Half a month later in Central Plain State, Yanjing City.

In a window seat of a restaurant, Lin Xun was drinking by himself while deep in thoughts.

Upon their departure, Lone Man and the old seer had left him a jade slip that recorded some matters concerning Mister Lu and his mother Luo Qingxun.

As Lin Xun combined this with what he had already known, he made some rough guesses.

A long time ago, in order to escape someone’s pursuit, Luo Qingxun had carried the Omega Secret-Realm and crossed the nebula under the protection of Mister Lu and Lin Xun’s uncle Star Annihilation Battle Emperor. They had arrived in the Ziyao Empire in the lower plane that was the Ancient Wasteland Domain.

However, Luo Qingxun had been heavily wounded along the way and fell into a coma that had seemed to last forever.

When she had awakened from it, her memory had been damaged, resulting in her forgetting many things in the past…

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Afterward, she had participated in the Ziyao Empire's national examination and won first place that year. As a result, she had been able to enter Qinglu Academy to practice cultivation.

During the same year, she had befriended Lin Wenjing and soon fallen in love with him, the man who would later become Lin Xun’s father.

Naturally, the pair had then gotten married, about which Lu Boya had done nothing. In fact, he simply couldn’t have stopped Luo Qingxun because she had forgotten too many things due to memory loss, including who he was…

Luo Qingxun had no idea that during her long coma, Lu Boya had used his extraordinary power and skills to reach a great height in the Ziyao Empire. He had founded Qinglu Academy, established the Rune Master Association, and set up the Black Glory Sacred Hall headed by Dark Night Queen.

Back then, Lone Man and the old seer, who had also been hibernating in the Ziyao Empire, had been able to tell that Lu Boya's origin was not simple at all. Thus, they had sought a conversation with him.

Unfortunately, Lu Boya hadn’t revealed much, saying that he was just a passer-by and that he had come to the Ziyao Empire merely to guard a person.

The great founding emperor of the Ziyao Empire had also talked to Lu Boya.

After that talk, Lu Boya had become the great founding emperor's eldest son, who was also the cultivation mentor of Zhao Jingxuan's father, Zhao Yuanji…

Upon learning this information from the jade slip, Lin Xun was amazed for a good while. Although Mister Lu hadn't left his name in the history records of the Ziyao Empire, he had still invisibly influenced it a great deal!

Later, Lone Man and the old seer had learned that the person Lu Boya had been guarding was Luo Qingxun, who was married to Lin Wenjing, the eldest son of the Lin Clan.

Up to this point, everything had been uneventful.

However, the bloodshed that suddenly happened to the Lin Clan had shattered it all.

Lin Xun had long since learned the truth behind this: Yun Qingbai had broken into his family, killed his clansmen, and robbed him of his Origin Aeth Artery, but the actual mastermind was quasi-Emperor Baqi of Holy Illumination Ancient Sect!

In the past, Lin Xun wouldn’t have suspected that there was anything amiss with this.

However, after having witnessed the terrifying power of Lone Man and the old seer in that heavenly game, he realized a problem.

If Lone Man and the old seer had been acquainted with Mister Lu and Luo Qingxun, then how could they have possibly watched a quasi-Emperor create a bloodbath in the Lin Clan right under their noses?

The jade slip from Lone Man and the old seer contained the answer to this.

That year, the sky above The Forbidden City had been obscured by the power of taboo tribulation. It had forced Lone Man and the old seer to retract all their senses and lie low.

When the taboo tribulation power had finally dissipated, the Lin Clan’s demise had already been irreversible…

Lin Xun’s heart jumped in fright upon reading this.

He was certain that Lone Man and the old seer hadn’t lied to him because under all heavens, only the taboo tribulation power could deeply threaten experts of their caliber!

However, another doubt arose that sent shivers down Lin Xun’s spine.

Baqi was only a quasi-Emperor from Holy Illumination Ancient Sect. How would he have gotten the right to utilize the taboo tribulation power?

If he didn’t, then why did the taboo tribulation power descend to the lower plane back then?

Lone Man and the old seer had relayed their guess in the jade slip: The taboo tribulation power had wanted to capture Luo Qingxun, who had escaped from the other side of the cosmos!

Meanwhile, quasi-Emperor Baqi, who appeared to be the true culprit, had merely been following orders, for there was only one person who could control and wield the power of taboo tribulation – the Nameless Esteemed Emperor!

This theory made Lin Xun's blood run cold.

Only now did he realize that he had likely been targeted by that Nameless Esteemed Emperor since the moment he had been born, and that the strange disappearance of his parents most likely had something to do with the Nameless Esteemed Emperor!

The more he thought about it, the more sense the two old men’s guess made. The taboo tribulation power originated from the other side of the cosmos, and his mother had also escaped from that place very long ago.

She had then been gravely injured and fell into a coma for many, many years.

That taboo tribulation power had similarly covered this heaven and earth for many, many years!

How could there be such a coincidence?

There was definitely a connection between them!

This was Lin Xun's speculation.

Shortly after the bloody tragedy of the Lin Clan, Lin Xun, as an infant whose Origin Aeth Artery had been ripped out of him, had been taken away by Lu Boya and hidden away in an unknown mine prison.

According to Lone Man and the old seer, that mine prison had been built by Lu Boya himself, covered in mysterious and terrifying rune arrays.

Yet, more than ten years later, it had been destroyed.

Destroyed at the hands of the people who had pursued Luo Qingxun and Lu Boya back then.

Up to this point, Lin Xun had finally smoothed out those past events.

However, the truth he had arrived at left him in utter shock and, at the same time, gave rise to many new doubts.

For example, of all the places they could have chosen in the Ancient Nebula Road, why had Luo Qingxun and Lu Boya gone to the small plane where the Ziyao Empire was located?

Lin Xun knew that small plane was not simple; the Blood Kill Battlefield there had been the hibernating place of the golden cicada youth, the Ten Thousand Tribulation Great Emperor, and many other terrifying beings.

Similarly, the Return Dominion, which was one of the four great dao dominions, was located in the depths of Spirit Burial Sea in that plane.

The past base of Fangchun Mountain was most likely entrenched within the Return Dominion!

Lin Xun, who had pushed open Omega Door and met the force of will left behind by Omega Lord Luo Tongtian, knew that Luo Tongtian had also entered the Return Dominion a long time ago!

Of note, Luo Tongtian was the ancestor of Luo Qingxun!

From this series of fragmented clues, Lin Xun made a bold speculation: The reason why his mother and Mister Lu had come to the lower plane was not necessarily just to escape pursuit, but most likely also to get into the Return Dominion!

It was because Omega Lord Luo Tongtian, who was claimed to have conquered all the heavens without a single defeat, had been frightened back into retreating by a voice upon entering the Return Dominion.

That voice had come from the Master of Fangchun Mountain!

The existence that could frighten away Luo Tongtian was certainly considered an extraordinary supreme figure by Luo Qingxun and Lu Boya.

Perhaps, searching for the Master of Fangchun Mountain was the reason why they had come to the lower plane.

Of course, this was only Lin Xun's speculation.

Probably only his mother and Mister Lu knew all the real details.

“Mister Lu is definitely still alive. I wonder where he is now…” Lin Xun poured himself a cup of wine and drained it in one go.

He found his parents to be unfamiliar figures in his life and had no feelings for them. Since he had been brought up by Mister Lu from infancy, the bond he had with Mister Lu was actually deeper.

It wasn’t that Lin Xun was cold-blooded. After all, how could he have strong feelings for his parents when he didn’t even know what they looked like?

This was a regret he had.

As a child of someone, who didn’t long to be around their parents always?

After Lin Xun finished a pot of wine, the restaurant was much livelier and noisier as the number of guests had increased.

They were all cultivators in Yanjing City, and what they discussed the most was still the epic showdown that had taken place half a month ago.

After news of that sensational event spread to all worlds, its impact remained unabated even after half a month. In fact, it only intensified as all kinds of insider information kept being brought to the surface.

By now, not only the Great Primordial Chaos World, but also the various other worlds in the nebula were all analyzing this heaven-shaking event.

Some people debated the heavy impact suffered by the Great Six Courts and Great Ten Battle Clans, while others discussed the god-like disciples of Fangchun Mountain.

There were also people who were on the topic of the path to the other side of the cosmos.

With regards to all of this, Lin Xun didn’t bother to pay any attention despite being someone who had been directly involved.

Ordering another pot of wine, he recalled the content of the letter left by the golden cicada youth.

“In the Underworld, someone is waiting for you to end their trouble.”

The letter contained only this one sentence, which was baffling.

However, Lin Xun perceived something special from it.

The phrase ‘end their trouble’ had quite the subtle implication, as anyone who read it would immediately think of saying ‘who started the trouble should end the trouble.’

The crux of the matter was that Lin Xun had no idea when and what trouble he had started, not to mention that the location was in the Ancient Nebula Underworld.

However, for a character like the golden cicada to leave only this short message before he had departed for the other side of the cosmos, this matter had to be of extraordinary importance!

Who on earth is it that needs me to go to the Underworld and solve their problem?

Lin Xun pondered for a long time, combing through his memories on Holy Illumination Ancient Sect, on Earth Treasury Realm, and also on what Senior Sister Ruo Su had said about Second Senior Brother hiding in the Underworld.

After going back and forth through them all, he still couldn't come up with a single clue.

“I guess there’s no harm going there when the opportunity arises,” mused Lin Xun.

When he had traveled through stars on Whirlwind Ship and arrived at the Great Primordial Chaos World, he had made many plans.

For example, returning the bamboo leaf-shaped hairpin from Senior Brother Xuan Kong to Jiang Xingque.

For another example, finding Xuanji Dao Sect’s Bo Yazi and getting information on Senior Brother Li Xuanwei from him.

Currently, Lin Xun had long accomplished them.

However, there was one plan that he had always kept a secret in his heart, and that was to pay a visit to Divine Apparatus Profound Sect.

Back then, in the Great Yu World, Lin Xun had asked Blade Emperor Yu Qingyang about the Ancient Wasteland Alliance and the True Dragon World.

Yu Qingyang had told him,

“If you are looking for clues about the Ancient Wasteland Alliance, then you may as well pay Divine Apparatus Profound Sect a visit.”

[1]

The reason was simple: the most mysterious organization of the Ancient Wasteland Domain, Divine Apparatus Pavilion, belonged in the same lineage as Divine Apparatus Profound Sect!

It was worth mentioning that Ao Zhentian, a descendant of the True Dragon Clan, had once traveled to the Ancient Wasteland Domain with Yin Huan, a disciple of Divine Apparatus Profound Sect. The purpose of their trip had been to invite Zhao Jingxuan to take part in the Thousand Dragon Celestial Assembly at the True Dragon World!

1. See chapter 1799 if you want to go back ☜