Longevity: After Six Thousand Years, The Diary Was Exposed - Chapter 42 - Chapter 42 – Rebel with Me, and I’ll Lead You to Immortality!

Ning Region, Tianlan Province

The secret of Cangwu Mountain shook the entire cultivation world.

The once-mighty An family, a cultivator clan that had dominated Ning Region for thousands of years, was utterly finished.

Now, the An family members were facing relentless slaughter.

Many sects, blaming the An family for the deaths of their elders, dispatched elite forces to hunt them down.

Anyone over the age of twelve was to be killed without mercy.

At this moment, a massive flying ship sailed through the clouds.

“Ye Xi!”

“This was all his scheme. From beginning to end, his goal was to expose the true masterminds behind the An family!”

Jiang Youlong’s face darkened as he spoke grimly.

He reflected on everything that had transpired. While Ye Xi seemed to have never personally acted, he had controlled everything from the shadows.

Even the conflict between Ye Qingge and Yuan Ruoyu…

From the moment the Zitong Emperor appeared, the An family had already fallen into their trap.

The Emperor’s presence forced the An family to risk refining the exotic Dao Yuan.

Then, the three An family elders, in their grotesquely transformed states, were deliberately revealed to the cultivators present.

“Because of this…” Jiang Youlong’s breath quickened as he muttered to himself, “The Tianfa Elder must have revealed himself to prevent the transformation from being exposed. He wanted to kill everyone to cover it up!”

“But in doing so, he walked right into Ye Xi’s trap and was ultimately defeated!”

As he pieced everything together, Jiang Youlong couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of fear toward this so-called Nicholas Emperor.

It was a mix of admiration and terror!

The flying ship fell silent once again.

Zuo Qingtian and Hua Hongyi stood separately on the deck, gazing blankly into the distance.

Jiang Youlong, overwhelmed by frustration, scratched his head vigorously, a deep sense of helplessness rising within him.

Then, a sudden thought struck him, and he shot to his feet in alarm!

“No! That’s not it!”

“Ye Xi is formidable, but the truly terrifying one is the Immortal Emperor!”

Jiang Youlong began pacing the deck, speaking rapidly: “The Immortal Emperor never showed himself from start to finish, yet everything unfolded according to his plan!”

“Just a single diary…was enough to stir up chaos across the realm, manipulate the situation, and make everything progress according to his will!”

The deeper Jiang Youlong thought, the more he felt a chilling fear.

He looked up at the skies.

“The Immortal Emperor has also dragged the original players—those who were once behind the scenes—into his game!”

Jiang Youlong swallowed hard, speaking with difficulty: “Now, who’s the hunter and who’s the prey? That’s no longer certain!”

“This proves that the Immortal Emperor has begun his counterattack!”

After finishing his thoughts, Jiang Youlong let out a long sigh.

Thinking about how the Heavenly Court had tasked them with tracking the Immortal Emperor’s whereabouts, he felt a sinking dread.

Was such a dangerous entity even someone they could handle?

A sudden realization gripped his heart. “Could it be…even we were part of his plan all along?”

Just then—

On the other side of the deck, Hua Hongyi suddenly erupted in a crazed frenzy. She looked up at the sky and screamed hoarsely:

“Tell me, is there truly such a thing as immortality in this world?!”

Her words sent a chill through Jiang Youlong and Zuo Qingtian, their faces turning even darker.

Cangwu Mountain had revealed the skeletal remains of once-ascended Emperors.

This truth dealt not only a heavy blow to other cultivators but also to themselves.

What were the three of them working so tirelessly for the Heavenly Court hoping to achieve?

Wasn’t it the hope that, one day, their efforts would be recognized, and they would be granted ascension to the Heavenly Realm?

But now!

The truth of Cangwu Mountain told them that ascension didn’t guarantee immortality.

It could also mean becoming a devoured corpse.

“Pfft—”

Hua Hongyi suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, her expression wild and deranged.

Her obsession with immortality was the deepest among them.

The revelation of Cangwu Mountain’s secret struck her the hardest.

Jiang Youlong and Zuo Qingtian, alarmed, were about to rush to her side when— Hua Hongyi pulled out an object. It was a pitch-black brush.

She tossed the brush to Jiang Youlong and said coldly: “If these so-called immortals are nothing but devourers, then I refuse to serve them any longer!”

Jiang Youlong was stunned for a moment, his expression growing grave. “Hua Hongyi, have you considered the consequences?”

Zuo Qingtian also tried to dissuade her, saying, “This will bring Heaven’s Retribution upon you!”

“Haha—”

Hua Hongyi let out a derisive laugh, her chest heaving as she spoke with a resolute tone laced with madness:

“Heaven’s Retribution? It’s nothing more than devouring and discarding me in the end.”

She cast a mocking glance at them before her tone shifted sharply: “Can you guarantee this won’t be your fate as well?”

Zuo Qingtian’s face darkened, growing so grim it was frightening.

Jiang Youlong opened his mouth to respond but realized, deep down, he lacked confidence in his own argument.

“Perhaps those Emperors suffered such fates because they made mistakes…”

Hua Hongyi, uninterested in hearing more, cut him off coldly: “Enough! My decision is made. From now on, we’ll go our separate ways!”

“Even if it means Heaven’s Retribution, I’ll enjoy a few carefree days first.”

But at that moment, all three of them suddenly sensed something and turned sharply to look behind them.

Their faces immediately changed.

At some point, someone else had appeared on the ship.

A young man in white, his features as refined as jade and his demeanor extraordinary, stood there smiling at them.

The newcomer was none other than the Nicholas Emperor himself—Ye Xi!

Jiang Youlong’s face turned pale, and an unprecedented sense of danger surged within him.

Only now did he fully understand:

Ye Xi had calculated everything—there was no way he hadn’t accounted for them as well.

It wasn’t that Ye Xi was unaware of their presence; he had merely waited until now to close the net!

Zuo Qingtian was equally alarmed.

Hua Hongyi, however, after an initial moment of surprise, let out a self-deprecating laugh and remained calm.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Youlong cupped his hands and said, “May I ask why the Emperor has graced us with his presence? Do you have any instructions for us?”

He clung to one last shred of hope.

Resisting?

There wasn’t the slightest chance.

Ye Xi maintained his smile and spoke calmly, “I’m here to destroy you.”

“All the lackeys of the heretics must die. You’re just dying a little sooner than the rest.”

Jiang Youlong and Zuo Qingtian turned deathly pale.

As the shadow of death loomed over them, their legs began to tremble.

“Run!”

Jiang Youlong had only one thought in his mind—before an Emperor, no one dared to fight back.

But just as he and Zuo Qingtian prepared to activate all their life-saving artifacts and flee— they discovered their bodies no longer obeyed them.

Even their spiritual energy was completely sealed, rendering them utterly immobile.

Ye Xi, uninterested in toying with them, flicked his finger, sending out a ball of true flame that enveloped the two.

“Ahhh—!”

Their agonized screams echoed briefly before falling silent.

The two were utterly annihilated, leaving not even a trace of their souls behind.

Hua Hongyi had not tried to flee. She had already closed her eyes, resigned to her fate, but after a long moment, she realized Ye Xi hadn’t acted against her.

She opened her eyes and found him smiling at her.

Hua Hongyi asked in surprise, “You’re not going to kill me?”

After a brief pause, Ye Xi shook his head with a smile and extended his hand toward her: “Rebel with me, and I’ll lead you to immortality!”

“True immortality, free and unrestrained!”

A glimmer of light flashed in Hua Hongyi’s eyes, but it quickly dimmed. She said softly, “But I… I’ve already…”

Ye Xi interrupted her, “That wasn’t your fault. The one at fault is this cannibalistic Heavenly Court!”

“I’m starting a revolution, and I need allies. Let’s overthrow them together!”

“Our mission is to change the heavens and remake the earth!”

Hua Hongyi’s body trembled. After pausing for a moment, she took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Ye Xi.

“Hua Hongyi is willing to devote herself entirely to following His Majesty!”

Ye Xi smiled warmly and said, “Good. Rise. From now on, we are comrades, fighting for our ideals and the light in our hearts!”

Inwardly, Ye Xi reflected on his master’s teachings:

“When the enemy is this strong, anyone who can be recruited and any resource that can be used must not be wasted.”

With that, Ye Xi left the flying ship, Hua Hongyi following closely behind.