Qin Ye grinned and laughed heartily. "Did my tribulation wake you up, Old Man Ling? I'll try to keep it down next time."
Walking over, Old Daoist Ling Hanguang stroked his long beard and smiled. "With your level of power, no matter how much you try to keep your tribulation quiet, it's impossible. Those who glimpse the heavenly secrets cannot help but hear it— even a deaf person would find it as loud as thunder piercing their ears."
He exuded an ethereal aura— though not yet ascended to the ranks of immortals, he was more immortal than immortals. As he spoke, Old Daoist Ling Hanguang observed the enigmatic Qin Ye before him and spoke again. "How many thunder tribulations did you pass this time? It must have reached the full count of eighty-one tribulations, no?"
As he spoke, he scrutinized Qin Ye, uncertain, and added another sentence. "Or perhaps you reached the legendary 'Nine-Nine Returns to One,' the hundredth tribulation?"
The words left his mouth. Though it was just two sentences, either one of them, if spread, would be enough to shake the entire transcendent world.
Whether it was eighty-one tribulations or the 'Nine-Nine Returns to One,' they had only ever appeared in ancient texts and existed only in legends.
Qin Ye merely smiled, waved his hand humbly, and spoke. "No, no, I'm not that powerful. I only went through fifty-nine tribulations before I told it to stop."
"Told it to stop?" Old Daoist Ling Hanguang's aged face stiffened. He wondered if he had misheard. Had something that only existed in theoretical tribulation scenarios actually happened to Qin Ye?
But before he could ask, Qin Ye spoke, "Let's not talk about that. You came at the right time, Old Man Ling."
He enthusiastically invited Old Daoist Ling Hanguang to sit on a nearby public bench and continued. "Aren't you skilled in divination and heavenly secrets? This is your area of expertise. Help me divine the recent fortune of the mortal realm, as well as the Heavenly Court—"
Before Qin Ye could finish speaking, Old Daoist Ling Hanguang seemed to already know what he was about to say. He glanced at Qin Ye and spoke, "Divining the mortal realm and the Heavenly Court? So, you've sensed it too? But you're overestimating this old man."
"This old man cannot divine it. Before coming to find you, I had already attempted a divination. Right now, the heavenly secrets are clouded and chaotic. After all, even Old Lord Hu San is dead. This era is destined to be turbulent. If I were to force a divination on the heavenly fortunes, it would cost me my lifespan."
Qin Ye was stunned. A second later, he raised an eyebrow. "Old Lord Hu San is dead too?"
At first, Qin Ye didn't understand Ling Hanguang's words. But when the second sentence was spoken, he understood the reason without needing to ask.
Though he understood, Old Daoist Ling Hanguang was now the one confused.
"'Too'?" Old Daoist Ling Hanguang caught the key word in Qin Ye's statement.
Qin Ye did not hide anything and nodded, speaking frankly. "The Earth God of the capital is also dead. The forehead of his main statue cracked, and his spirit dissipated."
"Furthermore, it's not just the Earth God. Today, I traveled around the region— the Mountain Gods, the Earth Gods, the City Gods… none of them can be found. I fear that all the celestial deities of the mortal world have disappeared."
As he watched Ling Hanguang's expression gradually shift, Qin Ye hesitated before speaking. "Old Man Ling, do you remember? I once played a game of chess with you."
"You told me that the Heavenly Court has countless laws, and one of them is almost never used— that when the Heavenly Court is in great peril, all celestial deities of the mortal world shall be summoned and gathered. Is there truly such a law?"
"There is indeed such a Heavenly Court law." Old Daoist Ling Hanguang nodded, his old eyes filled with solemnity, and his aged voice grew a few degrees heavier.
"How certain are you that all the celestial deities of the mortal world have been summoned to the Heavenly Court?"
"Before I met you, I was seventy to eighty percent certain. After talking to you, I'm ninety percent sure."
Qin Ye also spoke in a grave tone. "Old Man Ling, you must have had suspicions as well. After all, in this world, there are only a handful who could kill Old Lord Hu San— and to do it in the mortal world, without anyone noticing, in complete silence, there are even fewer."
Ling Hanguang agreed. "When I first heard of Old Lord Hu San's death, I too realized that the situation was dire and wondered who could have done it."
He paused, then looked at Qin Ye and spoke. "I even briefly considered whether you were the one who did it. That's why I came to see you— to ask you directly. After all, as you said, there are only a handful who could kill Old Lord Hu San without a trace. If I rule you out, there are even fewer left."
"How could I possibly have killed Old Lord Hu San?" Qin Ye laughed helplessly. He did not outright deny Ling Hanguang's thoughts— he simply responded, "You sleep a lot, so you might not know— Hu San and I were actually friends. We started off fighting but ended up respecting each other."
"Is that so? I wasn't aware. But indeed, you seem unlikely. Because according to what I've learned, Old Lord Hu San made a trip to the Heavenly Court half a month ago and never returned."
"From this information, it's more likely that he died in the Heavenly Court. The same may be true for the Earth God of the capital."
Hearing Ling Hanguang's speculation, Qin Ye agreed. "I heard that the Earth God left in a hurry right in front of the Black City God. If it was a summons from the Heavenly Court, then it makes sense for him to leave urgently. Speaking of which…"
Qin Ye looked at Ling Hanguang. "Old Man Ling, where did you get the news of Old Lord Hu San's death? Weren't you just waking up? Did the Maoshan Sect tell you? But why would they suddenly mention this to you?"
"The current grandmaster of Maoshan told me. He said they learned it from Bureau 749."
Ling Hanguang brushed his horsetail whisk and continued. "As for why they told me— it's because they want me to help. It seems they are short on manpower. They want me to suppress Changbai Mountain."
Qin Ye immediately understood."With Old Lord Hu San dead, the beings in Changbai Mountain must be restless. I thought Bureau 749 had it under control."
"They don't." Ling Hanguang gave Qin Ye a sideways glance.
"Your tribulation awakening stirred many from their slumber. As soon as I woke up, the grandmaster of my sect invited me to help, saying Bureau 749 was too understaffed. Those who were awakened by you— every single one of them is an Immortal in the Mortal World who can glimpse heavenly secrets."
"Even if Bureau 749 is powerful, they can't possibly have enough experts to handle all of them."
Qin Ye coughed, trying to hide his embarrassment. He had expected his tribulation to be loud— but not to the extent of waking so many people.
Immortals in the Mortal World were beings— human, demon, or ghost— whose strength was on par with celestial immortals. Their power was at the pinnacle of the mortal realm. No matter how capable Bureau 749 was, they couldn't suppress them all.
Qin Ye sighed. "Looks like I'll have to go through my next tribulation more quietly."
Qin Ye gave an awkward smile and laughed. Li Hangguang, the old Daoist, shook his head. He did not dwell too much on this matter with Qin Ye and simply said, "This matter is not important. Since they are all awakened anyway, the current situation that needs to be dealt with is those ancient great demons in Changbai Mountain. Moreover, it's not just Changbai Mountain—I have heard that the great demons lurking in other mountains are also beginning to stir restlessly."
"If they come to know that the Mountain God has disappeared, and that Old Master Hu San has died, which means that chaos has broken out in the Heavenly Court, then they will probably no longer be just restlessly stirring."
Qin Ye did not deny his words. He scratched his head and gave a bitter smile. "They definitely won't just be stirring restlessly anymore—they will come out of the mountains."
"Which one of them is not a descendant of ancient, primeval great demon calamity bloodlines? In the primeval era, before the Heavenly Court was established, the ancestors of these great demons were all disasters that brought chaos to the world. Now that the Heavenly Court is gone, one can only imagine."
"Why do I feel like, after waking up from this sleep, not only did I wake people up, but I also somehow caused trouble unknowingly?"
Li Hangguang, the old Daoist, upon hearing this, laughed out loud on his aged face."I think you can remove the 'feel like' part."
Qin Ye showed an awkward look and did not refute. "Those ancient great demons will suddenly learn of the Mountain God's disappearance—probably some of them were woken up by me. If they hadn't been woken up, how would they wake up and come to know of the Mountain God's disappearance?"
As he spoke, he shook his head helplessly. "Being a bystander only to have the situation fall onto myself—so this is what it feels like. Forget it, since the trouble is somewhat related to me, I might as well take care of it."
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