……

Midnight.

The thick darkness of the night enveloped the surroundings, the stars in the sky dim, with only a crescent moon hanging obliquely at the horizon, emitting a not-so-brilliant silver glow.

At this hour, even the seabirds had returned to their nests. The absence of their noisy cries made the sea much quieter than during the day.

Only the sound of the waves continued to echo.

A faint demonic energy lingered over the sea, its color dark and deep, obscuring the view, yet one could still see the dark backs moving back and forth on the sea surface.

Those were the Dragon Whales.

Under the cover of night, more than a dozen massive Dragon Whales roamed the sea, vaguely forming a circle.

And at the center of this circle was a small island.

This island was entirely made of reefs, very small in size, strictly speaking, it could only be considered a large reef protruding from the sea, calling it an island was an overstatement.

Scattered on the reef were sparse campfires, and a dense crowd of people huddled together, shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot, numbly gnawing on the food in their hands.

Among the crowd, Sun Yaowu sat with his arms around his knees, staring at the sky under the night, looking dispirited.

Indeed, the dense crowd on this island was the original crew and clan soldiers from the Kunwu Giant Ship and the Three-Eyed Treasure Ship.

After Long Wuji's crew mastered the captured Kunwu Giant Ship and Three-Eyed Treasure Ship, they stripped these people of their equipment and dumped them on this small island, guarded collectively by the Dragon Whale group.

Apart from a certain amount of food, Long Wuji left them with nothing.

Unknowingly, the days passed, and they had been trapped on this reef island for almost a month. During this time, apart from the Dragon Whale group patrolling around the reef island, they had no contact with the outside world.

And this reef island was remote enough that in a month, they hadn't seen a single passing ship.

Or perhaps, even if there were ships passing by, they would have been driven away by the Dragon Whale group. Normally, when encountering Dragon Whales, ships would flee as far as possible.

The long despair and waiting almost drove Sun Yaowu, the once arrogant heir of the Xia Prince's Mansion, to the brink of mental breakdown.

"Young Master, are we still trying to escape?" Sun Dahai handed him a piece of bread, his expression equally dispirited.

After such a long time, the food they were initially given was almost exhausted. Perhaps, once the food was completely gone, what awaited them would be madness and demise.

"Escape? Where to?" Sun Yaowu listlessly took the bread and took a bite, "If we could escape, we wouldn't be suffering here."

After speaking, he instinctively glanced at the sea, and seeing no movement, he finally relaxed.

The ridges rising and falling in the sea like mountains were dark and oppressive, just looking at them brought immense psychological pressure.

As one of the largest species in the ocean, the Dragon Whale's massive body was naturally its best weapon, and its enormous tail was incredibly powerful, capable of smashing a cultivator of the same level with one strike, breaking bones and tendons, causing severe internal injuries, and leaving them in unbearable pain.

Don't ask him how he knew, just recalling it brought tears to his eyes.

His internal organs still ached~

In any case, he didn't want to experience that kind of pain again.

"When will this kind of life end?" Sun Dahai chewed on the dry and hard bread, his face full of worry, "This bread can fill the stomach, but it lacks spiritual energy. If we keep eating this, it won't be long before our vitality depletes, and over time, it will damage our foundation."

"Ah~ isn't that the truth~ with these Dragon Whales watching, we can't even go into the sea to hunt." Sun Yaowu sighed as well.

As a Void seed in the Purple Mansion Realm, his physical body was very strong, and his daily metabolic energy consumption was naturally enormous, with a demand for spiritual food second only to Sun Dahai, a Divine Realm powerhouse.

And if a cultivator doesn't have enough spiritual food to replenish their consumption, it's tantamount to slow suicide. Initially, only the profound energy in the body is consumed, then the foundation will continue to deplete. Eventually, the body will be like a dried-up desert, evaporated by the sun's heat.

This is more terrifying than direct killing.

Thinking of these, both of them felt utterly devastated, filled with regret and remorse.

If they had known it would come to this, they would never have gone after Princess Haige of the Sima Clan!

Suddenly.

Someone in the crowd shouted, "What's happening? Everyone, look at the sea!"

Sun Yaowu and Sun Dahai instinctively looked up, and saw that under the night sky, the foggy sea surface, those mountain-like ridges were gradually moving away, becoming smaller in their view.

And the Dragon Whales in other directions had already retreated at some point.

Everyone's action of eating the bread suddenly halted.

For a moment, the entire reef island was silent.

"The Dragon Whale group... left? We're... free?!!"

It took a while for Sun Yaowu to suddenly realize what had happened, yet he still felt a bit dazed.

"Yes, Young Master, we're free!" Sun Dahai was instantly excited, his eyes bursting with dazzling light, as if he had come alive.

At the same time, the others on the island finally reacted to what had happened.

In an instant, cheers drowned the entire reef island.

"It's not easy, truly not easy." Sun Yaowu was instantly moved to tears, feeling like he had been reborn after a disaster, "Quick, go into the sea to catch fish, I want to eat fish!"

……

The departure of the Dragon Whale group was naturally due to an order from Dragon Jingjing, the Dragon Whale King. As for why Dragon Jingjing gave such an order, it was naturally at Wang Shouzhe's suggestion.

Sun Yaowu was the heir of the Xia Prince's Mansion, if he died, the Xia Prince's Mansion would undoubtedly make a big fuss, and when they investigated, the Wang's Clan would inevitably get into trouble.

On the contrary, if Sun Yaowu didn't die, although the loss of the Kunwu Giant Ship was huge, it wasn't to the extent that the Xia Prince's Mansion couldn't accept it, and the intensity of the investigation would naturally be lighter. Moreover, the Xia Prince's Mansion wasn't a monolith, Sun Yaowu not only failed to kill Princess Haige this time, but also lost a Kunwu Giant Ship and eight Three-Eyed Treasure Ships, such a major mistake, even as the heir, he couldn't easily bear it.

Such a delivered handle and opportunity would naturally not be easily let go. As long as Sun Yaowu returned, there would be plenty of people who would take the initiative to target him.

By then, Wang Shouzhe wouldn't have to do anything, and the Xia Prince's Mansion would be too busy to deal with him.

As for what Sun Yaowu said about being besieged by the Yuan Shui Azure Dragon and the Dragon Whale group, being attacked by the Tianji Continent's fleet... what does that have to do with the Wang's Clan?

The Wang's Clan was just an unremarkable fourth-grade small clan in the remote little country of East Qian~

Of course, these are matters for later, let's not mention them for now.

For now, with the end of Wang Shouzhe's team's journey to the ruins of the Demon Dynasty, Green Immortal Island was slowly heading towards the Great Qian under the escort of the Dragon Whale group and the fleet.

And this journey was bound to last for a while.

At the same time.

The Immortal Palace.

The purpose and significance of the Immortal Palace are broad, besides assisting and supervising the operation of the Immortal Court, selecting outstanding individuals in the world to inherit the legacy, it also bears the important responsibility of protecting the human race.

As the situation on the outer region battlefield became increasingly tense, the true body of the Immortal Palace's master spent most of its time guarding the outer region battlefield.

Currently, the one presiding over the Immortal Palace was merely a [semi-dormant, normalized] consciousness energy projection of the Immortal Sovereign, usually dormant and on standby, ready to be activated and descend once something that other True Monarchs couldn't handle occurred.

And this energy projection, although entirely composed of energy, was a complete manifestation of the True Immortal's consciousness, meaning, there was only one complete consciousness at the same time.

Therefore, the projection's descent was also considered as the big shot's personal arrival, except for the relatively "weak" combat power, there were no other issues.

Recently, the Immortal Sovereign's consciousness often stayed in this projection in the Immortal Palace, because a distinguished little guest had arrived in his private residence—the Great Qian's Princess Huari.

Normally, a princess from the main faction's empire visiting the Immortal Palace would never receive the honor of being personally entertained by the Immortal Sovereign.

But how could Princess Huari be ordinary?

This little princess was a reincarnation of a True Immortal, undoubtedly possessing a peerless bloodline.

Although her background was not yet known, in her previous life, she was at least a big shot of the same level as the Immortal Sovereign. Even if she couldn't become a True Immortal in this life, she would at least be a mid-to-late stage Void Realm big shot, one of the pillars of the human race.

As a big shot standing at the pinnacle of human combat power, the Immortal Sovereign naturally valued such a level of human junior, nurturing her as much as possible, and usually not stingy in offering help.

Firstly, this was for the overall future development of the human race, and secondly, because such a reincarnation of a True Immortal would gradually awaken some of the memories and techniques stored in the [True Spirit] during their growth.

These were all memories of a True Immortal big shot, extremely valuable for restoring historical truth and supplementing the cultivation methods of the True Immortal Realm. Even if only a "fragment" of experience could be shared and exchanged, the Immortal Sovereign might spark a flash of wisdom from it, greatly benefiting his own cultivation.

After all, at the level of the True Immortal Realm, one was already standing at the current highest peak of humanity, with very few people to exchange insights with.

The path of cultivation, the higher one goes, the more rugged, difficult, and lonely it becomes.

After tens of thousands of years of inheritance, the Immortal Emperor's lineage and the Immortal Sovereign's lineage had become too familiar with each other, and the parts that could be exchanged had already been exchanged over the past tens of thousands of years.

Having a new reincarnation of a True Immortal, the Immortal Sovereign might say he dislikes it, but in fact, he is genuinely happy.

Therefore, he specially arranged for Huari to stay in the guest courtyard of his private residence [Lingxuan Residence], and found two clever female disciples to take care of her daily, trying to meet any of her demands.

However, the Immortal Sovereign soon regretted it.

Ever since Huari moved into the guest courtyard, Wang Lici, Wang Yingxuan, and Lan Wan'er would occasionally visit Huari under the pretext of visiting relatives, and then stay at the Immortal Sovereign's house, eating and drinking with Huari.

With Huari's status, she naturally received corresponding treatment, eating celestial rice, eleventh-grade spiritual meat, and top-notch spiritual tea and fruits, but as a Qi Refining Realm cultivator, how much could she eat? Celestial rice was counted by the grain, and spiritual meat was eaten in fingernail-sized pieces.

But those freeloaders were different, each one was a glutton, especially Wang Lici, who was a massive glutton, even surpassing the former "number one glutton" of the Immortal Palace, Yuan Yuan True Monarch.

With the addition of the freeloading army, the Immortal Sovereign's private stock of celestial rice and high-grade spiritual meat was being depleted at a visible speed.

And Princess Huari was no pushover. This girl would often go around boasting about how much Princess Suiyun and the Immortal Emperor loved her, not only rewarding her with a pile of treasures and resources but also giving her two full Immortal Emperor Orders.

Naturally, this gave the Immortal Sovereign a massive headache.

This girl's tone clearly indicated she was asking for things.

If it were "Jiang Yuling" doing this, the Immortal Sovereign would have probably already taken action to teach her a lesson, but Huari was only eight years old~ If he really took action, wouldn't it be bullying the small, lacking magnanimity?

And this girl, she "visited" endlessly, staying for several months without moving. She clearly took advantage of this, firmly grasping the Immortal Sovereign~

Truly a little devil, can't afford to provoke, can't afford to provoke~

Finally, one day.

The Immortal Sovereign could no longer endure.

Little Princess Huari was politely escorted out of the main gate of the Immortal Palace.

At this moment, her divine treasure ring [Glutton] was filled with various spiritual pills, celestial rice, and other resources, and beside her stood a Divine Realm guardian puppet.

Even the storage ring on the green dragon ancestor in her arms was filled with various spiritual meats, fully demonstrating what it meant to "one person attains the Dao, even the chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."

"Princess Huari." Female Disciple A respectfully saluted Huari, "The Immortal Sovereign said that the outer region battlefield is tense recently, and his main consciousness has to stay on the outer region battlefield, so he can't entertain you properly. The materials in this storage ring he gave you are more than enough for you to easily cultivate to the Purple Mansion Realm. Also, this Divine Realm guardian puppet is only temporarily lent to you, and you must return it once you reach the Divine Realm."

"The Immortal Sovereign said, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. You might as well travel around to broaden your horizons, staying in the Immortal Palace all day is not good for your cultivation."

The female disciple's smile was gentle, her words were appropriate and fitting, her tone full of sincerity and concern, with no flaws in her expression or tone.

However, Princess Huari, being a little devil, was not so easily deceived.

Holding the little green dragon in her arms, she blinked innocently, looking pure and cute, but her mind was clear.

She was clearly being kicked out~

The Immortal Sovereign's subtext was already obvious, which was to not just bother him, but also to go to other places and fleece others.

As for Wang Lici and the others, they were strictly forbidden from stepping into [Lingxuan Residence] again.

However.

As the two most unruly troublemakers since the establishment of the Wang's Clan, Wang Yingxuan and Wang Jidie were not ones to obediently follow orders. Even Wang Lici was not a compliant person.

The three of them hit it off immediately, and with the gradually assimilated Lan Wan'er, they began a new round of plotting.

Don't be fooled by Huari's young age and dislike for studying, but in matters outside of learning, she was "exceptionally gifted," coming up with one mischievous idea after another.

Even Wang Yingxuan and the others looked at Huari with new eyes, having to marvel that the Wang's Clan truly produced talents in every generation, each one more reckless than the last.

……

Time flew by, and unknowingly, several months passed in a flash.

On this day.

The airport of the Immortal City.

Several massive Yun Yao flying boats were docked at the designated berths.

Compared to ordinary Yun Yao flying boats, these Yun Yao flying boats were much larger and more robust in appearance, the silver-white coating on the surface of the flying boats shimmered faintly in the sunlight, exuding a unique sense of nobility and a murderous aura.

These Yun Yao flying boats were specially made by the Immortal Dynasty, designed specifically for the outer region battlefield frontlines, loaded with meticulously prepared war supplies, and some of the personnel scheduled to head to the outer region battlefield.

The outer region battlefield was the frontline where the human race fought against the outer region demons, it was never a place you could go to just because you wanted to, or avoid just because you didn't want to.

In theory, every human had the obligation to serve in the outer region battlefield.

But considering the actual situation, the relevant departments of the Immortal Palace and the Immortal Court had formulated a complete set of service policies for this. When the time came for the offspring of noble families to serve, a conscription order would naturally come, requiring them to serve in the outer region battlefield for a period of time, accumulating enough merits before they could return.

And to protect the geniuses of the human race, whether they were disciples within the Immortal Palace system or offspring of noble families, as long as they had a prodigy-level bloodline, their first service time would usually be delayed until within twenty to thirty years after advancing to the Celestial Realm, if their cultivation was only at the Lingtai Realm, even if they wanted to go, they wouldn't be approved.

Back when Wang Luo Qiu and Wang Luojing sneaked to the outer region battlefield at the Lingtai Realm, the reason they were severely punished by Wang Shouzhe was precisely because of this.

And for great prodigy-level geniuses, their first service would generally be delayed until the Purple Mansion Realm, if they wanted to go at the Celestial Realm level, they would have to apply voluntarily. Generally speaking, unless there were special reasons, the application would not be approved.

As for peerless prodigy-level, unless there were special reasons, they would usually start serving only after reaching the Divine Realm. If they insisted on going early, top experts would be arranged to guard them secretly, and it wouldn't be done ostentatiously to avoid special targeting.

In addition to these broad framework regulations, there were various detailed regulations, such as how much merit different cultivation levels needed to accumulate to apply for retirement, and the retirement age for Basalt cultivators of different cultivation levels, etc.

For tens of thousands of years, the Immortal Dynasty had maintained the stability of the outer region battlefield and protected the peace of the human race through this system. During this process, countless people had shed their blood on the battlefield, never to return.

At this moment.

Outside the airport, there was a sea of people, with many family and friends sending their loved ones off to war, some giving advice, others silently shedding tears out of excessive worry.

Although newcomers would first undergo a period of training and learning before being assigned to the outer region battlefield, and they wouldn't be sent to the front lines, nothing was absolute. The battlefield situation was ever-changing, and there was no absolutely safe place, no one could guarantee that they wouldn't perish on the outer region battlefield during their first service.

On this day, it was also the day Princess Suiyun once again donned her armor and returned to the outer region battlefield.

As a "veteran" who had long been familiar with the outer region battlefield, Princess Suiyun was already very accustomed to this scene, her mentality was very stable, naturally refusing most people's farewells, only saying goodbye to Lanxin King and Hundred Refinements True Monarch, who had been very close to her recently, under the flying boat.

"Suiyun, these are the [Nine-Turn Heart-Protection Holy Pills] I commissioned the Imperial Pill Workshop to refine, this batch was lucky, producing five pills, all for you." Lanxin King handed five pill bottles carved from spiritual jade to Princess Suiyun, instructing, "Your injuries haven't fully healed, be extremely careful on the battlefield, avoid fighting if possible."

"Thank you, Ancestor Lanxin." Princess Suiyun felt the concern from her family elder, her heart warm.

"Why are you being polite? If it weren't for your idea, I might have missed the most beautiful part of my life." Lanxin King said, glancing at Hundred Refinements True Monarch beside her, her eyes filled with hidden smiles, happiness almost overflowing from her gaze.

"Xiner is right." Hundred Refinements True Monarch, hearing this, dominantly wrapped his arm around Lanxin King's fragrant shoulders, a look of declaring his sovereignty, extremely proud, "Her Highness the Princess is our benefactor, I have thirty of my self-developed [Hundred Refinements Thunder], consider it a thank you gift for Her Highness."

"Hundred Refinements, no touching in public, have some shame!"

"Xiner, you are my woman, whether the seas dry up or the mountains crumble, even if this world is destroyed, it won't change this fact." Hundred Refinements True Monarch's tone was deep, looking like a love saint, "I will use this domineering Kylin arm to protect you this life, and the next."

"You bad old man~ bullying me in this life isn't enough, you even covet the next life."

"Xiner, meeting you brought color and beauty to my life."

As they spoke, they began flirting and bantering, their lovey-dovey demeanor reaching eye-burning levels.

Seeing this, Princess Suiyun's eyelids twitched, almost spitting out old blood.

So you two weren't here to send me off, but purely to "poison" me, right?!

And the most headache-inducing thing for Princess Suiyun was that she personally "facilitated" all of this!

Taking several deep breaths, Princess Suiyun barely restrained the urge to lash out, showing them an awkward yet polite smile: "Ancestor Lanxin, why don't you two continue chatting, I'll board the flying boat first?"

"Don't, I have so much to say to you. I'm about to travel the world with Brother Hundred Refinements, who knows when we'll meet again, I have so much to tell you."

Then, Princess Suiyun was dragged by Lanxin King to continue chatting, constantly being "poisoned."

Meanwhile.

On the other side of the Yun Yao flying boat.

Princess Suiyun's "number one confidant," a strong contender for the future Mansion Master of the Princess Mansion, [Wu Yinghao], was directing his subordinates to load boxes of military supplies onto the Yun Yao flying boat.

Beside him stood a little girl in a pretty princess dress, holding a small green dragon in her arms.

This little girl was naturally Princess Huari, Wang Jidie.

She was smiling sweetly at Wu Yinghao, her big eyes blinking: "Brother Hao, will you agree or not~"

"Call me Ancestor!" Wu Yinghao glared at her, "By seniority, I'm much older than you."

"Ancestor Hao, it doesn't matter if you don't agree." Little Princess Huari's eyes curved, smiling particularly sinisterly, "I heard Sister Suiyun is still recruiting advisors for the Princess Mansion, I can introduce all the outstanding, unmarried uncles and elders from the family to Sister Suiyun. Let me tell you, several of them are no worse than my forty-seventh uncle~"

Wu Yinghao's face turned black.

You little girl, you're too much, how can you threaten people like this?

He had personally witnessed Wang Ningxi's skills, if a few more cunning green tea men like him entered the Princess Mansion, wouldn't it seriously threaten his status?

Was it easy for him, Wu Yinghao, to get to this point?

Wu Yinghao didn't think for a moment that this little girl was joking, after all, the lessons of the past were vivid, he had personally experienced the bitterness of her revenge.

"Hahaha~ Huari, you are the princess of our Wu Clan, you can't turn your elbow outwards." Wu Yinghao immediately put on a fake smile, patting his chest, "Rest assured, your business is my Wu Yinghao's business, I'll definitely handle this matter properly for you. Someone, carry these boxes inside for me."

"Yes, Young Master Yinghao."

Several trusted subordinates from the Wu Clan were immediately called over, panting as they carried the boxes into the Yun Yao flying boat.

Little Princess Huari smiled particularly sweetly: "Thank you, Ancestor Yinghao, so, when can I go in?"

"It's hot outside, this one won't be finished moving for a while, you go rest at the tea house nearby first." Wu Yinghao smiled with a "kind" face, "Once we're done, I'll send someone to fetch you."

Huari also felt it was a bit sunny here, so she obediently ran off to drink tea with the green dragon in her arms.

Half a day passed.

One by one, the Yun Yao flying boats took off, slowly disappearing into the distant sky.

Princess Huari waited and waited, but Wu Yinghao never appeared, her pure eyes gradually becoming a bit dazed: "Yao, Grandpa Yao, have I been abandoned?"

"Uh... it seems so." Old Yao slowly revealed himself from the shadows, awkwardly saying, "But Young Master Yinghao did the right thing. You're only eight, not even at the Lingtai Realm, going to the outer region battlefield to play is indeed inappropriate."

"Grandpa Yao, did you and Wu Yinghao, Wang Yingxuan, Wang Lici, Lan Wan'er, and Zhang Huaibing conspire to abandon me on purpose?" Princess Huari keenly sensed a flaw, angrily saying, "Too much! The entire smuggling plan was my idea, without me, they couldn't have boarded the flying boat! How dare they leave me behind, too much! Grandpa Yao, you love me the most, I believe you wouldn't do this to me, whose idea was it?"

By the end, she was so aggrieved she was about to cry.

Wuwuwu~ too much! Bullying a child!

"It was my idea. Die'er, you're too mischievous, the outer region battlefield is not a place you can casually go to."

At this moment, a clear young voice suddenly sounded.

As the voice fell, a young man in white slowly walked out from the corner of the tea house.

This young man was naturally Wang Fugui, who had just returned from the Lingqu Continent not long ago.

At this time, he was in a period of rapid growth, his height had shot up a lot in just over half a year, already having some of the demeanor of a teenager, carefully dressed, he already had a bit of the elegance of a refined young gentleman.

Only the slight baby fat on his cheeks hadn't gone away, still carrying a bit of roundness, but it also made him look more approachable than Wang Anye back in the day.

"Brother!"

Princess Huari was momentarily stunned, then immediately recognized him.

Although it had been over four years since they last met, she was precocious and remembered many things from her childhood, plus she often saw the images her Ancestor Grandfather showed of her brother, so she naturally recognized Wang Fugui.

Excitedly, she rushed into his arms: "I thought you'd been taken away by a bad fairy princess and didn't want Die'er anymore!"

"Bad fairy princess?" Yun Mengyu's figure appeared silently behind Wang Fugui, already grown into a graceful young girl, her almond eyes slightly narrowed, looking at Princess Huari with a faint gaze, "Die'er, are you talking about me?"

"Crackle!"

The two "little princesses" locked eyes, and it seemed as if sparks flew in the air.

……