Ming Imperial Palace.
Zhu Houzhao looked up at the ranking in the sky, a puzzled expression on his face.
Divine Search Palace?
That doesn't make sense.
He had previously stirred the pot quite a bit.
He had pitted the Demon Lord Bai Suzhen and the Longevity Immortal God against each other in advance.
He even made Xue Yuan the palace master of Divine Search Palace.
With those two being at the God Demon Realm, along with several Mythical Realm cultivators, this terrifying force should've ranked higher than Rank 4.
Maybe it's because Xue Yuan replaced the Longevity Immortal God as the leader that the force's rating dropped.
Still, he hadn't heard any news about her in the Martial World all these years. She was likely still hiding in Divine Search Palace, not having come out yet.
He should pay her a visit when he gets the chance.
With Xue Yuan's personality and strength, she probably had a hard time keeping those old monsters in check.
==========
Imperial Harem, Empress Chambers.
"Miss, could the Divine Search Palace be that powerful force we were thinking of?"
"The Former City Lord mentioned it once when talking with my father and the others."
"So it's even stronger than Di Shitian's Heaven Gate!"
The Palace Maid, Qing'er, asked suspiciously.
"We have to be cautious. The Divine Search Palace is no better than the Heaven Gate."
"They're also an evil force that wouldn't hesitate to wipe out an entire clan."
"If the Heaven Gate hadn't destroyed Netherworld City, Divine Search Palace would have."
"Di Shitian was just one step ahead."
"We must not underestimate any force ranked on the Martial Force Ranking. Keep a close watch on them."
"In the future, any of them could become our enemies!"
The Empress, Wu Zhao, spoke with a stern tone.
"Yes, Miss. I understand!"
==========
Heaven Gate.
Divine Search Palace.
The Longevity Immortal God.
Di Shitian gritted his teeth, hatred flashing in his eyes.
He originally thought Divine Search Palace was just an ordinary martial arts force.
Not until he fell into their trap.
And was injured by the Longevity Immortal God, did he realize, there were others in this world on par with him.
Purely in terms of strength, even he couldn't defeat them.
At that thought, the God Slaying Dagger appeared in his hand.
Could it be that the heavens rewarded him with this dagger specifically to deal with beings like the Longevity Immortal God?
Yes, that must be it.
Now I understand.
Looks like he couldn't keep the dagger hidden anymore.
It might become the key at a critical moment.
What Di Shitian didn't notice was that below him, Divine Mother Luo Xian was glancing at the God Slaying Dagger from time to time, her mind already plotting.
==========
Han Dynasty Territory.
"Junior Sister, stop. Where are you going?"
Xue Yuan was flying swiftly ahead with Huang Rong and the other two girls.
At that moment, a deep voice rang out behind them.
"Shen Jiang!"
Xue Yuan's heart skipped a beat.
She was extremely wary of this Senior Brother.
His strength was unfathomable, and he was ruthless and cold-hearted.
What she couldn't stand the most was that he cultivated the "World Destroying Demon Physique" by devouring other people's brain matter.
"Divine Princess, come back with us."
"You're not going to escape."
Another pleasant-sounding voice followed.
Divine Mother Xiao Qing.
In a sense, she was like a mother to Xue Yuan, though not by blood.
"Senior Brother, Divine Mother, are you here to capture me too?"
"Now that the Demon Lord and the Longevity Immortal God are both in the palace, surely they don't need me anymore?"
"What's more, the Longevity Immortal God has been sealed by the Demon Lord. Who exactly are you two working for?"
"Demon Lord Bai Suzhen? Or the Longevity Immortal God?"
"The current Divine Search Palace really is a joke."
"If you weren't afraid the Longevity Immortal God might return one day, I bet you would've left earlier than I did."
Xue Yuan said in a cool tone.
Both their faces darkened.
Truthfully, they didn't even know where their loyalties lay anymore.
Logically, they should be trying to rescue the Longevity Immortal God.
But under the terrifying pressure of the Demon Lord, they had no choice but to submit.
Yet they weren't truly willing to betray the Longevity Immortal God, nor did they want the Demon Lord as their leader.
Xue Yuan was the stabilizing force between them.
The Demon Lord didn't seem to care about the infighting either.
Her only goal was to oppose the Longevity Immortal God.
She had even put aside her original ambitions.
This left everyone in Divine Search Palace feeling directionless.
No one knew where things were heading.
Still, no one dared to betray the Divine Search Palace.
Neither the Demon Lord nor the Longevity Immortal God were opponents they could stand against.
"Junior Sister, if you want to leave, fine, but only if you can beat me first!"
"Ice Nether Palm!"
With those words, Shen Jiang launched his signature technique at Xue Yuan.
"Profound and pure, the essence of heaven and earth, divine aura condenses like clouds, unleashing celestial radiance from the Ninth Heaven!"
Xue Yuan quickly pushed the three girls to safety, then began forming hand seals and moved with grace.
In the next moment.
Terrifying energy converged.
Multiple elegant, spirit-like strikes surged back at Shen Jiang.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Their powers clashed and exploded.
The battlefield was instantly reduced to rubble.
Shockingly.
Despite both being at the Land Immortal, Mythical Realm, Shen Jiang was defeated in an instant by Xue Yuan's counterattack.
His body was flung backward.
His face turned pale.
If it weren't for his World Destroying Demon Physique, he would have been seriously injured or worse.
"Senior Brother, I'm no longer who I once was."
"Unless the Demon Lord or the Longevity Immortal God show up themselves, no one in the Divine Search Palace can stop me now."
"I will not return."
Xue Yuan said firmly.
The Martial Technique that man had taught her, Divine Radiance of the Nine Heavens, was far more reliable than techniques like Heaven Shifting Divine Art or World Destroying Demon Physique.
It had fewer restrictions.
And its power was far greater than she'd imagined.
Given time, she believed she could break through to the God Demon Realm.
By then, she would no longer fear Bai Suzhen or the Longevity Immortal God.
She would finally have the strength to protect herself and fight back.
Xue Yuan would never again allow herself to be a pawn or a puppet.
"Junior Sister... your strength!"
Shen Jiang asked in disbelief.
Xue Yuan simply smiled, offering no answer.
She grabbed Huang Rong and the others and flew away.
"Wait! Divine Princess!"
At that moment, Divine Mother Xiao Qing, who had been watching, quickly called out.
"Divine Mother, are you going to stop me too? I don't want to fight you. Of all the people in Divine Search Palace, you were the only one who was truly kind to me."
"I don't want to hurt you."
Xue Yuan's expression changed, remaining on guard.
"You're wrong, Divine Princess. I'm leaving with you."
"You too?"
"Of course. With your personality, even if you're strong, the treacherous Martial World will still take advantage of you."
"With me by your side, I can at least ensure your safety."
Divine Mother Xiao Qing said gently.
She even gave the three girls a subtle glance.
While they weren't strong, they had much more experience in the Martial World than Xue Yuan.
If Xue Yuan wasn't careful, she'd fall for someone's schemes.
Xiao Qing didn't feel at ease leaving her alone.
Between the Demon Lord and the Longevity Immortal God, she cared more about Xue Yuan.
Protecting her was far more meaningful than staying in Divine Search Palace.
As for the bizarre conflict between those two cultivators, she no longer wanted to be caught in it.
"All right, let's leave together."
"Shen Jiang, go report to the Demon Lord. I'll protect the Divine Princess with my life. Nothing will happen to her."
After she finished, the women departed together.
Shen Jiang opened his mouth but said nothing.
He truly loved Xue Yuan.
Unfortunately, unrequited love never wins.
His deep affection had gone completely unnoticed by her.
In fact, she was deeply wary of him.
Which filled him with sorrow.
As for his feelings, Xue Yuan remained completely unaware.
Perhaps Divine Mother Xiao Qing saw through it, but she never told Xue Yuan.
She didn't want to trouble her.
In Xiao Qing's eyes, despite Shen Jiang's strength, he wasn't worthy of Xue Yuan.
That guy who once infiltrated Divine Search Palace, though a bit of a scoundrel, had what it took to protect her.
Most importantly.
Xue Yuan liked that scoundrel.
That said it all.
"Divine Princess, where are we headed next?"
Even now, Divine Mother Xiao Qing still called her by that title.
As for the so-called Palace Master of Divine Search Palace, she knew very well what that really meant.
It was just a compromise.
It wasn't worth having.
"The Ming Dynasty!"
Without hesitation, Xue Yuan's eyes lit up.
In a bamboo forest not far from the Zhonghua Pavilion.
Nameless was doing his best to teach Bu Jingyun martial arts.
He was very pleased with Bu Jingyun's progress.
His talent and comprehension earned high praise.
"Jingyun, what's wrong?"
Nameless asked as he noticed Bu Jingyun paused with a puzzled expression.
"It's nothing. I just suddenly felt... as if I'd lost something."
Bu Jingyun frowned slightly.
"Senior Nameless, do you know what kind of force Divine Search Palace is?"
"I have this strange feeling that it's somehow connected to me."
"I wonder... could it have something to do with the Descendant of Bu Divine Clan identity mentioned on the Golden Ranking?"
Having mysteriously gained this divine lineage had left Bu Jingyun thoroughly confused.
"Divine Search Palace..."
"I've heard of it in my youth, but I never knew whether it truly existed."
"Now that it's made the ranking, it must be a massive hidden force."
"Just like Heaven Gate."
Mentioning Heaven Gate again made Nameless recall the masked man, Di Shitian.
He felt extremely wary of these hidden forces.
And full of concern.
Divine Search Palace was clearly no benevolent force either.