Chapter 317

Chapter 317: The Everlasting City of Desolation

Space gently rippled as Ye Xu appeared on the mahogany armchair. He summoned Li Ruoshui’s Herform, and she brought over a platter of fruit.

Li Ruoshui gazed at Ye Xu. She instinctively sensed that some changes had occurred within him, but she couldn’t tell what exactly.

"Now all the gazes across the realms are focused on the scars of the heavens and the spectacles of multitudes of immortals descending to the lower realm. To earn heavenly secrets points, I’ll need to be proactive."

"The key still lies in the Secret Realm Ranking…"

Ye Xu murmured to himself.

The Secret Realm Ranking recorded the top hundred secret realms in the lower realm, with the first position temporarily vacant. As for places like the Place of Origin, Pangu’s Daoist Temple, and the Haotian Realm, their valuations were far too expensive. One person alone could hardly swallow such costs.

Therefore, Ye Xu thought of a method.

He would spend heavenly secrets points to lock onto a secret realm, then disclose its location publicly. Anyone wanting to enter this realm had to pay sufficient fees. Moreover, it would open only when a certain number of participants were gathered.

Previously, Heaven’s Secret Pavilion lacked sufficient manpower and high-end combat power. But now that Ye Xu had subdued the Formless Demon Lord, he could try this new profit-making approach.

A powerhouse at the end of the Great Dao stood indisputably at the pinnacle of the current lower realm.

"System, check the location of the ninth-ranked realm on the Secret Realm Ranking—the Everlasting City of Desolation," Ye Xu commanded.

Ding!

[Option One: Querying complete information about the Everlasting City of Desolation requires 62 billion heavenly secrets points.]

[Option Two: Querying only its location and the method to open it costs five billion heavenly secrets points.]

"Option Two."

Not to mention that Ye Xu currently lacked 62 billion heavenly secrets points—even if he did, he wouldn’t spend such an exorbitant sum.

After all, if everyone knew the complete information, publicly opening the realm would lose all significance.

[Congratulations, Host. By spending five billion heavenly secrets points, you have acquired the location of the Everlasting City of Desolation and the method to open it.]

In the next moment, a stream of data flooded into Ye Xu’s consciousness.

Simultaneously, his account balance dwindled to just eight and a half billion heavenly secrets points.

In the blink of an eye, he had almost returned to being impoverished.

"Heavenly secrets points really don’t last long," Ye Xu lamented.

His mind delved into the information about the Everlasting City of Desolation. It was an ancient city with a primordial past, revealed to the world only after the scars of the heavens fractured. Only then had it appeared on the Secret Realm Ranking.

This city didn’t reside in any single world but rested beneath the Three Thousand Immortal Islands in the Sea of All Realms.

"A secret realm ranked ninth, valued at over sixty billion heavenly secrets points—the secrets and treasures hidden within must be exceptionally rare," Ye Xu stated with a faint chuckle. "Such a headline alone is enough to make people pay up."

Rumble!

With a single thought from Ye Xu, the golden divine monument in Linglong City trembled. Divine patterns swirled as an arcane sound of the Dao echoed through heaven and earth. Immortal light blazed forth, manifesting layers of otherworldly spectacles.

The mirage-like image of an ancient city solidified in the void. Though merely an illusion, it radiated an aura of boundless antiquity.

"The divine monument is stirring!"

The golden divine monument’s movements instantly caught the attention of countless cultivators in Linglong City. One by one, they hurried closer to the monument.

"Is that an ancient city?" A Great Emperor gazed at the city’s projection, astonished beyond words.

"Why would a phenomenon suddenly appear on the divine monument? Could it be related to the Master?" Qiu Qianli, disturbed by the commotion, stared toward the golden divine monument. His eyes were profound, tinged with perplexity.

"No one can fathom the thoughts of our Lord." Yang Xuanzhan spoke with an air of deep mystery.

"Is this the news the Master mentioned that day?"

Han Ziyu and Yu Ziyi had remained in Linglong City without leaving. The movement on the Secret Realm Ranking instantly drew their attention, their eyes fixed intently on the illusory image of the Everlasting City of Desolation.

"That city… it’s probably another ancient ruin…" Han Ziyu remarked.

"That city…"

In another direction, Lin Qianmo stared at the projection of the ancient city, her beautiful brows tightly knitted.

She felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Yet her memories told her she had never seen this city before. Strangely, it felt as though it were branded deep within her soul, its appearance sending pain lancing through her head.

As a true immortal, how could she possibly suffer a headache?

"What on earth is going on?" Lin Qianmo clutched her head, her soul feeling as if it might tear apart.

"Surely this was created by the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?"

The divine monument’s phenomenon resonated with heaven and earth. True immortals scattered across the Yuan Realm gazed from millions of miles away toward Linglong City, peering directly at the image of the Everlasting City of Desolation, each one burning with intense curiosity.

"This ancient ruin ranks ninth on the Secret Realm Ranking — the Everlasting City of Desolation."

Just then, a majestic voice resounded throughout the entire Yuan Realm.

"It’s the senior!"

The City Lord of Linglong and Zhao Cheng trembled with excitement. "As expected, it was indeed the senior’s doing."

"The Master!"

Han Ziyu and Yu Ziyi looked at each other.

"It’s the Master speaking!"

Cultivators throughout the Yuan Realm erupted in excitement.

The words of the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion were golden to them, almost as if merely hearing his voice was an honor.

"I have pinpointed the location of the Everlasting City of Desolation. This ancient city has endured since the very creation of the heavens and earth, concealing astonishing secrets and treasures."

"Heaven’s Secret Pavilion will open the Everlasting City of Desolation to treasure seekers. Each entry will require a fee of fifty million starbucks. Once five hundred participants have signed up, the opening will commence."

"If five hundred participants cannot be gathered, Heaven’s Secret Pavilion will fully refund all fees."

Whoosh!

The moment the voice faded, the Yuan Realm burst into absolute frenzy.

An ancient ruin from the dawn of creation held immense value. Guaranteed by Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, its veracity was beyond doubt.

At that moment, countless true immortals were stirred.

Fifty million starbucks was a manageable sum for beings of their stature.

It was precisely with this point considered that Ye Xu had set the fee at fifty million.

The multitudes of immortals descended to the lower realm. The number of immortals had soared dramatically, definitely exceeding a thousand, and wanting to gather five hundred people was a piece of cake.

Once five hundred people were willing to go treasure hunting, Ye Xu could earn twenty billion heavenly secrets points from it.

Moreover, at that time, the Second Primordial Spirit Avatar could also enter the Everlasting City of Desolation.

"The Everlasting City of Desolation…"

Han Ziyu’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she said in disbelief, "Didn’t this ancient city vanish completely and disappear without a trace twelve million years ago?"

The Primal Chaos Heavenly Sect was one of the major powers in the Immortal Realm, with semi-Immortal Emperor level experts within its gates. If not for that, the Formless Demon Lord would not have feared the Primal Chaos Heavenly Sect.

As the saintess of the Primal Chaos Heavenly Sect, Han Ziyu knew many secrets.

The Everlasting City of Desolation was one of them.

As Ye Xu had said, this city had made a fleeting appearance at the beginning of the creation of the heavens, and after that, it completely vanished.

Twelve million years ago, the Everlasting City of Desolation briefly reappeared like a flash in the pan, and then it vanished entirely from people’s sight.

"Sister, do you know the origin of this place?" Yu Ziyi said in surprise.

Han Ziyu nodded.

"Legend has it that the Ancient Tree, one of the Nine Great Spirit Roots of Heaven and Earth, originated from the Everlasting City of Desolation. This place was extremely mysterious and had existed since the era of the Innate Divine Beings."

"The founding ancestor once tried to deduce the Everlasting City of Desolation, but it was blocked by heavenly secrets, making it impossible to deduce."

"The Everlasting City of Desolation might have been born before the creation of the heavens."

Han Ziyu’s words were extremely shocking.

Yu Ziyi was dumbfounded.

Born before the creation of the heavens?

Wouldn’t the era of the Everlasting City of Desolation be more ancient than that of the Innate Divine Beings?

"I never expected that the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion has such great power. Throughout all ages, no one could find the Everlasting City of Desolation, yet he can pinpoint its location and is opening it to outsiders. Truly, the Master is a broad-minded senior."

Han Ziyu was filled with immense awe.

If Ye Xu heard Han Ziyu’s heartfelt words, he would probably be deeply ashamed.

His original intention had always been to make money.

"The Master is noble and honorable. His actions benefit future generations, which shows the true essence of a great master."

Yu Ziyi also praised him profusely.

"Us sisters must definitely support the Master!"