Unofficial History May Not Be Trash

The name Chi Tian might be unfamiliar to most denizens of the immortal realm, belonging to an ancient history so obscure that only the most well-informed elders would have heard of it.

Take, for example, the golden dragon spirit of the Primordial Chaos Creation Disk. No matter how down on his luck he might be now, in his prime, he had at least fought alongside the former Immortal Emperor Ling Xiao, scaling the heights of power. Coupled with his penchant for peeping into others' affairs, his breadth of knowledge was beyond question—one could say there was scarcely anything he didn’t know!

Yet even with his vast knowledge, the golden dragon knew little about the enigmatic Chi Tian. He was aware of the name, but the specifics eluded him, and he couldn’t even confirm whether this person truly existed.

And what of Chen Ye and Liu Xiaoyao?

These two were also ancient figures. Though their knowledge might not be as extensive as the peeping golden dragon’s, they were exceptionally well-versed in the hidden secrets of the immortal realm.

The golden dragon’s curiosity was purely a hobby—he skimmed the surface without delving deep. But Chen Ye and Liu Xiaoyao, these two ghosts from the divine realm, treated the exploration of the immortal realm’s secrets as both duty and work. Naturally, they approached it with utmost seriousness, leaving no room for carelessness.

Thus, when it came to information about Chi Tian, they had it all figured out.

"Fang Fan, my young friend, I’m quite curious—how did your esteemed master come to know about Chi Tian?" Chen Ye asked, his tone laced with surprise.

"Ah, how would I know how my master learned of it?" Fang Fan sidestepped the question.

"Is it that you don’t know, or that you don’t wish to say?" Liu Xiaoyao’s gaze turned grave. "Fang Fan, this isn’t a good look. We are now the closest of allies. Withholding information could lead to consequences we cannot bear."

"Is it really that serious?" Fang Fan raised an eyebrow, sighing. "I’m still young, inexperienced, and easily frightened."

Chen Ye’s voice deepened. "It was Cui Changsheng, wasn’t it?"

At this, Fang Fan paused briefly before nodding slightly. "Indeed, it was. Is there something amiss, elder?"

Chen Ye let out a long sigh but said nothing further, his eyes growing distant as he sank into thought.

Logically speaking, variables from the lower realms shouldn’t have any knowledge of secrets like Chi Tian. Even with the Primordial Chaos Creation Disk, a treasure from the era of the former Immortal Emperor, there was no reason to pay special attention to a figure like Chi Tian—a name lost to ancient history, whose very existence was uncertain.

Moreover, back then, because Zhang Bairen was trapped in the river of time and space, making it impossible to conspire naturally, Chen Ye and Liu Xiaoyao had no choice but to expend tremendous effort to track down the fleeing Cui Changsheng. They used him to relay information to the lower realms, ensuring they wouldn’t be instantly annihilated upon arrival.

But in this process, they had never mentioned anything about Chi Tian to Cui Changsheng!

So how had Cui Changsheng learned of it?!

Bear in mind, Chen Ye and Liu Xiaoyao had paid a steep price just to confirm the authenticity of this information!

Chi Tian—the last Dao Ancestor before the Age of Divine Concealment, who had briefly ascended to the throne of Immortal Emperor, founding the Golden Scale Celestial Court. Yet before he could fully establish his rule, he perished in the cataclysm that swept the immortal realm. His Immortal Emperor’s throne crumbled, his Dao traces scattered, and the Golden Scale Celestial Court collapsed. With the onset of the Age of Divine Concealment and the rise of new powers, this unrecognized Immortal Emperor was erased from all records, and the Golden Scale Celestial Court was expunged from official history. This account serves only to document that fleeting era of glory...

—Excerpt from The Golden Scale Celestial Court’s Ancient Records: A Fifth-Rank Historian’s Chronicle

This was a piece of unofficial history, its reliability questionable at best. After all, the authors of such texts were often fond of embellishment, prioritizing drama and deception—if someone believed it, they’d fallen right into the trap!

Yet one couldn’t deny that even the most dubious unofficial histories might contain kernels of truth. That was why the celestial archivists of the Historical Verification Bureau were tasked with sifting through them, striving to reconstruct the history buried beneath the cataclysm.

But as everyone knew, the Wuji Celestial Court was poor. With no funds allocated to the Historical Verification Bureau, the archivists could only cross-reference the ancient texts left behind by the Ling Xiao Celestial Court for analysis, unable to venture deep into the river of time to conduct proper historical research.

Well, it must be said that life had improved slightly for the archivists now. After all, Emperor Wuji was investigating the whereabouts of lost Primordial Chaos treasures, so even if the Treasury Department was strapped for cash, they had to tighten their belts and allocate funds to the Historical Verification Bureau.

Unfortunately, due to a rebellion, a great fire had ravaged the bureau, destroying countless precious texts. Picking up the pieces of their work was now an arduous task.

And The Golden Scale Celestial Court’s Ancient Records: A Fifth-Rank Historian’s Chronicle was one such unremarkable unofficial history lost in the flames. Few had noticed it, and no one had seen fit to expend the effort or resources to restore it, let alone bear the karmic cost of doing so.

Of course, this didn’t apply to the masterminds behind the fire.

As one of the conspirators, Chen Ye and Liu Xiaoyao had taken note of this seemingly insignificant text.

Though their co-conspirators, the Golden Scale Ancient Clan, had covered their tracks well, Chen Ye and Liu Xiaoyao hadn’t been so meticulous. So aside from the other conspirators—the Zwei faction—they had also conducted an exhaustive investigation into the Golden Scale Ancient Clan.

What they uncovered was alarming.

The Golden Scale Celestial Court’s Ancient Records: A Fifth-Rank Historian’s Chronicle wasn’t entirely fiction—it was a rare text containing genuine historical secrets!

Especially since the Golden Scale Ancient Clan had deliberately destroyed it, further confirming its authenticity.

Thus, Chi Tian had indeed been an Immortal Emperor, however brief his reign.

Which raised the question: if Chi Tian had remained so well-hidden that even Wuji hadn’t detected him, how had Cui Changsheng stumbled upon him?

The answer was obvious—Cui Changsheng, in the process of refining his Dao traces to ascend as a Dao Ancestor, had likely inadvertently brushed against Chi Tian’s domain.

If that were the case, the situation was dire.

When two hidden Dao Ancestors clashed, the only way to avoid drawing the attention of Wuji, the reigning Immortal Emperor, was to engage in a battle of Dao resonance—until one was completely refined.

But Cui Changsheng was a newly ascended Dao Ancestor, having only just condensed forty-nine Dao traces. How could he hope to contend with Chi Tian, who had once held the throne of Immortal Emperor?

At this thought, Chen Ye sighed deeply. "Fang Fan, my young friend, if it truly was Cui Changsheng who relayed information about Chi Tian to you, I suggest you return at once and inform your master—Cui Changsheng is in grave danger!"

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