CHAPTER 480: CHAPTER 480 YU GUIWAN, THE IMMORTAL VENERABLE..._1

A Black-patterned Snow Snake of the Venerable Realm would have an even more delicious gallbladder, one that could also be used in alchemy. Unfortunately, this one’s Boundary was too low, and Xu Lai wasn’t even in the mood to kill it.

Should I raise it here for a few thousand years and come back to eat it later?

As Xu Lai pondered, the Black-patterned Snow Snake’s eyes flashed with a cold light. It could no longer suppress its killing intent toward the intruders. It had long since gained sentience and could clearly sense that the little boy in the belly wrap and the young man by the lake meant it harm.

BOOM!

A massive tail erupted from the lake, crashing down toward the shore as if to smash the invaders to death.

"AAAAH!"

Song Xuan and Chen Yuanyuan screamed, their faces pale with fright.

But the screaming quickly fell silent. The mountain-sized tail hadn’t hit the ground. Instead, it had stopped dead three meters in front of Xu Lai, completely motionless.

"ROAR!!!"

A demonic glow radiated from the Black-patterned Snow Snake’s pupils. A sense of foreboding washed over it. It abandoned its attack, transforming into a streak of light as it tried to flee.

"Trying to run?" Xu Lai sneered. "I was actually thinking of waiting a few thousand years to eat you, but since you’re courting death..."

Before he could finish his words, Xu Lai clenched his fist. In the air, the colossal snake, tens of meters long, exploded into a mist of blood.

SWOOSH. Heavenly Dao shot backward a hundred meters, terrified that Jing Ke might have left some other trap behind. But after a full thirty seconds passed without incident, he finally bellowed, "The Supreme Emperor is unparalleled in the Universe, number one in the world!"

Then, Heavenly Dao scurried over, picked up the snow-white snake gallbladder floating in the air, and carefully presented it. "My Supreme Emperor, your snake gallbladder."

Ignoring Heavenly Dao’s flattery, Xu Lai looked at the two stunned, unfamiliar women and said indifferently, "This place is dangerous. If you have no other business, you should leave quickly."

Chen Yuanyuan nodded repeatedly, like a chicken pecking at grain.

Song Xuan, however, mustered her courage and asked in a trembling voice, "Are... are you an Immortal?"

"There are no such things as Immortals in this world." Xu Lai shook his head, and his figure vanished on the spot as if he had never been there.

Heavenly Dao sat in midair and lamented, "Immortals... Alas." With a long sigh, Heavenly Dao disappeared as well.

Song Xuan and Chen Yuanyuan were left staring at each other.

Are there no Immortals in this world?

The two women gazed at the lake, which was still covered in countless ripples, and at the pure white snow now stained red with blood. The entire scene felt unreal.

He said there were no Immortals, yet he obliterated a Snake Demon and teleported away...

"WAAAH!" Chen Yuanyuan burst into tears. "Song Xuan, did we really just see a ghost? Our luck is just the worst."

...

...

「At the bottom of the lake.」

Xu Lai gestured, and a Barrier Gate slowly emerged from the water. The gate was as dark as an abyss. It was impossible to know what lay within; not even Xu Lai’s Divine Sense could penetrate it.

"Interesting," Xu Lai nodded slightly.

This small Barrier was ingeniously set up. If Ji Jie hadn’t informed him of its location, he might not have been able to sense it at all. It was only upon reaching this lake that he could finally detect that something was wrong with the space here. These must be Array Patterns personally laid by a Great Emperor skilled in formations, used to conceal this Barrier’s presence.

Xu Lai tilted his head toward Heavenly Dao. "Go in."

"Ah?" Heavenly Dao’s face turned bitter. "My Supreme Emperor, my cultivation is low. If Jing Ke has laid traps inside, I fear..."

Xu Lai said nothing, merely looking at Heavenly Dao with a calm expression.

The stare made Heavenly Dao’s scalp prickle. He said in despair, "Fine, I’ll go scout ahead. If there’s danger, you have to save me, My Supreme Emperor!"

With the tragic air of a hero marching to his doom, Heavenly Dao ate his last candied hawthorn, put on a long face, and stepped into the dark screen of light.

Xu Lai followed closely behind.

Upon entering the light screen, both of them were stunned. There was no danger inside, nor was it a small world filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.

Instead, it was an ordinary room.

The room wasn’t large, only about twenty square meters. The decor was very simple; besides a wooden bed, there was only a wooden desk and a chair. There wasn’t even a window.

A pile of books was stacked on the desk.

Xu Lai picked one up, his brow creasing imperceptibly. There were no words in the book.

He checked one book, then another, then ten. All twenty-seven of them were blank, without a single character or symbol, as if placed here as some kind of prank.

"Is this really Jing Ke’s dwelling?" Heavenly Dao asked in bewilderment. He knew Jing Ke had once lived here but was shocked by how empty it was. For a moment, he wondered if they had been tricked.

"Ji Jie said he lived here," Xu Lai stated indifferently.

"Ji Jie?!" Heavenly Dao stamped his foot. "Isn’t that the Moon King’s eldest daughter? When did she come to Earth!"

Then Heavenly Dao understood. No wonder Xu Lai knew where Jing Ke lived—Ji Jie must have told him. He asked with a strange expression, "What else did she tell you?"

"Are you questioning me?" Xu Lai asked with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"..."

Heavenly Dao shivered and said sheepishly, "I wouldn’t dare. I was just worried the Moon Clan might move against you and that you might be disturbed, Supreme Emperor."

Xu Lai ignored Heavenly Dao and his ulterior motives and opened the last book on the desk. The first half of the book was still blank.

Just as Xu Lai sighed in disappointment and was about to close the book, he saw a few lines of fleeting text. Although they vanished quickly, and some parts were fragmentary and blurry, he still made them out.

There were four lines in total—

Xu... Eastern Desolate Domain... mountain...

Quasi-Emperor’s Tomb... Earth...

Yu Guiwan, Immortal Venerable...

Jing Ke left...

...

...

Xu Lai stood frozen in place.

He could guess the content of the first line. It was likely something like, ’Xu Lai will go to the Old Heavenly Court’s Sect Gate in the Eastern Desolate Domain on a certain date.’ The second line’s message was even clearer: there is a Quasi-Emperor’s Tomb on Earth. The fourth line was also clear, indicating Jing Ke had left somewhere—possibly Earth or some other place.

But the third line... Yu Guiwan. That was his senior sister’s name.

What comes after ’Immortal Venerable’? Could it be the Immortal Venerable Realm?!

Xu Lai’s hands trembled as he held the book.

Could Senior Sister have entered the Immortal Venerable Realm? If that’s true, then she might still be alive! An Immortal Venerable has a lifespan of a full one hundred thousand years. From the time I joined the Sect Gate until now, it has only been one hundred thousand years!

Xu Lai frantically searched through the books, trying to find any other clues. But alas, no more writing appeared.

"Supreme Emperor, what are you looking for? There’s clearly nothing in these books," Heavenly Dao asked tentatively.

Xu Lai’s head snapped around. His gaze was like a torch as he stared at Heavenly Dao and said, word by word, "I want to know everything about Jing Ke. Do not omit a single word."

Heavenly Dao choked. He wanted to stall, but he saw the icy coldness in Xu Lai’s eyes. He knew that if he dared to say no, he would be annihilated in an instant.

After a moment of silence, Heavenly Dao spoke. "Jing Ke was looking for the key to the Nine Kings’ Palace. He wants to extend the life of someone lying in a coffin."