The group arrived outside the city.
A figure flashed before their eyes, and Xiu Yun landed on the light boat. Su Ling, not far ahead, also turned and joined him on the boat.
"Zi Ji."
Yun Ze handed Ji Xiu, whom he was holding, to Zi Ji: "Take little Xiu to the cabin. Don't come out unless I call you."
"Yes."
Zi Ji, always obedient, took Ji Xiu and returned to the cabin.
Yun Ze casually cast out his sword domain, creating a simple soundproof barrier, then looked at Xiu Yun and the other two, his gaze falling on the outer disciple beside Su Ling.
There were some things he didn't want more people to know.
"Xiao Yun, withdraw."
Su Ling spoke, and the outer disciple cupped his fists and withdrew from the sword domain.
Only three people remained within the sword domain.
Su Ling also took out a dark purple spirit pearl from her spatial ring and placed it in the center: "This is the Mist Spirit Pearl. It can prevent cultivators at the Golden Core stage from peeking. It should be enough."
"Mm."
Yun Ze responded calmly and then looked at Xiu Yun.
Xiu Yun also looked at him.
But neither spoke, and neither knew what to say. Silence descended upon them.
"Are you two just going to stand here?"
Su Ling finally broke the silence.
She looked at Yun Ze: "You, tell us first, what exactly happened after you came out of the Sky Building Secret Realm!"
"This..."
Yun Ze scratched his head: "The details are a bit difficult to explain. It was mainly thanks to the help of a senior. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to escape."
He couldn't directly betray Brother Xiao, so he spoke vaguely.
"Senior?"
Xiu Yun asked in confusion, then chuckled: "Your senior is quite formidable. Even my father couldn't see through the fabricated corpse. When can you introduce me?"
"We'll see when there's an opportunity," Yun Ze replied vaguely, his gaze falling on Xiu Yun's spatial ring: "That demon infant..."
"It's just a wisp of consciousness now, not a demon infant," Xiu Yun explained, then continued: "We're talking about you now. Don't change the subject."
"Alright, alright, you ask first," Yun Ze said helplessly.
He sat cross-legged on the light boat: "But let's agree first, I'll only say what I can. If I can't say it, don't force me. Otherwise, with your cultivation, you probably can't beat me now. You'll have to call me 'brother' from now on."
"Hey! You're getting arrogant now, aren't you!"
Xiu Yun casually took out his longbow and turned to Su Ling: "Su Ling, let's go! I don't believe two against one won't be enough to beat him!"
Su Ling stood silently to the side: "Don't drag me into your brotherly disputes. I don't want to be blown apart by a sword."
They had all witnessed the sword strike with which Yun Ze had killed Gong Li.
Frankly, neither Xiu Yun nor Su Ling were Yun Ze's match at this moment. Even though both of them were in the top ten of the Foundation Establishment rankings, they couldn't deny this fact.
"Then forget it," Xiu Yun said, putting away his longbow. "We just met, it's not good to fight you."
"Then I thank you, second brother," Yun Ze said, knowing Xiu Yun was just joking. He cupped his fists and teased: "Second brother is generous! Second brother is mighty!"
"Enough of that," Xiu Yun also sat down opposite Yun Ze and smiled at him: "Tell us, what happened after you came out of the Sky Building Secret Realm? Tell us what you can."
"Okay."
Yun Ze recounted his experiences over this period. He didn't hide the matter concerning Yun Xiao, as he was currently using Tu Sheng's name, and anyone could guess Yun Xiao's involvement.
Xiu Yun nodded after listening, a strange look appearing in his eyes: "But speaking of which, if you're not dead, why isn't your name on the Foundation Establishment Heavenly Rankings? The Heavenly Rankings have never made such a mistake before."
"I find this strange too," Yun Ze had mentioned this to Yu Xian earlier. But apart from the Heavenly Mandate Blood within him, he had no connection with the Old Man of Heavenly Mandate. He was completely clueless as to why this was happening.
"Never mind, as long as you're alright," Xiu Yun said, patting Yun Ze's shoulder twice. "Our meeting today is truly unexpected. It's a pity I have important matters to attend to and can't stay longer. Otherwise, I would definitely have a good drink with you and get thoroughly drunk!"
"There will be opportunities," Yun Ze smiled.
"Yes, there will be opportunities," Xiu Yun's brow furrowed slightly, then he forced a smile to mask it. "Alright, you probably still have some questions. Ask them quickly, so I can head to the next stop."
"Next stop?" Yun Ze frowned. "You... how many more similar truths have you prepared?"
From Xiu Yun's words, it was not difficult to infer. If he wanted the world to see the truth, he wouldn't have prepared these things only in the Chengtian Dynasty.
"This batch of Ascension Conferences has a total of three hundred and sixty-six sessions. We have prepared three hundred and sixty-six truths."
"...Are all these truths the same as today's?"
"Not exactly," Xiu Yun explained. "Gong Yushan was a target we've been watching for years. We've been paying attention since he obtained the Demon Summoning Secret Method. Besides him, the truths for the other three hundred and sixty-five locations will be more subtle. There are also some places where I need to personally take that demon and cause a great disturbance at the Ascension Conference."
Yun Ze frowned: "So the words you said just now..."
"Half true, half false," Xiu Yun replied with a frown. "If we wanted to, we could have assassinated Gong Yushan directly. But then we wouldn't have obtained this wisp of true demon consciousness today."
Yun Ze fell silent. He had not experienced the war below the Nine Netherworld, so he couldn't criticize Xiu Yun's choices. He could only frown and ask: "Is it really worth it?"
"Of course, it's worth it!" Xiu Yun replied without hesitation. "If you have the chance, go and see below the Nine Netherworld! There are humans there too!"
"I will go," Yun Ze replied, and said no more, changing the subject: "I heard the Demon Den has declared war on the Xiu family?"
"Mm," Xiu Yun responded. "It was only a matter of time. The Xiu family is just a chicken killed to scare the monkeys. The old immortals in those sects and families are hiding and unwilling to participate. My father had to resort to thunderous means to force them out. Everything we're doing is just to suppress the existence below the Nine Netherworld. I only hope there are still sensible people in the Xiu family who know how to choose. This is also why my brother and I are not on the front lines. Father has left some room for maneuver."
Below the Nine Netherworld again.
Yun Ze never expected that the Demon Den's declaration of war on the Xiu family had this reason behind it. Looking at it now, the Xiu family father and son truly only wished to suppress the Nine Netherworld. However, their methods were a bit too extreme.
"That's all for now," Xiu Yun slowly stood up, seemingly ready to leave. "In a short while, the Southeast Heaven should be involved. I can't say much about the specifics. You can come then, and I'll pick you up."
"Alright," Yun Ze responded, stood up, and dispelled the sword domain, watching Xiu Yun depart.
Su Ling, however, remained on the light boat. After putting away the Mist Spirit Pearl, she still hadn't left.
"What about you?" Yun Ze looked at Su Ling. "What are your plans next?"
"I naturally have my own mission," Su Ling replied matter-of-factly, but did not reveal what her mission was. "I have to stay here for a few more days. What about you?"
"I'm going to find someone to talk to, and then I'll return to Tongtian Academy," Yun Ze said.
"Okay, then take care!" Su Ling said, about to leave, but Yun Ze called out to her: "Hey, wait!"
"Mm? Is there anything else?"
"I remember in the Sky Building Secret Realm, Xiao Yu mentioned something about a child..." Yun Ze asked, confused. "What was that about?"
"Who knows?" Su Ling retorted. "She asked. You should ask her. Isn't she also at Tongtian Academy?"
"It's just awkward for me to ask," Yun Ze said helplessly.
"I don't know either," Su Ling said, taking the outer disciple called 'Xiao Yun' and turning to leave, as if trying to escape.
Yun Ze was left bewildered but didn't intend to chase after her. He turned to the cabin: "Zi Ji, come out."
"Yes."
Zi Ji, carrying the unconscious Ji Xiu, emerged from the cabin and came to Yun Ze's side.
"What do you think of today's events?" Yun Ze asked.
Zi Ji thought for a moment and replied honestly: "The disaster of Chengtian is a fortune for humanity. The pain of scraping bones and healing can awaken humanity."
Yun Ze nodded, neither affirming nor denying. He turned the light boat and flew towards the Chengtian Royal City: "In your opinion, can Chengtian still be revived now?"
"The royal city has suffered greatly. Countless civil and military officials have perished. If we rely only on the previous plan, it will definitely not work."
"What if you were there?"
"Me?" Zi Ji was stunned. "Mr. Tu, you mean..."
"Can you alone be equivalent to the entire court of civil and military officials?"
"Yes, but Mr. Tu, I don't want to leave Tongtian Academy!" Zi Ji's face fell.
"It's alright, I'm not asking you to leave Tongtian Academy, just to maintain correspondence with the royal family," Yun Ze smiled helplessly. But it was good that Zi Ji had such confidence. Although it couldn't make up for the losses, it could minimize them. He turned to look at Ji Xiu, a sense of helplessness appearing in his eyes. As a master, this was all he could do. If... if the Chengtian royal family were still alive. At such close proximity, he wondered if they, at the early Qi Refining stage, had managed to survive.
When Yun Ze returned to the royal city, people on the streets had already begun cleaning up bloodstains and corpses. These were people who had come out after participating in the Ascension Conference, or who had arrived from the immortal gathering outside the city. Now, less than one in ten people in the entire royal city were alive. If they relied only on the commoners, a plague might break out soon. With the assistance of cultivators, it would be better in any case.
Yun Ze traveled all the way to the foot of the Imperial City. As the building closest to the Ascension Conference, the Imperial City was also a scene of carnage. All those with mortal bodies had lost their lives. The further Yun Ze walked inside, the more corpses he saw. When he followed the trail of bodies to the front of the imperial palace hall, he saw Ji Lanshan sitting on the imperial throne. He was not dead yet, but Gu Xiaoshu in his arms had already stopped breathing.
"Senior Tu?"
Seeing Yun Ze arrive, a glimmer of light appeared in Ji Lanshan's eyes. Although he did not get up, he quickly asked: "My son, is my son Ji Xiu alright?"
"Don't worry, Daoist Ji. Ji Xiu is safe and sound, and possesses extraordinary talent. He has passed the Ascension Conference and will be my disciple from now on."
"Excellent! Excellent!" Ji Lanshan said twice, then turned to look at the corpse in his arms: "Empress, did you hear that? Our other son has also become an immortal! He has extraordinary talent! Extraordinary talent!"
"Daoist Ji, you..."
"Senior Tu," Ji Lanshan interrupted Yun Ze before he could finish speaking. "Junior has one more request."
"Speak."
"Tell Shan'er and Xiu'er that the one who killed their father, murdered their mother, and destroyed their country is a demon from the Nine Netherworld! If they achieve cultivation in the future, for me, for the people... kill the demon!"
"Pfft!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Lanshan spat out a mouthful of blood! He slumped onto the imperial throne, his hand falling onto the dragon's head, while the other hand stroked Gu Xiaoshu's face, and he let out a sigh: "All the glory of a lifetime is vanity. In the end, we only achieved dying together. Xiaoshu, wait for me! I'm coming!"
Ji Lanshan died.
"Alas..." Yun Ze sighed and turned to walk out of the great hall. The Chengtian Dynasty, he ultimately failed to save.