Chapter 501: Cloud Family Territory

Yun Che looked up, and in the northeastern part of the city, he indeed saw a plume of purple light soaring skyward. However, this purple light was quite faint; if one didn't pay close attention, it might even be overlooked.

“What is that purple light?” Yun Che asked.

Yun Xiao’s expression dimmed slightly as he replied, “It’s the light from our Yun family’s ancestral monument. Our Yun family cultivates Thunder-attribute profound arts, and when profound energy is released, it appears purple. The stronger the profound energy, the deeper the purple. Also… Big Brother Yun, have you heard of Profound Gang?”

Yun Che nodded. “I know it’s a unique bloodline ability of the Yun family, right?”

“Yes.” A hint of sadness flickered across Yun Xiao’s face as he spoke of Profound Gang. He continued, “The most extreme state of Profound Gang is purple, which is why purple has always been the most sacred color to the Yun family. In our family, every Yun family disciple must fully release their profound energy towards the ancestral monument on their birthday each year, to ensure the monument continuously emits purple profound light. My father said that a hundred years ago, when the Yun family was at its peak, the monument’s light continuously illuminated half the sky of Demon Imperial City. But now… as you can see, it’s so faint it’s almost imperceptible. The weakening of the purple light on the ancestral monument directly reflects the significant decline in our Yun family’s overall strength…”

“Could the Demon King’s unknown fate have impacted the Yun family to such an extent?” Yun Che asked in surprise.

“If it were simply my grandfather’s unknown fate, it wouldn’t have come to this, of course. Many other factors are involved…” Yun Xiao’s expression grew somber.

Yun Che was silent for a moment, then slowed his flight and said, “Yun Xiao, could you tell me more about the reasons for the Yun family’s decline? After all, my surname is also Yun, so I’m very curious… Of course, if it’s inconvenient, never mind.”

Yun Xiao shook his head. “There’s nothing inconvenient about it, because it’s no secret at all in the Illusionary Demon Realm; anyone can easily find out. If Big Brother Yun wants to know, there’s no reason for me to hide it.”

Yun Xiao tilted his head slightly, his expression somewhat wistful. “A hundred years ago, the Yun family truly flourished. Thanks to our ability to use Profound Gang, our position as the head of the Twelve Guardian Families had never been challenged. One could say that in the entire Illusionary Demon Realm, apart from the Illusionary Demon Royal Family—that is, the Demon Emperor’s clan protected by the Twelve Families—there was only the Yun family. For generations, the Yun family had been fiercely loyal to the Illusionary Demon Royal Family, and the Royal Family had always valued and trusted us the most. Even their most important supreme treasure, the Samsara Mirror, was entrusted to the Yun family for safekeeping… In my grandfather’s generation, he and the Demon Emperor were not only lord and vassal but also grew up and trained together, were the best of friends, and literally life-and-death companions. Although our Yun family belongs to the human race, my grandfather was bestowed the title of ‘Demon King’ by the Demon Emperor, implicitly meaning he could stand as an equal to the Demon Emperor. This was a tremendous honor for the entire Yun family, a privilege the other eleven guardian families could only dream of.”

“However, over two hundred years ago, a force from another continent suddenly intruded. Those people came from a place called the Heavenly Profound Continent. They seemed to have constructed a teleportation array capable of traversing millions of miles across the sea, thereby reaching the Illusionary Demon Realm. Their arrival was not a mere visit but a blatant invasion. They somehow learned that our Illusionary Demon Realm’s Demon Emperor clan possessed a Heaven-defying Profound Heavenly Treasure with power strong enough to defy the heavens, and thus they sought to seize it. Each of them was incredibly powerful, and every time they arrived, they brought powerful escape treasures, leaving Demon Imperial City repeatedly invaded but helpless. Over the course of a century, they invaded more than twenty times. A hundred years ago, the Demon Emperor finally lost his patience. After another invasion, he personally pursued them in a fit of rage, chasing them all the way to the profound teleportation array they used. In a moment of impulse, he rushed into their teleportation array before they could deactivate it, and was thus teleported to the Heavenly Profound Continent along with them. Soon after, news arrived that the Demon Emperor had died in the Heavenly Profound Continent… and there was no further word from him.”

Yun Che was speechless.

“Each of those invaders was terrifyingly strong. Although the Demon Emperor was powerful, once on their territory, it would be a death sentence. Even the Demon Emperor’s clan accepted this fact. However, my grandfather always refused to believe the Demon Emperor had died. Later, my grandfather used a secret Yun family artifact, forcefully tearing open a spatial passage leading to the Heavenly Profound Continent. Then, disregarding everyone’s advice, he took the ten strongest Grand Elders of the family and went to the Heavenly Profound Continent to search for the Demon Emperor.”

“The ten strongest Grand Elders?” Yun Che was slightly startled.

“Yes,” Yun Xiao nodded. “Including my grandfather, they were the eleven strongest seniors in the Yun family at the time. But after that, none of them ever returned. It wasn’t until a few months later that news arrived from the Heavenly Profound Continent, saying that my grandfather had been captured alive and imprisoned, and that our Yun family had to trade the Demon Emperor’s treasure, which we had guarded for generations, for his life. However, most people believed my grandfather was already dead, and that the people of the Heavenly Profound Continent said he was imprisoned merely to trick the Yun family into falling into a trap.”

Yun Che was speechless again.

“The Yun family lost its eleven strongest core experts; our top-tier strength instantly plummeted to the weakest among the Twelve Families. Most critically, when my grandfather went to the Heavenly Profound Continent, he was carrying the Demon Emperor’s Seal of the Illusionary Demon Royal Family. The Demon Emperor’s Seal was even more important to the Illusionary Demon Royal Family than the Samsara Mirror, as it was crucial for the succession ritual before a Demon Emperor could ascend. After that, everyone said that my grandfather, in his impulsiveness, not only sealed his own fate but also lost the most important artifact of the Demon Emperor clan… and the entire Yun family had to bear the burden of this enormous crime. The Yun family was punished; not only were our annual resources cut by half, but we were also forbidden from entering the ‘Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley’ for a hundred years.”

“The reduction in resources and being barred from the best place for training and fortuitous encounters might not have greatly affected the older generation, but the impact on the younger generation was immense. This also caused the strength of the Yun family’s new generation of disciples to be far inferior to other guardian families, and even the power of Profound Gang could not compensate.”

“Soon after the Demon Emperor and my grandfather met with misfortune, the Illusionary Demon Royal Family was forced to establish a new Demon Emperor. Thus, the Demon Emperor’s only son ascended to the throne… However, without the Demon Emperor’s Seal, the succession ritual could not be performed, and thus, without the ‘Golden Crow Divine Seal,’ he was destined not to become a true Demon Emperor and could only be referred to as the ‘Little Demon Emperor.’ The day after the Little Demon Emperor ascended, he married the Little Demon Empress. However, no one expected that on their wedding night, the Little Demon Emperor did not return to the bridal chamber… He left a note stating that he had not avenged his father and thus had no face to complete the marriage. He also said that if he didn’t return within three years, the Little Demon Empress should become the Illusionary Demon Emperor… But, less than ten days later, news arrived from the Heavenly Profound Continent that the Little Demon Emperor had died.”

Yun Che was stunned.

In the Heavenly Profound Continent, the Four Great Sacred Grounds existed as incredibly sacred entities. According to legends, they protected the entire Heavenly Profound Continent, isolated it from crises from other continents, and especially resisted the “covetous” and “ambitious” Illusionary Demon Realm. In the legends of the Heavenly Profound Continent, the Illusionary Demon Realm was an extremely terrifying and wicked place, always eager to annex the Heavenly Profound Continent… The people of the Illusionary Demon Realm were called wicked “demonic beings.”

But what Yun Che was hearing now was diametrically opposed to those rumors from the Heavenly Profound Continent.

It was not the constantly maligned Illusionary Demon Realm that was evil, but rather those Sacred Grounds that claimed to be divine protectors…

“What happened next?” Yun Che asked wistfully.

Yun Xiao continued, “Later, the Little Demon Empress ascended to the throne, becoming the new Illusionary Demon Emperor. And then… our Yun family suffered another massive blow. Because continuous news arrived from the Heavenly Profound Continent that my grandfather was not dead, but imprisoned, twenty-five years ago, my father could finally no longer bear it. He and my mother activated the secret artifact again and quietly journeyed to the Heavenly Profound Continent to search for my grandfather. I hadn’t been born yet at that time… Three years later, my parents finally returned. Although they returned alive, they both carried extremely severe injuries, and due to their long period of evasion, they had no time to tend to their wounds, which resulted in all their profound veins being damaged and their profound energy almost entirely crippled. And I, unfortunately, was born in the Heavenly Profound Continent, making my parents flee with me… then they safely brought me back to the Illusionary Demon Realm.”

At this point, Yun Xiao lowered his head, preventing Yun Che from seeing the unusual look in his eyes, then he continued in a softer voice, “The Yun family’s experts were already dwindling. After my parents were crippled, it dealt another significant blow to the Yun family’s strength. Most critically, when my parents went to the Heavenly Profound Continent, they personally carried the supreme treasure—the Samsara Mirror—that they guarded for the Illusionary Demon Royal Family. Although they returned to the Illusionary Demon Realm… they lost the Samsara Mirror. The Yun family, already bearing the crime of losing the Demon Emperor’s Seal, thus had their crime compounded, receiving even harsher penalties. Our annual resources were cut by ninety percent, and we were permanently forbidden from entering the ‘Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley.’ The Illusionary Demon Royal Family was greatly enraged by this, even considering expelling our Yun family from the ranks of the Twelve Guardian Families.”

“Given that it was such an important item, they should have known the dangers they might face when going to the Heavenly Profound Continent. Why did they carry it with them?” Yun Che asked in confusion. This was a question that had always puzzled him.

Yun Xiao fell silent. After hesitating for a long while, he quietly said, “I once overheard my mother secretly tell me that, in fact, it was the Little Demon Empress’s instruction.”

“The Little Demon Empress’s instruction?”

“Yes. That item called the Samsara Mirror had been passed down within the Illusionary Demon Royal Family for many, many years. Although it was called a Heaven-defying supreme treasure, it was said that no Demon Emperor, regardless of generation, had ever seen it function, and no one had ever known how to use it or what its true purpose was. The Little Demon Empress told my father back then that if such a useless treasure could be traded for the Demon King’s life, it would be extremely worthwhile for the Illusionary Demon Realm… When my father returned, he couldn’t bring my grandfather back, and he also lost the Samsara Mirror. He didn’t say that taking the Samsara Mirror was the Little Demon Empress’s idea; instead, he took all the blame upon himself… because after the Little Demon Empress ascended, there had always been many detractors within the Illusionary Demon Royal Family. My father didn’t want the Little Demon Empress to bear even greater pressure because of this. After that, the Yun family’s influence plummeted once again, and my father’s reputation was… was…”

He let out a long sigh, and thinking of his father, a pang of pain twisted his heart.

Yun Che slowly processed Yun Xiao’s words. Some of the things he said largely overlapped with what Yun Che had heard from Yun Canghai, confirming that Yun Xiao was speaking earnestly and truthfully. The two were silent for a moment when Yun Che suddenly spoke softly, “Yun Xiao, your father is still the Yun family patriarch… With his profound energy crippled and having taken all the blame upon himself, did your family not force him to step down?”

“…Because of my maternal grandfather,” Yun Xiao said softly. “My maternal grandfather is the patriarch of the Mu family, and I also have a maternal uncle who is the young patriarch of the Mu family. Both of them hold considerable prestige and status in Demon Imperial City. Both my grandfather and my uncle are especially kind to my mother. My maternal grandfather supporting my father is one reason. Additionally, as our Yun family’s influence grew weaker and our standing became increasingly low, if we still wanted to remain among the Twelve Guardian Families, we could not lose the Mu family’s support… However, even though my father remains in the position of patriarch, fewer and fewer people listen to him. Sometimes, my father’s authority is even less than that of a slightly higher-ranking elder, and the Grand Elders never obey him… They are willing for my father to remain patriarch solely because of the Mu family’s deterrent influence and their unwillingness to lose the Mu family’s assistance.”