In an empty room on the top floor of a 45-story office building in the Abandoned City, left vacant for many years, the Dragon Lord was sitting cross-legged on the floor, healing his wounds.

He was tortured by Qin Qing in various ways every day. If he didn’t take advantage of the night to heal, he wouldn’t be able to survive the next day’s torment.

I really miss the days of digging through mountains and carving out roads in Nanjing, the Dragon Lord lamented.

Back then, although it was exhausting, stifling, and humiliating, at least Ye Xiu had been too busy to bother him, let alone torture him. But now, Qin Qing only gave him one steamed bun a day before allowing the beasts to torture him without restraint.

Suddenly, the Dragon Lord’s head snapped toward the door, his aged body trembling uncontrollably. "Who’s there?"

Could it be that Qin Qing has changed her mind and wants to torture me at night, too?

As a hoarse voice spoke, a masked man dressed in black walked in. "Impressive. To be tortured to this extent and still have such sharp senses."

The Dragon Lord was startled. "Who are you?"

"The one who has come to save you!"

The masked man in black walked up to the Dragon Lord, not wanting to waste time on words. He reopened his Purple Pupil, which he had just closed. The moment the Dragon Lord’s gaze met the masked man’s eyes, he was instantly brought under control.

"Have you found the person with the dragon tattoo on his left arm?" the masked man asked.

The Dragon Lord replied numbly, "Ye Xiu!"

"Ye Xiu?" The masked man faltered. "Qin Qing and Leng Yue’s husband, Ye Xiu?"

The Dragon Lord affirmed, "Yes!"

"Are you certain?" the masked man asked.

"I’m not. I haven’t seen the dragon-shaped tattoo on his left arm with my own eyes, but his circumstances match what the person who spoke to me in my dream all those years ago described. Besides, he once asked me why I framed him..."

The masked man narrowed his eyes. If Ye Xiu truly has a dragon-shaped tattoo on his arm, then his intentions for getting close to Kristina weren’t pure.

"Go ask Qin Qing and Leng Yue. As Ye Xiu’s wives, they must know his secrets."

The masked man immediately erased the part of the Dragon Lord’s memory concerning him. He then tossed a book in front of the Dragon Lord before leaving the room, heading straight for the villa complex where Qin Qing and Leng Yue lived.

A few minutes after he left, the Dragon Lord groggily regained his senses. He mumbled bitterly to himself, "It seems I was more exhausted than I thought. I actually fell asleep while healing."

As he spoke, he suddenly noticed a book lying on the floor in front of him. "Where did this book come from?"

The Dragon Lord picked it up in confusion. After flipping through a couple of pages, his breathing grew ragged. It was a Secret Manual for Cultivation by absorbing Spiritual Energy...

...

The masked man in black quietly infiltrated the villa complex where Qin Qing and Leng Yue lived, moving with extreme caution. He had already scouted the area and knew that aside from Qin Qing and Leng Yue, the complex was also home to all the Mutated Beasts in the Abandoned City who possessed the strength of a Third Realm War God or higher.

If I accidentally alarm the beasts, I’ll be in serious trouble!

Finally, the masked man arrived outside the courtyard of the villa where Qin Qing and Leng Yue lived. He leaped over the wall and into the yard, only to freeze for a moment. In the middle of the yard stood some kind of square object covered with a red cloth. Because it was covered, the masked man couldn’t guess what it was.

Moreover, a line of text was written on the red cloth: "Do not, under any circumstances, pull off this red cloth."

If it weren’t for those words, the masked man wouldn’t have been the least bit curious about what lay underneath. But that very warning ignited his curiosity.

What is under the red cloth?

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, his curiosity won. The masked man yanked off the red cloth!

Underneath was a stone stele, one meter tall, one meter wide, and half a meter thick. Carved on it was a single character: ’Sword’!

"Holy shit..."

The instant he saw the character, the masked man felt as if he had been struck by a massive blow. His body was flung backward, crashing through the courtyard wall and flying for dozens of meters before he hit the ground, vomiting blood profusely.

That’s... isn’t that the ’Sword’ character from the stone wall at Sword Burial Cliff? How did Qin Qing and Leng Yue even pry it off?

Terrified, the masked man no longer cared to ponder the reason. He trembled as he got to his feet, wanting to flee the villa complex immediately. He had been severely wounded by the ’Sword’ character. That, combined with the loud crash from smashing through the wall, must have alerted Qin Qing, Leng Yue, and all the beasts!

Once they come for me, with my current injuries, I’ll be powerless to resist!

Just as the masked man got to his feet, a mocking voice sounded beside him. "And where do you think you’re going?"

He whipped his head around to find that Qin Qing and Leng Yue had somehow appeared behind him.

"You... you two..." The masked man suddenly realized what had happened. Qin Qing and Leng Yue must have known he was coming. That’s why they had placed the stone stele with the ’Sword’ character in the yard, covered it with a red cloth, and written the warning on it. Their goal was to pique his curiosity, to make him pull off the red cloth so they could use the stele’s power to severely injure him.

"How did you know I was coming?" the masked man asked, staring at Qin Qing and Leng Yue. At the same time, he activated his Purple Pupil, trying to hypnotize them so he could escape.

SLAP!

Qin Qing slapped the masked man across the face and said disdainfully, "Put away your petty tricks. Your Purple Pupil is ineffective against us."

The masked man was horrified. "How... how is that possible?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "How did you become immune to the Purple Pupil?"

Qin Qing and Leng Yue had no intention of telling him that Ye Xiu had done something to them, making them immune to hypnosis from even a max-level Purple Pupil Superpower User.

Leng Yue kicked the masked man in the abdomen, crippling his Martial Prowess, and said coldly, "We don’t have time for small talk. Answer honestly. Was it you who hypnotized Long Tianba all those years ago and ordered him to find Ye Xiu? You’d better answer truthfully, or I’ll make you wish for death but find no release..."

Before Leng Yue could finish, black blood began to stream from the masked man’s eyes, and he collapsed to the ground. Leng Yue quickly tore off his mask, only to find black blood pouring from all seven of his orifices. His pulse and heartbeat were gone. He had obviously committed suicide by taking a potent poison.

"We were careless. I didn’t think he would have poison hidden in his mouth," Leng Yue said, annoyed.

"Don’t blame yourself," Qin Qing consoled her. "Since he killed himself, it means he wasn’t the one who hypnotized Long Tianba back then. We just have to keep waiting. That person will show his face eventually."

"Right!" Leng Yue nodded and took out her Stone Mirror. "I’ll report to the Young Master..."

...

At that moment, Ye Xiu was sitting on a bed inside a tent on the film set, with his three bodyguards standing rigidly before him.

"How much did Zong Rui pay you?" Ye Xiu asked.

"Ten thousand each," replied the bodyguard who had received Zong Rui’s text message.

Quite generous... Ye Xiu snorted. "You can each keep five thousand. Give the rest to me."

With that, he opened the payment QR code on his Super Chat app.

"Alright, bro!" The three bodyguards quickly scanned the code and each transferred 5,000 to Ye Xiu.

After receiving the money, Ye Xiu put his phone away with satisfaction. It wasn’t that he cared about such a small amount of money; it was a necessary step to ensure these three bodyguards remained completely obedient.

Just then, Ye Xiu sensed a notification from his Stone Mirror. "Alright, you three go out and ask when dinner will be served."

"Alright, bro!"

After the bodyguards left, Ye Xiu took out the Stone Mirror. He frowned as he read the message from Leng Yue. The masked man’s suicide would likely bring danger to Qin Qing and Leng Yue.

After a moment of thought, Ye Xiu composed a message outlining the method to enter Biluo Island and sent it to Dizang with the instruction: "Proceed as planned."

So far, Ye Xiu hadn’t figured out how to Break the Formation, but he had discovered a way to enter it. He wanted Dizang and Mo Luo to take their people to Biluo Island to begin preparations and covertly protect Qin Qing in the meantime.

"Bro, it’s time for dinner!" a bodyguard announced, poking his head into the tent.

Ye Xiu nodded. "Got it."