The clouds drifted lazily.
The sky was a clear, spotless blue, so pristine it lifted the spirits.
Halfway up a mountain, beneath an old pine tree.
A young man and woman sat facing each other.
With weather like this and scenery so beautiful, being able to enjoy a piping-hot, spicy hotpot was truly one of life's great pleasures.
Ye Xi sat cross-legged, without a trace of airs. He picked up a piece of meat, swished it through the bubbling pot, and popped it into his mouth.
"Hiss—"
"Delicious! That hits the spot!"
Qiao Xi watched him with a hand over her mouth, smiling, though a trace of gloom flickered in her eyes.
It was hard to imagine that the fellow sitting across from her was the personal disciple of the Immortal Great Emperor.
Now, he was also the renowned Great Emperor Nicholas.
Yet spending time with him felt so casual and easy that she didn't feel the slightest discomfort.
Instead, she felt relaxed and at ease.
Ye Xi looked up and asked with a smile, "Why did you stop eating?"
Qiao Xi came back to herself, pouting as she said, "In the few days I've known you, I've eaten more than I did in the past several years."
She lowered her head and saw a snow-white valley...
Her voice turned timid. "I feel like I've gotten... bigger and a lot fatter!"
Ye Xi burst out laughing, then put on a serious face. "How could that be? You're what they call voluptuously beautiful."
Qiao Xi blushed, lowering her chin until it was almost against her chest.
After a long while.
They finished the hotpot.
Qiao Xi summoned her courage and asked softly, "Ye Xi, are you leaving?"
In truth, she should have left long ago. The clansmen who had come with her were all eager to return.
But when they heard Qiao Xi was going to say goodbye to Great Emperor Nicholas, they decided to stay a little longer.
If they could forge even the slightest connection with this peerless Great Emperor,
it would naturally be a good thing to cultivate a bit of goodwill with him.
Ye Xi's expression remained calm. He nodded and said, "That's right. I still have something very important to do!"
Qiao Xi asked again, "Then... when will we see each other again?"
"On a spring day next year, when the flowers bloom and the weather turns warm, we'll meet again."
At his words, Qiao Xi was so delighted that her body trembled. She cried out, "Really?"
She had thought that after this parting, they might never meet again.
She hadn't expected Ye Xi to answer that way.
Ye Xi nodded once more.
Only then did Qiao Xi fly off into the distance, like a cheerful little sparrow.
After they parted.
Ye Xi hesitated, then took out a small notebook and quickly flipped through it.
"Hmm, the parting scene... Found it!"
After glancing at it, Ye Xi said, "Good thing I didn't get it wrong. That's exactly what Master said when we parted back then! Very poetic!"
A little while later.
Ye Xi got up and left. This time, a woman in red, wearing a fearsome mask, was at his side.
Jade Pool Holy Land.
Inside an ancient, magnificent hall.
Yuan Ruoyu looked sternly at the Holy Land's elders, the peak masters, and the others.
Nearly all of the Holy Land's top experts had gathered here.
There were several hundred of them.
Yuan Ruoyu pondered for a moment, then said gravely, "By now, I assume everyone knows the secret of Cangwu Mountain!"
Great Elder Cang Yuan had been among those who went along, so that went without saying.
Quite a few of the other elders had also learned the truth, and they were just as shocked.
The Jade Pool Holy Land.
As one of the most powerful forces in the Cultivation World today,
it had known nothing about a secret like this. It had never even heard of the so-called Heterodox Beings or the Evil Pupil of the Heterodox Path.
And these evil beings had been hiding in the Cultivation World for who knew how long, building up who knew how many pawns like the An Clan...
Just thinking about it more deeply was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.
The Holy Land had to take action!
At that moment, Yuan Ruoyu's stern voice rang through the hall:
"We must abandon wishful thinking and prepare to go to war at any moment. No one knows whether those things will set their sights on our Jade Pool Holy Land next!"
Great Elder Cang Yuan's expression was solemn as he respectfully replied, "Exactly!"
The other elders and peak masters voiced their agreement one after another!
To put it broadly, this was a matter concerning the entire Cultivation World. It was also a matter of the Holy Land's survival!
Next,
Yuan Ruoyu issued a series of measures, including a thorough investigation to see whether any spies were hidden within the Holy Land.
She also ordered that elders be stationed at the Sect Protection Array at all times, among other things.
An hour later.
The elders and peak masters filed out of the hall to carry out Yuan Ruoyu's orders.
Only Great Elder Cang Yuan was asked to stay behind.
Cang Yuan cupped his hands and asked, "Holy Venerable, you asked me to stay. Is there something else you wish to instruct me to do?"
Yuan Ruoyu fell silent, a trace of embarrassment flashing across her face.
But now, if she wanted to help the Great Elder out of his dead end, she had no choice but to come clean.
Yuan Ruoyu asked, "I wonder if the Great Elder has made any progress lately in his study of Black Silk..."
Cang Yuan's spirits immediately sank. He replied dejectedly, "I haven't gained a thing!"
"The Immortal Great Emperor is truly unfathomable. Just one mention of Black Silk in the Diary nearly drove me mad..."
Yuan Ruoyu laughed helplessly, thinking that it was a good thing she had kept him behind.
Otherwise, if things had gone on like this, he really might have gone mad.
The Great Elder was one of the Holy Land's top experts. It would be a waste to let him languish like this.
After a brief silence.
Yuan Ruoyu blushed faintly as she took out a piece of Black Silk and sighed. "Great Elder, you needn't obsess over this anymore."
"The so-called Black Silk is simply this black stocking, a kind of decorative garment worn on the legs."
Cang Yuan stared in stunned disbelief and shook his head. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"The thing the Great Emperor held so dear, how could it be..."
Before he could finish, Yuan Ruoyu cut him off and continued, "Ye Xi told me this himself. And the one I have in my hand was given to him by the Immortal Great Emperor to pass on to me!"
"There's no way it's fake. Great Elder, you should accept reality."
At this point, Yuan Ruoyu no longer cared whether others realized what sort of relationship she had with the Immortal Great Emperor.
It was bound to come out sooner or later.
What was more, making their relationship public would let Yuan Ruoyu step forward and do more for Lin Feng.
It would not only deter some petty troublemakers,
but also give the forces that had already pledged allegiance to Lin Feng someone to rally around!
Although Ye Xi had stepped forward now,
it still wasn't enough.
A short while later...
The Great Elder stumbled out of the hall, his spirit crushed, mumbling to himself:
"How could this have happened?"
"Black Silk is just a black stocking? Something decorative?"
"And besides that, there's White Silk, Purple Silk, Suspender Silk..."
After walking for a while, the Great Elder reached up to clutch his hair and cried out to the sky, "Immortal Great Emperor, you led me astray!"
"You've put me through hell!"
Liyue Immortal Dynasty.
Gathering Immortal Hall.
At that moment, the court was filled with a murderous atmosphere.
For this grand court session, the Liyue Immortal Dynasty had summoned its civil and military officials, along with the regional governors stationed throughout the realm.
Empress Ye Qingge sat high upon the imperial throne.
Her expression was cold, her gaze indifferent as she swept it across the assembled officials. Not one of them dared even breathe too loudly.
Everyone knew the secret uncovered at Cangwu Mountain was of great significance.
Ye Qingge, the formidable empress, would certainly take action. She would never sit back and wait for death.
"By my decree, the entire Immortal Dynasty is to enter a state of readiness for war!"
"Furthermore!"
"Make every secret of Cangwu Mountain public knowledge. Let everyone know about the Heterodox Beings and their lackeys, so they have nowhere to hide!"
Prime Minister Gongyang Mu stepped forward and bowed, accepting the order.
After a brief silence,
Ye Qingge's icy voice rang out again. "Also, the Black Bird Guard and Black Shadow Guard are to make every effort to investigate all leads related to the Heterodox Beings and their lackeys!"
"Once they're found, kill them without exception!"
Zhao Shanhe replied respectfully, "Your subject obeys!"
Of course, it wasn't only the Jade Pool Holy Land and the Liyue Immortal Dynasty.
By now, nearly every sect and force throughout the Cultivation World, great or small, had issued similar orders.
For a time, fear gripped people's hearts.
Yet the entire Cultivation World was also slowly joining together as one, united in its determination to deal with those evil beings.
And amid all this...
The Immortal Great Emperor, the one who had discovered and exposed this secret, had naturally become everyone's hope.
Everyone wanted to know what the Immortal Great Emperor would do next, now that the secret had come to light.
As it happened!
This was also the moment for the Great Emperor to expose another secret of his own.
Before you continue