Lord Holy Sword is unreliable again.

"Then let's hurry up and find out if there's anything strange here."

Wang Hong looked around the spacious study. Rosewood bookshelves stood against the wall, filled with jade slips and ancient books; a map of Beiju Luzhou was spread out on the desk, marked with several blood-red symbols.

With a thought, he activated the Holy Sword's scanning function at full power.

Soon, a faint ripple appeared between his brows.

"There's something strange over there." Wang Hong pointed to a huge landscape painting behind the desk. "There's something hidden behind the painting."

Huang San had already released Yun Ying's seal. He quickly lifted the scroll, revealing a smooth jade wall with faint spiritual energy patterns flowing across it. He leaned closer to sniff it, frowning, and said, "There's a seal, and... there's a bloody smell."

Qingxiang stepped forward, bit her fingertip, and pressed a drop of blood onto the jade. Ripples appeared on the surface of the jade, which then silently slid open, revealing a hidden compartment about three feet square.

Inside the hidden compartment, several items were neatly stacked: a stack of yellowed letters, a thick account book, a palm-sized jade bottle, and a tattered ancient animal hide scroll.

Wang Hong reached out and picked up the rolled-up animal hide first, and the Holy Sword immediately transmitted the summarized information:

[Spirit Devouring Technique - Spiritual Energy Chapter: Records how to plunder the spiritual energy of others and convert it for one's own use. Note: Practicing this technique will result in impure spiritual energy, a weak foundation, and long-term practice will easily lead to the erosion of one's mind by the Annihilation Fiend.]

Wang Hong's heart stirred, and he took out the scroll he had obtained from Mo Jie's relics from the Devouring Heaven Glazed Lamp. It actually contained two chapters: Spiritual Energy and Bloodline. He placed the two scrolls side by side, and when everyone scanned them with their divine senses, they all gasped in astonishment.

"This technique... it's practically an evil art!" Yun Ying frowned. "No wonder Mo Jie is so monstrous. I wonder if there's a third chapter."

Lu Qingyuan picked up the stack of letters and quickly glanced through them. The paper was of a special quality, and the words on it faintly exuded a dark purple, menacing aura. She took out one of them:

"My dear friend Lu Feng: The Xiaoyao Pavilion you and my son run is excellent. The old folks and I are very satisfied!"

Ah, if only there were more clever young men like you in the clan! This time the reward is three "Barrier-Breaking Pills" and the complete mantra of the Spirit Devouring Technique's Spirit Energy Chapter.

Furthermore, the High Shaman has ordered an accelerated infiltration of the Qiongqi Clan. Your clan in Starship City must cooperate fully with all actions of the Heavenly Fiend and Earthly Fiend armies. —Written by Mo Shi.

"Mo Shi... my son," Wang Hong murmured, "could he be Mo Jie's father?"

The second letter was shorter:

"The Buddha has agreed that after the great undertaking is accomplished, he will help you rebuild the Nine-Tailed Bloodline. You must transfer the 'Divine Object' to the ancestral hall of the Northern Fox Clan within three months. Remember, this matter must not be known to any member of the clan." This letter was unsigned, and its author was unknown.

Lu Qingyuan's fingers trembled slightly: "Venerable Buddha, that's where Xiniu Hezhou is located. How could their influence extend so far?"

"What exactly is this thing that needs to be moved to the area beneath the Northern Fox Clan's ancestral hall? And when was this letter written?"

Doubts arose in everyone's hearts, and an ominous atmosphere filled the entire study.

Wang Hong quickly picked up the thick ledger, the cover of which read "Xiaoyao Pavilion Income and Expenditure Summary".

Turning to the first page, one finds densely packed records of dates, races, cultivation levels, number of draws...

Seeing these shocking names, Qingxiang's tears streamed down her cheeks. Lu Qingyuan hugged her and whispered, "We will save them, we promise."

The last few pages of the ledger recorded "special income": cubs captured from various places, marked "to be used after being raised to adulthood," the youngest of which was only three years old and belonged to the Azure Dragon race.

Finally, there was the jade bottle. Upon opening it, a pure energy wave emanated from it. Inside were dozens of tiny, crystalline particles, each the size of a grain of rice, emitting a soft white light.

Under the scan of the holy sword, a message arrived.

[Nano-Spiritual Source: A product of the Spiritual Energy Tower, directly usable to enhance cultivators' cultivation levels, repair meridians, and power creations. This bottle contains 50 units, each providing the equivalent of one thousand units of low-grade spiritual energy, and is free of impurities.]

Lu Qingyuan exclaimed in surprise, "Spiritual Source? It's extremely rare nowadays. Only powerful families that control the Spirit Energy Tower possess such priceless treasures. Even the Eastern Continent's Spirit Fox Clan doesn't have many in their coffers..."

Wang Hong's eyes lit up: "Great stuff! My holy sword needs this!" He unceremoniously pocketed the jade bottle.

Lu Qingyuan stared at Wang Hong, "I want one too!"

Yunying looked at Wang Hong pitifully, "I want one too!"

Huang San looked at Wang Hong with a loyal expression, "I want one too!"

Qingxiang shook her head with a bitter smile. Wasn't this something from her family?

Wang Hong suddenly realized that he was the bandit, and quickly handed the jade bottle to Qingxiang.

Qingxiang smiled bitterly: "What use would I have for these things? Wang Hong, I'm giving you all of these. Take whatever you want, but I just hope you'll remember the kindness of the Northern Fox Clan."

Wang Hong was moved, but he also understood that Qingxiang must have seen his extraordinary qualities!

Lu Qingyuan gently wiped away Qingxiang's tears. "Don't worry, Wang Hong and I will definitely help you, now and in the future!"

Huang San's eyes welled up with tears: "Me too!"

Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

"Oh no, my father is here!" Qingxiang's face changed drastically. "Why would he come to the study at this time?"

Everyone tensed up instantly. The study had only one exit, and the narrow corridor outside offered nowhere to hide.

Huang San whispered, "Escape? I'll cover your retreat!"

Lu Qingyuan frowned. Could it be that the battle at the ancestral hall was over? Although she knew that the Supreme Elder would definitely come to meet them, she was still very nervous.

"No, there must be Iron Fox Guards behind him." Lu Qingyuan shook his head. "Moreover, we have no chance against someone at the peak of the Golden Core stage. They could severely injure us in a single exchange."

Wang Hong grinned and pointed to himself: "What are you afraid of? I'm here." He activated the Holy Sword, releasing a trace of the aura of the Silent Origin Core.

"You all need to hide inside my glass lamp." Without giving any further explanation, Wang Hong summoned the Heaven-Swallowing Glass Lamp, and a golden light enveloped the four of them, drawing them into the lamp.

The glass lamp transformed into a tiny glimmer of light, which disappeared into Wang Hong's brow.

He straightened his gilded concealment robe and swaggered to the study door, bumping right into Lu Feng as he entered.

Lu Feng was tall and imposing, but his aura was weak, clearly indicating he had suffered internal injuries. He paused slightly upon seeing Mo Jie, then cupped his hands and said, "What brings Your Highness Mo here?"

Wang Hong imitated Mo Jie's perverted tone and praised Lu Feng, "Thank you for the gift prepared by the clan chief! I am very satisfied with that little leopard girl! However, Lord Lu Feng, your efficiency has been a bit lacking lately. My father has some complaints about me."

Lu Feng lowered his head, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure: "Your Highness, please forgive me. There have been many trivial matters in the clan recently, and I have had to make thorough preparations for Qingyuan's wedding!"

"Hmm." Wang Hong paced back and forth, walking to his desk and casually flipping through a map. "That girl named Qingxiang, is she your daughter? She's quite pretty; she'll definitely amount to something!"

Lu Feng trembled slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then said in a low voice, "If Your Highness likes Qingxiang, I can arrange for her to be betrothed to Your Highness. I only hope that Your Highness will treat her well."

Wang Hong remained expressionless, then suddenly patted Lu Feng on the shoulder with a wicked grin: "Alright, let Qingxiang make her own decision. This prince doesn't like to force others! I heard things are quite chaotic at the ancestral hall. How's the situation?"

"Your Highness, the City Lord of Starship City, Qing Yan, dared to infiltrate my Lu family ancestral hall. I have already led the elders to repel him. Some other petty scoundrels hiding in the shadows have also fled." At this point, a cold glint flashed across Lu Feng's face. "It seems these people are quite dissatisfied with the alliance between my Lu family and the Ji family!"

Wang Hong looked unconcerned, propping his legs up on the table. "Don't worry, my father has already made his decision. He's very concerned about this matter! Have you seen Lu Shu?"

"I sensed that my son hurriedly headed towards Lingyue Pavilion, but I was in a hurry to recover from my injuries, so I didn't pay attention. What's wrong, Your Highness?" Lu Feng asked with concern. Had Lu Shu offended His Highness somewhere?

"It's nothing. I ordered him to check on Lu Qingyuan's condition. Tomorrow's events cannot afford any mistakes!"

Lu Feng relaxed, a hint of confidence on his face. "Your Highness, rest assured, several elders are keeping an eye on that area with a wisp of their divine sense, and Shi Nutian is also watching over it around the clock. Nothing will happen."

Wang Hong gave him a relieved look. "Alright, I'll take the phoenix and the leopard girl with me. You've worked hard too, go and get some rest!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Lu Feng smiled and walked towards the depths of the study, the place Wang Hong had teleported him to.

Wang Hong sighed inwardly. He had no way to rescue these divine beasts on his own; he would have to ask Lu Qingyuan to call for help!

However, we must be careful about this matter. If the Lu family finds out that the matter has been exposed, they are very likely to destroy the evidence!

Wang Hong did not move, but sat quietly, seemingly resting with his eyes closed.

We need to ask Lu Qingyuan where she's going next! How are we going to evacuate?

At this moment, his divine sense probed into the Devouring Heaven Glazed Lamp and saw the five people sitting around the Human Emperor's Dao Fire, and his face darkened again.

"This fire is amazing, look!" Huang San said proudly, throwing a ninth-grade magic weapon into the fire. The magic weapon immediately burst into flames, turning into wisps of pure spiritual energy.

Huang Sanzhang's body stood upright, his dog mouth wide open, as if stars were twinkling. A huge vortex appeared, and the wisps of spiritual energy were swallowed into Huang Sanzhang's mouth.

Lu Qingyuan's face darkened, and he reached out and pressed down. The spiritual energy surged, but it was still absorbed into Huang San's mask, with only a small portion being captured by Lu Qingyuan.

Not to be outdone, Qingxiang threw pieces of spirit stones into the fire, which instantly transformed into a pure tide of spiritual energy that engulfed her.

"Have you had enough fun!" With a thought, Wang Hong noticed that the dense spiritual energy around Huang San, Yun Ying, and even Lu Qingyuan was being drawn away by the Human Emperor's Dao Fire in the center, and was converging towards the Holy Sword beside them.

The holy sword shone brightly, sending a large amount of spiritual energy into Wang Hong's limbs and bones, and then flowing into Wang Hong's dantian.

Excess spiritual energy has been converted into nano-spiritual energy: Current inventory: 6

These despicable guys! They actually came to me for free!

Wang Hong didn't have time for their idle chatter. He conjured a phantom of spiritual energy and appeared next to Lu Qingyuan, who looked uneasy. "Qingyuan, Lu Feng went to Xiaoyao Pavilion. I'm still in the study. Where do we go now?"

Lu Qingyuan glanced at everyone, thought for a moment, and said, "We should go to the East City of Starship City right now, where our Spirit Fox Clan's experts will meet us."

Qingxiang's face showed a hint of anxiety: "Sister, what about my father?!"

Lu Qingyuan looked at Qingxiang and gently took her hand. "Don't worry, we're not leaving Starship City. I'm going to personally deliver the message to the elders and ask them to save the Northern Fox Clan!"

"Qingxiang, you know what's going on with Xiaoyao Pavilion. These kinds of things can only be decided by powerful figures."

Qingxiang fell silent. She was not unreasonable. If the Dragon Court were to investigate everything her father had done, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Northern Fox Clan would be wiped out!

Even though most of the Northern Fox Clan were unaware of this, the combined wrath of the divine beast clans was something they simply couldn't withstand! Moreover, the mysterious Qing Clan behind Lu Feng practiced such evil techniques that they would surely be attacked by all the clans!

"Sister, you don't need to say anything more, I understand." Qingxiang lowered her eyes and looked at Wang Hong. "Wang Hong, you will help me, right?"

Wang Hong was surprised by Qingxiang's trust in him, after all, he was neither a young clan leader nor a divine beast bloodline, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was currently weak and alone.

"The people of the Northern Fox Clan are innocent, and I will naturally do my best to help you." Wang Hong gently shook his head. The people of the Northern Fox Clan are innocent, but aren't those divine beasts innocent too? "It's just a pity that I am of lowly status and may not be able to help you."

Huang San advised, "There's no point in thinking about it anymore. Let's leave this place first. Qingxiang, you've taken the initiative to atone for your mistakes, perhaps..." He shook his head and said no more.

Huang Qianyu had already transformed into human form, quietly observing everything before her, seemingly oblivious to everything.

Lu Qingyuan said, "Let me out. I'll use my movement technique to take you away alone; it'll be faster."

A golden light flashed between Wang Hong's brows, and Lu Qingyuan flew out of the glass lamp. Now that there were no outsiders present, her expression relaxed considerably. "Wang Hong, you acted quite well! Even Lu Feng, a peak Golden Core cultivator, couldn't see through your act!"

Wang Hong, with a humble expression, chuckled and said, "Oh dear, it's all thanks to Brother Mo Jie for this black robe." Then his face turned cold, and he put on a profound and inscrutable look, "Moreover, both Lu Shu and Lu Feng have deep respect for this prince, so naturally they wouldn't doubt me."

"Alright, let's go. I'll take you directly to see the Supreme Elder!" Lu Qingyuan didn't allow Wang Hong to resist and directly grabbed Wang Hong's arm and flew outside.