Fortunately, the draconic features and aura on the two women were completely concealed. The icy-eyed youth beside me was also indistinguishable from a human cultivator.

The people from Jue Long City glanced suspiciously at the trio before losing interest.

Conversely, when their gazes fell upon Zong Shou, their sights instantly sharpened, glinting with cold light. They clearly recognized Zong Shou, but their expressions held no warmth whatsoever.

Zong Shou let out a cold chuckle and stared back just as coldly. They were merely a group of Eighth Tier cultivators; he didn't pay them much mind.

After a brief hesitation, the group in black finally averted their eyes. It seemed they were unwilling to provoke a conflict with Zong Shou right then and there.

Ye Feishuang also showed no fear, musing aloud, "As long as it pertains to the Dragon Clan, how could Jue Long City not be involved? I don't know exactly why they came. But it’s likely for the same few items. It is rumored that a Peak God Realm Dragon Core, belonging to an ancient Evil Dragon, is sealed within this Dragon Palace. The core and the physical body are sealed separately. Furthermore, there is the Dragon Torture Platform, which might house several artifact-grade torture implements, most suitable for dealing with the Dragon Clan. And also the shed scales and hides of Flood Dragons from previous years—"

Zong Shou paid little attention to the rest of her words. Could the Peak God Realm Dragon Core be the one Ao Kun had been desperately seeking in the Cloud Realm for years?

The timeline seemed slightly off, though. The era Ao Kun was sealed was after the Cloud Desolation Era, before Elder Longying left the Cloud Realm.

However, the full withdrawal of the Dragon Clan from the Cloud Realm occurred in the mid to late stages of the Cloud Desolation Era.

—Still, there was no harm in trying.

As the thought solidified in Zong Shou’s mind, the trace of True Dragon Blood on his right arm began to burn.

Then, moments later, a sigh reached his ears—it was Ao Kun’s voice, traveling across the dimensional boundary.

Clearly, hope was faint, but there was still a willingness to test the waters.

While exchanging thoughts with Ao Kun, a figure suddenly emerged from the crowd and approached the hall doors.

He was about thirty, wearing a tall crown, his face powdered white, possessing a gentle, refined air and handsome features overflowing with righteousness. His aura, like the Ice Jiao beside Zong Shou, was unmistakably Ninth Tier.

"I am Fang Ming of the Dao Ling Sect. I have a word for all of you! The relics within this Dragon Palace belong to everyone in this world, to be claimed by the destined. However, based on the Dao Ling Sect's calculations, although the protective spirit formation of this hall has developed leaks, the interior remains exceedingly perilous. It would be best for many of you to cooperate and work together to break the formation. If any spiritual items are found, they should be claimed according to destiny, without fighting or bullying the weak! Otherwise, I, Fang Ming, will be the first to hold him accountable! If you trust me, you may seek my mediation should any disputes arise—"

The stone steps before the hall fell silent for a moment. Many eyes were drawn to Fang Ming.

After sizing him up, a laugh rang out: "It is Brother Fang Ming! Brother's sense of righteousness is commendable, and his words are indeed sound!"

"Brother Fang Ming's name is known throughout the Cloud Realm. Now that the Dragon Palace is open, we are in dire need of a host. Why not trouble Brother Fang Ming to oversee the proceedings?"

"Since it is Brother, who among us wouldn't trust him?"

Listening from the side, Zong Shou was curious: Who exactly was this person? He seemed to have an excellent reputation.

Although he had joined the Cang Sheng Dao, the past two years had been spent diligently cultivating and studying Sword Dao spiritual arts, leaving him no time for distractions.

In his previous life, while he was thriving in the game God Emperor, this name was utterly foreign to him.

Ye Feishuang also seemed to let out a sigh of relief: "So he is Fang Ming!"

Seeing the utter blankness in Zong Shou’s eyes, she immediately sneered, "For the Chief Disciple of the Myriad Demon Sect, the ruler of a nation in Qian Tian Mountain, how can your worldly knowledge be even more limited than mine? Fang Ming has always maintained a good reputation in the Cloud Realm, acting justly. Even some Demonic Path disciples admire him. Since it is him, there should be fewer disputes on this expedition."

Zong Shou was left speechless. He recalled laughing at this woman two years prior for being naive about the world. Now, the tables had turned, and it was Ye Feishuang mocking him.

In the eyes of the world, Cang Sheng Dao was synonymous with the Demonic Path. As the leader of the Three Great Sects, Six Minor Sects, and countless Demonic Sect disciples, the Myriad Demon Sect was naturally another name for Cang Sheng Dao.

He watched as Fang Ming offered a few modest remarks before easily assuming the role of the crowd's leader. To Zong Shou’s surprise, none of the two hundred-plus Demonic Path disciples present offered any objection.

Zong Shou smiled and ignored them, waiting and chatting with Fei Han.

According to Ye Feishuang, the hall doors here would open in two hours, precisely at the Chen hour.

Controlled by the local spirit formation, the Dragon Palace of thirteen thousand years ago had always operated this way.

It opened at the Chen hour on the first day of the ninth month every three years, and closed at the Zi hour on the third day. Newborn dragons, upon reaching ten years of age, were sent here to receive the Ancestral Dragon's blessing and cultivate the Dragon Clan's inherited divine abilities.

Furthermore, most dying dragons chose the Dragon Palace as their resting place.

This opening of the Dragon Palace was merely a probing action by the various sects. Only elite disciples were sent, not to gain much, but only to ascertain the current condition within the Dragon Palace. The number of rogue cultivators who arrived was even smaller.

What left Zong Shou speechless was that during these two hours, Chu Xue woke up in a daze once, only to fall back into an extremely sound sleep, completely unconcerned about their location.

He realized he should have just left the girl at home. Bringing her along had turned her into a burden.

He also felt a strange unease: what was wrong with this Xue'er? Why such excessive drowsiness? She was only awake for one-sixth of the twelve hours.

Even if she was growing rapidly, it shouldn't manifest this way.

Ye Feihan also occasionally frowned, casting searching glances toward him.

Zong Shou could only pretend to be oblivious, maintaining an inscrutable, profound expression.

Two hours later, the doors indeed burst open. The crowd filed in immediately, and Zong Shou followed them inside.

The interior was not as dilapidated as the exterior suggested. It was quite clean, with dragon reliefs carved on the four walls. However, it was vast; after all, this was the Dragon Palace, large enough to house a thousand or eighteen hundred massive dragons without issue. Deep within the hall stood an incomparably majestic giant dragon. Common dragons had only five claws, but this one possessed nine dragon claws and four horns on its head.

It was as if it were alive, exuding a pressure no less formidable than that of an Immortal Dao cultivator, pressing down upon them.

The surroundings were empty, and the hall’s furnishings were in disarray. It seemed the Dragon Clan had been truly rushed when they withdrew from the Cloud Realm.

Zong Shou’s eyes scanned the area, noting various precious materials scattered everywhere. The sixteen seemingly ordinary jade pillars were crafted from Profound Gold Jade, a low-grade Earth Rank spiritual item.

Even with the Dragon Clan's wealth, they likely wouldn't be so careless as to discard several hundred thousand jin of Profound Gold Jade used for refining artifacts.

The stone pillars were one of the central nodes of the Dragon Palace's spirit formation, so no one foolishly dared to touch them. Instead, greed directed their gazes toward the spiritual materials decorating the hall's periphery.

"Everyone, be careful! This main hall is actually the most dangerous area. Nothing here should be touched for three years!"

Fang Ming offered a reminder, snapping everyone back to attention. He continued, "After observing the formation meticulously using the Great Illumination Pivot Principle, the gap in the spirit formation should be to the left."

Hearing this, everyone looked to the left. They saw a side door in that direction.

Moments later, a dozen cultivators skilled in formation arts among the crowd nodded thoughtfully. One laughed, "It is indeed on the left. Brother Fang Ming's mastery of formations is truly remarkable!"

Fang Ming smiled humbly and was the first to step forward, proceeding toward the stone door on the left. He walked cautiously through the side entrance and across a long stone corridor. Only then did everyone feel the space open up before them into a woodland area, though this place was far more decayed than the hall; most of the trees within had withered.

Zong Shou and Zong Yuan followed along, as it was neither here nor there. After emerging from the stone corridor, they saw Fang Ming pause in thought before heading toward the east.

A portion of the group followed him, while another part glanced around and silently dispersed, melting into the deadwood forest.

The six hundred-plus people instantly dwindled by more than half.

Zong Shou followed behind Fang Ming for a while, only to feel a tug on his sleeve. Turning back, he saw Ye Feishuang signaling with her eyes.

Zong Shou instantly understood and followed Feishuang and Feihan in a different direction.

After walking for a time, he realized the two women were astonishingly familiar with the area, as if it were their own home.

Once out of sight of the main group, they abandoned walking entirely and soared into the air, speeding onward.

Zong Shou followed behind, his heart pounding with apprehension. The spirit formation within this Dragon Palace clearly involved space manipulation.

If they accidentally brushed against a restriction, he feared his body would be cleanly sliced apart by spatial fragments before the spirit formation could even fully activate.

Fortunately, the journey was safe.

However, the icy-eyed youth remained utterly silent, his expression listless, ignoring even Zong Shou’s earlier greeting.

Zong Shou had initially assumed the Ice Jiao was naturally arrogant. Only now did he realize the youth’s eyes were simply vacant, seemingly devoid of thought.

He resembled the puppets Zong Shou remembered from memory.

This only deepened his suspicion: what exactly were the origins of the Ye sisters?

They flew for a full fifteen minutes, covering about two hundred li. Finally, a cave entrance appeared before them.

Zong Shou looked at the plaque above the cave, which clearly bore the inscription, 'Core Accumulation Cave' (Yun Dan Dong).

He stared blankly, "Your Dragon Clan also practices alchemy?"

Ye Feishuang gave a slight scoff, "Our Dragon Clan is the spirit of all beasts. How could we not practice alchemy? It's just that very few possess the aptitude."

Zong Shou didn't believe it and continued to look at her with a strange gaze. Ye Feishuang sighed in exasperation, "We really do! But none of them are in the Nine Great Dragon Palaces. We wouldn't invite human Spirit Masters—though if we did, we might learn a thing or two—"

Zong Shou thought, Just as I suspected, and let out a wry laugh. However, the word 'invite' might be more accurately rendered as 'capture.' In their prime, the Dragon Clan was never polite to human cultivators.