Hailith pursed his lips, forcing a dry laugh. "Of course it's true. How could I lie to my allies, especially those who have helped me so significantly?" He said to Gu Xichen with genuine sincerity, "I truly must thank Your Excellency. With that shrew, Xierxidi gone, there is no one left in the palace to speak for my Seventh Brother. Given my father the Emperor's temperament, it's only natural that he would gradually distance himself from him."

With an easy sigh, Hailith smiled faintly. "My mother's clan and my Second Brother's are evenly matched in power, but the clan of my Seventh Brother... Hmph. They are the elite of the elite, one of the three hereditary princely families of the Xisi Empire. Some say his bloodline is superior to mine, which is why Xierxidi had to die."

Gu Xichen said lightly, "I have no interest in the internal politics of the Xisi Empire. I am only curious: with such a major event occurring in the Xisi Empire, why were you not recalled?"

"Recalled?" Hailith shrugged, sneering. "You still don't understand my noble and great father. He is currently busy suppressing all news related to this. In two months, the Xisi Empire will surely leak word that that old woman, Xierxidi, died of a sudden illness. They will never disclose the real cause of her death."

Glancing triumphantly at Gu Xichen, Hailith continued, "You cleaning out all my brothers was a stroke of genius! My father contacted me just a few days ago. I am now the public face of the Xisi royalty abroad. He wants me to make as many official visits to other nations as possible, striving to project an image that nothing has happened, no unexpected incidents in the Xisi Empire."

Gu Xichen smiled. "Congratulations. Does this mean your father intends to put you to greater use?"

Hailith cocked an eyebrow smugly. "If not greater use, then certainly more attention. Your methods are truly effective, Your Excellency. The injuries my brothers sustained have not healed even after this long; they are all black and blue. How could they possibly represent the Xisi royalty on diplomatic missions? I am now the only suitable candidate to go out and restore face for the Xisi Empire."

In the midst of their casual talk, three Level-3 battleships approached the edge of an extremely chaotic and violent star dust current. The density of the stellar dust here was immense, almost causing the dust particles to condense into a single mass. The friction between the particles constantly generated massive plumes of ionized mist erupting from the depths of the current, occasionally sending a deep blue ionization cloud spreading instantly from one end of the current, stretching for light-years, to the other. Even thousands of kilometers away from the turbulence, the powerful electromagnetic field caused the ships' hulls to tremble slightly.

"Damn it! We're guests somewhere, so why are we coming here?" Kan Hua, squatting in the corner of the command deck puffing a cigar, roared in frustration. "Is this a place where people live? Good heavens, I just flirted with seven princesses, ten Duchesses, nineteen Marchionesses, and a Princess Consort just gave me her bra as a token of affection, and now I have to follow you all here! Oh, heavens~" Kan Hua mournfully pulled a pale blue, semi-transparent bra from his waistband and affectionately wiped his forehead with it.

Gu Xichen's mouth twitched.

Fuyamei instinctively placed her hand on the grip of her sidearm.

Ducate forcefully turned the heads of Zhan Li and Jin away, saying in a low, deep voice, "You young ladies shouldn't be looking at such improper things."

Hailith swallowed dryly, forcing a nervous laugh. "Your Excellency Kan Hua, you are truly magnificent... Uh, may I ask which Princess Consort generated such a noble sentiment with you?"

Kan Hua sighed mournfully, turning to look at the violently churning current outside the viewport. He said helplessly, "Oh, who else could it be? Princess Consort Ulan of the Lei Wu Kingdom!"

Hailith's eyes instantly lit up, and he exclaimed, "The Princess Consort Ulan, once hailed as the most beautiful woman in the Spiral Star Field? Oh, my God, how did you succeed? How did you manage it?"

Seeing the adventure about to devolve into an exchange session between two libertines, Gu Xichen grabbed Hailith by the shoulder, forcefully turning his body to face him. "Prince Hailith, I don't have much time to waste here. Hurry up and find that ancient demon's base, alright?"

Releasing Hailith's shoulder, Gu Xichen casually patted the alloy backrest of the alloy chair belonging to the sensor operator on the nearby ship. With a sharp snap, a significant section of the ten-centimeter-thick alloy backrest shattered. Hailith flinched violently, then quickly burst into laughter. "Oh, certainly, certainly! Now, navigate according to this route map I have. There must be no errors!"

Hailith carefully pulled out a fingernail-sized chip from a hidden pocket on his person, muttering softly, "Nearly 150,000 people died to obtain this route map. Therefore, it is priceless!"

Fuyamei looked at Hailith in surprise. "You sacrificed 150,000 subordinates to chart this route?"

Hailith shot Fuyamei a strange look. "No, I ordered the extermination of a minor family in the Xisi Empire, along with all their employees and their relatives. This was that family's ancestral secret passage." He paused, then sneered, "My lover was the eldest daughter of that family; I learned the secret from her. And I prefer to hold secrets, not share them. The dead are the best secret-keepers, wouldn't you agree?"

Gu Wuchen frowned and let out an unpleasant snort.

Fuyamei also glared murderously at Hailith, sneering, "So, Your Highness believes that..."

Hailith hastily raised both hands, flattering her. "Of course not, esteemed Queen, and esteemed Sir. You are my allies; how could I possibly do such a thing?"

The data on the chip was input into the ship's navigation system. Hailith entered a string of complex passwords and performed a series of intricate operations, and finally, the ship's navigation display showed a winding route over a hundred thousand kilometers long.

"Following this route, we can bypass this current and find a natural spatial jump point!" Hailith's face suddenly flushed bright red; he said with extreme excitement, "Guess what lies at the end of that jump point? Esteemed Queen, can you guess it?"

Fuyamei shook her head, stating calmly, "I never waste time and energy on uncertain matters."

Gu Wuchen, however, was very interested and guessed, "This is the Savage Star Sea on the outskirts of the Spiral Star Field. Hmm, the closest one from here is a multi-star... Seeing how excited you are, this leads to... Xi..."

Just as he pronounced the syllable 'Xi,' Gu Wuchen caught a fleeting look of smugness in Hailith's eyes. Gu Wuchen smiled, shook his head, and sighed, "Could it be that this leads to the heartland of a Six-Star Civilization? And moreover, a planet that is a highly developed trade hub?"

"Oh my god!" Hailith jumped backward in fright, nearly leaping from the front of the command deck to the far end. He stammered, "How did you know?"

How did Gu Wuchen know?

Gu Wuchen shrugged! He had seen the flicker of delight in Hailith's eyes just now, and his spiritual sense had instinctively provided the answer. How could the marvelous abilities of a cultivator be understood by mortals? This kind of innate divination, calculating certain things with just a few mental moves, was merely instinct at a certain level of attainment.

It took Hailith several minutes to regain control of his emotions. He looked at Gu Xichen with a mixture of astonishment and terror, shaking his head repeatedly with a wry smile. "You truly are too miraculous..."

Sighing, Hailith muttered, "Fortunately, you are my ally! Having an ally like you is truly my fortune, it's absolutely wonderful!"

Taking a deep breath, Hailith pointed toward the current ahead and explained, "That jump point does indeed span hundreds of millions of light-years, plunging deep into the core of the Som Kingdom, one of the most powerful Six-Star Civilizations in the Star Alliance, leading directly to the Som Kingdom's largest free trade market, 'Starlight Silver Four-Star Cluster.' That minor family in my territory—they accumulated immense wealth by relying on this secret passage! Hmph, I never dreamed that such a small family could amass wealth over the years that surpassed the entire estate of an Imperial Duke!"

Gu Wuchen teased, "In the end, all that wealth ended up benefiting you, didn't it?"

Hailith smiled tightly, said nothing, and ordered the three battleships to carefully enter the turbulence belt according to the route map.

This star dust current was indeed extremely dangerous, but the more perilous the place, the greater the chance to survive against all odds.

Within this terrifying turbulence, there was a hidden narrow path, traversable only by ships below the standard Star Alliance Level-3 battleship. On this route, there were no destructive electromagnetic clouds, no scorching Star Flames, no chaotic rock streams that could destroy a massive mothership with a single brush, and no complex, shifting magnetic fields capable of twisting a mothership into scrap metal.

This path was safe, but extremely concealed and tortuous to navigate; one could only pass through successfully by utilizing the existing route map.

Gazing at the raging stellar dust turbulence outside the viewport, sensing with his divine sense the various energy storms within that could destroy everything, Gu Wuchen was also amazed at how the ancestor of that small family managed to discover this hidden commercial route. Perhaps they stumbled upon relics left by the Roman people? Perhaps...

Fuyamei moved closer to Gu Xichen, their shoulders touching. Fuyamei whispered, "Do you think the ancient demon's military base could be in the heartland of a Six-Star Civilization? If it truly exists there, how would we extract those motherships?"

Gu Wuchen naturally put his arm around Fuyamei's slender yet strong waist and chuckled lightly, "If that ancient base really exists within the territory of the Som Kingdom, then if I can move freely within the Xisi Imperial Palace, what can the Som Kingdom do to me? At worst, I'll just turn the place upside down. As long as I am here, you will always be safe."

Jin stuck to him like sticky taffy, giggling charmingly as she asked, "What about me? Brother, I helped you a great deal in the Xisi Empire this time, too!"

Fuyamei's mouth twitched, and her face turned slightly green.