Xiao Chen looked around curiously. When he heard what Fang Qingxuan said, he quickly caught up with her.
The ground of the Lunar Palace emanated a faint cold Qi that looked like mist, making the surroundings look like a slice of heaven. However, it was frigid.
Even with Xiao Chen’s current cultivation, he unexpectedly felt a slight chill. This went to show how cold this place was.
Fortunately, plants filled the place, lending it color. Many girls moved around, occasionally giving voice to melodious laughter, which made the Lunar Palace appear less cold.
Indeed, it was as Fang Qingxuan said; there was not a single male here. Xiao Chen’s appearance attracted a lot of attention. Along the way, many of the young ladies pointed and whispered to each other.
Xiao Chen’s senses were very sharp, and he could clearly hear all of the hushed comments. Many of the remarks left him between laughter and tears, so he stopped paying attention.
Soon, Fang Qingxuan, who was leading the way, stopped. Xiao Chen stopped as well and looked in front, where he saw a beautiful and exquisite jade-white palace.
There were many guards at the gates and the thousand jade-white steps leading to the entrance. Someone was stationed every ten steps in two long rows. All of them were pretty girls carrying swords on their backs.
“Senior Sister Fang, you finally arrived.”
A lady on the steps walked down quickly but still in an elegant manner. Then, she looked curiously at Xiao Chen and asked, “Are you the Azure Dragon King, Xiao Chen?”
Before Xiao Chen could answer, Fang Qingxuan, who was at the side, replied with a smile, “Junior Sister Lan, there is no need to verify it; he is the one. Bring him up.”
“Hehe! I was just asking casually. Come with me, then.”
At this point, Fang Qingxuan stopped leading, letting Xiao Chen enter alone. After climbing the thousand steps, Xiao Chen looked up and saw the words “Meditation Moon Palace” above the doors.
He stopped before the palace doors at the sight of the three words. These words felt familiar—intimately familiar.
The lady leading the way held a door open and invited Xiao Chen to enter. “Go in, then.”
Xiao Chen withdrew his gaze and walked in with big strides. Then, the door closed behind him. However, he did not see a single person at all.
Just when he was feeling suspicious, he heard a familiar voice. “Young Master Xiao, we meet again.”
Yue Bingyun appeared from an inner door, supporting an aged old woman with a head of white hair.
This old woman’s strength was unfathomable. Her frail body hid a force that could destroy everything in sight, inspiring some fear in Xiao Chen.
However, there was a sense of decay coming from this old woman’s body, a heavy lethargy that Xiao Chen had seen once before on the three great Fiends at Despair City.
This was the sign of a person that did not have much lifespan left and was at death’s door. Unless one possessed a miraculous medicine, it would be very difficult to continue living.
Furthermore, this old woman before Xiao Chen looked even older than the three great Fiends. The mark that time and age left on her was far deeper.
It was likely that ordinary divine medicine for extending lifespan would be useless on this old woman.
Yue Bingyun said in a soft voice, “Master, he is the Azure Emperor’s descendant, the Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen.”
The old woman walked over with an unstable gait. When she looked at Xiao Chen, she revealed a gentle smile, her eyes filled with reminiscence. Then, she said with a hoarse voice, “Bingyun, you can withdraw first. I wish to speak to him alone.”
Yue Bingyun smiled faintly at Xiao Chen before withdrawing. Now, only Xiao Chen and the old woman before him remained in the vast and empty jade-white palace.
“Young man, will you accompany this old lady and chat with me?”
Xiao Chen did not dare to tarry, quickly nodding in agreement. Then, he walked over to help the old woman to a stone table in the corner.
The old woman’s voice quivered somewhat as she asked about the Xiao Clan in the lower realm. Xiao Chen could not understand what was going on, but he still spoke about them in detail.
As the old woman listened, tears flowed out of her eyes. She said with a bitter smile, “What distant memories. Back then, the ancestors of the Ying Clan and I escorted your Xiao Clan down together. In the blink of an eye, ten thousand years have already passed.
“Previously, they were very well regarded. Unexpectedly, after he left, the Xiao Clan’s line is now in such dire straits.”
Xiao Chen was shocked in his heart. Is the “he” that this old woman spoke of the Azure Emperor?
Could it be that she had met the Azure Emperor? Or perhaps the two of them had some kind of relationship?
That’s impossible. There is only one person who came from the same time as the Azure Emperor—the Thunder Sovereign. After the Azure Emperor died, the Thunder Sovereign continued to live for ten thousand years, showing his might everywhere.
The Thunder Sovereign was already a miracle, a living legend, and an immortal myth. It was almost impossible for there to be a second person from the Azure Emperor’s time still alive in this world.
Even a Sovereign Martial Emperor could live for only five thousand years. Only a Prime would have a lifespan of over ten thousand years.
However, after one thousand years, Primes would undergo a Great Tribulation known as the Thousand-Year Tribulation. With every Thousand-Year Tribulation, the next tribulation that came every thousand years would become increasingly horrifying.
Having to clear tribulation after tribulation, no one could endure that continuously.
A regular Prime would only be able to endure nine times. The Thunder Sovereign was the only exception. No one knew how the Thunder Sovereign managed it, surviving for more than ten thousand years.
Wait, it might not be impossible. Xiao Chen suddenly thought of the Lunar Palace’s Longevity Art. His memories of that wondrous Cultivation Technique was still fresh in his mind.
The old woman continued her inquiry, this time about Xiao Chen’s experiences. He suppressed his questions and answered her in detail, speaking of all his encounters.
“You are rather similar to him. Both of you have the world against you. However, when he was younger, his life was even bitterer than yours. At that time, the strength of the Deity Race was far beyond what it is now.
“The Three Holy Lands were also more glorious than they are now. The Fiend Race had the Fiend God then, and the Corpse God Palace and the Ghost Race were more powerful than they are now.
“However, he killed them all. Anyone who was not convinced, he killed them. He even slew many Primes, and the number of Sovereign Martial Emperors that fell under his saber was even greater—a great glorious age personally slaughtered by him.”
Xiao Chen had heard of some of the Azure Emperor’s exploits before. Back then, the Azure Emperor had made too many enemies. Hence, the Dragon’s Gate fell nearly overnight after his mysterious death.
However, the words of others were not as startling as this old woman’s description. It was like a bloody scene appearing right before him.
At this point, Xiao Chen no longer doubted this old woman’s identity.
The grief and sadness in her voice could not be faked easily.
“Do you regret disclosing your identity as the Azure Emperor’s descendant at the Proud Son of Heaven Ranking? If you had another chance, would you do it differently?” The old woman changed the topic, asking Xiao Chen a question.
That was a pivotal moment for Xiao Chen in the Kunlun Realm. Since then, he had faced heavy pressure.
It could even be said that everything Xiao Chen experienced now stemmed from his acknowledgment of his identity as the Azure Emperor’s descendant.
However, Xiao Chen did not regret anything. He calmly replied, “I do not regret anything.”
The old woman did not ask why. She stood up, trembling slightly, and sighed. “You do not regret…indeed, since the moment you awakened the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit, you were fated to be unable to regret this.”
Seeing that the old woman was leaving and did not intend to continue chatting, Xiao Chen quickly stood up. He still had many unanswered questions that he had not asked yet. However, the moment he rose, he was at a loss as to which to ask.
Seeing that the old woman was slowly getting farther away, about to disappear around a corner to the back of the palace, he quickly asked, “Senior, will you tell me how the Azure Emperor died?”
The old woman did not turn around. She only let out a long, drawn-out sigh before saying, “Do you think that such a powerful, tyrannical person would have a good ending? Given that, it is best that you do not know.”
“Senior!”
Xiao Chen felt very anxious, so he ran forward and called out again.
“Young Master Xiao, Master is tired already. Please let her rest.”
Yue Bingyun appeared and stopped Xiao Chen with some advice, blocking his advance.
It was rare for Xiao Chen to meet with such a person. In the end, the other party was the one questioning him the whole time. When he wanted to ask his questions, the other party left.
He felt it was unfortunate. However, he did not like forcing people, so he shook his head and left it at that.
“I can answer Young Master Xiao’s question.”
Xiao Chen’s eyes lit up, but he looked at Yue Bingyun with some disbelief.
Yue Bingyun said calmly, “Actually, you can guess how the Azure Emperor died already. Just look at how so many Holy Lands and major characters are trying to kill you, and you can figure it out.”
Xiao Chen asked after some thought, “Do you mean to say that the Azure Emperor was surrounded and killed?”
Yue Bingyun nodded and said, “As for why there is no record at all of how the Azure Emperor died, this is because the various Holy Lands were ashamed of their actions.
“In every age, there will always be a powerful Martial Emperor who can sweep through the world. This person would gather the great Luck of the Heavenly Dao, becoming unparalleled. Ten thousand years ago, that was the Azure Emperor. The one before the Azure Emperor was the founder of the Tianwu Dynasty, the Tianwu Emperor.
“Back then, for some unknown reason, the Azure Emperor fell out with the descendants of the Tianwu Emperor and started a huge war. This great conflict not only shocked everyone, but he even managed to destroy the Tianwu Dynasty, which so many factions of the Kunlun Realm feared. However, this drew the curtains of his legend to a close.”
Xiao Chen nodded. He knew about this already. During this last battle, the Azure Emperor emerged victorious. When he was at the Azure Dragon Palace, he even saw the Heavenly Flame’s Origin Flame, which the Azure Emperor had sealed using the golden Deity blood of Deity Race Martial Emperors.
After that, a terrible Demonic Calamity arrived for the Tianwu Dynasty, making it vanish like smoke and consigning it to the history and legends of the Sky Dome Realm.
As for what happened after that, Xiao Chen did not know. All known records ended there. After that, they skipped to the Azure Emperor’s mysterious death and the destruction of the Dragon’s Gate.
“I know all these. I want to know what happened later.”
Yue Bingyun did not rush to answer. She said, “Come with me.”
Xiao Chen followed her. Soon, they arrived at a stairway, and they climbed it to the top of the Meditation Moon Palace.
Standing there, he could see Bright Moon City outlined by the many lanterns still lit. It looked like an extremely bustling place.
Yue Bingyun looked down and said slowly, “The descendants of the Tianwu Emperor were not as strong as the first generation. Even so, they were not people to offend, especially when they possessed the horrifying Heavenly Flame.
“Although the Azure Emperor killed the last Tianwu Emperor of the Tianwu Dynasty, he was significantly injured. After that, he was beset by the Eighteen Demon Monarchs. Even so, he bravely defeated them. Even when the Dark Church’s Church Master made a move, he still managed to survive and returned to the Kunlun Realm.
“However, when he returned to the Kunlun Realm, he did not receive a warm welcome. Instead, he was surrounded and attacked. He was not killed by the Heavenly Flame or the Demon Monarchs. Instead, he died at the hands of the Kunlun Realm’s people, his own people.”
When Xiao Chen heard that, he entered deep thought. He felt that Yue Bingyun’s words had many areas worth exploring.
