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"Is it you?"

Zhu Chen turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.

A figure emerged from behind the screen on the side of the reception room.

The person was wearing a light blue long dress with embroidered cloud and water patterns on the hem. Her face was beautiful and had a calm demeanor that came with the passage of time. It was Ye Qingxian.

Ye Qingxian looked almost exactly the same as when Zhu Chen last saw her; the otherworldly air about her remained unchanged.

However, the other party now looked at Zhu Chen with an extremely obvious scrutinizing gaze.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, it's been a long time..."

Zhu Chen raised an eyebrow slightly, not expecting that the person Qin Changsheng was talking about would be her.

Ye Qingxian did not respond immediately.

Her gaze lingered on Zhu Chen for several breaths, her clear eyes swirling with a complex mix of emotions—surprise, emotion, and a hint of shock that even she couldn't completely hide.

Ye Qingxian looked Zhu Chen up and down twice, and finally said softly, "The last time I saw you, you were only at the Venerable Realm. How long has it been? You've already reached the peak of the Void Realm."

She paused deliberately at this point, then her tone shifted to one of undisguised admiration: "In my lifetime, I've seen many extraordinary talents, but those whose cultivation speed can rival yours can be counted on one hand." Zhu Chen smiled, not responding to Ye Qingxian's comment, but instead changing the subject, asking directly, "Fellow Daoist Ye specifically asked Clan Chief Qin to send a message summoning me here; may I ask what brings you here?"

Ye Qingxian smiled and walked to the stone table, sat down, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then said, "Zhu Chen, what you did outside the Immortal Ancient Secret Realm this time was a bit too much."

"Is there?"

Zhu Chen didn't rush to refute, but listened quietly.

Ye Qingxian hesitated for a moment, then continued, "You slaughtered so many sect leaders outside the Immortal Ancient Secret Realm, at least twenty or thirty in total, right? There aren't many sect leaders in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths to begin with. Each one is a pillar cultivated by various ancient sects and families with countless resources. You killed so many in one go, destroyed the Immortal Palace, and even killed a remnant immortal at your hands."

"The number of top-tier combatants in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths is significantly less than before. Have you considered what we would use to resist if the alien realm were to choose to invade the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths at this time?"

Qin Changsheng's expression changed slightly after hearing Ye Qingxian's words.

"Hehe~"

Zhu Chen smiled dismissively, put down his teacup, met Ye Qingxian's gaze, and replied in a calm tone: "The Immortal Palace was originally a traitor to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. Even if I don't destroy it, it won't do anything to the alien invasion of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. On the contrary, if we kill them now, at least we won't have to worry about being stabbed in the back when we go to war with the aliens in the future."

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingxian's brows furrowed instantly.

Even Qin Changsheng's hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air.

The Shi Hao and Qin Hao brothers were completely stunned. They never dreamed that Zhu Chen would accuse the Immortal Palace of being a traitor to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

"What did you say?"

Qin Changsheng's voice suddenly rose several decibels.

He stared at Zhu Chen, his face filled with shock, and asked, "The Immortal Palace is a traitor to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths? How is that possible? The Immortal Palace has been one of the leading forces in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths since the Immortal Ancient Era. They have fought countless wars against the alien realms. How could they be traitors?"

Qin Hao followed up, asking, "Yes, Brother Zhu Chen, you can't just say things like that. The Immortal Palace holds a very important position in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. Do you have any evidence to prove that they are traitors?"

Zhu Chen glanced at the two of them, then didn't keep them in suspense.

He reached into the cave and took out a jade slip, placing it on the table. He had found it on the jade shelves when he was scavenging the Immortal Palace's headquarters. It contained records of some secret exchanges between the successive generations of the Immortal Palace and other realms.

"The Immortal Palace has had connections with other realms since the end of the Immortal Ancient Era."

Zhu Chen pushed the jade slip in front of Ye Qingxian and said calmly, "Back then, during the great calamity at the end of the Immortal Ancient Era, the Remnant Immortal's true body was shattered, and only a wisp of his soul escaped. How did he survive? He survived thanks to a celestial spring given to him by the alien realm. In exchange, the Immortal Palace secretly provided the alien realm with intelligence and resources from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths for countless years afterward. Think about it, why does the Immortal Palace only accept one successor per generation? Because the fewer people there are, the less likely it is to leak information. On the surface, they are fighting against the alien realm, but what kind of war are they actually fighting? It's just a show for outsiders."

Ye Qingxian picked up the jade slip and quickly scanned it with her divine sense.

However, her expression grew increasingly somber as she read, eventually turning almost ashen.

She was from the future and had heard rumors about the Immortal Palace before, but she never expected it to be true. Qin Changsheng also came over to take a look.

Just a few seconds later, an expression of disbelief also appeared on his usually composed old face.

"Where did you find these things?"

Ye Qingxian put down the jade slip, her voice no longer carrying the reproachful tone from before.

"Right here in the Immortal Palace's headquarters, in their own secret vault..."

Zhu Chen put the jade slip back into his cave, and then continued, "Before he died, the Remnant Immortal tried to use the Immortal-Breaking Curse to drag me down with him, but he miscalculated. Over the years, the Immortal Palace has maintained its transcendent status in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths by colluding with the foreign realms. How much of their so-called achievements are real, and how much is a show put on by the foreign realms in cooperation with them? You can think about it yourselves."

Ye Qingxian remained silent for a long while after hearing this.

She picked up her teacup, took a sip, then put it down, tapped her fingers lightly on the table twice, and finally let out a long sigh: "If the Immortal Palace really is a traitor, then it's not a bad thing that you destroyed them. But even so, it's a fact that the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths have lost too many top-tier combat forces. If the alien realms take advantage of this time to invade, our situation will be even more difficult than before."

"You're right."

Zhu Chen nodded and said, "Actually, I had considered this point before, but have you thought about it? The forces in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths are basically a disorganized mess, especially those forces that follow the Immortal Palace. Do you think they would all step in to help if the alien realms invaded the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths?"

Zhu Chen's words made Ye Qingxian and Qin Changsheng frown at the same time.

Indeed, they couldn't guarantee that all those forces would step forward to fight against the alien realm. Such a thing had happened before in the previous era.

No one can guarantee that this era won't happen again...

……