The stone hall floated in the air, magnificent in scale. Yet, looking back from this aerial perch, the expanse of buildings behind it was steeped in desolation, long since utterly ruined, with much of it reduced to rubble.

Most of those ruins were shrouded within layers of five-colored light membranes, their shapes obscured. A probe with spiritual sense yielded nothing. This entire spatial area had been fractured and partitioned by a colossal spirit formation.

Before the main gate of the hall, several hundred figures were gathered, split into more than a dozen distinct groups, each occupying a corner and standing apart.

The moment he arrived, Zong Shou could feel the Thunder Winged Flood Dragon latent on his arm emit a low growl, seemingly eager to leap into the air from his limb.

Over there, Zong Yuan mused aloud, "Is this one of the Ancient Dragon Halls?"

Zong Shou simply hummed in response. His Thunder Winged Flood Dragon could sense it; naturally, Zong Yuan’s Dragon Soul would not remain unresponsive.

In the Ancient Era, the Dragon Clan of this realm was immensely powerful, one of the dominant forces in the Cloud Realm. It wasn't until the Cloud Desolation, when the Cloud Realm mutated and was violently invaded by numerous other worlds, that they suffered grievous setbacks. In the end, in a hasty retreat, they almost withdrew the entire clan from the Cloud Realm.

This Dragon Hall was one of the ruins left behind by the Dragon Clan, said to be a sacred site for them. There were altogether nine such halls across the entire Cloud Realm.

This was the primary reason Zong Shou had accepted this task.

Partly as a convenience, but mostly because he had an objective. If he could find something within, it would undoubtedly benefit his Thunder Winged Flood Dragon.

Guiding his sword, he approached the stone hall’s entrance. Zong Shou did not use the token to conceal his features. He landed directly on the steps outside the hall under the identity of Zong Shou.

For this assignment, achieving the goal was all that mattered; whether he was recognized as 'Zong Shou' or 'Tan Qiu' made little difference. The requirement noted in the jade slip was merely to avoid any overt connection with the Cangsheng Dao.

Gazing intently around, he saw that the others gathered were also observing him with curious eyes from a distance. Some, however, carried a chilling glint in their eyes, their killing intent palpable.

Zong Shou was unsurprised. It wasn't just the name Tan Qiu that had resonated throughout the Cloud Realm after his battle with Jue Yu; the name Zong Shou was also widely known, especially in the East Lin Cloud Continent region, where it was practically common knowledge. Several major sects in East Lin that had suffered losses at his hands now practically wished to consume his flesh and skin.

How did the saying go? A man’s reputation precedes him!

With a dismissive smile, he casually continued to scan his surroundings. Then, his gaze held a flicker of surprise. He spotted three figures in the left corner. Two of them were familiar acquaintances, and the third, he seemed to know as well.

It was the right decision to come here under the identity of Zong Shou.

He strode forward confidently and stood directly before the man and two women. Zong Shou was immensely pleased to see the expressions of utter shock and confusion on the faces of the two girls opposite him.

"What a coincidence! It seems I am fated to meet the two of you again! Fei Shuang, Fei Han, it has been a long time?"

The two women before him were none other than the sisters Ye Fei Shuang and Ye Fei Han, whom he had parted ways with at Narcissus Lake several years prior. After more than two years, both girls had already reached the Sixth Order. In appearance and stature, they were unchanged from two years ago, still looking like fifteen-year-olds.

And the youth beside them—his expression was cold and severe, his eyes an icy blue, utterly devoid of emotion.

Zong Shou spared the young man a glance, then narrowed his own eyes slightly. "Could this gentleman perhaps be the uncle the two sisters have been searching for?"

He was now ninety percent certain that the person before him was the Cold Flood Dragon from Narcissus Lake. This meant the Fei Han and Fei Shuang sisters were indeed of the Dragon Clan lineage? But why could they manifest human forms so early?

"Fei Shuang, Fei Han? Who permitted you to use our names? We are not that close!" Ye Fei Shuang’s expression flickered before settling back into icy composure, followed by a disdainful cold snort. "This is merely a servant of my family; how could he be our uncle?"

Zong Shou understood suddenly, realizing why something felt slightly off earlier. He still vividly recalled the gaze directed from the depths of the ice island as they left the lake center. The pressure exerted by the young man before him, however, was negligible. As for the previous sentence, he simply ignored it.

Fei Han, meanwhile, was still frozen in shock. After a moment, she stammered, pointing at Zong Shou, "You, you, you are really that Shou Di, Zong Shou?"

Zong Yuan had long been harboring dissatisfaction. Hearing this, he immediately frowned. "Insolence! My Lord is the Demon King of Qiantian Mountain. Who are you to dare address my Highness so casually?"

Ye Fei Han jumped, her breath catching. It was utterly unbelievable; two years ago, Zong Shou had only just entered the Innate Realm, yet now he was clearly Seventh Order! His imposing aura was even more intimidating. Standing there, aside from the somewhat irritating smile on his face, he indeed possessed a noble grace. Could this Zong Shou truly be the Demon King of Qiantian Mountain?

"I told you not to call me Shou Di, you should call me Gege! Fei Han meimei is still the cutest!" While speaking, Zong Shou grinned and gently pinched Ye Fei Han’s cheek, feeling a slight smugness; after two and a half years, he was finally taller than this girl.

Ye Fei Shuang abruptly slapped his hand away from Fei Han's face, her expression covered in frost. "What are you doing here? Are you also coveting the Dragon Clan's legacy treasures here, coming to dig up graves?"

"You wouldn't be wrong to say that! Are Miss Fei Shuang and you not doing the same?"

The retort left Ye Fei Shuang breathless. Zong Shou then took out the jade slip again, waving it in front of Ye Fei Shuang. When true power was infused, dragon patterns immediately emerged.

"Do you recognize this item?"

Ye Fei Shuang was stunned again. After carefully examining the engraved dragon markings on the jade slip, her face was filled with astonishment. "How could this thing be in your possession?"

Zong Shou smiled, inwardly confirming his suspicion. Following the hints in the jade slip, he had come here to find the Dragon Clan members waiting to provide aid and retrieve an object from within the Dragon Hall.

"That’s why I said this is a coincidence." He hadn't expected these three to be acquaintances. The jade slip contained a special secret technique for identifying Dragon Clan members, which was likely unnecessary now. He clearly remembered that the two sisters used to have small horns on their heads, but now they had vanished, presumably due to some technique they employed.

Ye Fei Shuang remained half-believing, half-skeptical. "But my Ye Clan requested aid from the Cangsheng Dao! And the request was for a Seventh Order cultivator under the age of twenty who had an affinity with the Dragon Clan. It has nothing to do with you, Zong Shou—"

Suddenly realizing something, Ye Fei Shuang’s words trailed off, her eyes widening further in shock. "I see, so you are Zong Shou, and you are also Tan—"

Before she could finish, Zong Shou placed his index finger to his lips, motioning for silence. Ye Fei Shuang frowned but promptly stopped speaking. Although her words were protected by spiritual constraints against eavesdropping, she dared not say more.

After a cold snort, a look of derision reappeared on Ye Fei Shuang’s face. "Coming here under that identity, your Palace Master likely does not wish to have any overt connection with my Ye Family. I truly don't know what Grandmother is thinking, choosing you as allies."

Zong Shou was completely baffled, not understanding a word Ye Fei Shuang said. He regretted not asking Han Fang for details beforehand. He also wondered if this branch of the Dragon Clan had a period of mood swings, or if Ye Fei Shuang was on her period—why was her tone so sharp?

Ignoring her, he continued to rub Ye Fei Han’s rosy cheek. "Tell me, do you miss your big brother Shou?"

Ye Fei Han was still dazed. Just as Zong Shou thought the girl might have gone silly, two streams of tears suddenly streamed from her eyes. She then lunged forward and fiercely hugged Zong Shou, sobbing uncontrollably.

She mumbled incoherently, and Zong Shou strained to listen, vaguely catching a few phrases. The gist was that the past two years had been very hard, wandering everywhere, nearly dying, and that she missed him terribly. Hearing the latter parts, Zong Shou’s expression grew grim.

Ye Fei Shuang was equally stunned, then let out a soft sigh, her eyes shifting, unsure if it was worry, or sorrowful self-pity.

"I think I understood—it was Jue Long City, correct? You can come to Qiantian Mountain from now on; big brother will protect you, no need to be afraid. If they dare to come, see if your brother doesn't twist them into pretzels—"

He patted Fei Han's little head until the girl stopped crying and broke into a smile. Zong Shou then looked up and saw Ye Fei Shuang’s lips curled in cold sarcasm. He knew that currently, most cultivators in the Cloud Realm did not favor Qiantian Mountain in the coming conflict with the Thousand Cities Alliance, and he suspected Ye Fei Shuang was no exception. Zong Shou smiled calmly and looked towards the main gate of the stone hall.

"We can talk now. What exactly are you looking for this time, and how do we get inside?"

This Dragon Hall had clearly been thoroughly plundered before the great spiritual tide surged. It wasn't featured as a dungeon in the Divine Splendor Game, and historical records only mentioned the Nine Great Dragon Halls, offering no further details. Zong Shou was naturally ignorant of this place.

Ye Fei Shuang frowned again, hesitating, but finally spoke, "If someone else had come this time, I would certainly claim ignorance. But since it is you who has arrived, telling you is no harm. We have come to the Dragon Hall for the main ingredient of a Dragon Spirit Blood Synthesis Pill—"

"Dragon Spirit Blood Synthesis Pill?"

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow. He had never heard of it, then smiled wryly. "So, you are here to dig up graves too, then."

"You! How can that be the same thing?" Ye Fei Shuang was immediately angered, about to point out that they were of the Dragon Clan lineage, when she saw Zong Shou gaze distantly toward a spot not far away.

"Then why are these people from Jue Long City here?"

Ye Fei Shuang followed his gaze. Five figures dressed in black emerged from the clouds and successively landed on the stone hall steps. Ye Fei Han subconsciously tightened her embrace around Zong Shou’s waist.