Even without considering the Ruby Queen’s terrifying strength, it was hard not to admit that her figure was flawless. Most men favored long hair, but for a woman to let it grow all the way to her ankles was exceedingly rare.
The Ruby Queen did not lead them out of the Ancestral Court. Instead, she headed deeper inside. She moved as though thoroughly familiar with the terrain, never hesitating at any fork in the path.
There were not many people within the Ancestral Court, but once someone was permitted to enter, there seemed to be few explicit restrictions. Just as Sheng Lian had said, the pressure naturally generated here was already overwhelming for cultivators. Different cultivation levels determined how long one could remain. Only someone at the Ruby Queen’s level or higher could remain unaffected by this bloodline suppression.
They walked for more than half an hour before the Ruby Queen finally stopped.
Before them stood a damaged statue. Its head was missing, and one arm was gone, but the main body remained intact. Most striking were the six pairs—twelve in total—of back-stingers extending from its back. Each one looked ferocious, radiating a sharp, menacing aura. More importantly, they were nearly identical to the Ruby Queen’s former back-stingers, only larger, with denser ridges and more vicious barbs.
The Ruby Queen halted before the statue, her expression complicated. Fa Hua and Lan Ge stopped several steps behind her, not daring to approach further.
“Come closer,” the Ruby Queen said in a low voice.
Just looking at the statue filled Fa Hua and Lan Ge with an intense sense of oppression. The Ruby Queen’s six back-stingers had each reached Eleventh-Rank, Moon God–level. If this twelve-stinger statue truly belonged to her ancestor, then it could only be a legendary Great Heavenly God–level existence.
Sheng Lian had already told them that every statue within the Ancestral Court retained traces of its owner’s power from life—whether vital essence, spiritual will, or something even deeper. None of it was something two mere Eighth-Rank cultivators could withstand.
So when the Ruby Queen called to them, neither moved. They hesitated, weighing whether to teleport away immediately. Neither of them wanted to risk possession.
“Your bodies are too weak for that,” the Ruby Queen said calmly. “Besides, it left no soul imprint behind. I never lie.”
Fa Hua and Lan Ge exchanged a glance. Fa Hua stepped forward first.
We’re one entity, Lan Ge warned mentally. Don’t act rashly.
She’s not lying, Fa Hua replied. The Codex senses no danger.
He had kept the Divine Codex quietly active the entire time, monitoring the Ruby Queen’s presence. Although he still had not opened the eighth page, the truth-unraveling effect of the seventh page had grown increasingly potent, sharpening his perception of danger.
From the moment the Ruby Queen arrived earlier that day, Fa Hua had sensed no killing intent whatsoever. That was why he had never suggested teleporting away.
A Ruby Queen without hostility felt strange—but guided by the Codex, Fa Hua was confident in his judgment. At this moment, she truly harbored no intent to kill them.
The feeling was elusive, but it had never failed him.
The two of them stepped up beside the Ruby Queen.
She suddenly turned her head. The shadowed profile of her face was striking—high nose, full crimson lips—and the fleeting pink glint in her eyes as she looked back made both Fa Hua and Lan Ge pause for the briefest moment.
In the next instant, a faint red light spread from her body, enveloping all three of them.
The light flashed.
They vanished into the statue.
I knew it! Lan Ge shouted mentally as both of them instinctively tried to activate teleportation.
It failed.
They couldn’t tell whether the Peerless Pearl itself had rejected the teleport, or whether teleportation was impossible within this strange space.
Before panic could take hold, their surroundings changed.
They stood beneath an immense dome. Its ceiling glowed a deep verdant green, with massive crystal formations hanging downward, each emitting a faint, eerie light.
This is… Life Crystal?
They had seen Life Crystal beneath Sky Jade Island before—but the formations here were far larger, more imposing.
At the center of the dome lay a colossal Devouring Ant, its body stretching well over a thousand meters. It was crystalline and translucent, glowing red like living ruby. Had they not already seen the Ruby Queen’s true form, they might have mistaken it for an enormous gemstone sculpture.
The Ruby Queen stood beside them, gazing upward as well.
“Great Demon,” she murmured. “Devouring Emperor. My ancestor.”
Seeing that she still made no move against them, Fa Hua and Lan Ge relaxed slightly. There was no suppressive force here— even the bloodline pressure from earlier had vanished. The two of them instinctively stepped back, widening the distance between themselves and the Ruby Queen.
“Before the Great Cataclysm,” she began, “our Devouring Ant race lived here in the Ancestral Court. One of the Court’s most important roles was guarding the River of Life.”
“Within that river lay Falan Star’s Life Core—the foundation sustaining all life on the planet. We were its guardians. We dwelled within the Life Core itself, constantly filtering out impure life energy and preserving only the purest essence.”
“The Devouring Emperor was the most loyal guardian of the Life Core, one of the few central great powers of the entire Daemon Continent.”
“The Great Cataclysm was sensed first by the Devouring Emperor—earlier even than your humans’ Book of Prophecies. By then, the Life Core itself was already trembling. Otherwise, why would the great demons and nymphs of that era have so easily believed human prophecy?”
Her voice remained steady as she continued.
“The Great Cataclysm still came. The Seven Divine Pearls failed to stop it. And the first race to be annihilated was ours.”
“The Life Core shattered in the collision. One fragment remained here—this is where our people now live within the Demon Domain. The other fragment was seized by the Green Sea of Life, heavily damaged in the process.”
“The Sea Tree Tribe took advantage of that moment, transforming their fragment into what later became Sky Jade Island.”
She let out a soft scoff.
“Otherwise, where do you think Sky Jade Island came from?”
“And after that,” Fa Hua asked suddenly, “you began to destroy it?”
Lan Ge nudged him lightly, warning him not to provoke her.
The Ruby Queen laughed.
“Destroy? What does ‘destruction’ even mean?”
“In this world, life energy is conserved. As long as Falan Star exists, the total amount of life energy does not diminish. It merely changes hands.”
“The only true loss came from the outsiders—those who devoured it outright.”
“For us or the Sea Tree Tribe, whoever controls more life energy grows stronger. But regardless of who holds it, the planet’s ecological balance remains unchanged.”
“From the Sea Tree Tribe’s perspective, of course we are ‘destroyers.’ But from ours, is their Tree Ancestor not equally dependent on the Life Core? Without it, could the Tree Ancestor have grown so powerful?”
“The Demon Domain dares not touch the Green Sea of Life because the Tree Ancestor possesses Great Heavenly God–level power—and can even send the Life Core beyond Falan Star, permanently reducing its total life energy. That is why they hesitate.”
“And as for us—what is wrong with devouring life energy to strengthen ourselves? If one day we consume all of Sky Jade Island’s Life Core, then we ourselves become part of it. Wherever we go, the Life Core goes with us.”
This was ancient truth—secrets buried since the Ice Age.
Fa Hua and Lan Ge listened in silence.
Ever since the Devil Race attacked Thunder City, their understanding of the world had steadily shifted. The words of the Blue Domain’s Grand Elder, their encounters with the Green Sea of Life, the Devouring Ants, the Endless Blue Sea—and now the Demon Domain—had continually broadened their perspective.
From her own standpoint, the Ruby Queen’s account was unsettlingly fair.
For the first time, they understood that life energy on Falan Star was conserved. Even what was taken from the Green Sea of Life had merely been transferred elsewhere.
“So in ancient times,” Fa Hua asked quietly, “the demon and nymph races ruled Falan Star because they controlled the Life Core and vast reserves of life energy?”
“That was part of it,” the Ruby Queen replied. “The other part was evolution. demon and nymph races evolved faster than any other species. Strength is the foundation of everything.”
She paused.
“Until—”
Fa Hua caught the significance instantly. “Until what?”
She turned to face them, her gaze blazing.
“Until you humans appeared.”