Tribulation of Myriad Races

As a former member of the intelligence gathering department of the pavilion, Yellow Nine naturally knew who Hollow was. She exclaimed in astonishment, “Third on Dao Affirmation Ranking and a member of the ancient spatial beast race? That same Hollow?”

“What do you think?”

First Yellow couldn’t be bothered to hide anymore, “My deepest secret has been exposed. Are you disappointed that I’ve lied to you for so long?”

“No.” Instead, Yellow Nine exclaimed in a voice of pleasant surprise, “Elder, so you’re Hollow? Beat him up! Beat him up and we can run! You’re third on the Dao Affirmation Ranking! Everyone says that everyone in the top ten is strong enough to beat Invincibles up! Do it, Elder! Mess him up!”

First Yellow had a very strong urge to roll his eyes.

The head laughed in amusement, “His temper…this attitude…she has indeed inherited the characteristics of her family.”

Yellow Nine looked at the head before looking at First Yellow again. She asked, “Elder, what is the head saying? Wait…did you steal me somewhere instead of picking me up somewhere? Hollow is renowned for his incredible skills in thievery…”

First Yellow said, “No. I picked you up. Who would even want to steal you? You were on the street. Nobody wanted you. I picked you up with the intention of using you as a prop for my fake identity. Thanks to you, all my hard work over the years has gone to waste. None of this would have happened if you didn’t provoke Profound Nine.”

Yellow Nine asked in confusion, “You’re Hollow. Why do you need to hide your identity?”

First Yellow refused to answer.

The head said, “Of course he has to hide. Hollow, third on the Dao Affirmation Ranking. Yet he only focuses on hiding instead of affirming his dao. He has been hiding for many years. There must be a reason for that, right?”

“…”

First Yellow explained, “Uhm, head, I…”

“Don’t bother. Have you forgotten that I’m the head of the Yellow Department? I am the head of the biggest intelligence-gathering organization in the Myriad Realms. Nobody knows more than me.

“125 years ago, a certain someone wanted to steal something to serve as his carrier treasure for his dao affirmation. But that carrier treasure was in the hand of a big shot. Surprisingly, that brazen someone did not give up. Instead, he proceeded with his plan and stole the coffin lid of the Pseudo Emperor of the ancient immortal race. Am I right, Hollow?”

“…”

Yellow Nine exclaimed, “Coffin lid?”

The head said, “Yes. The Pseudo Emperor of the ancient immortals is very old. Perhaps he is really someone who has lived since the ancient past until now. Anyway, due to his old age, he forged himself a coffin to nurture his life force.” “That coffin of his is an incredible treasure. It was forged from a ten-thousand-year-old heavenly source tree, countless heavenly source qi, countless sunmoon profound yellow liquid, countless heavenearth profound light, and many other treasures. Then, he personally cultivated the coffin for over a thousand years before completing it. That coffin was comparable to a peak heaven weapon. And then, someone came along to steal the lid of his treasured coffin. What could that certain someone do after that apart from going into hiding?”

Yellow Nine remained stunned for a long while before asking, “Elder, where’s the coffin lid?”

First Yellow said, “Why do you ask? Do you want it? That’s a bad idea. That thing is inauspicious.”

The head laughed and said, “In his hands, that thing is an excellent carrier treasure. He’s probably targeting an extremely powerful tri-life body. A regular tri-life body is not worthy of him. Hollow, you must have been on the hunt for a good tri-life body for the past hundred years, right?”

First Yellow said nothing.

The head continued, “Don’t worry. I don’t care about that. Nor am I interested in your carrier treasure. I need your help with one task. No matter what, I’ve provided you shelter for a hundred years. You’re only a fugitive now because you made the choice to flee. Otherwise, things wouldn’t have been so bad.”

Instead of agreeing, First Yellow asked after some hesitation, “Head, just what is the level of your cultivation?”

“I’m an Eternal. What else can my cultivation level be? Are you trying to say that I’m a Pseudo Emperor?”

“No. But even among Eternals, the difference in strength can be quite big. If you really did follow me all those years ago with me being none the wiser…that can only mean that your strength…”

The head grinned, “What about my strength? Don’t get too imaginative. Hollow…no, I’m used to calling you First Yellow so I’ll be sticking with that. First Yellow, what do you think about completing a task for me?”

“Please give me your orders, Lord.”

“Steal the Culture Tomb for me.” The head said, “This is something you’re capable of. I believe nobody is better suited to this job than you.”

First Yellow frowned and said, “That thing has the attention of everyone. I’m only here for the carrier treasures, not the Culture Tomb. That’s too dangerous a target.”

He asked, “Head, why do you want it? Why do you want it so badly that you’re willing to expose what you know about me?”

“I’m curious since everyone wants it. However, the others in the pavilion will want it as well if they learn that I have it. That won’t do. I’m not interested in sharing.”

First Yellow hesitated slightly and said, “But…I don’t think I can do this. My hands have gotten rusty after so many years in hiding. In fact, I’m confident I have forgotten how to steal.”

“How is that possible?” The head said cheerfully, “You won’t forget. After all, you were active as recently as a few years ago. Don’t you remember the dragon egg you stole from a dragon Invincible not long ago?”

“…”

Yellow Nine exclaimed, “Elder, was the egg I ate eight years ago actually a dragon egg?”

“…”

First Yellow cursed inwardly. What was this reaction? Why was she so shocked? What was the big deal of eating a dragon egg?

Yellow Nine continued crying out in surprise, “What about that little bird you fed me twelve years ago?”

The head laughed, “Oh, right. Twelve years ago, the phoenix race lost a chick. Was that you as well?”

Yellow Nine exclaimed yet again, “A chick? That’s so cruel! Elder, I’ve decided to sever my relationship with you! You’re so cruel!”

She turned and attempted to flee again. The head rolled his eyes and tapped her head again as he said, “Why are you still trying to run? Lass, you won’t be able to escape. Do you think that your absence will give him the courage to fight me?”

The gloomy Yellow Nine blinked at First Yellow, asking with her eyes if he could defeat this Invincible. She also said that if he could win, go ahead. If not, just agree to work for the Invincible. At worst, they could turn on their words and run off right after the Invincible was gone.

First Yellow said helplessly, “Head, this job is…really too dangerous.”

“I know. But I don’t want that thing in the hands of others.” The head said, “Help me with this. If you succeed, I’ll help you once during your dao affirmation. After all, your dao affirmation will be very dangerous. It will almost be the same as throwing your life away. The Pseudo Emperor of the ancient immortal race will probably go after you personally.”

First Yellow didn’t know what to say. He was well aware of that. He would have attempted his dao affirmation long ago otherwise.

“But…fine!” First Yellow sighed, “Head…you’re truly wise.”

“You’re too kind.”

The head said, “Alright, then. I’ll get out of your hair. First Yellow, keep your mask. No matter what, it’s a peak earth weapon. Even if you crush it, I’ll still be able to find you. And if you manage to evade my detection by some miracle, I’ll still be able to locate this lass.”

First Yellow said, “Don’t worry, Head. I won’t try to run!”

“I hope so.”

With that, the head vanished.

The two looked at each other again.

With a bizarre expression, Yellow Nine asked, “Elder, are you really Hollow? Hollow is supposed to be an ancient spatial beast, right? So what’s your true form? Is your true form fun? Nobody knows what ancient spatial beasts look like.”

“Shut up!” First Yellow snorted, put his mask back on, and said, “Put your mask back on. You’re completely useless.”

“Elder, that’s an Invincible. If not even you have the courage to fight him, what am I supposed to do? I tried to act cute in front of him, but what could I do if he ignored all my attempts?”

First Yellow ignored her words. He thought for a bit before saying, “Looks like we really need to do this task for him. Why is he trying to get the Culture Tomb? It will probably be useless for him. According to the rumors, it’s only useful for Pseudo Emperors or those from the multiple character faction…”

Yellow Nine nonchalantly said, “Either he’s trying to become an Emperor or he’s colluding with the humans. From how he behaved earlier, he might also know that Profound Nine’s identity is problematic. Look at how he avoided the topic earlier. He might be related to the multiple character faction.”

“Is that so?” First Yellow rubbed his chin, “Perhaps. Whatever. There is no need to know. The more we know, the faster we’ll die. And I’ll die even faster if my identity is exposed. Your grandpa is wanted by a top three expert of the Myriad Realms. Sigh. You have no idea how much I regret my past actions…”

“If you’re really regretful, you can always return the coffin lid.”

“Nope. How can I do that? I’m still relying on it to capture a powerful past body.”

“Past body? Don’t you already have one? Are you saying that your existing tri-life body is actually a future body?”

“What a stupid question to ask. Almost everyone in the top ten of the Dao Affirmation Ranking has captured a future body first. Who cares about the past body? It’s way too weak. The truly worthy ones will have their eyes set on the future body. Forget it. You won’t understand this. You will understand how difficult this step is after you reach my level.”

Yellow Nine did not seem to be too interested in this topic. She moved on and asked, “Elder, so which family was I from? The head seems to know my background.”

“Your background? Like I said, I picked you up somewhere.”

“Where, exactly?”

“Why are you asking me all these questions? Are you thinking of going back to your family?”

“Nope.” Yellow Nine denied, “I’m merely curious. From what the head said, my family seems to be quite a big deal. Maybe I should return to them? That will give us a chance to steal something nice from them!”

“Forget it. Your family is no more. There is nothing left to steal. Stop dreaming. We need to leave. If you want to return to your family, you need to first pay me for all the good stuff I fed you all these years.”

“No money.”

Yellow Nine did not think that she would ever be able to afford it. How was she supposed to afford something like a dragon egg and a phoenix chick? Whatever. So be it. She decided that she would keep following her grandpa. Only then would she continue eating well.