The familiar, gentle atmosphere of the Yafei King's palace, usually filled with docile attendants, was barely stirred by Gu Xie's quiet re-entry as he and his companion returned to the quarters assigned to them.

Lili was sprawled out on the terrace, one slender leg dangling into the lake water at the edge, asleep in utter stillness. A school of fish, silver and no longer than fingers, swam gleefully around her bare feet, occasionally nudging her toes with their tiny mouths. A few small birds stood quietly beside her, affectionately rubbing their heads together. Two snow-white little beasts, resembling a cross between cats and dogs and looking newly born, were curled up in Lili’s embrace, their heads bobbing drowsily as they nodded off.

Seeing Lili in such a state made Penghua uneasy. He grumbled inwardly that while Old Master Hua was over there "fighting a bloody battle" with the Exorcist Knights, this little lass was enjoying herself so casually here! Annoyed, Penghua opened his mouth, ready to let out a loud roar to wake Lili. Gu Xiechen, however, quickly restrained him, gently shaking his head.

He shot Penghua a fierce glare. Gu Xiechen transmitted his voice in a low complaint: "Senior Brother, how old are you to be bickering with this little girl?"

He forcefully pulled Penghua into the adjacent living quarters. Gu Xiechen fished a bottle of ancient-brewed Maotai from his brocade pouch and tossed it to Penghua, while he busied himself taking inventory of his haul from the Tiangong Hall.

Portable magical treasures—he really needed a complete set. With the Heavenly Artifact Compendium, combined with the massive amounts of innate materials collected from the sub-space, he could forge himself a set of natal magical treasures that would evolve as his strength increased. Such sets were documented in the Heavenly Artifact Compendium. But currently, being in the Yafeike Kingdom, he simply didn't have enough time to refine them, so he would have to make do with a few finished treasures left behind by the Great Bliss Hermit that he could barely control for now.

The Yafeike people habitually wore loose, flowing robes, predominantly in plain, elegant colors. Gu Xiechen followed suit, selecting a set of flowing white scholar's robes with wide sleeves from the mountain of matching protective gear in Tiangong Hall—robes that carried the distinct air of a Wei-Jin era celebrity.

He coiled his long hair into a Daoist bun, skewered with three long, azure pins called "Gathering Star Rays" acting as hair sticks, and topped it with a matching, high-crowned "Boshan Crown." He took up a "Fuyao Fan" made from the long feathers of a great roc and slipped into the white robe named "Xiaoyao Yi." Walking a few steps with swagger, a powerful wave of ancient atmosphere washed over everything.

"Wow, magnificent!" Hua’s eyes nearly popped out. He had acquired even more treasures from Tiangong Hall than Gu Xiechen. He immediately scrambled to sort through the loot himself. He ended up choosing a set of pitch-black robes, but where Gu Xiechen looked like an elegant scholar, Penghua, wearing the exact same style, exuded a sinister, fiercely demonic aura. The black robe looked exactly like the cloak draped on a harbinger of death.

Gu Xiechen smiled faintly at Penghua. He then selected a few minor magical artifacts—trinkets like jade pendants and gold rings that he could barely operate with his current strength—to complement his white robes, further enhancing his dashing, romantic demeanor.

With a grand sweep of his voluminous sleeve, the 'Rushing Waterfall Sleeve' technique was contained within the fabric, yet the surrounding void seemed to vibrate with the sheer force of the movement. Indeed, without mastering the Rushing Waterfall Sleeve to its zenith, a high-quality protective garment with sturdy sleeves provided a significant boost to its power. This casual wave was at least ten times more potent than the strike used to seize the Hanji in Tiangong Hall.

He gently flicked the Fuyao Fan, and a gust of azure wind instantly swept across the ground. Penghua, who had been staring blankly at Gu Xiechen nearby, was caught completely off guard and was lifted by the breeze, slamming heavily against the wall. Penghua gave a jolt, rolling in the wind, and dug his horns sharply into the wall, managing to plant himself vertically at a ninety-degree angle.

He let out a few cold, mocking laughs toward Gu Xiechen. Penghua said with considerable jealousy, "A woman adorns herself for the one who pleases her; the ancients were not wrong!"

"Nonsense! Who am I adorning myself for?" Gu Xiechen said, slightly angered, glaring fiercely at Penghua. He made a gesture as if to touch the seemingly ordinary decorative three-inch jade sword hanging at his waist. This jade sword was ancient and mottled, its tiny blade covered with the distinct Bagua markings found on tortoise shells. This sword, named "Zhu Jian," was a divine weapon refined by the Great Bliss Hermit using an incredibly profound technique.

Penghua merely continued his eerie laughter. Gu Xiechen was so irritated he nearly rolled his eyes, gripping the Zhu Jian so tightly he genuinely felt the urge to pierce a hole straight through Penghua.

Two palace maids, exquisitely beautiful and gentle as flowing water, entered silently. Moving like currents, they bowed to Gu Xiechen: "Honored Sir, His Majesty requests your presence at the banquet!"

A banquet? Gu Xiechen nodded, well aware that Fu Yaming and Jin had likely realized that the gate was not so easily opened.

Smiling, he nodded to the two maids. Gu Xiechen said, "I understand. Please allow me a moment to prepare. And if you would be so kind, please wake our companion, Lili, next door."

At that moment, clad in the immortal artifact Xiaoyao Yi, and possessing the naturally transcendent aura of his Innate Body, Gu Xiechen’s features were already remarkably handsome. This simple nod and smile radiated charisma. The two maids were instantly mesmerized, staring at him in a daze for a full minute. Then, their faces suddenly flushed crimson, and they quickly curtsied and hurried away.

Penghua watched Gu Xiechen with profound jealousy, muttering under his breath, "Has my appeal to women been declining over these past hundred years?"

Knowing Penghua was habitually suffering a mental short circuit, Gu Xiechen simply smiled. Streams of violet light surged out from around him, and the five Xin Jia brothers, along with the four Mo Family brothers, strode out of the glow.

The nine men simultaneously clasped their fists in salute toward Gu Xiechen: "Supreme Venerable!"

Gu Xiechen nodded: "Very good. From now on, unless necessary, you will not return to my domain for cultivation. The five Xin Jia brothers are my personal guards. The four Mo Family Heavenly Kings are the commanders of the four main combat legions under my direct command in our mercenary group. If anyone asks, that is your designation. Understood?"

Xin Jia and the others acknowledged in unison.

The two maids, guiding the now-rubbing-her-eyes Lili, walked over. They were suddenly astonished, their eyes widening when they saw several figures suddenly standing beside Gu Xiechen.

Gu Xiechen inclined his head warmly and smiled: "These are my subordinates, who just arrived here. Ah, we apologize for the unannounced entry; we were a bit rude."

The two maids hastily shook their heads, peering nervously and curiously at the significantly larger frames of the five Xin Jia brothers, who were clearly different from ordinary men, and then at the four Mo Family brothers with their multi-colored faces. They felt the vastness of the cosmos was indeed filled with wonders. For some reason, as they looked at the thick thighs and arms of the Xin Jia brothers, their faces grew progressively redder, until they looked ready to bleed.

Gu Xiechen merely smiled, saying nothing. These Yafeike girls were accustomed to the sheep-like men of Yafeike. The sudden sight of Xin Jia and the other broad, powerful warriors created quite an impact. Penghua trailed miserably behind Xin Jia, constantly muttering, "Heavens, women these days prefer the beast type? Huh, isn't it just muscle? Muscle, muscle! Uncle-Master Lion Venerable's 'Hundred Battles Savage Beast Art' has a technique for building muscle. Looks like I need to find time to train."

Penghua deliberately flexed his arm, attempting to proudly show off the bulging muscle beneath his robe. To his dismay, the knotted muscles across his body convulsed violently, like flowing water or rampaging oxen. Even the two cheeks of Xin Shu's backside seemed to twitch electrically.

A short, sharp moan broke the silence. One of the two maids suddenly staggered forward a few steps, her legs locking tightly together. She looked at Xin Shu with watery eyes, her heaving chest rising and falling rapidly.

Xin Shu stared blankly at the maid. Gu Xiechen gritted his teeth, struggling to suppress a laugh, and quickly walked past. Penghua was utterly crushed, crying out to the heavens, "Oh, just moving my muscles makes women—me! My Hundred Battles Savage Beast Art! I'll risk it! Isn't it just muscle? I—I can forge it in a single moment!"

After this harmless little interlude, the two maids, their expressions strangely altered, led the group deep into the palace to an exceptionally luxurious banquet hall, then swiftly departed as if they had seen a ghost. The maid who had experienced the spasm earlier practically fled, nearly knocking over several servants standing guard nearby.

This was a banquet hall constructed entirely of thinly sliced natural crystal. The hexagonal, honeycomb-shaped hall measured about a hundred meters on each side, capped by a massive dome pieced together from countless crystal sheets, each meter in diameter. The two moons of the Yafeike planet hung high in the sky overhead, scattering starlight across the numerous stars. The moonlight and starlight filtered through the crystal dome, refracted and converged by the crystal, illuminating the hall as brightly as day. Coupled with the bluish glow emitted by hundreds of man-sized deep-sea pearls embedded in the walls, the entire hall appeared immersed in the deep ocean, waves of light rippling—breathtakingly beautiful.

In the center of the hall was a long table, over fifty meters in length, covered with a snow-white silk tablecloth. Two rows of high-backed chairs lined either side.

Fu Yaming, dressed in a white robe, sat quietly at the far end of the long table, watching Gu Xiechen enter. Noticing the several new figures accompanying him, Fu Yaming asked in surprise, "Lord Gu, I know the two individuals you dispatched earlier went to receive the three thousand warships, but these others... I don't recognize them?"

Gu Xiechen smiled and inclined his head: "Oh, they arrived on Yafeike Planet just now."

Fu Yaming and Jin, seated in the first chair to her right, immediately went pale. While it might have been possible for small ships to infiltrate the Yafeike Planet during the civil war a few days prior, Fu Yaming had now fully secured the planetary defense system. Every inch of space above the vast Yafeike Planet was monitored by countless space micro-sensors and ground radar stations. How had Gu Xiechen's subordinates managed to infiltrate the planet? Had they mastered a method to deceive the Yafeike defense systems?

Tapping her finger lightly on the table, Fu Yaming forced a faint smile: "Your strength, Lord Gu, is indeed overwhelmingly powerful."