"Is that so?" Chancellor Qi mused to himself that the scene Lu Yang described wasn't quite what he had anticipated. On the contrary, Jin Caiwei's account matched his perception of immortals far better, possessing a sweeping grandeur and an aura of disdain for all under heaven.
Jin Caiwei hesitated, a rare occurrence for her, unsure whether to confirm or deny Lu Yang's answer.
She had been born near the end of the ancient era, after the age of prodigies vying for supremacy had already passed. By then, the Four Ancient Celestials were in their zenith, reigning over the cosmos, and her father, Old Qiongqi, was one of the era's great powerhouses, standing second only to the four immortals.
Back then, her cultivation had been insufficient, so she couldn't truly participate in many events. Occurrences such as battles between immortals could only be learned through her father's recounting.
This battle between Immortal Ying Tian and Immortal Suiyue was precisely something she had learned of from her father's description.
She recalled Immortal Kirin once saying that much of history had been whitewashed by that shameless scoundrel Ying Tian, and that one couldn't merely look at appearances—one had to look at the actual reality.
The scene Lu Yang described aligned remarkably well with the "actual reality" Immortal Kirin had spoken of.
Furthermore, Lu Yang's tone was far more certain than her own, as if he had witnessed it with his own eyes, describing every detail with vivid precision. This confidence was something Jin Caiwei lacked.
"I don't know either." Jin Caiwei shook her head helplessly, unable to judge whether Lu Yang was telling the truth or not.
"I see." Chancellor Qi felt that the battle truly was unfathomable, which indeed fit the elusive nature of ancient history.
Chancellor Qi then said earnestly to Ye Gu, "Xiao Gu, I've told you long ago not to think yourself extraordinary just because you've learned a bit of the surface of ancient history. What kind of era was antiquity? It was the most glorious and dazzling era of the cultivation world, teeming with countless legends. Even if one spent an entire lifetime, one could barely glimpse a single corner of it.
"Look at these two young friends. Their understanding of ancient history surpasses yours, yet they have two different answers for the exact same event. This just shows how enigmatic ancient history truly is."
Ye Gu was thoroughly mortified by Chancellor Qi's reprimand.
"Teacher, I was wrong."
"It's good that you realize your mistake. All right, go back to the Meng family and teach."
After Chancellor Qi shooed Ye Gu back to the Ye family, he resumed discussing ancient history with Jin Caiwei and Lu Yang. Jin Caiwei's accounts truly opened his eyes, allowing him to learn many ancient secrets.
"You mean to say that Immortal Kirin not only had two wives—the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor and the Phoenix Clan Ancient Ancestor—but that a Little Ancestor of the Qiongqi Clan was also his wife?"
Back when Jiang Lianyi publicly declared that Immortal Kirin had two wives—herself and Ao Ling—it had caused an uproar in the academic circles of ancient history. Who would have thought that Immortal Kirin had yet another wife?
Chancellor Qi only knew that the Fellow Daoist Jin before him was named Jin Caiwei; he had no idea that the Little Ancestor of the Qiongqi Clan was also named Jin Caiwei, failing to connect the two.
Unlike illustrious ancient figures like Ao Ling and Zhu Tian, Jin Caiwei's reputation was obscure. Later generations only knew of Old Qiongqi, unaware that there was also a Little Qiongqi.
"Might I ask in which ancient text Fellow Daoist Jin saw this recorded?"
As a scholar, Chancellor Qi naturally wouldn't just believe whatever Jin Caiwei said; there had to be evidence.
He had perused many ancient tomes, but none had ever mentioned Immortal Kirin having three wives.
"Of course there is."
With an air of mystery, Jin Caiwei took out an ancient tome. On its pages, it was recorded in black and white that Immortal Kirin had three wives, and the third was from the Qiongqi Clan.
Receiving the ancient tome, Chancellor Qi treated it like a priceless treasure.
It recorded many things unknown to later generations; its value was immeasurable.
"I thought it seemed odd! Even the current emperor can have three palaces and six courtyards. How could a grand immortal like Immortal Kirin have had only two wives?"
Emperor Xia: "..."
*Chancellor Qi, I didn't provoke you, did I? I've never withheld a single coin from the Imperial Academy's budget.*
"Fairy, what is going on here?" Lu Yang was thoroughly baffled. While Chancellor Qi was painstakingly translating the ancient language word for word, Lu Yang had already finished reading it.
What ancient text would dare write that Immortal Kirin had three wives? Did they take Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi for pushovers?
"Is the ancient text forged?"
"It's not forged. The book is genuinely from ancient times. It was probably written by the little tiger herself."
The Immortal Fairy hit the nail on the head. This ancient text really had been written by Jin Caiwei during the ancient era. Whoever came to inspect it would confirm it was the real deal.
The only problem was that no rule dictated that what was recorded in ancient texts had to be true.
Lu Yang felt from the bottom of his heart that being a historian was a tough job. First, there was Immortal Ying Tian resorting to any means to maintain an aura of grandeur, and then there was Jin Caiwei fabricating history to elevate her own status. Anyone trying to study it would end up bewildered.
Fortunately, he had the Immortal Fairy and knew the whole truth of ancient history... Wait, fortunate my foot! It would have been best if he never knew at all!
One of Jin Caiwei's purposes in coming to the Imperial Academy was to spread rumors. Even though she couldn't beat Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi in a fight, she could gain the upper hand in public opinion.
Having deceived Chancellor Qi, Jin Caiwei looked warily at Lu Yang. This fellow named Lu Yang was not simple; he likely knew she was lying.
While Chancellor Qi was busy studying the ancient text, Jin Caiwei bared her little tiger fangs, making a ferocious grimace to threaten the Immortal Fairy into keeping quiet about the truth.
"Immortal Kirin indeed had another wife, a Little Qiongqi."
The Immortal Fairy acted out of character. Instead of exposing Jin Caiwei's lie, she actually helped her, leaving Lu Yang utterly perplexed.
"Fairy, why are you..."
"What's wrong? The little tiger isn't wrong. Immortal Kirin admitted it himself."
"There was actually such a thing?!"
"That was back before Immortal Kirin married Xiao Ling and Lianyi. The two of them pressed Immortal Kirin, demanding to know who he actually loved and who he was going to take as his wife.
"Immortal Kirin embraced them both and said, 'I love you both, so you will both be my wives.'
"Following that logical reasoning, Immortal Kirin loved the little tiger too, so naturally the little tiger is Immortal Kirin's wife as well!" The Immortal Fairy never talked nonsense. Everything she said had a basis, and her logic was watertight.
"So Immortal Kirin actually had quite a few wives—Little Qiongqi, the nine-tailed fox, and so on."
Lu Yang felt that Immortal Kirin was lucky to have attained immortality. If Immortal Kirin had only been a half-immortal, he would probably have suffered the same fate as that fellow with the Harem Golden Core—ending up dismembered.
"Later on, seeing that Immortal Kirin liked so many people, I wanted to know if there was one he loved the most. Just like when I ranked the Ten Ancient Beauties—everyone was pretty, but there still had to be an order of precedence.
"So I gathered all his wives together and asked Immortal Kirin, 'Who is your favorite?'
"Immortal Kirin was so thrilled that he kept trembling. Seeing him shake so violently, I tied him to a chair, trussing him up tight, and only then did he stop shaking.
"Presumably, Immortal Kirin loved everyone equally, because in the end, he never managed to say who his favorite was."
The Immortal Fairy shook her head with regret, thoroughly dissatisfied with that outcome.
"After I left, I heard Immortal Kirin took a beating. He screamed pretty loudly too. It was probably just some little marital playfulness between husbands and wives. Since it was private, I didn't look into it too closely."
Jin Caiwei had no idea what was going through the Immortal Fairy's head, but seeing how Lu Yang helped cover for her lie, she thought he was quite a decent junior who could be vigorously cultivated in the future.
Chapter 932