The left phantom face hesitated upon hearing Ye Ling’s words, seemingly weighing whether to reveal the matters here to him.
The right phantom face, however, could not sit still. It said to the left phantom face, "Brother, how many years has that guy been dead? This place isn't the universe's core anymore. What are you still worried about? Could that guy possibly resurrect and chop us all up?"
"We have a chance to regain our freedom now. What are you still hesitating about?"
Hearing the right phantom face's words, the left phantom face made up its mind and said to Ye Ling, "Alright, we'll tell you everything we know. But before we do, there's one thing I must warn you about: the more you know, the more dangerous it becomes. If you die one day, don't blame us brothers."
Xue Sha chuckled, "Are you joking, phantom face? Who is my boss? Can he die just by hearing a secret?"
The left phantom face merely shook its head and smiled at Xue Sha's words. Then, it began, "This place, a long, long time ago... was the center of the entire universe. The people who lived here were our former masters."
"He controlled all the Heavenly Daos. In the universe, he could be considered truly supreme!"
"Controlled all the Heavenly Daos?" Ye Ling's interest was immediately piqued upon hearing the left phantom face's words. "If such a powerful being existed, how did this palace fall into disrepair like this? And where did your master go?"
The right phantom face interjected, "That guy naturally wasn't as skilled as his opponent and was killed by someone stronger... That guy acted erratically, and to prevent anyone in the universe from threatening his position, he would harvest powerful cultivators above the Emperor realm from all major worlds every hundred thousand years. At that time, all the major worlds suffered greatly, and all the Heavenly Daos dared not resist."
"I remember that guy wanted to eliminate a variable and even captured the person's wife, but he didn't succeed. Instead, he himself was killed by that person!"
"Is there such a thing?" Ye Ling raised an eyebrow, his eyes gleaming, clearly very interested in the past events.
The right phantom face seemed to enjoy this story as well, nodding repeatedly and excitedly saying, "Of course! Let me tell you, when that variable killed his way to the Silent Void, I even..."
Seeing that the right phantom face was getting more and more animated, the left phantom face frowned and called out, "A'you!"
"Alright, alright... I won't say it. I'll let you tell it." The right phantom face said with some displeasure, ceasing to recount the past story and closing its mouth.
Once the right phantom face quieted down, the left phantom face continued speaking to Ye Ling, "The guy A'you mentioned is the master of this palace, Ultimate."
Xue Sha snorted, "Ultimate... What an arrogant title!"
The left phantom face did not refute Xue Sha and continued, "Although what A'you just said is a bit exaggerated, it is indeed the truth. Ultimate did a lot of evil in the universe and oppressed major civilizations. The prison behind us is where cultivators and Heavenly Daos from all realms were imprisoned."
"Later, a monstrous genius emerged in the universe, the variable that A'you mentioned. That esteemed individual grew extremely rapidly, and Ultimate could not nip him in the bud. Ultimately, that esteemed individual surpassed Ultimate in a very short period, then found the Silent Void and slew Ultimate."
The right phantom face sneered, "That fool Ultimate, who ruled the universe for countless epochs, painstakingly tried to eliminate all factors that could threaten his rule, only to be killed in the end."
"All his efforts were in vain. Truly laughable!"
Ye Ling asked the right phantom face with a smile, "You seem very dissatisfied with your master?"
"Dissatisfied? If you were trapped on this gate, and the one who sealed it died without allowing you to break the seal and regain your freedom, I think you'd want to scatter Ultimate's ashes!"
The left phantom face did not refute the right phantom face's words.
Although the left phantom face appeared much calmer, like the right phantom face, it had also been trapped on this gate for countless epochs. To say it harbored no resentment towards Ultimate would be a lie.
After waiting for the right phantom face to vent its resentment for a while, Ye Ling continued to ask, "And then?"
"The variable you mentioned, since it could kill Ultimate who ruled the universe for countless epochs, must inherently be immortal. It should still be alive in the world, right?"
"Do you know anything about him?"
Ye Ling was exceptionally interested in the person the phantom faces had spoken of.
If such a powerful being truly existed in the world, he would never stand by and watch as extraterrestrial forces continuously eroded this universe.
The left phantom face continued, "After Ultimate's death, that esteemed individual rightfully became the ruler of the universe. However, the universe then faced an even greater threat. He went..."
"Huh? What happened next?"
The left phantom face suddenly paused mid-sentence, a trace of confusion appearing in its eyes. "Why can't I remember anything?"
"A'you, do you remember what happened after Ultimate died?"
Hearing the left phantom face's words, the right phantom face also tried to recall what happened after Ultimate's demise, only to find that it too remembered nothing.
The right phantom face exclaimed in shock, "Damn it! How can this be? I don't remember either! Not a single impression!"
The left phantom face frowned, "We are missing a period of memory, yet we never felt anything was wrong... Thinking about it carefully, when Ultimate ruled the world, it seemed to be the Three Thousand Worlds, right? There was no talk of extraterrestrial forces either... How has it become like this now?"
Seeing the reaction of the left and right phantom faces, Ye Ling did not believe they were faking it. He said, "So, someone altered your memories, causing you to miss a period of time, and after such a long duration, you still don't feel anything is amiss?"
The left phantom face shook its head, "I'm not sure... But we are indeed missing a considerable period of memory, and as long as we don't actively bring it up, we won't notice anything unusual about that missing period. This feeling is quite strange."
The right phantom face said, "The only one in the entire universe who could possess such great divine abilities is that esteemed individual who slew Ultimate. However, that esteemed individual is benevolent and did not hunt us down after killing Ultimate. Moreover, he has always diligently protected the universe's safety. He shouldn't have erased our memories for no reason."
The left phantom face added, "And given our brothers' status, it's not enough for that esteemed individual to personally act. It should be an entire period of history missing from the entire universe... However, as we brothers have been trapped here, we are not very clear about the universe's development. I estimate you youngsters know more than we do."
Listening to the words of the left and right phantom faces, Ye Ling's gaze narrowed. He couldn't help but think of the Nine Heavens Realm that Zhang Xiaoling had taken him to.
According to Zhang Xiaoling, the Nine Heavens Realm was the world before the chaos began. The history of this universe could only be traced back to the beginning of chaos. As for what it was like before the chaos, how the Nine Heavens Realm existed, and how it transformed into the current universe, no cosmic historian could explain clearly, and Ye Ling himself had no answer.
Comparing this with the left and right phantom faces' claim of missing memories... Could it be that the existence of the Nine Heavens Realm was a history that had been erased?
And that Zhang Xiaoling knew about the existence of the Nine Heavens Realm, and might even know the Creator God... Could it be that Zhang Xiaoling was the one who erased the universe's memories?
If this speculation were true...
Was Zhang Xiaoling the variable that had once killed Ultimate?