Chapter 697 - 696: Desolate Bone Forest

Chapter 697: Chapter 696: Desolate Bone Forest

After Yi Tianyun used his Charm to lure the Spirit King Stage expert inside, he immediately began his interrogation. A dignified Spirit King Stage expert like this was likely an elder. He would certainly know more than the guards outside, so questioning him was the most direct approach.

"Yi Xingchen and Jiao Linghe. Do you know of them?" Yi Tianyun didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly.

"I do. Yi Xingchen defied the Second Elder’s orders and ran away with Jiao Linghe," the elder stated plainly.

Their eyes lit up when they heard this. This outcome was exactly what they had hoped for. If Jiao Linghe had been abandoned, it would have been a true tragedy. Of course, had that been the case, Yi Tianyun would have surely taught Yi Xingchen a harsh lesson. Acknowledging such a man as his father would have been out of the question.

"Then do you know where they are now?" Yi Tianyun asked.

"I’m not sure. After Yi Xingchen ran off with her, they were never seen again. The Second Elder sent men to search for a long time, but they never found any trace of them..." the elder answered truthfully.

"How long have they been gone?" Yi Tianyun asked again.

"It’s been more than ten years. Since it was a scandal, the Clan Leaders completely suppressed the matter, ordering everyone to never speak of it. The Second Elder disowned his son and banished him from the Sealing Heaven Divine Kingdom forever!" the elder said.

Yi Tianyun and Shi Xueyun nodded. No wonder they couldn’t find out anything. It was a family scandal they wanted to keep hidden, so a gag order had been issued, forbidding anyone from speaking of it.

Over time, it was only natural that most people had forgotten about them.

’It seems my father isn’t a heartless man after all.’ Yi Tianyun smiled. He rather admired his father’s actions. If he had abandoned his mother for status within the Sealing Heaven Divine Kingdom, that would have been truly despicable.

"Yes. Your father wouldn’t have looked twice at an ordinary woman. Since he chose Jiao Linghe, he certainly wouldn’t have eyes for anyone else..." Shi Xueyun shook her head, a sense of relief in her heart. All that mattered was that they were alive.

’Even though we don’t know where they are, just knowing they’re together is enough. They must have hidden away to live in seclusion somewhere, right?’

But if that was the case, they should have gone to the Lower Celestial Realm to find Yi Tianyun. It had been over a decade, yet they hadn’t appeared. Something was obviously amiss.

Yi Tianyun proceeded to ask a few more questions, mostly about the current state of the Sealing Heaven Divine Kingdom, but he didn’t learn much. The elder knew precious little about his parents. The most he knew was that they had eloped, which had so enraged the Second Elder—Yi Tianyun’s grandfather—that he had disowned his own son.

Beyond that, the elder’s knowledge was a complete blank.

"It seems that in the end, we still haven’t found any news about my sister..." Shi Xueyun sighed, filled with regret.

"Don’t worry. I’m here. There’s no one I can’t find." Yi Tianyun smiled, leaving Shi Xueyun stunned. She wondered what kind of ability he would reveal this time.

Yi Tianyun’s method was simple: buy Soul Guidance! The price of three million Madness Value was not low, but he had no other choice.

He had originally thought he would be able to find them or at least get information just by coming here. In the end, it seemed he couldn’t save that Madness Value after all. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and buy the Soul Guidance.

He immediately purchased the Soul Guidance from the Shop, and most of his Madness Value was wiped out in an instant. He had earned a large portion of it by eliminating those cultivators back at the Ascension Divine Altar, and the rest by selling off weapons and other items to scrape it all together.

Now, after buying the Soul Guidance, he only had a few hundred thousand Madness Value left. It was like he was back to square one overnight.

’Use Soul Guidance!’

Once the Soul Guidance was activated, it attached itself to his main quest. Immediately, he felt a force pulling at him, urging him forward.

"Alright, let’s go." Yi Tianyun took her and vanished on the spot, easily using Teleportation to reappear outside. It was a long while before the elder came to his senses, completely unaware of what had just transpired.

"What am I doing here? Oh, right, I have things to attend to..." The elder had no recollection whatsoever; his memories had been erased.

To be precise, he had been made to forget. One had to admit, the Charm ability was quite formidable.

After they left, they quickly flew away. Shi Xueyun thought for a moment before asking, "Tianyun, do you know where we’re going?"

"I have an idea," Yi Tianyun said with a smile. He certainly wasn’t going to tell her that the Soul Guidance was what allowed him to track them.

"An idea? But we didn’t learn anything useful..." Shi Xueyun found it very strange. She had been right there beside him the entire time and had no idea how he could know where to go.

"I’m just going to search around a bit, try my luck." He really had no way to explain the principle behind it; Shi Xueyun wouldn’t have understood even if he tried.

"I suppose so. For now, all we can do is try our luck and ask for information along the way." Shi Xueyun smiled faintly, feeling a bit more at ease.

She had been somewhat comforted when she learned that Yi Xingchen had not been abandoned by Jiao Linghe. Her greatest fear was some cliché scenario where she was cast aside.

Afterward, they mounted the phoenix and quickly departed, flying toward their destination. Yi Tianyun didn’t know where he would be led, but he only needed to know one thing: it was, without a doubt, the right path!

They flew on without stopping, not once descending to ask for directions. As they continued, the regions they traversed grew increasingly remote. The landscape turned into a desolate wilderness, devoid of any human presence, and they soon found themselves entering a rather dangerous zone.

The Mortal Realm had plenty of dangerous zones, let alone the Celestial Realm. The Celestial Realm was filled with perilous regions, some so treacherous that not even a Saint King would dare to enter rashly, as they could easily perish within.

The region they were now heading toward was one of the Celestial Realm’s most dangerous zones: the Desolate Bone Forest. As soon as they arrived, they could see piles of skeletons stacked up both inside and outside the forest. A sinister aura billowed out from within. Any ordinary Cultivator who trespassed would be corroded by this intense Yin Qi.

Staying for a short period might be fine, but a prolonged stay would cause one’s Yang Qi to drain away, potentially leading to death.

"The Desolate Bone Forest? Why would they be in the Desolate Bone Forest?"

Yi Tianyun was taken aback. He had assumed they would be living in seclusion in some small village or a remote mountain wilderness. Why would they be in a dangerous zone? This was strange, exceptionally so.

’Did they hide here to evade being found? But I remember the elder said the search was called off. They have no ties to the Sealing Heaven Divine Kingdom anymore.’

For them to still be hiding here meant something was definitely wrong.

’Did they come to the Desolate Bone Forest on purpose?’ Yi Tianyun’s brow furrowed. This place was incredibly dangerous. Although it might not be lethal for a Saint King Stage expert, even a Spirit King Stage expert could run into fatal trouble here!