Chapter 84 The Folk Tale

… At least, that was Xuan's translation of it. It most likely was not 100% accurate, as the translation was derived from the Divine Asura Eye. Apparently, it had auto-translation features, but Xuan doubted the integrity of it given how archaic Elventongue was. He'd have to check with Ling'er later if he wanted to verify the authenticity of this message.

"Just yesterday, each of the Eight Great Families received this letter inside their mailbox. It had no sender, but the message was verified to be sent by someone powerful judging by the seal that had been placed on it… powerful enough to completely wipe out all Eight Great Families with ease should they wish to. The patriarchs, wanting to honor this individual's request, sent their heirs into this place to see the matter for themselves."

'Well, that's only natural. Most likely, the individual came from Elysium, and was a Saint stage cultivator or higher. Wiping out the Eight Great Families was as easy as lifting a finger.'

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"After some translation from language experts, we've discovered that there is… a certain place within the Flaming Sands Field that this letter is referring to," Zi Xiruo continued. "It will be a competition between pairs of two, and in the end, only one pair will be able to reach the end. To confirm this fact, the Eight Great Families came to verify—after all, if no one came, the senior who sent this letter may think we belittle them, and act out of spite."

"…"

What she said was certainly true. Xuan himself had seen a number of unreasonable people in his past who would do that. With power came arrogance, and with arrogance came the tendency to be easily irritated. Xuan wasn't like that, but many powerful cultivators were. In his eyes, the Eight Great Families' decision here was right. But this 'secret'… why has he never heard of it before? And did it have anything to do with the phoenix that this small world's master told him about?

But before any of that, Xuan needed to know she was telling the truth. Chimeras had the ability to identify if someone was lying due to their bestial instincts, so Xuan shot a sideways glance at the beast, who immediately perked up and stared back at him in fear.

Using his mind, Xuan communicated.

'Is she lying?'

The beast shook its head. It couldn't afford to lie to Xuan, given the utter dominance that Dragon's Might gave off. Despite being an Eighth-Order Magic Beast, it stood no chance against the powerful aura of a Dragon, and could only obediently follow Xuan's orders.

'Hm… if she isn't lying, then… this is indeed worth looking into.'

A High Elf's words were not easy to ignore. They were the royalty of the powerful Elven race, which was one of the three races that dominated Elysium. The fact that they sent an envoy down to this world to deliver a message was no small matter. After some thought, Xuan turned to Zi Xiruo, and spoke.

"… Give me some time to think."

Saying that, he went away to be alone, while the Zi family heiress waited where she was with a smile on her face, patiently awaiting his return.

Of course, Xuan wasn't actually going somewhere to think. He was more than capable of doing that right in front of her. But instead, he was going to be contacting a certain someone, in the group chat that had been created between himself and his wives.

Tapping out a simple message, he sent it into the chat. Almost instantly, there was a reply.

[Zero: Ling'er, do you know anything about what the High Elves have been up to recently?]

[Ling'er: Eh? The High Elves? No, why?]

[Zero: I was just informed that a High Elf messenger dropped off a mail to all of the Eight Great Families, telling them about a hidden secret inside the Flaming Sands Field—something that can potentially change the world. The High Elves are too powerful to enter the Flaming Sands Field themselves—the World Qi would reject them, so they must be planning on ambushing the Eight Great Families once they exit. Do you know anything about this?]

[Ling'er: No, I can't say I do… Master does not allow them to contact me at all.]

[Fu Yao: That's for the best. The High Elves are a… bothersome bunch, if you will. But back to the matter at hand, it does seem odd for those royal snobs to get off of their thrones and descend to Upper Asphodel of their own choosing.]

[Zero: Do you know something about this?]

[Fu Yao: Hm… I can't say I do, if even Ling'er doesn't have any information. But I have heard a few interesting rumors recently, regarding something similar. A few of my underlings were discussing the abnormality within the Flaming Sands Field, and said something about a gate of legend. I wouldn't trust that too much, though, considering the story is no more than a folk tale. Unfortunately, said underlings have already been executed for… misconduct, so asking them for more information will be quite troublesome.]

'A gate of legend…?' Xuan fell into thought. 'Why have I never heard of that before? Though I suppose it's demon folklore, so it makes sense…'

[Huo Fei: Hmph. Misconduct? They were probably just charmed by your looks and ended up staring inappropriately for a tad too long. This is hardly the first time it's happened, you beguiling seductress.]

[Fu Yao: Oho, I sense jealousy. Don't worry—when Xuan comes to my realm, I'll be sure to please him far better than you ever could, fufu…]

[Huo Fei: You damn witch! I'll burn you to a crisp!]

[Fu Yao: You can try, my dear Immortal Fairy. However, you will find that the 'immortal' in your title is just that—a title, nothing more.]

[Ling'er: U-Um… guys…]

Xuan, staring at these chat logs, could only sigh. Huo Fei and Fu Yao never got along, sharing something like a rivalry while still being good friends. Ling'er often served as the mediator between the two when things got ugly, and the amount of collateral damage their duels created probably totaled more than even Xuan's entire savings.

Slightly disappointed, he exited the group chat and muted notifications without saying anything further. It didn't seem like his wives would be of any help. But if it was demon folklore, then… perhaps Fu Mei will know something?

Opening a different chat—his private messages with Fu Mei—he typed out a quick sentence.

[Zero: Where are you right now?]

Yet again, there was an immediate reply—but the contents of the message were something even he did not expect.

[Fu Mei: Fufu~ looking straight at you, daddy.]