The juniors nearby took a deep breath after hearing this tale. A while ago, some of them wanted to play around, thinking that Ascension Pond was very interesting.

This was no longer the case. They felt as if there was a pair of dark eyes staring at them from behind, causing cold sweat to drip down their back.

“Dao Brother, you must be talking about Mad Emperor?” A different big shot nearby quietly asked.

The elder only gave him a cold glare without answering.

“Our ancestor, Mad Emperor?” One of the juniors blurted out.

The elder didn’t confirm this and stared at Ascension Pond in silence.

This was obviously an answer so the disciples of his sect slowly digested this information.

Mad Emperor was their strongest ancestor but there were few writings about him in the sect. The older seniors never talked about him either. It was as if he was a stranger, not a respected ancestor in the sect.

The disciples finally understood why now, shuddering with a grim realization.

A brilliant and powerful emperor eventually died from his own insanity with quite a tale behind it all.

An emperor alone was invincible enough in the mind of these juniors, let alone an exceptional one. What in the world could trouble a being of this level? Alas, he still suffered a sad fate in the end.

“Is this a curse?” One junior said while trembling.

“The heart devil.” The senior coldly uttered: “The moment one makes the deal, the heart devil will be hiding in the deepest part of your mind, ready to devour at a given notice.”

“I see…” The juniors nearby became afraid. Their great ancestor couldn’t escape this curse, let alone regular cultivators like them.

“Still want to try now?” The elder asked.

The juniors exchanged glances and shook their head as quickly as the movement of the tides. They no longer stared at Ascension Pond with the same excitement as before. The same fear as the elder’s could be seen now.

***

“How strange.” The bull stared at the resplendent world: “Why is there an additional barrier there? To stop people from entering?”

“Because something big had happened. Even that thing is entering a state of defense. Use your imagination now.” Li Qiye said.

“Wait, so the blinding explosion from Sky Ruins actually came from the pond on that day when the meteor first arrived?” Holyfrost recalled the previous event.

“s.h.i.+t, a monster, no, an overlord is coming.” The bull took a deep breath and said: “The pond has greater foresight than we do.”

Holyfrost shuddered after seeing this great area trying to defend itself.

Ascension Pond was a terrifying and mysterious ent.i.ty. Even the top progenitors were wary of dealing with it.

What was waiting in the future to warrant the land putting on a defensive barrier ahead of time?

“This has never happened before. Is the heaven falling down?” She said.

“Haha, it’s reaching a point of no return. Not just the heaven but whatever above is done for too.” The bull laughed: “The pond is terrifying beyond your imagination. The geezer Desolate Saint came here before but left without doing anything. He returned untouched but hahaha, I know that he was very annoyed. I’m sure that he lost big there but didn’t say anything for the sake of face.”

“Really?” Holyfrost was moved. No records of this event existed at the system.

“Absolutely.” The bull smiled: “I don’t know what that geezer went there for though but from what I know about him, he was definitely up to no good and probably wanted to do a transaction too, but something failed in the negotiation process. Hehe, then he probably tried brute force but lost with that too. All he could do afterward was run back, completely dejected while needing to keep it a secret.”

Holyfrost took a deep breath to calm her emotions.

As a disciple of the academy and an enlightened user of the light, she knew just how stronger their progenitor was.

Desolate Saint wasn’t only an immortal-level progenitor. He was listed as a member of the Decemvirate.

During his era, he could have swept through everything. Not another soul could take him on. Therefore, his light illuminated all of Three Immortals. Even his toughest enemies had no choice but to hide, not daring to show their face ever again.

Now, the bull said that he had lost to the pond? This news would shock the entire world.

“It is definitely an interesting place.” Li Qiye smirked while looking at the pond.

“Haha, Sir, are you wanting to give it a shot?” The bull saw Li Qiye’s eyes and felt as if Li Qiye would go in there.

He only answered with a smile.

“You’re really doing it, Young n.o.ble? I’m afraid that it will be an inauspicious trip.” Holyfrost became surprised.

She definitely had confidence in Li Qiye’s power but this pond has been devilish all this time. So many people who made a deal with it died a horrible death.

“This is a type of training for him. Nothing is better than this to sharpen his dao heart.” The bull contemplated and added, showing off its knowledge and wisdom once again.

Holyfrost didn’t see this point of view but upon closer rumination, she thought that the bull was right. His dao heart should be tough enough to stop any influence.

“It’s not bad for training but unfortunately, it can’t give me what I want or it would be very interesting.” Li Qiye smiled and said.

“Hmm… my most precious thing…” He paused for a moment and gazed at the pond.

Holyfrost also wanted to know what Li Qiye considered his most precious, the thing that he would have the biggest trouble giving up.

In her opinion, it wasn’t going to be a treasure or merit law since he never seemed to care about them.

A person? What kind of person would be worthy of such love from this top-level being? They must be just as peerless, far superior to her. In that case, she truly wanted to meet this person.

Alas, she shook her head and carefully thought twice. No one would be able to hold Li Qiye back or win his heart - thus, they couldn’t be his most precious thing.