Chapter 2166: A Seed of Hatred

“Brother Jian Chen, we can’t find the artifact spirit, right?” Xiao Man sat on the ground rather powerlessly somewhere on the twelfth floor. She supported her chin with her two hands as she looked at Jian Chen helplessly. Her pitiful looked was heartbreaking.

In the past few days, they had gone to many places. Not only did Jian Chen travel to everywhere on the twelfth floor with Xiao Man, but they even went to the eleventh floor. They tried all the methods they could think of in various places to find the artifact spirit, but it all amounted to nothing.

It seemed like the method that Xiao Man used to awaken the artifact spirit the first time had become completely useless.

Jian Chen stood up straight next to Xiao Man, like a sword planted in the ground. Invisible sword intent radiated from his body. At this moment, he stared at the pitch-black sky of the Neptunean Divine Palace. His eyes were very deep as he said gently, “Xiao Man, the artifact spirit of the Neptunean Divine Palace might have died already.”

“Hmph, who did you say was dead, you little brat?”

However, right after Jian Chen finished talking, an ancient voice rang out of nowhere. It was filled with great displeasure.

The sudden voice immediately alarmed Jian Chen. Abruptly, he looked over and saw that a short old man. The old man was only four feet tall and just barely reached up to Jian Chen’s chest. He had appeared beside Jian Chen without any prior signs. His head was slightly raised as he stared at Jian Chen angrily.

Behind the old man was Xiao Man. Whether it was intentionally or otherwise, the old man just happened to stand between Jian Chen and Xiao Man, separating the two of them.

“You are?” Jian Chen’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the old man in shock. That was because he could not sense any presence from the old man at all. He found nothing with the senses of his soul, making the old man an existence that could only be found through sight.

Almost instantly, Jian Chen realised that the short old man was the artifact spirit of the Neptunean Divine Palace.

“Brat, you better watch yourself next time. If you keep blabbering like that, do you believe that you won’t be able to leave the Neptunean Divine Palace ever again? You’ll be imprisoned here for the rest of your life,” the short old man threatened angrily with a scowl.

Jian Chen stared at the old man and said nothing.

Clearly, he was very surprised that the artifact spirit of the Neptunean Divine Palace was alive and well.

“You didn’t die at the hands of the Samsaric Immortal Exalt?” Jian Chen only asked in surprise a while later.

However, when Jian Chen said that, the old man leapt up like a cat that had its tail stepped on. Immediately, he fell down and smacked Jian Chen’s head. He called out angrily, “You little b.a.s.t.a.r.d, what are you saying? Do you know how to talk at all? I’ll smack you to death. I’m the supreme ruler in the Neptunean Divine Palace, so how can a clone of that Samsaric old b.a.s.t.a.r.d kill me? Little b.a.s.t.a.r.d, are you looking down on me or are you p.i.s.sing me off on purpose?”

Jian Chen’s head was firmly struck by the short old man. He was the artifact spirit of the Neptunean Divine Palace, so in here, he was a G.o.d-like existence. Jian Chen could not put up any resistance at all.

Fortunately, the old man’s slap did not carry any power. Although it struck Jian Chen’s head firmly, it failed to injure him.

“Uncle, are you the artifact spirit of the Neptunean Divine Palace?” Xiao Man also stood up from the ground. She looked at the old man in joy and surprise. When she stood up, she was actually a head taller than the short old man.

The short old man no longer paid any more attention to Jian Chen. He looked at Xiao Man and sensed the presence of Xiao Man’s bloodline. His expression gradually became mixed, including deep sorrow within.

“That’s right. I’m the artifact spirit of the Neptunean Divine Palace,” the short old man confirmed his ident.i.ty. He looked at Xiao Man with extremely mixed feelings and said, “In the past, after the Samsaric Immortal Exalt destroyed the Daoist Sect of Neptunea, I fell into a slumber due to my heavy injuries. Even now, I haven’t fully recovered. If it were not for master’s bloodline that awakened me, I probably would have slumbered for an even longer time.”

“I just never thought that the Samsaric Immortal Exalt had left a clone of his in the palace back then, so when I awakened a few years ago, I faced the attacks of the Samsaric Immortal Exalt. Originally, he wanted to disperse my consciousness, and then take over the Neptunean Divine Palace. Although the Samsaric Immortal Exalt is powerful as one of the five Grand Exalts of the Immortals’ World, he only left a clone here. He’s dreaming if he wants to disperse my consciousness with a clone…” the artifact spirit said. As soon as the Samsaric Immortal Exalt was mentioned, it gritted its teeth in hatred.

Xiao Man fell silent. When she heard the artifact spirit mention the Samsaric Immortal Exalt, she could not help but think of her parents. When she entered the Neptunean Divine Palace, she learnt that her parents’ deaths were closely related to the Samsaric Immortal Exalt.

“Your father should be the only grandson of my master. Although my master was an expert who had reached the apex of the Saints’ World, close to perfection and only second to Grand Exalts, he had very few descendants. He only had a son and grandson. In the past, when the Samsaric Immortal Exalt attacked the Daoist Sect of Neptunea, only the grandson had been forcefully sent away by master beforehand. He also severed their bloodline connection, allowing him to survive the disaster back then.”

“But the Samsaric Immortal Exalt is just too powerful. He has grasped the Way of Karma, so he could use the relations.h.i.+ps between the disciples of the Daoist Sect of Neptunea to find all the disciples scattered across the entire Saints’ World effortlessly. His powers of samsara only had to extend along the threads of karma, and no matter how far away they were, they would all die.”

“Master’s grandson who had been sent away, your father, had also been found by the Samsaric Immortal Exalt through his Way of Karma. Although master discovered this in time and interfered with the power of laws, forcefully severing all the threads of karma on his grandson from afar, he was still too late. A strand of the Samsaric Immortal Exalt’s power of samsara had already extended out through a thread of karma.”

The artifact spirit sighed gloomily. He looked at Xiao Man with an extremely mixed expression and said, “You can already imagine the outcome. Although your father was not weak in the past, the difference in cultivation compared to the Samsaric Immortal Exalt was still too great. Not only did his cultivation regress as he was corroded away by the power of samsara, but he also aged as his life force constantly leaked away.”

“However, since your father could last until then and leave behind you, it really has been a miracle. The Samsaric Immortal Exalt is one of the five Grand Exalts of the Immortals’ World. Although he only managed to deposit a tiny sliver of power of samsara in your father through master’s intervention, it still should have been impossible for your father to last until then. It looks like someone helped your father in the past,” a smear of wonder appeared in the artifact spirit’s eyes.

Xiao Man had already become tearful when she again heard about how her parents had died. She sobbed as she said through gritted teeth, “My father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather all died because of the Samsaric Immortal Exalt. He’s an evil person, a great, evil person. If I have the ability in the future, I will definitely avenge my parents and my grandfather and great-grandfather that I’ve never seen. I will personally kill him.”

At this moment, a seed of hatred had been silently planted in Xiao Man’s heart. The Samsaric Immortal Exalt had killed her entire family, so her hatred towards him had become extremely deep.