Chapter 383: The Secret of Eternal Night, The Millennium Calamity

“The Eternal Night Royal Family?” This was the first time Yun Che had heard that name.

“The Five Sacred Grounds have existed for far longer than the Seven Nations of Sky Profound. They have been around for several millennia, perhaps even tens of thousands of years, or longer. While the Five Sacred Grounds have always maintained a balance and checked each other, outwardly, they also supported and allied with one another, upholding the shared principle of protecting the Sky Profound Continent from external invasions. They are the continent's most powerful and crucial barrier. At the same time, they do not interfere with internal disputes within the continent, which is why they are revered and worshipped by its people, treated like gods. However, this absolutely does not mean they are all good people!”

Feng Qianhui looked up at Yun Che and calmly said, “I have no right to judge whether the Sacred Grounds are good or evil, right or wrong. However, my clan's disciples are forbidden from having any close contact with anyone from the Heavenly Sword Villa for their entire lives. This is a dying instruction left by our ancestor, Mu Bingyun. The Eternal Night Royal Family, one of the Five Sacred Grounds at the time, perished due to the malicious machinations of the Heavenly Sword Villa!”

Yun Che: “What?”

“Among the Five Sacred Grounds, the Eternal Night Royal Family was the only family-based power. Unless through marriage, they never accepted outsiders into their ranks, which made them the most united and stable among the Five Sacred Grounds. Although there were occasional minor frictions between the Sacred Grounds, there were never any major grievances. However, a millennium ago, a new Sword Master ascended to power in the Heavenly Sword Villa—who is also the current Sword Master, Xuanyuan Wentian. One day, a little over a decade after his ascension, several small cities surrounding the Eternal Night Royal Family's core territory were suddenly enveloped by a black mist overnight. Everyone in those cities, from powerful profound practitioners to defenseless elderly, young, women, and children, died violently in the black mist. Soon, all suspicion pointed to the Eternal Night Royal Family, because when their core profound art, the ‘Eternal Night Phantom God Record,’ was activated, it would cause black mist to swirl around the user, whose entire body would turn black, and the mist would linger for days without dissipating.”

Hearing this, Yun Che generally understood what had happened. The name Xuanyuan Wentian, spoken by Feng Qianhui, made Yun Che's heart clench. After all, his grandfather, Yun Canghai, had been defeated by Xuanyuan Wentian. Even the Demon Emperor of the Illusory Demon Realm, who was both Canghai's master and friend, had died at Xuanyuan Wentian's hands. He whispered, “Could this have been a setup?”

“Precisely, it was a malicious framing, but at the time, no one knew it was a setup except for the one who orchestrated it,” Feng Qianhui said. “Subsequently, the Heavenly Sword Villa was the first to speak out, claiming the Eternal Night Royal Family was a ‘wicked blight’ that massacred innocent people to enhance their demonic power. Then, under the pretext of protecting the Sky Profound Continent and eliminating evil, they allied with the other three Sacred Grounds to besiege the Eternal Night Royal Family. Although the Eternal Night Royal Family was powerful, they simply could not stand against the combined might of the four Sacred Grounds and were ultimately annihilated. Only the King of the Eternal Night Royal Family remained. Under extreme resentment and sorrow, the King of Eternal Night suddenly underwent demonification.”

“Demonification?”

“Yes. When various negative emotions reach their peak, the principles governing one's own power can also become negative, transforming into terrifying negative energy. Such legends have existed since ancient times, but the King of Eternal Night was the first person to truly ‘demonify,’ proving that the rumors were not false. After all, with his entire clan annihilated and his wife and children cruelly murdered, he was bound to harbor hatred against the heavens and the earth. His demonification further solidified his reputation as a ‘demon,’ leading to his combined elimination by the masters of the other four Sacred Grounds. After his demonification, his soul underwent a drastic change; his body was destroyed, but his soul lingered indefinitely and even became indestructible. Therefore, the Sun Moon Divine Palace used a Soul-Sealing Coffin to lock away the King of Eternal Night's vengeful soul. The only key to open the coffin was discarded thousands of miles away, ensuring his hateful soul would never be freed. Now, a millennium has passed, and the King of Eternal Night's hateful soul should have long since dissipated.”

Yun Che propped his chin on his hand and asked, “Why would the Heavenly Sword Villa frame the Eternal Night Royal Family? What benefit would that bring them? Since you know the truth, do the other three Sacred Grounds also know it?”

“Because of the Eternal Night Royal Family's guardian sword—the Heaven Punishing Divine Sword,” Feng Qianhui replied. “Xuanyuan Wentian is a man of immense ambition. He yearns to be unrivaled under heaven and become its sole ruler. The Heaven Punishing Divine Sword is a divine sword protected by the Eternal Night Royal Family for generations. It is also the only ‘Profound Sovereign Sword’ and ‘Emperor of Swords’ on the Sky Profound Continent. Legend has it that whoever can wield the Heaven Punishing Divine Sword's power will be invincible throughout the Sky Profound Continent. However, for thousands of years, no one from the Eternal Night Royal Family had ever managed to wield it. As the Heavenly Sword Villa regards swords as their primary weapon and holds them in high reverence, its members had long coveted the Heaven Punishing Divine Sword. Xuanyuan Wentian especially was desperate to claim it for himself, which led to the subsequent malicious framing and the annihilation of the Eternal Night Royal Family. After that, the Heaven Punishing Divine Sword vanished without a trace; no one knows where it ended up, but it most likely fell into Xuanyuan Wentian's hands long ago. Eventually, the other three Sacred Grounds naturally noticed discrepancies and realized it might have been a conspiracy by the Heavenly Sword Villa, and that they had wrongly destroyed the Eternal Night Royal Family. However, as Sacred Grounds, even if they knew they were very likely wrong, or even manipulated, they could only accept the mistake and absolutely could not allow the reputation of the Sacred Grounds to be tarnished.”

“Therefore, they adamantly refused to clear the Eternal Night Royal Family's name. Instead, they increasingly propagated the Eternal Night Royal Family's reputation as a ‘wicked blight.’ To prevent future generations from uncovering the truth, they gradually erased all records and traces of the Eternal Night Royal Family's existence across the entire continent. Now, a millennium later, the name of the Eternal Night Royal Family has long been forgotten under the concealment of the Sacred Grounds, appearing only in extremely rare, incidental records within sects that are over a thousand years old.”

These words from Feng Qianhui revealed secrets that would be almost impossible to hear anywhere else. Yun Che naturally understood why Feng Qianhui was telling him this. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Supreme Palace Master, may I presumptuously ask, why does our sect have such detailed records of a millennium-old grudge between Sacred Grounds—a forbidden truth jointly concealed by the four Sacred Grounds?”

“Because the Queen of Eternal Night once saved the life of our ancestor, Mu Bingyun,” Feng Qianhui explained. “Though the Queen of Eternal Night possessed profound strength that had reached its peak and held an incredibly noble status, she was gentle and kind. Back then, she not only rescued our ancestor from the claw of a tyrannical profound beast but also, after killing the beast, bestowed its profound core upon her and offered numerous pointers that benefited our ancestor throughout her life. Without the Queen of Eternal Night's rescue and guidance, our ancestor would not have achieved the eminence she once held in the Azure Cloud Continent, nor would the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace exist today. Therefore, our ancestor regarded the Queen of Eternal Night as her lifelong benefactor and savior. She absolutely refused to believe the Eternal Night Royal Family could be a ‘wicked blight.’ However, our ancestor was powerless to redress the injustice or avenge the Eternal Night Royal Family. She could only preserve the truth, passing it down through generations within the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace to prevent it from being lost forever, and to warn all Ice Cloud disciples never to associate with the Heavenly Sword Villa!”

“Today, the Sword Master of the Heavenly Sword Villa is still Xuanyuan Wentian,” Feng Qianhui said solemnly. “With a Sword Master who harbors such ambition and employs such despicable and malicious methods, it's easy to imagine how corrupt the Heavenly Sword Villa must be. If you were to join the Heavenly Sword Villa in the future, my Ice Cloud Immortal Palace would sever all ties with you.”

Yun Che was well aware of the Heavenly Sword Villa's ambition; otherwise, his biological parents wouldn't have been hunted, his grandfather wouldn't have died, and he wouldn't have ended up in Floating Cloud City nineteen years ago. Of course, Feng Qianhui would not know of these personal grievances. Yun Che's emotions surged, and he seriously replied, “Thank you for your guidance, Supreme Palace Master. Your disciple will engrave it in his heart.”

“Good!” Feng Qianhui nodded slowly. "The words I've shared with you today, you must absolutely refrain from discussing with others. I'm telling you this because I trust you can discern right from wrong and understand the gravity of matters. Additionally," she glanced at Yun Che and Xia Qingyue, "though you and Qingyue bear the name of husband and wife, you must absolutely not consummate your marriage until Qingyue's Ice Enduring Divine Art reaches Grand Completion. The yin energy within a woman's body greatly assists the cultivation of ice-element profound arts. Once her primordial yin is lost, Qingyue's cultivation of the Ice Enduring Divine Art will inevitably be hindered, and she might even encounter a bottleneck that she can never break through in her lifetime. Qingyue is the future hope of my Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, and I absolutely cannot tolerate any mishaps in this regard. I trust you also understand the importance of this matter."

Xia Qingyue: “...”

"Cannot before the Grand Completion of the Ice Enduring Divine Art... Hmm, so that means it's perfectly fine after Grand Completion!" Yun Che had initially worried that the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace would require Xia Qingyue to preserve her primordial yin for life. However, Feng Qianhui's warning was practically a blatant hint. He quickly responded, "Yes, your disciple will respectfully abide by the Supreme Palace Master's instructions."

“Good!” Feng Qianhui nodded slowly, a smile appearing on her face. "I've said all I needed to say. Frankly, although you are the first male disciple in our palace's history, I am deeply comforted by your joining. After all, the two greatest young geniuses of the Azure Cloud Continent are now gathered in my Ice Cloud Immortal Palace."

“Your admission to the Ice Palace will not be announced today. We will inform the entire sect at tomorrow's sect meeting. If there's nothing else, Qingyue, please take Yun Che on a tour of the Ice Palace. You can take him anywhere you are permitted to go. Yuxian, stay behind.”

“Understood.”

Xia Qingyue stood up, bowed to Feng Qianhui, and then left with Yun Che.

As soon as they left, Gong Yuxian stood up and urgently asked, “Senior Martial Aunt, what was the real reason behind your decision today? Was it truly just because of Yun Che's current strength and influence?”

Feng Qianhui's gaze was profound. She tilted her head slightly, her voice filled with a mix of sighing and sorrow. “Yuxian, do you still remember the millennium prophecy left by our ancestor, Mu Bingyun, back then?”

Gong Yuxian froze, then her eyes trembled violently, and her expression changed. “Senior Martial Aunt, are you referring to the ‘Calamity of the Millennium’?”

“Exactly,” Feng Qianhui said, closing her eyes with a solemn expression. “Back then, the Ice Cloud Palace Master and the Heavenly Mechanism Wanderer of the Black Fiend Empire were close friends. The Heavenly Mechanism Sect was flourishing at the time, capable of peering into the Heavenly Dao and discerning heavenly secrets, with almost all their prophecies coming true. Ultimately, however, they faced divine retribution from the Heavenly Dao and were annihilated. When our ancestor established the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, the Heavenly Mechanism Wanderer peered into destiny and told her that the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace would prosper for a millennium, but after that, a great calamity would strike. If the palace could overcome this calamity, it would flourish for ten thousand years; if not, the name of Ice Cloud would cease to exist in the world. And now, the thousand-year mark has already arrived. For the past year, I've been constantly restless, even plagued by nightmares during my meditation. Furthermore, our palace has suddenly seen the emergence of a disciple with extraordinarily high talent like Qingyue, and the Ice Enduring Divine Art, dormant for a millennium, has reappeared. All these anomalies seem to be foretelling the arrival of the Calamity of the Millennium.”

Gong Yuxian's expression fluctuated, and she slowly sat down. “So, Senior Martial Aunt, that's why you were willing to break the sect rules and allow Yun Che to join our Ice Cloud Immortal Palace—to gain an extra measure of strength to contend with the great calamity that might be approaching?”

Feng Qianhui sighed, “Compared to the survival of our sect, what does breaking a few rules matter? Alas, I only hope that if the Calamity of the Millennium truly arrives, Heaven will protect my Ice Cloud!”