In this way, Qilin Hall gained an extra “auditing student” who had been more or less tricked into attending.

 

Although Xie Yuyan’s ability to circulate spiritual power had been sealed, what he saw and heard was still enough to inspire cultivators of the Four Directions and the Yin–Yang path. For example—Li Xiao’s and Si Zhuo’s control over natural elements, Luan Ling’s spiritual-domain techniques, Situ Meng’s arts of engineering and applied craftsmanship, as well as the general spells and formations taught by Dugu and the other instructors. In addition, there were also studies in literature, medicine, and engineering—covering a wide range of fields.

 

Whenever he managed to obtain things from the Heavenly Realm, the people of Qilin Hall would, in turn, use his channel to acquire items from the mortal world.

 

Among them, Luan Ling was most interested in matters related to the period of Ye Qingchen.

 

In the Heavenly Realm, these matters were regarded as secret history.
In the mortal world, they were little more than rumors.
But among mortals who had once interacted with the Heavenly Realm, the stories seemed to take on new interpretations.

 

“As far as I know, before Ye Qingchen completely took control of the court, he actually tried to save the former dynasty.”

 

Xie Yuyan calmly analyzed rumors that were considered taboo among commoners. His information, however, was clearly far more detailed. Aside from being born into the royal family, his connections and intelligence networks across the Four Directions had also contributed greatly to the collection of such hidden records.

 

“At the time, he had no intention of overthrowing the emperor and taking the throne himself. I later searched through memorials submitted to the court and discovered that, up until two months before Emperor Ai of the Shen Dynasty passed away, Ye Qingchen was still conscientiously urging him to restrain fiscal spending, purge the treacherous officials around him, and pointed out several cities that had already been… well, secretly controlled by my biological father. He requested that troops be sent first to reclaim those regions in order to stabilize the situation.

 

“But judging from the military situation, it was already too late by then. Still, had he succeeded two years earlier, the Shen Dynasty might have been able to last a little longer.”

 

“Did he stop remonstrating because he knew it was already hopeless?”
Luan Ling asked.

 

Xie Yuyan shook his head.

 

“That may have been one reason. But from the political situation at the time, although Ye Qingchen effectively controlled the court, Emperor Ai still failed to recognize the reality. He continued indulging himself in pleasure and listening to slander, and even intended to dismiss Ye Qingchen.

 

“Perhaps that final blow was what made Ye Qingchen throw caution to the wind and seize the throne—making one last desperate attempt.”

 

“After he ascended the throne, the situation did stabilize for a short while. But the foundation was weak and he acted too hastily. Many policies could not keep up with reality, and…”

 

He suddenly paused.

 

Luan Ling became even more curious.
“And…?”

 

A subtle, meaningful look appeared in Xie Yuyan’s eyes.

 

“And Heaven itself did not wish for his success. Five months after his enthronement, he went to the Luoyi Mountain Range. He happened to encounter a once-in-a-century thunderstorm, and there, in the mountains, he and the empress were both involved in a fatal accident. The empress and her child both perished.

 

“He himself survived, but after returning, he had lost all ambition. The court descended into chaos, and not long afterward, the new emperor broke through the city gates and ended Ye Qingchen’s life.”

 

Luan Ling nodded thoughtfully.

 

Then she suddenly realized what he had just said.

 

“Empress…? A child?!”

 

She opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, but no words came out.

 

Xie Yuyan laughed at once.

 

“Could it be that the immortal you are asking about—like Immortal Zhuyin—is also not very talkative? Is that why you’re so shocked to learn that he had offspring?”

 

No.

 

From the very beginning, when she questioned Xie Yuyan, Luan Ling had already prepared herself for the possibility that Ye Qingchen was an immortal from the Heavenly Realm.

 

But she truly had not expected to stumble upon such an earth-shattering piece of gossip.

 

And the key point was—this kind of story was probably unknown even among most mortals, let alone among the gods. She even suspected that there were very few gods in the Heavenly Realm who knew about it.

 

And now—Luan Qingchen, the empress, a child…

 

Luan Ling found it extremely difficult to connect these words together.

 

Yes, when gods underwent trials in the mortal world, it was possible for them to leave behind bloodlines. But that only happened when a god fully reincarnated and lived an entire mortal lifetime. Luan Ling was not sure whether Luan Qingchen’s trial had lasted that long—time-wise, it did not seem to match.

 

Of course, as an emperor, having heirs was only natural.

 

But Luan Ling’s experience was simply too limited. Ever since her birth, Luan Qingchen had always been cold and detached, severed from emotion and desire. Forget romantic love—she felt he barely displayed any ordinary emotions at all. He did not look like someone capable of human attachment in any sense.

 

She immediately tried to rationalize it.

 

“Perhaps it was simply a political marriage, made out of reason to stabilize the realm. Imperial power really is—”

 

Xie Yuyan smiled again.

 

“Then I must mention another secret anecdote. Well… not exactly secret. It is widely rumored among the people. I wonder if you have heard of it, Divine Lord?”

 

Luan Ling shook her head immediately.
Even though gods were all-seeing, that did not mean they listened to every piece of gossip. Too many chaotic accounts only led to confusion.

 

Seeing that she had not heard it, Xie Yuyan smiled even more brightly.

 

“It is said that the real trigger for Ye Qingchen’s rebellion—after enduring for two years—was his desire to seize Emperor Ai’s favored consort and make her his own.”

 

“Cough—cough, cough, cough!”

 

Luan Ling could not hold it in at all.

 

Such scandalous rumors absolutely must never reach Luan Qingchen’s ears. She truly could not imagine Luan Qingchen in that cold, expressionless state as a treacherous minister who coveted another man’s woman.

 

“It’s only a rumor,” Xie Yuyan shrugged.
“You don’t need to take it seriously. But the matter of the empress is recorded. As for the child…”

 

He continued quietly,

 

“I believe very few people know about that. I only deduced it from a set of relics left behind in Luoyi Mountain.”

 

He handed Luan Ling a jade disc.

 

“On this jade bi are carved blessings for harmonious kinship and family peace. Combined with that anecdote, the empress’s true identity becomes uncertain. Records say she was the daughter of an official, but I could not verify it.

 

“If she truly was Ning Consort—the late emperor’s favorite—then she was an orphan with no parents. Where would such ‘kinship’ come from?

 

“But if the blessings were meant for Ye Qingchen… wishing for familial harmony and lineage—then that is also rather strange.”

 

Luan Ling raised the jade disc and examined the inscriptions and patterns carefully.

 

“That is indeed odd. If someone in the mortal world prayed to the heavens, there should be records in the Heavenly Realm. If something this significant truly happened…”

 

She paused, then said,

 

“No. I have to investigate this.”

 

Xie Yuyan did not echo her enthusiasm. He only said,

 

“Then, Divine Lord—since you know the owner of this jade disc, perhaps you can help me return it to its rightful owner.”

 

Luan Ling looked at him.

 

“You brought it with you on purpose. You must have already anticipated this. But how could you be so sure?”

 

Xie Yuyan shrugged again.

 

“Heaven’s will.”

 

Luan Ling: “……”

 

She had a strange feeling that Xie Yuyan and Wen Yuan would get along remarkably well.

 

Whenever she found the time afterward, Luan Ling would repeatedly search the Heavenly records for mortal prayers related to family protection and kinship blessings from that period.

 

The reason she had to do it bit by bit was simple—the amount of data was enormous.

 

That era coincided with a time of war and chaos. Countless people prayed to gods and Buddhas. Without knowing the exact date or even the exact temple, even if she found similar records, she still had to verify the identities one by one. That was what consumed the most time.

 

More often than not, after checking, she would find that something did not match.

 

She eliminated every possible candidate, yet still failed to find the empress Xie Yuyan spoke of.

 

Just when Luan Ling had reached the point of desperation—and was even tempted to risk offending someone by directly asking Luan Qingchen—a perfect opportunity arrived.

 

“Going down to the mortal world to train at Luoyi Mountain?!”

 

Luan Ling repeated Dugu’s words in excitement.

 

“Is that really true, Teacher?”

 

Dugu looked at her strangely.

 

“Why would I lie about this? It’s already been approved. In the mortal world, Xie Yuyan and his brothers will soon head to the Luoyi Mountain Range to search for… something left behind by the former dynasty, apparently.

 

“When Zhuyin previously descended, she detected unusual activity in that area as well. You will go down to deal with it. Remember—there will be many people around this time. You must conceal your identities.”

 

“Don’t worry!”
Luan Ling said eagerly.
“We’re professionals!”

 

After Dugu left, he scratched his head as he walked away, muttering to himself,

 

“Luoyi Mountain… why does that place sound so familiar?”

 

Another descent to the mortal world—and this time, the entire Qilin Hall would carry out the mission together.

 

Li Xiao and Situ Meng were both quite excited, especially since Xie Yuyan would also be joining them and they would be disguising themselves as mortals. Just thinking about it felt thrilling.

 

Si Zhuo, however, still looked reluctant to participate.

 

Li Xiao analyzed the situation for Situ Meng.

 

“I think it’s because junior brother hasn’t really quarreled with junior sister lately. That’s why he looks half-dead. Normally, if they bicker a bit and she says a few sharp words, he gets provoked right away and things become lively.”

 

Situ Meng glanced at Luan Ling, who was busy writing furiously, then at Si Zhuo.

 

“But what has senior sister been busy with lately? She hasn’t talked to us about it at all. The last time Si Zhuo snatched her notes, she was so angry she actually struck him hard. I’ve never seen her that furious before. They’re still in a cold war, right?”

 

Li Xiao sighed.

 

“Probably something she can’t talk about. You know her family situation. Sigh… junior brother can be far too mischievous at times.”

 

Situ Meng looked at him.

 

“Then, senior brother, shouldn’t you try to persuade him?”

 

Li Xiao froze.

 

“Me? No, no, no. I still want to sleep peacefully for a few more days. It’s good for them to stop fighting for a while.”

 

Situ Meng hesitated.

 

“But… doesn’t this feel more like emotional cold violence? Maybe we really should persuade him?”

 

Li Xiao replied calmly,

 

“Then you go.”

 

Situ Meng answered just as calmly,

 

“I won’t.”

 

The two of them fell silent in perfect unison.

 

Zhuyin had already gone down to the mortal world ahead of them.

 

Although Xie Yuyan frequently traveled back and forth between realms, Zhuyin also descended from time to time to gather inspiration. Compared with the others in Qilin Hall, she was already well accustomed to the mortal world.

 

This time, she set out together with Xie Yuyan’s team to search for treasure in Luoyi Mountain, planning to meet up with Qilin Hall inside the mountains.

 

As for this so-called treasure hunt, Xie Yuyan found it rather troublesome.

 

“I really don’t know which bastard spread the rumor that we’re searching for the former dynasty’s hidden treasure.”

 

He could more or less guess who it was in the palace, but still cursed indirectly.

 

“It was supposed to be nothing more than an excuse to survey mineral veins. Now look at this—once people hear ‘hidden treasure,’ everyone comes running. They’re treating it like an autumn hunt for entertainment.”

 

Zhuyin said flatly,

 

“Every one of those princes wants you dead.”

 

Xie Yuyan laughed.

 

“Not necessarily every one of them. There should still be one or two brothers who are genuinely sincere toward me.”

 

Zhuyin took a quiet sip of tea.

 

“Take out the word ‘brothers.’ Only ‘younger brothers’ remain.”