He raised his head and continued in a steady voice, “However, if that is the case, this ambition should not have been born within Duke Huai, but it should have been conceived in another person instead! When Profound Sky Continent had made its initial thrust into Illusory Demon Realm, Duke Huai was only thirty years of age, so it is impossible that he had that level of ambition or shrewdness, and it is even more impossible that using his own strength, he could collude with Profound Sky Continent without anyone noticing. So the one who had colluded with Profound Sky Continent was….”
Mu Feiyan and the others were jolted by those words and Mu Yukong exclaimed in alarm, “Could it be… Duke Huai’s father —— Duke Ming?!”
“But Duke Ming had always treated everyone with incomparable kindness, his behavior was low-key and even if he met commonfolk, he did not put on any airs of royalty. He had always been loyal and devoted to the previous Demon Emperor, and he had always been at the Demon Emperor’s beck and call… and he completely lacked any interest in fame and profit. Over one hundred years ago, when Duke Huai was thirty-seven years of age, he could barely wait to foist his position as the head of the Duke Palace onto his son, so he could travel the world and relax, and from then on, he showed no interest or concern regarding the state of the world… His casual nature and his simple life was well-known throughout the entire city. He kept such a low profile that many people have already forgotten this name… So how could it be him?!” Mu Yuqing said in disbelief.
Mu Feiyan had fallen into a daze but he suddenly spoke up, “Initially, I had always admired the temperament of Duke Ming and we were on extremely good terms with each other. But there was one time that I went drinking with Yun Canghai that he told me solemnly and in no uncertain terms that I should only maintain my friendship with Duke Ming, but I should absolutely never turn my heart towards him. I asked him for an explanation and he said that Duke Ming was simply too placid, that he was placid to the point where he had always made Yun Canghai feel like there was something off with him. He also pointed this out; that if Duke Ming truly did not care about the things of the world, then why did he cultivate his profound strength to such a high level….”
“Was Duke Ming extremely strong?” Yun Che asked hurriedly.
“That’s right!” Mu Yubai nodded his head and his face had turned green, “In that generation, the Demon Emperor was the strongest, Yun Canghai was second, and Duke Ming only lost to these two individuals in terms of profound strength. His current cultivation should already have surpassed the Demon King in his prime.”
“Ah.” Mu Feiyan gave a long sigh, “It was just that I simply could not approve of the warning that Yun Canghai had given me all those years ago… Even when Duke Huai had made his ambitions known, I had never placed any suspicion on him; at most I had only railed to the heavens that Duke Ming had left behind an unfilial son.”
Yun Che’s brows jumped, “Grandfather, do you mean that… all these years, you have never seen Duke Ming at all?”
“That is right.” Mu Feiyan nodded his head, “Before the previous Demon Emperor had met with disaster, Duke Ming had already passed the lordship of his Duke Palace over to Duke Huai. After that, he bid farewell to the previous Demon Emperor, claiming that he wanted to live a life free from care and worry, and that he wanted to travel all over Illusory Demon Realm and enjoy his retirement… He never appeared once since then, whether the line of the Demon Emperor had met misfortune or Duke Huai had shown his ambition. In order to get him to stop Duke Huai, the Little Demon Empress and I spared no efforts in trying to track him down, but it was all for naught… Indeed, with how big Illusory Demon Realm is, give his power, if he did not want anyone to find him, no one would be able to do so.”
“And now the previous Demon Emperor and the Demon King have already departed, and the Little Demon Empress Golden Crow bloodline has yet to be awakened, so given Duke Ming’s strength… He is already fully deserving of being called the strongest in Illusory Demon Realm, and none can compare!” After he said these words, Mu Feiyan’s breathing clearly became sluggish and the faces of everyone present had turned a lot uglier in an instant as a cold suddenly blanketed their entire bodies.
The clearer the truth was, the more terrifying it become.
Duke Huai’s power had already swelled to the extent that the Little Demon Empress was unable to fight him. But now, there was the incomparably shrewd and powerful Duke Ming who was added to the mix, causing the already untenable situation to teeter even closer to the abyss….
This shadow that enshrouded the Demon Emperor’s clan and even enshrouded the entire Illusory Demon Realm… Just what could they do to fight against it?!
The room had fallen into a solemn sile