When Long Chen stealthily approached the entrance to the original devil race’s world, he found that the formation had been greatly changed. It had become even more concealed.

He had to go through dozens of transportation formations, each one with more safeguards and people guarding them.

Seeing Long Chen, the original devil race’s disciples bowed. From their weary expressions, he could see that the original devil race had probably been targeted.

Yue Xiaoqian’s mother was waiting for him as soon as he entered the Skyscraping World.

“Greetings, race leader.” Long Chen hastily bowed.

Yue Xiaoqian’s mother said, “Family doesn’t need to be so courteous.

If it was anyone else, then he didn’t need to be courteous. But this was Yue Xiaoqian’s mother, his future mother-in-law, so he naturally had to be courteous.

Although that was what he thought in his head, he put on a very obedient expression. “Race leader, during the gathering of past and present heroes…”

Long Chen sighed, ashamed that he hadn’t managed to protect those disciples of the original devil race. Things had happened too quickly, and before he could even come out with a plan, that disciple had used a secret art to kill himself and his companions. Every time Long Chen thought about it, he felt responsible. That was why Long Chen had felt such hatred for Zhao Wuji and even stripped off his skin in front of everyone.

Yue Xiaoqian’s mother shook her head. “It was my fault. You told me to pull back all the disciples, but since you said to go slow to avoid drawing suspicion, I wanted to reduce our losses as much as possible. The disciples were putting away everything within our secret strongholds, which slowed them down. If they had just abandoned some of the less important things, this probably wouldn’t have happened. I almost implicated you.”

Actually, Yue Xiaoqian’s mother had done very well. Some resources that the strongholds on the continent had gathered weren’t useful in the Skyscraping World, so getting rid of them for resources that they did need was good. It was just that there were too many members of the original devil race, and some had been noticed.

“It’s not your fault either. Going slow was correct to avoid suspicion,” said Long Chen.

Yue Xiaoqian’s mother could only shake her head with a smile. Walking alongside Long Chen, she said, “You don’t need to comfort me. A mistake is a mistake. The fortunate thing is that you weren’t implicated.”

If Long Chen’s relationship with the original devil race became public, then there would be nowhere for Long Chen to rest within the Martial Heaven Continent.

“That wouldn’t be enough to implicate me anyway. Without proof, they can’t do anything to me. After cultivating for so many years, I’ve learned the Martial Heaven Continent’s rules. As long as your fist is big enough, whatever you say is right. But if your fist is small, then even if everyone knows you’re wrongly accused, no one will defend you. They’ll be more than happy to condemn you if it benefits them. The cultivation world is just like that, so I destroyed the Mechanism Sect to show the world that my fist isn’t small. I also wanted to eliminate the Stone race, but their fist is still bigger than mine, so since others interfered, I didn’t mind letting this matter go for now,” said Long Chen.

He had thought that he was going to beat some kittens, only to find that there was a slumbering tiger in their lair. Just thinking about it irritated him.

“The Stone race’s foundation is truly frightening. In his day, Shi Changsheng stood at the peak. Although he couldn’t become an Emperor, he had the power to challenge the Emperors. The Stone race are unique lifeforms, but because they cannot become Empyreans, Shi Changsheng wasn’t able to reach that level. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be the Three Emperors, but the Four Emperors,” said Yue Xiaoqian’s mother. She actually had quite a bit of knowledge about the Stone race.

“Race leader, between Sovereigns, Emperors, and gods, which one is stronger? Why is it still unclear?” Long Chen couldn’t help asking.

Yue Xiaoqian’s mother smiled. “Emperors have the ability to challenge Sovereigns, but it’s just the ability to challenge them. Sovereigns are the ones who truly stand at the peak, suppressing all others with a wave of their hands. As for whether they are as strong as gods, there’s no way for me to say. Once you reach that level, you will naturally know.”

Since she refused to say, Long Chen couldn’t force her. Everything about Sovereigns and gods was taboo and could not be spoken about casually. The stronger the expert, the more they felt that taboo.

This was why Beitang Rushuang and Nangong Zuiyue were so grateful that Long Chen had told them everything he knew about Sovereign Yun Shang and his conversation with him. That kind of thing would be a huge secret to anyone else. They might not have said anything, but they remembered that favor.

“How has the original devil race been lately?” asked Long Chen.

“The ancient powers that have come out recently have sent their disciples throughout every corner of the Martial Heaven Continent in search of the location of the qi flow eruption. Hence, we had to strengthen our defenses to avoid anyone finding the entrance to the Skyscraping World. As for our interior, things are progressing very well. We’ve made many new discoveries in our exploration of the other world, and we’ve found three new rare ore deposits. We’ve yet to confirm the exact size of the deposit or decide on a location to start excavating though.”

“Good. I’ve handed over all my resources to the Huayun Sect to handle, so you can also send your things to the Huayun Sect to trade directly for what the original devil race needs. What kind of ore deposit is it?”

“They’re all extremely rare divine ores, but one of them in particular is the legendary Phoenix Blood Immortal Gold.”

“Phoenix Blood Immortal Gold?” Long Chen was shocked. That was truly a legendary material. It was said that when a phoenix died, this kind of ore had a chance to form when its blood merged into the earth.

The phoenix had a chance of nirvanic rebirth after dying. If it succeeded in being reborn, the nirvanic flames of its revival would impart the ore with the phoenix’s spirituality, making it extremely valuable.

“We have confirmed it’s Phoenix Blood Immortal Gold, but we don’t know its exact purity yet. We’re still investigating.”

“Alright, I’ll have Guo Ran come over to take a look. He should know,” said Long Chen. He could also conveniently get started on a plan for extracting and purifying it. As a Forging Master, he was proficient not just in the forging process, but in all matters relating to it, including material extraction and purification.

“We’ve reached the entrance to the other world. Xiaoqian is currently cultivating inside. It’s about time for her to come out, so you youngsters can chat amongst yourselves!” Yue Xiaoqian’s mother smiled.

Only now did Long Chen realize that they had been walking to the spatial gate. It had been a long time since he had come here, and the spatial gate had been completely transformed.

The spatial gate was larger and much more stable. The barrier to that world had been fully opened. There were golden runes holding open the very tough channel.

“Quite the investment.” Long Chen knew that the potential of this world was immense. The original devil race was hoping that its resources could allow them to soar.

Long Chen entered this foreign world on his own. It was no longer as desolate as it had been when he had first come. There were some towing buildings present. The original devil race was transforming this place into their second encampment.

Many disciples were cultivating here or busy at work. Long Chen saw quite a few people busy with handling the ores they were extracting.

When those disciples saw Long Chen, they solemnly bowed to him. Everything the original devil race had now was thanks to Long Chen, so they were filled with gratitude toward him.

“Senior apprentice-brother Long Chen, the sacred daughter is currently at the Floating Cloud Cliff located in the southwest.” A disciple pointed him in the right direction when asked about Yue Xiaoqian.

Long Chen followed that person’s directions. After an hour, he finally reached a tall mountain.

There was a steep cliff on this mountain that pierced into the clouds like a sharp blade. Clouds lingered around the sharp peak, and a figure was quietly sitting there.

She was like a flawless jade statue. Her long hair rippled to her waist. She currently had her hands in special seals, and runes were floating around her. A sacred chanting filled the air around her.

As soon as Long Chen got close, Yue Xiaoqian opened her eyes. They shone brightly like two stars, and a sweet smile appeared on her lips.

Like a fairy descending from the heavens, Yue Xiaoqian floated down into his embrace, tightly wrapping her arms around him, her fragrance filling his heart. Long Chen held onto her closely. He rarely got to be with Yue Xiaoqian due to her identity. She was always cultivating alone for him.

“Long Chen, let’s never part again, alright?” Yue Xiaoqian held on tightly, her voice quivering. Her feelings for him were real, but she had always been forced to restrain herself and focus on cultivating so that she didn’t harm him. Being forced to stay away from him and cultivate alone had been a bitter experience, and her tears poured out now, out of her control, as if unleashing all that bitterness.

“Alright, let’s never part again. I have the power to protect you.” Long Chen nodded. Once the Dragonblood Legion soared, he wouldn’t be afraid of anyone.

“Thank you…” Yue Xiaoqian smiled, her tear-stained face still as beautiful as ever.

Unable to stop himself, Long Chen leaned down and gave her a kiss.