Chapter 173: Underworld Palace

At Wei Chen’s side, they walked alongside Youqi’s entourage as they chatted. Youqi let out a faint smile and adjusted her glasses.

“I do have vacations and days off, Mr. Wei,” she replied matter of factly.

Yeah… Wei Chen thought back. Judging from that guy, the Lord of Death, he did not seem like the kind of blackhearted manager who would pile work onto you even when you were spending quality time with your family on the weekend.

On Mo Xingyao’s side, the little girl Ningning walked hand in hand with her. The little girl seemed to get along well with her, as if she had found a mischievous older sister who understood her and would go along with her antics.

“Big Sister Yaoyao, will Chenchen cook a new dish today?” the girl asked with hopeful eyes.

“Huh? What kind of dish do you want to eat?” Mo Xingyao asked.

“I… I want something sweet! Like floating island, ice cream, or maybe pancakes!” the little girl replied happily.

“Alright. I will have Chenchen make it for you,” Mo Xingyao said with a smile as she ruffled the little girl’s hair.

“Why are you answering as if you are the one making it?” Wei Chen retorted.

Ximen Hao, seeing the situation, realized that it would be difficult for him to insert himself into the conversation. He decided to wait for a more opportune moment.

…..

Inside the main hall, Mo Jue was waiting with the two strongest people in the province, Jian Heng, the vice sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect, and Hua Zuixian, the Drunken Immortal.

They were waiting there in case the newcomers were someone they needed to be wary of. They feared that the newcomers might be from the higher realm, just like what had happened before when they fought Gu Tianhe, who had been possessed by his ancestor from the Immortal Realm.

However, when the entourage arrived at the main hall, they saw that both Mo Xingyao and Wei Chen seemed to be chatting happily with the newcomers.

In particular, Mo Xingyao and the little girl were chatting like sisters, giggling and laughing along the way, while Wei Chen spoke with the graceful woman in the strange outfit from time to time.

Mo Jue’s mind raced as he tried to guess the identity of the newcomers.

Are they… perhaps…

His eyes shifted between Wei Chen and Youqi. He could see that Wei Chen held the woman in the strange clothing in high regard, like a subordinate speaking to a superior.

At the same time, the little girl who was giggling and chatting endlessly with his daughter seemed very close to her.

Mo Jue recalled that during the U-Phone commercial filming, he had received information from Yin Lan that his daughter had recruited an adorable little girl to act in the production. It seemed that the little girl in the report was this very same child.

He looked at Youqi once more, the woman in the strange clothing. He had some idea of who she might be, but it was still only a guess. He needed confirmation.

He walked up to the guests and cupped his fist, choosing to proceed cautiously.

“This humble one is Mo Jue, the patriarch of the Sky-Severing Demon Valley. May this humble one know your great name?” he asked.

Mo Xingyao, seeing her father’s humble approach, felt as if she were looking at a stranger. Since when was her father this humble?

“My name is Youqi, just Youqi. I am the secretary of the Underworld Palace,” Youqi said with practiced ease, as if this were a prepared response she had given many times before.

“Underworld Palace!?” a loud voice came from another direction.

The group turned toward the voice and saw a scholar-like old man.

It was Wen Moyuan.

The old man quickly walked up to Youqi as if he had discovered a treasure. No, in the eyes of this scholarly old man, Youqi was more like a living historical relic.

“Did you just say Underworld Palace, young lady?” Wen Moyuan asked.

“Yes, we are from the Underworld Palace,” Youqi confirmed.

Wen Moyuan looked at Youqi and the black armored guards in her entourage with scrutiny. Then his expression shifted to clarity, as if he had finally realized something.

In his mind, Wen Moyuan compared the patterns on the guards’ armor with what he remembered from ancient records. Most importantly, he could not sense the cultivation of any of the guards, nor that of the young lady before him.

“You… you truly are from the Underworld Palace, are you not?” Wen Moyuan asked, as if trying to reassure himself.

Youqi tilted her head. This old man was rather strange. Had she not already said so?

Seeing the situation becoming quite awkward, Hua Zuixian decided to intervene.

“Scholar Wen, what is the Underworld Palace? You seem… a bit startled.” He had wanted to say unhinged, but changed his wording.

“Startled?” Wen Moyuan repeated. “Mr. Hua, it is the Underworld Palace! Do you not understand? This is history! If it is true, then it confirms that the myth-like faction, the Underworld Palace, truly exists!” Wen Moyuan stared at the Drunken Immortal as if looking at an illiterate barbarian.

Hua Zuixian snorted. “I am sorry, I am not as well read as you, old man. Can you stop speaking in riddles and just tell us what it is already?” he said bluntly.

“Underworld Palace? Truly? That Underworld Palace?” This time, the one who spoke with awe was Jian Heng. He seemed to have realized something.

Wei Chen rolled his eyes at the situation. Of course, these people, before revealing something shocking, always needed to build it up first. These folks… could they not just speak plainly?

Why did they have to act so mysterious, like a teacher explaining calculus? Did they not realize how f*cking confusing and annoying that was?

Seriously, why did they act as if others were illiterate just because they did not know some niche information? Wei Chen complained inwardly.

Finally, Jian Heng spoke, as he sensed the annoyed gazes from both Mo Jue and Hua Zuixian.

“Ahem…” He cleared his throat and began. “The reason we are reacting this way is because records of the Underworld Palace date back to before the Golden Age Era. The oldest records we have found come from ruins of the Great War Era, which state that the Underworld Palace is a very powerful ancient sect that is neither righteous nor demonic.”

“All of their operations are mostly kept in the dark. Most of the time, they act like ghosts. Some believe they are nothing more than myth and should not be given too much credibility. We scholars have also believed this.”

“But if what this lady said is true, which is highly likely, then she may truly be from the Underworld Palace. This would serve as evidence in this era that they truly exist,” Jian Heng explained.

From this explanation, the history-illiterate group, namely Mo Xingyao, Mo Jue, and Hua Zuixian, could only nod, though their expressions still showed confusion.

At that moment, Wen Moyuan snorted. “You all do not understand how significant this is, do you?” He wore an expression that clearly said, as expected of illiterate barbarians, which began to irritate Mo Jue.

“If I said that… if the Underworld Palace was the one that ended the Demonic Domination Era and divided the realm in two, would you believe me?” Wen Moyuan said in simpler terms so that everyone could understand the true weight of the Underworld Palace.

“What!?” The three history-illiterate individuals reacted in shock at the same time.

Mo Xingyao quickly turned toward little Ningning. “Is it true?”

Little Ningning tilted her head. “Umm… I do not know. Why do you not ask Mama, Big Sister Yaoyao?”

The three of them then looked at Youqi, as if trying to pry an answer from her.

“Oh… that is just a bit of exaggeration from the historians,” Youqi replied, waving her hand as if dismissing the rumor.

A bit of exaggeration. Did that not mean this sect truly dated back to the Demonic Domination Era?

And what did that imply?

It implied that this sect possessed cultivation resources, heaven-defying cultivation methods, and combat techniques powerful enough to dominate both heaven and earth if they so desired.

Especially in this era, where the power of the lower realm has greatly diminished, even the Immortal Realm might not be able to resist the strength of the Underworld Palace.

Wei Chen looked at the shocked expressions on everyone’s faces and could not help but compare them to something out of a ’Junji Ito shock face’. It felt strangely similar.

While Wei Chen’s nonsensical thoughts ran wild again, there was another person whose imagination was not far behind.

Ximen Hao stared at Youqi with deep infatuation. His eyes glinted with a gentle warmth and a faint smile, as if he were a protagonist from the romance novels that are popular on the spirit net right now.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep