Hu Jiaojiao looked just as confused. “I don’t know either. This is our first time at the Ancestral Court. We’re not familiar with this place at all.”
As she spoke, they suddenly realized something was wrong.
The surrounding statues, whether broken or intact, all began to glow. Golden patterns surfaced across the stone, spreading like veins beneath the surface. Specks of golden light rose into the air and drifted upward. The pressure in the area surged, easily more than twice what it had been before. Even Hu Jiaojiao and Hu Rourou felt their breathing grow labored.
High above, a massive golden projection slowly took shape. It resembled an enormous head suspended in the heavens. A deep, resonant voice rolled across the Ancestral Court.
“All below the God Rank, leave the Ancestral Court at once.”
“We move first. Talk later,” Hu Jiaojiao said without hesitation. She chose a direction and charged forward. Hu Rourou followed immediately.
If even the two Tiger Demon princesses reacted like this, Fa Hua and Lan Ge did not hesitate for a moment. They rushed after them.
The low humming sound continued to reverberate through the air. The more one listened, the more it resembled an alarm.
This was the Ancestral Court. The heart of the Demon and Nymph races. The most sacred and powerful place in the entire Demon Domain. It was the foundation of both the Empyrean Empire and the Solstice Empire. What kind of existence could force the Ancestral Court itself to issue such a warning?
As they ran, pillars of golden light descended from the sky, each one falling onto the four of them. In the next instant, light flared.
They were gone.
When their vision cleared, they found themselves standing on the official road outside the Ancestral Court.
Powerful figures from the Demon and Nymph races were already gathered on both sides of the road. One after another, they looked around in confusion. It was obvious they had just been expelled as well.
The Ancestral Court was vast, and in normal times it felt almost empty. Now, however, several hundred experts had been gathered here all at once.
Fa Hua and Lan Ge exchanged a glance and took a few cautious steps back, positioning themselves behind Hu Jiaojiao and Hu Rourou.
The two princesses, in contrast, looked more curious than alarmed. Their gazes swept across the crowd and the distant sky.
“You don’t know what’s going on either?” Lan Ge asked.
Hu Jiaojiao shook her head. “No idea. I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before. But it probably isn’t something catastrophic.”
Fa Hua asked calmly, “How many Great Heavenly God level experts are stationed in the Ancestral Court?”
Hu Jiaojiao shook her head again. “No one really knows. Even my father probably doesn’t.”
Lan Ge blurted out, “Even the Tiger Demon King doesn’t know?”
Hu Rourou nodded. “Once someone reaches the Great Heavenly God level, something seems to change. They usually come here to cultivate in seclusion. But how long they live is unclear, and almost none of them ever leave the Ancestral Court. The number has never been made public. We only know that many died during the Great Cataclysm. How many remain now, no one can say.”
At that moment, the sky in the distance began to darken.
It was not normal darkness. The clouds took on a strange, deep purple hue and slowly spread toward the Ancestral Court. There was no crushing pressure like before, but the sight alone cast a heavy shadow over the heart.
“Who would dare do something like this?” Hu Jiaojiao muttered, clearly shaken. No matter how fearless she was, this was the Ancestral Court. Even those with Golden Bloodlines did not dare act recklessly here.
Then the purple sky shifted again.
Enormous silhouettes emerged from the clouds. Each one exceeded a hundred meters in height, with massive batlike wings beating steadily through the air. Two of them were even larger, nearly three hundred meters long, with blood-red wings that radiated terror. Eight figures in total advanced together, blotting out the light and thickening the air itself.
“What is that…” Lan Ge’s pupils contracted sharply.
That aura felt familiar.
The eight figures descended slowly. As they approached the ground, their bodies shrank, taking on human form. They landed on the official road outside the Ancestral Court under countless gazes.
They looked completely human. Ordinary, even. Two in front wore crimson cloaks, while all eight were dressed in black robes. Yet when they stood together, an invisible pressure spread outward. The surrounding air distorted and fractured, as though space itself was struggling to contain them.
Heavy breathing suddenly sounded behind Hu Jiaojiao and Hu Rourou.
They turned in shock.
Lan Ge’s eyes were completely bloodshot.
“Die!”
With a hoarse roar, Lan Ge exploded into motion. His body transformed into a streak of violet lightning as he shot toward one of the figures at the rear of the group.
The sudden attack stunned everyone. The eight newcomers froze for a split second. The surrounding Demon and Nymph experts recoiled in disbelief.
Who would dare strike at a time like this?
Lan Ge’s target was a woman dressed in black. Her long black hair fell to her waist, her bangs partially hiding her brows. Her eyes were dark and clear, her skin pale and flawless. She was tall and slender, her figure nearly perfect.
She was Tianmo Yeming.
Tenth-Rank Heavenly Devil. Ranked twenty-third among the Twenty-Four Great Heavenly Devils. The same Devil who had once been matched with Lan Ge in Thunder City of the Blue Domain. The one who had personally slain his parents.
The moment the eight Devils appeared, Lan Ge recognized her. He knew immediately that this was a group from the Devil Race, and that none of them were below God Rank.
None of that mattered.
The instant he saw Tianmo Yeming, every trace of reason burned away.
Faces, voices, memories of despair surged through him. The pain he had carried for years erupted all at once. He had often wondered whether dying alongside his parents that day would have been easier than living on.
Now, only one thought remained.
Even if it meant dying together, he would avenge them.
Lightning was mercilessly fast. In the next instant, Lan Ge was already in front of Tianmo Yeming. Four colors of elemental light flashed around his body as he collided with her.
She barely had time to raise a hand.
A faint purple barrier formed in front of her palm.
Then the explosion came.
Thunder. Fire. Wind. Water.
Four elemental detonations erupted in rapid succession, unleashed in a desperate, uncontrolled burst. The roar shook the ground and sky alike.
The other Devils calmly released protective light, blocking the shockwaves. None of them moved to assist.
Tianmo Yeming staggered slightly.
Lan Ge was blasted backward.
God Rank was still God Rank. And Lan Ge, acting on raw emotion, had failed to fully control his power.
“It’s you,” Tianmo Yeming said coldly. She had recognized him the instant he struck.
She extended her hand. A massive purple-black energy palm reached out toward him.
Light flashed.
Lan Ge vanished.
The energy hand closed on empty space. Tianmo Yeming frowned. She could no longer sense his aura at all.
Lan Ge reappeared beside Fa Hua, gasping for breath. That single exchange had drained him completely, not just physically, but emotionally.
Fa Hua said nothing. He steadied Lan Ge, gripping his shoulders tightly.
He had seen Tianmo Yeming as well. The moment Lan Ge charged, Fa Hua knew he could not stop him. He chose to teleport immediately.
Space twisted, and Fa Hua vanished.
At the instant Lan Ge was blasted back and the Devil reached for him, light flared around him as well, and he disappeared from Tianmo Yeming’s grasp.
In the next moment, Lan Ge reappeared beside Fa Hua.
Lan Ge did not resist. The moment he was knocked back, his mind had already cleared. He was no longer the reckless youth he once was.
One thought forced him to accept the retreat.
If he died, Fa Hua would die with him.
Fa Hua’s expression was grave. “The Devil Race has entered the Demon Domain for unknown reasons. We must deliver this information immediately. We can’t stay here.”
He took Lan Ge’s arm and led him away at full speed.
The Ancestral Court had no walls. Roads extended in every direction. As long as they chose one and kept moving, they would eventually escape.
Lan Ge followed mechanically, his gaze unfocused. He moved like a shell, his thoughts still burning.
**
At the entrance of the Ancestral Court
“Peerless Pearl?”
Among the eight Devils, the two leaders reacted at once.
“Enter the Ancestral Court first,” one of them said quietly.
Tianmo Yeming’s eyes flickered. She raised her right hand, faint purple light swirling within her palm.