The Gluttonous Feast lasted for over two hours.

Three stunning beauties and Qing Muling together tackled twelve adult Thunder Feather Star Pengs, numerous chicks and eggs, and countless spiritual herbs and treasures. The delicacies melted in their mouths, transforming into pure vital energy that nourished their internal organs and meridians. Everyone ate to their heart’s content, and even the Harmony Spirit Seed within their sea of consciousness reaped substantial benefits, soaking up a good share of the vital energy.

“…On the way back, we should try to find more. If their tribes are divided into many clans, there should be more than one king, right?”

Qing Muling patted his stomach, still unsatisfied, reminiscing the taste of the Thunder Feather Star Peng king’s egg that almost made him swallow his tongue in delight.

“It should be possible! The Star Peng Plain is so vast, there must be plenty of delicious things.”

Perhaps it was the effect of the Spiritual Wine and Nectar, but Yu Lingzhou’s beautiful face blushed with two red clouds as she spoke in a dazed manner.

Qing Muling pinched her jade hand, his smile gentle: “The main reason is that Senior Sister’s cooking skills are too good. Otherwise, even the best ingredients can easily go to waste.”

“Then…”

Yu Lingzhou tilted her head slightly, her bright eyes full of expectation: “Since Junior Brother is satisfied with my cooking, why not follow me and learn to cook?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Qing Muling nodded in agreement: “Of course, I can.”

Yu Lingzhou’s face lit up with joy, and Yueyi Heavenly Lord and Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord also breathed a sigh of relief. No matter the reason, as long as they could get closer to Junior Brother, it was worth a try.

“Junior Brother, you should cultivate for a while. We’ll protect you, and once you’re ready, we’ll enter the ruins together to search for opportunities.”

Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord said, and with their cultivation, it was nothing much, but Qing Muling’s cultivation was still shallow. Having consumed so much good food, he definitely needed time to digest and absorb it.

“Alright.”

Qing Muling agreed, and just then, a timid sweet voice suddenly came: “Sisters, can you give me something to eat?”

A hundred yards away, a slender girl stood there, her waterfall-like smooth hair cascading down to her waist, her eyebrows like distant mountains, her features picturesque, and her elaborate and gorgeous dress bright red like fire. At the hem of her dress, a pair of snow-white and translucent jade feet were exposed, their lines and shapes perfect, and her pale pink nails round and cute like pearls.

She stood quietly, her clear eyes containing an indescribable fierce and violent energy, which, if unleashed, could incinerate all tangible things in the world.

“I’ve noticed you for a while,”

Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord glanced at her, her tone indifferent: “You’re not a creature from the Great Void, nor are you human. Little phoenix, did you sneak out from the depths of the ruins?”

A member of the phoenix clan?

Qing Muling was slightly surprised, turning to look at the girl, and indeed, he noticed something different. Her aura was clearly unlike that of human cultivators, with a noble and ancient dignity and a sense of time, clearly influenced by the power of an ancient and noble bloodline, and its purity was beyond imagination.

However, her cultivation wasn’t very strong, currently at the peak of the Spirit God realm, just a step away from the True Person Realm. It was unclear what powerful divine abilities she possessed, but as a pure-blood descendant of an Ancient Divine Beast, she would never disappoint in this aspect.

The girl in the red dress bowed slightly, her voice clear like the sound of immortals: “My name is Fengxia. My ancestors were the protective divine lords under the Mysterious Dao Venerable. I have indeed been living in this mystical realm, and it’s been less than a hundred years since I came into the world. Today, on a whim, I decided to come out for a walk.”

Yueyi Heavenly Lord furrowed her brows and asked, “With such a low level of cultivation, you dare to wander around. Isn’t it dangerous if you encounter those foreign cultivators?”

The girl in the red dress looked innocent: “In this mystical realm, they can’t catch me. If I wish, no creature can catch me.”

Qing Muling chuckled: “Does that include me as well?”

The girl in the red dress tilted her head to look at him: “You are the special one, so I decided to come out and meet you. You don’t need to do that.”

After saying this, she stared at the few pieces of peng meat left on the barbecue grill, once again requesting: “Can you give me some to eat?”

While Yu Lingzhou was still hesitating, Qing Muling had already agreed: “Then come on over and eat with us!”

He did not sense any threatening aura from the girl in the red dress, indicating she had no ill intentions. Moreover, using his divine abilities to secretly observe, he found that her fate was incredibly dense and noble, not comparable to his own, but almost catching up to the likes of Xuebing Xuan and the other ladies. In the future, she was bound to be a prominent figure in the Great Void.

Having such an existence willing to get close to him was certainly not a bad thing. Besides, she was a creature from the ruins. If he could gain her goodwill, the upcoming adventure would likely be much smoother.

Fengxia’s expression brightened as she walked over lightly. Qing Muling intended to hand her the roasted peng meat, but Yu Lingzhou beat him to it.

She now dared not let this mysterious girl have any physical contact with Junior Brother, not even getting too close, to avoid unpredictable consequences.

Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord didn’t say anything but subtly pulled Qing Muling to sit next to her, silently on guard.

“Mmm, it tastes really good!”

Fengxia seemed genuinely unbothered, taking the roasted meat and eating heartily. Her cherry lips weren’t large, but she ate quickly and gracefully, devouring a large piece of meat in no time.

Moreover, as she ate, her external aura began to rise, breaking through the True Person Realm in a short time, with no sign of stopping. It was unclear whether this was due to the food’s effect or some kind of restriction or seal within her being unlocked.

“The rest is yours, eat as you like.”

Qing Muling said after thinking for a moment, as he and the three ladies were almost full. There were still many pieces of meat left on the grill and in the jade cauldron, along with spiritual herbs and eggs, so it was no loss to give them to her.

“Thank you so much. I wasn’t wrong about you; you really are a good person.”

Fengxia said happily, then like a whirlwind, she swept up all the edible things, and after effortlessly downing more than a dozen jars of Spiritual Wine and Nectar, she finally stopped, satisfied.

By then, her cultivation had reached the peak of the Ascending to Immortality realm, just a thin layer away from the Elemental Immortal realm, ready to take that step at any moment.

Qing Muling couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t you need to undergo tribulation?”

“As long as I’m in this mystical realm, my growth won’t be troubled by heavenly tribulations, but it might be different once I leave.”

“So, if you keep eating like this, what level of cultivation can you ultimately achieve?”

Qing Muling asked again, not believing that just eating could have such an exaggerated effect, even though the food was indeed rare.

Fengxia’s bright eyes turned to look at him: “This is just because my bloodline’s power has been stimulated. This is the limit for now. If I want to advance further in the future, I can only cultivate slowly. There are no shortcuts.”

“That’s good to know.”

Qing Muling breathed a sigh of relief. This was still within his understanding. Even as a direct descendant of an Ancient Divine Beast, her innate talent couldn’t surpass his own, so it wasn’t possible to improve her power level without limit.

Yueyi Heavenly Lord hesitated for a moment before asking her most pressing question: “A lot of people have already entered this place, right? How do you plan to treat them?”

It was still somewhat hard for her to imagine that there would be a living descendant of an Ancient Divine Beast in this mystical realm that had been sealed for countless ages. But with the reality before her, she could only convince herself to accept it.

The key question was how Fengxia would view the foreign cultivators searching for opportunities in her home, rummaging through her belongings. Would she, in a fit of anger, try to kill them all?

Fengxia did not hide her thoughts: “This place was left by Mysterious Dao Venerable for those with destiny. Whoever comes, as long as they follow the rules here and pass the numerous tests, they have a chance to gain some opportunities. I won’t deliberately interfere with anything.”

The three ladies exchanged glances, secretly relieved. There was no need for the little phoenix to deceive them. As long as it didn’t affect their entry into the ruins to seek opportunities, their relationship wouldn’t sour.

“Then, we’re setting off now. Do you want to come with us?”

Qing Muling spoke, not believing that she could truly see through his secrets, although she clearly appeared because of him.

Fengxia smiled slightly, her soft eyes curving into crescents: “Of course, I can. And… I actually have a request for you, but I’m not sure if you can help, so let’s wait until we get there to talk about it!”

Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord: “…”

What exactly is this little phoenix hiding?

She glanced at the palace ruins not far away. If it was for Qing Muling’s safety, perhaps it was no longer suitable to enter. It was better to give up the opportunities inside than to risk Junior Brother’s life.

Without these opportunities, Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace wouldn’t be affected much, but if something happened to Qing Muling, it would be a disaster for them.

On someone else’s territory, who knows what could happen?

Yu Lingzhou’s attitude was more direct: “Junior Brother, let’s go back to the Star Peng Plain and continue raiding nests! There’s no need to go in here!”

Fengxia spoke softly: “Are you doubting me? But I have no ill intentions. What can I do to gain your trust?”

After weighing his options for a while, Qing Muling said, “How many people are inside, and can you tell us their locations? If you can do that and wipe them out in one fell swoop, I’ll believe your sincerity.”

Fengxia’s expression was calm: “So far, there are 4,397 people who have entered the ruins. I can tell you their approximate locations and their progress. As for taking action to eliminate them… that goes against Mysterious Dao Venerable’s original intention, so I’m powerless to do that. However, if you want to kill them, I won’t interfere.”

“Is that so? That’s not bad.”

Qing Muling nodded slightly. He didn’t expect Fengxia to unconditionally satisfy all his requests, even if she was asking for his help. This outcome already gave his party enough advantage.

Moments later, following a hundred-yard-wide jade stone path, Qing Muling, accompanied by the four ladies, entered the main gate of the palace.

Trust can’t be built overnight, so Qing Muling didn’t let Fengxia lead the way. Instead, he chose to constantly operate the secret technique of fate, deducing the path that best suited his heart.

The jade stone road underfoot was smooth as a mirror, with complex and exquisite patterns on the surface. The jade tiles shimmered with dazzling light, and a faint mist of spiritual energy drifted around, serene and mysterious.

As they delved deeper, the sky above quietly changed. The once clear blue sky had disappeared, turning into a magnificent and vast starry sky. Dozens of planets were especially close, almost hanging low overhead, with their surface terrain, vegetation, and bustling spiritual birds and beasts all clearly visible.

Yueyi Heavenly Lord looked back, and the road they had come from was no longer there, only a vast expanse of fog remained.

“If you want to exit, just retrace your steps along the original path. Most of the formations and restrictions in this palace are not lethal, unless the intruders are seeking their own death, being too greedy, or harboring malicious intentions and wantonly destroying.”

Fengxia explained softly.

“I believe that.”

Qing Muling said, so far he hadn’t felt any dark or negative energy, and his overall impression of the palace was one of tranquility and peace, mysterious and ancient, containing unimaginable vitality.

Perhaps this was because the mystical realm had just opened for the first time and hadn’t yet been tainted with the karma of killing. What changes would occur once more cultivators arrived was uncertain.

“Their locations are in these areas. Take your time to look.”

Fengxia gently raised her hand, a wisp of bright light appeared at her fingertip, and soon turned into a magical projection mirror. Inside, dense points of light appeared, along with the coordinates of the areas and chambers they occupied.

Qing Muling scanned it once and found that the closest group of cultivators was less than ten miles away. Without taking precautions, a direct encounter was inevitable.

“It seems to be people from the Demon Path Ancestral Court. How should we deal with them?” he asked.

“What else can we do? Just kill them,”

Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord said: “The Demon Path Ancestral Court is one of the demonic path’s ancestral courts in the Great Void. Nearly half of the demonic sects can trace their origins back to this Supreme Dao Lineage, and they are mortal enemies of our Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace. There’s no reason to let them go.”

Fengxia had a different opinion: “But there are more than three hundred of them, including many elder-level powerhouses. Just the few of us can’t do anything to them. It’s better to avoid them in advance.”

“Only three hundred or so?”

Qing Muling laughed, and a radiant starship emerged from within him, followed by nearly two thousand enchanting and alluring female cultivators who swarmed out and surrounded Qing Muling in a large circle, chirping and chattering, a riot of colors.

Fengxia’s expression froze.

…

Outside the Star Peng Plain.

Lan Qiyao looked solemnly at the dense Thunder Feather Star Pengs in the sky. Behind her stood over four thousand elite members of the Shadow Assassination Hall.

After much effort, she finally figured out the whereabouts of the many disciples of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace. After all, it was difficult to keep the movements of nearly two thousand people absolutely secret.

Then, she gathered the disciples of the Shadow Assassination Hall from all over to meet on the outskirts of the Star Peng Plain. After several days of waiting, most of those who were alive had arrived.

On the way, it was inevitable to lose some people due to various reasons, and hundreds of disciples and elders would forever remain in the vast lands of this mystical realm.

“Your Highness, shall we set off now?” An elder beside her asked.

Lan Qiyao shifted her gaze from the foreign cultivators, who had already hidden far away due to the arrival of the Shadow Assassination Hall’s large force. No one dared to approach this group of cold-blooded and ruthless assassins.

“These annoying feathered beasts are too numerous; they might be difficult to deal with!” Lan Qiyao pondered.

The elder said: “It’s fine. Our Shadow Assassination Hall’s secret techniques are best at concealing and hiding. As long as we stick together, even if they detect us, we don’t need to worry. Just kill them directly.”

Since it was the first time he had encountered such spiritual birds, the elder didn’t realize their prowess and simply regarded them as a common group of ferocious beasts. With over four thousand elite assassins moving together, even if they wanted to clear them out, it wouldn’t be too difficult.

After thinking for a moment, Lan Qiyao finally nodded: “Then let’s set off!”

No matter what, they had already come this far. Even if the road ahead was difficult, they had to find a way to complete the mission.