186: Chapter 186 A stunningly beautiful young lady with a hot figure and an arrogant demeanor! (Sigh)

"Oh, ho, ho, ho..."

Patriarch Ye Yangyun listened quietly to Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's words, his heart churning with stormy waves. He had never imagined that the Ye Family had such a glorious past, and that their ancestors had produced a Half-Emperor who had nearly attained the Dao and become an Emperor.

He recalled the vague records in the Ye Family's ancient books and the nameless stele in the ancestral hall. So, that was the tombstone of the ancestor Half-Emperor Ye Lunhui.

However, he knew clearly in his heart that what Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai said was absolutely not the whole truth.

The secrets of the Ancestral Star were definitely not as simple as just the Legacy of a Half-Emperor. Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai was surely withholding something, not telling them the core secrets.

However, he did not press further. He knew that if he kept asking, he would only anger Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai again.

Moreover, even if he knew the whole truth, what could he do? With the Ye Family's current strength, they could not protect this Legacy at all; instead, it would invite a catastrophe.

Rather than guarding a Treasure Trove he could not use and waiting to be exterminated, it was better to hand it over to the Xuanyuan Family in exchange for the survival and continuation of the Family.

As long as the green hills remain, one need not worry about firewood. As long as the Ye Family's Bloodline remained and the ancestral hall stood, one day, the Ye Family would rise again.

Patriarch Ye Yangyun took a deep breath, nodded slowly, and said, "I understand. Thank you, Senior, for clarifying."

He raised his head and looked at Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai, his eyes filled with a trace of determination and sorrow. "Since that is the case, I, Patriarch Ye Yangyun, am willing to hand over the Ye Family's Ancestral Star. However, the Ye Family ancestral hall is the root of the Ye Family, the place where the spirit tablets of our ancestors are enshrined. I hope Senior will keep the promise and not let any member of the Xuanyuan Family step even half a step into the ancestral hall. As long as the ancestral hall can be preserved and the Ye Family's Bloodline protected, I, Patriarch Ye Yangyun, am willing to bear the infamy of the ages."

By the end, his voice was slightly choked, and his eyes were filled with pain and helplessness. Selling out the Ancestral Star was a great act of unfilial piety. But he had no other choice.

As the Head of the Ye Family, the first thing he had to do was to protect the Family's Bloodline.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai looked at him and nodded with satisfaction. "You can rest assured about that," he said. "What the Xuanyuan Family wants is only the Legacy of Half-Emperor Ye Lunhui, not your spirit tablets for the dead. I promise you that I will absolutely not let any member of the Xuanyuan Family step half a step into the Ye Family ancestral hall. If anyone dares to violate this, I will personally cripple them."

"Thank you, Senior," Patriarch Ye Yangyun bowed deeply to Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai and said.

"Since there are no objections, let's sign the contract," Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai said, lifting his left hand and tapping the silver optical computer on his wrist.

A pale blue light projected from the optical computer, forming a massive holographic contract in the Void Realm.

On the contract, all terms were written in dense, interstellar common script, from the ownership of the Ancestral Star to the protection obligations of the Xuanyuan Family, and even the delivery time for Zhou Liangan; every item was written clearly.

Patriarch Ye Yangyun stepped forward and carefully examined every word on the contract.

He looked at it very earnestly, fearing there might be some hidden traps.

He checked it clause by clause, weighing every word. It took him over an hour to finish reading the entire contract.

Only after confirming that all terms were the same as previously agreed and contained nothing detrimental to the Ye Family did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He raised his right hand, condensed a trace of spiritual energy at his fingertip, and signed his name at the end of the contract.

The moment the three characters "Patriarch Ye Yangyun" landed on the contract, the entire holographic contract suddenly erupted with a dazzling golden light.

This was the power of an interstellar contract; once signed, it would be bound by the Laws of the Universe. Any party that breached the contract would suffer the backlash of the Laws.

After the light dissipated, the contract split into two. One part turned into a stream of light and flew into Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's optical computer, while the other fell into Patriarch Ye Yangyun's hand.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai glanced at the contract in his optical computer and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Very good," he said. "From now on, the contract is effective. I will immediately send people to take over the Ye Family Ancestral Star. You should clear out all places except the ancestral hall as soon as possible. As for the matter of Zhou Liangan, I have already sent people to investigate his whereabouts, and as soon as there is news, I will inform you immediately."

After speaking, he stood up, straightened his robes, turned around, and walked toward the outside of the hall.

His two guards immediately followed.

When he reached the door of the hall, Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai stopped, looked back at Patriarch Ye Yangyun, and said indifferently, "Guard your ancestral hall well. As long as you obey, the Xuanyuan Family will not treat you unfairly."

Having said that, he left with his guards without looking back.

Not until Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's aura completely disappeared from the Ancestral Star did Patriarch Ye Yangyun finally lose his strength. With a "pfft" sound, a mouthful of blood sprayed out, staining the contract in his hand red.

"Husband!" Bing Yunyu rushed over, her face full of worry. "How are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Patriarch Ye Yangyun shook his head.

He looked at the light contract in his hand, but it felt as heavy as a thousand catties, pressing down on him until he couldn't breathe.

The Elders also gathered around, all with their heads lowered, sighing and lamenting.

"Family Head, do we... do we really have to hand over the Ancestral Star?" the Grand Elder said, his voice trembling. "The Ancestral Star is the root of our Ye Family! How can we hand it over to outsiders? How can we have the face to see our ancestors?"

"That's right, Family Head!" the Second Elder also said. "We would rather fight the Xuanyuan Family to the death than do such a thing that lets down our ancestors!"

Patriarch Ye Yangyun raised his head and looked at the Elders surrounding him, tears finally unable to be held back, streaming down.

"I don't want to either!" he said, choking. "I don't want to hand the Ancestral Star to outsiders! But do we have any other choice? The Old Ancestor is dead, we cannot defeat the Xuanyuan Family, nor can we defeat those other forces eyeing us like tigers. If we don't submit to the Xuanyuan Family, we will all die, and the Ye Family will be completely annihilated! By then, let alone the Ancestral Star, even the ancestral hall, even our Ye Family Bloodline, will disappear without a trace!"

He wiped away his tears, and his gaze became firm.

"Now, if we hand over the Ancestral Star to the Xuanyuan Family, we can at least preserve the ancestral hall and protect the Ye Family Bloodline. As long as the Bloodline remains and the ancestral hall stands, the Ye Family will not be extinguished. One day, our Ye Family will produce a second Half-Emperor Ye Lunhui, will restore the glory of the Ye Family, and will take back the Ancestral Star!"

The Elders listened to his words and fell silent. They knew that what Patriarch Ye Yangyun said was right.

The current Ye Family had no other path to take.

Patriarch Ye Yangyun stood up, took the contract, and walked toward the outside of the hall step by step. His steps were very heavy; every step felt like it was stepping on his own heart.

He walked to the door of the hall, stopped, and looked at the Ye Family ancestral hall in the distance.

The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the roof of the ancestral hall, plating it with a layer of golden light, making it appear incomparably sacred.

"Ancestors above," he murmured, his voice not loud but unusually firm. "Disciple Patriarch Ye Yangyun, today, in order to preserve the Ye Family Bloodline, has no choice but to temporarily hand over the Ancestral Star to the Xuanyuan Family. Disciple hereby swears that in my lifetime, I will definitely restore the Ye Family and take back the Ancestral Star. If I break this oath, may heaven destroy me, may my Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, and may I never be reincarnated!"

After finishing, he kowtowed heavily three times in the direction of the ancestral hall.

His forehead hit the cold stone steps, making a dull sound. Blood flowed down his forehead, dripping onto the ground and staining a patch of moss red.

The Elders also knelt in the direction of the ancestral hall and kowtowed three times.

Meanwhile.

After signing the contract, Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai rushed back to Tianxuan Star.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai turned into a faint golden light and flew toward Xuanyuan Qianqian's private villa on the hillside of the star core area.

There were quite a few formations set up around Xuanyuan Qianqian's villa, but these defenses were merely for show in front of Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai.

He didn't even trigger any alarms as he passed through the layers of formations and landed in the courtyard of the villa.

The courtyard was quiet.

Usually at this time, Uncle Fu should be pruning the spiritual plants in the courtyard, a few servants would be cleaning, and the sound of the interstellar opera that Xuanyuan Qianqian liked would be coming from the villa.

But today, the whole courtyard was terrifyingly quiet, and even the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves was clearly audible.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's brows furrowed slightly. He pushed open the gate of the villa and walked in.

Everything in the living room appeared normal.

The holographic projection equipment was still playing that "Star River Overture" that Xuanyuan Qianqian never tired of listening to, and the soft music echoed in the empty living room.

On the coffee table sat a cup of freshly brewed Star Mist Tea, the tea still emitting faint heat, and a faint lipstick mark remained on the rim of the cup.

A white lace shawl was draped casually on the sofa.

Everything looked as if the owner had just left and would return immediately.

But Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's expression grew increasingly grave. He could clearly feel that there was not a trace of living aura in the entire villa.

Not Xuanyuan Qianqian's, nor Uncle Fu's.

Even the spiritual pet cat that usually ran around in the villa had disappeared without a trace.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

The next second, a massive Divine Sense spread from his body like a tide, instantly covering the entire villa area, and then continued to extend outward. All things within a radius of ten kilometers were clearly presented in his mind.

The growth of flowers and trees, the crawling of insects underground, the conversations of pedestrians on distant streets, the takeoffs and landings of starships in the star port... everything had nowhere to hide.

But he searched every corner and did not find the figures of Xuanyuan Qianqian and Uncle Fu.

Just as he was about to retract his Divine Sense and expand the search range, an extremely faint but unusually familiar aura was suddenly captured by his Divine Sense.

It was the fluctuation of Reincarnation Qi.

But this Reincarnation Qi was completely different from the golden Reincarnation Qi that the Xuanyuan Family had inherited for tens of thousands of years.

It was colder, heavier, and carried a domineering and oppressive feeling that swallowed everything, as if it came from the Chaos at the beginning of the birth of the Universe.

Moreover, this aura absolutely did not belong to anyone in the Xuanyuan Family.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai opened his eyes abruptly, his gaze as sharp as a knife.

He followed that faint aura and walked step by step toward the study on the second floor.

The door to the study was ajar. Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai pushed the door open and walked in.

The study was as tidy as the living room.

Behind a huge red mahogany desk was a leather chair, and on the desk were a few books and a fountain pen.

Against the wall was a huge bookshelf, filled with various ancient books on the Samsara Dao and star charts.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's gaze fell on a bronze ornament on the top shelf of the bookshelf.

It was a small tripod engraved with complex Reincarnation runes; it looked plain and unremarkable, yet it was the mechanism to open the secret chamber.

He walked to the bookshelf, reached out, and gently turned the bronze tripod.

"Click—"

A faint sound of a mechanism turning echoed. The bookshelf slowly moved aside, revealing a pitch-black entrance. A cold wind blew out from within, mixed with a faint scent of blood and a stale aura.

The secret chamber built by Xuanyuan Qianqian.

This could be considered a hidden passage.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai did not hesitate and stepped into the secret chamber.

This secret chamber was an inner chamber, different from the outer chamber that Zhou Liangan had previously visited.

This inner chamber was located beneath the place Zhou Liangan had previously visited and was the place where Reincarnation Qi was stored and absorbed.

The walls of the secret chamber were forged from the hardest meteorite iron, covered in dense runes that shimmered with a faint golden light.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai was all too familiar with these runes; they were the highest-level Reincarnation confinement runes of the Xuanyuan Family, specifically used to confine Reincarnation Qi and prevent it from dissipating.

In the center of the secret chamber was a massive Spirit Gathering Array, with dozens of fist-sized top-tier Reincarnation crystals embedded at its core.

Upon stepping into the secret chamber, Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai felt the Reincarnation Qi of Uncle Fu.

Uncle Fu had watched Xuanyuan Qianqian grow up since she was a child and was loyal to her; his strength had also reached the Peak of the Nirvana Realm, ranking him among the top Elders of the Xuanyuan Family.

But now, the room only contained the Reincarnation Qi that had dissipated from Uncle Fu's body, yet Uncle Fu himself was nowhere to be seen.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's heart sank abruptly.

He walked to the center of the Spirit Gathering Array, flicked a golden strand of spiritual energy from his fingertip, and injected it into the Reincarnation crystals at the core.

"Hum—"

The Spirit Gathering Array was instantly activated.

Dazzling golden radiance flowed out from the runes, illuminating the entire secret chamber.

As the array operated, wisps of gray-white mist began to appear in the air, slowly converging toward the center of the Spirit Gathering Array.

That was Reincarnation Qi.

It was the Reincarnation Origin that dissipated from the body after someone who cultivated the Samsara Dao died.

Without special means to confine it, this Reincarnation Qi would dissipate into the world within a very short time and return to the cycle of Reincarnation.

However, the walls of this secret chamber were covered in confinement runes, which was why Uncle Fu's Reincarnation Qi had been preserved intact.

More and more gray-white mist surged from every corner of the secret chamber, converging into a gray river that slowly flowed toward the energy storage canister buried beneath the Spirit Gathering Array.

That energy storage canister was crafted from specially made Reincarnation crystals, specifically designed to store Reincarnation Qi, and was one of the Xuanyuan Family's greatest treasures.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai stood beside the Spirit Gathering Array, silently watching all of this.

His face was expressionless, but his clenched fists betrayed his current state of mind.

From this Reincarnation Qi, he could clearly sense the fear and unwillingness Uncle Fu had felt before his death.

It was a kind of despair, a feeling of having absolutely no power to resist when facing absolute strength.

Just what kind of person could kill someone at the Peak of the Nirvana Realm like Uncle Fu so miserably?

Time ticked by second by second. Half an hour later, the last wisp of Reincarnation Qi in the secret chamber was absorbed into the energy storage canister.

The light of the Spirit Gathering Array gradually dimmed, and the entire secret chamber returned to its previous darkness.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai thought to himself, and an invisible force from his hand pulled the energy storage canister buried underground through the air.

The energy storage canister was about half a person's height and completely transparent; it was already filled with more than half a canister of gray-white Reincarnation Qi, so dense it was almost turning into liquid.

Looking at this more than half-full canister of Reincarnation Qi, a sense of foreboding welled up in Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's heart.

This much Reincarnation Qi was almost all of Uncle Fu's Reincarnation Origin.

This meant that Uncle Fu had completely perished, leaving not even a shred of opportunity for Reincarnation or Rebirth.

If he had even a sliver of life left, the Reincarnation Qi would never have dissipated so completely.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai closed his eyes, sank his Divine Sense into the energy storage canister, and carefully perceived the Reincarnation Qi inside.

Just then, his body jolted violently, his eyes snapped open, and his gaze was filled with unbelievable gravity.

Amidst these gray-white Reincarnation Qi belonging to Uncle Fu, there was also a wisp of extremely pure, extremely domineering golden Reincarnation Qi.

This wisp of golden Reincarnation Qi was over a hundred times more powerful than Uncle Fu's, carrying an aura of an overlord who looked down upon the world, as if all Reincarnation in the world were under its control.

Moreover, he felt as if he had sensed this aura somewhere before.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai frowned, recalling carefully.

Suddenly, a name exploded in his mind like a thunderclap.

Patriarch Ye Cangxuan!

The Old Ancestor of the Ye Family, Patriarch Ye Cangxuan!

The pillar of the Ye Family had been killed in three moves by an unknown young man at the dueling arena on Tianxuan Star!

The Ye Family members said that the young man who killed Patriarch Ye Cangxuan was named Zhou Liangan.

What he used was exactly this kind of Reincarnation Origin that was pure to the extreme.

A terrifying thought instantly formed in Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's mind.

This was Tianxuan Star.

Patriarch Ye Cangxuan was killed by Zhou Liangan right here on Tianxuan Star.

Thus, everything connected.

Xuanyuan Qianqian must have heard or seen Zhou Liangan use Reincarnation Qi to kill Patriarch Ye Cangxuan and knew that he possessed the purest Reincarnation Origin.

So she harbored evil intentions, wanting to lure Zhou Liangan into this secret chamber and use the lethal array set up here to plunder his Reincarnation Origin.

She thought that with Uncle Fu's help and this meticulously arranged secret chamber, it was foolproof.

But she never imagined that Zhou Liangan's strength would far exceed her imagination.

The result was that Uncle Fu was killed on the spot, and she herself...

Thinking of this, Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai felt a surge of rage rush from his heart to his head; he clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his teeth ground together, making a chattering sound.

"Damn it!"

He cursed under his breath, a cold Killing Intent rising in his eyes.

If anything had really happened to Xuanyuan Qianqian, he would definitely make that Zhou Liangan pay with his life!

However, Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai quickly forced himself to calm down.

He sank his Divine Sense into the energy storage canister again and searched carefully.

Nothing.

Inside the energy storage canister, there was only Uncle Fu's Reincarnation Qi and that wisp of incredibly pure Reincarnation Qi; there was not a trace of any aura belonging to Xuanyuan Qianqian.

This meant that Xuanyuan Qianqian was not dead.

Thinking of this, Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

As long as Qianqian was still alive, everything could still be salvaged.

Losing Uncle Fu, while regrettable, was nothing compared to Xuanyuan Qianqian.

The urgent priority now was to find Xuanyuan Qianqian as soon as possible and rescue her from Zhou Liangan's hands.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai took a deep breath and sat cross-legged in the center of the Spirit Gathering Array.

He reached out and cautiously drew that wisp of Reincarnation Qi belonging to Zhou Liangan out of the energy storage canister, letting it float in front of him.

Although this wisp of Reincarnation Qi was faint, it was the only clue to finding Zhou Liangan and Xuanyuan Qianqian.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai closed his eyes, chanting under his breath, his hands quickly forming complex incantations.

Following his movements, the golden Reincarnation Qi around him began to spin wildly, forming a huge golden vortex above his head.

"With my blood, I draw the Power of Reincarnation; with my soul, I illuminate the past and future... Reincarnation Mirror, appear!"

With a low shout, the phantom of an ancient bronze mirror slowly emerged in the void.

The bronze mirror was about as tall as a person, its surface blurry and indistinct, engraved with dense Reincarnation runes, emitting an ancient and mysterious aura.

This was the Xuanyuan Family's inherited secret technique—the Reincarnation Deduction Technique.

By using a trace of the target's aura, one could deduce their current location. The stronger the practitioner, the wider the range of deduction and the more accurate the result.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai injected his Divine Sense into the Reincarnation Mirror, while simultaneously guiding that wisp of Zhou Liangan's Reincarnation Qi toward the mirror's surface.

"Hum—"

The Reincarnation Mirror emitted a slight hum, and the mirror's surface began to fluctuate violently.

The blurry mirror surface gradually became clear, and scenes flashed by rapidly.

The streets of Tianxuan Star, the endless stream of people, the towering buildings...

Soon, the image froze on an extremely luxurious hotel.

The Interstellar Hotel, the tallest and most luxurious hotel on Tianxuan Star, located in the center of the Star Core District, was the landmark building of the entire planet.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's spirit lifted, and he wanted to continue the deduction to see exactly which room Xuanyuan Qianqian was in.

But just then, the surface of the Reincarnation Mirror suddenly shook violently, and a terrifying backlash force surged out from the mirror like a tsunami, striking his chest heavily.

"Pfft—"

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning as pale as paper.

He hurriedly collected his thoughts and severed the connection with the Reincarnation Mirror.

The phantom of the Reincarnation Mirror in the void instantly dissipated, and that wisp of Zhou Liangan's Reincarnation Qi also vanished into nothingness.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai clutched his chest, coughing violently, with blood still continuously spilling from the corner of his mouth.

His eyes were filled with shock and wariness.

What a powerful Samsara Dao!

It was actually able to backlash against the deduction of a powerhouse at the Peak of the Nirvana Realm like him!

What exactly is this Zhou Liangan's background?

His Samsara Dao had actually reached such a terrifying level?

However, shock was shock, but Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai did not have the slightest intention of retreating.

He had already obtained the information he wanted.

The Interstellar Hotel.

With this specific coordinate, it was enough.

Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up.

His gaze became cold and firm again, and a heart-palpitating Killing Intent radiated from his body.

No matter how strong that Zhou Liangan was, no matter what his background was.

Daring to touch Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai's niece, he would have to be prepared to bear his fury.

With a thought, the space around Second Elder Xuanyuan Tai began to twist violently.

The next second, his figure disappeared from the secret chamber, leaving behind only the empty room, that dark brown bloodstain on the floor, and the faint scent of blood and Reincarnation Qi lingering in the air.

In the presidential suite on the top floor of the Interstellar Hotel.

Zhou Liangan was standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the bustling night view of the city beneath his feet.

Xuanyuan Qianqian was tied to the sofa by a golden binding chain, her face pale, "Please... I beg you, let me go..."