Thirty figures in white robes, clutching standard Yafik assault rifles, raised their weapons with lightning speed, pulling the triggers without even a warning shout. A dense barrage of high-energy beams instantly swept over the bodies of the Drought Fiend and Kanhua, riddling Kanhua's cloak and tailcoat with tattered holes.

"The Royal Army of Yafik?" Kanhua stared in astonishment at the quick-reacting, grim-faced soldiers. Compared to the Royal Army led by Fuya, Ming, and Prince Daogen, those soldiers were mere lambs; these thirty Royal Army soldiers were veritable Tyrannosaurus Rexes of the Cretaceous period. Not only were their reaction times swift and their marksmanship lethal, but the sheer intensity of their **strength and the inexplicable energy within them rivaled that of peak Saturn-level fighters from the Earth Federation.

"Kill them all!" the Drought Fiend snapped.

Kanhua, hearing the command, transformed into a streak of black lightning and lunged forward. He fiercely pushed off the cavern ceiling, dozens of afterimages flashing by as he plunged into the ranks of soldiers. His iron fists, heavy as battering rams, swung a few times casually, shattering the heads of twenty-nine soldiers, spraying blood and brain matter up to fifty meters away. Grabbing the neck of the last soldier—the tallest and most vigorous one—Kanhua’s mouth opened to reveal two sharp, silver fangs, which he thrust deep into the soldier's carotid artery.

A roar of despair echoed through the cavern. The soldier thrashed wildly, pouring all his strength into hammering Kanhua’s soft spots, but Kanhua’s body remained utterly unmoving. The soldier’s fists carried a heavy chill of frost; each blow struck Kanhua’s ribs, kicking up massive ice shards. The bone-chilling cold was so intense that the air itself condensed into faint blue snowflakes, revealing the horror of the frost power. Gradually, the soldier’s body weakened, the last vestige of warmth vanishing, and the cold rapidly encased his corpse in ice.

Satisfied, Kanhua tossed the frozen body aside, his eyes red as he looked towards the Drought Fiend: "Strange. The Ren here are very strong."

The Drought Fiend frowned, stepping back a few paces, covering her nose with her hand, and muttering with disdain:

"You boy have such a shallow palate. You can actually drink the blood of these commoners? Back in my day, this seat would only drink the blood of a Great Golden Immortal, and only touch the blood of ancient exotic birds and rare beasts. You, boy…" Kanhua’s face scrunched up. Great Golden Immortal? Ancient rare beasts? This venerable lady spoke so lightly of it!

The Drought Fiend walked up to the circular platform, frowning as she examined the massive, intricate formation diagram laid out upon it. Her fingers slowly traced the trajectory of the diagram in the air, muttering coordinates and arcane terms that Kanhua could not comprehend at all.

"The Ancestral Master is indeed the Ancestral Master, unparalleled!" Kanhua shot a pointed glance at the Drought Fiend’s exquisitely contoured figure, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and squatted beside one of the slain soldiers.

Reaching into the corpse, Kanhua rummaged around until he pulled a small, crystalline card from the soldier's inner pocket. It bore a line of traditional Yafik script inlaid with tiny blue crystals. Fortunately, the day Gu Yechen extracted the memories of language and script from Borupolu’s mind, he had also grabbed the traditional Yafik script. Borupolu had a decent grasp of traditional Yafik writing, so Kanhua easily deciphered the text:

May the Great Light of Yafik protect all people.

May the Great Knights of Yafik endure eternally.

By the name of the Exorcist Knight Yafik, we swear, we shall forever guard all citizens of Yafik.

The Yafik Kingdom Exorcist Knight Order. Hereditary Golden Wave Emperor Flower Knight ^ Jikaisen. Ming.

"Oh, the surname Ming? Royalty of the Yafik Kingdom? Good heavens, that little girl mustn't know about this, or my junior brother’s good fortune will be ruined."

Shaking his head, Kanhua flipped the card over. The reverse side displayed the Yafik Kingdom's crest, composed of nine golden flowers, beneath which was another line of script inlaid with pale silver crystals:

Honor and Loyalty, Our Ultimate Mandate.

"Honor and loyalty? Bah, what good are honor and loyalty?" Kanhua crushed the card casually, stood up, shook his head, and began to wander: "Another group of brainwashed fools. The Exorcist Knight Order? Could this be the Demon King’s lair? Oh yeah, a cave sealing the evil Demon King from Hell, and loyal knights guarding it silently generation after generation, ready to fight the resurrected Demon King at any moment. Damn, this is exhilarating! Damn exciting!"

The Drought Fiend swung her arm back and sent Kanhua flying ten meters away with a phantom punch, coldly admonishing him: "What Hell Demon King? What lousy seal? Do you think you’re telling a Western fairy tale? Don't forget your identity; we are Eastern fiends, not those useless failures from Western legends."

After being struck, Kanhua always became especially docile for a period. He obediently scrambled up and went to the Drought Fiend’s side, seriously watching her study the formation diagram.

Her fingers left dozens of faint light trails in the air, the halos coalescing into a complex talisman! symbol. The Drought Fiend flicked her finger, shattering the talisman, and nodded in satisfaction: "Very good. This is a spatial shifting formation commonly used by ancient Immortals to guard their secluded dwellings. I wonder where this fellow’s dwelling is, to require a shifting formation this large. Hmph hmph, even among the Ancient Golden Immortals, this guy ranks high in achievement!"

"Ancient Golden Immortal?" Kanhua stuck out his tongue and hastily said, "Ancestral Master, since this is the dwelling of an Ancient Golden Immortal, shouldn't I call my junior brother to come inside with us?"

The Drought Fiend glared furiously at Kanhua, then grabbed him and dragged him into the formation diagram. Call Gu Yechen to come share the spoils? Was the Drought Fiend such a broad-minded person? She hadn't even settled the score for Gu Yechen slamming a Qilin Seal on her last time. Now that she had stumbled upon a dwelling that might contain valuable treasures, how could she possibly invite Gu Yechen along?

Unless Gu Yechen gifted her the five Xin Jia brothers, she wouldn't. The Drought Fiend laughed wildly in her heart. Otherwise, she couldn't be blamed for hoarding all the treasures in this dwelling!

A surge of crimson immortal power slammed into the formation diagram. The massive diagram immediately erupted in a bright flash. The crystals embedded in the diagram rapidly shrank, and huge, tangible rune seals the size of human heads materialized in the air. These seals spun rapidly, gradually transforming into a dense curtain of light that enveloped the Drought Fiend and Kanhua.

Boom—The formation diagram suddenly shuddered, and a pitch-black vortex appeared in the air more than a hundred zhang above the diagram. The intense light, enveloping the Drought Fiend and Kanhua, condensed into a magnificent stream of light several li long, carrying a faint rumble of thunder as it shot upward, piercing into that enormous black hole.

Kanhua felt an endless, crushing pressure bearing down on him from all sides. His resilient body creaked ominously, and he vaguely felt cracks forming in his very bones.

"Damn it! What the hell is this thing?" Kanhua yelled in panic.

The Drought Fiend grabbed Kanhua’s shoulder, pouring a mighty stream of immortal power into his body, causing him to swell up like a balloon. The immense pressure of the surrounding black space vanished instantly under the force of the immortal power transmitted by the Drought Fiend. Kanhua felt scorching heat everywhere; the (scorching) and wild corpse qi unique to zombies contained within the Drought Fiend's immortal power caused his physical toughness to soar straight up.

"Little fellow, now you know the gap between your insignificant power and mine, don't you?" the Drought Fiend chuckled, "Kneel down obediently and call me Ancestral Master, and I’ll teach you my divine techniques!"

Kanhua rolled his eyes at the Drought Fiend, cold air continuously blasting from his nostrils.

The Drought Fiend bristled, about to chastise Kanhua, when a sudden light appeared ahead, casting down a swath of red glow. The two had burst into a marvelous, mystical world.

A magnificent dwelling, carved with balustrades and jade-like carvings, floated in the boundless void. Looking up, a black hole ahead was ceaselessly swallowing nearby celestial bodies. To the left were three giant stars arranged in an equilateral triangle, their massive gravitational pull and repulsion achieving a perfect balance with the black hole's gravity. To the right was an extremely chaotic stream of meteors, resembling churning magma, from which countless ores sparkling with bizarre light could faintly be seen spurting out, only to be swallowed instantly by the black hole. Behind them was a space of twisted chaos—fragmented space shards lay haphazardly like countless cleavers stacked atop one another, all pointed toward their location. Occasionally, a few meteors flashed by, only to be easily torn to shreds by these spatial fissures.

"What a terrifying place!" Kanhua gasped, drawing a sharp breath. Anyone who could hide a dwelling here must be supremely powerful. How did he ever get here in the past?

"Oho! A truly excellent place for cultivating the mind and nurturing the spirit! Hee hee, doing anything nefarious here, and truly no one would ever know!" The Drought Fiend, however, was beaming, pulling her hand back slightly. "This dwelling is truly magnificent. This seat declares it mine now! Hmm, the materials used in this dwelling are so genuine, and each one is more precious than the last!"

Kanhua vaguely sensed that saliva was pooling at the corner of the Drought Fiend’s mouth.

He, however, couldn't discern what was so special about this palace complex spanning dozens of li in circumference.

Golden thrones and jade tiles, dragons carved and phoenixes painted—this dwelling’s palace complex was exquisitely magnificent. Furthermore, every pillar, every stone step, every roof tile here was of a gorgeous, semi-translucent nature. No matter what color it presented, a luminous mist of the same hue perpetually coiled nearby, clearly condensed spiritual fluid absorbed from the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy.

The Drought Fiend looked proudly at the dwelling before her, happily pointing out the palaces to Kanhua, explaining: "Look, the owner of this dwelling had exceedingly high aspirations. We are in the true south, facing the main entrance of the dwelling. This dwelling subtly conforms to the Four Symbols orientation, so the south corresponds to Fire and takes the form of the Vermilion Bird; the palaces near the main entrance are entirely vermilion, and they mostly feature high eaves and towering pavilions, evoking the image of the Vermilion Bird soaring in the sky."

"The east corresponds to Wood and takes the form of the Azure Dragon, so the palace complex is generally light cyan, featuring dense forests and winding corridors, capturing the essence of the Azure Dragon coiling."

"The north corresponds to Water and takes the form of the Black Tortoise, so the palace complex is generally dark black, featuring many lakes, rivers, and waterside pavilions, embodying the nurturing nature of the Black Tortoise."

"The west corresponds to Metal and takes the form of the White Tiger, so the palace complex is generally silver-white, featuring wide, imposing, massive halls, giving off a sense of the White Tiger’s conquest."

"And the very center of the palace complex is covered by a hazy cloud mist, within which a cluster of palaces arranged according to the Nine Palaces orientation can be vaguely seen. This must be the core of this dwelling."