The palace lord’s delicate frame trembled. She smiled bitterly. “Do not seek vengeance… live well… Jianxing, you are still so foolish.”
She fell silent for a moment before turning back to Chen Ping. “Do you know what my relationship with Wan Jianxing is?”
Chen Ping shook his head.
“We were lovers.”
Her voice was soft, yet it carried bone-deep pain. “Ten thousand years ago, I was the divine clan’s holy maiden, and he was the clan’s dazzling sword dao genius. We could have become the most envied pair in the divine clan, but…”
Her eyes turned icy with hatred. “The divine clan has an iron law: the holy maiden must remain pure and unsullied, serving the ice god for life. She may not marry, and certainly may not have private feelings with any man, whether outsider or not.”
“Jianxing… for my sake, he openly defied the clan rules and even tried to elope with me.”
“The clan leader flew into a rage and personally acted to suppress him. I should have died, but Jianxing bore the greater part of the punishment himself to preserve my life.”
“In the end, I was stripped of my position as holy maiden and exiled to this extreme northern wasteland. I founded the Northern Darkness Palace on my own, effectively breaking with the divine clan.”
“As for Jianxing… the clan leader announced to the world that his divine soul had been utterly destroyed, to serve as a warning. For thousands of years I searched bitterly, yet found no trace of him. I could only believe he truly…”
Her voice choked. She could not continue.
Shock struck Chen Ping’s heart. He had not expected Wan Jianxing and the palace lord before him to share such a tragic yet heroic past.
Defying orders for love, opposing the entire divine clan, only to end up eternally imprisoned…
Ling Shuang and Scarlet Cloud Demon Lord were also deeply moved.
“For these thousands of years, there has not been a moment when I did not think of avenging Jianxing, overturning those cold and merciless clan rules, overturning the clan leader who suppressed him!”
Fierce anger blazed in the palace lord’s eyes. “But I am alone and weak. Though I founded the Northern Darkness Palace with my own hands and it appears independent, it remains under the divine clan’s surveillance. I can only endure, gather strength, and wait for an opportunity.”
She looked at Chen Ping. Gratitude appeared in her eyes. “Thank you for telling me he still lives. To me, that is more important than anything.”
Chen Ping shook his head. “The senior granted me his teachings. Informing you of his fate is only what I should do.”
The palace lord pondered briefly, then asked, “You said earlier that you wish to take the thousand-year Ice Soul Blood Lotus to save someone?”
“Yes.”
Chen Ping quickly recounted the matter of Scarlet Cloud Demon Lord and Immortal Lady Ling Yue.
After listening, the palace lord nodded slightly. “A devoted man, then. The thousand-year Ice Soul Blood Lotus is precious, but to me it is nothing. I can give it to you, and I can even help you dispel the guardian grand array outside the chill pool.”
Scarlet Cloud Demon Lord was overjoyed at these words and rose impulsively to offer thanks.
“However,” the palace lord continued, her tone shifting, “I have conditions.”
Chen Ping grew alert. “Please state them, Palace Lord.”
“First, I must know the exact location of that void passage and the method to enter it. If the chance arises in the future, I will go to see him.”
Her gaze was resolute.
Chen Ping considered briefly, then nodded. “That is acceptable. However, the void passage is extremely hidden and dangerous. Even with my current strength, I cannot guarantee safe re-entry. Moreover, the region where Senior Wan Jianxing resides has highly unstable space. Rash entry would likely…”
Chen Ping did not know how to enter it now, and he knew that Wan Jianxing currently had only a wisp of divine soul left, if even that remained.
Back then, to save him, Wan Jianxing had forcibly left the void passage, causing his soul to scatter.
But Chen Ping could not say these things. If he told the truth, the palace lord might well turn hostile.
“I know the danger, but I must go.”
She interrupted him. “After a century of longing, I must see with my own eyes that he is safe. As for the danger… I have my own preparations.”
“Second,”
she went on, “since you have received Jianxing’s inheritance, you can be considered his disciple in some sense. I want you to promise me that when your strength is sufficient, you will do everything possible to help him escape his confinement!”
“And if possible… overthrow the divine clan’s decayed rules, so that lovers no longer suffer such torment!”
Chen Ping nodded.
He had already intended to challenge the divine clan leader one day.
Though his strength was insufficient now, that did not mean it always would be.
Even if he met the divine clan leader today, Chen Ping would dare to curse him.
If the clan leader dared to strike fatally, Chen Ping knew Mr Shi would definitely appear.
Then the divine clan would be nothing.
Mr Shi could wipe them out directly.
“I promise you.”
Chen Ping nodded again. “When my strength is sufficient, I will go to the divine clan and demand the clan leader release Senior Wan Jianxing. If he refuses… I will fight until he agrees. As for those outdated rules, whatever should be broken will be broken.”
“Good! Such spirit!” Approval flashed in the palace lord’s eyes. “Worthy of the one Jianxing chose.”
She paused, then added, “However, your strength is still weak now, and you know too little about the divine clan. Going blindly would be no different from courting death.”
“Take this opportunity. If you have any questions about the divine clan, ask me. Whatever I know, I will tell you.”
