Aldrian's heart beat faster as he had just experienced something amazing. In that moment of blinding light, he could sense many things. No—calling it many was an understatement; he could sense all things.

At first, he felt nothingness, but that blinding light burst forth with every existence that shaped the cosmos—time, space, natural laws, the heavens, everything. That blinding light was like the sign of the beginning of all that exists.

In that brief moment, it was as if he perceived everything at once, but he could not absorb it at all. They were too complex and too profound for him as he was now.

He wondered what that vision meant. What was that place? When was that? What was the connection between the faith of the world to that vision?

What was that mysterious man trying to tell him with those words?

He took a deep breath to calm himself. Many questions popped into his mind, but the vision stopped there. He thought that he would not get the answers for now, so he decided to focus on what was in front of him.

At this moment, he was inside his being's essence. It had already been a few months since the last time he entered his being's essence. The distance between him and the lone star was getting closer.

Its light grew more intense as he kept getting closer.

'Well, let's cultivate for now. This is a good chance. It's been quite some time since the last time I cultivated here.'

This was not an everyday chance for him to enter his own being's essence.

Thus, he closed his eyes and started to cultivate.

-------------------------------

In the real world, more than an hour had already passed. The troops were working to clean the city of rubble. They were trying to make the place comfortable enough to serve as their base for as long as they stayed here. Purification formations had already been created in many areas across the city and outside of it, where the interstellar vessels and cruisers had landed.

The interstellar vessels and cruisers had landed around the city and disembarked the rest of the troops who had only acted as support during the earlier battle. They had been waiting in their vessels in the sky.

Baek Jimin, Xin Haotian, and the others from the Aster Empire disembarked from their vessel. They did not have the chance to join the battle earlier because the vanguard groups that attacked consisted of members from other powers. Their battle would come later, when the operation expanded to other regions.

Thanks to the purification formations, by the time they stepped out, the effect of the negative energy had already been greatly reduced.

Still, they needed to be careful when going outside. For cultivators below the Emperor Stage, it was forbidden to be exposed to the negative energy outside the formations for more than a minute to prevent the worst from happening.

They had to move quickly to areas covered by purification formations whenever they went outside.

Baek Jimin and the others then walked toward their accommodations, which consisted of several giant tents. The people from the Aster Empire were assigned to an area near the palace, which at this moment was already being cleared. Most of the palace grounds had been flattened, leaving only a few buildings standing, including the half-destroyed throne hall.

Baek Jimin decided to take the same tent as Angelica after they arrived at their designated area. After settling in, she met Prince Ronwell, who seemed busy talking to two of his men. She approached him and greeted him.

"Excuse me, Prince Ronwell."

Prince Ronwell, who was still talking to his men, turned his head toward Baek Jimin and smiled.

"Your Majesty," he said. His men, knowing they should leave, bowed slightly to him.

"Then we will go first, Your Highness," one of them said before they also looked at Baek Jimin and bowed again.

"Your Majesty," they said. Baek Jimin nodded before they left.

After they were gone, Prince Ronwell looked at her and asked,

"Your Majesty, is there something you need?"

"Ah, my apologies if I'm disturbing you. I just wanted to ask where Aldrian is. I haven't seen him since earlier," she said.

Prince Ronwell smiled and nodded. "It's okay, Your Majesty. You're not disturbing me. As for His Majesty, he's in that half-destroyed building." He pointed toward the partially ruined structure not far from them.

"It seems he has been cultivating for the past hour, and because he appears to have entered an enlightenment state, we didn't dare to disturb him. My father is near His Majesty to make sure he isn't interrupted."

Baek Jimin raised her eyebrows. Aldrian cultivating at this moment?

"Let me escort Your Majesty to His Majesty," he added before walking ahead. Baek Jimin followed him until they finally arrived at the destroyed building. There, she saw Emperor Rozwald giving instructions to some of his generals, pointing to several places while they nodded in response.

When Emperor Rozwald noticed her, a smile appeared on his face. His generals quickly excused themselves to carry out his orders.

"Your Majesty," the emperor greeted.

Baek Jimin nodded. Truthfully, she still was not used to being respected by these high-level cultivators who were many times stronger than her.

However, as one of Aldrian's women, she had to maintain the dignity worthy of that position. She was the woman of Aldrian the Great, and she could not show herself as lesser than anyone, even if they were emperors of other empires or far stronger than her.

"Emperor Rozwald," Baek Jimin greeted.

"Does Your Majesty wish to see His Majesty Aldrian?" the emperor asked, to which Baek Jimin replied with a simple "Yes."

"His Majesty is inside this ruined place. He seems to be cultivating here, which surprised me. I must say, His Majesty truly can cultivate anywhere, even in such a hostile place," Emperor Rozwald said as he began walking, guiding Baek Jimin toward Aldrian.

After walking for a while, they finally arrived at the throne hall, where Baek Jimin saw Aldrian in a meditation position. Just as Prince Ronwell and Emperor Rozwald had said, Aldrian seemed to be cultivating. She was not too surprised that he could cultivate anywhere, as from his past experiences, he seemed capable of doing so without difficulty.

However, she wondered what made Aldrian suddenly decide to cultivate here. She thought this was not a good time for cultivation, so why? She observed him for a moment before setting the thought aside. Aldrian must have his own reasons for cultivating here.

"Thank you for guarding Aldrian, Emperor Rozwald. But allow me to take your place. You must need some rest after the battle, and there are still many matters to handle since we've just taken control of this city," Baek Jimin said.

"Ah, no, Your Majesty, it's nothing. I can still guard this place while coordinating with the others. I'm not really tired from the battle, there was nothing here that could tire me. Those devil weaklings weren't even enough to make me break a sweat, so don't worry," Emperor Rozwald replied confidently.

"Still, Emperor Rozwald could focus more on other matters. Let me take care of Aldrian," Baek Jimin said with a smile.

Emperor Rozwald, knowing it would be better for Baek Jimin to stay near Aldrian, nodded. "I see. Then, if Your Majesty needs anything, just tell anyone nearby. They'll be ready to help with whatever you require. We'll take our leave, then," the emperor said before he and his son left, leaving Baek Jimin alone with Aldrian.

Once alone, Baek Jimin looked back at Aldrian. She walked toward him and stood beside him, observing his handsome face, which at that moment was filled with serenity. He didn't react even when her face was close to his.

She decided not to disturb him further and instead observed the half-destroyed hall around them. It was an ancient palace that, in the distant past, had been the center of power for an ancient empire before the devils occupied this place.

There were still some symbols engraved on the broken walls—the symbols of that past empire, silent witnesses to its fall. She could not imagine the situation back then, when many people of this world had to abandon their home and flee.

They had left behind the world they once called home.

As Baek Jimin observed the place, and the troops from the Ancient Blue Gate World had successfully established their foundation in this world, many devils were still running for their lives.

One of them was the right-hand man of Xarz, who at this moment was flying as fast as he could after escaping from the headquarters using an escape talisman. He knew he would surely die if he faced Emperor Rozwald, so he had decisively fled.

He gritted his teeth. He still could not understand how there had suddenly been a surprise attack from the forces of the Ancient Blue Gate World, but now was not the time to think about it.

For now, he needed to reach another devil base to coordinate a counterattack. They would have to reclaim their headquarters!