"Linking Island’s Nine Heavens Secret Realm... Master of the Spirit Ruins..."

Lu Xuan murmured softly.

Empress Xia Mingyue’s message was too brief, not mentioning any details about these mysterious places.

Lu Xuan quickly calculated in his mind. It had now been six months, and less than three months remain before the supposed appearance of the Master of the Spirit Ruins.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Xuan waved his hand casually, and the Void Realm and the Profound Bird Guard’s Token instantly vanished into thin air.

Even though the Empress personally sent the message, Lu Xuan did not choose to fully trust others.

Lu Xuan would never trust anyone blindly and without reservation – this was his principle for surviving in the world.

"Three months... should be enough."

Lu Xuan’s gaze was deep, and his heart was already set on his plan.

In the next three months, he intended to sweep through the Spirit Ruins frantically, seizing heavenly and earthly treasures to prepare for breaking through to the Earth Venerable Realm.

After all, all conspiracies and schemes are nothing but castles in the air in the face of absolute power.

Click, click, click!

Just then, the sound of urgent footsteps broke the silence, quickly approaching from afar.

A glint of coldness flashed in Lu Xuan’s eyes, and his figure vanished like smoke into the atmosphere.

He stood silently in mid-air, looking down at the group of royal descendants hurriedly fleeing below.

The black and gold Flame of Creation flickered deep in Lu Xuan’s pupils, penetrating the cultivation details of everyone below.

Two Martial Artists with Inner Qi Perfection, four Martial Artists with Inner Qi Great Achievement, and ten at the Inner Qi Small Achievement Realm or below.

"Prince Xuan Yi, Princess Yun Shu, those traitors surely cannot find our location."

"There’s a big river ahead, let’s rest there for a moment."

A dozen figures shot past like meteors from the sky and then stopped at the spot where Lu Xuan had just stood.

However, in that urgent voice, there was a sense of relief after surviving a catastrophe.

Among those sixteen figures, the two in the most central position were a man and a woman.

The leading pair, a man and a woman, were dressed in the unique Profound Bird attire belonging to the Great Xia royal family.

They were the very royal family members mentioned earlier, Prince Xia Xuanyi and Princess Xia Yunshu, both appearing to be about twenty-eight years old.

The Profound Bird attire was only worn by those with core royal bloodlines.

Both of them were born to the late emperor’s consorts, although their status in the royal family was far inferior to Empress Xia Mingyue and the nine titled princes.

Still, on the surface, they could respectfully call the current Empress their imperial sister.

A shadow was cast across Xia Xuanyi’s handsome face, and the sleeves of his black Profound Bird attire were torn by several strands of Sword Qi.

Beside him, Princess Xia Yunshu was pale, her hair in disarray, lacking any of her previous royal grace.

"Let’s rest here for now," Xia Xuanyi said in a deep voice, warily scanning the surroundings.

"That big river..."

"How strange!"

"Why is the temperature so high?"

With just one glance, Xia Xuanyi could see the unusualness of the big river ahead.

Near the river, the air temperature was extraordinarily high, as if a large fire had recently occurred.

Without a doubt, someone had been here!

And possibly someone of a Grandmaster level or higher.

"Brother, should we still cross the river?"

Xia Xuanyi’s question filled everyone behind him, including Princess Xia Yunshu, with vigilance.

At the forefront, Xia Xuanyi kept a tense face, not immediately answering but contemplating for a moment.

Then, he gritted his teeth and uttered a single word.

"Cross!"

Immediately, veins on Xia Xuanyi’s forehead bulged as he cursed angrily.

"His Majesty instructed us to temporarily hide in the Spirit Ruins and not enter any secret realms."

"Damn the Luo Family, the Jiang Family, the Extreme Flame Saint Sect..."

"These damn traitors really did rebel!"

"They even colluded with the demon clan, and outside the Spirit Ruins, the Great Xia Dynasty is also in turmoil."

"The eight great families have risen in rebellion across the land."

To sum up, in a word, the Great Xia Dynasty has changed drastically.

Not only has there been a fundamental upheaval in the Spirit Ruins, but even the situation in the Great Xia Dynasty has begun to become chaotic.

Countless major forces, five of the eight great families, and five great transcendent forces have all attacked the Great Xia Palace.

The Empress, along with the three royal ancestors, were unable to suppress the rebellion promptly as they were in the Spirit Ruins.

The most important thing is that a terrifying mysterious beast appeared out of nowhere and has been relentlessly pursuing Her Majesty the Empress within the Spirit Ruins!

Lu Xuan’s eyes gleamed brightly upon hearing this.

What had he just heard!

The next moment, Lu Xuan’s figure gradually materialized in mid-air.

His dark robe moved without wind, with each step causing ripples in the space.

"Can you tell this Director, who is this demon clan you mentioned?"

Lu Xuan had little interest in the detail about the rebellion of the eight great families.

After all, the Great Xia Dynasty didn’t belong to him, so why worry about it?

Lu Xuan’s real interest was in the demon clan Xia Xuanyi alluded to.

Lu Xuan needed to find out where that Demon Emperor Realm beast came from.

Lu Xuan’s sudden appearance made everyone below treat him as an imminent threat; the young guards behind them drew their swords one after another.

Xia Xuanyi shielded his sister, raising his head with forced composure.

"I don’t know which senior you are..."

Before he could finish, Xia Xuanyi’s pupils contracted sharply, and his voice turned tremulous: "Lu... Mr. Lu the Director!"

To everyone present in the Spirit Ruins, Lu Xuan was renowned, his visage etched vividly into their minds, unforgettable.