Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Jiang Chen didnât know anything about the Demon Slayer Palace, but Du Yongbo knew many things about it.
âWhy are there only a few Demon Slayer Palace members among the numerous people entering and leaving the Demonic Abyss?â Jiang Chen questioned him about this matter out of curiosity.
âAny well-informed martial-grade expert would make inquiries about the Demonic Abyss, and he would then get to know the Demon Slayer Palace.â
âThe Demon Slayer Palace always kept a low profile, and it nearly shunned the world. There wasnât any reason for people to talk about it apart from this one,â Du Yongbo said.
âThe reason why we got information about the Demon Slayer Palace is that a person we met in a forbidden land informed us about it.â
Jiang Chen nodded and understood what he meant.
The Demon Slayer Palace had never announced its existence openly, and news about it only spread from person to person within social circles.
Moreover, even if one knew about the Demon Slayer Palace, one wouldnât find anything about it worth discussing.
The Demon Slayer Palace existed isolated from the whole world.
âJiang Chen, look over there.â
As they talked with each other, they got familiar, and they called each other by name directly, but they still treated each other as politely as before.
On the other side of the plaza, there was a man-made smooth stone wall, and it had three large words on it, Devil-Slayer List.
Jiang Chen smiled knowingly. It seemed as if the Demon Slayer Palace didnât completely get rid of the Sacred Instituteâs patterns. He still remembered clearly that when he entered the Nine Heavens Realmâs Sacred Institute, he saw two lists, Monster-Slayer and Devil-Slayer, and they could be combined into slayers of monsters and devils.
Jiang Chen didnât expect that the Demon Slayer Palace would keep a list in such a way, and he found out that there were more than 100 names on the archaic Devil-Slayer List.
The names werenât just written on the wall, as there were some names written on a chessboard-like crisscrossed object.
If the rankings changed, the names would be moved around through the chessboard like chess pieces, and they altered it this way.
This was a popular method used several hundred years ago. Now they used barriers and spirit formation knowledge to make spiritual ranking lists that would change by themselves.
âIf one reaches the top 20, one will get a reward left behind by the Empyrean Goddess, and if one gets into the top ten, one will have a chance to get one of the 36 magical techniques and 72 martial techniques,â Du Yongbo said.
âThe lost 36 magical techniques and 72 martial techniques.â
Jiang Chen had heard about them long ago, and he had even faced some of them. He didnât expect that they had come from this place.
âWell?â Jiang Chen discovered something suddenly, and it was that the three top positions were vacant.
âItâs rumored that if one can get into the top three, it will be possible for him to get directions for the Empyrean Goddessâs inheritance.â
Du Yongbo had drawn a lesson from the previous ordeal, and he didnât state that it was her remains. Instead, he stated that it was her inheritance.
âThe Devil-Slayer List belongs to the Demon Slayer Palace, and it isnât related to the Empyrean Goddess,â Jiang Chen said softly.
Du Yongbo understood what he meant. Jiang Chen implied that the Demon Slayer Palace had left three positions vacant on purpose to encourage people to train in the Demonic Abyss.
âBut the Mysterious Gate can raise the power of people who enter, and the ranking will change in real time. This isnât fake,â Du Yongbo said, still holding onto hope.
If one could by chance find the Empyrean Goddessâs inheritance in this great era, then he would become so wealthy.
Jiang Chen was quite interested in the Mysterious Gate, and he walked toward the door frame, before he extended his hand toward it. He found that the door frame made out of precious stones was quite cold, and it didnât have any special traits besides this.
It seemed like the Mysterious Gate wouldnât reveal its profound mysteries before its activation, and if this hadnât been the case, the Demon Slayer Palace wouldnât have allowed outsiders to touch it.
Jiang Chen retracted his hand, and no one, including Jiang Chen, noticed that the precious stone stroked by Jiang Chen emitted a peculiar light.
Jiang Chen intended to go back to the courtyard after this, and, what he didnât expect was that on the road back, a Demon Slayer Palace disciple came over to him and stated that his senior sister, Xuan Qing, had invited Jiang Chen to visit her.
âSenior sister Xuan Qing?â
Jiang Chen frowned. âWasnât this woman the Empyrean Goddessâs descendant?â
âDoes she want to stir up trouble?â Du Yongbo was worried about this, and he asked Jiang Chen not to go there.
But Jiang Chen felt like this wasnât the case, and he asked the guy to show him the way.
After a short while, Jiang Chen reached a place in the depths of the island. This place was more serene than the outside world, and it was the dwelling place of the Demon Slayer Palace members.
There was a courtyard constructed atop a cliff, and Jiang Chen got to see the Empyrean Goddessâs descendant there. She was still as beautiful and charming as before, while her dusky room let her fair skin seem even more snow-white.
âMiss Xuan Qing, how do you do,â Jiang Chen said his hellos and discovered that he was the sole guest here. He got an odd feeling about this matter.
âYoung master Jiang Chen, please sit down,â Xuan Qing said. A woman who hadnât cared about anything a while ago now revealed a faint smile to him.
âHer every frown and smile possessed mesmerizing charm!â
Jiang Chen finally understood the meaning of this saying.
âMiss Xuan Qing, I hope that you donât plan to use me to get rid of your enemies.â
However, Jiang Chen wouldnât be captivated by her beauty, and he spoke bluntly. He had discerned that Xuan Qing didnât like the prince, but she still wasnât able to reject him.
Now, a man and a woman were alone together in a room, and if any rumor about this matter spread, Xuan Qing would get rid of her trouble, while Jiang Chen would be plagued with trouble.
âYoung master Jiang Chen, it seems from your actions a while ago that you arenât a person afraid of trouble,â Xuan Qing said with a smile.
âThere is a difference between looking for trouble by myself, and others making trouble for me.â
Jiang Chen said, âMiss Xuan Qing, I have something urgent to attend to, and, if you just want to befriend me, then I have to apologize to you. After I finish attending to my matters, I will surely drink three cups with you as an apology.â Jiang Chen expressed that he must leave at any moment.
âYoung master, I will have to speak clearly. Do you know the Heavenly Bestowal Woman?â Xuan Qing didnât beat around the bush and spoke bluntly.
Jiang Chen was startled. His Xueâer was a Heavenly Bestowal Woman, and she had been taken away by a member of the Divine Palace.
However, the person mentioned by Xuan Qing was probably not Xueâer.
All of a sudden, Jiang Chen figured out everything, and he recalled that the Empyrean Goddess was the Heavenly Bestowal Woman.
âYoung master, it seems as if you know her, and you should be aware that the Heavenly Bestowal Woman canât just become a Divine King, she can also help someone else to become a Divine King.â
âIâm aware of this matter. Miss, please go on.â
Xuan Qing nodded and said, âNearly all Empyrean Goddessâs descendants are women, and there is a saying passed down along with this bloodline, and itâs that every Empyrean Goddessâs descendant is fated to have the same final destination.â
âItâs impossible! The Empyrean Goddess has great prestige in the Xuanhuan Realm. So, who would dare to target the Empyrean Goddessâs descendants?â Jiang Chen found this matter unimaginable.
âThey obviously donât dare to snatch us openly, but the people appearing around us since we were born until we grow up are determined.â
âWhen I was eight years old, I had a favorable impression of a boy that appeared suddenly, and, the next day, that boy disappeared from my world forever.â
âIt seems like there is a formless great hand controlling my fate, and when it descends, I wonât be able to even discern from which direction it will come at me,â as Xuan Qing spoke, tears streaked down across her face.
Jiang Chen opened his mouth, but he still kept his silence.
âHowever, the most important matter is that in the past, there wasnât nearly any hope to become a Sovereign or a God, and that was why even Empyrean Women could only resign themselves to their fates, and some were even delighted to do so.â
âBut, a great era has arrived, and Iâm not willing to do so. I want to grasp my fate in my own hands.â
Xuan Qing stood up suddenly, gnashing her teeth as she expressed her greatest wish.