That man was just about to slip away when the man on the seat suddenly opened his eyes.

That man felt that he had been enveloped in a cold chill. He began to shiver incessantly, feeling for some reason he was about to die.

“Hmmm? What did you say? Hua Qiyue…” The man blinked. He did not immediately kill the man who had disturbed his sleep.

That man seemed to have received amnesty. “Yes, yes! It’s that Hua Qiyue—the one who killed the Venerated Supreme Devil. She’s likely to be in Xuanyuan City three days later.”

That man answered, quaking in his boots. The man with blue hair gave a gasp of surprise. “So it’s Hua Qiyue… it’s her. I’ve heard that she’s stunningly beautiful. Is it true?”

“Yes, yes…”

“Oh, that’s good. Then, I’ve got fresh girls to play with!” The man with blue hair chuckled in great delight. “When she comes on that day, report to me at once. I will receive her personally. Hehe…”

The blue-haired man said lazily. He was almost about to drool.

“Oh, Palace Leader… there’s another piece of good news.”

After guessing the Palace Leader’s mood, the man finally said in a whisper.

“What good news?”

“The 11th Palace Leader is here, waiting for you in the hall.”

That man had not finished when the blue-haired man narrowed his eyes, standing up lazily. His long, blue hair made him look extremely odd, but his face was handsome. Only his unkempt hair was somewhat awful.

The man rose and disappeared from the seat.

That man kneeling heaved a sigh of relief.

The Eighth Palace Leader—Lan Luo—was a Qi Artist at the Great Completeness of Round Sun. He had an eccentric and savage personality. If his servants did not curry favor with him, they would surely die.

At the reception hall of the Eighth Palace, the left side chamber to the main hall, two women were entering with trays, carrying snacks, wine and tea to serve the guest.

In the reception hall, a woman in pink sat. Before the two maidservants could draw near, a gust whizzed and a figure flashed by. Out of the blue appeared a blue-haired man in a black robe. His hair was messy like a chicken’s nest, giving him an unruly appearance.

“My respects to the Eighth Palace Leader!” The woman curtsied. Lan Luo gave a light smile. “Mengshi, why are you so polite to me?”

The visitor who had come was Hua Mengshi.

Hua Mengshi was not only the adopted daughter of the Murong Family but also the 11th Palace Leader. After Lin Qi’s death, Hua Mengshi received a token from the Side Palace Leader to search for the legendary Eighth Palace Leader.

Lan Luo was the one who had initiated her into the Main Palace. After seeing the Sect Leader of the Dark Sect and with Lan Luo’s persuasion, the Sect Leader finally allowed Hua Mengshi to become their 11th Palace Leader.

Hua Mengshi knew that her Qi Art level was not high. She tried her best to enter the Murong Family and earn the admiration of their two elders. As a result, she received many secret arts which helped accelerate her promotion.

Lan Luo’s Qi Art was very high and he was also very smart. Unfortunately, he was also quite lascivious. He would take any slightly pretty Qi Artist to his bed.

Hua Mengshi had long been Lan Luo’s woman. But she was a schemer adept at making Lan Luo dote on her.

“Why so polite? Girl, come, let me have a kiss!” Lan Luo smiled, pulling Hua Mengshi’s face over to kiss her.

The two maidservants put their trays down, having long been inured to such scenes. Everyone knew that their Palace Leader was a lecher. Even maidservants who were a little pretty had gone to bed with him.

When the maidservants had left, Lan Luo’s hands began to stray around Hua Mengshi’s body.

Hua Mengshi was not revolted by the handsome Lan Luo. Comparatively though, she wanted Bai Qianxue more.

However, the Palace Leaders of the Dark Sect usually did not show their faces. Few people knew about her identity.

Even Bai Qianxue did not know Hua Mengshi was a member of the Dark Sect.

Hua Mengshi’s arms clung around his neck as she advanced, the two of them entangled in a smoldering kiss. The door of the Reception Hall was shut sensibly by the maidservants.

From within the hall soon came pantings and low growls, making the ears flush and the heart race…

—

For three days, Hua Qiyue had been cultivating on the carriage. After all, its interior was large enough to accommodate four or five people. It was possible for her to cultivate in the carriage.

And after these three days, Hua Qiyue finally broke through the medium level of Round Sun, reaching the Great Completeness!

The hare kept saying that Hua Qiyue was a diabolical genius. When it saw Hua Qiyue improve by yet another level, its eyes did not look too pleased.

Ji Feng and the rest were jubilant on her behalf. There was still 50 kilometers to Xuanyuan City on this day. Everyone was hungry and they stopped by a small inn by the roadside.

Night had fallen. Hua Qiyue let the others rest in the small inn. After all, it was already night. Had they entered Xuanyuan City, they would need to look for another inn.

There were so many people there but a few rooms. No one knew if there would be vacancies. It was far better to settle down here first.

Hua Qiyue and her friends had their dinner in the dining hall of the inn. There were not many people in the small inns here, as there were some large inns nearby whose condition was better.

Hua Qiyue preferred a quieter place, so she went for this small inn instead.

The waiter served all of the dishes the company had ordered. The hare gave a cold snort and asked leisurely, “Waiter, is there osmanthus wine here?”

Hua Qiyue started slightly. Osmanthus wine? It seemed like Tianpi also quite enjoyed this sort of wine.

The waiter was given a great fright by the talking hare. He answered with an ashen face, “Yes, yes, Your Excellency, please wait. We shall serve you soon!”

Looking at the faces of the waiter and those around blanched white, the company gave a helpless smile. After all, few people would have kept a talking spiritual pet.

Whoever kept a talking spiritual pet would be regarded as some god.

There were five tables of guests in the hall. Many of the tables were empty. The guests stared with astonished eyes at Hua Qiyue and her friends.

This company did not look old, but they could sense Ji Feng’s Qi Art level—the Great Completeness of Cultivation Dimension. What a powerful Qi Artist!

If they knew that Hua Qiyue was at the Great Completeness of Round Sun, they would have peed in their pants.

“Waiter, have you seen this child before?” After the waiter brought in the wine, Hua Qiyue immediately unfurled Tianci’s portrait for him.

The waiter saw it and shook his head. “More than half a month ago… a mercenary asked about this boy here too, I think.”

Hua Qiyue raised her brows. That mercenary would have to be Tiehan. Her instincts told her that he had not lied to her.

Hua Qiyue was a little disappointed. But Tiehan had informed her that it was another inn which had seen Tianci—Prosperity Inn in the north of Xuanyuan City.

“Sister Qiyue, don’t be anxious. We aren’t within Xuanyuan City yet.” Ji Jing gave a light laugh.

Hua Qiyue nodded and kept her anxious expression. She started having her meal with the company.

“Do you feel that the aura around our Xuanyuan City’s no longer as abundant as before?”

“Yes. It seems that someone has absorbed some of it.”

“I heard that the Eighth Palace Leader of the Dark Sect has investigated this occurrence and could not come to any conclusion.”

“Tsk, tsk. This place won’t be suitable for cultivating if this continues any longer. Looks like we have to leave Xuanyuan City.”

The guests at a nearby table started discussing quietly.

Hua Qiyue’s eyes lit up.

There were many reasons for its anima energy being less abundant than before. But the biggest was because someone had been absorbing them using arrays.

Hua Qiyue stretched out her hand and grabbed the wine cup from the hare. “Hare, did you teach Yun Shimo the Great Crystal Array before?”

The hare gave an “Ahh” and started to scratch its fur with its claws. “Ahh… I don’t remember… oh, I’m drunk, I’m drunk!”

Hua Qiyue angrily rolled her eyes at it. This damned hare won’t say anything. And it was always by her side monitoring her!

The hare grabbed a large chicken thigh with one paw and retreated in a crestfallen way from the dining table. If Hua Qiyue really hit out at it, she could have slapped it into a flat sheet.

It was difficult to describe Hua Qiyue’s feelings now. She was about to lose her temper at the hare and give vent to all her anger and frustrations over the year, when a voice outside resounded.

“Hey, I’ve finally found the Princess!”

Hua Qiyue and the rest turned back their heads and looked. A young woman in purple and a young man in white strode in. Needless to say, they were Murong Zhen’er and Murong Lingzhe of the Murong Family.

“Your Highness, we’d like to join your team!”

Since their separation in Spirit Heaven City, Murong Zhen’er and Murong Lingzhe had returned to the Murong Family. But their family had chosen to believe in Hua Mengshi instead of Hua Qiyue.

Hua Mengshi had naturally returned home and told them that Hua Qiyue was jealous of her, or hate her, for Hua Mengshi had sabotaged her. That was why Hua Qiyue had killed her two personal maidservants.

She said merely this. But the two elders of the Murong Family believed in her as if they were drugged. They kept believing in Hua Mengshi and not in the two siblings.

“Sit then.” Hua Qiyue did not reject them. After all, there were still a few unoccupied seats at this table.

Murong Zhen’er acqueisced and sat on the seat. The waiter served them rice. And Hua Qiyue’s company had ordered a table of sumptuous dishes.

Murong Zhen’er was very zealous. As she ate, she repeated what Hua Mengshi had said to their family again.

“Your Highness, you think that my Dad and my Mom had been drugged? Sigh. What should we do? We don’t feel the same homely feeling once we are home!”

Murong Zhen’er ate as she frowned, looking very worried.

“There’s such a possibility, but we have to slowly trace its cause,” Hua Qiyue said quietly. Otherwise, why should their parents favor outsiders and not their own children?

“Why not this: Come to our house and take a look with us. You’ll be our eminent guest. With us around, Dad and Mom won’t dare to say anything even if they don’t welcome you,” Murong Zhen’er said excitedly.

Hua Qiyue shook her head. The most important thing for her right now was to find Tianci.

“Sister, don’t kick up a row. This is our family affair. We can’t have the Princess worry for us, can we? Besides, that Murong Mengshi’s very jealous of the Princess. Won’t we be sending her to the tiger’s den if we make her go?” Murong Lingzhe was quite considerate, making plans for Hua Qiyue.

“Oh, yeah. Why haven’t I thought about that? So sorry…” Murong Zhen’er gave a sheepish smile.

Hua Qiyue pursed her lips slightly. Murong Lingzhe was right. This was their family affair. She was indeed not interested to know more.

She was about to put down her chopsticks when a hubbub was heard outside.

“Good heavens, the Eighth Palace Leader’s out!”

“Something must be seriously wrong if he’s out!”

“I heard he is looking for Hua Qiyue!”

The clamor outside was loud. Hua Qiyue and her friends all frowned. They were so tired from all the traveling and naturally would need a good night’s sleep. But that seemed no longer possible. To sleep well, they would need to deal with the men outside, eh?