Chapter 613

Chapter 613: Thirty-Six Heavens

The pills entered their throats, and the auras of the four swiftly recovered. Their injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, restoring them to peak condition within a few breaths.

"We humbly thank you, Master."

The four spoke respectfully.

"I have come to redeem our people," Shenjie said lightly. "But there is one more request between me and the Master. You four must represent the Haotian lineage and publicly apologize to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion before the entire realm."

"Apologize?"

Instantly, the expressions of the four turned excruciatingly grim.

The people of the Haotian lineage were notoriously arrogant. Forcing them to bow their heads was nothing short of a blow to their pride.

"What are you waiting for?" Shenjie rebuked.

Before Ye Xu, she might act compliant, but in front of these four and the young man in the golden robe, she was the second-in-command of the Haotian lineage, wielding absolute power over life and death.

"Yes."

With faces twisted in humiliation, the four flew out of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

Ye Xu silently observed this scene, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

Shortly after, a thunderous roar reverberated through heaven and earth.

Slowly, the smile faded from Ye Xu’s lips.

"Master," Shenjie’s expression turned serious. "All past grievances are settled. This junior has one more matter requiring your assistance."

"Speak freely," Ye Xu replied.

He had always known the people of the Haotian lineage had more than one purpose for entering the mortal realm.

"This junior was sent with a mission," Shenjie explained. "We implore you, Senior, to use your powers of divination and ascertain when the fusion of the yin and yang realms will be complete!"

Ye Xu’s heart stirred.

The fusion of the yin and yang realms had only existed as speculation until then. Shenjie’s words instantly answered his long-held doubt.

The yin and yang realms would indeed merge one day!

He didn’t rush to respond. Instead, he replied with deliberate slowness and a hint of mockery, "The Haotian lineage claims to uphold the will of Heaven and act as its instrument. Why would something so minor require you to delegate to another person?"

"Our lineage may uphold Heaven’s decree," Shenjie sighed, "but our domain is confined to the yang realm. We hold no sway over the entire Hongmeng Dao Realm."

"In all the world, only you, Master, possess the answer to this question."

Such flattery was deeply gratifying to Ye Xu.

Xixi watched, stunned.

Even with some prior understanding, hearing the secret of the yin and yang realms firsthand filled her with profound shock.

"Please name your price, Master."

Shenjie said earnestly.

"System," Ye Xu thought silently. "How many Hongmeng points are needed to inquire about all information regarding the fusion of the yin and yang realms?"

[Eight hundred quadrillion.]

Hearing the price, Ye Xu’s heart was greatly shaken.

"I need 999.9 trillion Hongmeng points to Ascend to Dao One. Just deducing the complete information on the fusion of the yin and yang realms requires eight hundred trillion points. Truly worthy of being one of the core secrets of the Hongmeng Dao Realm."

He looked at Shenjie and smiled lightly. "999.9 trillion divine stones!"

"Wow…"

Xixi’s small mouth fell open slightly, her eyes seeming to flash with dollar symbols.

"Master, this is truly an astronomical price," Shenjie said with a bitter smile. Although the Haotian lineage had monitored the world for many years, the times they entered the secular world were few and far between. The wealth they had accumulated was merely a small sum.

After all, for the Haotian lineage, the importance of wealth was relatively low.

The astronomical price Ye Xu quoted was something the Haotian lineage could barely afford, but scraping it together would likely leave them bankrupt.

"Different people see things differently. A wise man perceives differently from the benevolent," Ye Xu stated lightly. "The information you wish to know exceeds your current understanding."

"This price is genuinely not excessive."

Earning a quarter of the total funds in one transaction—it really wasn’t much.

"If you think the problem is too expensive, you can ask a different one," Ye Xu said with a light smile. "For instance… when will the yin and yang realms begin to fuse?"

"Or… how will the yin and yang realms fuse?"

Shenjie’s gaze was profound. She already knew much about the information regarding the fusion of the yin and yang realms.

Currently, she only needed to know the timing.

"Master," she said solemnly, "I trouble you to deduce it: when will the yin and yang realms be able to begin their fusion?"

"System, query this."

[Six hundred trillion Hongmeng points.]

"One thousand trillion divine stones!" Ye Xu named his price.

"Deal!" Shenjie nodded.

Ye Xu clicked his tongue in admiration. The Haotian lineage truly was obscenely wealthy. Paying a thousand trillion divine stones without batting an eye?

"Could these two epochal treasures perhaps be worth a thousand trillion divine stones?" Shenjie channeled her power, summoning forth a guqin and a bow.

"System, exchange them."

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained one thousand trillion Hongmeng points.]

"These two epochal treasures are top-tier artifacts. Naturally, they suffice as collateral," Ye Xu replied with a light smile. He then immediately instructed the system to proceed with the query.

Ding!

[In thirty-six days, at the hour of Zi (11 pm – 1 am).]

【Location: Cold Light Immortal Domain, Evil Sea.】

Two pieces of information flooded Ye Xu’s mind.

"It’s truly in that immortal domain…" Ye Xu murmured.

The moment he learned that the Sea of Yuan Magnetic Star Light nurtured the Great Zhou Tian Star Disk, suppressing the Evil Sea, and similar details, he’d been gripped by an indescribable premonition.

Now, the system’s answer confirmed that premonition.

"Will the old turtle survive?" Ye Xu sighed.

"This is the answer you sought."

He flicked his finger, sending a jade slip flying toward Shenjie. "This depicts the static future. Should any major event occur that destabilizes the balance between both realms, the timeline could either advance or delay."

"So, during this period, the Haotian lineage must endure hardship—remain diligently at their posts, monitoring the major factions of the yang realm."

"Understood. We humbly heed the Master’s guidance," Shenjie said respectfully.

"Only thirty-six days?"

Seeing the information on the jade slip, Shenjie’s heart trembled. "So soon?"

"That is merely the time for initial merging. Not full integration," Ye Xu corrected. "The convergence of the yin and yang realms might take an entire epoch. Possibly even longer."

"Ah, true." Shenjie’s expression softened into a smile.

Swish!

Before long, the young man in the golden robe and the other three returned to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. Their heads hung low, enveloped in silence.

"Aren’t you going to beg the Master for forgiveness?" Shenjie snorted coldly.

"We committed a grave error. Fortunately, the Master forgave us. A great man does not hold a lesser one’s faults against him. We shall remember the Master’s kindness forever." The young man in the golden robe spoke solemnly.

"Recognizing one’s faults and striving to correct them is the greatest virtue," Ye Xu said impassively. "If it happens again, I will remake you from scratch."

Shen You showed no concern at the threat. Being remade might spare him future suffering anyway.

"Master, this junior must now relay this news," Shenjie said with a radiant smile. "If the Master ever wishes, please visit the Haotian lineage."

"Mm." Ye Xu nodded.

The group departed.

"Compassion truly does temper ruthlessness," Ye Xu mused, a broad smile spreading across his face. Had he ended those four back then—the young man in the golden robe and his companions—he’d have missed out on six hundred eighty trillion Hongmeng points!

Without collecting that sum, the subsequent four hundred trillion would also have been impossible.

"One thousand eighty trillion…" Ye Xu felt elated.

He glanced at his balance: one trillion three hundred eighty billion.

"The Dao One path… one-ninth complete…"

"Senior," Xixi looked at Ye Xu, confusion in her eyes. "Beyond this world we inhabit… are there others?"

"Certainly," Ye Xu replied warmly. "The yin realm is one such example."

"But aren’t they merging?" Xixi asked, puzzled. "Then… outside the Hongmeng Dao Realm… could there be even more worlds?"

Ye Xu froze momentarily.

"There ought to be."

Whether within the Pangu universe, or here in the Hongmeng Dao Realm… he had never discovered Earth’s trace.

Could the planet from his past life… truly have been just a dream?