Chapter 696: The Empire of the Alien Race

“The city of trolls has arrived!”

Ancient King suddenly warned.

Everyone looked up and gazed into the distance. Ahead, the scenery gradually became clear and bright, revealing a massive black castle, ancient and weathered, standing silently in the water-world. Aquatic plants were everywhere; though not as lush as the greenery created by the Ancient King, they brought some vitality to this misty, water-filled realm.

The castle was quiet.

The Light-Chasing Mirror revealed that a great battle had occurred here. Countless alien races had gone after Xuankong’er.

Zixian had also visited here later, drawing away the last batch of aliens.

Now, only old, weak, women, and children remained in this castle; they were utterly incapable of resisting Shui Miao’s formidable group.

“Leave here, head west, they all went west…”

Shui Miao imagined there would certainly be many water-elemental spirit stones here, but he truly did not wish to bring disaster to these alien races.

“Fine…”

Ancient King felt a slight reluctance towards the water-elemental spirit stones stored within the castle. To him, water-elemental spirit stones were his very life. However, considering Shui Miao was the one calling the shots, he dared not say much more.

Heading westward, they hadn’t flown far when Shui Miao and the others encountered a large group of retreating aliens.

Seeing the gigantic Ancient King flying in the sky, the aliens were terrified and stunned, not daring to block their path, and quickly made way.

But soon, the Demon King arrived.

The Demon King was a powerful water qilin. Surprisingly, he recognized the Ancient King.

“Ancient King, you, how did you end up here? Also, how can you fly?” The qilin transformed into a ten-foot-tall white-haired man clad in qilin armor, blocking the Ancient King’s path.

Ancient King replied, “It’s a long story. We were chasing after those few humans; they must have passed through here?”

“Damn! They must have stolen your spirit stones too, Ancient Brother. We chased after them for a bit, but couldn’t catch up. It really infuriates me!” The qilin, still angry, clenched his fists in salute to Ancient King, “Brother, why don’t I join you in chasing them down? Let’s see where exactly they’re from.”

“Hmm…”

Ancient King couldn’t make that decision.

Shui Miao telepathically instructed Ancient King to politely decline the offer and insisted on going alone.

Ancient King relayed Shui Miao’s exact words. The qilin, reluctantly, had to clear the path.

Worried that his stronghold might be destroyed by the Ancient King, the qilin hurried back. Seeing that his base was intact, he finally calmed down. But the more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. How could the Ancient King fly? That was simply unbelievable! Also, if it was revenge, why was he going alone? That didn’t make sense at all!

The more he thought, the stranger it seemed. Immediately, the qilin summoned the ten great demon kings of the Northern Demon Nation and chased westward together.

※※※

This planet was enormous—at least ten times larger than Earth. It resembled a dreamlike world, both real and illusory.

Ancient King flew swiftly, and after three consecutive days, they finally reached the western region.

In the western part of the alien realm, the chaotic energy was extremely dense.

The west was also the heartland of the alien races, home to various species. There were even alien empires here, thriving with powerful beings.

After Xuankong’er entered the western world, all traces of her aura vanished.

The Light-Chasing Mirror was disrupted by chaotic spirits and could no longer function normally.

Thus, Shui Miao had no choice but to follow Ancient King’s suggestion and head toward Xingyue City, the capital of the western alien empire.

Ancient King told Shui Miao that the alien empire had every elemental spirit stone except Yang Yuan and Purple Fortune stones.

Now, with Purple Phoenix by his side, obtaining Purple Fortune stones was within easy reach for Shui Miao.

In other words, everything Shui Miao desired could be acquired in this alien empire.

※※※

“Woooooo…”

Horns sounded one after another. Due to Ancient King’s intrusion, a massive number of alien cultivators gathered to stop him. However, Ancient King was simply too large, forcing the aliens to follow from afar.

Upon reaching Xingyue City, over three hundred thousand alien cultivators surrounded Ancient King, densely packed, layer upon layer.

Xingyue City also sounded its horn!

Tens of thousands of alien soldiers and generals soared into the sky, joining the previous thirty thousand cultivators, surrounding Ancient King in layers.

The alien empire dispatched its Grand Sage to negotiate with Ancient King.

The Grand Sage was the empire’s top mage but not its strongest warrior. This world was somewhat similar to the Three Realms; the Grand Sage was equivalent to Laozi, while other supreme experts existed among the aliens.

The Grand Sage looked like an alien creature, with an extremely ugly appearance.

“King Ancient, you’ve traveled far to reach our Xingyue Empire. May I ask what brings you here?” Though his appearance was unappealing, the Grand Sage was very polite. Ignoring his looks and only listening to his voice, one would mistake him for a courteous scholar.

Ancient King didn’t speak. Shui Miao immediately flew out, “Senior Grand Sage, my name is Shui Miao. Ancient King is my good friend. He came here because I, as his guest, wanted to take a look around. After visiting many places, we arrived here. We apologize for any disturbance caused.”

“Oh, so you’re a human cultivator friend…”

The Grand Sage looked at Shui Miao and murmured, “Long ago, a human cultivator named Nüwa visited here. She was very kind, just took a look around, then left and never returned.”

Unexpectedly, this ugly creature knew Nüwa. Shui Miao’s mood lightened, quickly replying, “That’s a coincidence indeed. It was actually Nüwa who gave me the talisman to come here.”

“I hadn’t finished yet…” The Grand Sage, expressionless, paused, “After the human cultivator Nüwa left, we discovered that some spirit stones were missing. In other words, she claimed to be sightseeing, but actually came for the spirit stones. And you, also claiming to be sightseeing—could it be that you’re also here for the spirit stones?”

“…”

Upon hearing this, Shui Miao’s mood immediately soured.

Oh no!

No wonder Nüwa said it would be dangerous here and even gave me a Primordial Treasure—it seems she knew the alien sage would be petty!

To clarify the truth, Shui Miao questioned, “Grand Sage, are you saying that Nüwa stole your spirit stones?”

“More accurately, it was the primal energy.” The Grand Sage coldly replied.

Primal energy was everywhere—could it really be considered theft? Furrowing his brow, Shui Miao said, “This world has so much primal energy. Isn’t it somewhat petty for you, Grand Sage, to be so concerned about it? Moreover, the primal energy Nüwa absorbed might not even have been yours?”

“Hmph! Everything in this world belongs to our Xingyue Empire. What do human cultivators do when they come here besides stealing our primal energy?” The Grand Sage roared angrily. From his tone, it was evident that he harbored deep prejudice against human cultivators.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Seeing the Grand Sage’s hostility, Shui Miao took a deep breath and sent a telepathic signal, ordering everyone to prepare for combat.

“Boom!”

Suddenly, an ear-splitting explosion erupted from the direction of Xingyue City’s imperial treasury, and a black mushroom cloud shot up into the sky!

Seeing the shape of the mushroom cloud, Shui Miao’s heart jolted—wasn’t this the exact effect caused by his own destruction artifact after detonation?