Chapter 468: The Mysterious Ye Beichen

The voice was clear and pleasant, yet its tone was old‑fashioned and condescending, carrying a composure and appreciation as if looking down on juniors.

Ye Wuque's heart stirred slightly; this voice… was somehow familiar.

He turned slowly and looked toward the source of the voice.

In the Void not far away, a Dark Shadow had quietly taken its stance, its arrival unnoticed.

He was a boy of about seventeen or eighteen, tall and upright, like a jade tree in the wind.

He wore a simple, elegant moon‑white robe, a jade belt at his waist, his long hair loosely tied at the back with a single teal ribbon, a few strands fluttering in the wind.

His face was strikingly flawless, his Skin crystal‑clear like jade, eyebrows and eyes painted, especially his Dark Eyes, clear and bright as if reflecting a sea of stars, yet so deep they seemed able to perceive the vicissitudes of the world.

A faint smile lingered at his mouth as he examined Ye Wuque with interest; the applause and words just now had clearly come from him.

The youth's temperament was transcendent, as if he did not belong to this mortal world; though he appeared extremely young, his presence gave an uncanny sense of being one with the surrounding heavens and earth, as if he had existed for an immeasurably long time.

At the instant Ye Wuque saw the boy's face, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes, then instantly turned into understanding and a faint smile.

"Brother Beichen, I hope you have been well," Ye Wuque said with a bow and a smile.

This handsome youth was none other than Ye Beichen, one of the contemporary Heavenly Prides who, like him, had left a brilliant reputation on the Ultimate Main Road and whom Ye Wuque regarded as the most unfathomable peer, with whom he had intersected several times on the Ultimate Main Road, mutually admiring each other… Ye Beichen!

Ye Wuque was somewhat surprised by Ye Beichen's sudden appearance, but not overly shocked.

However, Ye Wuque's composure and familiarity caused the others, who had also been drawn by the applause and words and had rushed from everywhere, to feel great shock and surprise!

Those maids and servants who had been respectfully waiting in the distance, not to mention the Ye Clan stewards and guest officials who, sensing Ye Wuque's exit aura, had hurried from various parts of Sixing Star or nearby constellations, as well as several core Ye Clan disciples who happened to be conducting business near Sixing Star and were drawn by the earlier phenomenon, all now gathered near Sixing Peak.

They saw the handsome youth in the moon‑white robe, first startled by his bearing, then, upon hearing Ye Wuque call him Brother Beichen with such familiarity, were even more astonished.

When did the Young Master become acquainted with such an unfathomable peer Heavenly Pride?

And how could the other person appear here?

But the scene that followed left everyone, including Ye Wuque, stunned.

Ye Beichen, who had been smiling and was about to reply to Ye Wuque, casually swept his gaze over the gathering Ye Clan crowd.

When his eyes passed over the face of an elder who had just arrived, dressed in Elder robes and exuding a profound aura, his gaze lingered briefly.

That elder was an outer‑gate Elder of the Ye Clan responsible for the defense of the star regions surrounding Sixing Star.

The Elder, the moment his gaze met Ye Beichen's, shivered violently, as if struck by an invisible Lei Dian!

His expression froze instantly, his eyes bulged, fixed on Ye Beichen's face, his lips trembling as if he had seen an utterly inconceivable being!

But this was only a trivial prelude.

What truly threw the situation into chaos was Clan Leader Ye Jinghong's sudden arrival!

Just a few breaths after Ye Beichen appeared and Ye Wuque greeted him, the Void above Sixing Star suddenly split open, and Ye Jinghong, clad in a purple‑gold Emperor Form robe and wearing a Flat‑Heaven Crown, stepped out together with Seventh Elder Ye Huanyu.

They evidently sensed Ye Wuque's exit and were deeply concerned about the earlier Emperor Form anomaly, coming personally to investigate.

Ye Jinghong still wore a grateful smile, his gaze first landing on Ye Wuque, about to offer a few words of commendation.

However, as his peripheral vision unintentionally brushed past the moon‑white youth standing nearby with hands behind his back, the one as handsome as jade—

It seemed as if Time suddenly halted!

All the smiles and gratitude on Ye Jinghong's face froze completely within a one‑thousandth of a moment!

His pupils contracted at an exaggerated, extreme speed, like needle points!

An indescribable surge, mixing extreme shock, disbelief, bewilderment, and a trembling reverence born deep in his bloodline and soul—almost instinctual—like a erupting tsunami, instantly engulfed the entire body of this Dao Realm titan.

His towering frame began to tremble uncontrollably, albeit slightly.

The purple‑gold Emperor Form robe, symbolizing the Ye Clan's supreme authority, rippled subtly with his tremor.

Under the bewildered stare of everyone, and Ye Wuque's puzzled gaze, Ye Jinghong stared intently at Ye Beichen, as if trying to pierce him from inside out, from past to future.

His throat churned, as if swallowing an ultimate horror; he opened his mouth, tried several times, and finally forced out a few words in a dry, hoarse, trembling voice:

"This… this aura… this destiny fluctuation…"

His voice grew lower yet more agitated, his eyes increasingly horrified, as if confirming something earth‑shattering.

Finally, he staggered forward a step, ignoring everyone present, and stopped three zhang away from Ye Beichen.

He inhaled deeply, as if using all his life's strength, fixed his gaze on Ye Beichen's handsome yet profoundly world‑worn eyes, and in a voice almost a moan yet crystal clear, asked each word deliberately:

"You… you… could it be… that you… are… the Ye Clan's… North Star… Ancestor?!!"

The words "North Star Ancestor" thundered like four divine Lei Dian of the Nine Heavens, exploding atop Sixing Peak and reverberating in everyone's heart!

In an instant, all sound fell silent!

The wind ceased, the clouds solidified, and even the starlight seemed to dim for a heartbeat.

The Seventh Elder Ye Huanyu's compassionate expression instantly turned to a stone‑like stupefaction; a few strands of the beard he was twirling snapped unconscious of him.

All nearby Ye Clan disciples, stewards, guest officials, maids and servants—each one—were as if struck by a petrifying spell, their faces frozen in utter astonishment and bewilderment, minds blank.

Ancestor?

North Star… Ancestor?

Clan Leader… what are they saying?

This handsome youth, who looks a few years younger than the Young Master, is an Ancestor?

Isn't the Ye Clan's Ancestor only that invincible Supreme who shook Zhutian Wanjie and possesses the Supreme Heavenly Dao?

Could there be other Ancestors besides that one?

How could this be possible?!

Ye Wuque's heart also thumped violently, his pupils slightly constricted, as he looked at the still‑calm Ye Beichen beside him, a faint smile at his mouth.

A suspicion that had been vaguely sensed before but never deeply examined now erupted like a spring bamboo shoot breaking through the soil, growing wildly!

Surname Ye… given name Beichen…

Unfathomable power…

That strange, seemingly kin‑born affection and Causality bond with oneself…

Clan Leader Ye Jinghong's near‑uncontrolled shock and awe at this moment…

And the name "North Star"…

Could it be… Ye Beichen… really is?!

Facing Ye Jinghong's terrifying gaze that seemed to pierce his very soul, and that earth‑shattering question, Ye Beichen did not answer immediately.

He didn't even look at Ye Jinghong; instead he lifted his head slightly, his gaze distant, as if piercing the sky of Sixing Star and sweeping over the vast, towering Supreme Heavenly Emperor Star Domain. In that look lay an indescribable mixture of emotions—memories, sentiment, satisfaction, and a faint, ancient loneliness akin to having endured Wan Gu Lun Hui.

After a moment of silence, he slowly withdrew his gaze, his tone calm yet bearing the weariness of one who has crossed an endless river of years, and said softly:

"Epochs change, the world shifts, seas turn to mulberry fields… I never expected that my Ye Clan could still stand atop the pinnacle of Zhutian Wanjie, overlooking the storms… Good… good… truly… wonderful…"

The voice was soft, yet like an ancient bell it struck the hearts of everyone present.

His words did not state it outright, but the tone, the demeanor, the heartfelt sentiment and satisfaction for the Ye Clan—especially the world‑worn feeling that only one who has truly lived through the clan's long rise and fall can possess—strongly hinted at an unbelievable answer!

Ye Jinghong trembled violently, the terror in his eyes instantly turning into extreme excitement and ecstasy; he opened his mouth, as if to ask or confirm something.

However, at that moment—

Buzz!

A gentle radiance of indescribable greatness, antiquity, and majesty, without warning, burst forth from the direction of the most core, most mysterious Forbidden Zone of the Ye Clan Ancestral Land… that legendary Absolute Forbidden Land, said to connect to the Space-Time River and only communicable by the wills of successive Clan Leaders and the most core ancestors… suddenly illuminated!

The light instantly spanned the endless Space, as if alive, gently yet irresistibly enveloping Ye Beichen, who stood atop Sixing Peak.

Ye Beichen felt the light; there was no surprise on his face, only a faint, understanding smile. He offered no resistance, allowing the power imbued with supreme will to wrap around him.

The light flashed.

In the next instant, Ye Beichen's figure, together with the light, silently vanished from the spot, as if he had never been there.

Everything happened too fast; from the moment Ye Beichen was enveloped by the light to his disappearance was but a snap of the fingers.

The summit of Sixing Peak fell once more into a strange dead silence.

Only the lingering faint aura of mysterious light, and Clan Leader Ye Jinghong's uncontrollably excited expression, testified that the incomprehensible scene moments ago was not an illusion.

After a long while, Ye Jinghong finally turned slowly; his face still bore shock and excitement, but his eyes had regained some clarity.

His gaze, complex, swept over all the Ye Clan members still in a daze, and finally settled on the equally furrowed‑browed, thoughtful Ye Wuque.

His voice carried a barely perceptible tremor, yet was unusually solemn, resonating throughout the hall:

"Everyone… what you have seen and heard today must not be disclosed a single word! Those who violate… will be treated as traitors, Body and Spirit Annihilation!"

The stern tone gave the still‑dazed clan members a sudden jolt; they hurriedly bowed their heads in assent, while inside they were roiled with boundless curiosity and terror.

After issuing the seal‑mouth order, Ye Jinghong took a deep breath, looked at Ye Wuque, his eyes filled with complex meaning, and said in a low voice:

"Wuque, you… come with me to the Clan Leader's Great Hall for a moment."

Having said that, he rolled up his sleeve, and a gentle force lifted Ye Wuque; the two became a flash of light and instantly left Sixing Star, racing toward the Clan Leader's Great Hall at the core of the Star Domain.

Seventh Elder Ye Huanyu watched the direction in which the two departed, then glanced at the void where Ye Beichen had vanished; his aged face was filled with incredulous shock, murmuring:

"North Star Ancestor… really… returned? What… what on earth is happening?"

At the summit of Sixing Peak, only a crowd of Ye Clan members remained, each staring at one another, their hearts roiled by towering waves of emotion.