Has the Clue of the Bead Been Lost

Chen Chang'an never expected things to unfold in such an unpredictable manner. Initially, he had assumed that even if the pearl wasn’t in the tomb of the Nine Nether Emperor’s beloved wife, it would at least be under the Emperor’s control. The worst-case scenario he had envisioned was a direct confrontation with the Nine Nether Emperor to forcibly retrieve the pearl.

But now, seeing the Emperor’s reaction, Chen Chang'an realized he had underestimated the situation. What puzzled him most was—who else besides himself could possibly be interested in the pearl? Someone who would go so far as to marry the Nine Nether Emperor just to obtain it?

To earn the favor of the Nine Nether Emperor, this wife of his must have been extraordinary. Yet, why would such a person sacrifice so much for a pearl that held no value to anyone else?

"Your wife isn’t dead?" Chen Chang'an asked with a frown.

"Hahahaha!"

"So, you’ve heard the rumors circulating outside?"

"False, all of them! Nothing but baseless gossip!"

"My adopted son would never dare to have an affair with my wife."

"They wouldn’t, and they couldn’t!" The Nine Nether Emperor laughed loudly.

But Chen Chang'an could see through it—the Emperor’s laughter held no joy, only endless fury in his eyes. It was understandable. The Nine Nether Emperor, the second most powerful figure in the Tai Xuan Realm, a being who had lived for tens of thousands of years, had been deceived by a woman. How could he remain indifferent?

What Chen Chang'an couldn’t comprehend was why the Nine Nether Emperor had allowed such rumors to spread unchecked. Did he truly not care at all?

"I’m curious—what kind of woman could move your heart?"

"Was she beautiful?" Chen Chang'an probed.

Instead of answering, the Nine Nether Emperor countered, "Tell me, why are you also interested in that pearl?"

"I’ve studied it before. Aside from its beauty, it’s utterly useless—no energy fluctuations, impossibly hard. Why do you all covet it?"

"I don’t know what my wife’s intentions were, but I can tell you this: that pearl originally belonged to me."

"It was lost due to certain circumstances, and now I merely seek to reclaim it."

"Moreover, in the entire Tai Xuan Realm, only I can use it. Anyone else who obtains it would find it worthless."

"So, I’m even more curious about what your wife wanted with it," Chen Chang'an said, his brow furrowing.

"I sent people to investigate, but..."

"For nearly a thousand years, there’s been no trace. Even the men I dispatched lost their lives."

"It seems I’ve underestimated her all along."

"Her background is shrouded in mystery, likely tied to a formidable hidden faction. I never imagined that within the Tai Xuan Realm, there could be a force even I knew nothing about."

"Finding that pearl won’t be easy for you."

Hearing this, Chen Chang'an’s frown deepened. The last two pearls were proving far more difficult to locate than he had anticipated—even entangled with a hidden power unknown to the Nine Nether Emperor himself.

Could such a faction have existed longer than the Nine Nether Emperor?

Did his own master know of them?

"Why do you suspect this is a hidden faction?" Chen Chang'an asked.

"Because they managed to place someone so strikingly similar to her by my side. That means whoever is behind this knows me, understands me—and may have lived even longer than I have."

"A figure like that, lurking in the shadows for so long—do you really believe they haven’t built a secretive organization?"

From the Emperor’s words, Chen Chang'an caught a crucial detail: "similar to her."

Who would have thought the Nine Nether Emperor was such a sentimental man?

"You never remarried because... she’s gone?"

"That’s all in the past."

"So, you refused to ascend, waiting for her reincarnation?"

"Waiting for tens of thousands of years?"

"I’ve told you all I can. Now, leave."

The Nine Nether Emperor didn’t answer further, dismissing Chen Chang'an outright. Some secrets were buried too deep in his heart to share.

Understanding this, Chen Chang'an didn’t press further. With Da Huang, he departed the Nine Nether Hall.

Once they were gone, the Emperor took out a portrait, gazing at the figure depicted with tender longing.

"Yi, I truly thought she was you. I was deceived... You wouldn’t blame me, would you?"

The woman in the portrait, Yi, was the only love of the Nine Nether Emperor’s life—a woman who had died saving him long ago.

The Emperor had long possessed the means to ascend, but he had deliberately severed that path, forever confining himself to the peak of the Emperor realm.

Every time he secluded himself, it wasn’t for cultivation—it was to reminisce.

Five thousand years ago, a woman who looked identical to Yi had appeared, rekindling the long-dormant emotions in the Emperor’s heart.

Her mannerisms, her habits—everything mirrored Yi’s.

That was why the Nine Nether Emperor had broken his own rule and married her.

Yet, how could he have known it was all an elaborate scheme? The goal: that mysterious pearl.

The Emperor knew—had he not been so blinded by joy, he would have seen through the deception.

Had he not clung to her so fiercely, delaying her escape for millennia, she would have vanished the day after obtaining the pearl, just as she eventually did.

As for the rumors outside, none held a shred of truth. They were merely wild speculations, growing more absurd with each retelling.

But the Nine Nether Emperor no longer had the will to address them.

"What now?"

"The trail for the pearl has gone cold. Where do we even start looking?"

"The Nine Nether Emperor searched for a thousand years and found nothing. What if someone’s already used it?" Da Huang asked worriedly after they left the hall.

"Used?"

"No one but me can use it."

"But then why go through such lengths to obtain it?"

"What’s the purpose?" Chen Chang'an couldn’t make sense of it.

"Could it be... for you?"

Da Huang’s words left Chen Chang'an even more bewildered. For him?

Aside from his master, who would go to such extremes for his sake?

Where there’s strangeness, there’s a scheme—and this situation had indeed taken a bizarre turn.

"Could the Nine Nether Emperor be lying to you? Maybe he doesn’t want his disgraceful deeds to spread?" After a moment, Da Huang voiced another suspicion.

Lying?

Chen Chang'an didn’t think so. A figure like the Nine Nether Emperor had no reason to lie—nor would he stoop to it.

"Stop guessing wildly."

"This pearl is undoubtedly coveted by someone with ill intentions."