The King of Yan was startled, followed by great joy!

Were they here?

Had he truly found the Heavenly Demons?!

Unlike his excitement, Feng Miaojun exercised extreme caution as she moved forward step by step.

The Heavenly Demons she “heard” were not just one!

The light ahead grew increasingly bright until they crossed the final corner—

Suddenly, both of them plummeted!

From this point, gravity abruptly changed, becoming vertically forward.

Fortunately, both reacted extremely quickly, grabbing onto the wall as they fell freely.

When they looked down, both Feng Miaojun and the King of Yan gasped in shock.

The space beyond the passageway was dark emptiness.

No plants, no water, and no end in sight.

The only exception was directly below them—there lay a vast stretch of land.

Strictly speaking, it should be a city because even suspended high above, they could still make out the outlines of palaces and high walls below.

To draw a comparison, this scene resembled an astronaut looking back at Earth from distant space.

However, the entire city was protected by a semi-spherical barrier.

The barrier reflected red light, but looking closely, it consisted of countless streaming red soul shadows.

They shuttled back and forth along the edge of the barrier, occasionally crashing into it. Feng Miaojun could even hear their high-pitched shrieks, high in frequency and vibrating rapidly.

The King of Yan’s voice was hoarse as he exclaimed urgently and briefly, “Heavenly Demons!”

His voice was low, clearly struggling to contain his wild joy.

Feng Miaojun nodded. “Indeed, they are Heavenly Demons.”

When these red shadows occasionally paused, they revealed their true appearances—each one resembling monsters from human nightmares. She found them somewhat familiar, having already encountered them in Yun Ya’s sea of consciousness.

Judging by their density, there must be no fewer than a hundred thousand Heavenly Demons below!

Found them, finally found them!

The goal he had pursued diligently for over a hundred years was right before his eyes. The King of Yan unhesitatingly let go, allowing himself to fall vertically.

After more than ten breaths, he landed on the barrier.

He was also versed in some secret techniques, making his soul body blur as he descended. Many Heavenly Demons passed by him, yet not one gave him a proper glance.

The King of Yan, having passed his initial ecstatic excitement, now calmed down to survey his surroundings, muttering to himself, “Something’s not right!” Even though he remained emotionally stirred, he now sensed the abnormality. Setting aside Feng Miaojun, the Heavenly Demons couldn’t possibly fail to recognize him as an outsider—why were they not reacting?

Their descent was like two tigers appearing in a wolf pack—how could they possibly be ignored?

But the Heavenly Demons continued their activities, wandering or attacking the barrier as before, as if…

As if they didn’t exist.

The King of Yan splayed his five fingers and suddenly grabbed at a Heavenly Demon.

This action was extremely bold. Heavenly Demons were empathic spiritual beings—if he caught one here, the others would simultaneously know and might immediately turn hostile.

But in the next instant, his hand passed through the red shadow, feeling nothing substantial in his grasp.

The King of Yan was stunned, his expression drastically changing!

Heavenly Demons originally possessed only soul bodies; ordinary people couldn’t grasp them with bare hands. But in the dream world, both the King of Yan and the demons existed as soul bodies—they should be able to touch and sense each other.

As a great power with extraordinary knowledge, he looked at the Heavenly Demons busy with their affairs, then down at his empty palm, suddenly understanding. His expression grew increasingly grim.

The Heavenly Demon race wasn’t here at all!

What remained were merely illusions!

The King of Yan stood dumbfounded for a long time before suddenly roaring in rage, “NO—!”

His howl was filled with anger and unwillingness.

After so much effort to reach this place, he discovered he was still ten thousand miles from his goal.

How could he possibly swallow this frustration?

He instinctively looked toward the city within the barrier. If the Heavenly Demons were illusions, what about inside?

If the Heavenly Demons weren’t outside the barrier, where had they gone?

Thinking of this, he suddenly raised his head, searching everywhere for Feng Miaojun. His goal couldn’t be achieved, but what about hers? Had she accomplished what she expected by infiltrating this place?

But with flickering red shadows all around, he couldn’t see the New Xia queen. The barrier’s range was astonishing—as vast as the city below. Finding a woman within it was like searching for a needle in the sea, especially since she could change her soul body.

Powerful as he was, the King of Yan couldn’t immediately devise a way to find Feng Miaojun.

He stood rooted to the spot for a while, then suddenly chose a direction and sped away.

Feng Miaojun had indeed also jumped down.

Staying at the passageway entrance wouldn’t solve any problems. Feng Miaojun gradually transformed her figure into a red shadow and similarly floated downward.

Her descent was swift yet stable.

The closer she got to the ground, the clearer and more three-dimensional the city’s outlines and contours became in her vision.

Palaces, city walls, streets, lakes, and waterways…

Feng Miaojun’s phoenix eyes grew rounder and rounder, unable to believe what she was seeing.

This city was too familiar to her.

Even though it was orderly, grand, vibrant, and clean—completely different from the dilapidation and decay she had seen—she instinctively called out its name:

Yingshui City!

This city protected by the barrier, this city surrounded and attacked by countless Heavenly Demons, was unmistakably Yingshui City!

Today’s Yingshui City is an abandoned capital, a dead city, but the Haoli Kingdom capital presented before her eyes was brightly lit, still retaining its prosperity. Many buildings stood straight toward the sky, unafraid of wind and frost. Even commoners’ houses were kept neat and clean, with lamplight shining from windows, warming the heart.

Not to mention the conspicuous Temple of Divine Beings, she even saw countless soldiers patrolling the streets and, through the windows of civilian homes, glimpsed anxious ordinary people inside. Occasionally, stray cats leaped over walls in the alleyways, and in commoners’ courtyards, mother hens led their chicks about merrily.

Each individual was vivid and lively.

What on earth was happening? Feng Miaojun’s thoughts were in complete disarray.

Soon, she descended onto the barrier.

The substance felt like cotton, bouncing her up as she landed. Feng Miaojun dared not be presumptuous and didn’t reveal her original form. Looking around, she didn’t see the King of Yan.

With such a large barrier, where he had landed remained unknown.

However, Feng Miaojun had no time to concern herself with his whereabouts. In fact, since landing, she had been clutching her head and crouching down.

Even before reaching the barrier, she had heard countless voices.

It was as if tens of thousands of people were speaking simultaneously, or like radio switching channels every hundredth of a second without interruption. Feng Miaojun felt a sharp pain in her skull as if someone had forcibly drilled a hole with a dagger!

Caught off guard, she couldn’t help but let out a low moan.

She instinctively covered her ears, trying to block out the sound, only to realize these voices weren’t coming from around her but were echoing directly in her mind!

What was happening?!