470: Chapter 470 The Heavenly Emperor (35)

The Ye Family Forbidden Ground, Ye Yun's place of secluded cultivation.

Inside the hall forged from divine gold, the Spiritual Qi was as thick as mist, and all was silent.

Ye Yun slowly opened his eyes, concluding another session of cultivation.

He began to perform an internal inspection of his body.

Within his divine sea, the dao seed of the Venerable Realm floated. Though its power was boundlessly terrifying, it had yet to condense into a dao fruit; instead, it was covered in fine cracks, like a piece of porcelain on the verge of shattering.

The power of three complete Great Daos, like three Dragons, circled the dao seed formed from the Ancestor's Heavenly Eye.

The dao seed was overwhelmed.

Though its Foundation was a Legacy left by a heavenly emperor and possessed extraordinary divinity...

...Ye Yun's Foundation was simply too robust.

Three complete Great Daos and the Perfection of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body—any one of these would be enough to support a future Great Emperor.

But when they converged within a single person, they became a burden.

This Heavenly Eye dao seed had already reached the limit of what it could carry.

Ye Yun did not dare to take another step forward.

He did not dare to condense a dao fruit, nor did he dare to let his cultivation Breakthrough again.

Otherwise, what likely awaited him was the collapse of his dao seed and the total destruction of his Foundation.

His path of cultivation was forced to an abrupt halt.

"I must find a second dao seed."

Ye Yun murmured to himself.

"Only by finding a second dao seed of the same origin as my Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, where Yin and Yang complement each other, can I support this peerless, supreme Foundation."

And the target was already clear.

The legendary hall of the Sacred Body, the Desolate Palace.

...

The Ye Family ancestral land, the Discussion Hall.

When Ye Yun informed the Empress and the various Ancient Ancestors of his situation...

...the entire hall fell into silence.

"The dao seed is overwhelmed..."

"How is that possible... Yun'er, just how terrifying is your Foundation and the Daos you cultivate!"

"Even using the Ancestor's Heavenly Eye as your dao seed is not enough."

The Fifth Ancestor's voice carried a hint of immense gravity.

They had only seen the brilliance of Ye Yun's posture of a heavenly emperor, while overlooking the fatal crisis hidden behind that brilliance.

The Empress's face turned even paler; looking at her son's calm face, her heart was filled with self-reproach and heartache.

"It's Mother's fault. I didn't consider everything thoroughly."

"Mother, I don't blame you," Ye Yun comforted her. "The path of cultivation is inherently full of the unknown."

"This matter is of no small importance."

The phantom of the Great Ancient Ancestor appeared, his voice echoing directly within everyone's Divine Soul.

"Yun'er's path is the future of our Ye Family. We must find a way to break this deadlock for him, no matter the cost."

A massive operation sweeping across the Three Thousand Dao Provinces thus began.

The Ye Family, this colossus that had been silent for so long, suddenly swung into full operation without warning.

Countless hidden agents lurking in various Dao provinces were activated.

Countless long-dormant favors were called in.

They had only one goal.

To find any trace of the other half of Great Emperor Taichu's Legacy.

This sudden, massive move by the Ye Family instantly caused a huge stir across the Three Thousand Dao Provinces.

"Has the Ye Family gone mad? What on earth are they looking for?"

"I heard it's related to Great Emperor Taichu. Could it be they think the Legacy that Imperial Scion received isn't enough?"

"The rising wind forebodes a coming storm... I have a feeling the heavens of the Three Thousand Dao Provinces are about to change."

Various Orthodoxies were shocked, and countless Cultivators were abuzz with discussion.

A tense atmosphere began to spread throughout the Three Thousand Dao Provinces.

...

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

Ye Yun had kept his cultivation strictly suppressed at the Venerable Realm, not daring to condense a dao fruit or advance even an inch.

And the Ye Family, despite exhausting the entire clan's power and nearly turning the Three Thousand Dao Provinces upside down, still failed to find even a single clue regarding the Primal Beginning Yin Inheritance.

It was as if that other half of the Legacy simply did not exist in this world.

An atmosphere of anxiety and helplessness enveloped the entire Ye Family.

Just when everyone was at their wits' end...

...a gold-lettered invitation from the Liu Family broke the Ye Family's silence.

The content of the invitation was simple yet shocking.

The Liu Family had found traces suspected to be the "Taichu Legacy" within a newly discovered ancient ruin.

But the ruin's Restrictions were powerful and fraught with danger; the Liu Family could not explore it alone.

Therefore, they specially invited the Ye Family Imperial Scion, Ye Yun, to explore it together.

Any Opportunities found would be split equally between the two families.

...

When the news broke, the Three Thousand Dao Provinces were in an uproar.

"Is the Liu Family... backing down?"

"What else could it be? The matter of the broken engagement back then made them the laughingstock of the world. Now that the Ye Family Imperial Scion's power is at its peak, they're scared and want to use this chance to show goodwill and repair the relationship!"

"It's just an act of 'atonement.' It seems the Liu Family is nothing special after all."

Most people thought so.

Within the Ye Family, the Prodigies of the younger generation were even more triumphant, believing the Liu Family had been overawed by the Imperial Scion's Divine Might and had come to curry favor.

Only the Ye Family's upper echelons—those old monsters who had lived for untold years—were skeptical.

In the Discussion Hall, the atmosphere was heavy.

"In my view, this might be an Opportunity," an Elder spoke first. "It can solve the Imperial Scion's dao seed problem and also serve as a warning to the Liu Family, letting them know the might of our Ye Family."

The Empress, however, frowned deeply; she felt this matter was not so simple.

From beginning to end, Ye Yun did not say a word.

He just stood there quietly, recalling Liu Yan's arrogant face and the mysterious Quasi-Emperor suspected to be from the Liu Family.

Would the Liu Family be so "kind-hearted"?

This invitation was, in all likelihood, a carefully arranged Hongmen Banquet.

A trap aimed at him, and perhaps even the entire Ye Family.

However...

The clue to the Desolate Palace was the only one.

His cultivation could not wait any longer.

"Mother, Ancient Ancestors."

Ye Yun finally spoke, and as he did, the entire hall fell silent.

He calmly met everyone's gaze and said, word by word.

"I know this is a trap."

"But I must go."

The Empress's heart tightened, and she was about to voice her opposition.

But Ye Yun turned around and gave her a deep bow.

"Mother, my Dao cannot stop here."

In that moment, the Empress seemed to see Desolate Heaven once again, who had insisted on his expedition years ago.

Her thousand words ultimately turned into a helpless sigh.

"Good."

The Great Ancient Ancestor's voice finally rang out, carrying a hint of approval.

"A heavenly emperor of my Ye Family should have such spirit!"

"If the Liu Family truly dares to set a trap, then my Ye Family will play along until the very end!"

"My Ye Family has been silent for too long since Desolate Heaven's expedition. I fear the Three Thousand Dao Provinces have forgotten the terror of the Ye Family."

"Pass down my decree!"

The Great Ancient Ancestor's voice resonated within the Divine Soul of every high-ranking Ye Family member.

"On the surface, the Fifth Ancestor will escort Yun'er to the appointment."

His voice paused, revealing a trace of killing intent.

"In the shadows, Second, you go as well."

...

The night was deep.

Ye Yun stood alone by the window of his bedchamber.

In his hand lay the gold-lettered invitation from the Liu Family.

He gazed toward the direction of the Liu Family, his eyes calm.

In his heart, a plan had already been formed.