Chapter 141: Great Turmoil in the Eastern Sea

"Strange! It seems that, in some mysterious way, the victims of that year have all unconsciously converged."

Ye Qiu’s expression grew grave as he scrutinized Hua Zhu. Finding no trace of falsehood in her words, his inner confusion deepened. For some reason, he felt that everything unfolding was far too coincidental.

The curse that struck the Divine Capital back then had claimed many victims, among them Yue Chan, Liu Jianchen, and Hua Zhu. Coincidentally, Ye Qiu had been present at that time and had inadvertently saved their lives. Whether this was pure coincidence or not, Ye Qiu felt certain that there was more to the story.

"Forget it! Whether it is the curse of the Divine Capital or the riots in the Heavenly Domain, the past is like smoke, and everything has already been set in stone. The past cannot be changed, and the future remains unknown!"

Ye Qiu gave a cold laugh and dismissed the thought. Hua Zhu, however, asked curiously, "Senior, were you also in the Divine Capital twenty years ago?"

"Ah? I wasn't..."

Ye Qiu suddenly became cautious. Having had the precedents of Yue Chan and Ruoxi, he dared not speak the truth to anyone who asked.

Upon hearing his denial, Hua Zhu looked at him with a hint of disappointment and shook her head. "That is true. A master like you must be a transcendental immortal who has cultivated for millions of years. That great fire in the Divine Capital back then was clearly set by a wet-behind-the-ears brat; it couldn't have been you..."

Hearing this, Ye Qiu’s heart tightened. He feared that the wicked deed he had committed all those years ago was about to be exposed.

*Phew... that was close! Damn it, I was so discreet when I set that fire, how could anyone have seen me? Damn it, that old saying is true: if you don't want people to know, don't do it in the first place!*

Ye Qiu felt a cold sweat break out. He had indeed set a fire in the Divine Capital—a massive one. Even now, he vaguely remembered how, after the curse erupted, the entire city had fallen into darkness, and everyone, corrupted by the gloom, had turned into bloodthirsty monsters. To survive, he had seized the opportunity to set the entire Divine Capital ablaze, using the chaos to escape.

What he did not know was that it was precisely because of that fire that many innocent lives, such as Yue Chan, Hua Zhu, and Liu Jianchen, were accidentally saved. It was that very fire that had spared them from a fate of slaughter.

"Ah, haha, yes, yes, you're right! I'm millions of years old this year, so it certainly wasn't the little brat you mentioned..." Ye Qiu said, covering his tracks. To keep his secret, what did a few million extra years of age matter?

Hearing this, Cao He was stunned. "Is that so?"

Cao He began to doubt his own life. *Isn't the shopkeeper only a few years older than me? How did he suddenly gain millions of years?*

But he quickly figured it out. It was likely that Ye Qiu had done something shameful again and was trying to hide the truth. Since this wasn't the first time, Cao He, now experienced, quickly provided cover. "Exactly! Our shopkeeper is a bona fide old monster, an old immortal! Don't let his youthful appearance fool you; he looked exactly like this when I was a mere child, and he hasn't changed in hundreds of years..."

Ye Qiu: "???"

*Are you helping me or roasting me in a roundabout way? Good lad, you've learned to take a jab when you see an opening? I'm not competing with you for the ladies, so do you really need to disparage me like that?*

Regardless of Ye Qiu’s displeasure, Hua Zhu believed it, her conviction in Ye Qiu’s unfathomable strength only growing stronger.

"By the way, Senior, since your cultivation is so profound, why not go to the East Sea and subdue that demonic monkey?"

As soon as these words were spoken, they drew everyone's attention. Xiao Huan immediately added, "Exactly! Senior, you wouldn't know—we heard that the East Sea has descended into total chaos. They say a demonic monkey with terrifying power has turned the entire region upside down. Major sacred lands have sent experts to suppress it, and even Land Immortals have personally intervened, but none could take down this monkey..."

"What!"

Hearing how terrifying the monkey was, Qing Cheng felt his heart sink. *Damn it, if this monkey is that fearsome, and the shopkeeper told me to deal with it, isn't that just sending me to my death? It's over, I'm done for!*

Ye Qiu felt extremely awkward. Why wouldn't he show his face? That went without saying. Did they expect him to tell them that the monkey was his own student? What a joke—did he not need to save face?

"Ahem, a mere unruly monkey is not worth mentioning! Someone will deal with it eventually..." Ye Qiu said with a calm expression, though he was panicking internally.

He cursed silently, *Damn monkey, if you keep making such a scene, how am I supposed to wrap this up? Don't let me catch you, or I'll lock you away for five hundred years!*

"Senior, that demonic monkey possesses heaven-defying strength and calls himself the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. He has gathered many fierce beasts in the East Sea and shows signs of wanting to dominate. Just yesterday, several sacred lands sent tens of thousands of experts to suppress the demon, but unexpectedly... those tens of thousands were trapped in the East Sea, unable to escape. Even that supreme Land Immortal could not break free and is completely held within the East Sea..."

"Moreover, I heard that the demonic monkey has allied with several ancient clans, including the Peacock clan, the Pegasus clan, and the Flood Dragon clan..."

"Who mentioned the Peacocks just now?"

No sooner had Xiao Huan finished speaking than a bird's head popped out from behind her. It was the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow. The creature had been missing all day, but at the mention of the Peacocks, it suddenly grew excited. If Ye Qiu remembered correctly, this fellow had been harboring a secret crush on the little princess of the Peacock clan for years; no wonder it was so sensitive to the topic.

"Ah..." Xiao Huan turned, caught sight of the Sparrow’s massive head, and was so terrified she nearly fainted on the spot.

"Tch, is it really that scary? Coward," the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow said disdainfully. "You should go out and ask around. I am a famous, handsome young talent in these ten miles, a visual icon! You fainted just by looking at me?"

"Damn, you're even more narcissistic than me!" Qing Cheng exclaimed, recognizing a pro. He thought he was narcissistic enough, but this bird was even more shameless.

"Cut the crap! Tell me, who mentioned the Peacock clan?"

The Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow had no patience for nonsense; its mind was fixated on its little Peacock princess. Seeing how terrified Xiao Huan was, Hua Zhu stepped forward, pale-faced, and explained, "We don't know the full situation! We only heard from our clansmen that after the demonic monkey wreaked havoc in the East Sea, it unexpectedly formed an alliance with the Peacock clan. The East Sea has now completely become the monkey's territory; not only are there experts from the Peacock clan stationed there, but the Golden-Winged Peng clan has also arrived to support them."

"Hmm? Playing for such high stakes now?" Ye Qiu felt uneasy. It seemed he had to subdue this monkey as soon as possible. If he let it continue, it would likely incite even greater turmoil.

Not to mention that the dark giants were still watching, and even the beings above the void were eyeing the Great Wilderness with covetous gazes. If not for the millions of beings stationed in the Imperial City to resist the void, the Great Wilderness would have long since been reduced to ruins.