"Father, what should we do now? The White Lotus Celestial Maiden has clearly revealed her intention to stir up a Dark Uprising. She won't change her mind easily. Can they really see through our background? If we're exposed, it won't be a good thing. In this Dark Domain, there are over a hundred restricted zones, and the masters of those zones are terrifying. If they attack together, we'll have a hard time defending ourselves," the Dark Saint Son said, worry evident in his voice.
"Hmph, what are you worrying about? The Dark Domain was personally chosen by the Lord. When He entered, He had already connected His qi with the Eternal World and merged with an innate god. No matter the time, the Lord is still an innate god of the Eternal World. This foundation—no one can deny it. Even if a Saint of the Eternal World were to come, it would still be the same. The Lord is the true God of the Dark Night—the Sovereign of Darkness. And we are also gods, with divine titles and divinity, recognized by eternity. As long as we keep silent, who can deny our existence?"
The Dark City Lord sneered coldly.
Their identities were flawless. There were absolutely no loopholes.
Even if someone suspected them, they would never find any evidence. No one could attack them on a moral or righteous basis. This was a façade—as long as it remained intact, all confrontations had to follow the rules. If people acted however they pleased, the entire order of heaven and earth would collapse.
"Father is right. I wonder how the Lord's Demon Nest is progressing. Once it's built, we'll have nothing to fear in this Dark Domain. Even those forbidden zones can be evaluated and dealt with. The entire domain will become ours, and no one will be able to take it from us," the Dark Saint Son said again.
"Don't worry. According to the message from the Lord, the Dark Demon Nest is almost complete. Once it's done, and as long as the nest remains intact, we'll be able to create an endless stream of demon soldiers. This place will be our stronghold. We'll launch conquests across the other realms from here. We will establish our own Destiny Dynasty. Since the Eternal World is founded on Destiny Dynasties, then this time—we'll destroy their pride at its root and crush all hope,"
the Dark City Lord declared decisively.
From what he knew, everything was about to begin. Soon, their Lord would establish a Destiny Dynasty as an innate deity. By then, the entire Dark Domain would belong to them.
"There's definitely something wrong here,"
Yi Tianxing thought solemnly as he listened in from outside.
That Lord of the Dark City, and even the City Lord and his son themselves, were no ordinary beings. It was highly likely that they came from the Eternal Night. The strange aura permeating the entire domain probably originated from them.
If that was true, it was truly terrifying.
It meant the Eternal Night had already begun to invade the Eternal World—and had started doing so from the very beginning, merely disguised under a harmless façade, making it almost impossible to detect. If they were allowed to occupy the Dark Domain and establish a Destiny Dynasty with heaven and earth's recognition, and begin expanding outward—
the consequences would be unimaginable.
It would be like driving a blade directly into the heart of the Eternal World—a complete internal collapse.
"Big Brother, what now?"
Nannan looked at Yi Tianxing and asked softly.
"No rush. Let's check out the secret chamber in the City Lord's mansion first."
Yi Tianxing glanced deeply toward the main hall ahead. Since they were already here, they weren't leaving so easily. What he had just overheard was a grand secret of heaven and earth. If exposed, it would lead to an all-out death match. But Yi Tianxing wasn't afraid of that.
Since they were here, he would definitely loot the place.
There might even be a major treasure waiting for him.
More importantly, Yi Tianxing wanted to look for that black cocoon he had seen years ago. He had fought it once and was forced to retreat. Now, he was even more curious to uncover its truth.
"I'll follow Big Brother."
Nannan agreed without hesitation. As long as she was with Yi Tianxing, she was willing to go anywhere.
The interior of the City Lord's mansion had undergone drastic changes. Its buildings and layout were completely different from before. Previous experiences were of little help now. Most notably, there were no ordinary servants here—only ghostly figures in the mist and hidden Dark Demon soldiers lurking in the shadows.
"This way."
Yi Tianxing scanned his surroundings. His eyes reflected the flow of yin and yang. Then, he confidently walked in a specific direction.
Even though he didn't know the exact location, under the Innate Yin-Yang Eyes, he could still see many hidden anomalies. A few areas were clearly protected by complex restrictions—obvious signs of confidential zones.
Two such places stood out, one in the east and one in the west.
The restrictions there prevented all divine sense and ocular techniques from probing further. Only faint traces could be seen.
He chose to head toward the eastern side first.
"A fake mountain?"
When they arrived, Nannan blinked and muttered curiously.
"It's fake. There's something hidden inside."
Yi Tianxing spoke with certainty. Under the Innate Yin-Yang Eyes, this was no ordinary fake mountain—it was a mountain formed entirely from layered restrictions. Anyone who approached carelessly would be instantly sealed by the defensive array.
But such obstacles were nothing to him.
With a wave of his hand, a spatial gate appeared. Then, a golden pocket watch emerged and merged seamlessly with the gate, filling it with the power of time and space.
At this moment, it was no longer just a spatial gate—it had become a gate of time and space.
"Let's go."
Grabbing Nannan's hand, Yi Tianxing stepped into the gate. A flash of light engulfed them, and the power of time and space surged. In the blink of an eye, the two disappeared. The gate faded without a sound—transporting them directly through the restriction.
Inside the treasure vault of the Dark City—
"This place… the amount of treasure is insane. There's even a mountain of Divine Source Stones!"
After passing through the strange passage, they emerged into a massive space. In front of them was a literal mountain of Divine Source Stones—brilliant, radiant, and filled with immense primal energy. Even breathing here felt like being bathed in celestial air.
There were so many Divine Source Stones that they must number in the billions.
But oddly, aside from Divine Sources, there was nothing else here.
"Incredible. This vault is separated into multiple dimensional spaces. This chamber must be dedicated solely to storing Divine Source Stones. With these, the foundation of Great Yi will skyrocket! Divine Sources are energy cores for top-tier puppets and superior to pills for high-level cultivators."
Yi Tianxing's eyes lit up. Treasures like this—you could never have too many.
Take them! All of them!
Without hesitation, he waved his hand, and the Heavenly Emperor's Hongmeng Pagoda emerged. In an instant, the mountain of Divine Source Stones was absorbed into it. Only inside the pagoda were they truly secure.
After looting that, he moved on to the next treasure chamber.
There were no major barriers inside the vault, so travel was easy. With a single thought, Yi Tianxing stepped into the next room—
Blinding treasure light filled his vision.
All kinds of rare treasures were arranged on shelves. Weapons, magical artifacts, divine materials, celestial herbs—a dazzling rainbow of wealth.
"These are the spoils extorted from the people of Dark City. Perfect for Great Yi—they came from the people and will return to the people."
These resources would go toward cultivating Great Yi's people. That was the real purpose.
With another wave of his hand, the Hongmeng Pagoda turned into a streak of divine light and flew into the treasure chamber. Wherever the light passed, treasures disappeared without a trace. Now was not the time to inspect them—first loot everything, inspect later.
Just as he was quickly collecting treasures—
Suddenly, Yi Tianxing's eyes narrowed as he turned toward one part of the room.
Space rippled.
A golden hand suddenly reached out from the void. It hovered in mid-air and made a grabbing motion toward the treasures.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Numerous treasures began to tremble under an irresistible pull. A golden shield flew straight toward the hand. The moment it touched—the shield vanished.
The golden hand disappeared along with it.
"Brother, what was that? That freaky hand was stealing from the vault! A thief!"
Nannan frowned, her eyes sharp with anger. That golden hand was clearly stealing—and its sneaky method made it obvious this wasn't part of the City Lord's operation.
"Yeah… To reach into this vault undetected, that's not something ordinary people can do. It seems someone else is targeting the City Lord's mansion just like us. I wonder who it is."
Yi Tianxing's gaze gleamed.
He needed to speed up. After clearing the vault, he still had to find the hidden chamber—and investigate the black cocoon.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the fake mountain of the City Lord's mansion—
A shadowy figure lay fused with the soil, completely one with the earth. Not a single strand of aura leaked out. Even if someone walked right over him, they wouldn't notice a thing.
Just then, spatial ripples appeared beside him, and a golden shield materialized.
"Diamond Shield… a top-grade magical artifact. Superb defense. Outside, this would be a coveted treasure. What a find! I've really struck gold this time. They say Dark City is ridiculously rich—looks like the rumors were true! I, Daoist Duobao, will not leave until I've looted to my heart's content!"
The chubby Daoist's eyes were gleaming with excitement.