Hiss!

The person behind the curtains inhaled a sharp breath of cold air. A wanton, tyrannical, mournful sneer, resembling a vast ocean of thunder, echoed from within.

"Mastering the Dao... Mastering the Dao... to think that in this current era, someone could actually step into Mastering the Dao!"

"Lucian, you insist on making things difficult for me. A hundred and twenty years ago, you reduced me to this current state. And now, you want to block my path again."

After venting his fury, the person behind the curtains calmed down. "Forget it, you cannot be blamed for this matter."

"The Silver Willow Imperial Family is declining, our foundation unstable. The disaster of the South-Subduing King in the Southern Ridge has not yet been resolved."

"If another turmoil arises, before the Sixth Heaven and Earth Upheaval even arrives, the millennium-old Silver Willow dynasty will fall to pieces."

"Now that the Sword Sect Master has stepped into Mastering the Dao, although our Imperial Family has numerous foundations, with old ancestors slumbering in forbidden grounds from our thousand-year rule, existences that have reached Mastering the Dao are still few and far between."

"Not to mention, the Sword Dao possesses unparalleled offensive power. Even if the imperial ancestors awakened from their seals, they might not be able to do anything to the Sword Sect Master."

"In any case, Our objective is the opportunities within that secret realm. On account of the Sword Sect Master’s face, sparing this Veil Manor remnant is of no consequence."

"Bring the Veil Manor remnant forward. We shall use the Soul-Channeling Ancient Jade to sense her Sea of Consciousness."

Following his orders, Allen brought Maren before the dragon bed.

All spiritual energy and acupoints in Maren’s body had been sealed by Allen. She could only be manipulated like a puppet.

A withered, lusterless hand resembling the stump of a dead tree reached out from behind the curtains. It placed an entirely dark green ancient jade radiating divine light onto Maren’s forehead. Immediately after, Maren fell into a deep slumber.

The Soul-Channeling Ancient Jade was a supreme treasure of the Silver Willow Imperial Family, obtained by the first Emperor in an unknown ancient tomb.

At that time, there had been nine Soul-Channeling Ancient Jades in total.

But over the course of a thousand years, the other eight had all been consumed.

Only this single one remained.

The jade was unfathomably miraculous. It could probe divine souls and possessed abilities on par with those of a Heaven and Earth Deity.

For a thousand years, through this jade, there was no telling how many heaven-defying legacies the Imperial Family had plundered from others.

If he had not truly been out of options, he would not have wanted to waste this rare supreme treasure.

The person inside the curtains circulated his profound techniques, activating the jade. He closed his eyes and used divine sense to enter Maren’s Sea of Consciousness.

Within the Sea of Consciousness lay the memories of a cultivator’s entire life, his divine sense rapidly shuttled through Maren’s memories.

Soon, he arrived at the scene of Maren escaping the Veil Manor.

During her desperate flight, Maren had been struck by a Demonic Sect disciple’s palm and fallen directly from the eaves, rolling all the way to a stop before a young man.

The young man lowered his head to inspect Maren’s injuries, so the Imperial Master’s divine sense could not see his face. Just as the young man raised his head...

Suddenly, the aura inside the curtains turned chaotic. The Soul-Channeling Ancient Jade shattered directly, and a mouthful of precious blood essence sprayed violently onto the curtains.

"Imperial Master, Imperial Master, what exactly happened to make your aura so unstable?!"

Seeing blood essence, Allen anxiously stepped forward.

"It is nothing. I merely suffered a bit of backlash."

The Imperial Master’s face was pale. Although he said it was nothing, his voice lacked its usual vigor.

Allen sensed the evasion in his words, with eyes full of concern, he asked, "Imperial Master, exactly who did you see in Maren’s Sea of Consciousness that could cause you to suffer a backlash?!"

"I saw nothing at all. That person’s face seemed covered by a veil. No matter how I probed, I could not pierce through to clearly see his true face beneath it."

"Unwilling to give up, I circulated all of my profound power. The Soul-Channeling Ancient Jade could not withstand such boundless force and suddenly shattered, the jade is connected to my divine soul, thus causing me to suffer a backlash."

Saw nothing at all! Allen’s eyes filled with astonishment.

"Imperial Master, the Soul-Channeling Ancient Jade is a miraculous artifact. Successive Imperial Masters have relied on it to seize heaven-defying profound techniques from the Seas of Consciousness of others."

"Why would it fail this time?!"

The Imperial Master found it equally inconceivable. "I do not know either. This is the first time I have encountered such a bizarre occurrence."

"Your Majesty, do you think it might be like what is recorded in the unofficial histories?"

Seeming to have thought of something, Allen raised a question.

"Unofficial histories?"

The gaze of the Imperial Master lingered on Allen, wanting to hear him continue.

Allen explained. "Unofficial histories record a legend that a person has three incarnations: the past, the present, and the future."

"Imperial Master, on the path of cultivation, the higher one’s realm, the more unpredictable and god-like their abilities become. Rumor has it that if cultivation reaches the heavens and pierces the earth, one can affect heaven and earth, reverse time and space, and mortals are forbidden from even reciting their true name."

"Unofficial histories record that during the First Heaven and Earth Upheaval, the human race birthed a peerless powerhouse. Relying on heaven-reaching mighty power, he slaughtered the myriad races to near extinction, single-handedly pushing humanity to the position of the supreme race."

"A supreme existence in the Demon Domain could not tolerate his presence and actually attempted to cross the long river of time to sever and kill this peerless powerhouse’s past self."

"Unexpectedly, just as this supreme existence was about to sever the peerless powerhouse’s past incarnation, a heaven-shaking mighty power erupted from that past self, directly slaying that supreme existence from the Demon Domain."