His ancestor was a general under the Immortal Emperor, guarding the Western Desolate until he was stripped of his rank on charges of treason...
Without a doubt, these records fit seamlessly with the background of Chen Xu from his dreams, at least on the surface. After all, the matter of treason involved being framed, making it entirely shrouded in secrecy.
Bai Shaoyou had been observing Chen Qing's reaction. He saw the man's gaze linger on the jade slip, and though his expression remained composed, a subtle shift crossed his features—one that Bai Shaoyou captured with keen perception.
Certain of his own judgment, Bai Shaoyou smiled. "Friend Chen, the one recorded in this slip as the Chen Clan's Xu—his name, his deeds, his time, and his place—seem to match quite closely with the remarkable figure who offered strategies to pacify the populace that you mentioned previously?"
Instead of answering, Chen Qing followed that line further down, but the subsequent content grew fragmented and bore little relation to the Chen Clan's Xu, speaking instead of the Immortal Dynasty's military campaigns in the Western Desolate Continent.
Withdrawing his gaze, he felt a strange sense of relief.
Many of his long-held suspicions had found partial answers within this bamboo slip. To him, this was not a bad thing, but a good one.
No matter how the Grand Void Dao Evolution Record presented the world of the Immortal Dynasty before him, the spiritual qi provided in feedback was real, and everything he experienced was by no means false.
"Is there something amiss with the contents of the slip?" Sensing the trace of relief emanating from Chen Qing, Bai Shaoyou grew unable to read this person's mind.
The Samadhi True Fire Talisman flashed with a faint golden light, cleansing stray thoughts. Chen Qing took a light sip of tea, pondering inwardly.
The sword and the bamboo slip proved Bai Shaoyou's ability to gather intelligence on the Immortal Dynasty. If he wanted to extract more information about the Immortal Dynasty from him, he had to provide an explanation of sufficient weight that could hold together under scrutiny.
Setting down his teacup and meeting Bai Shaoyou's gaze, Chen Qing spoke frankly. "To tell you the truth, the person friend has investigated was indeed the former patriarch of my Hidden Star Gate."
"A patriarch?!" Bai Shaoyou's knuckles suddenly turned white, the desk creaking under his grip as his composure vanished entirely. "That Chen Xu... cultivator Chen, is the patriarch of your esteemed sect? He is a figure from the Immortal Dynasty era. Is the Hidden Star Gate truly an orthodox lineage from antiquity?!"
His voice carried a trace of hard-to-conceal trembling, and his earlier scrutiny and probing were utterly gone.
"No wonder you could speak of such profound secrets!" Taking a deep breath, Bai Shaoyou forcefully steadied his churning emotions, his tone entirely transformed. "Friend Chen, my apologies! I never imagined you were the successor of an ancient orthodox lineage! Regarding the later events concerning your esteemed patriarch, Bai yearns to know more. Might I hear the details?"
Chen Qing naturally went along with the current. "Since friend is so persistent about the old affairs of the Immortal Dynasty and even mentioned last time that your household holds rare secrets like the Immortal Dynasty Anecdotes, you must know a great deal. I am willing to trade more anecdotes and secrets of our patriarch for a look at it. I wonder what friend Bai thinks of this?"
"Why ever not?" Bai Shaoyou grinned widely, speaking to Old Zhou who stood waiting respectfully at the side and looked equally shocked. "Old Zhou, go to the treasury and fetch the original copy of the Immortal Dynasty Anecdotes, and brew a pot of that Nine Leaf Spirit Calming Tea. Make it quick!"
Old Zhou snapped out of his daze, bowed in assent, and hurried away.
"Wait a moment, friend." Bai Shaoyou turned back, his posture now carrying a hint of solemnity, the eagerness in his eyes nearly overflowing. "With your sect's background, there must be many records concerning the matters of the Immortal Dynasty."
Taking in all of Bai Shaoyou's reactions and considering that the man was a major holder of spirit marrow who needed to be sheared sustainably in the future, Chen Qing replied, "There is indeed a heritage within our sect regarding the patriarch's deeds, but I won't hide it from you—matters of the Immortal Dynasty are recorded rather fragmentarily here."
"Friend Chen is truly righteous! I am deeply grateful!" Joy flashed in Bai Shaoyou's eyes, and he immediately said, "You are free to peruse the Immortal Dynasty Anecdotes as you wish, friend. I only hope that when you have leisure, you will not begrudge bestowing some of the patriarch's profound secrets upon me!"
Old Zhou quickly presented the jade slip inscribed with the Immortal Dynasty Anecdotes along with the fragrant tea.
Chen Qing took the jade slip; it felt warm to the touch, and unable to wait any longer, he immediately opened it.
As the jade slip unfolded, the opening page revealed a vast celestial map, the positions of the six great regions laid out clearly before him—
The Central Spirit Continent was called the "Qi Pivot Profound Earth", shaped like a tortoise shell and situated at the center;
The Eastern Spirit Continent was called the "Li Yang Profound Continent", resembling a dragon soaring through the sea;
The South Flame Continent was called the "Crimson Flame Islands", like a vermillion phoenix spreading its wings;
The Northern Cold Continent was called the "Xuan Ming Ice Domain", taking the form of a black tortoise bearing a mountain;
The Western Desolate Continent was called the "Yellow Springs Desert Land", like a fierce tiger crouching on the earth;
Only the Western Nether Continent was shrouded by a miasma of mist, marked with merely two words: "Ghost Domain" and "Inauspicious".
Yet Chen Qing naturally knew that the Central Spirit Continent in this map no longer existed.
It had sunk.
[In the late Dao Seeking Era, the First Origin Immortal Emperor emerged from the void, swept across the universe, and established the orthodox rule of the Immortal Dynasty...]
Chen Qing's gaze swept over these records, scanning the complex texts ten lines at a time while his fingertips slid swiftly across the jade slip.
[After the ascension of the First Origin Immortal Emperor, the Immortal Dynasty grew increasingly extravagant and decadent. The Heavenly Craft Workshop's "Thousand Mechanisms City" popularized the arts of mechanism, building flying storied-vessels and puppet battle armor with unbridled luxury; the Marquis of the East Sea's "Coral Palace" used tens of thousands of hectares of coral as its foundation to construct a palace of crystal, where songs and dances played night after night...]
Watching and reading, Chen Qing silently shook his head. Detailed though these records were, they were not what he sought.
"The Immortal Emperor really did succeed in his ascension, but the exact time isn't recorded! Yet the moment he left, the Immortal Dynasty set foot on a crooked path. Such spectacles ruin a country!"
It was not until the four characters "Void Abyss Floating Li" leaped into view that his gaze abruptly sharpened.
[...There is the Void Abyss Floating Li, spanning two continents and completing one celestial revolution every four hundred and seventy years. Whenever it crosses a territory, cultivators ascend the peak to attend banquets, drinking from crystal cups of the void, listening to the celestial music of the nine heavens, plucking the stars and seizing the moon in the height of extravagance, flourishing to the extreme for an era.]
He was not unfamiliar with the name Void Abyss Floating Li. Back in his dream on Xuan Du Mountain, he had heard Xu Zhaoying mention that this mountain could cross oceans and travel through various continents, making a full circle every four or five hundred years. Furthermore, at the time, it seemed to be right above the Central Spirit Continent, and Xu Zhaoying had even made an appointment with him to go and see it together in the future.
He had never expected it to be recorded in the Immortal Dynasty Anecdotes as well!
"Void Abyss Floating Li..."
"Friend Chen recognizes this mountain?" Capturing Chen Qing's focal point, Bai Shaoyou chimed in, "This is an ancient wonder capable of traversing the void and crossing the oceans." He paused, lowering his voice. "Come to think of it, it's quite a coincidence. A few days ago, Sea Abyss Temple discovered a floating divine mountain above the Eastern Sea, with the ancient seal script of 'Void Abyss' faintly manifesting on its body! Nine times out of ten, it must be this place!"
Chen Qing's heart gave a jolt.
Sea Abyss Temple?
Without changing his expression, he asked, "Oh? Has that Sea Abyss Temple managed to ascend it?"
Bai Shaoyou shook his head and smiled. "To enter an ancient legacy, how could it be so easy? You must realize that this mountain visits only once every few centuries and yet remains intact, which shows it is extraordinary. The restrictions outside the mountain are severe, and Sea Abyss Temple has exhausted all its methods yet remains unable to find a way in. They are currently running everywhere searching for a method to crack it, utterly frantic—though they never stop to think whether such a wondrous artifact is something a tiny sect like theirs could dare to monopolize and covet."
With that, he shook his head. "That sect's calamity is likely not far off."
Chen Qing's eyes flashed, and a spark of insight suddenly struck his mind.
Traversing the void... crossing the oceans... one revolution every four hundred and seventy years... discovered by Sea Abyss Temple... restrictions difficult to breach...
These phrases collided within his mind!
"The Void Abyss Floating Li has existed since antiquity, has yet to fall, and can even travel across continents—doesn't that mean..."
His heart hammered wildly as a remarkably bold notion took shape in his mind.
After a long moment, Chen Qing took a deep breath, raised his eyes to look at Bai Shaoyou, and asked, "Friend Bai, in your view, if someone had left behind some legacy artifacts on the Void Abyss Floating Li back when the Immortal Dynasty was at its peak, would later generations be able to follow the traces and obtain them when the divine mountain reappears ten thousand years later?"
Before you continue