"King of the Night?" The old turtle was stunned, then his hunched body trembled violently, as if he had thought of something. His aged face suddenly showed shock.
"Your master is the King of the Night?"
Afraid of misidentifying, he added another sentence. "The King of the Night from the Northern Song?"
His tone—whether the many great demons or the nine of Situ Lao—clearly heard the shock in the old turtle's heart. Even without asking further, they understood that the King of the Night he spoke of was no small figure.
"Mr. Situ, do you know the King of the Night?" One of the nine of Situ Lao asked.
Situ Lao shook his head. "I do not know the King of the Night, I have never heard of him before. But as for that old great demon speaking, it seems to be the Ghost Turtle Immortal."
As the guardian of the Hengduan Mountain region, Situ Lao was more familiar with the great demons and ancient great demons of Hengduan Mountain. At a glance, he recognized the old turtle's identity.
Not only him, someone among the nine also recognized him and followed up on Situ Lao's words.
"That's right, it is him. He is the Ghost Turtle Immortal. I've seen him in the highest-level archives of the Yunnan branch before. His appearance is exactly the same as recorded. I just didn't expect that he was still alive."
The one who spoke was another guardian. He did not hide his shock, staring at the old turtle in the distance.
"I remember the archives said that his lifespan was nearly exhausted in the Qing Dynasty. It seems that the records of his activities in the Qing Dynasty a hundred years ago should mean that he consumed living beings as blood food, allowing him to extend his life by another hundred years."
Noticing the questioning gazes of the others, he directly explained. "The Ghost Turtle Immortal is an extremely rare ghost turtle that cultivated into a spirit. By estimation, he has lived for nearly four thousand years by now."
Situ Lao nodded beside him, agreeing while his gaze involuntarily shifted to the black mist man.
Although he had not reached the level of the Mortal Immortal, unable to perceive the depths of the black mist man's power, yet even the old turtle had to show respect to the black mist man.
There was no need to think further. The black mist man's strength far surpassed the old turtle's, at least beyond four thousand years of cultivation.
Just as he was lost in thought, the black mist man responded, expressing slight surprise.
"You actually recognize my master? But that makes sense. With an age of over four thousand years, knowing my master's name is only normal."
The old turtle was shocked upon hearing this, unable to stop muttering under his breath. "No wonder, no wonder… I was wondering who could make a Daoist friend take a master, so it turns out to be the King of the Night."
His aged face, at this moment, held not only shock but also a look of sudden realization.
Immediately after, the old turtle cupped his hands toward the black mist man.
"I am unworthy, but I have been fortunate enough to hear the name of the King of the Night. Speaking of which, it was because a junior of mine once had a connection with the King of the Night, which is how I came to know."
"Oh? Your descendant had a private relationship with my master?" The black mist man asked.
In the next second, the old turtle waved his hands repeatedly, looking flattered.
"Daoist friend, you must be joking. How could a junior of mine be qualified to have a personal relationship with the King of the Night? It's just that the King of the Night once casually guided my junior. That cannot be considered a private relationship."
Seeing his words and actions, the great demons deep in the mountains were stunned. Every great demon present had lived for hundreds or thousands of years. They had been neighbors with the old turtle in Hengduan Mountain for centuries or even millennia. Yet upon reflection, this was the first time they had ever seen the old turtle act this way.
"What is the background of this King of the Night? Do any of you know?" A great demon who had previously favored the black mist man asked.
This great demon was too curious, eager to know just what kind of person the King of the Night was to make the old turtle behave like this.
While asking, it looked toward a few deep areas.
There resided ancient great demons, and each of them had profound cultivation, at least a thousand years old, some even three thousand years.
The King of the Night came from the Northern Song. Over a thousand years ago.
To learn about his background, they could only ask those with at least a thousand years of cultivation. Perhaps they might know.
However, upon asking, the entire deep area fell completely silent. For a moment, no great demon answered.
The silence lasted a full two or three seconds.
Then, two ancient great demons finally responded.
"Sparrow Daoist, didn't you often venture out in the Northern Song era? Do you not know the King of the Night? At that time, your strength was near the Mortal Immortal level. I imagine there was no worldly information beyond your reach?"
The moment this ancient great demon asked, the other great demons immediately focused their gazes.
Within a few seconds, the ancient great demon known as Sparrow Daoist spoke.
"I was indeed active during the Northern Song period, but I never heard of the King of the Night's name. However, there is one person I suspect, though I am not certain, so I did not speak earlier."
"Tell us." The ancient great demon, who seemed to have a good relationship with Sparrow Daoist, urged.
Hearing this, Sparrow Daoist hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Alright then, if I'm mistaken, don't blame me. During the Northern Song era, I once heard a rumor. It was said that the strongest cultivator of that time was not one from the emperor's Imperial City Division, nor was it the Hu San Old Grandfather of the Northeast, nor any of the ancient sects of Longhu Mountain. Instead, it was a man with no sect or school. Exactly who he was, no one knew."
"The only known information about this person was one thing—he was rumored to be the master of Wang Hei, the founder of the Shenxiao Sect."
The more he spoke, the more open Sparrow Daoist became, no longer hesitating, voicing his guess.
"For even the old turtle to not dare claim a connection, the other party's strength must be formidable. But for such a person, in the Northern Song era, anyone at that level should have been famous. Yet I have never heard of a King of the Night in the Northern Song circle."
"The only possible match is the mysterious mentor of Wang Qianqing from the rumors of the Northern Song."
His words left the great demons astonished.
No wonder Sparrow Daoist had hesitated earlier—this connection seemed entirely unrelated.
Yet upon closer thought, it seemed that only the mysterious mentor of Wang Qianqing could match the King of the Night.
The Shenxiao Sect was an eternal sect of Daxia and one of the three great talisman sects, holding a transcendent status. Even today, ordinary people knew of Shenxiao as one of the surviving sects of Daxia.
As for its founder, Wang Hei—not only was he revered in the Northern Song, but his place in history was also legendary.
Thinking carefully, someone capable of nurturing Wang Hei—his strength was unquestionable, and he was indeed worthy of the old turtle's reverence.
"It is not impossible." The ancient great demon who was on good terms with Sparrow Daoist spoke at this moment.
As an ancient great demon, though he did not know as much about the Northern Song as Sparrow Daoist, he still had some knowledge. After pondering for a moment, he spoke.
"The mentor of Wang Qianqing is a mystery."
"Through history, anyone who understood Wang Qianqing's past would know that historical records state... Wang Qianqing was born extraordinary, gifted with intelligence, and devoted himself to cultivation from a young age. In the first year of Xuanhe under Emperor Huizong of Song, he crossed the Yangtze River, traveled through the wilderness, and, lost in a rainy mist, encountered a strange man who taught him the arts of commanding wind and thunder."
At this point, the ancient great demon spoke in a heavy voice.
"After obtaining the secret texts of thunder scriptures and imperial talismans, Wang Qianqing's cultivation advanced rapidly, manifesting miracles repeatedly, and his name spread throughout the Jianghu."
"His rise was too fast. In the Northern Song era, people described it as like the moon soaring among the stars. Yet from beginning to end, no one knew who the strange man Wang Qianqing encountered was. Perhaps… it really could be the King of the Night."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/ZenonTL
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.