to godhood.

When one attains enlightenment, others benefit.

Yang Xuanzhan stood to the side, quietly watching the two play chess, his eyes full of confusion.

They were not playing weiqi, but instead, a game of five-in-a-row.

Yang Xuanzhan had never heard of it.

"Elder, you lose!" With a five-star connection, Ye Xian’er secured a win.

Ye Xu chuckled lightly and stood up, "Yang Xuanzhan, prepare the tea. A guest has arrived."

Yang Xuanzhan’s face lit up with joy; finally, after a long month, there was business again.

A moment later, "Ye Qing Xuan" and Great Emperor Ziwei arrived in front of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. Great Emperor Ziwei gazed upon the ancient architectural style of the building, his face revealing a stunned expression.

"This master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion is truly a senior master!" Great Emperor Ziwei felt immense reverence. "Even my master lacks such capabilities."

A flicker of intrigue passed through "Ye Qing Xuan’s" expression; he had long suspected that Great Emperor Ziwei had a master.

After all, the Ziwei Rising Dragon Path was a classic of the immortal path, not techniques that just anyone could cultivate.

"Your Disciple Yu Ziwei, and my friend, Ye Qing Xuan, seek an audience with the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion." Great Emperor Ziwei announced respectfully.

"Enter."

Ye Xu’s voice sounded.

The two walked into Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

Great Emperor Ziwei immediately spotted Ye Xu sitting on the master’s chair. His eyes were like stars, his aura ancient, and besides being astonishingly handsome, he didn’t seem drastically different.

However, Great Emperor Ziwei had encountered all sorts of masters in his lifetime; the more ordinary a person appeared, the more likely they were a true powerhouse.

The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion before him was clearly one such figure.

"Daoist friend visits Heaven’s Secret Pavilion so soon after emerging from the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest. It seems you have a matter requiring the Pavilion’s assistance." Ye Xu said with a faint smile.

"You are perceptive, Senior."

A jolt of surprise went through Great Emperor Ziwei. He had long heard the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion possessed the divine ability to see through people’s hearts; seeing it today, the tales rang true.

"This junior does indeed have a matter to seek your counsel on, Senior."

"You should be aware of the rules here, so I need not elaborate," Ye Xu instructed. "Please, both of you, take a seat. Yang Xuanzhan, serve the tea."

"Please enjoy the tea." Yang Xuanzhan presented the spirit tea.

Great Emperor Ziwei’s heart pounded intensely. He subtly glanced at "Ye Qing Xuan," who merely returned a calm gaze and sat down composedly.

He remained unflappably calm from start to finish, neither obsequious nor arrogant.

"There truly is still a considerable gap between Brother Ye and me." Great Emperor Ziwei felt a profound sense of shame.

How could he know they were originally one and the same?

"Senior, to be frank, I wish to inquire about information regarding my master." Great Emperor Ziwei set the spirit tea aside, his expression grave.

Since his master departed without a word ten thousand years ago, Great Emperor Ziwei had received no news of him.

Had it not been for a minor gain in the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest this time, Great Emperor Ziwei probably would not have dared come to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion yet.

After all, Heaven’s Secret Pavilion was renowned for shrewd dealings.

"System, how many heavenly secrets points are needed to acquire information about Great Emperor Ziwei’s master?" Ye Xu silently questioned.

[Complete information requires eighteen million heavenly secrets points.]

[Incomplete information requires five million heavenly secrets points.]

Ye Xu remained unfazed.

This was exactly as expected.

"Do you prefer vague information or specific, complete information?" Ye Xu inquired.

"The complete information," Great Emperor Ziwei declared without hesitation.

Ye Xu turned to Great Emperor Ziwei and said, "Daoist friend, given your considerable gains in the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest and your sincere intent, I’ll only charge you two jin of immortal spirit liquid!"

"Pfft!"

Great Emperor Ziwei, who was mid-sip of tea, promptly sprayed it out.

Two jin of immortal spirit liquid?

It sounded modest, yet from the Transformation Immortal Pool, he’d obtained only about three jin in total. This single piece of information would cost him half his entire fortune.

"Fine!" Great Emperor Ziwei clenched his jaw. "Two jin it shall be!"

He produced two jin of immortal spirit liquid and handed it to Ye Xu.

Immortal light shimmered faintly, and the ethereal sound of the Dao drifted through the air.

"System, exchange!"

Ding!

[Congratulations! Host has acquired forty million heavenly secrets points.]

A smile spread across Ye Xu’s face.

One jin equals twenty million heavenly secrets points, he mused. That gourd I filled from the pool… how many points would its entire stock be worth?

[Proceed with querying now?]

"Yes."

Ding!

[Taoist Name: Rising Dragon Daoist]

[Name: Gu Daojin]

[Identity: Rogue Cultivator]

[Cultivation: Full True Immortal Realm]

[Cultivation Technique: Ziwei Rising Dragon Path]

[Divine Abilities: Ziwei Star Calculation, Rising Dragon Dominance…]

[History…]

[Current Location: Confined within the Heaven Deficiency Forbidden Land of Lower Cang Realm, still alive.]

The information on Rising Dragon Daoist Gu Daojin flooded Ye Xu’s mind, stirring his soul.

This lad’s master… is a true immortal at the peak stage? But Ye Xu’s astonishment stemmed not from that realization.

He was startled because Gu Daojin still resided in the mortal realm.

Though the system indicated he was imprisoned… why would a cultivator of true immortal caliber remain trapped below?

Recalling the human ancestor’s words earlier, Ye Xu felt utterly certain: something had fundamentally gone wrong with the Immortal Realm.

"Here’s the complete information you requested." Ye Xu tossed a jade slip to Great Emperor Ziwei.

"Many thanks, Esteemed Senior."

Great Emperor Ziwei channeled his Divine Sense into the slip.

His expression shifted from delight to utter shock, then to fear and profound unease.

His master is a true immortal… yet trapped within a mere mortal realm forbidden land?

How could a forbidden land down here restrain an actual celestial being?!

This defied all possible logic.

The revelations within the jade slip shattered the emperor’s fundamental grasp of the cosmos.

Clutching his head, Great Emperor Ziwei sank into bewildered confusion.

Yang Xuanzhan and Ye Xian’er exchanged glances, entirely perplexed by the emperor’s reaction.

After a long pause, Great Emperor Ziwei slowly lifted his gaze to Ye Xu.

In a voice thick with dread, he pleaded, "Esteemed Senior… is there any way to rescue my master from that cursed land? This junior… is willing to pay ANY price!"