Xu Jiangxian looked puzzled and murmured, "As if beholding the Supreme One?"
Three thousand years ago, the three who had truly ascended were Lu Yu, the empress, and the Demon Master.
All three had been born in this world.
Yet later legends also spoke of a woman, said to have been Lu Chen's fiancée, who had ascended as well. Little was known of her.
The major sects kept detailed records of the three ascendants' lives, but even this woman's name had been lost. All anyone knew was that she came from Great Qing during the Warring States era.
Legend held that when the Ascension Platform opened, she ascended in broad daylight. Temples dedicated to her still stood in Hexi, their incense offerings unbroken.
"Could she have been the Supreme One?"
Lu Hua seemed to see the Demon Master's confusion and slowly explained:
"When Patriarch Lu Chen still lived in the mortal world, he had a fiancée he never married. Her name was Xie Lingxuan."
Lu Hua nodded. "Xie Lingxuan never married. At forty, she still looked like a girl of twenty. Her ageless beauty was nothing short of a marvel."
Xu Jiangxian frowned. "Xie? The Xie Clan of Bianjing?"
Lu Hua looked surprised. "The present-day Marquis Dingyuan Manor of Great Qi descends from Xie Lingxuan's clan. You knew that, Demon Master?"
Xu Jiangxian smiled faintly, then revealed a secret of the Demon Sect. "After Demon Master Huang Dao ascended, he took no disciples in his lifetime, but he had a much younger friend who traveled the martial world with him. That friend was Xie Mu of the Great Qing Xie Clan."
"Three thousand years ago, when the Demon Sect fell into chaos, Patriarch Xie Mu burst onto the scene and united its nine branches. Revered as the Demon Emperor, he