Chapter 2015: The One Who Can Resolve Doubts
At this moment, Kong Lanyou and the others fell into silence. The secrets Xiao Hei had revealed were far too shocking; if they were to spread, they would undoubtedly trigger an unimaginable uproar.
These events dated back a hundred thousand years, an immensely long span of time. Many truths had been buried by history, and likely only those beings who were already extremely powerful a hundred thousand years ago and had survived to the present day could know them.
After a long while, Xiao Hei’s emotions calmed down slightly, and he couldn’t help but continue, “This Emperor once received a great favor from the Empress, so I decided to follow her and become her guardian.”
“In that era, no one was not captivated by the Empress’s talent and brilliance. Unfortunately, the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood was cut down back then, and the Kunlun Realm’s fortune was damaged, no longer possessing the conditions for achieving godhood. Although the Empress had the strength to slay gods, she could not become a god in the Kunlun Realm. Perhaps this was the reason the Empress chose to leave the Kunlun Realm and enter the Underworld.”
“Although the Empress has been missing for a hundred thousand years, this Emperor believes that the Empress must still be alive. One day, she will surely return.”
Earlier, he had quietly left to go to the Underworld, partly to search for Hanxue, but more importantly, to investigate news about Qiangu Nüdi.
Unfortunately, he had not uncovered any valuable information; even Qiangu Nüdi’s life or death remained uncertain.
“Xiao Hei, don’t be sad. Senior Empress will definitely return,” Hanxue said softly, trying to comfort him.
Hanxue had inherited Qiangu Nüdi’s legacy, including the “Divine Fall Sutra” and the Void Sword. Although she had formally taken Zhang Ruochen as her master, she was essentially a disciple of Qiangu Nüdi.
Moreover, Hanxue possessed the same constitution as Qiangu Nüdi, so she had always longed to meet this peerlessly elegant and unparalleled Empress in person, hoping that one day she could reach the same heights.
Zhang Ruochen sighed and said, “I wonder what exactly caused the Kunlun Realm to suffer such a devastating defeat in its war against the Hell Realm back then.”
“This Emperor wants to know the same thing, but unfortunately, I was already sealed away at that time. Yet this Emperor believes there must be many hidden circumstances. The Kunlun Realm was once so prosperous, with peerless experts like Ten Calamities Wen Tianjun and that one from Yin-Yang Sea, plus that old bald monk Xumi—how could they have lost so badly?” Xiao Hei was also filled with questions.
Regarding which peerless experts existed in the Kunlun Realm a hundred thousand years ago, later generations had no way of knowing. It seemed as if a dark hand behind the scenes had deliberately concealed the people and events of the Kunlun Realm from that era.
Zhang Ruochen knew there was one person who surely understood the truth: Moon God. Unfortunately, Moon God thought he was too weak and was unwilling to tell him much.
He also understood that Moon God was protecting him. Being too weak while knowing too many secrets was not a good thing; it would not only bring unnecessary worries but could also invite deadly danger.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind. Zhang Ruochen looked at Kong Lanyou and the others and said very seriously, “What Xiao Hei just said, you must keep buried in your hearts. Do not breathe a single word of it to anyone.”
Hearing this, Kong Lanyou and the others nodded solemnly. Since it involved secrets from a hundred thousand years ago, they naturally would not speak of it.
For a moment, the hall fell into deep silence.
After a long time, Zhang Ruochen looked at Kong Lanyou and asked earnestly, “Lanyou, do you know anything about my father?”
The events of a hundred thousand years ago were difficult to uncover, but the old affairs from eight hundred years ago still held hope of gradually unraveling the mysteries.
Moreover, compared to that, the events of eight hundred years ago mattered more to Zhang Ruochen, as they involved himself and many people he cared about.
Among these, what concerned him most was news about Ming Emperor. He wanted to clarify Ming Emperor’s life or death and whereabouts.
Why had Ming Emperor suddenly disappeared? And why did it happen right after he was killed by Chi Yao? When had Ming Emperor finished that chess game with Qing Emperor? Why had both Ming Emperor and Qing Emperor demanded to lose? Was there some connection between these events?
To understand these matters, he would likely need Ming Emperor or Qing Emperor to provide the answers.
But several hundred years had passed; not only had Ming Emperor long vanished, but Qing Emperor had also not appeared for many years and was almost forgotten.
Kong Lanyou shook her head and said, “Uncle-in-law suddenly disappeared eight hundred years ago. No one knows where he went. I also spent a lot of time investigating the reason for his disappearance and his whereabouts, but I found nothing.”
“Yes, Master disappeared too suddenly, without leaving any instructions for us,” Jin Yu sighed.
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen couldn’t help but frown slightly. Although he had anticipated this outcome, he still felt somewhat disappointed. He sighed inwardly, “It seems I can only find the answer after I cultivate to the Great Saint realm and personally go to the Western Buddha Realm.”
“Cousin, don’t worry too much. I believe Uncle-in-law will be fine,” Kong Lanyou comforted him.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly looked up and said, “There is one person who might be able to resolve many of my doubts.”
“Who?”
Bao Lie quickly asked.
Zhang Ruochen’s expression grew somewhat complicated. “My former teacher, now the court’s Que Sheng Wang.”
“The Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, Shangguan Que? Does he know everything?” Jin Yu asked with a puzzled look.
Although Shangguan Que held a high position, if even they, as disciples of Ming Emperor, didn’t know many things from eight hundred years ago, where would Shangguan Que have learned them?
Zhang Ruochen said, “Because he is a member of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion’s Heavenly Dipper Pavilion. Father once ordered the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion to move the Sacred Bright Empire’s national treasury to build a special sacred altar. I believe my teacher must know many secrets, so I must go to the Shangguan Clan.”
Originally, he hadn’t known about this either. It was Lu Huaiyu, a descendant of his sixth senior brother, who told him that Shangguan Que was also a member of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion.
Moreover, Shangguan Que had been responsible for compiling the “Blood Clan Secret Records,” so he had access to far more secrets than others.
As long as he could see Shangguan Que, he believed he would be able to resolve many of his doubts.
“In that case, we’ll accompany you, Little Junior Brother, on this trip. I hope Shangguan Que really does know some secrets,” Jin Yu said immediately.
Like Zhang Ruochen, they were eager to understand some of the events from eight hundred years ago. Since they had confirmed that Shangguan Que was an insider, there was no reason not to go see him.
Without much delay, after some brief preparations, Zhang Ruochen and his group set off, quietly heading to the Shangguan Clan.
Xiao Hei was feeling down and did not join them.
Hanxue stayed behind to keep Xiao Hei company and also to guard the Peacock Manor.
To avoid being noticed, Zhang Ruochen took out a pre-arranged cross-domain teleportation formation and teleported directly from within the Peacock Manor.
There was no other choice. Zhang Ruochen was currently in the spotlight, at the center of a storm. If he didn’t keep a low profile, he would likely face many troubles.
Given Zhang Ruochen’s current mastery of the Way of Space, even non-fixed-point teleportation could reduce errors to an extremely low level.
The Shangguan Clan was established in the southern part of the Zhou Wan Sacred Land, echoing the Blood God Sect in the northern part.
Unlike other remnants of the Sacred Bright Empire, the Shangguan Clan not only suffered no losses after the fall of the Sacred Bright Empire but instead grew increasingly prosperous.
Shangguan Que, the former Grand Tutor of the Sacred Bright Empire’s Crown Prince, had transformed into the court’s Que Sheng Wang, enjoying a revered status. No one knew what agreement he had originally reached with the Chi Qing Central Empire.
At first, Zhang Ruochen thought Shangguan Que had betrayed the Sacred Bright Empire to save himself and sided with the Chi Qing Central Empire.
But later, when he learned that Shangguan Que was a member of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion, he realized that wasn’t the case. Perhaps this, too, was part of Ming Emperor’s secret arrangements.
…
(Continuing to tirelessly promote the new book “The Legend of the Heavenly Emperor.” Also, the plot of “Eternal God Emperor” will be gradually clarified.)