Chapter 86

Chapter 86: The Heavenly Emperor—Dead or Alive?

"Young Master Nangong!"

Lan Youruo stepped forward, gazing intently at Nangong Zhandao as she asked with concern,"Are you badly injured?"

"Just a minor injury."

Nangong Zhandao shook his head,"It’ll heal in the time it takes a stick of incense to burn."

"Youruo, don’t worry too much."

He took Lan Youruo’s delicate hands in his, voice tender and soft.

Qi Ruyu, Yang Xuanzhan, and others’ eyebrows twitched, corners of their mouths twitching.

Not only had Nangong Zhandao faced a tribulation and become a Saint, but he was also handing out dog food to them—truly improper.

Moreover, he was merely a lowly Saint, yet his partner was actually a quasi-emperor.

Lin Qianmo’s crescent-like brows drew together slightly.

After becoming a Saint, Nangong Zhandao seemed changed somehow, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was just yet.

Lan Youruo had always adored Nangong Zhandao, but never before had their bodies made contact; his sudden grasp caused her delicate frame to tremble subtly.

She didn’t consider the change in him at all—her heart was entirely flooded with fulfillment and joy.

"Ahem…"

Ye Xu cleared his throat twice,"Esteemed guests, please come in and sit."

"Thank you, Daoist friend."

Lin Qianmo replied.

Lan Youruo’s face flushed crimson as she hurriedly pulled her hand away from Nangong Zhandao and entered Heaven’s Secret Pavilion with Lin Qianmo.

Nangong Zhandao remained composed, his gaze brimming with affection.

The group filed into Heaven’s Secret Pavilion one by one.

Its furnishings were simple, hardly different from an average shop in the mortal realm.

To Lin Qianmo and Lan Youruo, however, every corner radiated mystery and profound subtlety.

"Please sit."

With Ye Xu’s words, stools appeared behind each of them.

"Freshen the tea!"

Yang Xuanzhan promptly picked up the teapot, poured cups of tea, and served them to everyone.

Lin Qianmo took a delicate sip before setting her cup down.

The tea itself was ordinary—but the one serving it was anything but ordinary.

Ye Xu turned his gaze to Lin Qianmo.

Suddenly, her brows furrowed; she felt entirely see-through, as though stripped bare.

Lin Qianmo fixed her eyes on Ye Xu, who met her stare with undisturbed calm.

"Strange."

Ye Xu frowned. In Lin Qianmo’s memories, she didn’t seem to know she was a reincarnation either, yet she had cultivated the complete version of the Red Dust Tribulation Sutra.

Moreover, Lin Qianmo was completely aware that the Red Dust Tribulation Sutra was her own creation.

It wasn’t until Ye Xu saw a soul lock upon Lin Qianmo’s spiritual soul that realization struck.

"The Reincarnation Lock?"

It suddenly dawned on Ye Xu.

Before reincarnating, Lin Qianmo had cast the Reincarnation Lock to seal her spiritual soul memories. Only when her cultivation reached a certain stage would memories from her past life unlock.

Because of this, even though Ye Xu could see through everything, he couldn’t perceive Lin Qianmo’s past-life memories.

Unless Ye Xu shattered the Reincarnation Lock.

Information pertaining to Lin Qianmo herself was genuinely sparse.

However, there was quite a bit of information about Godfall Ridge.

As for Godfall Ridge, Ye Xu’s curiosity burned intensely.

"Does it relate to the current Purple Star Heavenly Court?" Ye Xu’s heart quickened. "Could it be there are two Heavenly Courts?"

"The Yuan Realm was actually the Heavenly Emperor’s ancestral home? A background that grand?"

Ye Xu was shocked.

The history of the Yuan Realm held no record of the Heavenly Emperor.

This moment marked Ye Xu’s first hearing of the Heavenly Emperor.

Now that was a true emperor.

Sweeping across all domains, suppressing Innate Divine Beings, unifying the world, forging the Immortal Realm with the power of all beings…

Whichever feat you considered, each was earth-shattering, unprecedented and likely never to be surpassed.

"No wonder the Yuan Realm is so unique."

Ye Xu murmured.

He then shifted his gaze to Lan Youruo. This quasi-emperor’s origins were rather uncomplicated; not a native of the Yuan Realm, but a member of the Moon God Clan from the Star Realm.

The Moon God Clan dominated the Star Realm, with an Emperor Venerable residing within the clan.

Lan Youruo was even the Moon God Clan’s saintess. Only after meeting Nangong Zhandao in the Sea of All Realms and falling in love at first sight did she choose to stay perpetually by his side.

She had sworn sisterhood with Lin Qianmo, their relationship profound.

"Master," Qi Ruyu addressed Lin Qianmo, "if there’s anything you wish to know, you may directly ask the Master. There exists nothing in this world unknown to the Master."

"Sister, you ask first."

Lin Qianmo turned to Lan Youruo.

Lan Youruo inclined her delicate head slightly. There truly was one matter she wished to inquire of Ye Xu.

"Master," Lan Youruo asked, "may I pose my question via voice transmission?"

Ye Xu responded with a smiling nod.

"Can Nangong Zhandao and I achieve a positive outcome?" Lan Youruo asked via mental communication. "Please, Master, name your price and help me divine the future."

"Daoist friend, matters of the future are unpredictable," Ye Xu said. "Even if I tell you the future’s result, it might not be accurate. Because the future has many possibilities and too many variables."

"Moreover, divining the future is too costly."

"I am willing to pay the fee," Lan Youruo added. "Even if it means exhausting all my possessions, I want to know the answer."

Ye Xu sighed lightly. "You can’t afford it."

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to earn this money; it was just too difficult.

Nangong Zhandao was a child of fortune, protected by the luck of the Yuan Realm. Divining him inherently consumed more energy and power, and Lan Youruo, being a quasi-emperor, was not an ordinary person.

The causal future of the two, I’m afraid not even an imperial weapon could handle it.

Lan Youruo’s eyes dimmed.

Her original intention for coming to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion was to find out whether there could be a result between her and Nangong Zhandao.

After all, the Xuan Du Forgetting Emotions Heaven Book that Nangong Zhandao practiced was too peculiar.

And today’s behavior was also too abnormal.

"The Xuan Du Forgetting Emotions Heaven Book was inherited from the Xuan Du Immortal King," Ye Xu transmitted mentally. "Once this technique is cultivated to perfection, one will not become attached to a single person. It is like the grand love in Buddhism—love for one person is no different from love for all living beings."

Ye Xu transmitted mentally: "For you to achieve a positive outcome with Nangong Zhandao is extremely difficult."

"Unless he can forge another path or abandon the Xuan Du Forgetting Emotions Heaven Book."

Upon hearing this, Lan Youruo’s heart sank to the depths.

How could she possibly make Nangong Zhandao abandon the Xuan Du Forgetting Emotions Heaven Book?

She was intelligent by nature and could not bear to put Nangong Zhandao in a dilemma.

"Thank you, Master, for dispelling my doubts."

"Sister, I have finished with my questions," Lan Youruo said, her voice filled with disappointment.

Lin Qianmo slightly furrowed her brow.

"Daoist friend, what do you wish to know?"

Ye Xu smiled faintly. "You do not lack methods to prove your emperorship; what you lack are resources. In my opinion, what you desire most now are various resources."

"A Great Emperor’s tomb, an immortal mountain ruins, or a blessed land—you can choose one."

After these words were spoken, Qi Ruyu and others felt it was very imposing.

Lin Qianmo maintained her gentle demeanor, but her heart held a trace of apprehension.

Her thoughts completely escaped Ye Xu’s eyes.

She had secrets for attaining immortality, so naturally, she lacked not methods to prove her emperorship. As for enemies, that was a matter of her previous life; those who could force her previous life to reincarnate were certainly not opponents she could deal with now.

Having thought it over, her coming to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion could only be to seek the whereabouts of cultivation resources.

A quasi-emperor needed a vast amount of cultivation resources.

Ordinary places naturally could not satisfy her.

At the very least, they had to be on the level of an emperor’s tomb.

"A while ago, I sent the Ninth Prince of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace to the snowy mountains of the Western Regions to retrieve a fragment of the Unsurpassed Divine Seal. By my calculations, he ought to be succeeding soon."

Ye Xu spoke as if to himself, "The Unsurpassed Divine Mountain is also quite a remarkable place."

"Senior knows the whereabouts of the Unsurpassed Divine Mountain?" Nangong Zhandao trembled slightly at the words.

The legend of the Unsurpassed Divine Mountain had circulated across the Yuan Realm for over a hundred thousand years, yet aside from occasional discoveries of Unsurpassed Divine Seal fragments, the mountain itself remained utterly untraceable.

Legend claimed it was the tomb of an immortal.

But all this remained unverifiable.

It must be noted that no traces of immortals had appeared in the Yuan Realm for tens of millions of years.

"Naturally."

Ye Xu smiled lightly. "In all realms, nothing remains hidden from me if I wish to know it."

"Even the secrets of the Ancient Heavenly Court—I could reveal them…"

"Of course, provided you can afford the price."

Whish!

Lin Qianmo’s eyes gleamed intensely. "Fellow Daoist knows the secret behind the Ancient Heavenly Court’s downfall?"

Ye Xu remained outwardly calm but inwardly startled.

The Ancient Heavenly Court—that golden age forged by the Heavenly Emperor—had already fallen?

He certainly hadn’t known this.

Indeed, something peculiar clung to Lin Qianmo, blocking Ye Xu from gleaning information about her.

"I do."

Ye Xu nodded.

He wasn’t boasting; with sufficient heavenly secrets points, he could uncover anything.

Hearing this, Qi Ruyu, Ye Hongchen, Yang Xuanzhan, and even Lan Youruo instantly gazed at Ye Xu with awe-filled eyes.

"Fellow Daoist, the cost of learning the Ancient Heavenly Court’s downfall secret would be… substantial."

Ye Xu’s words held layered meaning.

To Qi Ruyu and the others, it surely sounded like Ye Xu naming his price.

But only Lin Qianmo and Lan Youruo understood: secrets of that era formed the greatest taboo across all realms. Touching them risked death itself.

The true cost might not merely be wealth—it could be one’s very life.

Lin Qianmo deliberated for a moment, her expression grave.

"I care not how the Heavenly Court fell. What I ask is this—does Fellow Daoist know the Heavenly Emperor’s current whereabouts?"

"Is the Heavenly Emperor alive or dead?"