The crystal coffin stopped at the entrance of a palace, surrounded by a barrier that isolated it from the Ruo Water. The palace gate was closed, exuding an aura of solemn grandeur.
"It's a palace."
"This is Xuan Xin's palace," Jun Ruo said slowly. "Within it lies a fragment of Xuan Xin's shattered divine essence, along with the generals and soldiers who followed her in those days."
"Shattered divine essence..." Xiao Man frowned. If she had found a fragment of Xuan Xin's divine essence by chance, it could be considered coincidence. But encountering everything related to Xuan Xin one after another made her suspect a connection between herself and Xuan Xin, rather than everyone mistaking her identity.
"What will happen after the divine essence is repaired?"
"The celestial god will return to his rightful place."
Xiao Man nodded in understanding. "Can you control the spiritual jade coffin to leave?"
"Leave?" Jun Ruo was somewhat shocked. "You're not going in?"
Xiao Man shook her head. "I am not Xuan Xin, why should I meddle with her divine essence? If I delay her return, I would be committing a grave sin. If you have a way to leave, let's go out first. I'm worried about my companions."
Jun Ruo was amused. "Xiao Man, do you know what you're doing?"
"Returning lost property!"
"Pah!" Jun Ruo couldn't help but spit. He hadn't realized this person was so shameless. "This is called having eyes but failing to recognize jade inlaid with gold!"
"Or, you could say I have a dog's eye and look down on people."
"At least you have some self-awareness," Jun Ruo said leisurely. "You're abandoning a heaven-sent opportunity to go back for your companions. Without strength, if you encounter danger, you can only watch them die."
Xiao Man's steps halted. Jun Ruo was right. Only by becoming powerful could she protect her companions. She immediately turned back towards the palace. Since she was here, she might as well stay. It wasn't her style to leave empty-handed.
Xiao Man stood before the majestic gate and reached out to push it. However, with all her might, she couldn't budge it an inch!
"What are you dawdling for?" Jun Ruo said impatiently. "Hurry up and go in."
Xiao Man turned back, her face full of innocence. "The door won't open."
"Won't open?" Jun Ruo didn't believe it and stepped forward, intending to push the door. As soon as he touched it, he was repelled by the barrier on the door. Not only could it not be opened, but it couldn't even be touched.
"See, I told you it wouldn't open," Xiao Man spread her hands. "This time it's not my lack of discernment, but rather that they're barring me from entering."
"That's not right. Could my guess be wrong?" Jun Ruo frowned. But she clearly had a fragment of Xuan Xin's shattered divine essence within her. The Xuan Ling Palace shouldn't be barring her.
"Sea Emperor, the door won't open, and I can't do anything about it."
Jun Ruo glanced at Xiao Man. "Try again."
"Okay." Xiao Man, as instructed, tried to open the great door again. However, it didn't even budge, let alone open. "Use divine power."
"What is divine power?" Xiao Man asked in surprise. "Is it spiritual power?"
"Low-level junk like spiritual power, how could it possibly open the gates of Xuan Ling Palace? It's divine power, divine power!"
"What is divine power?"
"Divine power..." Jun Ruo frowned and thought for a long time. "I recall the gods call divine power 'battle qi'."
Xiao Man heard this and helplessly withdrew her hand. "If battle qi is required, I'm afraid I won't be able to open this palace gate for now. I haven't learned how to wield battle qi yet."
"You don't know how to use battle qi!" Jun Ruo's expression was one of utter disbelief. A reincarnation of a celestial god who didn't know how to use divine power was simply preposterous!
"I cultivate spiritual qi, not battle qi. What's so strange about not knowing battle qi? I was just about to ask Huo Lei to teach me battle qi when this happened." Xiao Man was also helpless. She had been investigating ways to leave this place, and now it seemed that to leave, she had to learn battle qi first!
"Let's leave first. I'll come back after I learn battle qi." Xiao Man turned to leave, without any hesitation or regret.
Jun Ruo followed. "You're quite frank. Aren't you afraid you won't be able to come back after leaving?"
"With you here, how could I not be able to come back?" Xiao Man got into the spiritual jade coffin and lay down, signaling Jun Ruo to follow. "Let's get out quickly. If we delay, I worry something might change."
"Alright." Jun Ruo returned to the spiritual jade coffin and drove it away. Who would have thought that in the Ruo Water River, where nothing floated, something could freely move in and out?
The two returned to the shore. Xiao Man put away the spiritual jade coffin but found no trace of Huo Lei or Xiao Shi Tou.
"Not good. There are signs of others. Those two have likely been ambushed." Xiao Man's expression changed slightly. "I need to find them. Are you coming with me, or..."
"I'll follow you. I haven't been out for so many years, I have no idea what the situation is like outside." Jun Ruo followed behind Xiao Man, like a noble young master, while Xiao Man seemed like his attendant. "Or perhaps, now that we're out, you want to discard me?"
"If you hadn't pulled me in, I wouldn't have been separated from them." Xiao Man chased after the tracks, following them all the way, but found no sign of Han Lei and the others.
"Beast Taming Technique." Jun Ruo watched Xiao Man summon a white wolf to search for Han Lei's trace. A glint flashed in his eyes. Their Merman tribe was considered part of the beast race, and Beast Taming Technique was their natural enemy.
Xiao Man beckoned Jun Ruo onto the white wolf, and they went to find Huo Lei.
Meanwhile, Huo Lei, with Xiao Shi Tou, was crawling out from the roots of the divine tree. "Little fellow, you must be like a mouse. You can find even such a hidden cave."
"I was bored and liked to wander around. I stumbled upon this place. It's both fun and private, so I explored all the caves here. No one knows this place better than I do."
"No wonder Xiao Man brought you out." Huo Lei crawled out of the divine tree and pulled Xiao Shi Tou out as well. "We need to hurry back and get reinforcements. Those assassins have left the capital."
"I'm afraid there will be an ambush on our way back, especially since they didn't find the bodies. To be safe, there will be ambushes on the road back to White Wolf Village and Sun Village. We need a foolproof plan."
"Have you thought of a foolproof plan?"
"Not yet. I left in such a hurry today, I forgot to bring signal flares. I can't notify my grandfather about our predicament." Xiao Shi Tou touched the trunk of the divine tree. This tree, though withered, seemed alive, as if containing boundless power that inspired reverence.
"Let's go. We need to hurry back to Sun Village to get reinforcements." The two returned the way they came. Midway, they encountered Xiao Man searching for them, accompanied by a strikingly handsome man.
"Xiao Man, it's great that you're alright." Huo Lei was overjoyed and his gaze fell on the man behind Xiao Man. "Who is he?"
"His name is Jun Ruo. He was the one lying in the crystal coffin. We can talk about the rest when we get back to Sun Village."