Chapter 405: Wanting to Become a Martial God

The Director of the Great Li Hidden Intelligence Bureau kept his eyes closed and said nothing. Even battered and covered in wounds from the Old Ancestor's treatment of him, he paid no attention whatsoever to the man's questions.

At the sight, a glint of killing intent surfaced in the Old Ancestor's eyes, but he did not move to finish the man. He only narrowed his gaze and said, "This old one has heard that before the three Martial Gods of the martial world advanced to the Transcendent Realm, all of them visited a place called the Heavenly Martial Abyss, and after returning from there each stepped to the very pinnacle of the martial path."

"Previously, this old one learned from the emperor that the Yuanwu Emperor appears to possess a method for entering the Heavenly Martial Abyss. This old one has no need for you to hand over that method."

"After all, the Yuanwu Emperor would never share something like that with a subordinate like you. This old one only wants to know whether any of this is true."

For a supreme expert of the Old Ancestor's level, the greatest obsession of his life was the Transcendent Realm.

Yet despite his martial cultivation being nearly unrivaled across the entire Great Xuan martial world, he always felt the Transcendent Realm was still impossibly far away.

He had long since abandoned all hope of reaching it in this lifetime, but after obtaining the Longevity Scripture, the ambition had ignited within him once more.

And beyond that, if he could reach the Transcendent Realm, the Life and Death Talisman Li Musheng had planted in him would cease to hold any power. He would no longer be at another person's mercy, and could reclaim his dignity.

As for how to become a Martial God, looking at the entire history of the martial world, there was a little-known piece of lore: it almost always required a certain catalyst.

And that catalyst was a place called the Heavenly Martial Abyss.

"If you answer this old one's question, this old one may consider letting you leave."

At that, the Old Ancestor suddenly added one more condition.

At those words, the Director of the Hidden Intelligence Bureau slowly opened his eyes and looked at the Old Ancestor before him, a flicker of something unusual in his expression, "You have never mentioned letting me leave before. And your words are not something I have any reason to trust."

The Old Ancestor gave a cold laugh, "Whether you trust it is your own affair. But this is the only chance you have of leaving this place."

As he said this, the Old Ancestor continued in a meaningful tone, "As the Director of the Great Li Hidden Intelligence Bureau, you traveled all the way to Taixuan City and broke into the Great Xuan imperial palace at night. This old one knows you must have carried a critically important purpose."

"But this old one is not interested in your purpose. Only a reminder, with your best interests at heart: if you say nothing at all, you will remain confined in this lightless chamber forever, and whatever you came here to do will never have any chance of being done."

At those words, the Director of the Hidden Intelligence Bureau's expression shifted, and he was visibly hesitant.

Before breaking into the Great Xuan imperial palace, he had naturally anticipated that there would be powerful experts stationed there. But the Old Ancestor's martial cultivation had been formidable enough to seize him in a single move, which had genuinely caught him off guard.

It had also left him deeply worried about whether Li Musheng would be able to rescue his Senior Sister in the face of someone this powerful.

And today was the first time the man had shown any willingness to negotiate, offering to release him.

Whether that offer was genuine or not was uncertain, but he had no other option to consider.

After a brief silence, the Director kept his gaze on the Old Ancestor and said, "I can tell you what you want to know. But you must first answer me one question. How did you come to know about the Yuanwu Emperor and the Heavenly Martial Abyss?"

At those words, the Old Ancestor narrowed his eyes faintly. The Director's question was already a tacit confirmation of the matter he had asked about.

Even so, he looked the man over with genuine curiosity and replied, "This old one is not the only one who knows of it. The imperial families of all four kingdoms beyond Great Li know as well. The one who spread this information was a mysterious figure. This old one had people look into them, but unfortunately found no results."

A flicker of startled uncertainty crossed the Director's eyes, but he pressed his doubts down, "The Yuanwu Emperor does indeed possess a method for entering the Heavenly Martial Abyss. But the conditions required are extremely harsh, and nearly impossible to fulfill. As for those who know of it, throughout all of Great Li there are no more than four people outside the Emperor himself."

"The only ones who could have spread the news are among those four. But in my judgment, none of those four would ever betray the Emperor."

The Old Ancestor sat in silent thought, and though he had received a definitive answer from the Director's own mouth, he was clearly turning something over in his mind. He then gave the man a long, searching look and said, "Have you not considered that this might be something the Yuanwu Emperor himself spread deliberately?"

At those words, the Director's eyes went briefly blank, but he recovered quickly and changed the subject, "Since I have answered your question, will you fulfill your promise and release me?"

The Old Ancestor gave a slight nod, "Naturally. As the Director of the Great Li Hidden Intelligence Bureau, you broke into the Great Xuan imperial palace by force. By rights, this old one would have been entirely justified in killing you on the spot."

"Even so, with an alliance between Great Li and Great Xuan now imminent, this old one can afford to be generous and spare your life."

At those words, the Director's face showed an expression of clear shock, "An alliance? Great Li is currently surrounded by all four kingdoms. Why would Great Xuan be willing to form an alliance with Great Li? What hidden motive lies behind this?"

The Old Ancestor gave a cold laugh and offered no explanation, only saying, "Once you are out of here, you will naturally understand why."

With that, he seemed to have lost interest in the Director before him, and with a wave of his hand, released the seals on the man.

At the sight, the Director was briefly taken aback. He had not expected the man to truly follow through so easily and simply let him go.

He was about to ask about the reason, but the Old Ancestor grabbed him, moved in an instant, and appeared above the Great Xuan imperial palace.

Then he simply threw the Director out over the palace walls.

The Old Ancestor watched the Director's figure streak across the rooftops of the palace buildings below, growing more and more distant until he shrank to a black dot and disappeared over the horizon.

The Old Ancestor's eyes were cold and expressionless. Were it not for his wariness of Li Musheng, he could have acted as he pleased and killed this man long ago.

Being subject to another person's control was deeply uncomfortable, but it only sharpened his hunger for the Transcendent Realm.

"The day I become a Martial God, I will make all of you repay this debt a hundredfold."

The Old Ancestor murmured this quietly, then vanished from the air above the palace hall in an instant, returning to the chamber below.

The Heavenly Martial Abyss was the key to stepping into the Transcendent Realm. He now knew the Yuanwu Emperor held a method for entering it.

That was his hope for the future. What he needed to figure out next was how to obtain that method from the Yuanwu Emperor, and he could not let Li Musheng, the Eighth Prince of Great Li, get there first.