Chapter 2264: Secrets of the Divine Race

"People like you are too dangerous! It seems I should never have thought of recruiting you!"

Rong Xiyue's face was full of bitter smiles. She had already estimated Ye Yuan as highly as possible.

One could say that even a Heavenly Emperor would find it hard to escape his control.

Yet who could have imagined that a mere Heavenly Venerate would defeat four Heavenly Emperors in an instant and take him captive?

"Too late! Take me to Ning Tianping!" Ye Yuan said indifferently.

Rong Xiyue shook her head and said, "I have already imprisoned him in the clan. You can detain me here and have Uncle Song bring him here!"

She had intended to use Ning Tianping to blackmail Ye Yuan into serving her.

So, with the idea of imprisoning Ning Tianping long-term, she had sent him to the clan.

Ye Yuan thought for a moment and said, "No need. I'll go with you!"

Rong Xiyue's gaze hardened, and she said coldly, "Impossible! Our Hidden Line has been in seclusion for hundreds of millions of years, and no outsider has ever entered. If you go, I will be a sinner of the Hidden Line!"

Ye Yuan, however, was unconcerned and said calmly, "Everything has exceptions. Since your Hidden Line has already emerged from seclusion, how much longer can you stay hidden? At this point, whether you go or not is no longer up to you."

With that, Ye Yuan tapped a point on Rong Xiyue's back. The latter involuntarily opened her mouth, and Ye Yuan directly tossed a pill inside.

"You!" Rong Xiyue looked at Ye Yuan with shock and anger.

"This pill is called the Calamity Pursuit Pill, a poison I refined exclusively. This poison is like a clinging gangrene; once it enters the body, it burrows into every inch of your skin and cannot be removed. Moreover, when your body is completely necrotized, it will act on your soul, causing you to dissipate utterly, never to be reborn. You should know my alchemy strength. If you don't believe me, you can try," Ye Yuan said calmly.

After making Rong Xiyue swallow the poison, Ye Yuan ignored her.

Her life and death were now under his control.

Rong Xiyue sneered, "Do you think I'll be threatened by you? Even if I die, I won't take you to the clan!"

Ye Yuan stared at Rong Xiyue, making her feel a chill.

Suddenly, Ye Yuan smiled slightly and said, "It seems you still won't give up! Your Divine Race, each lineage has only one Divine Son and one Divine Daughter, who will eventually become existences above the Eight-Pattern Heavenly Dao realm. Your Divine Race is already sparse in population. Although you have conserved strength for many years, you are probably not even one ten-thousandth of the human race, right? If a Divine Daughter dies, I wonder how great an impact it would have on your Hidden Line?"

If not for his battle with Yuan Jiu, Ye Yuan would not have known so many things about the Divine Race.

Divine Sons and Divine Daughters are extremely rare; they can be said to be the future of a lineage.

This could be inferred from Yuan Jiu's attitude toward Yue Mengli.

Therefore, Ye Yuan was certain that the Hidden Line would not sit idly by and let Rong Xiyue die.

Sure enough, Rong Xiyue's expression stiffened, and she instantly deflated like a punctured ball.

"Fine, you win!"

Ye Yuan said, "I also want one more person! Li Zhaoqing, he should be from the Death Soul Sect, right?"

Since Tianyu Emperor had become one of the Death Soul Sect's headquarters, it was obvious that Li Zhaoqing was from the Death Soul Sect.

Ye Yuan even suspected that the enmity between Mo Lifei and Li Zhaoqing was formed when the Death Soul Sect launched its attack back then.

Mo Lifei had perished, body and soul, with only a wisp of remnant soul escaping.

Rong Xiyue nodded and said, "Uncle Song, go handle this matter."

Uncle Song had no choice but to comply.

...

Middle Realm, Fengqi Emperor Capital.

This was a grand emperor capital under the command of Zi Yun Heavenly Emperor, a Ninth Heaven Heavenly Emperor, and it was extremely prosperous.

Ye Yuan followed Rong Xiyue to the most luxurious inn in Fengqi Emperor Capital and arrived at the Tianzi No. 1 room.

Rong Xiyue took out a jade ruyi and pushed the door open.

Ye Yuan felt himself pass through a membrane, and before him was another world.

This scene made Ye Yuan marvel in wonder.

"The great hermit dwells in the city. As expected of the Hidden Line, you certainly have your ways," Ye Yuan exclaimed in admiration.

With his spatial laws and array mastery, he had not detected that behind this door lay a hidden small world.

It was likely that the great powers of the Tongtian Realm would be even less able to know that the powerful Divine Race was hiding right under their noses.

Rong Xiyue glared at him and said coldly, "In hundreds of millions of years, you are the first human to enter here! But don't be too happy; the entrance to the small world changes frequently. Since you've entered, this entrance will never open again."

"Since your Divine Race is so powerful, why is there a Hidden Line like yours?" Ye Yuan suddenly asked.

"Although the Divine Race is powerful, reproduction is too difficult! Many strong beings have lived for hundreds of millions of years but have no offspring at all. To maintain the race's reproduction, one of our Divine Race's ancestors proposed establishing another lineage outside the eight main lineages—the Hidden Line. The purpose of our Hidden Line is for the race's reproduction," Rong Xiyue said without hiding anything.

Ye Yuan frowned and asked, "Reproduction? Isn't reproduction very difficult for your Divine Race? Can simply establishing a separate lineage solve the problem?"

Rong Xiyue glanced at Ye Yuan and said, "Our Divine Race is a race favored by heaven. Apart from our own reproduction, a portion comes from the various races of the Tongtian Realm. Among races like humans, demons, and monsters, there is a very small probability of giving birth to Divine Race members. However, this probability is extremely tiny; some people never awaken in their lifetime! The task of our Hidden Line is to find these people and make them awaken, gaining the recognition of the Heavenly Dao! Back when you returned to Tianying Imperial City, my Divine Race bloodline had just awakened not long ago, and I was chosen as the Hidden Line's Divine Daughter, which is why my strength advanced by leaps and bounds."

Hearing Rong Xiyue's words, Ye Yuan's expression changed drastically, and a huge wave surged in his heart.

Seeing Ye Yuan's expression, Rong Xiyue was also very surprised.

In her impression, Ye Yuan was always calm and composed.

Even when facing the siege of four Heavenly Emperors, he remained unperturbed.

What was wrong with him now?

"How could this be? How could this be?" Ye Yuan muttered to himself, utterly distraught.

"What's wrong with you?" Rong Xiyue asked curiously.

Ye Yuan shuddered, grabbed Rong Xiyue, and said fiercely, "Could it be that within a martial artist's small world, Divine Race experts can also be born?"

Rong Xiyue nodded and said, "Naturally! Although the probability is extremely small, with countless small worlds and billions upon billions of living beings, such a large base naturally gives birth to countless Divine Race experts every day. However, in small worlds, martial artists have short lifespans. And our Divine Race has few members and limited energy, so we simply cannot attend to them. Otherwise, how could the human race shake our Divine Race's position?"

Crack, crack...

Ye Yuan's finger joints cracked loudly, and his whole body trembled.

He had always wondered why Yuan Jiu had taken a liking to Yue Mengli and chosen her as a Divine Daughter.

So it turned out that Li'er was truly of the Divine Race!

Suddenly, Ye Yuan became utterly distraught, as if his entire being had been drained.