Although the little one in my mind was no different from a kindergarten child, even I dared not be careless now, lest angering it inadvertently might bring disaster upon the entire Demon Dragon Royal Palace.

Thinking of this, I quickly said, "I'll have plenty of time once I'm done with this; I can play with you then."

"Still busy," the little one sounded somewhat displeased.

"Yes, after I return from the Dead Sea, I'll have time," I quickly steered the conversation, not forgetting the purpose of my journey.

"You're going to the Dead Sea," the little one sounded surprised. "There's only the Snow Region Continent on the other side of the Dead Sea. Are you going there?"

"You know about the Snow Region Continent?" I was astonished.

"Of course, I do," the little one said proudly. "After all, I was the Guardian Divine Beast for five thousand years."

"..." I just stared blankly at the little one.

This made the little one even more smug! Thus, the little one fully exhibited the fine tradition of loving to tell stories!

"A long time ago, the Four Seas weren't called the Dead Sea; they were known as the Crimson Moon Ocean."

"Crimson Moon Ocean?" I was curious.

"The Crimson Moon Ocean back then wasn't as dangerous as it is now," the little one seemed sentimental.

"Are there other secrets within the Dead Sea?" My spirit soared.

"There are," the little one boasted. "The reason the Dead Sea so easily spawns magical storms and spatial vortices is entirely the doing of the High Priests of the Divine Dragon Empire."

"Ah, what? Are these phenomena man-made?" This time, I was genuinely startled.

"It's true," the little one said proudly. "You wouldn't have guessed it, but the magical civilization of the Divine Dragon Empire era was extremely advanced. There was nothing they couldn't do. Back then, the Crimson Moon Ocean did have storms, but they weren't as frequent or violent as they became later. Not until the High Priests of the Divine Dragon Empire set up a wondrous magic array—a convergence array—at the bottom center of the Crimson Moon Ocean, drawing all the dark magic emitted by the Crimson Moon Light during the Crimson Moon season into the sea. This caused the surging magical storms and rampant spatial turbulence on the sea surface. From then on, the Crimson Moon Ocean became very unstable, which is why it was later called the Dead Sea."

"Incredible. Why would they turn the Crimson Moon Ocean into that?" Even now, I couldn't believe that the magical civilization of the Divine Dragon Empire had reached a level capable of reshaping nature.

"It was unavoidable," the little one sighed. "You must have seen the Crimson Canyon, right?"

"Crimson Canyon?" I nodded subconsciously. "Does this have something to do with the Crimson Canyon?"

"The mutated creatures in the Crimson Canyon—the Sky Wolf Spiders, Moon Demon Spiders, Blood Zombies, Evil Giants—they all mutated under the influence of the magical great tide of the Crimson Moon season," the little one explained. "At that time, the situation across the entire continent was similar to the Crimson Canyon, especially around the Crimson Moon Ocean, which suffered more severe effects from the Crimson Moon magic radiation, spawning many terrifying mutated creatures that endangered the people. Therefore, the High Priests of the Divine Dragon Empire had no choice but to find a way to absorb and gather the mutating magic emitted by the Crimson Moon through a special method, transferring it underground. Since the Crimson Moon Ocean was the area most severely affected by the Crimson Moon magic tide, they established a massive magic convergence array at its center to absorb the mutating magic. After that, no more mutated Crimson Moon creatures appeared around the Crimson Moon Ocean."

"I see," I said, greatly impressed. "To absorb such a vast area of Crimson Moon magic radiation—I truly wonder how advanced their magical civilization was back then."

The little one continued, "Although the magic convergence array absorbed a huge amount of Crimson Moon radiation magic, it also caused drastic changes in the Crimson Moon Ocean. The magical elements on the ocean became extremely unstable because of the array. If one accidentally got caught in the magical storms and spatial turbulence there, it would be trouble. So, no one has sailed on the Dead Sea since then."

"Then what about the Snow Region?" I asked next.

"The Snow Region Continent was originally part of the Divine Dragon Empire's territory. It was covered in ice and snow all year round, with a harsh environment completely unsuitable for human habitation, so it had always been abandoned," the little one explained. "Especially after the Crimson Moon Ocean became the Dead Sea, fewer and fewer people were willing to go to the Snow Region Continent. So, the Divine Dragon Empire simply repurposed it into a special place."

"A special place?" I didn't quite understand. "How is it special?"

"It's a place specifically designed to imprison convicts," the little one said. "At that time, the largest prison in the entire empire was Red Name Village in the Great Desert of Alliance. However, some extremely powerful convicts couldn't even be contained there, and jailbreaks were frequent incidents. Later, the Empire simply sent all those exceptionally strong prisoners to the Snow Region Continent to serve their sentences."

"..." I was dumbfounded. The Snow Region Continent was actually a prison for super-hardened criminals during the Divine Dragon Empire era.

It sounded suspiciously like some modern Western countries.

"Have you heard of the Land of Ancient Heroes being located somewhere in the Snow Region Continent?" I quickly asked.

"Land of Heroes?" the little one mused. "Haven't heard of it."

"Could the intelligence be wrong?" My mind raced in confusion. Perhaps the little one didn't know the inside story of that time, but I wasn't ready to give up easily. I pressed on, "Do you know of anything else particularly special about the Snow Region Continent?"

"Special places," the little one thought for a long time, seemingly recalling something. "No specific places, but the Divine Dragon Empire assigned corresponding punishments based on each prisoner's crime, and these punishments were categorized by several different confinement zones in the Snow Region."

"Different confinement zones?"

"Those sent to the Snow Region Continent were all criminals of the most heinous nature and great power, but their crimes were still graded."

"Grades?"

"These prisoners were divided into four tiers, each confined to their corresponding service zones," the little one continued. "The Snow Region Continent had four areas for confining prisoners, namely:

Silent Snow Cliff: For confining Tier Three prisoners, with a minimum sentence of forty years!

Silent Ice Valley: For confining Tier Two prisoners, with a minimum sentence of sixty years!

Silent Cold Ridge: For confining Tier One prisoners, with a minimum sentence of one hundred years.

Silent Glacier Throne! Exclusively for confining the most heinous, top-tier criminals, who were never permitted to leave for life.

"..." I was utterly stunned!

I never expected the Snow Region Continent to hold so many unknown secrets. No one had known this in the past.

"Besides holding prisoners, the Snow Region Continent was also used by the Divine Dragon Empire for various experiments," the little one revealed. "They created many incredibly powerful monsters there."

"A place for experiments?" I was greatly alarmed. For some reason, I was suddenly reminded of the bio-experimentation bases often seen in movies. Could it be that the High Priests of the Demon Dragon Empire also conducted barbaric live experiments?

"What kind of things did they create?" I asked, trembling, barely suppressing the fear in my heart.

"I don't know about that," the little one replied. "The experiments there were absolutely top secret, known only to the Emperor and the High Priests in charge of the experiments."

"..." I didn't know what to say anymore. This information was astonishing enough to leave me speechless, and it made me worry even more about the condition of Xingye, Xingzhan, and Yan Luo.

If the little one called them powerful creatures, they were definitely not ordinary. It was hard to imagine if those creatures still existed over ten thousand years later, and if they survived, what they might have evolved into after so many years.

These possibilities were beyond my imagination.

Perhaps the only thing left to do now was pray. I hoped they were still safe. Of course, regardless of everything! This trip was worthwhile. At least I now had a general understanding of the situation in the Snow Region Continent. This information might just be helpful for my next steps.

After chatting with the little one for a long time, I finally left the shore of the Cleansing Heart Lake.

Back at the Sunset Hall, the Goddess Jidu, Jiuyue Chongyang, and the others had been waiting for a long time.

It was clear that they knew I wasn't simply chatting with the little one.

"It seems the Prince has gained some insight," the Goddess said with a light smile.

"Nothing can be hidden from you."

"Quickly, tell us what you learned," Jiuyue Chongyang lacked patience.

Jidu also gazed at me with an expectant look.

"The little one did tell me quite a bit of information regarding the Snow Region Continent," I organized my thoughts and recounted everything the little one had told me.

Ten minutes later!

"So, the Snow Region Continent was actually a place of exile during the Divine Dragon Empire era," Jiuyue Chongyang was greatly surprised.

"Since the Beastmen once occupied the Marfa Continent, much of the historical record concerning the Divine Dragon Empire era and the Ancient Marfa Empire era has been destroyed," the Goddess sighed profoundly. "The current Compendium of Origins has no records on this matter at all. If the Prince has time, perhaps you should talk more with the Divine Beast; it might help supplement the missing parts in the Compendium."

"Let's discuss that after I return," I replied. "That's all the little one told me. See what you can analyze from this."

"This will take some time," Jidu said seriously.

"En!" I nodded slightly, then continued, "I'll leave this to you all. Next, I plan to return to the King's Forbidden Ground for a visit."

"It seems the Prince intends to challenge the Seventh Heaven Gate within the Forbidden Ground," Jidu grew visibly excited.

"That's the intention," I laughed. "I slept for twenty-five years in this bout; my cultivation has lagged. If I don't move around, this old bone will rust."

"Nonsense, kid," Jiuyue Chongyang chided half-jokingly. "You're not that old, yet you speak like an elder."

This old fellow seems to still have expectations of me; retiring early might not be so easy! I secretly wiped a bead of cold sweat! The Goddess beside me was smiling like an old fox!

Jidu, however, looked solemn: "The Prince's cultivation level is beyond my ability to fathom. Logically, even if his cultivation hadn't diminished after twenty-five years of stillness, it certainly shouldn't have increased! But the current situation is truly baffling! Perhaps only a trip back to the King's Forbidden Ground can reconfirm the Prince's current strength!"

"I really wonder how you spent those twenty-five years," Jiuyue Chongyang marveled. "You can actually gain cultivation just by sleeping."

"..." I didn't know how to answer, so I could only give a forced laugh!

"Could the Prince explain the twists and turns of that experience?" The Goddess was also very curious.

"That's hard to explain in a moment," I quickly said. "It was actually a stroke of serendipity. I had long been unable to comprehend the intricacies of the 'Turtle's Breath, Dragon's Slumber' aspect of the Nine Dragons Protection or the meaning of 'Breaking the Cocoon, Rebirth.' Only after falling unconscious, while my consciousness remained clear, did I accidentally enter that so-called Turtle's Breath, Dragon's Slumber state. Afterwards, aided by the power of the Dragon Veins, I accumulated enough strength to break free from the shackles of the deep subconscious and reach the realm of Breaking the Cocoon, Rebirth!"

"In that case, the Prince has turned misfortune into fortune, and his strength has greatly increased," Jidu rejoiced.

"Something like that," I continued. "Regarding these matters, I will record the entire process in detail and later compile it into the Star Secret Manual, so as to leave some cultivation experience for future generations."

Jiuyue Chongyang, the Goddess, and Jidu all looked grave. They clearly understood my intention! In case something unexpected happened to me on this trip...

"Just in case," I said with a faint smile. "Good people don't live long, but scourges linger for millennia. I haven't inflicted enough retribution upon that bunch of bastards from the Church; I won't be hanging around so easily."

"You rascal," Jiuyue Chongyang groused. "Everything sounds twisted coming from your mouth."

"Hahaha," Jidu also looked relieved. "Any bad thing that happens to the Prince turns into a good thing."

"That's true," the Goddess added with a gentle smile. "The Prince possesses an extraordinary appearance and deep fortune. We were overthinking it."

The tense atmosphere finally eased! I also secretly breathed a sigh of relief!

"I'll leave the preparations to you all," I then stated. "Whether I clear the Seventh Heaven Gate or not, I will return to the Imperial Palace before the Crimson Moon arrives."

"We wish the Prince triumphant success," Jidu offered.

"The Seventh Heaven Gate is exceptionally perilous; do not push yourself too hard," Jiuyue Chongyang cautioned solemnly.

"Rest assured!" I said seriously.

The Seventh Heaven Gate—let me see just how difficult it is. I also really want to know how much power the Sixth Layer of the Nine Dragons Protection, Breaking the Cocoon, Rebirth, can truly unleash.

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