The old man looked at the golden-robed man. His voice was rather shrill, and his gaze was filled with grief. “My child Nong died?”


    “Patriarch, Youngme Nong’s spirit-tablet has shattered,” the golden-robed man said respectfully, not daring to show the slightest bit of discourtesy.


    “Lishui, your master has failed you.” Patriarch Arcanum shut his eyes, tears appearing at the corner. Immortal Lishui was the female disciple who he had loved the dearest; the two had identical dispositions, and Patriarch Arcanum had all but viewed her as he would his own daughter. Unfortunately, Immortal Lishui had been too arrogant when facing her Celestial Tribtion, and in the end, her spirit had been destroyed!


    The Celestial Tribtion was the greatest tribtion in any individual’s life. Oveing it meant bing a carefree Celestial Immortal; failing it, for the lucky, meant bing a Loose Immortal, while the unlucky would have their souls destroyed.


    Immortal Lishui had simply been too arrogant. At thest stage, she refused to give up, and had chosen to continue to fight head on! And so... she died!


    Patriarch Arcanum had been griefstricken by this for an extremely long period of time. Fortunately, Immortal Lishui had a son named Youngme Nong. Patriarch Arcanum had supported him from an early age, wanting to make up for his failure with Immortal Lishui by taking care of Youngme Nong. He had given Youngme Nong his full support this entire time, and had insisted on pushing Youngme Nong onto the position of Godplume Duke.


    Unfortunately... Youngme Nong had died! Died at the Wanxiang level!


    “I arranged a Fiendgod to protect him. That Fiendgod should’ve been able to withstand even a supreme Loose Immortal. How could he have died? How? Who killed him?” Patriarch Arcanum revealed a look of explosive, iparably terrifying savagery in his eyes. “He was also carrying the Greater Teleportation Dao-seal I gave him; even in apletely different world, he would’ve been able to teleport straight back.”


    The golden-robed man said hurriedly, “Patriarch, Youngme Nong should have died within the Witchriver Immortal Estate.”


    “Witchriver Immortal Estate?” Patriarch Arcanum was instantly enraged. “Tests, tests, always the stupid tests. What’s the big deal about bing Godplume Duke?!”


    Although he was angry, Patriarch Arcanum knew that this was in ordance with the rules of the n; they couldn’t be easily discarded.


    “Where is the Witchriver Immortal Estate?” Patriarch Arcanum asked.


    “Within Stillwater Commandery. I’ll lead the way for you, Patriarch,” the golden-robed man said respectfully.


    “Fine. Let’s go.” Patriarch Arcanum gave the order.


    Soon, the nine Flood Dragons flew out, with that Immortal carriage behind them. Patriarch Arcanum remained seated within, while the golden-robed man sat in the front, in the position normally reserved for servants, carriage drivers, and bodyguards.


    Swoosh!


    The Immortal carriage soared into the skies, flying out off the volcano.


    The Immortal estate had been hidden in a separate world which was only connected to the Grand Xia Dynasty’s world by a single corridor. If one did not know where the connection point was, there would be no way to find the exact location of the corridor, even if one was a Celestial Immortal. Thus, one would naturally be unable to enter that world.


    Since the Youngme n had arranged for Youngme Nong to take his trials there, they naturally had, early on, sent n elders bearing the key to the Immortal estate into the estate. They had done a quick surveince, assuring themselves that the ‘Witchriver Immortal Estate’ was a ce which would pose something of a challenge to Youngme Nong, but which absolutely couldn’t put him in mortal danger. Only then did they bestow the key onto Youngme Nong and have hime.


    This was why the Youngme n had the precise location of the Witchriver Immortal Estate.


    Whoosh.


    In the air above the Skyrove Mountains, there appeared an Immortal carriage that was pulled by nine Flood Dragons.


    The golden-robed man at the front of the carriage pulled out and unfurled a scroll while saying, “This scroll is of the Skyrove Mountains, and it also marks the location where the Skyrove Mountains connects to the Witchriver Immortal Estate. It’s right in front of us.”


    They gave it a careful nce and did a quickparison. Soon, the Immortal carriage arrived within the gorge. “Right there, on the walls of the gorge,” the golden-robed man said.


    Patriarch Arcanum, seated within the carriage, had a very sinister look on his face. He barked, “This cliff wall is enormous. Where, exactly, is the connection point? The Witchriver Immortal Estate is in a separate dimension; unless you can find the exact point, there’s no way to enter it.”


    “Patriarch, please wait a moment.” The golden-robed man immediately executed a secret art, causing a golden, glowing rune to appear in his palm.


    Rumble...


    A golden rune began to glow somewhere on the cliff wall as well.


    “Right there. That’s the ce where the Witchriver Immortal Estate connects to our world,” the golden-robed man said, pointing forward. “The n elders set a secret mark there long ago. That’s the mark.”


    “Open up.” Patriarch Arcanum’s gaze turned incredibly sharp as he released his full power. To forcibly break through the defenses of an Immortal estate was no easy task. Spots of starlight began to appear in the surrounding area. The countless specks of starlight seemed dreamlike and illusory. At the same time, two giant hands of starlight began to coalesce, then tore towards the front.


    Riiiiiip. Space itself tore apart, a corridor appearing. One could vaguely see through the corridor that there was an Immortal estate world on the other side.


    If one had not known the exact connection location, however, the only result of this rip would have been the void.


    “The Witchriver Immortal Estate? So it truly is here.” Patriarch Arcanum said coldly, “Wait here then.”


    “Alright.” The golden-robed man responded with respect.


    Swish. Patriarch Arcanum rose to his feet, then took a single step which carried him straight through the torn-open corridor and into the Immortal estate world.


    The Immortal estate world waspletely empty. With but a thought, Patriarch Arcanum spread his sense out to cover the entire world, capable of discovering everything within it.


    “There isn’t a single living thing here?” Patriarch Arcanum was startled. But of course, how could he know that when Ning fled, he had told the monstrous races that there was a high chance a Celestial Immortal woulde. The monsters had been so terrified that the monstrous Dao-soldiers had seized all of their kinsmen and pulled them onto warships in quite a brutal and ruthless fashion, using all sorts of cultivation techniques to quickly drag and send away one batch after another. In but the time needed to boil a cup of tea, the entire poption of monsters hadpletely fled.


    “But those items in those monstrous mountainirs... thosekeirs... those estates... there’s fruit and wine ced out in the open. Clearly, they just left a short time ago.” Patriarch Arcanum turned his gaze towards a nearby Skypir of golden light. “The five pces of Immortal Witchriver. After my child Nong came, he definitely would’ve entered one of these five pces. Most likely, he died within one of them!”


    With a single step, Patriarch Arcanum appeared before the Dao Repository Pce. He then stretched out his finger and pointed towards the distance. “Temporal Inversion!”


    The ‘Temporal Inversion’ technique was an iparably powerful technique. Generally speaking, only Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals who had incredibly profound insights into the Dao of Time were capable of using it. If their insights were insufficient, then they would have to wait until they surpassed the restrictions of the Three Realms and became Celestial Immortals before they would be able to use this art.


    Whooosh...


    The scenery in the area began to change as time began to rapidly flow backwards. It flowed all the way back to the point where Youngme Nong used the Wildcore and the ‘Lock’ scroll before just barely bypassing the monstrous Dao-soldiers and entering the Dao Repository Pce. And then, time began to progress forward at a normal pace. Soon, Youngme Nong led Ning and the others out of the Dao Repository Pce.


    “My boy Nong entered this pce, then left this pce; he didn’t die here.” Patriarch Arcanum followed Youngme Nong’s warship as it flew forward. As he did so, the scene in the second location began to rey once more.


    Youngme Nong, Xue Hongyi, Ji Ning, and the others rode the warship all the way to the fifth pce, the Witchriver Pce, where the monsters had set up a tight guard. Patriarch Arcanum just flew behind them.


    Youngme Nong used the ck and white disc, then immediately entered the fifth pce.


    “All of the monsters were gathered here, rather than being dispersed in the other pces. My boy Nong, in turn, was willing to pay any price to enter this pce. This should have been the final pce he entered.” Patriarch Arcanum’s figure turned blurry for a moment, and then he reappeared within the fifth pce, the Witchriver Pce.


    Within the Witchriver Pce.


    Patriarch Arcanum once more used the Temporal Inversion technique, reying the scene in front of him, starting from when Youngme Nong and the others entered the pce.


    The breaking of the illusory formation... the entering of the main hall... the celebratory banquet... Ninelotus’ dance... Ji Ning’s anger... the attack of many golems... Ji Ning using the Windwing Evasion... one scene after another appeared. Even the dialogue was repeated.


    “Eh?” Patriarch Arcanum suddenly frowned. “That’s the Windwing Evasion!”


    In the past, for the sake ofpleting and perfecting their copy of this divine ability, Patriarch Arcanum had personally soul-scoured some members of the Yuchi n; he naturally was quite familiar with the Windwing Evasion. He immediately recognized that Ji Ning used the Windwing Evasion.


    The scenes continued to change at high speed. Youngme Nong tried to force Ji Ning to cuff himself with the godlock chains; Xue Hongyi then suddenly called out that Ji Ning’s mother was named Yuchi Snow. Instantly, a major battle began!


    Xiangliu Fang, by himself, was able to block Mu Northson, Ninelotus, Yu Wei, and Adept Vastriver.


    Xue Hongyi went to fight Ji Ning. However... Ji Ning’s power suddenly increased explosively, causing the entire hall to be filled with countless swords. A single, dazzling sword-light executed Xue Hongyi.


    “Grand Dao Domain?” Patriarch Arcanum continued to watch, and as he did, his magical power continued to rapidly deplete; Temporal Inversion, after all, was no ordinary technique. “This kid named Ji Ning who knows the Windwing Evasion, he’s only at the Wanxiang level. Even if heprehended a Grand Dao Domain, he should’ve been far from being a match for the Fiendgod bodyguard my boy Nong had.”


    Indeed, Ning was defeated by a single palm blow from Xiangliu Fang. But right at that moment... that ck loop had flown out.


    The souls of Youngme Nong, Xiangliu Fang, and the Redscale Smander were all devoured and extinguished.


    “This, this, this is...” Patriarch Arcanum’s eyes were filled with shock and rage. “A Soulyer Loop? How could this kid have possibly procured such a treasure? Can it be that a major power died during one of the huge, chaotic battles of the Fiendgod Era, and the Soulyer Sphere ended up as a relic somewhere, where the kid found it?”


    Luck. It was hard to say what luck might bring.


    A backwater bumpkin might be lucky enough to acquire a heaven-defying treasure! In fact, a lucky kid who offered an old man a bowl of water might end up finding that the old man was one of the major powers of the Three Realms.


    “My child Nong didn’t have bad luck, but he actually ended up dying to this Ji Ning of the ck-White College. For this Ji Ning to have procured such a treasure... it seems he must have been blessed with tremendous luck. However, no matter how lucky he might be, he won’t be able to ovee my divine abilities.” Patriarch Arcanum’s eyes became filled with a cold light. “Those survivors were Yu Wei, Mu Northson, Vastriver, and Ninelotus; all of them are disciples of the ck-White College.”


    “ck-White College.”


    Patriarch Arcanum turned, once more ripping a corridor through space, at the point where the estate was linked with the outside world of the Grand Xia Empire.


    Swoosh!


    Within the Skyrove Mountains. The golden-robed man had been waiting here the entire time, only to see Patriarch Arcanum tear a corridor through space and emerge through it.


    “Patriarch,” the golden-robed man said.


    “The culprit was Ji Ning of the ck-White College.” Patriarch Arcanum looked at him. “Do you know him?”


    The golden-robed man was the Godplume Duke; how could he possibly know about one particr genius within Stillwater Commandery? He immediately shook his head. “I do not.”


    “Then let’s go straight to Stillwater City. First, we’ll do a thorough investigation regarding Ji Ning at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain; then, we shall go to the ck-White College! Those other disciples are most likely still within the ck-White College,” Patriarch Arcanum instructed coldly.


    “Yes.” The golden-robed man immediatelymanded the Immortal carriage to leave.


    The nine Flood Dragons pulled the Immortal carriage, quickly departing from the Skyrove Mountains. They flew through the skies, heading towards Stillwater City.