Chapter 1218: A Strange Story

"Who is it?"

Xu Que and the others spoke in unison, all turning their gazes toward Er Gouzi.

Er Gouzi said in a deep voice, "It's Bai Suzhen!"

"Huh?" Duan Jiude, Mo Junchen, and even Liu Jingning were all stunned, their faces filled with confusion.

Xu Que's mouth twitched; he immediately slapped his palm onto Er Gouzi's dog head and snapped irritably, "Are you crazy! What the hell does Bai Suzhen have to do with this place! Don't talk nonsense if you don't know the situation!"

"Damn it, this Divine Venerable isn't joking; it really is Bai Suzhen. If you don't believe me, listen to what she's singing: Qing Cheng Mountain..."

As Er Gouzi said this, he pinched his throat and began humming convincingly: "Bai Suzhen beneath Qing Cheng Mountain, cultivating this body for a thousand years in the cave, ah ah ah ah..."

By the end of the song, he even twisted his body like a snake, his face ecstatic as he let out drawn-out "ah"s!

Xu Que immediately slapped his palm onto the creature's forehead.

"Shut up."

Xu Que glared at Er Gouzi, utterly speechless.

To associate a single phrase like 'Qing Cheng Mountain' with Bai Suzhen—this Er Gouzi truly learned all sorts of things back on Earth!

However, just now he had also heard the opera sounds from within the cave; although vaguely, he indeed heard the three characters "Qing Cheng Mountain," but first, the melody was wrong, and furthermore, between the characters "Qing," "Cheng," and "Mountain," there were clearly other words, such as 'Qing something something Cheng something something Mountain'; it was just that the sound was truly too distant and extremely muffled, so none of them could hear it clearly.

"Damn it, kid, can't this Divine Venerable express an opinion? Then tell me, who is singing opera inside?" Er Gouzi said irritably at this moment; having been slapped by Xu Que, he felt he had lost face, and if he didn't get angry to show his dissatisfaction, he would lose even more face!

"You two stop messing around; if I'm not mistaken, this is a love melody inherited from very long ago!"

At this moment, Liu Jingning suddenly spoke, her expression somewhat strange.

"What love melody?" Xu Que and the others immediately turned to look at Liu Jingning.

Liu Jingning said softly, "After I came to Tianzhou, I spent most of my time in the Extreme Joy Sect within the Library Pavilion, where I once browsed an ancient text that recorded a past event concerning a Building Master of the Heavenly Palace Academy and a Holy Maiden of the Extreme Joy Sect!"

"Is it a tragic and moving love story?" Er Gouzi asked.

Liu Jingning nodded: "At that time, the Extreme Joy Sect's status and strength in Tianzhou were far greater than they are now, yet the Heavenly Palace Academy was even more powerful; they were the top faction in Tianzhou, and the identity and status of a single Building Master were already unimaginably high. That Holy Maiden of our Extreme Joy Sect fell in love with him, yet they were mocked in every way by the outside world; some said she used Demon Sect methods to seduce that Building Master, others said she wanted to use him to climb the social ladder, yet the two of them still ended up together!"

"That's not tragic or moving at all!" Er Gouzi said, frowning.

"Later, the Heavenly Palace Academy lost an Upper Grade Immortal Artifact, and everyone suspected that Holy Maiden of our Extreme Joy Sect had stolen it, because at the time she was within the Heavenly Palace Academy and had just given birth to a child, while that Building Master fiercely protected her, resulting in him fighting fiercely against the other three Building Masters; in the end, the Holy Maiden was captured alive, and that Building Master was exiled to the Ancestral Tomb!"

Pausing slightly here, Liu Jingning sighed and continued, "Afterward, that Holy Maiden had her cultivation abolished and was driven out of the Heavenly Palace Academy, yet she still knelt outside the Heavenly Palace Academy every day, hoping to see that Building Master and their child; however, the Heavenly Palace Academy never paid her any heed, until a Dean at the time finished his Closed-door Cultivation, heard about this matter, and allowed her to go to the Back Mountain, but she was merely the Holy Maiden of the Extreme Joy Sect and lacked the qualification to enter the Ancestral Tomb, so she could only gaze at that Building Master across the Restrictions; in the end, she sang a melody for that Building Master and died at the entrance of the Ancestral Tomb! This melody was recorded and subsequently fell into the hands of the Extreme Joy Sect."

Liu Jingning raised her hand, looking at the pitch-black cave before her, and said with a strange expression, "I can tell that the current melody is the very one sung by that Holy Maiden back then."

"What? This..." Duan Jiude was stunned.

Xu Que was also somewhat astonished; this story was too abrupt—after that Holy Maiden struggled so hard to reach the point where she could see that Building Master and sang a song, she just died directly?

This damn thing seemed a bit off!

For instance... how did that Holy Maiden die?

"Regarding that Holy Maiden's death, it remains a mystery to this day! Some say her cultivation was abolished, and coupled with kneeling outside the Heavenly Palace Academy for too long, she died from exhaustion and overwork. But later, some claimed to have witnessed with their own eyes that Dean killing her right in front of that Building Master!" Liu Jingning shook her head, her demeanor somewhat desolate.

After all, speaking of it, that Holy Maiden could be considered her Ancestral Master, yet her ending was so miserable; it was truly sigh-worthy, yet one couldn't muster hatred, because the Heavenly Palace Academy had already perished, leaving behind only the Heavenly Palace Academy.

"This... why kill her? Wasn't her cultivation already abolished? That Dean was far too vicious!" Duan Jiude said, frowning.

"I always feel this story is a bit off; many parts aren't explained clearly, and furthermore, there's a creepy feeling!" Xu Que also spoke, looking thoughtful, feeling that this wasn't a love story but rather a horror story.

After all, even now, the sound of a woman singing a melody was still echoing from within the cave of the ancestral tomb.

"Indeed, it's a very strange story; the person who recorded this event seems to have not dared to write too much, so everywhere it reveals an attempt to cover up the truth!" Mo Junchen also spoke.

Xu Que nodded, stroking his chin; many key points in this story weren't mentioned, such as why there was so much opposition when that Holy Maiden of the Extreme Joy Sect and a Building Master of the Heavenly Palace Academy got together; logically, given that Building Master's extremely high status, outsiders shouldn't have dared to criticize his woman.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Palace Academy merely lost one Upper Grade Immortal Artifact; according to the description, the Heavenly Palace Academy's status and faction strength at the time were also immense, so how could they possibly cause the Four Great Building Masters to fight fiercely over a single Immortal Artifact?

Later still, that Building Master was exiled to the Ancestral Tomb, while the Heavenly Palace Academy abolished that Holy Maiden's cultivation but didn't kill her, instead allowing her to kneel outside the Heavenly Palace Academy gate for so long; this also seems unreasonable, after all, this matter would always affect the Heavenly Palace Academy's reputation!

Of course, this isn't a major doubt; the most crucial point is, what about the child that Holy Maiden left behind? The story doesn't mention it at all.

And since that Dean took the Holy Maiden to see that Building Master, why then kill her right in front of that Building Master? Was he afraid she would say something she shouldn't, or was he specifically trying to enrage that Building Master?

All of this is too chaotic; the entire story lacks logic and is strange everywhere, yet it could be recorded and preserved within the Extreme Joy Sect until today!

"Wait a minute, you've talked for so long, so here comes the question!"

At this moment, Er Gouzi stepped forward and said, "Who exactly stole that Upper Grade Immortal Artifact?"

"..." Everyone ignored this fellow!

Who stole the Immortal Artifact? That wasn't the main point at all, okay?

"Eh, listen quickly, the melody seems to have stopped and changed to speech!" Suddenly, Duan Jiude exclaimed in surprise, pricking up his ears and moving closer to the cave.

The next moment, a clear voice came through.

"Xuan Yuan... Xuan Yuan..."

The woman who had been singing the melody was crying out, shouting a name!

Xu Que's expression immediately turned strange; Xuan Yuan?

This surname feels so familiar!

Wait a minute, Xuan Yuan?

The Building Master of the Heavenly Palace Academy?

Xuan Yuan Wanrong?

"Hiss!"

In an instant, Xu Que gasped sharply!

Could it be that the Building Master in the story is Xuan Yuan Wanrong? Is she a cross-dressing boss?

【Second Update supplementary chapter delivered! Now starting today's two chapters!】