Having the genes of a demon king, I never intended to be a kept man.

Lin Ye raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the towering walls of Crimson Dragon City, and asked, "Should we infiltrate the city first, or...?"

"No need for such trouble," Sima Qing said calmly. "With Ao Sheng gone, no one can stop us."

As he spoke, he slowly raised his hands, about to form a hand seal.

'Sima Qing! Where are you now?!'

A female voice, as cold as ancient ice and filled with anger, pierced the depths of his consciousness without warning!

It was Mo Nanxi's telepathic transmission.

At this moment, Mo Nanxi had already left the battlefield of the Crimson Plains and was leading a group of extremely Yin officials, who had transformed into ghostly light and were flying towards Crimson Dragon City.

While flying at full speed to travel, she also spared no effort in expending divine power to send messages over extremely long distances.

Sima Qing raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly, understanding the situation perfectly, but her expression remained unchanged. She calmly responded with her divine sense: "Pope Mo Nanxi? I ​​am already outside Crimson Dragon City. I wonder how things are progressing on the Pope's side? Ye Ge... presumably you have already subdued him?"

"Stop beating around the bush!" Mo Nanxi's voice grew even colder, each word like an icicle. "I ask you, did you intend to unlock the treasure of the Spica constellation alone from the very beginning?!"

"Of course not." Sima Qing's answer remained calm and composed, as if he had already prepared his explanation. "To open the final seal of the Azure Dragon Palace, one must possess both the Azure Dragon's sacred power of the 'Seven Constellations of the Azure Dragon' and the divine power of the 'Lord of Extreme Yin.' Even if I find the entrance to the treasure palace, without Your Holiness the Pope's assistance, how can I open the gates of that ancient, sealed palace?"

"Even now, you still want to deceive me?!" Mo Nanxi's voice suddenly turned cold, suppressed anger surging within it. "From the very beginning, you intended to use me and the Extreme Yin Sect to restrain Ye Ge and the main force of the myriad races outside Crimson Dragon City, while you secretly plotted to seize Crimson Dragon City and attempt to monopolize the Azure Dragon Treasure! Isn't that right?!"

"Heh." Sima Qing's tone remained unhurried: "Your Holiness, it seems you've been misled by someone's divisive words again. Without your Yin Divine Power, how could I have opened the Azure Dragon Treasure by myself?"

Mo Nanxi sneered: "If that's the case, you also don't have the power of the Seven Constellations of the Azure Dragon. If you only had the help of the extreme Yin power given by me, how could you have been so sure that as long as you could successfully enter the Crimson Dragon City and find the entrance to the underground palace, you could open the Azure Dragon Treasure?"

"..."

Sima Qing fell silent.

"Speechless, is that it?" Mo Nanxi's voice seemed to be covered with frost. "I already know about your gene company's plan to clone and resurrect the ancient primordial beast, the demonized Qilin! By resurrecting the Qilin, you can instantly control the primordial power of all realms in the world, and opening the Azure Dragon Palace will be a piece of cake. Your gene company has some nerve! You actually dare to conduct such forbidden research behind the backs of the gods!"

"I didn't expect even this to be known..."

Sima Qing paused again and said, "It seems that Ye Ge said something to you that night."

Mo Nanxi: "So you admitted it after all..."

Sima Qing remained silent, thinking to himself that he hadn't expected Ye Ge to actually know the company's top secrets! His words at the last meeting of all races were indeed not just empty talk...

But how did he know that?

So it really is because of that traitor, Liu Ying?

Sima Qing could only think of this possibility.

“Alright…” Sima Qing’s voice returned to its previous slow and deliberate tone, but it carried an indifference that indicated things had come to this point. “Since you all already know, and things have come to this, I no longer need to hide anything from you.”

Mo Nanxi: "Aren't you afraid that after the Lord of Extreme Yin descends upon the land of all races, you will be punished by the gods!"

"Divine punishment?" Sima Qing chuckled softly, a hint of mockery in his voice. "Your revered Lord of Extreme Yin... you should first defeat the gods of the Light Emperor's lineage on the battlefield of the divine realm."

He paused, then concluded, "It seems our brief alliance has come to an end. However, when my Gene Company's 'final blueprint' is realized, I will remember Your Holiness's 'contribution' today. Farewell, Your Holiness Mo Nanxi."

Mo Nanxi: "You..."

Sima Qing immediately cut off the mental communication.

Sensing the sudden loss of contact, Mo Nanxi's beautiful and aloof face instantly turned frost over. Her knuckles, gripping the papal scepter, turned white from the force, and the extremely cold aura emanating from her body sent a chill down the spines of the flying priests around her.

Sima Qing...

"you wanna die!!!"

A high-ranking priest flying to her side and slightly behind turned his head and said, "Your Holiness, could Sima Qing really resurrect the Primordial Qilin? Is such a thing... really possible?"

Mo Nanxi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, suppressed her surging anger, and said in a deep voice, "Judging from Ye Ge and Sima Qing's attitudes, they don't seem to be faking it." Then she paused and said, "I need to get back to Chilong City as quickly as possible. You all should catch up as soon as possible."

All the Yin Gods: "Yes!"

"boom--!!"

Before she finished speaking, Mo Nanxi suddenly unleashed the vast divine power of a level twelve Yin God! She seemed to transform into a black aurora that tore through space, instantly breaking the sound barrier and leaving a long trail of distorted afterimages and sonic boom clouds in the air. In an instant, she appeared ten thousand meters away, leaving the group of gods far behind!

......

Red Dragon City.

Ao Xin was lounging listlessly on the exquisitely carved balcony railing, her hands supporting her cheeks, her golden eyes gazing out the window.

It was early spring in Crimson Dragon City, and the city's unique spiritual plant, the "Crimson Flame Dragon Scale Flower," was in full bloom.

Trees of vibrant, flame-like flowers, their petals edged with a faint golden glow, sway gracefully in the gentle breeze, scattering countless specks of light that adorn the entire city like a dream.

"It's so beautiful..." Ao Xin murmured softly, her eyes somewhat vacant. "I wonder when Junior Brother Ye and Senior Sister Mu will be able to come back."

After watching for a while, she pouted in frustration, her cheeks puffing out like little buns: "They all ran off to play on the battlefield, but didn't take me with them, even though my strength is no weaker than theirs!"

The dragon girl's complaints were tinged with a touch of childlike naiveté; she was completely unaware that a colossal shadow, powerful enough to overturn this ancient royal city, had already silently spread beyond the city gates...

......

Chilong City, in front of the majestic eastern gate.

Sima Qing, accompanied by his trusted confidants Su You, Hei Jian, Lin Ye, Zhu Yu, Wu Yikun, and others, strolled leisurely into the open guard area in front of the city gate.

"stop!!!"

On the magnificent city gate tower, hundreds of meters high, a dragon sentry shouted a stern command almost the instant they stepped onto the perimeter. He swiftly raised the standard-issue soul energy rifle from Dark City, its dark blue muzzle instantly fully charged, locking onto Sima Qing and the others below.

"Anyone without a royal decree or special pass is prohibited from approaching Crimson Dragon City! Stop immediately and state your identity, or it will be considered an invasion!" The dragon sentinel's voice boomed through the amplification array, echoing in front of the empty city gate.