"Do you know who erased the history?" Yun Lintian asked.
Yan Qi first nodded his head and then shook it. "I can't say for sure that I know, it's just my guess after all."
"What do you mean? Can you be more specific?" Yun Lintian was annoyed.
Yan Qi frowned slightly. "At that time, I tried to investigate this matter, but I could only find a small trace of it. From the clue I found, the Azure Palace is somehow connected to this matter. I'm not sure who else is involved in this matter."
"Azure Palace?" Yun Lintian's eyebrows raised.
Yan Qi explained. "The Azure Palace is the number one palace in this world. It is located in the Central Continent, along with four other palaces namely Star Gazing Palace, Divine Thunder Palace, Myriad Pill Palace, and Heavenly Sword Palace. After dealing with that incident, Azure Palace suppressed all news related to it."
"They forbade everyone from keeping records. You have to understand that Azure Palace is the symbol of absolute strength. As much as I wanted to resist, I couldn't do it alone. Hence, I compiled it in the end. Afterward, I felt that I was no longer suitable to be the Palace Master. As a result, I made the decision to abdicate and embark on a journey to explore the world. However, after several years when I returned, I noticed that everyone seemed to have conveniently forgotten everything about that incident."
"In short, you have no clue at all?" Yun Lintian was slightly disappointed. He didn't get any useful information from Yan Qi at all.
Yan Qi nodded, admittingly. "You can say that. But the Azure Palace definitely has something to do with this."
Yun Lintian pondered for a while and decided to set this matter aside for now. He couldn't do anything even if he wanted to, anyway. He asked, "By the way, how did you end up here?"
A wistful expression crossed Yan Qi's face as he responded, "Nearly three thousand years ago, I encountered someone. Just a glimpse of her, I knew I wouldn't be able to love anyone except her from then on."
What a simp! Look at that intoxicated face he has, Ugh. Yun Lintian felt the urge to vomit.
"Who is she?" Yun Lintian asked and took a sip of tea.
Yan Qi still wore an intoxicated expression as he replied, "I don't know her name."
"Cough! Cough!" Yun Lintian immediately choked on the tea after hearing this. He was now certain this guy was an ultimate simp. How could you love someone for thousands of years without knowing her name?
Wiping tea stains from the corner of his mouth, Yun Lintian asked, "She is the one who put you here?"
"What are you saying!? She didn't put me here. I am willing to be here by myself. You need to correct your words." Yan Qi responded angrily, as if someone had stepped on his foot.
Yun Lintian covered his forehead. This old man was already completely helpless. "I'm wrong, alright? You really have no clue who she is?"
Yan Qi shook his head. "I don't know but one thing that I am certain is she shouldn't belong to this world."
"Why?" Yun Lintian asked.
"I am at the peak of the Monarch Profound Realm at that time, but I couldn't even get a glimpse of her strength. I think she should be someone from the legendary Divine World… It's just my guess." Yan Qi replied.
Yun Lintian accepted the explanation and asked, "Did she say anything else besides asking you to guard The Sun here?"
It wasn't that Yun Lintian had forgotten The Sun after getting it, but rather he couldn't find it at all. He didn't know where did The Sun go. Perhaps it had already fused with his profound vein. He was unsure about it.
"No. She didn't say anything much. Only tell me that after someone takes The Sun away, I have to tell that person to go north." Yan Qi responded.
"North?" Yun Lintian was puzzled.
Yan Qi nodded. "Yes. North direction. If I guessed correctly, it should be something related to the Frozen Moon Palace. Since there is The Sun, there should be The Moon as well. You can figure it out by yourself. This is just my unfounded guess."
Yun Lintian was taken aback and thought it made sense. He asked, "How much do you know about The Sun? And how did she give you this?"
Yan Qi naturally didn't have anything to hide. He replied, "Have you ever heard about the source of the element?" Seeing Yun Lintian shake his head, Yan Qi continued, "I speculate that The Sun should be the source of the fire element. That's why I guess there should be The Moon as well. As for how did she give me? Originally, The Sun was a simple card and somehow it became The Sun as you've seen after she flicked her hand once."
Yun Lintian felt a wave of dizziness after listening to this. It seemed he had accidentally accepted the main story quest and had to follow through till the end.
He drank a mouthful of tea and turned to Little Flame. "Is this little guy your pet?"
Yan Qi's face turned gloomy. "No, he is not my pet. If you know his origin you won't dare to call him that again."
Yun Lintian asked with great interest. "Oh? Who is he, then?"
Yan Qi looked at Little Flame with a smile and said, "I told you earlier that there is the Nine Profound Beast Palace on the Western Continent, right? This palace was formed by nine Profound Beast clans and the Little Flame's clan is also one of the nine clans known as the Fire Cloud Rat clan."
"Thousands of years ago, as I wandered the Western Continent, I happened to meet him, and we became good friends thereafter. Later, I found out that he is actually the crown prince and the future leader of his clan. However, he didn't want to succeed in the position and decided to run away with me."
Yun Lintian was stunned slightly. Although he knew Little Flame wasn't as ordinary as it appeared to be, he never thought it would be so extraordinary. His mouth opened slightly, "How...?"
Yan Qi understood what Yun Lintian wanted to ask. "Profound Beast has a longer lifespan than us humans. With the suppression of The Sun, our strength has declined day by day. Hence, Little Flame had already lost his transformation, but his lifespan was still much longer than mine. He should have another ten or so years left."
Yan Qi sighed and asked Yun Lintian, "Can you take him out with you?"
Yun Lintian finally understood the ins and outs. He took a deep breath and asked Little Flame, "Prince Little Flame, would you like to leave this place with me?"
He didn't mind bringing such a powerful helper out. Although Little Flame's strength had inclined sharply, he believed it won't take that long for Little Flame to regain his former strength.
Little Flame shook his head without hesitation and let out a loud squeak at Yan Qi, as if scolding him.
Yan Qi looked at Little Flame with complicated emotion and let out a long sigh a moment later. "Fine, I won't force you."
Little Flame didn't care about anyone else and continued to devour pastries.
Yun Lintian had an uncomfortable feeling in his heart, but he respected Little Flame's choice. He didn't say anything further and took out all the ingredients he had, cooking them for Little Flame.
***
At the entrance of the secret room, Yang Chen had already led Yang Ping and Hua Fei's group to the central hall.
"So, Luo Kun, Huo Ao, Ji Cheng, and Qi Tian'er are already dead?" Hua Fei asked Hua Litong in shock.
"Mhm. Brother Yun killed all of them." Hua Litong answered. This time, she started to call Yun Lintian "Brother Yun."
Yang Ping and the rest had a look of disbelief on their faces. They clearly knew that Yun Lintian's strength was no better than theirs. How could he manage to do that?
Yang Chen explained briefly, "This place is under Brother Yun's control. That's why I can easily find all of you."
"What?" Yang Ping was even more stunned this time.
Creak!
At this moment, the door to the secret room slowly opened, and Yun Lintian emerged, accompanied by Yan Qi and Little Flame.
"Everyone is here." Yun Lintian greeted. He walked toward everyone and said, "We're going out soon."
Everyone was surprised, and Hua Litong asked, "You mean we can get out anytime?"
Yun Lintian nodded and turned to Yang Chen. "Before we go out, I want to clarify a few things first. First, after we leaving this place, all of you have to pretend you haven't met me here before. Understood?"
Yang Chen frowned and said, "What's wrong, Brother Yun? Why are you doing this? If you feared it will implicate my family, you don't have to worry about it. My father has promised to help you and he will naturally honor it."
Yun Lintian chuckled and responded, "Let me tell you something. In the future, you should use your brains more. Don't be a hotheaded youth who only knows how to engage in direct confrontation." He then turned to Yang Mengli. "If you don't understand, you can ask your sister about it."
Yun Lintian didn't wait for Yang Chen to reply. He looked at everyone and said, "Thing is not simple as all of you have seen on the surface. It's involved with something that none of your patriarchs can resist. So believe me, if you don't want your clan to be exterminated, just pretend that you never encountered me here when you go out."
Hua Litong and Yang Mengli were smart, and they immediately understood Yun Lintian's intention. They looked at him with complicated emotions and chose to comply with his wish.
Before Yang Chen could say anything, Yan Qi spoke first. "Boy, since you have inherited my legacy. I hope you can live long enough. Do as he said. Since he said this, he certainly has his own plan."
Yang Chen suppressed the restlessness in his heart and gave confirmation in reply. "Understood, Master."
Yan Qi laughed slightly. "I never thought I would have a disciple at this point... I've already told you everything. Whether you want to fulfill my wish, you can decide for yourself. I'm not forcing you."
Bang!
Yang Chen suddenly knelt on the ground before Yan Qi and spoke with determination. "This disciple will fulfill the Master's wish."
Yan Qi laughed heartily. "Good! You are very similar to how I was back then. I hope you don't lose heart midway." He then turned to Yun Lintian and said, "You should go now. The situation outside is not peaceful."
Yun Lintian looked at Yan Qi and Little Flame for a moment before getting ready to leave. Suddenly, Little Flame let out a loud squeak and handed him a hexagonal red jade token. It had the word "Huo" engraved on it.
Yan Qi was emotional when he saw this. He explained. "This token represents his identity. If you have the opportunity to visit the Western Continent. Little Flame hopes that you can give this token to his mother. As for the information, you can use your spiritual sense to read it from the token later after you stepping into the Spirit Profound Realm."
Yun Lintian held the token firmly and said, "I don't know if I will go there, but I will definitely give it to your mother if I have a chance."
"Squeak!" Little Flame nodded with a squeak, satisfied with his answer.
Yun Lintian turned around and said to everyone, "Remember, do as I say... Sister Li. After leaving, all of you must take the escape talisman with you. If I sent you a signal, activate it and bring Sister Chan and Sister Ting away."
Yun Li solemnly expressed her understanding.
"Let's go." Yun Lintian didn't look back at Yan Qi and Little Flame one last time. He took out the Sun Orb and operated it. A moment later, a white light enveloped everyone, causing their figures to vanish from the spot.
A silence descended. Yan Qi and Little Flame looked at each other and smiled. Instantly, the hall shook violently, and everything began to crumble...