With anticipation, Xu Bai quickly approached the familiar mountain valley ruins from his memory.
When Li Chenfeng returned to the Empire, Xu Bai had already discovered the entrance to the Empire through the surveillance of the Formless Killing Intent. However, he had never had the opportunity to go before—now was the perfect chance to make the journey.
In his Sea of Consciousness, the prismatic crystal once again emitted multicolored radiance, enveloping the Tianxuan Treasure Record below. Under Xu Bai’s deliberate control, a series of illusory images appeared within the radiance, distorting the perception of the Tianxuan Treasure Record.
Moving swiftly, he arrived at the entrance.
After carefully searching for a while, he indeed found a spatial passage hidden by some special means.
Xu Bai looked at the Tianxuan Treasure Record, but it did not issue any warning.
“As expected, it works.”
He nodded to himself but did not rush in immediately.
Sweeping his spiritual sense across the surroundings to confirm there were no cultivators nearby, he took out a Endstone Plate and set up a formation to conceal the entrance. Only then did he leap into the spatial passage.
This scene was not unfamiliar to him—it closely resembled the void environment created by countless Rift Whales when passing through the Immortal-Severing Grand Formation. However, this place seemed even deeper and more unfathomable.
After a brief contemplation, Xu Bai summoned the Pure Glaze Robe, forged by Fang Zaiji, which appeared on his body as an extra layer of protection. Once properly safeguarded, he flew forward.
He had already crossed the Immortal-Severing Grand Array countless times and was long accustomed to it.
His journey through the array was smooth and uneventful, but upon emerging, he did not see any trace of a small world.
All that greeted him was the boundless, dark void.
“It seems I have drifted far from my original location due to the Realm-Splitting Whales.” Xu Bai mused.
Standing in the void, he closed his eyes and focused his senses.
After only a brief moment, he vaguely detected a familiar energy fluctuation in the distant darkness.
Following this sensation, Xu Bai accelerated toward it.
Just as he was about to reach his destination, a resonant whale song suddenly echoed through the void.
Xu Bai halted abruptly.
As if triggering a chain reaction, more and more whale songs rang out, spreading one after another from near to far. The chorus continued endlessly into the distant void.
There was no way to determine just how many Rift Whales existed within this dark expanse. Their calls intertwined, echoing like a grand symphony.
Despite being surrounded by countless Rift Whales, Xu Bai felt no sense of danger.
He could tell—they were not hostile. Instead, they were joyfully calling out, as if welcoming his arrival.
“Interesting.” Xu Bai’s eyes flickered as he continued forward.
The Rift Whales along the way, sensing his presence, actively made way for him.
Before long, Xu Bai arrived at the outskirts of the Empire.
From the dark void, he gazed upon an oval-shaped world. He could vaguely make out vast expanses of water—and floating in the sky, the massive corpse of the Red Nine-Headed Beast.
Just as Xu Bai was observing, the space ahead suddenly fluctuated.
Seven cultivators, clad in Beast God Armor, appeared abruptly, riding atop an eel-like beast.
“Who goes there?!”
The cultivators reacted with exceptional coordination. The moment they spotted Xu Bai, their expressions shifted slightly. They swiftly dispersed into formation, surrounding him.
However, their Beast God Armor was only at the Golden Core level—nowhere near enough to match Xu Bai.
With a faint smile, he casually waved his folding fan. Before they could react, all seven were instantly subdued.
“Mmmph…!”
Their faces were filled with shock, but they were unable to speak.
What happened next, however, left them utterly horrified.
Xu Bai gestured toward the beast they had nurtured with their own blood and tamed with their collective Heart-Linking Technique—the Void-Roaming Dragon.
To their astonishment, this once-fierce beast immediately swam toward Xu Bai with docile enthusiasm.
It even lowered its head, rubbing against him affectionately.
The sheer absurdity of the scene made the seven cultivators wonder if they were hallucinating.
Since when had the violent Void-Roaming Dragon become so obedient?
Sensing the beast’s intimacy, Xu Bai placed a hand on its head, gently stroking it.
Soon, vague images emerged in his mind.
From them, he learned its name.
“Quite a commanding name. And its ability to teleport across short distances… Even in the Xuanhuang Realm, that’s quite remarkable.”
Xu Bai nodded slightly.
“Lead the way.” He commanded.
The Void-Roaming Dragon let out a joyful cry, shaking its body as it actively supported Xu Bai.
At the same time, Xu Bai did not forget to seize the seven restrained individuals nearby.
With a fluctuation in space, in the next moment, Xu Bai arrived within the Empire—a human nation built upon the corpse of the Crimson Nine-Headed Beast.
Standing atop the Void-Roaming Dragon, with seven Beast God Armor Warriors restrained behind him, and an extraordinary appearance, Xu Bai’s arrival instantly captured the attention of everyone nearby.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, chaos erupted in the surroundings.
“Enemy attack!”
“A cultivator!”
“Where is the Imperial Guard?”
“Quickly, summon the Holy Master Qing!”
Amid the rising cries of alarm, hundreds of figures rushed over from various parts of the city.
Some were clad in Beast God Armor, others rode upon different exotic beasts, and some even flew through the air with just their physical bodies. Judging from their auras, they were clearly cultivators like Xu Bai.
Although their numbers were overwhelming, the strongest among them was only at the Nascent Soul Realm.
With the Pure Glaze Robe protecting him, Xu Bai remained unshaken.
“Who are you?”
Realizing that Xu Bai was not an ordinary individual, the guards cautiously refrained from attacking outright and instead called out to test him.
Xu Bai did not respond but simply scanned his surroundings with his gaze.
“Why have you come here?”
The Empire’s Imperial Guard cultivators shouted again.
At that moment, a streak of azure light shot out from the center of the Imperial City, swiftly arriving before Xu Bai.
“Fellow Daoist…”
The figure, Xiao Qing, came to a halt and had just begun speaking when she got a clear look at Xu Bai’s face. Instantly, she was struck by shock, as if she had been hit by lightning, freezing in place.
“Mas—”
Before she could finish the word “Master”, Xiao Qing realized something was amiss.
Suppressing the turmoil in her heart, she stared at Xu Bai for a long time before finally asking:
“You are…?”
Her tone carried deep confusion.
Xu Bai smiled and said, “Daoist Qing, do you know that your Empire is about to face imminent catastrophe?”
“Audacious madman! How dare you speak such arrogant words!”
“How dare you act so brazenly before the Holy Master Qing!”
The moment these words left Xu Bai’s mouth, the surrounding crowd erupted in fury, shouting curses at him.
Yet, within Xiao Qing’s eyes, astonishment only deepened.
“You… know me?”
Xu Bai gave a slight nod and then asked,
“Fellow Daoist, do you still remember the Federation of All Worlds?”