241: Chapter 241 The Ancient Heavenly Palace is About to Open

News of Xue Wei's surrender spread throughout the Imperial City the next day.

Hun Qian personally handled her induction into the hall—registering her in the roster, assigning her a palace pavilion, and issuing her a token. The entire process was completed even faster than for a typical new disciple. Xue Wei changed out of her prisoner uniform into a dark red, cinched long dress. With her blood-red hair tied high, she stood in the main hall of the Imperial City, and the gazes of many people in the hall drifted toward her involuntarily. When a few young disciples walked out of the hall, they kept looking back, but after a single glance from Hun Qian, they hurriedly shrank their necks and walked away quickly.

She was not timid, walking around the hall generously, examining the reliefs on the four walls and the spiritual crystal lamps on the dome, a playful arc always hanging on the corners of her lips. When a few branch hall masters passed by and greeted her, she responded flawlessly—neither sycophantic nor cold, and she could even interject with a well-timed joke. Soul Mie Sheng whispered to Hun Qian in private: "This woman is not simple." Hun Qian nodded without saying much.

But the women of the Imperial City were not so polite to her.

That evening, Xue Wei bumped into Yao Yao in the corridor. Yao Yao had just come from the Martial Arena, dressed in a sharp, dark red outfit. She hadn't yet untied the bone whip at her waist, and when her peach-blossom eyes swept over, they carried a careless sharpness. The two met at the corner of the corridor; Xue Wei stepped aside to give way and nodded with a smile.

Yao Yao stopped.

She looked Xue Wei up and down, her peach-blossom eyes sweeping from those long blood-colored hair down to the tips of the boots beneath the skirt, then back up to her face, and then she left without saying a word. There was no hostility in that glance, but it wasn't goodwill either—it was a precise, woman-to-woman scrutiny. Xue Wei stood where she was, watching her walk away, the smile on her lips undiminished, though her eyebrows arched slightly.

Cao Ying was more direct when she ran into Xue Wei in the dining hall. She brushed past her carrying a tray, her phoenix eyes slightly raised, and dropped a light comment: "A Spirit Grade Heavenly Supreme at the peak—you'd be a person of note anywhere. It's a pity your mind is a bit too active." Xue Wei, holding her bowl and chopsticks, sat down at an empty table without changing her expression, eating with great refinement.

Xiao Yi Xian didn't react much. She was busy tending to the newly arrived poisonous herbs in the medicine field. When she heard about the matter, she just nodded, her hands continuing the task of sorting herbs without pause, and said indifferently: "The Hall Master has his own discretion." When the medicine boy next to her asked if she wanted to go to the main hall to see the newcomer, she raised her mud-stained hand and waved it, continuing to bury her head in her herbs.

Gu Xun'er brewed a pot of tea and mentioned it casually when serving it to Hun Feng: "The matter of Miss Xue Wei is being discussed quite heatedly in the city. Sister Cai Lin hasn't said anything, though." Hun Feng took the teacup without responding. Xun'er didn't say anything more, put down the teacup, and went to the side hall to organize files.

As for Cai Lin, she didn't mention the matter at all.

She only took a few extra looks at Xue Wei during the evening meeting, her gaze calm, revealing no emotion. Hun Feng recognized that look—she couldn't be bothered to care, but she was watching. For Cai Lin, this was already the greatest statement. Xue Wei was shrewd enough to naturally read the weight of that gaze, and from then on, she restrained herself by three points in front of Cai Lin.

Two days later, Imperial City Main Hall.

Hun Feng summoned all the high-level members currently in the city to a meeting at Spirit Hall. The four great branch hall masters—Soul Mie Sheng, Hun Jing, Hun You, and Hun Qian—were all present, and Yao Yao, Cao Ying, and Xiao Yi Xian were also in attendance. Gu Xun'er sat below Cai Lin, and Yun Yun was also present today, sitting by the window with an untouched cup of clear tea by her side. The atmosphere in the hall was a bit heavier than usual, because everyone present knew what was being discussed today—how much the newly surrendered Evil Race woman was hiding.

"Bring her in." Hun Feng sat in the main seat, his tone casual.

The hall doors were pushed open, and two guards led Xue Wei into the main hall. She had changed into a simpler dark red long dress today, her blood-colored hair tied loosely behind her head with a silver hairpin, lacking the allure of the previous two days but possessing more efficiency. She walked to the center of the hall and stood still, her gaze sweeping across the faces of the high-level members on both sides, finally landing on Hun Feng in the main seat.

"Hall Master, such a grand setup." She looked around, the corners of her lips curving, "Are you going to interrogate me?"

"Interrogation is not the word." Hun Feng leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and held a teacup in his hand, "You've been eating and drinking for free in Spirit Hall for over a month. Now that you are one of our own, you should pay a greeting gift. Tell us everything you know—the origins of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan, their ranks, strongholds, combat power, don't miss a single thing."

Xue Wei looked at him, silent for two breaths. Everyone's gaze in the hall fell upon her, with scrutiny, precaution, and undisguised hostility—Soul Mie Sheng's hand had been resting on the hilt of his blade the whole time without letting go. She knew clearly that she couldn't avoid this today. Hun Feng calling her here in front of everyone was to make her lay her cards on the table. It was both an opportunity for her to prove her loyalty and a way to let all the high-level members present serve as witnesses—every word she, Xue Wei, said could be used for confrontation in the future.

"Fine." She spoke, her tone a bit more serious than usual, "I will speak."

She began from the origin of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan.

"Our original name was the 'Saint Race.' We are not natives of the Great Thousand World, but come from another plane—the Heavenly Source Realm. There, we were once the strongest race."

Her tone was flat, as if stating a history unrelated to herself, but when she said the words "strongest," a faint trace of pride flashed in the depths of her eyes, vanishing in an instant.

"Later, we were defeated. The remnants fled their homeland under the leadership of the second-generation Saint God, the Heavenly Evil God, and drifted to the outer regions of the Great Thousand World. Your ancestors called us the 'Extraterritorial Evil Clan' and said we were 'Plane Destroyers'—and they weren't wrong. Our spiritual power attributes truly pollute the spiritual energy of your plane; wherever we go, no grass grows. This isn't intentional; it's our nature. Just like fish swim in water and birds fly in the sky, our existence in this plane causes erosion."

"About forty-nine thousand years ago, the Heavenly Evil God personally led the thirty-two great clans to invade the Great Thousand World." Her tone sank slightly here, as if speaking of a past she herself was unwilling to recall, "That battle lasted for thousands of years. Countless Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereigns fell on your side—the Heavenly Emperor sacrificed the Ancient Heavenly Palace, and the Immortal Great Emperor used his life to seal the Heavenly Evil God. We didn't fare much better; half of the thirty-two great clans were lost, and the Nine-Corpse Heavenly Demon Emperor was trapped and died in the ruins of the Ancient Heavenly Palace, and his remains haven't been found to this day. Nearly half of the Great Thousand World's territory was polluted into a Demon Domain, which remains a dead zone to this day."

The hall was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

"The Heavenly Evil God is sealed in the Northern Wasteland Hill. The seal has seven layers in total, exchanged for with the life of the Immortal Great Emperor." Xue Wei continued, "The outermost three layers were forcibly broken during the last Evil Race counterattack; now only four remain. The cracks in the fourth layer are also expanding. At the current rate of erosion, in a few decades at most, those at the level of the Heavenly Demon Emperor will be able to pass through the cracks and enter the Great Thousand World."

Soul Mie Sheng's hand tightened on his blade. Everyone present was a Heavenly Supreme and naturally knew what a Heavenly Demon Emperor meant—that was an existence equivalent to a Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereign. A few decades of time is a lifetime for a mortal, but for a Heavenly Supreme, it is just a snap of the fingers.

"Ranks." Hun Feng was concise.

"The supreme leader is the Heavenly Evil God." Xue Wei counted on her fingers, "Below him are the Heavenly Demon Emperors, equivalent to your Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereigns. The Blood Zombie Heavenly Demon Emperor of the Blood Demon Clan, the Nine-Corpse Heavenly Demon Emperor of the Swallowing Demon Clan, the Phantom Star Heavenly Demon Emperor of the Heart Demon Clan—they are all old monsters who followed the Heavenly Evil God to fight in the Great Thousand World back then. Further down are the Demon Emperors, corresponding to your Immortal Grade Heavenly Supreme. Then there are the Demon Sovereigns—" She pointed to herself, "Spirit Grade Heavenly Supreme level. I am a Demon Sovereign. At the very bottom are Demon Kings, Demon Generals, and Demon Soldiers. Their numbers are massive, and they are the ones who charge at the front as cannon fodder every time we go to war."

She paused and added another sentence: "There is also a special existence—the Evil Spirit Race. They are the mixed-blood descendants of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan and the creatures of the Great Thousand World, capable of cultivating both evil energy and spiritual power. But on the Evil Race side, they are treated as half-breeds, and their status is even lower than ordinary Demon Soldiers. You certainly won't accept them either. They belong to neither side."

A faint sound of whispering arose in the hall. Although the high-level members of Spirit Hall present had fought against the Evil Race, most of it was frontal combat, and they did not have a systematic understanding of the internal hierarchy and racial division of the enemy. These few paragraphs from Xue Wei were equivalent to laying the entire foundation of the Evil Race on the table.

Hun Feng put down his teacup and placed his hands crossed on his knees: "Distribution of strongholds. Especially in the area of the Chaotic Demon Sea."

Xue Wei walked to the map of the Great Thousand World hanging on the side of the hall and raised her hand to point out seven locations on it. Her fingertips were slender and fair, and each one landed on the most sensitive position in everyone's hearts. Hun Qian immediately stood up and walked to the map, taking out a vermilion pen to mark the places she pointed out one by one.

"There are seven hidden strongholds along the Chaotic Demon Sea line: three in the south, two in the east, one in the northwest, and one more—" Her fingertip landed on the sea area less than two thousand miles from the periphery of the Burning Heaven Mountain Range, "Right here. It is less than a day's journey from your Spirit Hall's patrol line."

Suppressed whispers erupted in the hall. The knuckles of the hand on Soul Mie Sheng's blade turned white—that location was too close, so close it sent a chill down his spine. Spirit Hall had been patrolling the Burning Heaven Mountain Range for three years and had never discovered that stronghold.

"Garrison strength of the strongholds?" Hun Feng stared at the vermilion marks on the map.

"Each stronghold has at least one Demon Sovereign sitting in charge, equipped with two to three Demon Emperors—that is, between your Spirit Grade and Immortal Grade. Auxiliary troops range from three thousand to five thousand, most of which are Demon Generals and Demon Soldiers. The function of these strongholds is to monitor the movements of all parties in the Great Thousand World. Once the seal of the Heavenly Evil God is completely broken, they will be the springboard for the first wave of attacks."

Hun Feng leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the armrest twice. No one in the hall spoke; everyone was digesting the information Xue Wei had thrown out. Seven hidden strongholds, the closest one less than two thousand miles from the Burning Heaven Mountain Range—this meant that from the first day Spirit Hall was established, it had been living under the eyelids of the Evil Race. If Xue Wei hadn't said it herself today, Spirit Hall's patrol line might still be kept in the dark.

"Are you finished?" Hun Feng asked.

"Finished." Xue Wei turned around, facing the gazes of the entire hall, her expression calm, "Everything that needed to be confessed has been confessed. The rest—the specific rotation times for each stronghold, contact codes, supply routes—there are too many details to finish today. I will organize them into a file and submit it later."

Hun Feng looked at her. From the moment she stepped into the main hall until now, he hadn't spoken more than five sentences, spending most of the time listening. This was precisely the purpose of his arrangement for this meeting today—he could certainly have interrogated everything Xue Wei knew in the dungeon alone, but that was not enough. Only in front of all the high-level members of Spirit Hall, by having her flip the Evil Race's trump cards one by one, could her words become the intelligence asset of the entire Spirit Hall, rather than just a bargaining chip for him, Hun Feng, alone.

He stood up, walked down the steps, and stopped three steps away from Xue Wei.

"From today on, you will follow by my side."

Xue Wei raised an eyebrow.

"First as a personal maid." Hun Feng added.

The hall was quiet for a moment. Yao Yao's peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly—she had been leaning back in her chair listening lazily, but now she sat up straight, her gaze traveling back and forth between Hun Feng and Xue Wei, and the corners of her lips hooked into an arc of watching a good show. Cao Ying's action of holding the tea paused. Cai Lin sat in her original seat without moving, only gently setting the teacup in her hand on the table, making a very slight porcelain sound. The sound was not loud, but Xue Wei heard it, and her back straightened by half a point imperceptibly.

"Hall Master," Xue Wei finally found her voice, her smile still charming but with a hint of disbelief in her tone, "I am a peak Spirit Grade Heavenly Supreme, and you want me to be a maid?"

"What's wrong with being a maid?" Hun Feng looked matter-of-fact, "Serving closely, never leaving my side. When I drink tea, you pour it; when I review documents, you grind the ink. The treatment is excellent, with room and board included. Your soul imprint is in my hands right now; I assign you whatever task, you do it. Any objections?"

Xue Wei opened her mouth slightly, her gaze drifting toward the high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall on either side, seemingly looking for some sympathy. Yao Yao leaned back in her chair, her peach-blossom eyes filled with schadenfreude as she winked at her. Cao Ying lowered her head to drink tea, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly. Soul Mie Sheng remained expressionless, though the hand resting on his sword hilt finally relaxed. Xiao Yi Xian, however, raised her head to glance at her; there was no hostility in her gaze, but rather a hint of faint sympathy—she knew best what it felt like to be manipulated by Hun Feng. Yun Yun sat by the window, not speaking from beginning to end, merely observing the scene quietly. Her gaze lingered on Xue Wei for a moment before shifting to Hun Feng, her lips pressed slightly together.

"Lord Hall Master, you really are something." Xue Wei took a deep breath, the rise and fall of her chest causing the neckline of her dark red dress to tremble slightly. "I am a dignified Demon Emperor, a figure who at least commands a territory within the Evil Race. To be a maid for you—if word gets out, where will I put my face?"

"You are a person of the Spirit Hall now." Hun Feng corrected her, his tone gentle yet indisputable. "Face is something that will come with time. Do well, and you will be promoted in the future. Do poorly—and you will remain a maid indefinitely."

Xue Wei stared into his eyes for two seconds, finally squeezing two words through her teeth: "...As you command."

After the meeting ended, Xue Wei followed Hun Feng out of the main hall. The two walked one after the other through the corridor, with Xue Wei consistently lagging half a step behind. They bumped into Yao Yao coming out of the side door of the main hall; she still had that bone whip draped over her arm. Catching a glimpse of Xue Wei following closely behind Hun Feng, her peach-blossom eyes filled with schadenfreude. As they brushed past, she tossed out a light remark: "Miss Xue Wei, the ink in the Hall Master's study needs grinding."

Xue Wei's footsteps stiffened, and the corner of her mouth twitched, but she ultimately restrained herself from retorting. Hun Feng walked ahead without looking back, though the corner of his mouth curled up slightly.

In the study, Hun Feng sat back behind his desk. Xue Wei awkwardly added water to the inkstone and began to grind the ink, doing so clumsily and stumbling, causing two drops of ink to splatter onto the desk.

"Clumsy." Hun Feng didn't even look up.

Xue Wei gripped the ink stick, took a deep breath, and forcibly swallowed the five words, "Say that again."

Just at this moment, Hun Qian hurried into the study. He held a message jade slip shimmering with golden light in his hands, his pace three points faster than usual.

"Hall Master." Hun Qian presented the jade slip with both hands, his voice kept extremely steady. "An urgent report from the Great Thousand Palace—the hundred-year period for the Ancient Heavenly Palace has arrived; the seal has loosened, and it will appear in the world in a few days."

Hun Feng took the jade slip and probed it with his spiritual sense. As he read, the speed of the golden light shimmering on the surface of the jade slip increased—the Ancient Heavenly Palace, the top super-power in the Great Thousand World during the ancient era, founded by the Heavenly Emperor, had been at the height of its prosperity. With five halls and nine prefectures, and disciples as numerous as clouds, the Heavenly Emperor himself was ranked among the Nine Ancient Emperors, and his cultivation at the late stage of Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereign could shake the heavens and move the earth. During that catastrophe over forty thousand years ago, the Nine-Corpse Heavenly Demon Emperor led the Evil Race army to invade the Heavenly Palace. The Heavenly Emperor sacrificed himself to seal this demon, and the Heavenly Palace subsequently collapsed and sank into the void, disappearing without a trace from then on.

Since then, the seal of the Heavenly Palace loosened once every hundred years, and the entrance opened briefly in the void. For tens of thousands of years, countless factions had sent people to explore, yet no one had ever been able to reach the core inheritance. The Heavenly Emperor Sword, One Qi Transforming into Three Purities, and the Ancient Primordial Celestial Bodies—these legendary items that could drive even a Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereign mad remained sleeping in the depths of the Heavenly Palace to this day.

Hun Feng placed the jade slip on the desk. Xue Wei noticed a faint smile appear at the corner of his mouth. She could read the meaning behind that smile—he knew something. He had a plan regarding that Heavenly Palace.

"Hun Qian, go call Mu Chen and Luo Li."

Before long, two young figures stepped into the study side by side. Mu Chen walked in front, dressed in black with black hair, his shoulders broader than the last time they met, and the youthful air between his brows was being replaced by something more steady. Luo Li followed half a step behind, her silver hair cascading like a waterfall, her blue eyes cold and clear. Upon entering, her gaze first landed on Hun Feng, then naturally swept across the study, pausing for a moment on Xue Wei, who was grinding ink by the window—Xue Wei was wearing a plain maid's dress, and her posture while grinding ink was still somewhat awkward, a far cry from the enchanting and bewitching Demon Emperor of a few days ago.

Luo Li withdrew her gaze, her expression unchanged.

"Master." The two clasped their fists simultaneously.

Hun Feng leaned back in his chair, watching this pair of beautiful people before him. When he took them as disciples, both were just at the Hua Tian Realm, so inexperienced that it made his teeth itch just watching from the sidelines. Now, Mu Chen's spiritual energy foundation had been solidly built up to the Fifth Grade Sovereign, and Luo Li's Luoshen Sword Art had been practiced to the fifth level, with her sword intent beginning to take shape. Talent was indeed unfair, but talent alone was not enough—they needed opportunities, and they needed to face true life-and-death tests alone, without his protection. In a place like the Ancient Heavenly Palace, people dying was a common occurrence, but those who survived were often reborn and transformed.

"Fifth Grade Sovereign?" Hun Feng spoke.

"Yes." Mu Chen nodded.

"Do you think it's enough?"

Mu Chen was silent for a second, then honestly replied: "Not enough."

"If you know it's not enough, then there is still hope." Hun Feng pushed the golden-shimmering jade slip on the table toward him. "The Ancient Heavenly Palace opens once every hundred years. There are opportunities and dangers inside; you two go and try your luck."

Mu Chen picked up the jade slip and probed it with his spiritual sense; his pupils constricted slightly. After reading it, he handed it to Luo Li; the expression on his face had returned to calm, but the flame in the depths of his eyes could not be faked. He had heard the headmaster mention the name of the Ancient Heavenly Palace back at the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy—that was the top super-power of the ancient era, and the Heavenly Emperor's inheritance had yet to be obtained by anyone. Not to mention obtaining the core inheritance, just picking up a few Heaven-grade cultivation techniques on the outer perimeter of the Heavenly Palace would be enough for an ordinary Sovereign to save hundreds of years of struggle.

"This time when the Heavenly Palace opens, the degree to which the seal has loosened is unprecedented, and all the major super-powers will send people. The Mohe Ancient Clan, the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan, the Sword Domain, the West Heaven War Palace—you will encounter many people stronger than you." Hun Feng stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to the two. "I don't care what opportunities you obtain inside; I only have three instructions."

He held up one finger. "First, survive. No matter how great the opportunity, if you don't have the life to take it, it belongs to someone else."

He held up a second finger. "Second, if you encounter people from the Evil Race, kill them if you can; if you can't, run. The Ancient Heavenly Palace was destroyed by the Evil Race back then, and every time the Heavenly Palace opens, the Evil Race sneaks in. They are more familiar with the internal mechanisms and layout of the Heavenly Palace than most treasure hunters. Don't try to be a hero."

He held up a third finger. "Third, do not reveal your lineage. It's not that I'm afraid of trouble, but because the name of the Spirit Hall will only make you the target of everyone in the Heavenly Palace. Make your fortune in silence, understand?"

Mu Chen and Luo Li looked at each other and simultaneously clasped their fists: "The disciples understand."

"Go and prepare. We depart in three days. I will have Hun You personally lead a team of elites to escort you to the entrance in the Tianluo Continent. Once you enter the Heavenly Palace, everything depends on yourselves."

After the two exited the study, Xue Wei stood up from by the window, walked to Hun Feng's side, and looked out, imitating his stance.

"The Ancient Heavenly Palace—" she elongated her tone, "the Evil Race has been talking about that place for tens of thousands of years. The Nine-Corpse Heavenly Demon Emperor perished inside, and his remains haven't been found to this day. The Blood-Stiff Heavenly Demon Emperor sent three batches of people in to search, and not a single batch returned."

"How much do you know?" Hun Feng asked.

"I am at the Demon Emperor level, after all." Xue Wei tilted her head to look at him, a trace of craftiness flashing in her deep purple eyes. "When it comes to intelligence, I actually know quite a bit. But I am a maid now—should a maid be so talkative?"

"If I tell you to speak, then speak."

"Inside the Heavenly Palace, there are five halls and nine prefectures. The deepest part is the Heavenly Emperor's sleeping quarters; the Heavenly Emperor Sword should be there. However, for tens of thousands of years, no one has reached that location—there are seven layers of restrictions around the sleeping quarters, and each layer requires a specific bloodline or token to open. The last time the Evil Race sent someone in, the strongest Demon Emperor only managed to break through to the third layer before being backlashed by the restrictions; when he was carried out, he was charred all over." She paused. "Besides that, there is also a Beast Origin in the Heavenly Palace, which is the resting place of ancient divine beasts. The Dragon Phoenix, the Nine-Colored Sky Swallowing Python, the Ancient Vermilion Bird—the heritages of these long-extinct divine beast bloodlines may all be hidden inside."

Hun Feng nodded, not saying much more. Of course he knew about the Beast Origin—in the original story, it was there that Zi Yan obtained the Dragon Phoenix origin, completing the evolution that the Void Ancient Dragon Clan had dreamed of for tens of thousands of years. It was just that there was no need to clarify these things to Xue Wei right now.

"Tidy up." He turned and walked out of the study.

"Where to?" Xue Wei was stunned.

"Reviewing documents. You grind ink so poorly; practice more."

Xue Wei gripped the ink stick, watching Hun Feng's dark black back disappear at the doorway, and took a deep breath. Then she jabbed the ink stick forcefully into the inkstone, causing three drops of ink to splatter onto the desk. She looked down at the ink stains on the desk, raised her hand to wipe them away, wiped them again, and then tugged at the excessively plain maid's dress she was wearing, hurrying to follow him.

On the very same day that Mu Chen and Luo Li were preparing to depart, in the distant eastern part of the Great Thousand World, the Sword Mountain Continent welcomed another ordinary morning.

On the stone platform of Sword Abyss Peak, the Green-Shirt Sword Saint stood under an old pine tree with his hands behind his back, watching the fiery red figure on the platform. Xiao Xiao was practicing swordsmanship—not with the blood abyss sword, nor the Tingxue Sword, but with the most ordinary wooden sword. There was no spiritual energy fluctuation on the wooden sword, no sharpness of sword qi, just a three-foot-long piece of iron birch wood, not even with a sword guard. She had been swinging it for a full hour, from before dawn until the morning light appeared; the web of her thumb was swollen red, a fine layer of sweat had seeped from her forehead, and the back of her fiery red immortal dress was soaked through.

"Stop." The Green-Shirt Sword Saint spoke.

Xiao Xiao withdrew her sword and turned around. A month of mountain life had made her thinner, and the waist of her fiery red immortal dress was pulled tighter, but her eyes were much steadier than when she first arrived.

"How is the wooden sword practice going?"

"Better than the first day." Xiao Xiao said, "But it's still not stable. Between the seventy-second sword and the ninety-sixth sword, the tip of the sword deviates."

"Do you know why it deviates?"

"Holding the sword too tightly. Exerting force too hastily."

The Green-Shirt Sword Saint nodded slightly. After a month of polishing, the biggest change in this girl was not her swordsmanship—it was that she could calm down and see herself. He didn't say anything more, just took a jade slip from his sleeve and flicked his finger. The jade slip flew to in front of Xiao Xiao and hovered in mid-air.

"The Dragon Phoenix Mountain Range opens once every five hundred years. Two months from now, the entrance will appear three thousand miles east of the Sword Domain. You will go on behalf of the Sword Domain. There is a great opportunity inside—the True Blood of the Dragon Phoenix. You possess dual sword intent, one rigid and one soft; if you can fuse the Dragon Phoenix bloodline into your body, your sword intent can reach perfection."

Xiao Xiao took the jade slip, probed it with her spiritual sense, and her eyes brightened slightly. She raised her head, about to speak, but the Green-Shirt Sword Saint had already turned and walked toward the thatched cottage, his green-clad back gradually blurring in the morning mist.

"Go and prepare. You are going alone this time; there are no disciples from the Sword Domain to accompany you."

Xiao Xiao stood in place, gripping the jade slip tightly, the corner of her mouth curling into a tiny arc. The black spark in her dantian flickered slightly, as if responding to the eagerness in her heart.

Imperial City. Twilight pressed over from the direction of the volcano group, enveloping the entire Imperial City in the light where dark red and deep blue intersected. Hun Feng finished reviewing the last document and set down his pen; Xue Wei was already standing behind him, holding a stack of newly organized files detailing the Evil Race's strongholds. The two, one sitting and one standing, remained quiet for a long while in the darkening study.

"Lord Hall Master, have those two little ones already departed?"

"Yes."

"Are you not worried?"

Hun Feng did not answer, merely gazing at the sea of clouds sinking into twilight at the end of the mountain path in the distance outside the window. The spiritual light of the teleportation array had long since dissipated, and the mountain path was empty.

"I am afraid." He said, "That is why I let them go."