Chapter 156: Ancient Demon City

"Polsar County? Is this not the Great Jin Divine Dynasty?"
The ancestor of the Yi family frowned, hearing an unfamiliar name from Lin Fan's lips.
Having entered a state of suspended animation since ancient times, he had never left this subterranean palace and had long since lost contact with the outside world.
"The Great Jin Divine Dynasty still exists, except that it is now merely the Great Jin State."
Lin Fan shook his head, a hint of melancholy in his voice.
"I see. Even a divine dynasty of that era has declined. Rumor has it that the Great Jin Divine Dynasty once had an Immortal ancestor."
The ancestor of the Yi family could feel the desolation within those words even more deeply. He let out a gentle sigh and said nothing more.
"Even Immortals have their day of fall; it seems the Great Jin State was once a renowned and powerful force in ancient times."
Lin Fan was momentarily stunned, not expecting that the Great Jin State might still harbor a powerhouse at the Immortal realm. One had to know that every Immortal required boundless fortune and opportunity to achieve their status. Once they manifested, the heavens and earth would fracture, and they could traverse the river of time with an indestructible golden body.
"So what? In the end, dust returns to dust, and earth to earth. Immortals are not eternal."
The ancestor of the Yi family wore an indifferent expression, seemingly holding no fondness for the Great Jin Divine Dynasty of antiquity.
Hearing this, Lin Fan chuckled softly. Since the ancestor of the Yi family had been a servant to his senior brother, it was only natural that he would not hold the Great Jin Divine Dynasty in high regard.
"By the way, I would like to ask if you know someone called the Imperial Concubine?"
As if remembering something, Lin Fan suddenly inquired, his face devoid of any expression, as though it were a mere casual thought.
"The Imperial Concubine? Of course I know her. That man's woman."
A look of surprise crossed the ancestor of the Yi family's face before he replied, though he failed to notice the drastic change that had swept across Lin Fan's expression.
"What on earth is going on? Mo Xie didn't know the Imperial Concubine, yet the ancestor of the Yi family does, and judging by his tone, her reputation was far from insignificant. How strange."
Lin Fan frowned deeply and remained silent. However, he did not ask why Mo Xie knew nothing of the Imperial Concubine, for posing such a question would have seemed too deliberate and inappropriate.
"Very well, let us prepare to set off. If you have any matters to attend to, you may arrange them now, and we shall leave immediately."
Lin Fan pondered for a moment before speaking. By the time he raised his head, all expression had vanished from his face, calm as an ancient well.

"Hehe, there is nothing really to arrange. After all, my descendants are separated from me by goodness knows how many generations. But since you put it that way, I cannot pretend to be entirely ignorant."
The ancestor of the Yi family chuckled, his figure vanishing for a moment before returning shortly after—doubtless having passed down some fortuitous encounter to Yi Ming.
At this thought, Lin Fan could not help but offer a silent moment of sympathy for Mo Liuquan. To prolong his life, the ancestor of the Yi family had long since devoured everything of value within this palace, leaving behind only scraps utterly devoid of fortune.
Had the ancestor of the Yi family not awakened, Yi Ming would likely have gained nothing at all, which perhaps explained why the Nine-Sectioned Whip had never reached this place.
Countless years later, the teleportation array was activated once more, and a hazy multicolored radiance soared into the sky. Space twisted, and runes cascaded into the mortal realm—the unmistakable signs of a long-distance ancient teleportation array being triggered.
In a flash, the two vanished, and the entire subterranean palace plunged back into silence. Meanwhile, Yi Ming and the ancestor of the Mo family remained trapped within their respective arrays, completely oblivious to Lin Fan and his companion's departure.
Ancient Demon City enjoyed considerable renown within the Heavenly Martial Domain. Rumor had it that an ancient demon powerhouse had once fallen here, drawing numerous individuals to try their luck in hopes of obtaining the inheritance of the demon race.
On this day, an old man and a youth stepped through the gates of Ancient Demon City, blending into the flow of people and entering like ordinary mortals.
"Is this your hometown?"
The ancestor of the Yi family looked around with keen interest and asked.
"Not quite. I grew up in a sect; although there are some unpleasant memories, it can indeed be considered my hometown."
Lin Fan smiled faintly, feeling a sudden tremor of nervousness as he drew closer to home—the closer one gets, the more timid one feels.
The ancient teleportation array was not particularly close to Ancient Demon City, and the two had spent a full two days reaching the place, though given that they traveled with single-minded urgency, their pace had been quite swift.
The pair found a tavern, hoping to glean some useful intelligence.
"Senior Yi, what realm is your current strength roughly at?"
Lin Fan took a sip of tea and inquired. This was indeed a question that piqued his interest. The ancestor of the Yi family had once been a peak Imperial-realm powerhouse, but to sustain his life, he had exhausted his vital blood, causing his cultivation to plummet. He should be far inferior to his former self.
"I am not an Ancestral-realm powerhouse after all. Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible for me to survive until now. It is merely because I obtained certain secret arts in the past, continuously paying the price of dropping realms, that I managed to barely survive. If not for my master's awakening this time, I would likely have perished within a few decades."
The ancestor of the Yi family gave a bitter smile and continued, "As things stand, I possess only the combat power of the mid-Void-Breaking realm. However, my comprehension from the past remains; ordinary peak Void-Breaking experts are no match for me. Still, it is not absolute—against those wielding Ancestral artifacts or peak Void-Breaking experts blessed with supreme talent, I am still no match."
"That is enough."
Lin Fan nodded, unsurprised. He had already guessed that the ancestor of the Yi family possessed peak Void-Breaking combat power; otherwise, the three attacks manifested by that figure during the first trial in the grand hall of the subterranean palace would not have been limited to the Void-Breaking realm.
The Heavenly Martial Domain and the Ancient Buddha Domain were of the same tier, meaning the peak combat power here should also be the Void-Breaking realm. Lin Fan knew the strength of the Heavenly Capital Gate master, who likely had not yet reached the peak Void-Breaking realm. Viewed in this light, the ancestor of the Yi family was already powerful enough to roam unhindered, and as long as no Title-realm figures were involved, self-preservation would not be a problem.
"I never thought that mere Void-Breaking realm cultivators could now be called big figures. In ancient times, only Emperors were big figures, and the Ancestral realm were great beings."
The ancestor of the Yi family sighed with emotion, earning himself countless sideways glances from Lin Fan, though Lin Fan did not bother to respond. There was simply no point arguing with an old antique like him.
Knowing the ancestor's strength, Lin Fan ceased his questioning and began to listen to the discussions of the crowd around him, hoping to harvest some useful intelligence.
Unfortunately, though the tavern was buzzing with noise, most were discussing trivial matters completely unrelated to what Lin Fan sought.
"It is useless to do this. You might as well just capture someone and interrogate them."
The ancestor of the Yi family let out a cold snort. He had guessed Lin Fan's intentions, but did not agree with the approach.
"Very well."
Lin Fan sighed in resignation. In truth, it was quite normal; the tavern he had chosen was terribly ordinary, frequented mostly by commoners, so naturally, no profound secrets would be found here.
At that moment, the entire tavern suddenly fell silent as a small group of figures walked through the doors—both men and women, three in total.
The trio cast arrogant glances around the tavern, then frowned slightly upon discovering that every single table was occupied and no seats remained.
However, one of them's eyes lit up upon spotting an empty table by the window, and they strode directly toward it.
"Let's hope nobody comes looking for trouble."
Lin Fan and the ancestor of the Yi family exchanged glances, each reading a trace of astonishment in the other's eyes, for those people were heading straight for their table.