Chapter 622 – First Ancient Hall - Part 1

It was now the dead of winter in the Eastern Sea.

All the turbulence from the

Inner World

seemed to have reached its peak like waves crashing onto a crest. What followed could only be the ebb.

When Li Yuan rose from the bed, Yao Jue, dressed in a soft, milky-white winter robe, was already at his side, helping him into his clothes and boots.

Outside, faint sizzling and clattering sounds drifted in from the kitchen. Li Yuan glanced over and saw Ying Zhuoyao, wearing a moss-green apron, tending to something at the stove amid the warm bustle of rising steam and kitchen smoke.

Not long after, a steaming hot breakfast was served.

Perhaps knowing his temperament, they’d kept things simple but comforting, bowls of noodles, fluffy buns, some crisp, flaky cakes made from a mixture of local spirit herbs and flour, and a few poached eggs, though which bird they came from, no one could say.

Xie Wei appeared silently behind him, slipping her arms around his neck from behind. In the past, she had always been the picture of decorum, at least when others were around. But after spending so many days together, she'd let go of many old habits.

Each of the women sharing a bed with Li Yuan possessed varied identities, a scheming empress dowager, an aloof imperial consort, the head of a powerful faction in the Immortal Domain, a brilliant elder of the Holy Tree Temple, a maid, and a former leader of the Green Lotus Cult.

It was all utterly absurd, really.

But then again, each of them had their own history with Li Yuan.

And for an ordinary person, any one of those memories would have been enough to last a lifetime.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

“We’re heading to the ancient halls the day after tomorrow, right?” Xie Wei murmured, resting her cheek lightly against his shoulder.

Li Yuan tugged her around and pulled her into his arms.

“What, do you expect

me

to feed you now too?” She rolled her eyes.

It had become a playful game between them, calling back to the roles they once held.

“To be personally fed by the Empress Dowager of 60 years ago? That sounds like a rare delight.” Li Yuan grinned.

Xie Wei fetched a porcelain plate, picked up a piece of the spirit herb pastry with her chopsticks, blew on it gently, and brought it to his lips.

“Eat,” she said with mock annoyance. But she really was feeding him. And he really did eat.

Luckily, there were no outsiders in the courtyard to witness this scene.

Yao Jue scooted over as well, picked up a plate, twirled some noodles around a fork, blew on them delicately, and leaned toward Li Yuan with her big, dewy eyes sparkling.

“Master, your breakfast,” she said softly.

Ying Zhuoyao wasn’t exactly shy, either. Seeing this, she tidied up the table a bit, then grabbed a plate of buns and began slowly tearing one apart, clearly preparing to feed him too.

Her gaze landed on Li Yuan’s right thigh since Xie Wei was already perched on his left.

But just as she made her move, that sly little maid twisted her body and slid right in, stealing the spot before she could get there.

Yao Jue didn’t even glance her way. Her eyes remained fixed adoringly on the master.

Strictly speaking, she was the least attractive among the six women. But she was clever, and that was more than enough for Li Yuan to be fond of her.

Just then, a flicker of white swept past the courtyard gate.

Cui Huayin stepped inside, cold and elegant like a winter plum blossom. She exuded a distant chill, and when her eyes briefly met those of Li Yuan and the three women beside him, she quickly looked away.

“I just came to retrieve my spirit artifact,” she said quietly.

Yao Jue smiled and chimed in, “My Lady has been spoiled by the master these past few days, worn herself out with all that attention. No wonder she left in such a rush she forgot her weapon.”

Cui Huayin flushed slightly. “Just...take good care of him. I really did forget, that’s all.”

With that, she turned away, hurried into the house, grabbed her blade, and left without another word or glance.

Li Yuan stayed where he was, soaking in the warmth and affection that surrounded him.

Each of the women here shared a deep, complicated past with him. They couldn’t be called mere concubines. Such a word didn’t do justice to the bonds between them.

And yet, no matter how sweet the moment, it couldn’t mask the ticking clock, 12 years left. No more.

So what was eternal life, really?

It was witnessing splendor, indulging in decadence, only to say farewell to it all in the end.

Suddenly, Li Yuan pulled Xie Wei and Yao Jue into a tight embrace.

“What’s wrong?” Yao Jue asked with a playful smile.

Li Yuan gave her a smile of his own. “Nothing.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Two days later.

A total of 11 figures stood before the entrance of the first ancient hall.

They were Li Yuan, Ping'an, Han Feng, Meng Xingxian, the Gold Hall Master, Wood Hall Master, Dean of the Faculty of Puppetry, Dean of the Faculty of Seduction, and the three strongest cultivators from the most reclusive hidden clans.

By now, Han Feng and Meng Xingxian had mostly recovered. A dark swarm of demonic beasts loomed behind Meng Xingxian while Han Feng stood calmly by her side.

But the exploration ahead had little to do with Meng Xingxian.

No matter how strong her fourth and fifth rank demonic beasts were, they were far too feeble for the dangers inside the ancient halls. Worse yet, they couldn’t even act as proper distractions and might end up causing trouble instead.

Even the demonic beasts themselves seemed to possess an instinctive fear of the ancient halls. Despite Meng Xingxian’s commands, they resisted any attempt to go near it.

So Li Yuan simply had her and Han Feng stay outside to guard the retreat path, just in case.

Then he turned to look at Ping'an and gave a slight nod.

In an instant, Ping'an’s figure blurred and split, countless copies of him sprang forth, each dashing into the ancient hall at timed intervals.

While they moved, Li Yuan took out the sarira, the small shimmering bead nestled in his palm, and addressed the old man sealed inside it.

“If you still refuse to speak, you won’t get another chance.”

But Shi Jialan remained silent.

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes. Fine, then. He’d bring this sarira into the depths of the ancient hall. If he couldn’t pry anything out of the man... he’d just throw Shi Jialan into a place where death was certain.

His gaze lifted, taking in the sight before him, a towering, ancient structure that seemed to scrape the very heavens.

The building’s base didn’t rest on soil at all, but sank deep into the inner world beneath the surface.

Aside from its otherworldly structure, the ancient hall’s outer walls were made of a strange, unknown stone, impossibly hard and unlike anything anyone had seen.

Even a peak third rank cultivator, striking with full force, couldn’t leave the slightest mark on it.

Li Yuan had just tried himself. Even with all his power, it was useless.

And just standing next to the ancient hall now, he could already feel its immense pull, an invisible force that would trap anyone below the fourth rank the moment they stepped near. They could go in, but they’d never come out.

But even for a fourth rank cultivator, entering this place was no different from being an insect beneath a boot.

Perched on Li Yuan’s shoulder, the little black crow stared solemnly at the distant structure with him.

For the crow, this was the first time she had ever stood so close to the ancient hall, out in the open and unhidden. That alone gave her the rare opportunity to truly observe the place.

After a long moment, the crow leaned in and whispered into Li Yuan’s ear, “Papa, the stone outside this hall...it reminds me of the stone in the Deathless Tomb. The color, the heaviness, the coldness, even the hardness, it all feels the same.”

No one was more qualified to say such a thing than Sheng'er.

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes.

He remembered what Meng Xingxian had once said about the origins of the Deathless Tomb. It was something dug up suddenly, as if it had just appeared from underground. But how could something as massive as that Yin-Yang fish structure just

show up

beneath the earth?

Could it be that it, too, came from the Inner World? And if so, was there some hidden connection between the Deathless Tomb and this ancient hall?

The little crow continued, “But they’re not identical. At least, this place doesn’t have that all-consuming, neutralizing power the Deathless Tomb did.”

Li Yuan gave a thoughtful nod.

Roughly the time it takes two incense sticks to burn passed before Ping'an’s voice came through, calm and steady. “I’ve led the blood fiends at the gate away. We’re clear to enter.”

Li Yuan turned to look at his son.

The once unruly boy was now streaked with gray at the temples, his presence calm, steady, and dependable. That reckless arrogance of his youth felt like something from a distant dream.