696: Chapter 696 Yuan Hua's Guess

Deep in the East Sea.

The Crystal Palace.

The Mermaid Queen Queen of Merfolk was studying the True Dragon Fate Reversal Scripture when a slightly anxious, ethereal female voice suddenly echoed through the grand hall: "Queen of Merfolk, something major has happened!"

"What happened?"

Queen of Merfolk put away the Jade Slip in her hand, her fair, petite face showing confusion. There weren't many things that Great Sage Xumiao would call a "major event."

"Great Sage Huateng of the Long Whale Clan is dead!" Great Sage Xumiao slowly materialized, her voice heavy.

"What?!"

"How could Great Sage Huateng possibly die?"

Even though Queen of Merfolk was prepared to hear shocking news, she hadn't expected it to be this explosive.

"You heard me right, Great Sage Huateng is dead!"

Great Sage Xumiao explained: "Great Sage Huateng was not originally of the Long Whale Clan, but was actually Old Ancestor Hehuan, who had been missing for many years. He possessed a Yao Race body because he had undergone a Fusion with the Bloodline of the previous Long Whale Clan Clan Chief. He was originally a tool used by Long Whale Palace to annex the Joyous Union Sect, but he was suddenly killed not long ago at the Yin-Yang Archipelago of the Joyous Union Sect, his Divine Soul completely destroyed!"

There was too much information in this statement, and Queen of Merfolk was a bit dazed after hearing it. "Great Sage Huateng is not of the Yao Race, but Old Ancestor Hehuan? No wonder..."

The origin of Great Sage Huateng had always been a mystery, so Queen of Merfolk was not surprised by this.

"Could it be that Old Ancestor Hehuan failed the Fusion with the Long Whale Bloodline, causing his strength to plummet, which is why he was killed?" Queen of Merfolk asked after a moment of thought.

"No!" Great Sage Xumiao shook her head. "Huateng... Old Ancestor Hehuan succeeded, and very successfully at that! I met him a few times; his aura was very strong, much stronger than mine, likely reaching the Peak Soul Transformation level!"

"Peak Soul Transformation? That's impossible, right?" Queen of Merfolk said subconsciously.

"It should be correct!" Great Sage Xumiao walked over to a chair and sat down, her tone becoming a bit more solemn. "My Dharma Incarnation just returned from being invited to Long Whale Palace. According to the Long Whale Clan Chief, Old Ancestor Hehuan's strength was not inferior to his; he was indeed undoubtedly at the Peak Soul Transformation."

"Since Old Ancestor Hehuan was so strong, who could have killed him?"

Queen of Merfolk remembered that there had indeed been a strong combat fluctuation near the coast not long ago, but wasn't that just a spar where a Long Whale Clan Great Sage tested the strength of the newly promoted great Cultivator, the Daoist Yin-Yang?

That fluctuation was strong, but it was nowhere near enough to kill a Late-stage Spirit Transformation great Cultivator, let alone a Peak Soul Transformation one.

Late-stage Spirit Transformation great Cultivators have tenacious vitality and many life-saving techniques like escape methods. Unless one wrecks the East Sea like the Western Desert, how could they be so easily killed?

Speaking of the person who killed Old Ancestor Hehuan, Great Sage Xumiao also fell into a brief silence, then said uncertainly: "The true situation is unclear. The Long Whale Clan suspects it was the work of the Dao Court Master. Combined with the recent signs of the Dao Court mobilizing troops against the East Sea, this possibility is not small."

The Dao Court's intention to mobilize troops against the East Sea, along with the movement of their army of Cultivators and the dispatch of a large number of Cultivators into the East Sea, was no longer a secret. Queen of Merfolk had previously sent clansmen to the Chaotic Sea Region to fight the Joyous Union Sect, so she knew quite a bit about this.

"The Dao Court Master issued some sort of Four Directions Dao Court Decree. He gains no benefit from this move and has to bear the risk of potential failure. What exactly does he want to do?"

Establishing the Four Directions Dao Court sounds imposing, but in reality, it offers no benefit to the Dao Court Master or the entire Dao Court.

The Four Directions Dao Court occupies a territory. Once a territory lord Cultivates to Ascension, who is the branch?

For the current Dao Court, having too large a territory is not necessarily a good thing. For the four regional domains, exploitation through loose control might yield more benefits than conquering them directly.

Even though there is no benefit, the Dao Court Master is sparing no effort to do it. Either he is crazy and has developed an obsession with unifying the world, or he is hiding other purposes in secret.

Great Sage Xumiao shook her head, not answering Queen of Merfolk, nor dwelling on this question, but instead brought up another matter.

"You still remember Liu Xuan, who gave us the True Dragon Fate Reversal Scripture, right?"

"Of course I remember, what about him?"

Queen of Merfolk had just been studying the True Dragon Fate Reversal Scripture. If not for Great Sage Xumiao mentioning the major event of Old Ancestor Hehuan's death, she had intended to ask her for guidance on this Cultivation Technique.

After studying it carefully for so long, Queen of Merfolk had begun to grasp the profundity of this Cultivation Technique. Some of the content in the beginning that she had previously thought was bragging, she slowly discovered seemed to be well-founded and could actually be realized.

"Old Ancestor Hehuan was killed at the Yin-Yang Archipelago of the Joyous Union Sect, and Liu Xuan had previously passed himself off as the missing Old Ancestor Hehuan. The newly promoted great Cultivator, the Daoist Yin-Yang, is his Dao Companion, and the place where Old Ancestor Hehuan was ultimately killed is the Yin-Yang Archipelago where Liu Xuan resides..."

Before Great Sage Xumiao finished speaking, Queen of Merfolk had already reacted, exclaiming: "You mean it's possible that Old Ancestor Hehuan was killed by Liu Xuan?!"

Great Sage Xumiao nodded. "I cannot rule out that possibility!"

"You and I have both investigated Liu Xuan's background information. All the data we could find seems reasonable, but internally, it is full of contradictions. He can casually produce a Cultivation Technique like the True Dragon Fate Reversal Scripture; his true identity is definitely not as simple as it appears on the surface."

"If Long Whale Palace is not lying, Liu Xuan is as suspicious as the Dao Court Master. Perhaps..." She paused for a moment, then said flatly: "They are actually the same person!"

Liu Xuan is the Dao Court Master, or perhaps the Dao Court Master's Incarnation?

Queen of Merfolk was stunned into silence by this thought. A moment later, she asked confusedly: "This theory does explain some problems, but it raises even more questions. If he really is the Dao Court Master, why give us the True Dragon Fate Reversal Scripture? He even killed the Peak Soul Transformation Old Ancestor Hehuan casually; he wouldn't go through the trouble of trying to win us over, would he?"

"It's just a guess, it might not be true!"

Great Sage Xumiao swept her Divine Sense around the palace and glanced at the Three-Headed Demon Python outside the hall, which was absorbing Spiritual Qi, then got straight to the point: "Since Liu Xuan gave you a part of the True Dragon Fate Reversal Scripture and left behind the Rank 5 High Grade Bloodline Three-Headed Demon Python, he must want something from you. Why don't you just go ask him directly?"

"This... that wouldn't be good, would it?"

"What if he refuses to see me?"

Queen of Merfolk felt a bit timid. The current Liu Xuan could be the mysterious almighty who slew Old Ancestor Hehuan, or he could be the Dao Court Master. If they really met, she wouldn't be as calm as she was last time.

"Do not fear!" Great Sage Xumiao comforted her. "He has already set his sights on you. If Old Ancestor Hehuan was indeed killed by him, hiding is useless."

"Besides, I am here. My frontal strength is not as good as Old Ancestor Hehuan's, but my concealment and escape techniques are superior to his. Protecting you will be no problem."

Queen of Merfolk curled her lip. Great Sage Xumiao's words sounded nice, but when the moment of danger truly arrived, wouldn't she still have to rely on herself?

"Then I will give it a try!"

Whether she could be protected was another matter, but Queen of Merfolk felt that Great Sage Xumiao was right about one thing: Liu Xuan had already set his sights on her. Rather than hide, it was better to face him directly.

She did not immediately send a message to Liu Xuan to inquire, but instead called the Three-Headed Demon Python, which was Cultivating outside the hall, inside and asked: "Xiao San, what was your previous master's personality like? Did he have any likes or dislikes, or any particular habits or the like..."