"This lowly one greets the esteemed lords."
Jiang Taichu staggered in and hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground.
"I ask you: is there a youth named Chu Tianlong in your Ancient Yuan Realm, roughly the same age as my son Chen Wen?"
Chen Badao stared at Jiang Taichu and spoke coldly.
Jiang Taichu was dumbfounded.
Yes, he was the Hall Master of Realm Protection Hall, overseeing the entire Ancient Yuan Realm.
But he did not control the population. How could he possibly know every single person with such precision?
Still, he could not fail to give Chen Badao a satisfactory answer.
After carefully considering Chen Badao's intentions, Jiang Taichu finally said, "Give this lowly one a month—no, ten days—and I will certainly give you a satisfactory answer."
"Five days. If you cannot find him, you die," Chen Badao said icily.
I...
Jiang Taichu truly had the urge to curse.
Could this even be done?
With only a name and an age, where was he supposed to find him in five days?
Wait.
When Chen Wen killed Chu Beiqiong, he had once asked about Chu Tianlong's whereabouts.
Chu Beiqiong seemed to have said that he was a son Chu Beiqing had brought back, and that he had stayed in the Chu Clan for half a year.
Could it be that this Chu Tianlong had offended Chen Wen as well?
That had to be it.
Otherwise, why would a great figure like Chen Badao set his sights on a youth from the Lower Realm?
Wait.
Chen Wen?
A descendant of the Emperor Clan.
That name sounded familiar.
Who had I heard it from?
My younger sister.
Right, my younger sister had mentioned it.
If this was true...
Then this matter was truly enormous.
At that thought, Jiang Taichu's heart began to tremble.
Jiang Taichu silently drew a breath and gathered his courage. "May this lowly one confirm something first? It is very important, and it may concern the person you seek."
Chen Badao stared at Jiang Taichu. Only after a long while did he say, "It had better."
Jiang Taichu tremblingly took out a Sound Transmission Talisman and silently injected Spiritual Energy into it.
After a while, a soft, sweet female voice came through. "Brother, were you looking for me?"
"Brother has something to ask you. You must answer truthfully," Jiang Taichu said, taking a deep breath.
"Alright." Jiang Qingren also sensed the gravity in Jiang Taichu's tone and immediately turned serious.
"You once told me that there was a Holy Son named Chen Wen in your sacred land, and that he came from an Emperor Clan in the Upper Realm, right?" Jiang Taichu asked.
Jiang Qingren fell silent. After a long while, she said, "Yes, our Holy Son is indeed named Chen Wen, and he is also from an Emperor Clan in the Upper Realm."
"But the Holy Son keeps a low profile and does not like outsiders disturbing him unless he takes the initiative to invite them."
"Thus, even if many forces know his identity, they would not recklessly spread the matter around."
"If you wish to request an audience with him, Brother, there may be a chance. I can mention it for you."
"As for whether he agrees, I cannot say."
At that moment, Jiang Taichu had gone completely numb.
His mind was filled with nothing but buzzing.
Someone really was that outrageously bold.
Not only had they offended the true imperial son, they had even impersonated his identity.
Chen Badao and the others, meanwhile, had faces as cold as iron, while invisible Killing Intent ran rampant.
They were not fools. Naturally, they understood what had happened.
This Chu Tianlong had not only dug out Chen Wen's imperial bone, but had also stolen his identity along with it.
"Brother, what is wrong? Say something!"
Seeing that Jiang Taichu had not responded for a long time, Jiang Qingren called out several times in succession.
"Ask whether he is in the sacred land." Chen Badao's voice entered Jiang Taichu's ears.
"By the way, is your Holy Son in the sacred land? Brother was thinking of finding a suitable time to pay him a visit," Jiang Taichu asked again.
"I do not know. Very few people have ever known his whereabouts, not even our Sacred Lord."
As she spoke, Jiang Qingren changed the subject. "When I see him next time, I will ask for you. There is no need to rush this matter."
"Alright, just let me know then." The last trace of suspicion in Jiang Qingren's heart vanished.
"You get back to your work. Brother has matters to attend to as well," Jiang Taichu said.
"Alright." Jiang Qingren directly cut off the connection.
Whew.
Jiang Taichu let out a long breath. He had finally muddled through.
He truly feared alerting the snake in the grass. Who knew what hidden circumstances lay behind all this?
At that moment, the scene fell silent.
The situation could not be called good, nor could it be called bad.
They could only pray that Chu Tianlong had not received word from the person behind him.
Or even that Chu Tianlong had not been silenced.
"You have done well," Chen Badao said.
Jiang Taichu hurriedly replied, "It is this lowly one's duty."
"Was it the Heavenly Maiden Sacred Land?" Chen Badao suddenly asked again.
Though Jiang Taichu was shocked that Chen Badao knew, he still nodded. "Yes."
"Heh, they truly are brazen beyond measure." Chen Badao spat coldly.
Jiang Taichu did not dare speak and silently lowered his head as far as it would go.
"Go outside and wait," Chen Badao suddenly said with a wave of his hand.
"Yes, my lord." Jiang Taichu did not dare delay and hurriedly retreated.
Once everything had settled down, Chen Badao slowly said, "Little Wen, did you know that you have a fiancée?"
A fiancée?
Chen Wen frowned.
He did not know why Chen Badao had suddenly brought this up.
"Your fiancée comes from the Ancient Loulan Kingdom, a Hidden Force that has endured for hundreds of millions of years."
"Not only is the force behind her powerful enough to reach the heavens, her talent is also one in ten thousand years. As for her looks, they are naturally second to none."
"She is currently undergoing training as well, and the location is the Heavenly Maiden Sacred Land."
Hearing this, Chen Wen froze and understood the meaning behind Chen Badao's words.
It was not enough for Chu Tianlong to impersonate him—he even intended to claim his fiancée.
As for how far things had progressed, that was impossible to know.
"I believe what you said earlier about this being the work of an acquaintance now. They even knew of your marriage contract." Chen Badao suddenly sneered.
Chen Wen suddenly had a terrifying guess. "Father, among the things you left for me, was there some kind of token?"
"Yes. A unique Imperial Dragon Pendant, forged from Ten-Thousand-Year True Dragon Marrow," Chen Badao answered.
"Then this was truly done without a single drop leaking through the cracks. My unique imperial bone, my token, even my age."
As he spoke, Chen Wen tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Before long, he will probably be able to return to the clan openly. The fake will become real."
The moment those words fell, Chen Badao and the others' expressions became even colder.
Because such a situation was not impossible.
Imperial bones were inherently unique, and they could also produce blood.
Given enough time and a few extra methods, the deed could be done.
Chen Wen glanced at everyone before continuing, "Based on the clues we have, the person manipulating everything from behind the scenes is very likely within our Chen Clan."
"Now that you have descended in force, they must have received the news as well."
"The best course for them would be to kill Chu Tianlong before I can react, then destroy the imperial bone."
"That way, every clue would vanish into thin air."
Chen Wen paused, then said, "But in truth, I can still vaguely sense the existence of the imperial bone, and it has already grown to a certain extent."
"So the most likely situation is that those people did not manage to contact Chu Tianlong immediately."
Chen Wudi's eyes instantly lit up. "That means they have already missed their best chance to act."
"In such circumstances, they would never dare make another move, not even a simple hint."
"Because they also fear that we will lure the snake out of its hole and expose their identities."
Chen Wen nodded. "Exactly. Now we can only hope that Chu Tianlong holds some clues."
"As long as Chu Tianlong has clues in his hands, not a single one of them will escape."
Hearing this, Chen Badao immediately made a decision. "Then your mother and I will return to the clan first."
"On one hand, it is to prevent certain people from jumping over the wall in desperation and using the chance to create chaos."
"On the other hand, we will secretly arrange everything and seal off the entire Ancient Yuan Realm."
"When the time comes, if they dare make a move, they will all die."
"Xiao Di and Xiao Mian, investigate the people from the Upper Realm who entered the Ancient Yuan Realm these past few days, and keep a close eye on them for me."
"The moment they show any unusual movement, control them immediately. I will bear all consequences."
"Understood." Chen Hongmian and Chen Wudi nodded in succession.
"As for you, Little Wen, you have two choices. First, go to the Heavenly Maiden Sacred Land and see what the situation is there."
"If nothing unexpected happens, you will have a chance to take revenge with your own hands."
"The second is to return with us. Once we capture Chu Tianlong, we will hand him over to you and let you take revenge personally."
Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Wen said, "I will go to the Heavenly Maiden Sacred Land. I happen to want to meet this Chu Tianlong myself."
Rather than relying on someone else's hands to achieve his goal, he preferred watching Chu Tianlong despair until death.
Only then could he give both himself and the original owner of this body an answer.
Before you continue