625: Chapter 625 The Disappearance of the Divine Palace

As the words fell, everyone's gaze converged on Yue Liuli.

The rescued Great Thief, his head hanging weakly, stared intently at Yue Liuli, his eyes filled with urgency and confusion.

He also wanted to know why this stranger, a powerful remnant soul willing to face an Immortal Sovereign for him, would save him at all costs.

Yue Liuli leaned against Ji Qingyi, taking a moment to catch her breath and steady her turbulent Soul aura.

A distant memory flickered in her eyes, a melancholy spanning endless ages, as if she were once again seeing the grand scenery of the Immortal Realm and the prosperity of the Divine Palace.

But this reminiscence lasted only a moment before she forcibly suppressed her emotions and looked up at Gu Changge with a solemn expression.

"The Starfall Slash this person used in his final move is the unique secret technique of an old friend of mine, Immortal Emperor Xihe of the Taichu Divine Palace."

Her voice carried a faint, barely perceptible rasp, as if mentioning an old friend made it difficult to remain calm.

"Back then, Immortal Emperor Xihe saved my life, and the two of us were like sisters. That is why I frequently visited the Taichu Divine Palace as a guest."

After a pause, she continued, "Since it concerns news of an old friend, I had to save him."

Her tone was decisive, carrying the resoluteness of an Immortal Emperor of the past.

Su Hanzhou's body jolted. Despite the intense pain throughout his body and the loss of his immortal power, he couldn't help but struggle to sit up straight.

The confusion in his eyes was instantly replaced by extreme shock, and his voice, though weak, trembled with disbelief:

"Se... Senior, you... you actually know my Grandmaster?!"

"Grandmaster?" Yue Liuli was slightly taken aback, a look of astonishment flashing in her silver eyes as she reflexively asked.

"You're saying Immortal Emperor Xihe is your Grandmaster?"

"Yes!" The Great Thief nodded vigorously, his voice full of excitement.

"Junior Su Hanzhou thanks all the Seniors for saving me. Immortal Emperor Xihe is my Grandmaster, and my Master is her eldest Disciple, Immortal Venerable Qinghan."

Yue Liuli's pupils constricted slightly, and the astonishment on her face gradually faded, replaced by a sense of realization.

"Qinghan... I remember her. Back then, her talent was extraordinary; she was Xihe's most prized Disciple."

"I saw her a few times when I visited the Divine Palace. I didn't expect you to be her Disciple."

Her gaze fell back on Su Hanzhou. "Since you are Qinghan's Disciple, why have you ended up here?"

"Also, how is the Taichu Divine Palace now? What happened to Xihe in the end?"

This string of questions struck Su Hanzhou's heart like a heavy hammer.

"To answer Senior, a sudden catastrophe struck the Immortal Realm back then. Heaven and earth cracked, the ten thousand Daos fell into Chaos, and the Taichu Divine Palace was also heavily damaged."

"The three Immortal Emperor Seniors in the palace all sacrificed themselves to protect the Divine Palace's Foundation."

Su Hanzhou's voice was hoarse and dry, every word sounding as if it were ground out of sand.

"However, the Divine Palace's heritage remained. Relying on the surviving protective Formation and the Legacies of the various halls, although its Origin Qi was greatly damaged, the lineage was barely preserved."

Su Hanzhou's eyes drifted into memory. "After the catastrophe, the Divine Palace was in ruins, with less than one in ten surviving."

"Grandmaster and the others were heavily injured and fell into a deep sleep. My Master, Qinghan, led those of us Disciples who still had our cultivation, tending to the wounded while trying to repair the Formations..."

His voice began to tremble, a shudder originating from the depths of his Soul at the thought of an unknowable horror.

"That day, without any warning, I had left the core area of the Divine Palace to search for some Formation Materials."

"Just as I found the Materials and was preparing to return, I heard a sound."

"It came from the very center of the Divine Palace, from the direction of the Chaos Hall—an indescribable loud bang and humming!"

"I turned back in horror and saw the entire Taichu Divine Palace—that endless stretch of palaces floating in the Chaos—twisting, becoming transparent, and finally dissipating!"

"No, it wasn't dissipating. It was a cold, absolute light that seemed to contain the ultimate meaning of all colors, erupting from the core of the Divine Palace and instantly swallowing it!"

"And then... there was nothing more."

"I only felt an irresistible surge of energy turbulence, as if the weight of the entire Universe were pressing down, crashing into me!"

"The protective treasure my Master gave me shattered instantly. I didn't even have time to feel pain before I completely lost consciousness."

"I don't know what it was. I don't know if the Divine Palace was destroyed or dragged somewhere else. I don't know if my Master or Grandmaster are alive or dead..."

He looked up, his face filled with bewilderment.

"When I finally woke up, I didn't know how many ages had passed. I was lying in the cold ruins of Chaos, with only those few Formation Materials I hadn't had time to bring back beside me."

"I ran back like a madman, trying every possible way to find it, but everything was gone."

"The Taichu Divine Palace, along with the space-time it occupied, had vanished completely, as if it had never existed."

"I wandered there for thousands of years, searching inch by inch and using every Sect secret technique to sense it, but in the end, there wasn't a single clue."

Yue Liuli's body, leaning against Ji Qingyi, suddenly stiffened. Her already unstable Soul aura fluctuated violently, causing the air around her to turn stagnant.

She stared intently at Su Hanzhou, her voice carrying an uncontrollable rasp and tremor, no longer possessing its usual calm.

"You say Xihe fell into a deep sleep and the Divine Palace was swallowed by a white light? Not even a trace of space-time was left?"

Stung by the surging grief and urgency in her eyes, Su Hanzhou nodded instinctively. "Yes, what this Junior saw is absolutely true."

Yue Liuli's silver eyes were instantly veiled in a layer of mist. Scenes of her laughing and chatting side-by-side with Xihe, traveling through the Divine Palace together, flooded her mind like a tide.

That gentle yet peerlessly powerful female emperor had once risked her life to save her when she was on the verge of falling. But now, even her life or death had become a mystery.

After a long while, Yue Liuli finally managed to suppress her surging emotions. Her Soul aura gradually stabilized, but the light in her silver eyes dimmed slightly.

Seeing that her emotions had steadied somewhat, Su Hanzhou continued.

"A few days ago, I heard that the Wandao Pavilion's star map fragment was related to the Taichu Immortal Road, so I... unfortunately, my strength was insufficient."

At this point, Su Hanzhou's expression darkened, and he took an object from his robes.

It was a fragment that was neither metal nor jade, warm to the touch. Its edges were irregular, and its surface flowed with starlike spots of light, outlining a phantom image of some mountains and geography—it was indeed the star map fragment.

"Senior, this is the star map fragment. My cultivation is low, and I cannot comprehend it. I only feel that its Dao Rhyme is ancient; perhaps it will be of use to you."

He offered the fragment with both hands.

Gu Changge's gaze fell on the fragment, and he reached out to take it.

The moment his fingertips touched the fragment, a tiny ripple suddenly flashed through the depths of his calm eyes.

This ripple was not because of the star map itself, but because he sensed a wisp of power, faint almost to the point of being imperceptible but extremely high in essence, emanating from deep within the fragment.

This was the power of world origin, yet it was completely different from that of the Xuanhuang Great World. Gu Changge's heart stirred.

The Xuanhuang Origin was like a stream, while this wisp carried the high-level charm of the source of the Great Dao.