Chapter 740 – The Scent of a Plot
“Is this perhaps concerning the Devil Sword Conference?” Yun Che asked straightforwardly.
“Ah, as expected, you do know why I’ve come.” Ji Qianrou stepped forward, and with a flip of his right hand, a hexagonal token made of precious jade, which was illuminated with a fantastical blue glow, was tossed towards Yun Che., “This is the Devil Sword Conference’s invitation card. One hundred days from now, you can use it to enter our Supreme Ocean Palace and participate in the Devil Sword Conference.”
Yun Che extended a hand and grabbed the blue-colored precious jade token in his hand. A refreshing and cleansing aura abruptly erupted out from his palm, and his gaze swept across the words that were engraved on the precious jade before putting it away. “I thank Senior Ji for personally making a trip here, this junior will definitely visit Supreme Ocean Palace one hundred days from now. Besides this… can I ask Senior Ji to clear some confusion I have about the Devil Sword Conference? What exactly is the purpose of this meeting? And just what does ‘Devil Sword’ refer to?”
“Oh?” Ji Qianrou looked at Yun Che with an astonished expression as he gently raised a flawless white jade finger. “Ah, it looks like Little Cheche didn’t know about this. The Devil Sword Conference has already been announced in the upper echelons of the Profound Sky Continent’s profound world for a good long while, yet Little Cheche does not even know what the Devil Sword is referring to; it looks like Little Cheche isn’t too interested in this Devil Sword Conference in the first place.”
“I won’t hide it from Senior Ji, this junior is indeed not very interested in this Devil Sword Conference,” Yun Che said without the slightest bit of hesitation. “However, I can use this Devil Sword Conference to visit Supreme Ocean Palace that I’ve been fascinated with for the longest time.”
“Hehehehe…” Ji Qianrou let out a gentle laugh which was sweeter and more coquettish than a woman’s laugh. Yun Che felt his guts cramp up violently at this sight; if his self-control was not good enough, even his face would have distorted. Ji Qianrou said in a merry fashion, “Hmmm, even though this Devil Sword Conference is very prestigious and has gotten a lot of publicity, but it really doesn’t interest me in the least. However, I’m sure Little Cheche’s mysterious master would be far more interested about it. If Little Cheche’s master will condescend to visit Supreme Ocean Palace, it will definitely cause a huge commotion at the Devil Sword Conference.”
Yun Che smiled but did not say anything.
“Since Little Cheche asked me about the Devil Sword Conference, then I must definitely give you a proper answer. But speaking of this Devil Sword Conference… Little Cheche, have you ever heard of the Eternal Night Royal Family?” Ji Qianrou asked in a soft and supple voice as he narrowed peach blossom eyes that were even more charming than a girl’s.
“The Eternal Night Royal Family?” Yun Che was taken aback for a moment, before his brows twitched as he asked, “Could it be that the ‘Devil Sword’ of this Devil Sword Conference refers to the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword?”
Yun Che had heard the name of the Eternal Night Royal Family the very first day he had arrived in Frozen Cloud Asgard. It was Grand Asgard Mistress Feng Qianhui who had told him about it. And in Feng Qianhui’s own words, the Eternal Night Royal Family was originally a Sacred Ground, and it was one of the Five Great Sacred Grounds. Furthermore, it was the only Sacred Ground that was a family. However, one thousand years ago, it was destroyed through the joint efforts of the other four Sacred Grounds.
After that, the other three Sacred Grounds gradually noticed that they had been used by Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, but in order to maintain the reputation of the Sacred Grounds, they could only accept their mistake and continue to perpetuate the bad name of the Eternal Night Royal Family as they swiftly eliminated all traces left behind by the Eternal Night Royal Family. And now, there were extremely few people who even knew the name “Eternal Night Royal Family” besides the Four Great Sacred Grounds, extremely few people knew about the grievances and resentments which happened all those years ago.
As for the only reason why Frozen Cloud Asgard was cognizant of those events, it was because the Frozen Cloud Ancestor had received the help of the Eternal Night Royal Family. And because she was unable to accept the Eternal Night Royal Family’s tragic fate, she sealed these memories as part of the legacy of Frozen Cloud Asgard.
“Aiyah! Even though Little Cheche didn’t know about the Devil Sword Conference, but he does indeed know about the Eternal Night Royal Family and the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword. Ah, but it’s to be expected, Little Cheche has such a powerful master, so how many things in this world would Little Cheche be unaware of?”
Outside of the Four Great Sacred Grounds, there were very few people who knew the name “Eternal Night Royal Family”, and there were practically no outsiders who knew about the “Heavenly Sin Divine Sword”.
Yun Che slightly shook his head. “This junior has only heard of it before, and I know very little about it. I was hoping that Senior Ji could enlighten me regarding a few of these details.”
Ji Qianrou slightly narrowed his eyes before speaking in a casual and relaxed manner, “Regarding the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword, even though very few people knew of its name even a millenia ago, but it was a name that everyone who was from a Sacred Ground knew about. It is the only Monarch sword in the entire Profound Sky Continent; the lone monarch of all swords. No one knew of its origin, and the only thing that we knew is that it was a divine sword that the Eternal Night Royal Family had been guarding for generations. No one knew why it was being protected either; even within the Eternal Night Royal Family, there were a scant few people who knew the answers to these secrets.”
“Other than that, from the moment the existence of the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword had been exposed to the world, no one had ever seen it being used before. Perhaps it was too superior a weapon, so no one under this sky could wield it. And one thousand years ago, when the Eternal Night Royal Family was destroyed by the combined might of the Four Great Sacred Grounds for committing that grave, unforgivable sin, the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword disappeared without a trace, and not a single clue regarding it could be found for a whole thousand years. However, Mighty Heavenly Sword Region recently found a strange sword in some barren wasteland by pure chance, and they confirmed that it was the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword that had been missing for a millenia.”
Yun Che, “…”
Three years ago, Feng Qianhui had told him that the Frozen Cloud Ancestor had confirmed that the Eternal Night Royal Family had been deliberately and maliciously framed of their crimes by Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. And the entire purpose of that was to get their hands on the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword. Moreover, that same Heavenly Sin Divine Sword just so happened to disappear after the destruction of the Eternal Night Royal Family. It was extremely likely that it actually fell into the hands of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region all along.
However, when it came to a matter regarding a Sacred Ground, it would definitely be concealed heavily by the Four Sacred Grounds… With Mighty Heavenly Sword Region exerting the most effort in this regard, it was actually quite remarkable that the Frozen Cloud Ancestor would be able to know about what had happened in such exquisite detail… When Yun Che thought about it, it completely mystified him.
“And this Devil Sword Conference is being held because Mighty Heavenly Sword Region is not willing to monopolize the only Monarch-grade weapon in the Profound Sky Continent, so they suggested that all the heroes of the realm gather at Supreme Ocean Palace so that we could explore the secrets of the divine sword together.”
“Ah… so that is how it is.” Yun Che gave a slight nod of his head before replying with a bland smile, “This junior has long ago heard that Mighty Heavenly Sword Region cultivated the sword as their path, and their obsession with swords exceeded their regard for life, so they would spend their entire lives pursuing an ever-stronger sword and pushing the boundaries of the way of the sword. So I would have never thought that Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, the ones who found the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword by chance, would actually not monopolize the strongest sword in the world. Instead, they announced it to the whole world, to the point where they even invited all of the heroes of the realm to share in their spoils. And to express their sincerity, they actually specially arranged for the location to be at Supreme Ocean Palace instead of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. It is truly the sacred land of swords, and this boundless and selfless generosity and fair-thinking simply leaves this junior in complete awe.”
How would Ji Qianrou fail to see that Yun Che was clearly calling into question that intentions of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, and that his words even contained a concealed mockery. His eyes narrowed once more as he let out a laugh, “Little Cheche, you shouldn’t betray the amazing goodwill of our friends from Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, so I’m definitely expecting to see you there. And if Little Cheche truly holds no interest in the Devil Sword Conference, let this one, who also holds no interest in it, bring you on a tour to see all the amazing sights along the ocean.”
“Thank you for your kind intentions, Senior Ji,” Yun Che said as he smiled. He was indeed rather curious about the Devil Sword Conference, but he did not really hold much interest in it. Especially after Ji Qianrou told him about the details regarding the conference; the moment he heard those words, he smelled a rat, so he had a feeling that nothing good would come from participating in this event.
Moreover, the real reason for his visit to Supreme Ocean Palace was to obtain the Netherworld Udumbara Flower!
As for the Devil Sword Conference… he had not even decided whether he would make an appearance there at all. After all, the less he associated with the Sacred Grounds, the better. Even though Ye Xinghan still hated him to the bones, because of the existence of the “Master” that he had fabricated out of thin air, and the fact that one elder and many other protectorates had died at Frozen Cloud Asgard, Sun Moon Divine Hall would not dare to make a move against him… But the more he interacted with the Sacred Grounds, the easier it was for chinks to appear in his armor.
Once it was discovered that the so-called “Master” did not exist, then there would be a calamitous result awaiting him.
Furthermore… the last few words that Zi Ji had said before he had left the Black Moon Merchant Guild caused him to become extremely vigilant.
“Senior Ji, this junior has a question. Just what kind of powers would have the qualification to participate in the Devil Sword Conference?” Yun Che asked.
“Every power that has a profound practitioner at the Tyrant Profound Realm has received an invitation,” Ji Qianrou casually said, “And most of these powers would come from the Divine Phoenix Nation, because the other six countries had very few of them.”
“So that is to say that the Divine Phoenix Sect will also be participating,” Yun Che muttered rather softly.
“Hehehe, naturally, they are as well,” Ji Qianrou replied as he let out a feminine laugh, “Right now, the entire world knows that the Divine Phoenix Sect has delivered Princess Snow into Little Cheche’s hands in order to appease his wrath. So if Little Cheche wants to bring Princess Snow along with him when the times comes, that would simply be delightful. And just based on the invitation that you have received from this one, you can bring along ninety-nine other people as well.”
“Oh, right! There is also someone else who has received a special invitation,” Ji Qianrou looked at Yun Che’s face as he said this, “That person also comes from the Blue WInd Nation, and you should be very familiar with his name indeed….”
“Fen Juechen.”
“Him?” Yun Che’s brows jumped up fiercely. “Why are you inviting him?”
“Because he is even more powerful than the current Little Cheche,” Ji Qianrou said as a strange light shone in his eyes. “And from the moment he appeared, the Four Sacred Grounds have always had a very great deal of interest in him, almost as much as they have for Little Cheche.”
“A little weakling who was only at the Spirit Profound Realm disappears for two years and reappears possessing the power of a Monarch. He is a monster who is even scarier than Little Cheche himself. This one is also extremely interested in him. Moreover, he accepted the invitation… so Little Cheche, you had better be on your guard when the time comes, because anyone who has investigated Fen Juechen knows that the one thing he desires the most is to kill you.”
“Senior Ji, thank you for your warning,” Yun Che said with a bland laugh, but suspicion surged and welled in his heart… The Four Great Sacred Grounds being interested in Fen Juechen was completely unexpected, but given Fen Juechen’s temperament, why would he be willing to participate in this strange Devil Sword Conference?
“Alright, this one’s mission is done, so it is about time for me to return. One hundred days from now, you must definitely remember to come.” After saying this, Ji Qianrou’s arm swished as he turned around to leave.
Yun Che called out to him, “This should be the first time that Senior Ji has ever visited Frozen Cloud Asgard, so at least let this junior show you some courtesy before you leave.”
“There’s no need for that. I heard that Frozen Cloud Asgard is filled with women, and I happen to hate things like women the most. This one has no interest in it whatsoever. Being able to see Little Cheche again has already left me completely satisfied.”
With a wave of his hand, the flower petals that filled the sky floated downwards and carried Ji Qianrou far away; he very quickly disappeared amidst the shining snow.
Yun Che did not immediately return to Frozen Cloud Asgard once Ji Qianrou left. Instead, he stood there, completely lost in thought.
Devil Sword Conference… Eternal Night Royal Family… Heavenly Sin Divine Sword… Mighty Heavenly Sword Region!
“What are you thinking about?” Jasmine asked.
Yun Che’s brows arched as he let out a deep sigh, “It’s very clear that Feng Qianhui’s tale was indeed accurate. The Heavenly Sin Divine Sword which disappeared for a thousand years had indeed always been in the possession of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. This is because there is no way Mighty Heavenly Sword Region would be willing to reveal the existence of the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword if they had just acquired it.”
“And now that they have taken the initiative to reveal the existence of the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword and arrange this Devil Sword Conference, it is extremely likely that Mighty Heavenly Sword Region was unable to find a way to control the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword in the past thousand years. These thousand years have completely worn their patience, so they decided to invite all of the strongest individuals under heaven to explore its secrets together.”
“There is another possible reason as well,” Jasmine said blandly, “And that is that Mighty Heavenly Sword Region has indeed found a way to unlock the secrets of the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword, but they are unable to do so using their own power, so they are using the ‘Devil Sword Conference’ to gather as much power as possible.”
“There’s also this possibility.”
The deaths of his grandfather Yun Canghai and the Demon Emperor, the tragedy of the Xiao Family, the revenge of his parents, the resentment of the Little Demon Empress… all of this was intimately related to Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. And the destruction of the Eternal Night Royal Family was also dude to the selfish schemes of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. Yun Che exhaled heavily before speaking in a low voice, “I originally thought that there would be nothing to be worried about since this Devil Sword Conference was being held at Supreme Ocean Palace. But since it actually originates from Mighty Heavenly Sword Region… then I’ll have to be cautious.”
As of this moment, Yun Che had only ever come into contact with one person from Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, Ling Kun. From his knowledge and experience, the only impressions that he got from Mighty Heavenly Sword Region was that of danger, evil, ambition, and despicable ruthlessness.
“Hmph, you’ll know once the time comes. And as for any possible evil scheme or danger…” Jasmine said with a voice filled with disdain, “You do not need to be too worried about it, because at that time, the devilish poison in my soul will be completely cleansed away! And let’s not even talk about a mere Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, even if all of the so-called Four Great Sacred Grounds banded together… I would only need to lift my finger to slaughter the lot of them!”
Yun Che, “…”
“And if I want you to die, it will be exactly the same!” Jasmine very deliberately said right after.