The old man struggled on the ground, his face full of pain. After a moment, he stood up with great difficulty, looking at the young man in horror.
The young man looked at the old man coldly, his eyes so piercing it seemed like it could stab right through someone, saying, “What is it, do you know this place?”
“Yes… I know of it.”
The old man mulled over it for a long time, and finally thickened his skin. “I wandered around the Chaos in my earlier years, and I’ve been to that place before. I found that it was a very backwards world, and was nothing impressive, nor did it have any rare treasures, so I remembered the place. That’s why I was very confused when I saw the location of the Area of the Gods, and I came forward to let you know.”
He knew that he could not hide anything from the emperor, and attempting to do so would only cause the opposite effect, so he told a half truth, emphasizing the fact that there was nothing to see in that world, hoping to reduce the curiosity of the emperor so the emperor would ignore the place.
His heart was filled with desperation as he prayed for the emperor to not go there. After all… for a figure of that level to descend on the Eldritch world would be incredibly horrifying for his hometown.
It did not matter if he could succeed, he still needed to do what he could.
The emperor looked at the old man, and had a meaningful look in his eyes. “There’s nothing to do after all. It doesn’t matter if it’s an Area of the Gods or some broken down little world, there’s no harm in taking a look.”
The old man’s heart shivered, and he felt an intense hopelessness.
The only thing he could do now was hope that the emperor would have no interest in the place when he arrived. If it really was not possible, he would then plead for the emperor to show mercy, and to spare that world.
The spiritual boat continued forward in the unending Chaos, not feeling the passage of time.
In a flash, three days had passed.
The Area of the Gods that was indicated on the map was already very close. The old man stood on the deck, pursing his lips as his heart pounded, his feelings were extremely complicated.
Looking at the distant world, he suddenly felt a wave of familiarity. That feeling was warm and gentle.
Uneasiness, excitement, fear, apprehension, anxiety and various other feelings constantly emerged, causing his eyes to be filled with tears. If he did not forccefully restrain himself for fear of being seen, he would already be sobbing.
The winds and clouds of his hometown.
‘I’m back, I’ve actually come back!’
‘I used to be a proud man, and now I’ve returned an empty vessel.’
‘I’m sorry I came back in this manner. The humiliation can be forgotten, but I brought an unwanted guest.’
It was getting closer.
A ray of light started to enter their eyes, causing the old man to close his eyes.
It was not because it was too bright, but because he was apprehensive.
He felt more and more timid as he got closer to his hometown, and did not dare to say anything.
Countless times, he had wanted to see what had happened to his hometown. He had wanted to return countless times as well. However, they had only been thoughts. And now it was right in front of him, but he no longer dared to look at it.
‘It’s probably changed a lot, after all… We’ve all left. It was too broken down.’
‘The Absolute Era should have ended, and the road of cultivation should have ended. There shouldn’t be any more spiritual power, and everything from before should have turned into legends.’
The old man closed his eyes, lamenting everything for a moment. Then, his eyes fluttered as he opened his eyes.
What entered his sight was an incredibly large world.
The unending rays of light shot at him like flowing water. The stars filled up the sky, and spiritual energy surged everywhere. All the life in that world formed an unimaginable picture.
Every breath, everything that could be seen, all showcased the special nature of the world.
The man’s expression shifted from sorry to shock and then to awe.
When did this place become like this?
Did I even forget the address of my own hometown?
Was it possible… Did the eldritch world turn around? Did they rapidly develop?
The old man looked at everything dumbly, his eyes turned red as he felt everything was foreign yet familiar.
“It really is the Realm of the Gods, there is qi everywhere, the force of the realm is high, everything is lush. I can’t see through the endless possibilities!”
The emperor looked at the world like a lord, his eyes had a glint of interest as he said imperiously, “I hope it doesn’t disappoint me.”
After that, he looked at the shifty eyed old man, saying, “Didn’t you say this was a broken down world?”
The old man hurriedly said, “I must have misremembered.”
The emperor suddenly said, “You did not misremember, this place used to be a broken down world, and was called the Eldritch World.”
He looked at the old man, smiling. “Could it be your old world?”
The old man’s heart jumped, even breathing was hard as he was both excited and happy.
It really was the Eldritch World!
The place had turned into the Area of the Gods. Then what about his old friends? What had happened to them?
However, the emperor did not continue speaking, and started to descend to the ground from the skies.
Even above the skies, the stars littered the night sky, and there was a vibrant moon hanging there.
Suddenly, a melodious zither could slowly be heard from the moon.
The song flowed with the wind, like waves taking shape, elegant and long.
The old man’s expression suddenly changed as he rapidly paled.
“Interesting, this song is interesting.”
The emperor turned around, looking at the moon without any hesitation.
ZAt that moment.
On the moon.
Guanghan Palace, Chang’e residence.
That place was a place of song and dance.
In the palace, a woman was playing the zither, her beautiful figures looked like they were dancing, elegantly plucking the zither. By the side, there were many dancers dancing in accompaniment, their figures were graceful and their beauty was unrivaled.
Chang’e and seven fairies were among them, but they were there mostly for supervision.
They were a very important part of the Heavenly Palace. No, they were the most important!
Even though they did nothing much in combat, they could directly serve the expert!
Every time the expert felt like watching a performance, the importance of this place could not be understated!
Furthermore, they could never fail any of their performances, otherwise no one would be able to bear the responsibility of ruining the expert’s mood.
Strictly speaking, the existence of the performers was incredibly important.
The performers also knew of their station and importance, and all of them threw everything they had into their training, all so they could put up a good show in front of the expert.
Chang’e had a smile on her face. “The rhythm finally looks decent, if we’re able to perform for the expert in the future, he’ll definitely be satisfied.”
Ziye remarked, “That’s right, I haven’t seen him in so long. I wonder when we’ll be able to perform for him.”
“I miss the expert’s food so much. If we perform well and he’s happy with it, we’ll definitely get something nice to eat.”
“I really envy Qin Manyun, she’s able to play the zither by the expert, that’s such a tremendous honor!”
“Playing the zither just to make someone else happy? You people have no right to play it!”
Suddenly, a furious roar could be heard, exploding like thunder. After that was the twang of a zither.
The sound was not loud, but it shook the whole place, materializing a dense energy that rippled throughout.
At the same time, all the zither’s in the moon palace that were being played all snapped, and all the women, no matter if they were playing the zither or dancing, all felt the surge of blood, spitting out blood as their bodies shuddered.
Their expressions suddenly changed as they looked around uneasily.
Boom!
A massive spiritual boat suddenly appeared, and like a dark cloud, had covered the whole Guanghan palace. On the deck of the boat, numerous figures looked down on the women.
The young man at the helm had an electrifying gaze, it was majestic, holy and emotionless.
An immensely strong aura flowed out, applying so much pressure that they could not breathe.
He swept his gaze around,and saw a few of the music sheets in the palace. He reached his hand out, and the sheets flew right into his hand as he started to read it.
The sheets were naturally ‘Ambush’ and ‘ High Mountains and Flowing Water’.
They were the music sheets that Li Nianfan had given Qin Manyun, and were the most valuable sheets in the whole palace.
“This music…”
Just from a rough look, the emperor’s pupils rapidly constricted, his unchanging face immediately changed as he could not hide his shock. His hands trembled.
“Good, good, good!”
His eyes brightened as he exploded, the smile on his face was very exaggerated. “I can’t believe that I found two extraordinary musical sheets the moment I arrived at the Area of the Gods, it really is a place chosen by the Heavens!”
The aura around him started to constantly change, he would suddenly emit killing intent, and then the will to fight, and it would ebb and flow, going up and down.
It was the insight behind the two songs, he had actually managed to absorb it into his own Dao, causing the realm to change and the forces to resonate.
It had to be said, his talent was incredibly shocking, which was why he could be so tyrannical.
He coldly looked at everyone in Guanghan palace, and smiled. “These ants are amusing. They have such a masterpiece, but they don’t know how to use it. They’re only thinking about pleasing someone else, they deserve to die!”
He casually raised his hand, touching the zither. With just a gentle flick, his music would be enough to turn the moon to ash.
The old man’s expression changed, and he immediately stepped up, bowing as he said, “Emperor, please show them mercy!”
“You are begging for mercy for them?”
The old man no longer dared to hide it, and said, “I won’t hide it from you, I originally came from the Eldritch World. They are all from the same home as me. Please, show them some mercy in consideration of the pills I have refined for you.”
The emperor had already expected that, and was not surprised at all. He said, “I didn’t kill you, so shouldn’t the pills you made for me be in thanks to that? Also, what do you think you are? You actually dare to offer me words of advice?!”
The moment he said that, the subordinate next to him raised his hand, and a long whip appeared, containing the light of lightning. With a slap, it landed on the old man’s body, causing him to roll on the ground. A long black wound appeared on his body, directly hitting his Primordial Spirit!
In the palace, when Chang’e and the other girls saw the old man, they shuddered, thinking they had been mistaken.
Taishang Elder, it was definitely Taishang Elder!
One of the Three Qings had returned!
Yet, it was not the time to be happy. Looking at the state of the elder, they could not help but be angered, and prayed that the Heavenly Palace would quickly send help.
However, looking at that young man’s power, they were worried that his skills were unfathomable, and even the Heavenly Palace might not be able to help…
The emperor looked at them, and proudly proclaimed, “It’s possible for you to not die, you only need to tell me where you obtained these two songs.”
So that was his goal!
No one said anything.
Everyone of them spoke in their hearts, ‘This is not something you have the right to touch.’, but they all held back.
The emperor issued an order, “Elder, since they’re your old friends, I’ll allow you to gie them some advice, a wise man submits to the circumstances!”
The Taishang Elder’s expression stiffened as he lowered his head, clutching his fists before relaxing them, he was incredibly hesitant.
As one of the Three Qings of the Eldritch World, he had been incredibly proud, and was one of the saints of this world. Yet, at that moment, he was advising them to surrender after having just returned.
It was a tremendous humiliation.
The emperor looked at the Elder in amusement. “You’re not willing?”
Hong said in determination, “There’s no need to waste your energy, we won’t say a word!”
The music sheets were the expert’s. If they said that, it was obvious that the young man would cause trouble for the expert. If it ended up disturbing the expert, it would be a tremendous sin!
At that moment, a few auras were rapidly approaching, and a few figures suddenly appeared, crossing tremendous distances.
Cultivator Junjun, Nuwa, Yun Shu, the Jade Emperor, Bai Chen and Qin Zhongshan were there, their expressions incredibly serious.
They had foretold that a large calamity would befall the moon palace, and had immediately rushed over.
Coincidentally, after eating with the expert, Qin Zhongshan and Bei Chen had made the decision to form a relationship with the Heavenly Palace, so they had been at the Heavenly Palace the past few days.
Encountering something like that, they had naturally tagged along.
When they saw the young man, their mind’s pounded as their hearts sank to the depths. The immense pressure caused them to feel a chill.
As for Taishang Elder, when he saw Cultivator Junjun, Nuwa and the Jade Emperor, his emotions exploded and his eyes reddened.
As for the others, when they saw Taishang Elder, they were filled with emotion.
They had split up back then to explore the Chaos, and hundreds of thousands of years had passed. They never expected to meet again in that way.
Cultivator Junjun saluted the emperor. “Fellow cultivator, we have no grudges against each other, we should sit down and chat.”
“Chat? There’s no need.”
The emperor shook his head. “Since all of you were the original masters of the Eldritch World, and I’ve been planning on taking over the Area of the Gods, why don’t you just swear your loyalty to me?”
Cultivator Junjun said, “The Heavenly Palace is just a small corner of the Area of the Gods, there’s nothing special about it.”
“So, you’re not willing to swear your loyalty?”
The emperor’s expression did not change, and he said, “Don’t say I’m not giving you a chance, let’s bet on something!”
